M : Marketing Communication During Lockdown #AToZChallenge2020

Rarely, I talk about my profession on this blog, as it is my personal space. But last month has been crazy, because of the profession I am in. Working hours have increased, as communication intensity has increased multi-fold. Marketing, communication and branding decisions - content, relevance, channels, formats, mass messaging, customization, choice of stakeholders etc. etc. - are being taken based on instinct and experiences of past, while lockdown situation brings along with it not only uncertainty but totally unique and new communication problems. This has led to an iterative process, so that one can be on top of the things. Even in this situation one can't just afford to fly by the seat of one's pants. Marketing Communication is both art and science. That statement might sound like a much abused cliche, but it definitely rings true in this situation. 

The purpose of this post is to put across some thoughts for Marketers / Communicators, based on what has happened in the last one month. Here are the five thoughts which I felt, have guided my journey over this period. 

C - Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. 

O - Online CTAs (Call to Actions) 

V - Voice Of Customers

I  - Importance to all Stakeholders

D - Don't Hard Sell

1. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate - There are brands who have stopped communication altogether, especially on social media. You can't lockdown your communication, during the lockdown. And then there are brands, who are communicating as if things are normal - not addressing the current context, thus saying things which sound irrelevant or insensitive at times. It is important to communicate more as every one is anxious, locked inside their homes. Any communication which is timely and helpful adds value to the recipients of the communication. I work in financial services sector and the government has announced slew of measures that impact our customers directly. So communication has to ensure that brand is aligned with the customers and the government guidelines. This meant that we developed newer content buckets that are more relevant, more direct and more action oriented. It also meant some of the regular content buckets were stopped or modified to reflect the current times. Like our festive wishes are now focusing on "Celebrations at Home". 

2. Online CTAs (Call to Actions) - Consumers have no other option apart from going online to interact and transact with you in this situation. It is not only important to transition your physical services  / processes online at the earliest, but it is also important that your communication ensures that your customers are constantly informed about your online availability. Each piece of communication should have an online CTA. Develop  "How to"  content in form of videos, social media posts, manuals etc to ensure first time digital users find things easy. If you are missing the 'Online' bus now, you may never catch it when things are back to normal. 

3. Voice of Customers - There is no better time to show solidarity and be empathetic. Listen to the voice of your customers. They will be facing problems for which you may not have even thought of solutions yet. These customers are telling you indirectly what to do for future. Keep your communication channels open with such customers who are asking questions or complaining. Ensure your ORM (Online Reputation Management) processes are in top gear. Listen! Absorb! Respond fast! Marketing teams have to be in touch with customer care teams constantly. This has helped us modify communication proactively.

4. Importance to all Stakeholders - Consistency of messaging is key in these situations. Your employees, customers and other stakeholders are equally stressed. Your brand can't be just sensitive to one segment. We have ensured in last one month, that our brand, internal communications and digital marketing teams are sharing notes more frequently. Not only communication frequency is equally intense for all stakeholders but the core messaging also is very clear and consistent- "We are with you in these unprecedented and tough times."  The actual content might vary, but at its heart the message is the same. 

5. Don't Hard Sell - Being sensitive in this situation is important. If you have products that are essential for these times, it is great. Otherwise, be patient. If you are doing the above four things right, you would not find selling hard, post lockdown. We used to do a monthly contest on Facebook, where we would always feature our products or schemes. But this month, the contest we ran was in a totally different space. We asked customers how they are utilizing their time, and they responded in an overwhelming way. 

I am sure there are many more things that can be added to the above list. But as a marketer I like acronyms and thus produced my COVID communication mantras. What are yours? Please tell me in the comments section below. 

---

My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is Lock-down Blues. I intend to write and talk about how I deal with it, what it inspires me to read or watch or any aspect of it which fascinates me. You can read the theme reveal post here. 

Previous Challenges : Letter M

2017: MUMBHAI - 4

2018: My Son Meharaj

2019: Minorities Representation in Hindi Films / Bollywood

M : Minorities Representation in Hindi Films / Bollywood #AtoZChallenge 2019

Have you heard of Bechdel test? Wikipedia defines it like this -  "It is a measure of the representation of women in fiction. It asks whether a work features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. The requirement that the two women must be named is sometimes added. Passing or failing the test is not necessarily indicative of how well women are represented in any specific work. Rather, the test is used as an indicator for the active presence of women in the entire field of film and other fiction, and to call attention to gender inequality in fiction." 

For the purpose of this post when I was trying to find an equivalent test for minorities, this is what I came across - A simplified version by the writer Nikesh Shukla, proposed in 2013, asks if "two ethnic minorities talk to each other for more than five minutes about something other than race."

If I apply it to representation of minorities in Hindi Films or in Bollywood, I think one must add two more conditions. 

Are minorities shown only to generate few laughs at their cost? Example : Gays shown in movies only to create humor.

Are minorities shown in stereotypical roles to further the story of the film? Example: A Sikh taxi driver as the helpful guy who gives leading lady a ride in the time of trouble. He is shown as this good Samaritan always, never a hero though. 

I believe Hindi Films have largely been dishonest in representation of minorities of any kind. Whether it is religious minorities or sexual minorities. Reprehensibly they have even represented people with disabilities with the sole purpose of making fun of them or on other extreme make us pity them. 

Though film-makers in last decade have become more sensitive and are more careful about this issue, the deeply rooted biases still come out. I would be very happy if the cliches related to minorities in Hindi films are done away with for good. I have Gujarati friends, and they are not all misers. I know few Parsee people and they speak normally. I am a Sikh myself and I don't break into a Bhangra and hug people just like that. I had a gay colleague and didn't come to know about it from his body language or dressing sense. He simply told me. 

So here are scenes from two of my favorite films which represented minorities normally. These films don't try to spoof them. They don't play on the dominant stereotypes of these minorities. First is from the movie Rocket Singh Salesman of the Year. The protagonist here is a Sikh. But his religious identity had nothing to do with the plot of the film. (Watch from 1:10 to 1:54) The second is from the movie Kapoor & Sons. One of the leading protagonists is a gay and that representation is done in a matter of fact way through the film. The story won't change even if he was not a gay. 

I just hope next time when I write about this subject, more such films come to my mind. 

---

My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is Hindi Film Industry / Bollywood cliches. You can read the theme reveal post here.

2017 Challenge Post from Letter M: MUMBHAI 4 - A post about key life events in city of Mumbai. Click here to read.

2018 Challenge Post from Letter M: My Son Meharaj - A post about things my son taught me. Click here to read.

M : My Son Meharaj #AtoZchallenge

Children are fascinated by the ordinary
and can spend timeless moments
watching sunlight play with dust.
Their restlessness they learn from you.
It is you who are thinking of there
when you are here.
It is you who thinks of then
instead of now.
Stop.
Let your children become the teachers, 
and you become the student.

~ This is an extract reproduced from Chapter 26 - Become the Student, from the book The Parent's Tao Te Ching - A New Interpretation by William Martin.

***
My son Meharaj is almost 16 months old now. He runs around and keeps falling often. He smiles and laughs a lot more. He can now climb up the beds and sofas with fair dexterity. He even tries climbing the steps of the staircase with assistance. This makes him happy. He keeps blabbering Pa-Pa, Ba-Ba, and Tay-tee-eh. A limited vocabulary, but he makes us understand his needs clearly with these three words/phrases and lot of other shrill sounds. He understands things little better. Like when I put on my shoes in the morning, he knows I am going out. He expresses his wish to go out with me by raising his arms and crying at times. He understands the ringing of the door-bell and run towards the door, whenever it rings. He is extremely moody. At times, he will just be with me and ignore his mother and at other times, he gives me the cold shoulder. He has a cute way of saying no to things. He nods his head the other way in a cute manner, when he doesn't want to come to me or eat more. And he has learned to throw a tantrum when required.

When I had held him for the first time in my hands, I had experienced unbridled joy. I had written about it here. When we celebrated his first birthday, I wrote about some of our father-son rituals here. Whenever I come home after office, all my stress and worries just melt away, the moment I pick him up. This part of his childhood is precious, when he is special in his world of two people - his parents. His world would have expanded by the same time next year, as he would have started his preschool by then. He would always remain special in our world, which is him.

Pic Description: Father and Son - Hand in Hand

The extract reproduced above, is the reason for writing this post. Here are the five things, I learned from Meharaj :

1. Enjoy the mundane - As we grow up, we forget the joy of doing simple things. Meharaj feels really happy just opening and closing drawers and throwing things around.

2. Move on - Grown-ups tend to cling on to things. We feel pain even when the reason of the pain doesn't exist. Two weeks ago, when Meharaj was being extra naughty he spilled the hot green tea his mother was having. Some drops fell on his hand. He cried a lot till the time he felt pain and he was his happy self soon. He loves his mother a lot, unconditionally.

3. Be curious - We leave our sense of wonder behind as we grow up. Nothing excites us. Meharaj is curious about everything. He follows me to the toilet as well to see what I do inside. It is a task to keep him out.

4. Don't hide your emotions - We stifle our laughs and wipe off our tears to fit in. Meharaj doesn't do that. He expresses everything. He remains silent and inexpressive when his grandparents video-call him. But when I travel, and video-call him in the evenings, he performs our shared silly routine with great enthusiasm. He puts the back of his hand in his mouth and makes inexplicable sounds and expect me to do so. And I do it.

5. Take risks - We stop taking risks as we grow up. We have our comfort zones. Meharaj takes risks. He tries to climb things - tables, chairs etc. at the risk of falling. He trusts us completely to stop him from falling. At times, he falls. He cries. We comfort him. And he climbs again.

As I wrote this post, he closed my laptop once, jumped on and off my lap multiple times and ate a tiny portion of a pancake. Meharaj has a silky, dense and unruly mop of hair, which shines in the sunlight. I enjoy running my hands through it. His two front upper teeth makes his goofy laugh so adorable. I love him. 

---

My last year's challenge post from letter M was the 4th part in the series, where I write about my experiences with Mumbai. I am now in Chennai. But Mumbai will always be an integral part of my life. MUMBHAI - 4. Read it here. 

---

My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is all about writing stories, anecdotes and observations from my life in form of easy to read listicles. You can read the theme reveal post here. 

M : MUMBHAI - 4

In 2005, when I was doing my MBA and was new to life in Mumbai, I had discovered those sounds of Mumbai, that defined this city for me. I had written, MUMBHAI then. 

Then the dance bars got closed and Mumbai went under floods the same year. That triggered another thought and another post MUMBHAI - 2. 

I moved to central suburbs from western suburbs in 2007. The change of one's address in Mumbai, changes the way you live. This led to MUMBHAI - 3. As, I am currently undergoing a transition and will be moving out of Mumbai to Chennai this year, I thought of revisiting this theme and important part of my life.

---

Mumbai has given me more than I deserved. I made a life, a career and a home with my wife here. I earned few really close friends. There is so much to thank Mumbai for. For the friends it gave me, for the lessons it taught me both in good and bad times, for the man it made out of me. Mumbai doesn't hold back. It allows you to live a hedonistic lifestyle and get all material happiness if you work hard. But it pushes you down and pins you to the ground, in equal measure. Mumbai makes you live with extremities. Mumbai makes you learn to move on. Mumbai makes you learn value of the space. Your space and others'space. Mumbai can be kind, like how it came together in 2005 floods. And it can be equally ruthless, as at times it tries to kill your soul. I remember the incident, murder at 9:20, I wrote about. So Mumbai is what you want it to be for you. Mumbai is not just a city, but an alive and growing organism, which has the ability to consume you, feed on you.

I will always remember Mumbai for three key life events - 

2008: I got married in Ludhiana. I brought my wife to Mumbai, immediately after. She helped me remain steady in the chaos that this city is and stood by me when I needed her the most. I don't drive. So when we bought our first car, she was the one who was always game to take me for a drive. Some of our best moments together were those post midnight drives for an ice-cream, listening to music in our car. We explored the city together, its restaurants, its concerts and plays. If not for her, I would have just known Mumbai for its multiplexes and bars. Without her, I wouldn't have survived this city.

2014: We bought our own apartment in Mumbai. A matchbox sized one. But our own place. People say, financially it doesn't make sense. But let me tell you for some damn reason, last 3 years have been most comfortable and happiest. Your own home does that to you. Celebrating festivals have a meaning again. Buying a home in Mumbai means, that you are more privileged than many staying in slums or on streets. Gratitude is something which you can never have enough of. I know how difficult it is going to be emotionally, moving to Chennai. 

2016: We became parents. Mumbai has now a cosmic connection with us. Even if we leave Mumbai, it is always going to be my son's birth place. A city which has accepted me with open arms, and gave us our most precious gift, Meharaj. 

Sometimes, I crib about infrastructure here, the potholes and such other things. But then, this city gives you something, which no other city in India can give you. Wings to Fly.