Runner's Update - 6000kms Up.

#Health post

Celebrating 6000kms on road, thanks to my legs and pairs of Nike.

This creative from Nike sums up everything a runner experiences. 

Shoes giving life like lungs to us!

A runner thinks like this -

When in distress, go for a run (Meditation)

When tired, go for a run 

(Rejuvenation)

When in anger, go for a run

(Calmification)

When looking for answers, go for a run

(Ideation)

When bored, go for a run

(Recreation)

When want to workout, go for a run

(Excercise)

and so on...

But always...

Run, walk or crawl...just keep moving

 forward!

#running #life 

TikTok's Swiping Up - The new cocaine

‘Swiping up’ - the latest habit difficult to undo.

#TikTok, the inventor of the short video format on social, developed this swiping up feature. And that drove its popularity by leaps and bounds.

When Tik Tok was banned in India, it already had 190 million app downloads. Globally, it already beats YouTube in the number of hours that viewers spend on its platform. By the end of 2022, it is expected to have 1.8 billion users bringing it much closer to Instagram.

#Instagram reached two billion active users in Q3 2021. It is on track to reach 2.5 billion by 2023. The popular feature ‘Reels’ was copied from TikTok.

#YouTube and then even #Facebook launched short videos with same swiping up feature.

While Facebook overall is struggling on user growth, the video format is helping to keep pace with other platforms to retain attention of users.

YouTube too, has seen the consumer behaviour changing to shorter version and has ‘Shorts’.

So, why is this short video growing like a drug?

Because it’s entertainment at a swipe. Random videos that platform suggests to cater to this human need to ‘run away when bored’. And swiping up is super easy!

And if I don’t like first video, I will swipe to second and third and fourth…remember TV channel surfing habit of yesteryear’s ?

Now, here is what shocked me.

I saw kids aged under 10, using YouTube shorts. So, when parents want them to eat or give them some gratification time with mobile, this is what they do. They swipe. Mindlessly. From one video to another.

When asked, why do you like these videos?
Because they are funny & small.

Why have you subscribed so many random channels?
People in video told me to subscribe now if you want to get A or dont want A.

For eg, one so called influencer says ‘ subscribe if you like your parents’. This I found disgusting.

In videos these folks, use kids placating tactics with some reference to cartoon character or rhymes to push thier content to more such easy targets & get more followers!

Obviously, kids shouldnt have access to mobiles and even social. But reality is that kids do access youtube on most parents mobiles or even TVs. Its a big menace - swiping up!

Thoughts?

#marketing #socialmedia

Chess - A Teacher for Life

Chess: A teacher for life?

With so much happening around wrt 'India hosting Chess Olympiads' for the first time; its good to see dailies covering the event with greater coverage.

India (the inventor of the game) is actually has become a country of cricket; but offlate few events have started showing positive signs on increasing adoption (16 yr old Praggnanandha beating Magnus Carlsen, Kids picking chess during covid when outdoors were out, a series on chess (Queen's Gambit) bringing back interest in the game).

As a parent (of an interested chess player), I found a few great gems on how Chess is a great teacher on life lessons. Here are a few -

1. Its not about #power all the time- More powerful pieces on the board Vs opponent dont necessarily ensure victory. You might have lost your queen but you can even do mates with 2 knights. Its how you apply yourself basis the curve balls the enemy is throwing. Same goes for life - Not always the 'Obvious one' becomes successful in life.

2. It teaches you to be #humble - You cant brag your way to victory. Its a game of immense focus and concentration. Despite strong positions, overconfidence can lead to one game-changing mistake against an opponent with weak material. Such losses make you humble! In this game, a pawn stays humble; and it gets the fruit of #patience till it survives and reaches the other end to transform into a Queen.

3. Foundational starts - The game teaches you to begin in such a manner that you open up your structure in such a way that you develop your pieces and gain as much ground in front while keeping your core strong (king safe). This foundational play is essential for higher chances of success. Teaching us how its important to build from #basics and not just sprint; but do a thoughtful marathon.

4. Create Opportunities if you dont have one (You cant just wait for opponent to commit mistakes but make moves which can open the doors for you to win). In life, you are the master of your sail; you just dont wait for wind but steer to where you want to go. #Invent and think on your feet to win.

#Chess #Life

Never Ending Money!

Concept of "Never ending #Money"!

In discussions with kids of today, few interesting insights came across about money. The thing most run after in life -

1. Getting Money is very Easy.
2. And its unending!

How? When i asked kids-

1. We just have to go to ATM, insert card and get money. We can get as many times we want, Papa/Mummy does the same!😂

Another kid showing greater wisdom said...no no -

2. Even, going to ATM is also not needed. Its through UPI in mobile. Just scan the code anywhere and you can buy anything! 😅

And when asked about -
why you need so many pens at one go?
why throw the pen away if it runs out?
Why not use a refill?

The answers was -
3. What is a refill?😭
4. Order from Amazon  it will come by tomorrow!

With such definitions, I felt we need to bring in offline money and teach them value of money. One of the perils of using online money is weakening of mathematical skills. You dont need to subtract on how much money, the shopkeeper should return!!

My takeaway with small kids immersion as parent -

1. Get kids do the offline transaction at say self serve food counters where they need to order with real notes & bring back receipt and change.
2. Get them to manage a monthly budget for thier own stuff and do reconciliation at end of month.
3. Use refills and ration the pens per usage.
4. When something runs out, send them to offline shop to purchase the single pen/eraser needed to teach them value of 'physical effort' to get things.

Being part of Tech/ecommerce industry, i know its quite contrary to what we do - bringing convenience with doorstep delivery.

But kids need to understand that the delivery wale bhaiya is replacing your effort to acquire things...and they should do the same to understand life!

#insights #parenting #life #ecommerce

Fan of thumb twiddling marketing?

Are you a fan of thumbs twiddling marketing?

As a marketer, there are various tactics and strategies from marketer’ playbook to solve various funnel problems. The marketer needs to be crystal clear with what problem is he/she solving? And not get swayed by the means or solve being deployed.

In today’s world, everything can get swayed to creation of content. Content that moves the audience so much that they like, comment, share, trend your brand. Marketers keep thumping thier chests with numerous anecdotes, comments people are saying about the coolness of the brand and get into the spiral of mindless engagement.

The ad that you put out in the newspaper (a lot more cerebral in nature and yes edgy n creative), so much so that it creates conversations across marketing eco chambers and platforms start circulating ‘how this brand gone viral’ across marketing fraternity. And may be win a few awards too.

But the biggest peril of all the above is that if the consumer completely misses seeing it or worst, sees but doesn’t understand your edgy piece of content (that got so many likes and comments from junta that may be not your target audience or still sitting on the other side of fence) and hence doesn’t ring the cash registers, then you are doomed.

Then, you look back and ask where did it go wrong? The answer being in the questions of ‘who is my customer’ and ‘what barriers or fears they have for your brand stories to actually solve’. Then, you realise what you call your brand and awareness and engagement, is all not passing the smell test of classical marketing -

#Marketing is the art and science of making your product first ‘sell’ and, as early as possible or eventually at a ‘profit’!

Its easy to get swayed by shiny bling things that engagement can bring and lose the core objective of any initiative. 'we got something' doesnt work. Once, the core objective, outputs, measures are defined it is much clearer on 'why' to deploy any tool from the marketer toolkit.

Thoughts?

#digitalamarketing #contentmarketing

Building memorable Consumer Experiences - Recipe

Recipe of building a memorable #consumer experience?

Case study - Indian Weddings

Indian Weddings try thier level best to have elements which make the experience memorable for the couple in question. How?

1. Raised stakes - Its not a get together of few but a large display of strength. There is an inherent element of social display and publicity that X & Y are getting married. A procession of hundreds on the road, a dinner for thousands!

2. Heightened sensory appeal - Its about decoration, stage (revolving, jutting out, techno and what not), multi-cusine food, dance programs and more. All trying to make you remember this peak event in your life. The gather

3. Elevation for key people - For the couple, there needs to be an experience which is so heightened that it stays forever.  The groom is put on a horse in the middle of the road while bride walks amongst hundreds with a garland & leaves in a hand-driven Doli! How arbitrary these might be, but i wow at the thinking of the designer.

4. Breaking the script - An experience stays with us longer if it challenges are linear thinking and does something unexpected - be it positive or negative. The marriage is a moment of breaking the script - you no longer are solo - You walk into the house with a small ceremony with bride knocking off a vessel filled with rice. You get involved in rituals which might seem inane but add to breaking off from routine - 7 feras or games couple play after feras!

Not to say i support some of the above given a lot of these defy logic and principles of minimalism & simple living, however i see learnings on what goes into designing peaks in consumer experiences by businesses!

In the book, 'power of moments', authors Chip & Dan heath talk about a budget hotel called Magic Castle Hotel in LA which is has 3000+ reviews with people rating it as best hotel in LA. It doesnt have any of the fancy things a Four Seasons or the iconic Bel-Air offers - grand building, luxurious rooms, grand pools, landscaping and what not.

What it offered to guests staying was a surprising popsicle moment by the pool - You have a red phone called The Popsicle hotline by the pool where once ordered, you get a butler delivering colourful popsicles in a silver tray while wearing butler uniform and white gloves..as you sit by the pool. And many more such unusual experiences.

Its a great book for all #CX/UX practitioners especially for those who design a #brand story with experiences (stores, services..) vs who just measure feedback and #NPS! And thats not just #consumerexperience all about, only.

Fintech - A $10Tn opportunity in India

Which app do you open to scan a QR?

Fintech in India is flourishing with so many tailwinds-

1. Changed User behaviour - To change user, one needs to build category education, drive incentives and acquire customers to adopt the new bahaviour. This herculean task got done partially thanks to demonetization earlier and then covid. So, sight of a QR on a thela (handridden cart) is not an unusual sight anymore.
> #Digital txns now make up ~40% of all value of transactions, up by 33% in FY22 over 21.

2. Increasing Smartphones penetration - 62% penetration and increased internet usage ( 74 cr smartphones out of 118 cr phones) is clearly the enabler. Govt now is even thinking low internet BW transactions and even offline payment platform for feature phones. This is bound to go up.

3. Realised convenience - This one is killer. Given the charges and fees are nil for users and merchants at least on #UPI (which is the biggest of them - 46%), both parties are happy to use this convenience offered to them. With time stickiness will ensure that difficult things like insurance, loans etc can be availed via apps itself...obviously thats the goal for fintech companies.

#Fintech is estimated to $3Tn currently as per a recent report and supposed to more than triple to $10Tn by 2026.

However, most apps are trying to be the ONE app while for consumer its just a scan app. So we have seen incentivization, Gamification and what not.

In long run, it will be about intuitive UI/UX that can get things done in seconds for consumers. And even solve a problem of say keeping track of cashback, reversals, etc.

For merchants also is about getting one app that can help maintain a proper ledger, no delayed status confirmations, less failures etc. Frequent dialoguing, helpdesk, education on problem solving are other facets of thier experience and thus retention ...And yes, larger the merchant penetration of any app, better the chances of having a larger pie of future!

Otherwise, #consumer doesnt give a damn to which app to open and scan the QR with? Do you? Thoughts?

#CX

Book Review - The ride of a lifetime by Robert Iger

Book Review - The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger, ex CEO of The Walt Disney Company 

Great book on understanding the journey Robert (Bob) took from his early days as starting ranks in sports division of ABC entertainment to the CEO of ABC to COO of Disney and becoming one of the longest serving (15 yrs) CEO of Disney conglomerate.

He takes you through the mental models and decision frameworks that he used while a concoction of emotions of self/others tried to get the best of him; but didnt succeed. How he dealt with various crises over the years - a crocodile attack at a kid in Disney theme park to a fight with the disney family successor (during his appointment for being CEO) to a series of thrilling mergers and acquisitions (Pixar, Marvel, Fox).

The book also mentions how he treaded his way through impending change needed at Disney when world was embracing change. How he approached Steve Jobs and got Pixar acquired with intense conversations about future with the undisputable creative supremo.

A must read for #media industry folks as well as creative professionals. Top 5 gems from the thriller -

1. It talked about how he always embraced people & cultures in each acquisition without throwing away the secret sauce - from as silly a thing as how people celebrate new joinees & games they play.

2. He cited an example of a disaster on one of the main sport events that they didnt get much coverage (ABC). Next day in a boardroom full of hierarchy, when the CEO demanded who did this blunder; nobody said anything (including the heads responsible) but he raised his hand being in middle/entry level mgmt that I did it 🤚, the accountability he took, went a long way in his career.

3. In his discussions with Steve, the whiteboarding excercise that Steve did comparing pros and cons of Disney Pixar deal, brought in crystal clear clarity on why the acquisition should happen and who would benefit.

4. When Pixar animation was giving a run for Disney's money (due to superior creative talent and processes), Bob on contrary decided to think if Steve will sell Pixar to him - which was unthinkable especially with how Jobs had been critical of Disney & how expensive it could be. But bob still decided to give a shot to the impossible! Asking is very importat. No ask no get!

5. Bob always embraced change...when steve shown him his video ipod prototype, he thought that content distribution is going tp change forever and started working towards this distant future...today Disney+Hotstar is one of the leading content apps in the world!

Which book have you been reading lately and would recommend me?

#books #disney #hotstar

5 iconic brand logo/name stories I didnt know!

5 iconic brand logo/name stories I didnt know!

1. #Evernote - Why elephant in the logo?The primary work of the app is to store and remember the notes your write and it's for that reason it uses the Elephant symbol because the elephants have impressive ability to store the memory!

2. #Volkswagen - It means 'People's car' in German. There was a time when only very expensive cars used to be there on German roads. Volkswagen was a revolution.

3. #Budweiser: Named basis origin. Beer has been brewed in Budweis, Bohemia, since 1245. Budweiser means 'of Budweis'.

4. #Vodafone - This I had noted earlier…but unbelievable as to how a simple a+b+c name became a famous brand. It’s Voice + Data + Phone = Vodafone.

5. #Adidas - We all know it’s named after founder, Adolf Dassler. However, the story behind logo of 3 stripes is that they represent a mountain, pointing out towards challenges and goals people need to overcome.

Any other fascinating brand logo stories you came across? 

#brand #logo #marketing

Williams sisters & art of learning from a movie

#Inspiration from my son

Cajoled my 11 yr old son to watch this beautiful family movie - "King Richard". Will Smith obviously is a great actor (Pursuit of Happyness, Seven Pounds, ..) in my books despite his questionable actions this oscar.

However, apart from Acting, this movie (real story) about a parent's dedication to his daughters. This story of Williams sisters goes in great depths and details of how the family pulled this 'unimaginable dream' come true.

In the movie and in real life, the father has displayed some awesome qualities like great steadfastness despite difficulties (like rejecting the first multimillion deal when they were living off on coach' expenses ).

Not giving any spoilers, but in the movie Richard (father) makes family time for a screening of a movie - "Cinderella" and literally asks his daughters to share what you learnt from it - some say 'dream come true', 'attitude' etc and debates it with kids on nuances of learning.

I loved the idea, so much that i asked my son to write actionables from the movie 😎. And boy, he did write and shared with us. And some of those were much deep. Felt awesome when i read those.

Learning - "Never underestimate the power of a common..err little man!"

Here are few lines my son wrote -

1. Dont think about the result, think about the quality of your game.
2. Never be greedy of money, if you work hard it will follow you.
3. Always believe you can do better.
4. Never underestimate your opponent or fear him because of his age/rating (he plays chess).
5. If you watch something, take a learning or its a waste of time.

Its a must watch for the same reasons, the profound effect it can have on young minds of how to deal with tough times in life & stay still on the path!

#parenting #life #kids #thinkingbytes