Books Reading - Goal Update May19

May19 Goal Update - Against 12 books goal in 2019; currently reading 10th book. And now its like straddling between #paperbooks (which i had been buying but not read), #kindle and #audible.

This is the best year where i am able to double down on this goal given huge productivity boost via kindle and audible.

Read #Ikigai; which culls out secrets of happiness from people aged 100+ from okinawa. Learnt 10 secrets: always remain active and yet take things slow, dont eat 100% full, have friends surround u always, excercise, smile, stay with nature, show gratitude and always live in the moment while treading ur path to ur ikigai (purpose).

#AtomicHabits book has further strengthened my beliefs on small but consistent steps to any big goal (this reading is a good example). The law of compounding works like magic in small bits, daily.

Loved concept of habit stacking - connect a new habit to an existing habit so that the inertia of old leads to momentum in new.  Another gem - Always define habit regimen by time and location. It works.

Envoirnment needs to be designed basis ur targeted habit, if u want to run; keep tracksuit next to alarm clock!

#books #habits #2019 #productivity #goals #life #wisdom

Book Review - Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

Its a hell of a ride with Phil Knight on how this idea called '#Nike' happened as expressed non-chalantly by the cofounder himself.

A must read for anyone interested in creation of an idea and taking it to fruition and keep it alive at any costs. Or #Entrepreneurship. And for anyone who understands #running or any form of sports.

Phil has very openly put down the 'how it happened' without editing the bad spots or places where he felt incompetent to handle things. Thats what i liked the most. Its a story; told sincerely without glorifying.

As a marketer, i wanted to know how this legendary 'swoosh' and Nike happened. And, it just happened! Just a decision on name on a close call with Dimension6 & Falcon. And one of the cofounders said, it came to him in his dream :) Though it means goddess of #victory!

No big research on the symbol also, Phil gave this assignment to a freelancing student of arts whom he met like a coincidence. She did some options and then swoosh was chosen. She charged 35$ for the design!

This book is sprinkled with such moments where Phil took decisions like this quite fast and worked on them as and when they happened.

And yes, huge wisdom in some quotes here. One of them - "Reality is #nonlinear, Zen says. No future, no past. All is now."

#bookreview

Smart E bikes - Will the rebel stereotype work?

AI enabled bikes!! Sounds fab! Envoirnment friendly and cheaper to maintain. Hip. Smart. Techno.

However, does it address basic needs of a #biker? Need for speed. Pickup. Tough terrain friendly (read mountain rides). Show-off. Thump. Feeling of being a big boy. Being #Raw. #Rebel. The brand seems to work on this positioning only trying to entice customers on these primary needs. The TVC does make it look cool around one of these benefits when biker woos a girl by changing bike sound.

On the contrary, should it position around a clean bike, good boy approach striking a refreshing 180 degree on the biker stereotype? Trying to target today's socially concious bikers with a 'change the world' psycographics? Making it really 'revolt' the existing biker stereotype?

Dont know how it pans out. Lets see how consumers approach this space. #ebikes #ai #smart #tech

Read about news here -http://inc42.com/buzz/revolt-intellicorp-launches-its-electric-bike-rv-400/amp/

Dream11 - Yeh game hai mahaan campaign

When you are the #market leader, then the onus of expanding the pie is yours.

#Dream11, India's No 1 online cricket game app is trying to do the same with its last 2 campaigns during IPL and World cup. Not talking about 'how to play on its app and point system" but to celebrate the game of cricket itself to connect emotionally with fans.

And kudos to the team behind the TVCs, its a fantastic concoction of fan's stories of going beyond the limits for the game + melodious tune + #Dhoni end slate with 'yeh game hai mahaan' to convey the app name.

From the #functional space of features and benefits; to celebrating the #category anchor itself. That's very tastefully done by #Tilt Brand Solutions, the agency behind the campaign.

The opportunity in itself in this space is mammoth for a country full of smartphone devices + crazy cricket fans. Anyways evident from how #Hotstar is breaking online views records every game.

#emotional #marketing #consumer #cricket #worldcup #india

Dream11 - A huge opportunity

With more IPL games, i am falling in love with this jingle from Dream11's new TVC. Did you notice that soft music timed well with the brief emotional story about people who do anything for cricket?

Over the years, the TVC campaigns for Dream11 have moved from explaining the concept (how to play on the app and win money) to now celebrating cricket - India's biggest religion.

And with Dhoni's star power backing the brand and the way Dhoni is performing, its certainly getting larger participation from end customers (reported 50 m users)  and also evident from its newly found Unicorn status.

And i guess, there are huge tailwinds to the platform, given 3 potent factors of  indian cheap data savvy youth population, increasing ecommerce transactions and overall India's Cricket obsession.

There are other me too apps for betting on sports but by far, dream11 has emerged as a leader with right brand ambassador, early mover advantage and spending on advertising. That too, the advertising is moving in the right direction for developing the brand as a leader expanding the user-base by celebrating cricket.

Space to watch out! #dream11 #cricket #dhoni #tvc

Checkout the video here -

https://lnkd.in/fq8gXJz

Book Review - The Everything Store by Brad Stone

This book i picked up to understand the history of Amazon, the company i work for now. Its a fantastic long read for anybody who wants to understand the evolution of this startup into a behemoth of today; it takes the readers through this time travel of 2 decades with detailing and gives a peek into the intriguing mind of its founder - Jeff Bezoz.

The biographer, Brad Stone has done significant research on why Amazon is where it is, and what factors, events and values contributed to this journey and continues to.

For me, as a new-joinee to a company which is know by its peculiar culture; the book really portrays the background on why this culture is like that.

Whether its the leadership principles of Amazon or its peculiar practices of using a 6 pager doc vs a presentation or why meetings start as a study hall where everyone reads silently or why there are PRFAQs made or why 1  empty chair in a meeting...its all answered there!

I personally liked the ways of a founder on how to create a culture that is a photocopy of how he thinks. And like a great learner, he has picked up a few values from the books he read or values from other companies into those leadership principles.

Its a great read for anybody who either wants to know about Amazon or who wants to know how to define the culture of a new company.

Some of the key things i didnt know before i read the book about Amazon -

1. Bezoz is an avid fiction/non fiction reader and has done changes in business strategy once he read a book.
2. Bezoz during tumultuous times of 2001 meltdown wrote something like 'I am not my stock price' on his whiteboard in office.
3. Bezoz tore a reciept of a team meal after paying saying that i am not going to claim it from the company, to stress principle of frugality.
4. Bezoz's way of negotiating while acquiring zappos or Quidsi is quite tough.
5. He is quite driven by future and has taken long term bets on projects which might appear science fiction at start. Thats a stark difference from other companies.
6. How Amazon safeguards the interests of customers by negotiating hard with vendors/partners.
7. How kindle happened and Bezoz delayed the launch till the ebook universe is at least 10000 ebooks.
8. How he saw future and converted Amazon into a technology company from an e-retailer.

Its a great read! Go for it.

Brand Integrations and Bollywood Movies

After a while, seen a movie where brand integration and #product #placement was natural without disturbing the viewers and gells well with the brand thought of #USHA sewing machines. Sui Dhaga.

The story in itself deals with a tailoring and handicraft community and thus makes sense for the brand in the same category to attach with it. The brand thought of enabling people to create what they dream is evidently clear in the storyline of the movie.

And sprinkle the brand name in dialogues or product shots when the lead uses it is very well done.

I dont think, i have seen such a strong integration in recent times in #bollywood.

And the setting of the movie in a small town in my hinterland (MP) add to the appeal to the masses (target #consumer). And with movie's initial good performance, i think its a good investment by the brand.

And to talk about real #disturbing and #funny product placement, watch this song of a 1991 salman movie (all brands are present here from colgate, old spice, amul and so on..) and its damn funny! Watch it here, dont miss. (https://bit.ly/2NWIi28)

#marketing #brand #integration #suidhaga

Beards and Acquisitions

Colgate-Palmolive buys 14% stake in Bombay Shaving Company

This news caught my eyes, as why #Colgate is taking over a company with 16 cr of annual sales; that too in a company called Bombay Shaving Company. I mean, i see most people sporting beards these days; who shaves?

And then i realized from stats that its true. That the trend of beards is here, the shaving razors vol is growing by 6% vs 18% a few years ago. Though, a new category of beard care products like wax, oils etc is growing by 16%. I guess, even trimmers industry must be growing exponentially.

And that is the reason, most of men FMCG companies are buying or developing porfolio in this space. Be it #Marico buying stake in #Beardo or #Wipro consumer investing in Happily Unmarried (#Ustara).

And why not. Most of popular men in india are in the beard club. Be it Men in blue lead by #kohli (i guess 80%, follow the captain and have beards), bollywood actors (#Ranveer Singh)and models in advertising, all are in sync with this trend. And social media throws at you enough content on beard care, styling and so on.

Its been more than 1.5 yrs now, i havent shaved as well!

#consumer #trends

4 stages of Life - Where r u?

What is #life? A continuous #movement from one #stage to another? Which stage you are in? What are you trying to accomplish? Why are you #running so hard? To get somewhere? Or to run away from somewhere? Whats your life #purpose?

One of my favourite author of 'The subtle art of not giving a f*ck' - Mark Manson puts it interestingly on his blog; that life is composed of 4 stages -

1. #Mimicing - We mimic others to learn from other - parents, teachers to society. Resultant effect is that we discover, we are not good ourselves and keep looking for social approvals. Lasts till early adulthood.

2. #SelfDiscovery - With adulthood, our conquest to discover ourselves begins. And we hit & try, and experience and soak in as much as we can to find a meaning. What we are good at? What is my life's mission? Good or bad learnings. What u should do and  what not & so on. Lasts till late thirties.

3. #Commitment - This is rightly so the golden period. U discovered what u r good at. And realize that time is limited. U focus & build ur life's work there. Lasts till retirement.

4. #Legacy - This is last stage where u realized time is close. And rather than building, u should pass the life's essence to others as legacy.

#Think about it. Hard.
#mustread
Blog - https://markmanson.net/four-stages-of-life

Amazon Prime Vs Flipkart Plus ?

Being a loyalty program creator myself, it is exciting news that one of the best loyalty programs of the world (#Amazon #Prime) is getting some competition from its prime competitor in India, #Flipkart.

Flipkart is now launching Flipkart #Plus wherein they have roped in benefits from #BookMyShow, #Makemytrip and content from #Hotstar. Apart from that, obvious benefits of faster delivery/exciting deals/free shipping etc.

However, its a moot point that whether a consumer will enroll in Plus to get discounts at BMS or MMT? Is this benefit unmatchable or even required? A loyalty program needs to create special experiences for consumers which cant be matched by anybody else.

Amazon Prime with its original content like Breathe or Inside Edge is simply unmatchable (except netflix). A hotstar cant even stand in competition to that.

And Amazon Music with its ad free music also cant be matched even with saavn/gaana (with ads). Thats another unmatchable benefit.

An indian consumer anyways enjoys points/discounts at BMS/MMT, there is nothing new there.

Plus on paper is on a backfoot vs Prime. And thats why its not paid. Its free. How it fares, Time will tell.

#consumer #ecommerce #loyalty #crm #marketing