Is digital marketing over rated?

Digital marketing is one of the hottest topics these days.  Every management school in India is running after digital marketing professionals for either value added courses or for specific workshops. The problem starts when the students who train themselves for digital marketing start looking for jobs. The students get a shock by the offers they get. The salary range for fresh digital marketing professionals has been 15k to 20k, more only if the students are lucky. This comes as surprise not only to the students but also the institutions who have trained them. Here I am talking specifically of the MBA institutes. The deans and the directors have not been very conversant with the digital marketing industry. So they are surprised by the level of offers to their students. Suddenly the rosy picture of digital marketing will start looking grim. The reason I have made this clarification for the institutions is that there are one more sets of institutions in the market. These are specifically digital marketing institutes or coaching classes. These are high-flying institutes with really high-flying fees. At times these digital marketing institutions are charging more fees than the mainstream postgraduate management institutions. This is the twist which really makes this mystery deep. One wonders if the jobs in digital marketing are so low paid why are people paying such high fee.  I will try to answer these questions.

First one must understand digital marketing is an upcoming area. It is still not the mainstream media. Major revenues are still going in the traditional media such as TV, newspaper etc. Because of this reason the digital media industry is in trial and error mode. The good thing with this is that even with a little spend at times industry finds really fascinating results. But the problem is that everyone has not got the same results few of the brands were still skeptical about the performance. This also reflected when they were recruiting digital media professionals, and the problem deepens if the person is fresher. Looking at this the obvious strategy is to have a long-term view. The digital media professional has to be very clear that he has to prove him or herself. One more thing one must remember; Digital marketing should not only be learned by people who want to be in this area. Digital marketing is for everyone. Every professional will have to have expertise in this. So my clear advise to all the students is not to overlook digital marketing and they should go for it.

Meeting while walking

The latest talk of the town in the corporate world these days is meeting while walking. I was surprised to read this as this was not something new. One of my bosses uses to take me for a walk in the busy street of Gurgaon after lunch to discuss official issues. I too use to enjoy and liked the idea as this use to be very informal discussion and was an opportunity to get close to him. A lot of times we had really had very good outcomes of these discussions and few of the best plans came out of these discussions. What surprised me was the seriousness of this and really how few of very senior executives have used this. The path-breaking idea was to give this a formal format and inviting outsiders (like your clients and vendors) for these meetings. Going out for a coffee, lunch, drink or for that matter ‘smoke’ has been common. Only lunch (or breakfast, dinner) meetings have been formal in these formats. So what was new was a formal meeting while walking where the objective was the meeting itself. As in my case, my meetings with my boss were part of his afternoon walks after lunch it was not that we went out for a meeting and walk was part of it. It was a walk where the meeting was part of it.

Few things that should be kept in mind for these meetings –

Planning – one must plan in bit detail for these meetings or else these meetings will become an informal chitchat and your clients or meeting partners will start avoiding them. The outcomes of meetings should be effective. This will only come when proper planning is done for these meetings. It should be kept in mind that all meetings will not be suitable for a walking meeting. To be on the safer side for the first few meetings is to keep the agenda of the meeting that needs creative outcome. There should not be a long list of agenda for the meetings for sure.

Execution – the most important part of execution; is the place where you are walking. How long is the walk? And who has made the route? So pick the walking route very wisely. It should not be the bosses’ decision for the place of the walk. Obviously, the place has to be open and ‘walk-able’. Decide a route in advance select few interesting places where others want to go for a walk. It is strongly advised to avoid surprises to others so everyone is papered for it as few may need to change shoes or clothes. Now the most important part of this; select a team size. It is usually 2 to 3 but what is more important is where you are walking and how busy that place is.

Outcome - One most important issue is to keep the record of minutes of the meeting. The purpose of the meeting will be lost if the discussion is not documented as in creative discussions or brainstorming sessions one tend to come out with various ideas and only a few of them are workable. So it is very important to keep a record of it. Use of technology is recommended rather than using a notepad. Discussion can be recorded or voice notes can be taken on a handheld device or simply your mobile phones.

Hope this helps in planning your next walking meeting.

Happy waking! :)

Paris attacks: World need to wake-up.

The unfortunate attack on Paris on Friday 13 November 2015 that killed over 129 people in Paris should act as an alarm to wake up for western nations as it is very clear now that no western nation can claim immunity from so called ‘Islamic state’. It seems western nations are not aware of their vulnerability. Paris Friday attack was very similar to what happened in Mumbai on November 26, 2008 when 10 heavily armed Pakistani Islamic militants attacked public places and killed. France or for that matter any western nation had not imagined that this can happen with them too. It seems Western nations are also not aware of their own vulnerability to an ideology that has led to the recruitment of their own people to be used for these terror attack. These attacks are not standalone incidences of terror but well coordinated and planned acts of terror executed in a very professional manner.

 At this point what appears is that world community be it a Muslim and non-Muslim country has no answer on how to deal with this ‘Islamic state’. There seems to be no solutions with western nations except airstrikes. They do not want to sacrifice military lives to stop ‘Islamic state’ and not willing to commit ground troops. They only have plans that have obviously failed in the past and will fail in the future.    

The obvious objective of ‘Islamic state’ is to isolate Muslims in their own countries and let the countries vulnerable to terrorist attacks increase internal security. That will result into militarization of the society where police spy their own people arrest and detain individuals without probable cause. This will make people feel unsafe - be it a Muslim or a non Muslim. France will cease to be France to prevent these attacks. If this is the road any nation takes to fight ‘Islamic state’ they will for sure handover another victory to this so called ‘Islamic state’. These terrorist have again proven that they have the power to give a blow to these nations and bend nations to their will.

It is also very clear that Muslims are not only the victims they too need take efforts and clean their own house. But this cannot be done by isolating Muslims. Muslims and non-Muslims need each other in this swelling war. Muslims need to actively educate their youth and this is needed not only in western countries but also in Muslim countries, Asian and African countries. There is an urgent need to stop ‘Islamic state’ create a new generation of militants. The western countries just cannot afford to have a very aggressive approach by having very strict border control, very heavy airport security, heavily armed police and a very strong spy network. This will only create a illusion of safety. Especially in the United States where firearms are easily accessible. Involving Muslims at the local level and involving Muslim countries. Political reforms, reduction of poverty, education are few urgent needs of many Arab nations. This problem also needs military force and the potential for loss of life at the ground by western nations. One generation of arab nations already blame western nations for their own failures but we must not lose hope in the next generation.

Nestlé's Maggi noodles - What went Wrong?

Nestlé's Maggi noodles is in a soup in India. This is one of the flagship Brand of Nestle in India. India is the largest consumer of Maggi noodles across all Nestle operations in the world. Maggi is an international brand of instant soups, ketchups, instant noodles etc. It is owned by Nestlé since 1947 (the original company was founded in Switzerland in 1872 by Julius Maggi)

No one including Carlo Donati who was the person who brought the instant noodle brand to India during his short stint in the early 1980s would have thought this quagmire for Nestlé's Maggi noodles in India.

Nestlé India Ltd is the leader with a 63% market value share. Its Maggi brand was the most entrenched instant noodle brand in India in 2014. This is mainly because of its widespread distribution network and consumer loyalty towards it for being a pioneer in the noodle category in India.

What is the controversy around Maggi? What have tests shown?

A officer of the UP Food Safety and Drug Administration based in Barabanki ordered tests on a dozen samples of Nestle’s Maggi instant noodles at the state laboratory in Gorakhpur, and repeat tests at the Central Food Laboratory in Kolkata, a referral lab.

The Gorakhpur lab tested for monosodium glutamate (MSG) to check Nestle’s claim that Maggi had none. Both tests found MSG; in addition, the Kolkata lab found “very high quantities” of lead — 17.2 parts per million — according to UP authorities.

What went wrong?

How can such a strong brand/ product can come down so fast? Will things revive for maggi? What struck maggi? A very small issue in a remote place snowballed. One thing is for sure that Nestle cannot deny the fact that there was nothing wrong in the product. In fact the company has come up with an statement that their product is safe for the consumption.

Nestle India said it has got tested samples of the noodle brand in an external laboratory as well as in-house and the product has been found "safe to eat" with lead levels within the permissible levels for consumption.

Nestle India said on May 21, “We do not add MSG to our Maggi noodles sold in India and this is stated on the concerned product. However, we use hydrolysed groundnut protein, onion powder and wheat flour to make Maggi noodles sold in India, which all contain glutamate. We believe that the authorities’ tests may have detected glutamate, which occurs naturally in many foods.”

Even if we believe what Nestle is calming; a very important question here is - Is it not responsibility of Nestle, who should have conducted the test and should have checked for MSG. It is Nestlé’s responsibility to check of MSG even if it is coming from Natural sources. Major target customers for maggi are children so they should have kept the food safety a priority for their product.

As far as lead is concerned, Nestle India has also said it “regularly monitors” for lead, including testing by accredited laboratories. On June 1, the company said it had submitted samples from almost 600 product batches to an “external laboratory” for an “independent analysis”, but did not identify the lab. It also said it had conducted in-house tests on 1,000 samples at its accredited laboratory. “These samples represent around 125 million packets. All the results of these internal and external tests show that lead levels are well within the limits specified by food regulations and that Maggi noodles are safe to eat. We are sharing these results with the authorities,” Nestle said.

Reports in news are coming where more than one sample have failed for lead testing. The question here is how these labs can give wrong results? There has to be something wrong. How can results be so different when it comes to government labs and Nestlé’s in house and accredited laboratories?

The issue of health is not new to nestle for maggi. They changed their marketing strategy few years back very sucessfuly when they realized that health is now a very important concern for Indian consumers. Nestle just at the right time, came up with the campaign “Taste Bhi-Health Bhi”. This was a very successful campaign and they proved that “marketing does matter”.

It seems Nestle had missed a very basic principal that just advertising campaigns are not sufficient. If the company talks about the health, it should actually be reflected in the product as well.

Lets  look at few facts –

Its Interesting to look at Nestle’s Annual report

https://www.nestle.in/investors/stockandfinancials/documents/nestle-india-annual-report-2014.pdf

It reflects Maggi as its one of the most powerful brands in India. Few of Nestle’s marketing achievement on Maggi are –

MAGGI amongst the Top 5 in Brand Equity’s ‘Most Trusted Brands’ 2014

MAGGI adjudged the Most Powerful Brand in India by WPP Milward Brown (2014)

What Nestlé’s Annual report says is (some parts of massage by the chairman and the managing director)

India is severely impacted by malnutrition. While on the one hand, inability to access or afford nutritious food is causing under-nutrition and related disorders, it is also forecasted that economic growth and related lifestyles changes will lead to over-nutrition related disorders such as obesity, and further aggravate the double burden of nutrition.

..

‘Good Food, Good Life’ is our mission and we are constantly researching and observing the role that food plays in the lives of consumers across the income pyramid. We are focused on understanding the changing lifestyles, evolving needs, and dietary preferences of consumers and rely on Nestlé’s extensive global R&D network and expertise in science based nutrition to develop products that enable consumers to lead better lives and help them to improve nutrition in their daily diets.

..

Our vision and ambition is to be the recognized leader of Nutrition, Health and Wellness in India.

..

We are convinced that it is the winning strategy and will strengthen our ability to provide our consumers with Nutrition, Health and Wellness.

The Managing Director Mr. Etienne Benet’s statement is –

As a Company we maintain high standards and values. Stakeholders have seen that we are ethical and responsible with strong business principles.

In fact Mr. Benet answers a question in the report –

Q. How do we ensure that the food we eat is good?

Ansewer - People tend to categorize foods as good or bad primarily on account of mis-information and the lack of awareness. No food is good or bad. Each food has a role to play in our diets and we need to also appreciate that responsible pleasure is part of a balanced lifestyle. When our lifestyles change, we need foods that enable us to live that lifestyle and also provide Nutrition, Health and Wellness. The need is to constantly understand the changing lifestyles and to use R&D and the science of nutrition to develop high quality products that can complement the consumers.

Reading the report which I did after the reports in media by Food-safety regulator testing for contamination after state authorities found seven-times permissible level of lead in a routine test.

The report reflects very clearly (if one looks closely) that Nestle’s focus is more on Branding and Food safety is missing in the report. There is literally no discussion on Food safety where as the company has decorated its report with lot of big talks where they present themselves as big savior of India which in severely impacted by malnutrition.

Look at one more part of the report . This is Q&A with the General Manager ‘Maarten Geraets’

Q. But how can Healthy food be enjoyable?

Answer - This is where food technology and expertise in nutrition can make the difference. Even though there is growing awareness about healthy eating, health seems to be a boring thought for many of us or we just do not have the time. Therefore, we set ourselves the objective ‘Health ko Mazedaar Banaao’. We have been working very closely with Nestlé R&D to pack in nutrition and taste. We already have a range of excellent products in the portfolio and the latest is MAGGI Oat Noodles.

Looking at this report the cause of the problem is clearly the neglect of Food Safety and focus on the branding of Maggie. It seems that the onus of keeping the Maggi safe was on R&D where as the top management was more interested in branding of Maggi and they are talking of nutrition and taste. They have missed the concept of food safty. Even if the lead or MSG was coming from external sources and they were not mixing it in their product they should have checked it, afterall it was their product and they had claimed it to be a healthy product. This again is a classic text book example how shortsightedness in marketing can crumble a strong brand like Maggi.

I too am in pain as Maggi has been a favorite food for me and my family but today I feel cheated.  

माँ By Tripti Pandey

माँ

माँ प्यार है दुलार है,

ममता का वो संसार है.

वह धीर है गंभीर है,

नदियों सी वह अधीर है,

 शीतल सरल समीर है.

                    ज्वाला के जैसी फटती है,

                    रक्षक के जैसी डटती है.

                     जीवन कठिन संवारती,

                     उज्वल भविष्य निखारती.

वह पुष्प बनके है खिली,

खुशबू हमें उससे मिली.

वह दीप बनके जलती है,

दुनियां को रोशन करती है.

                      माँ प्यार है दुलार है

                      ममता का वह संसार है.

Sacred relics of Buddha - How close can you get to God?

How close can you get to God? The answer to this question can depend who is answering this question. It has been always been philosophical subject for me to know about God. I have asked this question to my mother when I was a kid and to myself when I grew up. I am not an atheist and believe in god. My belief in god has been a feeling very close to my heart and has given me strength to me in life. But closest I could get to god in physical sense in my life was when I visited any Hindu temple being a Hindu. I am writing this to share my experience of my visit to National Museum in New Delhi. I had not expected it to be a divine experience. I have a fondness for museums but have never gone to one to seek any godly encounter. This visit to National Museum changed my perspective towards Museums. Let me give you more details what I am talking about. It is my visit to National Museum specifically to the Buddhist Art Gallery. It turned out to be a spiritual Journey as it has sacred relics of the Gautam Buddha unearthed from Piprehwa, Distt. Sidharth Nagar in U.P India. The gallery also has other Artifacts (according to the museum website it has - outstanding specimens of Buddhist Art as a global movement, is illustrated through 84 exhibits in stone, bronze, terracotta, stucco, wooden sculptures and painted) Now why do I say it is a spiritual experience? Because Buddha is generally included as an avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism.  Buddha was declared an avatar of Vishnu in several Puranas. So looking at something so closely can get you a feeling of getting close to god. Even if you find this a exaggeration but I am sure you will feel different being so close to sacred relics of the Gautam Buddha. You can look to them very closely take photos so this is a must visit which I will recommend to anyone who is in Delhi.       

Thukpa

So am I a Gourmet or a connoisseur of fine food. “No” infect I am writing about something which I have eaten for the first time in my life. So if you are looking for some expert advice I think you are at a wrong place and you will be wasting your time, you should try zomato.com or some other place. I too am not sure about these websites except zomoto as I am not a foodie types. So why am I writing this? I am writing this as I conceder myself from a class who wants to taste exotic food but will not go to a “exotic” place with 5star tag for oblivious reasons. 

This Dish was “Thukpa” and the place was DILLI HAAT INA market New Delhi. I am going to give you a firsthand report of a layman tasting this dish for the first time. There are stalls for different states selling different foods from their respective states. Cheap and OK standards, at times food is good. It can be a very good outing with family on a weekend if you belong to my category that looks at the right hand side of the menu card first in a restaurant. So let me start on my experience of eating Thukpa. I had a friend who had suggested me Thukpa which he told me is a Tibetan noodle soup, which it is. I was at Dilli Haat and wanted to try this, Wikipedia on my mobile told me --Thukpa is a Tibetan noodle soup. The dish became popular in Bhutan, and the states of Sikkim, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India. It is also popular in the Ladakh region and the state of Himachal Pradesh. 

Wow!! This information got me excited and could not resist this call to adventure. 

There are few stalls of food at dilli haat where you can get Thukpa.

I went to Manipur food stall as my friend had told me about this stall, but I am not sure which is best out of them, I don’t think I can make out a difference between a good Thukpa or a bad one. I ordered one chicken Thukpa, you get differ Thukpa including a pork and even vegetarian Thukpa. I loved the dish and for sure this will not be the last time I am eating this. So what it is? It is what Wikipedia had told me - a noodle soup. Let me ask you few questions? Do you like clear soups specially clear chicken soups? Do you like noodles? If the answer is - yes. Than this dish is for you. The soup is spicy but not very hot. You can try this with a fruit beer which had very sweet test so if you don’t like extra sweet taste go for normal coke or Pepsi. I have liked the Thukpa… not only liked it but now I am a fan of it, will try it again if you have any suggestion for me, I will be more than happy to know anything you tell me about Thukpa.