We watch - we criticize; we enjoy – we thrash… We continue to talk about the matches, the players, the team owners, the opening & closing ceremony every year and that is nothing but IPL fever. It is the dough mix of glamour & sports, style & spirit and money & unity.

IPL from season 1 to season 6 has enthralled the masses not only in India but also abroad. From corruption to cheerleaders, from teams to brawls, from ads to after parties almost everything is in the Newspapers, TV news and not to forget Social Networking.

Ever wondered how much does the production of a TV ad costs? And once it is created, how much does it cost to promote it? No idea, well one can make an ad anywhere from few lakhs to crores (depends on creative & technology required) and promotions on TV can be unlimited. It actually depends on brand’s spending capacity. However minimum requirement for a brand to spread its message amongst masses is in between Rs. 5cr to Rs. 10cr.

*And how much are these advertisers spending to be a part of this IPL season? It is between Rs. 4.5 lakh to Rs. 5.5 lakh for ten seconds slot. And in-case the brand is one of the main sponsors (Like Pepsi & Vodafone) then the brand is shelling out nothing less than Rs. 60cr on ads. For other sponsors like Micromax, Godrej Eon, Usha, Parle, Samsung the cost is between Rs 25cr to Rs. 30cr.

An interesting data comes from CRIC study for developing strategies for advertising during IPL:

Basis the above points, let us analyse:

To build a complete case study, let us first find out the brands advertising in IPL6 – Total of 25 Brands (what I can recall and are prominent)– Pepsi, Samsung, Vodafone, Coke, Voltas, Panasonic, Rasna, Parle, Bisleri, Micromax, Godrej, Airtel, Videocon, Limca, Hero, Sony, Cleartrip, Hitachi, Usha, Cadbury, Docomo, Karbonn, Arise, Havells and Berger Paints - Now that seems BIG show & whooping money.

For a minute, can you visualize the ad for each brand? If yes, then that brand is successful in creating a space for itself in the consumer’s mind. If no, then despite spending so much money it is not helping the brand.

Now let us connect the pieces by taking individual brands with scores of GOOD, BAD & OK:

The GOODs

The OKs

The BADs

Many other brands (Asian Paints, V Guard, Sprite, Kent, Quicker etc.) are taking a step in the end to advertise so that they do not miss the bus and also that the last few days have higher visibility as per the data by TAM (TV Audience Measurement)

Summarizing the above with a very strong view point and facts – If only 7 out of 25 i.e. close to 30% of the brands are GOOD such that they have grown in the consumer minds, interacted not only through TV ads but also taken it online, mall activations and outdoor then why are the other brands splurging their monies. 

Close to 30% of the brands are OK advertisers, then they need some improvement be it the creative or be it a push on media or taking the message beyond TV and for rest 40% BAD advertisers, it is time that you as a marketer sit with creative and digital agency and co-create a content which is worth the consumers.

*Source MSM (Multi Screen Media (MSM), the official broadcaster of the IPL). The image is used from CRIC study by Domor Communication Consulting and Vivaki Exchange on Marketing by brands participating in IPL.

Does Montoo deserve my Blog Post, may be Yes or May be No. Coupled with reasoning and my mind is debating - What he did was right or wrong?

So I thought let me hit the keyboard and get things sorted. To all who don’t know, Montoo was our maid at house. He was 17 when he came from a bureau to my parent’s place and he was 22 when he left back.

Young, naughty, workaholic and sincere to the job were his few qualities and like any other kid he mingled easily with the family. My father was more dependent on him than anyone else among us because Montoo would help him walk and exercise everyday considering his limitations after two surgeries.

My mother would leave the house to him at any hour. He was also a part time at my house. Both me and my husband, Rohan thought that we are comfortable with him and even he would get an extra salary to support his old father back in Assam.

He would live, eat, play with my niece like a family member and to my knowledge has never said no to any work we gave him. He used to watch TV and movies with us and was very happy. One problem, which we had seen in him, was that he used to lie, which was rare but it used to happen. Not because of his intentions but he was scared. So if the glass had broken, he would keep it back as it is and when found, he would say ‘I accidentally broke’. We always told him not to hide but I believe it was in his nature.

We unintentionally had got ourselves addicted to him. And then came the time for his visit to his home town. He was going after two and years and got the tickets (even return) from us. He has gone in past too. And since his family was very needy, he was giving them good money back home.  Every-time he went, it was ensured that all his money was transferred to his father’s account.

Two months passed away, sulking with the temporary maid, may be because of the quality of the work and also because back of our mind we had no issues because it was all the matter of just two months.

In these two months, he gave us calls so many times that he misses us and that we would be facing lot problems because of his absence at work. Even we inquired about his know-how many times. He called two days before boarding the train that he is coming with one of his cousins who was looking for work.

Yesterday was the day of his arrival, and he did not come. Phone switched off, father’s phone says he is not well and is in Assam itself. May be the truth or may be not. His father was old and we understand that he must have faced his pressure of staying back. We do not blame him. All we expected was a phone call – that I would not come or I am not well and would take some time to come.

Trust is something we invested in him, to an extent that he was in our house for three months when my parents were in USA under our presence. And we are left with nothing but an expectation of one phone call that he could have made.  

Ending it with the same line – I don’t know whether I am right with my judgement that maids value only money. Since he was helping his father setting a small business of selling fishes and small raw tea leaves in these two months, my judgement could be right. But if he is truly unwell or is planning to come back then probably I am wrong. But trust is broken; a call was the least he could manage and not take us for granted.  Papa awaits him though we are getting back to our daily chores without him but it was an association of five years and hope of mutual requirement.

Wherever he stays, may he be happy and prospering as he was always!