Sharing: The Travesty of Somalia

Hi everyone,


Hope you guys are doing well. Recently, I was moved after reading an article on the social issue of Somalia and I have written about it on my 'Travesty' blog.


However, would like to share the same here; lest some of you miss out on it. The subject is that of Somalia, one that I feel strongly and compassionately about. You can read it here.


Would love to know your thoughts. And oh, spread the word; it's the least we can do.


~Abhimanyu

Eulogy- Shri Rameshwar Prasad Sharma; 1928- Aug 29, 2011

My Babaji was an extraordinary man.

He was born to parents with humble resources in a village in U.P. and lost his father when he was still a child. He, along with his elder brother, was raised by his mother; who stitched clothes in the village to make a livelihood. The family had some agricultural land in the village and he learned to be a farmer and a man at a very young age.

My pardadi had the good sense to get her sons educated at a time when India was still not free and secondary educated was rare, especially in small villages in U.P.; where no one knew any other way to be except agriculture. At the age of 20, Babaji was married to my Dadi and soon after they moved to Delhi where they created a new world of their own, at a time when the country had just found freedom and things were still falling in place one piece at a time. My grandparents had five children; two sons & three daughters; out of whom my father was the second eldest child and the eldest son.  The first decade after my grandparents’ marriage was the toughest for them. Their children were growing up together and the responsibility of their education as well as upbringing in a city like Delhi was a big challenge in those days when skilled employment was still an uncommon concept. Their first few years in Delhi saw the family moving from one small house to another with both of them doing any odd job they found. If there ever were two people who personified perseverance, then it is my grandparents. They loved each other and their family and never let the tough times come between themselves & their happiness.

;

Eternal love: Dadji-Babaji at their 60th Anniversary; July'08

Their perseverance paid off and Babaji managed to secure a job in Delhi Cloth Mill (DCM) where he worked till his retirement, while Dadiji who holds an M.A. in Hindi (a degree she earned after marriage and birth of 2 children) joined the DCM elementary school as a teacher.  Over the next two decades, while the going was still tough; they had a place to live (DCM gave staff quarters to all employees above grade II) and food on the table, while the children had education and clothes and it was all they ever asked for from God. Today, out of their five children, the eldest & third daughters (my Buas) are secondary school teachers in top schools and the youngest daughter is a Doctor, holding the position of Director Professor in one of the top Govt. hospitals in Delhi. Out of their two sons, my uncle; the youngest, is an advocate in the Delhi High Court, while the elder, my father;  was an Assistant General Manager with the India Today group before he passed away. It would be fair to say that my Babaji was a great father who despite his limitations, ensured his children went on to become highly successful people with comfortable lives; even if it meant he spent most of his adult life toiling to pave their way. I know he didn’t mind it one bit.

As for my personal relationship with him; I don’t even know where to begin. I would like to think I was his favorite grandchild. He adored me, and doted on me just a little more than the others. However, even I didn’t realize the extent of his love till my father passed away about 12 years ago while I was still in School. Shortly after this, my mother had a nervous breakdown due to the shock and while she recovered gradually, she wasn’t able to return to her job. At that time, Babaji was retired and had gone back to our village in U.P. to pursue agriculture as a part time activity to keep him busy and also stay financially independent. He took the responsibility of me & my sister completely upon himself and along with my Dadi, they both took the role of our parents. While Dadi took care of the house, Babaji made sure we not only completed our school education and went on to college without any hitch, but also got the other things that a teenager or adolescent (as was the case with my sister) needs as part of the growing up process. He had a modest income from land but he made up for it by never giving a thought to what he ate or the clothes he wore; as long as we were well fed and well dressed.

Even more importantly, he was there for us as a pillar of strength at all times. Never did I feel daunted by any problem because I knew Babaji was by my side to face it, and times, ahead of me, to shield me from it. He was also our philosopher & guide and he would constantly remind to us the importance of being responsible individuals and staying away from vice.

The most incredible part of it is that through all this, never for a moment did he cease to smile! He was without a doubt the happiest and most joyful person I have ever known. He always had a joke to share and a smile to give. He was easily satisfied, content and thankful to God for what he had. He was loved, respected and adored by all his children and all of his 10 grandchildren and that alone meant the world to him. Their happiness meant the world to him. All of his family getting together, under one roof, just being happy in each others' company was the biggest festivity for him and he made sure it happened often. Family or not, everyone who came to him got only affection and they always went away with a smile.

With all the grandkids & one great grandkid

Today, he is not among us, but before he left, he saw to it that his favorite grandson became a self reliant & responsible man; to take care of the family he is leaving behind.  And yet, while that may seem to be the truth and while we may be blessed with all amenities & comforts that life requires; I don’t know what I would do without him. I don’t know what we would do without him. I just can’t imagine going on without that smile, without that laugh, without those hilarious words he mispronounced with so much confidence. We’ve all lost a very important part of our lives; for some, a father; for others, a grandfather; for my Dadi, her life partner of over 60 years and yet, I feel I have lost various people at once, because for me, Babaji wasn’t only my grandfather; he was my friend, he was my father and he was my hero.

If in 50 years from now, if I can look back and say I have been even half the man he was, then I’d consider myself to have had a successful life.

My Babaji was an extraordinary man. And I will always miss him.

Advertising by Don Draper

I read this somewhere and HAD to post about it (since I'm in advertising and all, get it?). This is a quote by Don Draper, who you should know if you are interested in advertising, or in television. To not know Don Draper is like to not know Harry Potter, except that the last Harry Potter movie is out (which by the way was totally awesome, no matter what anyone says. Remember haters gonna hate), and there will be no more from the boy who lived; but Don Draper will continue to be the most influential man in the universe.

Anywho this is the quote-

"Advertising is based on one thing- happiness. And you know what happiness is? It's the smell of a new car. It's the freedom from fear. It's a billboard on the side of the road that screams reassurance that whatever you're doing is okay. You're okay."

To know more about Don Draper click here

Alright, that's it for this time then. Yeah, for real!

Remember, you're okay kid! 

5 things that totally rule about working in the digital media industry

Hey everyone! Today is a slightly lighter day and I haven't posted in a while. Plus, we are recruiting and I hope anyone who reads this will promptly send an application to Until ROI. So here goes. A list of 5 things awesome when it comes to working in the digital media space-

#5. No specialized academic qualifications required (yet).

This one's likely to change soon with a lot of professional institutes adding digital marketing courses & certificate programs. It's only a matter of time before B-schools make it a major option in an MBA and Universities introduce BDM degrees. However, till that happens; as long as you are well spoken, smart, tech inclined or creative and willing to learn, there is no limit to the success you can have in this field; especially if you are willing to enter at a beginner to middle management level.

#4. The future, is here.

Not gonna harp on this one too much. We all know this consciously, or subconsciously. Digital Media is consuming more & more time of each one of us with every passing day. Whether its computers, mobile phones, tablets or gaming consoles. We are always connected. So logically, all the good stuff that goes down will be channeled to these mediums as well and this and is already happening in a bigger way than some of us even realize!

#3. Helps you learn about conventional advertising.

A LOT of people; including advertising professionals still see digital and conventional advertising as two different things, and to be honest these people are right. However, to say these two things aren't related and still hoping to excel in either of these fields would be like blindfolding yourself and trying to conduct a recital. Again; and I'm gonna quote the legendary Paolo Rueggeri here (extra points to whoever gets that reference)- To cut a long story short, digital media is the younger, urban and ultra hip sister of conventional media and will do things that her elder sibling won't However, they still have the same parents and if you work in digital, there are concepts about design, idea based promotions, creatives, account management, campaigns, buying media, publishing etc which you are bound to learn and which work almost identically in ATL (the difference being the media). So, to everyone in the industry, my advice is that you need to open up to this reality (and benefit from it), because Beethoven, sir, you are not.

#2. The only way for us, is up

Related to #4, but not the same thing. The digital industry is second only the development sector when it comes to the unexplored potential and astronomical projections. So it's logical that with growth of business will come growth of employment opportunity & career prospects. We are right now in what one may refer to as the 'boom period' for this industry and like similar booms for other industries in recent past, namely IT & BPO, this is likely to plateau out eventually as well. However, looking at the staggeringly low share for digital out of the overall marketing spends worldwide (from what I hear the number is 7%), it will be years before that flatline hits.

#1. You can openly blog at work!

AND claim it as part of your job. Ha!

Well, that's about all for now dudes. Hopefully, the next post from me won't be so spaced out from the previous one.

Hey, by the way, Wasn't there a time, people used 'Spaced out' as an expression for tired, lost etc? Hmm.. I will chew on that as a possible topic for next post (or not).

Okay gotta run before random nonsense ensues! Bye for now!

Brand Building & Her Six 'Super Friends'.

Hi everyone, it has been a long time, hasn't it? Well, what was that bit by Peter Parker about Great power & great responsibility? Well, looks like he did not what he was talking about after all, hey?

Anyway, now that we're here. Let me not any more time dilly-dallying. The reason I write this post today is a question I came across on LinkedIn, which many of in this industry have long tried to answer; especially those who have seen both sides of the advertising fence- Mainstream and Digital. The question was posted by Vivek Bhargava, who is the MD at Communicate2- a Digital consultancy firm in Mumbai. Vivek asked,  

"Does brand building through Digital Marketing need to be radically different vis-à-vis Conventional Media ?"

The moment I saw it, I just knew that I HAD to bite, because this is a question which I've myself spent days & months trying to answer and have finally reached the stage where I feel I've come up with a credible & useful answer. Here is my take on it-

I find this question so elementary and yet somehow so complex. We never know how to handle this one, do we? Well, my answer to it is that this is so subjective a matter that you can never put a label on it.

What I'm trying to say is based on my own personal philosophy on advertising; which I like to call "Brand building & it's six super friends". It goes something like this-

An ad campaign, whether digital or mainline, must always have three basic things:

a) Brand USP,

b) Brand EQ and;

c) A concept which again I have coined, something called WIIFY; meaning 'What's In It For you?' (I have borrowed this from the WIIFM concept).

Then, there are 3 supplements to these primaries, which are:

d) Novelty,

e) Creativity and;

f) TG specific 'hooks'.

One thing that people often get too lost in, is the popularity of the brand(s) in question and their strategies are often affected by this. However, I firmly believe that at the end of the day; a bran- big or small, needs to answer to those 6 factors in any campaign; irrespective of the media. If it does that effectively through the same campaign in mainline & digital, then great! For example, Pepsi 'Change the Game' campaign which worked great on all mediums. However, if the online audience differs largely from the ATL audience, then two separate campaigns are the need of the hour.

So yeah, that was it guys; my 'Six Super Friends of Brand Building' which from personal experience, I think work pretty well and get a brand the desired results. Also, there were a bunch of other very interesting answers to this question by various well placed & experienced professionals which you can read if you want at the same LinkedIn thread.

I will try to make the next blog post less separated from this one as this was from the previous one (what is with me and complicated sentences?).. Umm anyway, till next time, this is me saying goodbye!

Stay awesome!