Me Within We

Do you first think about yourself or about your family?
Do you think being selfish is natural or mean?
Do you usually consider the consequence of your actions mainly on yourself or also on others?

Sociologists have tended to believe that most Indians would give the latter answer to each of the above questions. And that most people from the West would give the former answer. Hence the considered view has been that the West is Individualistic in their thinking, while the East has been Collectivist. Those are long words. So let us just say that the belief is that the West thinks about “Me”, while the East thinks about “We”.

But now the East is getting Westernized. So are we now thinking of Me rather than We?

This is one of the questions that we wanted to investigate in the Remixed Generation study that we had done a year and a half ago. And the conclusion that we had reached then was that Indians haven’t quite got to the Me side of spectrum, though they have moved away from the We side. We labeled the phenomenon as “Me within We”.

That sounds good on a PowerPoint slide, but isn’t that helpful when you are thinking in the context of a brand. How exactly do you appeal to the Me within the We?

One way is to think that people have a long Me rope that gives them freedom of movement within a given radius, but after that We concerns take over. This rope has become longer over time and so younger generations are more Me oriented than older ones. Also the same person may be Me oriented in some cases and We oriented in others.

Traditionally we have had Me categories and We categories. So motor cycles, jeans and colas have been Me categories, in that they have appealed to the individual sides of us. Meanwhile, household products, consumer durables etc have often appealed to the home maker in us and thus have been We categories. In that way we have avoided the issue rather than addressed it head on.

At first sight that sounds like the nature of categories. But a moment’s thought would lead us to a different conclusion. If you are promoting a household cleaning product, do you focus on the convenience of using it (a Me appeal) or on how it makes your family love the home (a We appeal)? Today more and more brands are crossing the floor and focusing on non-traditional appeals.

The computer has been one of the most individual oriented product categories. After all there is always been a one to one correspondence between the PC and the user. Yet, we did a campaign for Intel where we focused on how a PC could change the fortune of an entire family. This is arguably one of the most effective campaigns from Intel in India.

Now I think there may be another way to think of the We versus Me issue. The clue for this came from movies like “Rang de Basanti” and “Munnabhai Lagey Raho”. Both movies were spectacular hits with the youth of the country. So perhaps there are lessons to be learnt for those of us who want super hit brands.

My view is that both movies created an alignment of Me and We goals and thus removed the conflict between the two. They offered to youth a higher order goal to work towards that was cool, modern and today. Once that happens, youth is quite happy to work towards this higher order goal in their own Me way.

Perhaps therein lies the secret. Most youth brands tend to be about rebellion. Think of Levis, Pepsi or Harley Davidson. Or think of Amitabh Bachchan. They appeal to youth by becoming badges that prove how anti-establishment the user is. Indian youth have adopted these brands, though they are no longer in rebellion mode. They are all busy enjoying the new life that economic prosperity has brought, and working towards the new goals that a flat world has brought. So, in many ways, the old paradigm of youth being about rebellion doesn’t work.

So offering a higher order goal works at two levels. One it provides youth a mission that is different from the old anti-establishment mission. And two it allows them to be individual while working towards the collectivist goals.

A good – though old – example of how this was done is provided by “The Body Shop”. The owner, Anita Roddick, is a cool youth icon who fought against animal testing and other environmental issues. The brand has done well without any “beauty” oriented communication because it allowed youth to focus on Me issues like looking good, while also contributing to a We issue like the environment.

Now if only we could come up with more such cool missions, we would have big block buster brand hits.

The Dream Run Is Not A Race

On Sunday, my wife, son and I took part in the Dream Run which is part of the Mumbai Marathon. Armed with the yellow and white number bibs, the white Kingfisher sipping bottles and the shoulder sling bags, we marched along with thousands of others for 6kms of the actual race plus a few more just to get to the start line and then back home.

This is the first time I have taken part in a sporting event where the objective was not to win, but merely to take part. Made me wonder why we were all there in the first place.

The Dream Run seems to be designed to make us feel good about ourselves. We are happy that we were able to complete the Dream Run. Of course, don’t tell anybody that the Run was more of a slow walk than a real run. In fact, you couldn’t run even if you wanted to.

Then there were the spectators to cheer you on. When was the last time you had hundreds of people cheering you on. Strangers. I guess Sachin Tendulkar is used to this. For most of us this was a new experience or a long forgotten experience. It didn’t really matter that they weren’t cheering specifically for you or even knew your name. People were cheering and waving from the road side, from balconies and roof tops. As if we were the next big Olympic hopes for India.

Many of us were running for a cause. Now you may ask how we were helping any cause by burning a few calories. Well the relevant calories are burnt before and after the actual event when you sign some cheques and also request your friends and relatives to sign more cheques. All these are pledges made to the charity of your choice because you have completed the Herculean task of walking 6 kms. It’s quite a silly and roundabout way to give to charity if you ask me. But still, it makes you feel good about yourself and that, as I said, is the primary reason for having the Dream Run.

The Dream Run is also meant to help you belong to a small tribe. Typically your work tribe. Several companies had fielded company teams for the run. Each team had a uniform that they all wore. The teams consisted of employees and their families. Some people had even brought along babies and small children. Many carried placards that announced who they were or their attitudes to life. Some had banners that simply advertised their company or brand. The Air India team had a couple of people dressed as Maharajas, while their rival airline, Jet Airways, had people carrying inflated airplane shaped balloons. I guess the people who walked in their corporate groups, felt happy that they belonged. The team that runs together works together.

The Maharaja wasn’t the only one in the fancy dress. There were so many others. More than one Gandhiji. One of them accompanied by a Circuit! Throw in a Tilak, a few brides in traditional outfits and some in outlandish costumes that defy description or tags. All of them getting their fair share of attention and photographs. Sure made them feel good. Though it must have been hot too.

There were some real heroes too. People in wheel chairs. People on crutches. One woman carrying her baby on her back. All of them got a lot of admiring looks and cheers. From spectators and participants alike.

That summed up the spirit of the Dream Run. An event designed to make you feel good about yourself, your fellow humans, your city. And hopefully the organizers and advertisers. That is why Standard Chartered has stayed with this event over the last four years. Quite a Dream Run, they are having.

For more pictures of the Dream Run, please click here.

Indian Stretchable Time Is About To Snap

Remember the days when inviting a politician meant that your function would be delayed by many hours because they would always be late? Well, it’s gone forever. I was at the India Economic Summit in Delhi last month and it was amazing to see how punctual all the ministers and bureaucrats were. Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Chidabmbaram, Kamal Nath, Kapil Sibal, Nitish Kumar, Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sheila Dixit, Montek Singh Ahluwalia. All were on the stage at the precise moment that they were meant to be. Not just once, but across all functions spread over three days. Of course, the sundry bureaucrats who were also at the event had no choice once their bosses were so punctual.

It made me think. Whatever happened to Indian Stretchable Time?

Is this just a stray incident, meant to impress the foreigners who were at this conference? Is this the effect of the globalization of India? Or is this a far more fundamental change in Indians?

Then another incident caught my eye. My son is 14 years old. His day consists of going to school, attending tuitions, going for tennis coaching, watching TV. All these activities happen at precise times. His school bus arrives at 6.20 AM. His tuition is at 2 PM. His tennis coaching is from 4 PM. There is not a moment to lose. If he is late in one activity, then it affects the next. No time to waste. No time to be late.

My son may not grow to be a politician. But clearly he is going to be as punctual as our ministers are today. Happiness!

This business of ministers being punctual has another special significance. India is a hierarchical country and one way to show that you are more important than the others is to be more late than everyone else. Therefore the minister had to be really late since it showed he is the most important.

But in the new India, ministers are no longer the undisputed bosses that they used to be. These ministers today wine and dine and fuss over industrialists to invest in their state. So suddenly the old hierarchies are breaking down and there is much greater equality than there used to be.

I am a Virgo who has a bee in his bonnet about being punctual. For a long time this has been considered a major flaw in my character. I have arrived at parties only to get glares from my host which softened only when I offered to help them set up for the party. I have had colleagues wonder if I had no work at all – how else could I be so punctual? I have suffered ulcers when my bosses (this term includes my wife) have made me late.

And I have always despaired about this thing they call Indian Stretchable Time.

But now I have hope. Suddenly things seem to be changing. We have all begun to cram our lives more. We all have much tighter schedules. So we can’t afford to be late. This attitude is starting at a young age.

Does this mean that everyone is being punctual? Of course not. Nothing ever changes so quickly. But the trend is clear. More and more people are demanding punctuality. Because they are busy. Because they are more equal. Because that is just the new way. Those who don’t fall in line are suddenly going to discover that they are outdated – a part of the “old guard”. People who didn’t quite get it. Sort of like someone who still uses a typewriter and doesn’t know what a blog is.

Hallelujah!

Pictures versus words

Nobody reads anymore.

That’s a common lament from virtually everybody. Clients say that as they ask you to reduce the number of words in an ad. Teachers and parents say that about children. We say that about ourselves as an excuse for not reading that new non-fiction best seller that everyone is talking about.

But that is simply not true. Young people today read more than ever before. And they write much more than previous generations.

If that sounds like a startling statement, think of all the websites, instant messages, emails, blogs and sms messages that a typical teenager goes through in a single day. A group of Professors in the US did that recently and found that young people there are actually reading more than their parents did. How’s that for shutting up the oldie complainers?

Think of the implication for advertising. If we write interesting stuff and place the material in interesting places, then our audience is willing to read it. The problem is that we still insist on putting all our writing in old fashioned ads, leaflets and brochures – dead trees basically – when our audience is moving on to reading on the screen.

Then again, why do words have to be written? I have recently acquired an addiction to Podcasts and I can’t think of a better way to “read” an article quickly. On my iPod right now are podcasts from Business Week, Harvard Business Review, Economist, Scientific American and Comedy Central. And that’s because I have only just started. Give me some time and my library will grow.

That makes life even more interesting. Now you can get consumers to interact deeply with your words. At a pace of your choosing. But with a level of concentration that radio or TV could never even dream of.

All that remains is for us to write something that is really interesting. And find a way of putting those words in a place where our audience wants to read it. Simple!!

Conflict - what conflict?

Consultants routinely have many clients in the same industry, because they have expertise in that vertical.  Ditto for lawyers, accountants, researchers and even models.  But when it comes to advertising agencies, the whole issue of conflict crops up.  Why is that?

On the one hand, clients want domain knowledge and experience.  On the other they don't want you to work for the competition.  Why is that?  Confidentiality reasons did you say?  Are you telling me that advertising agencies know more about their clients' business than management consultants, lawyers, auditors and tax specialists?   Or are we saying that clients don't trust advertising agencies to keep their mouths shut?

The focus on confidentiality is all wrong.  Insiders in each industry routinely know everything important that there is to know about others in their industry, long before the client gets around to briefing their advertising partners.  If there is something they don't know, all they need to do is to invite an employee from their competition for an interview and then give him or her a gentle grilling.  You don't even need to hire the person.

Although people are changing jobs all the time anyway.  Both at client end and the agency end.  So how do you keep things confidential from your own people?

So perhaps it is not confidentiality.  Perhaps clients want their agencies exclusive because they want the best ideas for themselves and not have to share them with others in their industry.  There may be something in this.  However, even this thesis breaks down when you consider that clients are today shopping around for ideas from so many different places.  From their celebrity models, their event agencies, their PR firms and so on.  Most of them are not bound to exclusive contracts like ad agencies are.

In fact there is a lot to learn from model contracts.  There are two kinds of model contracts.  One which prevents the model from appearing in any competing ads, and the other which does not.  The first is a lot more expensive than the second, for the same amount of time.

Perhaps ad agencies need to codify such an arrangement with its clients.  If you want exclusivity, it will cost more.  Then we will know how many clients seriously worry about their agencies leaking information.

Remixed Diwali

{This article was written last Diwali and published in The Times of India.  Just saving it here for the record and for eliciting comments from others)

The other day I read a news report about an Indian company that had invented a device to explode crackers from a distance – using an ordinary TV remote!

That got me thinking once again about how young Indians are combining the modern and the traditional in all new ways to create a whole new culture.  At Euro RSCG we did a study earlier this year that found that the youth of the country is no longer either traditional or blindly western.  The youth has found new ways of remixing the two.  That is why we are calling this generation the Remixed Generation.

Teen patti on the internet.  How much more remixed can you get?  A group of friends who are no longer in the same city, have decided to get together on Diwali night and play with each other long distance.  They will chat online and will presumably settle their bets through their credit cards.

My generation found it hip to be anti religion and anti rituals when we were young.  We thought the way of the future was the western way – supposedly a scientific attitude to life.  The new generation, however, has become ritualistic with a vengeance.  This generation is not necessarily religious, but is very keen on all rituals and celebrating all festivals.

Perhaps it has to do with the pride they feel in being Indians.  All previous generations of Indians have been a little ashamed about the colour of their skin and have tried hard to adopt the language and the culture of the West.  Everyone knows of people who get an American accent just because their brothers live in that country.  Well, today’s youth is aggressive about maintaining their Indian accents even after they have lived in the US for several years.

Last week we were inundated on prime time soaps with characters observing Karwa Chauth.  In office, I found several young women who were observing the fast.  At first I was surprised.  I thought advertising people were meant to be modern and progressive.  Then I realized that this is the new modern and progressive attitude.  An attitude that wants to observe traditional festivals in whole new ways.

Husbands fasting with their wives.  That is a remixed way of observing Karwa Chauth.  An act made famous by Shahrukh Khan in DDLJ exactly a decade ago.  But now metro-sexual men do not think it infra dig to show their love for their wives by fasting along with them.

A popular radio jockey who is also an actress was talking on air about having a lot of sweets on the sets.  Why?  Because everyone had started receiving sweets at home.  But they were too conscious of their figures to eat too much.  So what’s better than to share it with your friends?  This is a remixed attitude again.  Have your sweets and keep your figure too.

The biggest change that we have observed is in the attitude of children to crackers.  Time was when as kids we would beg our parents to buy us more crackers – the louder the better.  Now one feels so passé when you talk to today’s children.  If you so much as suggest crackers, they give you that “you philistine!” look.  

There are many changes in the gifts that are being exchanged too.  For one thing, there is a lot more of them.  Diwali is to India what Christmas is to the west.  Complete with gifts for everyone.  

Also the nature of gifts has changed.  Cadburys is already selling chocolate covered dry fruits.  What else can we expect?  Mithai with bhang – a la Holi?  Or perhaps Vodka Rasgullas.  

Expect the youth to dance all night on Diwali night.  They will dance because they like dancing.  They will dance because they need to work off the extra calories.  They will dance because the latest remixed hit is playing and they can’t resist.

Happy Remixed Diwali.