MeghnaSharma

IN a time when smartphones havebecome ubiquitous and social me-diaanecessity,newadditionstothetraditional digital platforms ofFacebook and Twitter were in-

evitable. A clutch of new-age platformsnow dot the digital landscape, and aregaining patronage from users ratherrapidly. And why not? According to a re-cent report by IAMAI and KPMG, thecountrywillseeagrowthfrom200millioninternet users in 2013 to over 500millioninternetusersby2017.Thissharpgrowthsuggests a rising tech savvy audience,whichhastobewooedthroughdifferentplatforms.

Refocussing strategiesBrands, no doubt, are excited. Thegrowingnumberof internetusersandthefactthatmanyof themarespendingmuch more time on the internet hascaused a lot of brands to refocus theirstrategies on digital advertising — anareathathasbeenwoefullyneglected.AsVNarayanan, chief growthofficer,Moti-vator, points out: “India has around 28%onlinepenetration,whileadspendssharefor digital is only 9.5%. This shows thatspendscandefinitelybeincreased.”

Apart from increased spending,brands must bear in mind that contextand timing are crucial on this medium.For this, they need to increasingly beaware of current events and tailor theirstrategies accordingly. For example, Olacabs recently deployed boats, alongwithprofessional rowers, to rescue flood-af-fected people in Chennai. Thiswas in re-sponse to a meme that was posted onTwitter. Needless to say, the gesture didwonders for the brand’s image thatperhaps more conventional promotionsmaynothaveprovided.

The other advantage with the digitalspace is the plethora of data available tobrandstodaytomouldtheirstrategiesac-cordingly. As Kartikeya Tiwari, head ofbusiness development at Social Kinnect,says: “Data will always be the businessdriver. The kind of verified data and sta-tisticsonecanget fromthe(digital)medi-um is light years ahead of all othermediums which are mostly projections,surveysordisputeddatasources.”

A world beyond FacebookThe attraction of the digital medium isthevarietythatitoffers.Eachplatform,beitFacebookorTwitter,offersauniquead-vantage to the brand. Facebookprovidesan opportunity to target desired cus-tomersbyoptimisingcreativemessagingcoupledwithacalltoactionfeature,whileTwitter—theconversationplatform—ismoreadeptinshapingthebrand’sperson-ality. It isalsoagreatplatformtoleverageconversations aroundTVshows and live

eventslikecricketmatches.The other thing to note is that digital

mediumscanalsobedeployedsimultane-ously to create a multiplier effect. Insta-gram, for instance, lets a brand takepicturesandvideos,whichcanbesharedon a variety of other social networkingplatforms.Othermediums likePinterestencourage micro-targeting, as this en-ables brands to target consumers basedon their likes and interests, expressedthrough their ‘pin’ boards. This ensuresthat brands could have a virtual store onthisplatformwiththeircatalog.

While thesemediums are no doubt ex-citingtools,FacebookandTwitterstillre-main the best way for brands to targettoday’s youth.The reason toopt for theseplatforms is simple: they have beenaround the longest and are constantlyevolving to enhance user experience. Al-so, one cannot ignore thenumbers. Face-book boasts of the biggest user base inIndia (118 million), leading the digitalracebyquiteadistance.Itisalsooneof the

most advertising friendly platforms aswell, because of its targeting options,sales support and analytics. This is whymostbrandshaveaFacebookpageinaddi-tiontotheirwebsites.

Having said that, one cannot ignoreother visual marketing platforms.Brands that have moved on to the Insta-gram, Pinterest and Snapchat platformshaveahigherlevelof engagementandvis-ibility.For instance,VistaRooms,a start-up for budget hotel accommodations intheTier-II, Tier-IIImarkets, recently cre-atedanapponInstagramtoleverageonitsuniquetaggingfeature.

“It’s important to stay relevant withyour target audience with appealing im-ageryandcorrecthashtagusage.Whatwedo better than the others is thatwe focusnot only on social value but also on thefunctional value of Instagram,” saysAnkitaSheth, co-founder&headof part-nerships,VistaRooms.

If abrandisleaningtowardstargetinga younger audience, InstagramandPin-

terest are the best social media plat-forms. They not only grab the con-sumer's attention, but also get them toengagewith the brand on a larger scale.With new product launches, strategicdigital marketing plans, brand messag-ing shifts and emerging partnerships,these socialmedianetworks arewell po-sitionedtoactasthenew-agegatewayforcontentdiscovery.

TakeMaybelline India, which is a re-cent convert to Instagram. After estab-lishing its presence on Facebook andTwitter,Maybellinesawahugepotentialfor growth on the photo-upload plat-form.“Instagram,withits100%reach,isakeymediumforabeautybrandsuchasours since we want to drive trials andbuild brand imagery,” says Pooja Sah-gal, general manager — marketing,Maybelline New York India. Through acampaignontheplatformaimedtobuildanticipation for the upcoming ColossalrangebyMaybellineNewYorkIndiaandan exclusive e-commerce launch, called

the Colossal Eye Kit, the brand believesit reached its target audience muchmoreeffectively.

Similarly,Chumbak,aquirky lifestylebrand, wants to keep its image personaland relatable, an image socialmedia haspromoted. The brand which initially fo-cused on Facebook and Instagram hasnow managed to create buzz through itsTwitterhandleandPinterestboards.

Despite the increase in activity, ana-lystsbelievethatmanybrandsarestillnotusing the social media platform as effec-tively as they could.AsVivekPrabhakar,co-founder&CEO,Chumbak, says, “A lotof theyoungerbrandshavefiguredoutthedigital mediums but are not using itenoughtotalkaboutwhotheyare.”Inoth-er words, many brands seem to use themediums to sell products and not neces-sarilytellstoriesof whotheyareandwhatthey love, which they need to do becausethatiswhatsocialmediaisabout.

■Continued on Page 2

TUESDAY DECEMBER 15, 2015THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

SapientNitro’s SheldonMonteiro on how brands canbridge the technology gap

PAGE 2

A H M E D A B A D B E N G A L U R U C H A N D I G A R H C H E N N A I H Y D E R A B A D K O C H I K O L K A T A L U C K N O W M U M B A I N E W D E L H I P U N E

F I R S T S TO P F O R M A R K E T I N G , A DV E R T I S I N G A N D M E D I A

Urban Ladder’s latest admoves away from being just

a product demo

PAGE 3

FORbrandswhich are lookingto get onto social channelsbeyondTwitter and

Facebook, a good starting point isto first define their digital role andthen look at the specific channelswhere theywould like to have apresence.

This beginswith a definition ofwhat part socialmedia plays intheir overallmarketing ecosystem.Brands need to decidewhethersocialmediawill be a space forcustomer service, or a platformwhere theywill listen to theirconsumers, orwhere they can co-create product ideaswithconsumers. The focus onwhatsocialmedia can do for a particularbrand is the first port of call for astrong and effective social strategy.

It never pays to be edgy for thesake of being edgy. It is true that onsocialmedia it is difficult to createcontentwhich is interestingenough for consumers to activelyengagewith. But being provocativeis not the only route to this goal. Itcan be a route if, as a brand, you areprovocative. For other brands, it iscritical to find a social voice in syncwith their points of view. This canpotentially range fromconsultativeto playful or even educational.

Then,we go on to definewhatinherently each channel can bringto the table for a brand. BothInstagramandPinterest forinstance, aremore visual channels,lending themselves to brands incategories like travel, fashion,homedécor, F&B, or colour

cosmetics for instance. Instagramtends to be a channelmuchmoresuited to user generated content.Typical cases include picturetaking on the go and the hashtagsallow for topical indexing andsearching of easy content.Instagramalso is a great channelfor brandswhichuse events. Eventpictures and video streaming viausers andKOLs is a powerfulwayto leverage the platform for brands.

Pinterest is a great channel forcurated content,where the brandcan create thematic visual contentto get across ideas, information andhow tos for consumers. It is also aninteresting channel for brands torunvisual content-led contests.Inviting consumers to createboards around themes is a greatway to engage them.

Eventually though, the channeldiscussionhas to come after thedefinition of the brand’s overallstrategy and approach to socialmedia.After that, the brandhas todecidewhat each channel can do toachieve that strategy.

The author is CEO, VML Qais

IN PERSPECTIVE

TRIPTILOCHAN

SocialMedia:DosandDon’ts

Spoilt for

CHOICE

BRANDSTODAYAREREVISITINGSOCIALMEDIA,USINGNEWERPLATFORMSBEYONDTWITTERANDFACEBOOKTOTELLTHEIRSTORY.BUTARETHEIREFFORTSPAYINGOFF?

DIGITAL STRATEGY ISGETTINGMORE COMPLEXWITHMORE PLATFORMSBEINGADDEDON. BRANDSMUSTRESPOND TO THESECHALLENGES BUTMOSTOFTHEMARENOTGEAREDUP TODO THAT, AS THIS REQUIRESCONSIDERABLE INVESTMENT

SANJAY SHETTYSenior VP, brand platform, Asymmetrique

A LOTOF THE YOUNGER BRANDSHAVE FIGUREDOUT THENEWDIGITALMEDIUMSBUTARENOTUSING IT ENOUGH TO TALKABOUTWHOTHEY ARE. BRANDSNEED TONOWUSE THESEMEDIUMS TO TELL STORIESRATHER THAN JUST TO SELLPRODUCTS

VIVEK PRABHAKARCo-founder & CEO, Chumbak

Norman Pearlstine, VP & chiefcontent officer, Time Inc. ontackling the Indianmarket

PAGE 3

TODAY,CMOshavebeguntorealisethat marketing success is depen-dent upon the digital acumen oftheir organisations. A report by

The Economist Intelligence Unit titled,‘The rise of themarketer:Driving engage-ment,experienceandrevenue’,foundmar-keters are aggressively prioritisingdigital, technology and operations overbrand advertising and creative. This ishardly a surprise. Pervasive digital en-gagement platforms, mobility, social me-dia, and the need for intelligent customerengagement, based on volumes of data,make it imperative for today’s CMOs tohavepractical experienceat transformingmarketingthroughnewtechnologies.

The need for a CMTO

Buthowaretheydoingthis? Today,organi-sations are elevating accountability formarketing technology by establishing anewly created position: the Chief Market-ingTechnologyOfficer (CMTO). The needfor a CMTO is driven by consumer be-haviour where technology-empoweredcustomersnowknowmorethanmanycom-paniesdoabouttheirbrand’sproductsandservices,pricing,andreputation.In the past, this was not the case. Tech-

nology was of little help to the consumerandmostlyusedtoempowerbrandsanden-terprises. Today,mobile, social and searchtechnologyempowerscustomersbygivingthemarealisticpictureof theproducttheywanttobuy.Forinstance, today’smillenni-als will perform a Google search or seekfeedback from friends on Facebook and

Twitterbeforebuyingasmartphone.Theywill share their experiencewithhundredsof other people on social media. This is achangefromadecadeagowhenaconsumermight have asked only a friend or two viaphone or in person, before walking into anearbymobilephonestoretocheckoutthelatestdevices.Andif someonehadabadex-perience,thenewsdidnottraveltoofar.As technology is empoweringmore and

moreconsumers, ithasalsobecomeanim-portant tool formarketerstoinfluenceandconduct business with their target audi-ence. Over four-fifths of the report’s re-spondents believe now is the time toembarkonchangeinthewaytheyrunmar-keting and that change requires digital,technologyandoperationsskills.Creativeis still needed, but it is no longer the focus.So,weneed to askourselves,what is the

CMTO’s role in this changing market andhowcanheorsheaddvaluetotheorganisa-tion? The responsibilities of a CMTO arenot limited to establishing a company’spresenceondigitalchannelsandanalysingconsumerconversations. In today’sworld,brandsneed toprovideexperiences tocon-sumers across every brand-consumertouchpoint.Moreover,asresponsibilityforthe customer experience shifts to market-ing, marketers need to explore more tech-nology enabled options. This requires anunderstanding of both themarketing andtechnology domains and the ability tobridgethegapbetweenthem.ThisiswhereCMTOs are relevant for future businessesand why the old CMO-CIO combo won’tworkanymore.

Transforming the consumer’sexperienceEarlier,thetraditionalpurposeof theITde-partment in business organisations hasbeentoimproveoperationalefficiency.Forexample, a CIO in a typical Indian publicsectorbankwill lookforwaystoreducetheturnaround time within existing opera-tions. This could mean introducing a newaccountsprocessingprogramoranupdatetotheERPsystem.Ontheotherhand,aCM-TOfocusesontechnologyfortransformingthecustomerexperience,suchaschangingtheCRMsystemand introducing targeteddigital advertising to incorporate socialmedia sentiments of existing as well aspotential consumers. Kotak MahindraBank’shashtagbankingisagreatexampleof implementationsarrivedatbybridgingthegapbetweenmarketingandtechnology.Ausercanreceiveinformationonservicesabouthisexistingaccountoropenanewac-countwithatweet,inareliablemanner.TheCMTOhere needs to focus on deliv-

ering superior experience, solving a con-sumer problem, and establishing a longterm relationship with the consumer us-ing thebestmarketing ideas and technolo-gy solutions. Another example is the TajGroupof Hotels,whichoffersavirtualtourof its varioushotels in India.As a result, apotential guest can experience these prop-ertieswithoutactuallytravellingtotheho-tel. In both these examples, the brands arebuilding contextual experiences for theirtarget customers instead of using yester-day'sunilateralcommunications.

The way forwardBusiness is in an exciting phase.AsCMOslevelupwithconnectedconsumerexpecta-tions, theymustembracetechnologycapa-bilities to provide immersive, engagingand customised experiences. The gap be-tween what marketers used to do 10 yearsagoandwhattheyneedtodonowhasneverbeengreater.Considerthepredictionmadein2012byGartner’sanalysts,LauraMcLel-lan and Michael Smith, that “by 2017, theCMOwill spendmore on IT than theCIO.”As we approach the date, their forecastseems less and less far-fetched.And this isultimatelywhyCMTOsareurgentlyneed-ed,andtheyareheretostay.

Thewriteristheglobalchief technology

officer,SapientNitro

2 THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015

THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

◗ AD-DENDUMBY SHELDONMONTEIRO

20%

22%

17%

How social media impactsconsumer serviceMost Indians use social media for service than other Asian markets

Top consumerservice activitieson social media

How they use these channels

India Japan Hong Kong

71%

56%

29% 50% Nearly 9/10 consumersfeel brands haveimproved theirresponse times, thanksto social media

Customers as Evangelists

Word of MouthRecommendations from friends areamong the Top 2 ways to getcustomers to try a new company

On average,Indians wouldpass on theirpositiveexperience to

39 people

Sharingconsumerservice

experience

Companywebsiteor email

SimpleQuery

On call withconsumer

service

ComplicatedQuery

Face-to-face

ComplexQuery

50%Asking other

users on how toget betterservice

47%Praising a

company forgreat serviceexperience

47%Seeking

response from acompany on aservice issue

Consumer services and spending

India

Hong Kong

Japan

Continued willingness to spend more on consumer service

Source: American Express Customer Service Barometer

89%

65%

55%

Indians are most likelyto share good customer

experience

India Japan HongKong

66% 25% 27%

NUMEROLOGY

Living Foodz (earlier Zee Khana Khaz-ana)seemstohavelearntthatlesson.Thebrandwhichhopestocaptureitsaudience(both men and women across all agegroups in the urban digital household)through social media, has launched spe-cific content for its target group tellingthemwhotheyare. “Instagramisahighlyvisual platform and so we have aimed atcreating content specific for it throughourInstaCookBookandInstaFlipinnova-tions.Theseappealtotheaudienceonthatplatform,”saysAmitNair,businesshead,LivingFoodz.However,notall endeavourshavebeen

success stories. Though brands likeZomato, Anthrapologie, Red Bull andmanymore have managed to create con-tent which is engaging, sometimes thedigital campaigns have failed. Take thecase of DBS Bank. In 2014, the brandlaunched an online campaign calledChilliPaneer.Thecampaigntoldthestoryof a young man from Singapore and ayoung Indianwomanwhomet by chanceat a DBS ATM in Mumbai. The woman,who recognised the man from his foodblog, confessed that she was a fan of hisandstruckupaconversation.Thecoupleendedupspendingtimetogether,withthewoman harbouring dreams of runningherownrestaurantoneday,whileheneed-edtojointhefamilybusiness.Experts believe that the campaign,

thoughheartwarming and entertaining,failed to link back to the product — thebank.Thoughthebrand(throughtheads)wantedtoshowcasehowbankingandthe

couragetotakefinancialdecisionswasatone’s finger tips, this message was com-pletely lost on the digital audience. Thereasons for this failure showed the dan-gers of over-complicating themessage, alessonsomebrandsstillneedtolearn.

Are we there yet?Overthepastdecade,therehasbeenapar-adigm shift in the way brands and mar-keters communicate with online users,thusalteringthewayinwhichconsumersconsume such communication. Thus,there is a lot of scope for improvement intermsof thewayagenciesadapttothenewtechnologies and link them to the brand.So,todaywhilewearetryingtoutilisetheonline medium in the best way possible,westillneedtofindoutawaytoeffectivelybringtogethercreativity,mediaandtech-nologyandleveragethemforbrands.AsSanjayShetty,seniorVP,brandplat-

form, Asymmetrique says, “Digitalstrategiesaregettingmorecomplexwithmore platforms being added on. Brandsneedtorespondinrealtimeonthesechan-nelsandmostof themaren’tgearedupforthat. So that’s the challenge; it requires aconsiderableinvestmenttodothat.”The other challenge for brands is that

withmore andmore companies jumpingonto the digital bandwagon, brand recalland attention span has decreased. Also,although ad spends have increased, cre-ativity across social media platformshasn’t.ManyIndianbrandsstillconsiderdigital strategy as just an extension oftheirtraditionaladvertising.Butwhether one likes it or not, digital

marketingisnotaluxurybutareality,if abrand wants to stay relevant in today’shyper-crowded Indianmarket. The ques-tion is: howmany of them are willing tomakethattransition?

With digitalmediums becomingmore andmore intrinsic tomarketing, brandstoday are relying onCMTOs to enhance the consumer experience

Spoilt for choice

BARC India calls for global RFIsfor digital measurementThe Broadcast Audience Research

Council (BARC) India has issued a global

Request For Information (RFI) to expand

audiencemeasurement in the digital

space. In the RFI, companies need to

outlinewhat they canmeasure and at

what level of detail. Parties can apply

before December 24, 2015. As Partho

Dasgupta, CEO, BARC India, says, “We

are now ready to take the next leap, that

ofmeasuring digital viewing.”

S Yesudas launches his‘unagency’ — triggerbridgeS Yesudas has recently announced the

launch of his entrepreneurial venture,

triggerbridge, the ‘unagency’, whichwill

be run in partnershipwith Ajit Nair,

MXAdvertising and Amit Tripathi,

IdeateLabs. Yesudas, who is theMD and

co-founder of triggerbridge, a digital

agency, has been in the advertising and

media business for over two decades. He

was lastMD, Indian subcontinent,

Vizeum (Dentsu Aegis Network).

Marico appoints Ranveer Singhas brand ambassadorMarico has announced that Ranveer

Singhwill be the brand ambassador of

SetWet deodorants. SetWetwill launch

their campaignwith Ranveer Singh in

February next year. Speaking on the

initiative Anuradha Aggarwal, CMO,

Marico Limited, said, “Brand SetWet

extolls youngmen to give up inhibitions

and let their charm and passion show in

everything they do—a philosophy

Ranveer himself lives by.”

I N T H E N E W S

Bridging the marketingand technology gap

INSTAGRAM IS AHIGHLY VISUALPLATFORMANDSOWEHAVENOW

AIMEDAT CREATINGCONTENTSPECIFIC FOR IT THROUGHOURINSTACOOKBOOKANDINSTAFLIP INNOVATIONSWHICHAPPEALED TOOURAUDIENCE

AMIT NAIRBusiness head, Living Foodz

■ Continued fromPage 1

3THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015

THEFINANCIALEXPRESS

Time Inc. has a growing physical presence

in Bengaluru, and a circulation of 25,000

copies in India. In an interview with

BrandWagon's Shinmin Bali, VP and

chief content officer of Time Inc. Norman

Pearlstine says despite the digital surge,

print is far frombeingwrittenoff.Excerpts:

How has the content strategy of Time

Inc. evolved with the emergence of

newerplatforms?

Until June 2014, we were a part of TimeWarner and at that time we were restrict-ed to print with a bit of digital line exten-sion. Since we were spun off from TimeWarner and became an independent pub-lic company, we’ve moved aggressively tobe a multi-product forum. Particularly,

we’ve had to recognise the importance ofmobile and the ways in which so manypeople get information through theirphones. In the US, we have 23 print titleswhich deliver 30 million copies to sub-scribers permonth. This does not includenewsstands. So, print is still an importantpart of our business. At the same time,weneed to show we can grow non-printrevenues faster than print revenues,whichare indecline.

What are themeasures being taken by

Time Inc. to stay relevant in India?

I think the challenge is finding the rightcombination of content that you havewhich is different fromwhat other peoplehave. This is a difficult balancing act.There are global issues where Time Inc.canbean important contributor in the en-vironment, healthcare, technology andgeopolitics sector for the Indianmarket.At the same time, relevance is impor-

tant. Given our origin is print, we need tolook at how digital can allow for aggrega-tion, user generated content and beingconnected with events in ways thatmightbemoreeffective in thismarket.

What are the core challenges for print

publishingand foryour company?

We need to stay on top of technology be-cause it ismoving so quickly. Virtual plat-forms like Oculus are some of theways tocreate user experiences. Time Inc. is alsoknown for its coverage on celebrity andentertainment. Canweuse virtual realityto deliver the red carpet experience to theconsumer? We have a very good businesswith ‘bookazines’ (instant book publish-ing).So,whenRobinWilliamsdied,wedidabiographywhichwason thenewsstandsin a few weeks. We’ll get to that point intechnology where we’ll see that kind ofpublication ina fewdays.You have to look at commerce aswell. If

we look at say, InStyle, which is aboutfashion, the readers love to tear out somepages andmake a purchasing decision onwhat they see. We have to look at whetherwe can make that an even better experi-ence for the consumer. That is not to sug-gest thatwe get into retail. Butwe do needto think about commerce as an importantcomponent.

Do you see a potential for premium

content in India?

Digital gives you the chance to use locallanguages and geography, and addressspecific professions, which is important.Even if it is a very small percentage of theIndian population that cares about globalinformation, that small percentage canstill be a big market and a profitable one.But we cannot be arrogant or naive abouthowcompetitive the Indianmarket is.

What roles will technology and

analytics play in content curation and

management?

Technology will continue to allow forgreater personalisation. It will get to apointwherereaderswill rewardpremiumcontent. Right now, people are over-whelmed by how much content there isand going forward, trusted brands will beable to regain their significance andimportance.One of the big concerns with digital is

how much can you trust the experience?Do you know it is actually a person read-ing your ad and not a bot? Do you knowwhen a consumer spends time on a pagewith say 10 ads,whichones are they reallywatching?Print products are successful because

there are passionate audiences for them,and as we move forward, premium pro-ducers of content are going to find suchpassionateaudiences.The big change with technology is that

the user becomes much more importantthan before. For so many years, we had aone-to-many model where an editor likemewould tell peoplewhat to readandnow,users are tellingmewhat they want to ex-perience or they’re telling me about theirexperiences. There’s an opportunity tolearn from our users and we need toembrace that.

TheAdThe ad film opens on a post dinner sce-nario, with the host walking in withdessert. We see one of the guests tryingtomakespaceonthetableforit, topplingempty cutlery in the process. The hostwryly draws out the dining table exten-sion, placing the dessert tray on it, sur-prising the guests. The voiceover goes:“Because your furniture knows, there’salwaysroomformore”.

Our TakeNot just-another-boring-product ad, Ur-ban Ladder’s latest campaign,Your fur-niture knows, has three commercials init, built around ‘thoughtful designs’.The ad is in continuance of the UrbanLadder storytelling format and its cen-tral theme of beautiful homes. The ideabehind the campaign is fairly simple: tohighlight some of the online furniturecompany’s curated ranges and theirfunctionalbenefits.What makes the ad unique is the

problem-solving approach taken tohighlight how a particular kind of fur-niture can make day-to-day life easy. Itmay remind you of the dining table adfeatured in rival Pepperfry’s Why wait

for Diwali campaign. But what sets itapart is that the creative here is focusedontheideaof anextendablediningtablerather than buying a bigger diningtable. That is what smart furniture isabout, isn’t it?This makes it different in its catego-

ry too. If we compare the campaignwith that of other players in the onlinefurnishing space, a common themethat emerges is the idea of functional

furniture for modern, urban homes.But the distinguishing feature of theUrbanLadder campaign is that insteadof asking consumers to replace theirold furniture, it gives them a perspec-tive andhelps themtovisualise aneasyway of organising their homes withsmart and multipurpose furniture.This subtle approach combined with adash of storytelling does not make itlook like a product demo ad but rather,onethatsolvesapurpose.The humourous tone further leads to

high brand recall. “We understandwhyfurniture isavery integralpartof one’slife and therefore, the problem it shouldsolve for a customer. In the previouscampaign, we focussed more on thebeauty of our furniture. This time wewantedtofocusonboththeformandthefunctionality,” says Ashish Goel, CEOandco-founder,UrbanLadder.Thecompanylaunchedits firstbrand

campaign in January this year, titledBrings you closer, which played on theconnect consumers havewith their fur-niture, with a subtle product reference.Since then, its campaigns have main-tained a storytelling format whichbrings the story alive either through anemotional twist, or humour. Given thecompetition in the online furnishingspace and the rise of pocket-friendly,flatpackfurniture,whatsetsUrbanLad-der’s ads apart is the brand’s consciousdecision to stay away frommaking anydirect sales pitch, even during festivalseasons. The focus has always been onits products, in line with its brand posi-tioningof beautifulhomes.

—AnkitaRai

Furniturewith IQ

Campaign:Your Furniture Knows

Brand:Urban Ladder

Company:Urban Ladder

Agency:Lowe Lintas

RATINGS

OUR TAKE

1I’m fortunate that I get to do

everything that I love. Every moment

is new and so are my days in the

office. Start-ups bring in

unanticipated challenges and

learnings each day, so I am fully

receptive of the experiences the days

have to offer. At the moment we are

chartering into our next phase of

growth with many new offerings,

some of which are absolutely novel in

India. These initiatives are taking all

of our efforts, but it's equally thrilling

and gratifying all at the same time!

2My day starts with reading the

newspaper and going through my

inbox on the way to office. A status

meeting with my core strategy team

in the morning sets the agenda for

the day, after which I'm free to return

phone calls and answer emails. In the

office, we practice collaborative

action, so my team keeps me

engaged all day with new ideas and

updates. It's the part of my day that I

enjoy the most. We also follow a work

hard, play hard policy and many

evenings are reserved for birthday

celebrations and team building

activities in office.

3On the weekends, I spend time with

my wife and daughter. We usually

watch the latest movie and explore

new restaurants. Sometimes, on

more relaxed weekends, I prefer

being indoors where you would find

me delving in books or immersed

in melodious ghazals.

4I am not really a gadgets person but

when it comes to work or leisure my

iPad is a must have. Then, when I

get the time, I enjoy listening to

quality music on my Bose speakers.

These are the two things that I

cannot do without.

5I prefer classic brands especially

when it comes to shirts. Ralph

Lauren's Polo and Abercrombie &

Fitch are two must haves for me.

—As told to Ashwin Ahmad

THEWEEKEND

“Start-upsdobring inunanticipatedchallenges”

AFTERHOURS

RAJ IYERFounder & CMD, icustommadeit.com

THEJOB

THETOYS

THELOGOS

◗ FACEOFFNORMAN PEARLSTINE

“Wecan’tbenaiveabout theIndianmarket”

Urban Ladder’s latest

ad highlights the

functional benefits of

its furniture without

making it look like a

product demo video

THEWEEKDAYS

THERE ARE GLOBALISSUES WHERE TIMEINC. CAN BE ANIMPORTANTCONTRIBUTORESPECIALLY IN CERTAINSECTORS LIKEENVIRONMENT,HEALTHCARE,TECHNOLOGY ANDGEOPOLITICS FOR THEINDIAN MARKET

NORMANPEARLSTINEVP & chief content officer, Time Inc.

PHOTO:RENUKAPURI