Unlike some happy individuals who spend their spare time watching movies on DVD, I am one of those unfortunate individuals who spends his time watching collections of television commercials!  That's my way of keeping up with what's happening in the world of television advertising.   Before you classify me as a weirdo let me quickly try and explain.   Today with the plethora of TV commercials and the bewildering array of channels that one is subjected to, it is difficult to see all the commercials that come on air given the fact that I watch only ESPN and Star Sports!  And while I was watching commercial after commercial for cooking oils, fairness creams, insurance policies, malted beverages, mineral water (!) and what have you, I was struck by the bevy of celebrities, the variety in executional styles and the attempts to stand out.  And yet I must confess that I was a bit disappointed to see so few "insights" on evidence.  So what exactly is an insight?  At the risk of carrying coal to Newcastle, let me quote this definition which if you will forgive the pun is quite insightful "An insight is a fresh and unexpected perspective.   "It gets the following reaction from those involved".  "Wow, yes, you're right".   I'd never thought of it like that before, but you're absolutely right.   You really understand what's going on here" - Collin Bates.  And Phil Dusenberry, former Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of BBDO, North America speaks of the relevance of insights in the advertising business "good research demands brilliant analysis, which inspires blazing insights that lead to ground breaking strategies and award winning executions".

I want to retire

This isn't about me, so I am not launching into details as to when I was born, where I went to school, etc for you to figure out my age.   But I still need to tell you that I have quite a few friends who are in their mid forties and early fifties who are tired of work, their careers and (possibly) their spouses.   I want to retire they say.   They talk about teaching (spare a thought for the poor students), giving back to society.   And yet what holds them back from doing this?  It's always the money not the principle!   We need Rs.2 crores they say.   And what is perhaps not said is that they have children who are in medical school or management school.   They are trapped in a life that is becoming increasingly tedious.    You can call it mid-career crisis or a yearning for the unattainable, but it is just there at the tip.   And it is just this that ICICI Prudential captures in its commercials that shows a relatively young person working on his laptop, even as he dreams of retirement.   The pictures are warm and intimate and holding it all together is the tag line that says, "Retire from work, not from life".    And I can hear a number of my middle aged friends saying, "Hey it's me they are talking to".   And that's really what an insight does.   It touches you.  And that is the sort of intimacy that builds brands and businesses.

Riding on self-respect

The one thing that middle class Indians want to do is to be economically independent, even after retirement.  Quite likely that this is a global phenomenon as well.   They want to live with their children, pamper their grand children and yet be financially self sufficient.   There is this really insightful commercial for HDFC Standard Life which rides on this very thought.  A grandchild pesters his "dadaji" for a really snazzy bicycle.  By all appearances it seems an expensive cycle and the considerate son tries to give his father money to help pay for the cycle, lest their little boy feel bad.    The grandfather calls out to the little boy who is already cycling triumphantly in the new cycle that his economically self sufficient grandparent has got him.   The old man refuses to accept the money that his son gives him saying that if his son insists that he take the money, he will feel bad.   And at the heart of this confidence is the security that insuring with HDFC provides.  Another powerful insight that many people who know they have to retire in the near future will be able to relate to.  Does your commercial, done at great cost, inspire a similar reaction amongst your target audience?  Think about it.

Daddy can't push the right bottons!

You are reading a column written by a "technophobe".  I am what can be called a "pencil and paper type" in a world full of laser thin gizmos!  And yet I am not alone.   There are lots of people like me who suffer from this same malady.   But we do have a lifeline.  Our children!  They, irrespective of their age, have taken to technology as ducks might take to water.  And they bail us out often enough.  Like the father in the R-World commercial who is desperate to know the cricket score.  He drags his reluctant son out of class.   And the exasperated kid says "just press the button" to the father who is as delighted at his son's technological prowess as he is by Dhoni's six!  Just look around you and see how many people above 35 can download ring tones on to their mobile or customize them for callers or create wall paper even though they possess sophisticated mobile phones, most of whose functions are largely untapped.   This is the target audience.  They may have the tools of technology and productivity at their finger tips but don't know what to do with them.  And that's the insight that comes from observation.  Observation of human behaviour.  Observation of what you and I do integrated with what the product offers by way of a consumer benefit and you have a commercial that wins hearts and increases market share.

It's not number crunching

Very often we seek refuge under mountains of data and reams of computer print outs.   It is advertising we are talking about.   And ultimately an audience of one.  And as it is often said, "The human rule is more important than a slide rule even when selling a slide rule".

The way to strike a chord is to observe the customer.  At her home, at her outlet, as she is using our product.  To ask her what her problem is.  In every problem lies an opportunity.  And that opportunity can be discovered by observation.   BBDO discovered through observation that young women in the UK were worried about how they looked.  And the anti-smoking campaign that hit the vanity of the young English smoker and created a campaign that said they would end up looking less attractive if they smoked.  And this did not require elaborate research.  It needed young people to talk to other young people in restaurants and cafes to understand their fears.

My advice to brand managers and agency executives is simple.   Just show up.  At the focus group discussions and at the retail outlets.   Not at the pub unless you are selling beer!  Get a feel of the consumer.    Understand what makes her tick.  Empathize with her problems and fears.  Think, live and breathe your brand through the consumer's eyes.  And sooner rather than later you will have a consumer insight that is relevant to your category and that will make a difference to your brand.  And then you can safely retire from work! 

Ramanujam Sridhar is CEO brand-comm, which offers public relations advertising and brand consulting.   Feedback can be mailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Issue BG72 Mar07

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