Chica

Coffee house syndrome

2009-03-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

9: 30 am
So, it was a bright calm sunny sunday morning. I was enjoying a nice hot cuppa sitting on a bean bag staring out the window. Fur face decided to go on a hunger strike and was working up a major storm in my usually serene household. This seemed to entertain my neighbours as they decided to feed their 3 yr old son. Watching my dad run after a 12 inch high black fur ball was quite a sight, you know!
I closed my eyes to escape the noise and drifted away to the good old days where the coffee house was my true confidant. The aroma of freshly brewed cappucino on a table with a P.G. Wodehouse turned to page 176 .. Those were the days.
With time, escapism became a way of life. The coffee table melted into the darkness and the book by its side substituted with a laptop. The endless coffees
continued to flow as a presentation for the strategy class filled the screen. Life sure gets its kicks!
The sunday morning calmness somehow managed to create this unbelievable desire for a coffee and a conversation.

6 pm
So, I wound up in a small coffee house.
A latte on a tray in front of me and a black coffee on the other side.
A comfortable conversation exchanging the good ol' days stories.
A book by the side.

9: 30 pm
Coffaholic me completely satisfied. The coffee house syndrome lives on.

Manipulation!

2009-01-30T09:15:00.001-08:00

Have you ever witnessed a formal business presentation that began with a slide that said
"All characters and data presented in this presentation are fictional. Any resemblance to an existing company is purely coincidental"
Four geniuses at work behind this so-called strenuous consulting exercise. We were supposed to get first hand information from the company and we did .. from a fictional character that works in XYZ (name changed to protect the fictional!)
Here we are, stuck in a group discussion room for the past 3 hours.
Subjected to bad bad multiple dreams, one of us is sweating and walking around like its the last hour. Rest of us are listening to music and making up reasons for profits / losses.
"Presentations are supposed to be serious stuff", they say. In two years I ve learnt it all!!! Finally its the gift of the gab and "lie with confidence" that works all the time.
Oh and btw, we ended up scoring the highest without even knowing the products of XYZ!!

In search of enlightenment??!!

2009-01-27T20:53:00.000-08:00

Maybe it was the beginning of a brand new year or maybe it was landing up a job with JWT. I still cannot figure out the source of this new weird apparently good feeling of increased responsibility !!

Last week I woke up one morning and felt different. Felt like there is a larger purpose behind me doing my MBA in an extremely remote place like Harihar leaving behind all my fetish for partying, clubbing and shopping. I mean if God had a design in mind without a purpose then he is being extremely cruel to me. First he drops me in the trade capital - Dubai. Ensures that I live there happily for 8 years and then to Oman for 4 years. From there to Chennai and then to a village?!! My life graph can almost be compared with the recession now - dipping low.

In normal times, I would brush the feeling away and blame it on the forced finance classes. But, that day I started thinking and almost decided to embark on this journey to find my Life's purpose (cliche?) One of my friends (who happens to be extremely spiritual very unlike me) said I had to discipline my life first.

So here's what I did:
- Cut out on junk food
- Started swimming regularly
- Meditation (@#$%^* I know!!)
- Maintaining a log book
- Following the political junkie for extra info

Lets see how long this lasts. Wish me luck folks! If I find light at the end of the tunnel, I sure will write to you.

Branding

2008-11-21T11:28:00.000-08:00

Recently I wrote a paper for Asia Brand Summit that won the research award (a shiny trophy that resembles an Oscar except for "research award" engraved on it and a citation). Branding has been one subject that has always been close to me. Branding, Advertising, Fashion and Music. Here is an abstract of the paper.

A brand is a product that provides functional benefits plus added value that some customers value enough to buy. Ensuring brand clarity and consistency in today’s multi channel world is not only a priority but a necessity. One super power given to marketers to fight this war and win it is “brand”. To use this super power wisely, it becomes necessary to understand the brand essence well. Most of the audiences recognize and accept a product by the brand name than the ingredients. Thus, it is essential to communicate the brand to the audience without diluting its essence. Brand clarity ensures the right essence is communicated. The core brand identity must be depicted by the multi-channels used. Brand consistency is sticking to the main essence and sending out related signals. This creates a strong identity if implemented well.

In the research paper, to ensure understanding the topic it was broken into 3 parts and a summary of the discussions without the examples are listed below.

Brand clarity
In this era where all brands are indulging in line or category extensions, a lot of clarity is being lost in the process. The brand has its own personality and must stick to its individuality. A lot of other characteristics can be added on and give it a holistic view to enter into more categories. But, there have been many brands that have diluted their category and result in confusing the customer.

Brand consistency
A brand which is consistent over time and carves an identity for itself is always an asset for life. The soul of the brand should not change. It can adapt itself to this ever-changing world. This consistency is absolutely essential for a brand as this helps to deliver trust and confidence for the consumer as well as clarity of purpose and positioning. Consistency is directly related to reliability.

Multi channel world
The world has evolved into a multi channel dimension where there are different communication media used to reach the target customer. The advertising agencies of today design a communication mix that travels through various channels. The word multi channel has a multitude of elements attached to it. The world has started looking beyond the traditional TVC, print, outdoor media. The concept of viral marketing has revolutionized the process of communication. The process of delivering a single, simple, powerful message through all channels of communication is called Integrated Brand Communication.

In conclusion, the main central message to be communicated with the add-on is then framed together. Understanding the role of each channel is extremely important. The target for the channel should be laid down and appropriate messages should be communicated. Misappropriate messages passed through channels will dilute clarity. It is important for campaigns to choose the right media as a lot of bad publicity can be created in case of wrong messages passed, thus ensuring a proper integration of Brand clarity and consistency in a multi channeled world.

Lee Kuan Yew

2008-11-20T23:22:00.000-08:00

Recently in a strategy class, we were shown a video of Lee Kuan Yew interviewed by Fareed Zakaria. The picture of an 85 year old man discussing how he transformed a third world country into a business hub was overwhelming. I was in complete awe of the aggressive yet calm and firm voice. He was known for his ultimate authority and zeal for law. When asked if he regret any decision taken till now, out came the answer immediately - "No!"

A man who has a lot to offer to today's generation.

3 months to nirvana

2008-11-20T01:04:00.000-08:00

3 months to nirvana ... the idea of a perfect life is just around the corner. As the world crashes down with economic strain, I land up with the perfect job in the perfect place. As the lecture on strategy goes on, I find my pencil moving across a white sheet of paper to form the picture of a perfect room. I can see my laptop, guitar, speakers and my coffee mug highlighted (bare essentials in life). And then ... I dozed off to complete the mental picture with the perfect dream!!

It is 1: 30 am and I was just rudely woken up by two groups screaming in a mock bid session to acquire companies. Hell!! Now that sleep was impossible, I might as well pen down things I want to do before leaving this place..

1. Lose weight (atleast try)
2. Read all books on advertising and marketing in the library
3. Try and stay awake in classes (derive some ROI for the money spent)
4. Blog everyday

Apparently the bidding session's over as people are congratulating themselves for buying a fictitious company in this fictitious world!

Paradox

2008-11-19T00:59:00.000-08:00

"Leadership needs self motivation. It has to come from within. It is the force that is present within you, the drive to push forward and the ability to connect with people. It has to come from inside ... the realisation, the want and the desire to do something big in life " they say

And yet, leadership and personality development seminars where "professionals" in the field try and "revive the dead motivation from within" are the biggest hit in world today!!!!
... Where are we headed???

Humour

2008-05-15T21:06:00.001-07:00

I have this weird habit that not many people know about. Its my defense mechanism. I tend to appear hard headed and even the most tragically affected events do not get to me. That is, on the outside. Inside, I become a child crying over a lost puppy.
The hard headed nature of mine comes with an uncanny ability to make fun of everything so that even the most traumatic of events can be changed into something funny. Take my knight for an example. The same knight with the shining armour who was supposed to take me along with him on his ride around the world accidently forgot to take me. When he left, (after crying over it for around 100 days) I managed to visualise the horse turn into an ass and him into an elf. Though the elf (especially the height) has no resemblance whatsoever to my knight, its MY imagination and I am allowed to conjure up anything and stretch my creativity to no limits.
This worked. The tears were gone. I laughed.
In life till now, this has always worked except just once. Picture this.. Standing in the middle of a hallway, I got into a huge heated argument with a guy. The argument turned into a big fight and I was very close to landing some punches. Then, my sense of humour took over and imagined us going on a date!!! I couldnt control myself and laughed out loud while the guy started crying..
To calm him down, I actually had to go on a date with him and pay for dinner as well.

What will you do?

2008-05-15T03:23:00.000-07:00

When all your energies are focussed on one point
When all your routine revolves around that point
When all your love is fed to that point
When all your tears are reserved for that point
When you come this close to opening up your darkest secrets to that point
When your laughter ignores all and reaches only that point
When you decide to live for that point
When you become dependent on that point
What will you do if the point fades away?

Change

2008-04-24T04:19:00.000-07:00

Change is constant they say. But they never said anything about how quick changes can arise. Trust no one for it can be fatal.

Confused

2008-02-23T07:16:00.000-08:00

People think I do too many things at a time. And I screw up. I fight it all but there s this little extremely small almost negligible part of me that believes it. Confusion is probably what I thrive on.
There was a time in my life way back in high school where I wanted to do engineering. All people who know me well would be laughin so hard now. Hey its ok to aim high but the problem was that my bow was pointed at the wrong direction. The opposite happened. My math teachers were the happiest when my name was bold and visible under commerce. I was the worst math student in the country, maybe in most countries.
Completed a 3 yr bachelor in Business Administration degree thinking Human Resources would be the best field for me. You see .. I possess the ultimate gift of the gab. Completed two internships in HR as well ( Siemens International & Sasken communications). Probably the lightining struck my head toward the end when (God forbid) I took the deadly decision of stepping into Finance.
Joined MBA and the magic happened. Realised Finance is not me & discovered Marketing & Advertising as career options that soon became favourites. Getting through JWT for the summers is probably the best thing ever. Here is one area where I can use my gift of the gab & so-called creativity in the right direction. My guy, who's also in this field & can beat me hands down at it (don't get too happy, I ll beat you someday) has been trying to get me to learn photoshop forever.
So when I do, I ll beat the crap outta everybody around me !!!

Life .. customised

2008-02-21T21:39:00.000-08:00

"Everyday that I ve spent in this world till now has been a dream. Its been beautiful, tough & scary. " Thats one of the most cliche lines I ve ever heard. Makes me sound like a melodramatic queen who s found her knight in shining armour and fought with the world for love.... and to think Im beginning my blog with that. My knight is far away who s probably at work now racing to meet deadlines. The shining armour would be a black jacket that he wears and the horse is substituted by his pulsar ( i like the pulsar way better than the horse).
Born on 2nd Jan 1987, missed being New Year's baby by precisely 7hrs 27 min. Migrated like the rest of our kind to the gulf at the age of 4. Was proclaimed a typical "gulfy" ... a can of soft drink in one hand .. attired in a grubby t shirt n jeans .. chanting the mantra of our lives ( hip hop in case you didnt know). Learnt a lot ... what not to do and what never to do in life. Came back to India at 16 and got lost completely.
3 years in Chennai and now in Karnataka working hard for an MBA. Extremely hard. Im sitting in an Information system lecture now posting random thoughts on my blog. The guy next to me is checking out pics of " hot bollywood women". So called misuse of wi-fi and so called hard work.
MBA is tough they say.. Yup it is when you are "the one" for all. The concept of "the one" is pretty simple to understand. When groups for evey project / presentation is declared, everybody hunt for "the one" 's name and match that group with theirs. If its the same then the work will get done. Unfortunately I am "the one".
So back to me being me .. A typical girl otherwise -
1) been trying to lose weight forever.
2) aiming at owning this world soon.
3) frantically hoping and praying my knight in shining armour doesnt ride his equally shining horse away in the opposite direction.

Weird things about me -
1) I detest gossip.
2) I hate wasting time.
3) I hate academia ( girls usually love A+'s)

Done with the random musings for now. The lecture s over and we are finally about to enter the freedom zone where I can go to my room and catch up on some lost zzzzzzzz.

Peace