Expect a lot of sound and fury
As the election campaigns roll out, who do you think has it right so far?
Rohit, ouch! This is a terrain I work in closely. I will, however, not be politically correct, in my usual way. Gets me into trouble at times, but never mind.
Let’s start with the Congress. It has done well. It has the benefit of being in government. And so, the first few pieces of advertising are about all the development India has seen. There is the Bharat Nirman campaign that tells you how well India has done in ten years - the ATM revolution, brand new airports in the smallest of towns, good roads, flyovers, the works. Then there is advertising for all the government schemes, led by the Rajiv Awas Yojana. These are all creatives that are reasonably rustic in execution (they must be rustic so as not to look like advertising for a face cream) and very high media exposure.
And then finally comes the Congress Party blast, with its message of ‘Us versus I’. The campaign is pitted totally in the face against the tone, tenor and educible of Narendra Modi. A resolute-looking Rahul Gandhi staring at you from everywhere. The Congress has surely got its advertising act right in terms of dominating the various media there are to dominate.
But then, domination is not enough. In comes the BJP campaign (which has really not begun as yet). There is a little bit of Gujarat. There is a little bit about the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel statue, and then there is, of course, local activation in terms of the Chai Pe Charcha campaign. Add to it what is yet to come. There is bound to be a blitz that hopes to deepen the lack of governance of the ruling party. Expect a fair bit on corruption and mismanagement to be highlighted all the while. Expect all of it to be in the face. Expect the campaign to focus on deepening the anti-incumbency feel of the party in power.
The Third Front will not do as much as it should, and its campaign is bound to fall between the two stools of what the Congress and the BJP. The excitement will come in from the AAP for sure, with its jhaadu staring at you menacingly all over. In short, expect a lot of fun. And a lot of expenditure. The advertising pie is slated to swell by as much as 17 per cent this year and expect at least 5 per cent of that to have come from pre-election advertising.
What’s your prognosis on the next new big thing on the Internet? The next big website that will bring a killer solution?
New Delhi
Raji, prognosis? Internet?
If I were to be good at that, I would be a rich man, a very rich man.
Anyway, let me attempt what I see to be the next new rage in terms of a need being fulfilled. Take a look at Numbby. Numbby is to numbers what Wikipedia is to knowledge that is more broad-spectrum and just about everything. Wikipedia is about people like you and I updating it, and so is Numbby.
The idea is a simple one. Numbers are important. Numbers are fun. Numbers help us define quantitatively, anything we want to define. Numbers add perspective. Numbers are relative and what’s more, numbers are comparable. In short, numbers are fun and useful as well. So there you have the concept of Numbby.
I do believe if handled well, this is a concept site that will do well. It needs to focus on brevity, though, and not get carried away. It needs to have a bit of the solid and a bit of the irreverent as well. It is important not to get carried away by the anecdotal. Every number sure has a story to tell, but we must remember that numbers are meant to be solid as well. I do believe Numbby has the ability to become the next new Wikipedia for sure. Let’s wait and watch how it rolls out.