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‘How do you wake up?’

Published

18 years ago

December 31, 2007

We all sleep differently. Some sleep tight, like a baby. Some sleep light, like the mother of a newborn. No matter how we sleep, most of us wake up with a start – some so mild in fact that we don’t recognize them, while some hard enough to bring our whole body and mind to sudden consciousness in a milli second.

Sometimes we are either too tired or too lazy to give up our sleep, and that’s when someone has to shake us up and give us a wake up call. It happened the night before the examination, during a rather chilly night, when the quilt seemed like a long lost friend, it happens many times now in hotel rooms in some distant city.

The wake up call is rarely likeable, but it’s meaningful and important nevertheless, because something really significant often waits for us on the other side.

As I look back at 2007, it appears to me to be a year of wake up calls. There were many major events than happened this year, that shook us out of our slumber, or they should have. There are other things that appeared to be minor sleep breakers, but meaningful nevertheless, perhaps because of their regularity of occurrence. Major or minor, these were not just events, for they will have an impact on our thought and action in 2008 and beyond.

I recount seven of my favorites here, in random order.

Wake Up Call 1: T20

T20 was not about India getting World Cup glory back. It was not about defeating an arch rival. In a way, it wasn’t even about cricket. From a marketing viewpoint, it finally brought to life what we at Starcom have been forcefully claiming for a while – that today’s consumers are time starved, choice flattered and attention challenged. For the same reason the one day cricket got popular decades ago, T20 became an overnight rage in 2007. The message is clear: in marketing anything, do not try the consumer’s patience, do not assume she is sitting there waiting for your message. Respect her time, respect the complexity of her life, and talk to her not just talk at her. The spirit of T20, applied to marketing is this: don’t just count your consumers, connect with them.

Wake Up Call 2: Input Cost Surcharge & the October stand off

The memory of the passionate October is too fresh for all of us, for me to revive it, but as with many things, there were two sides to the backdrop to the impasse. The October debate was not really about who is right and who is not. It was about perspectives and a willingness to achieve common goals. I believe that for a month we all forgot that the fundamental relationship between media owners and marketers has always been collaborative, even if at the negotiation table, it often looked to be adversarial. I have said this before and I will say this again. If we do not find ways to collaborate, today’s hypercompetitive world will find ways of decimating us.

Wake Up Call 3: Digital Signage

Place based media, point of purchase media, in-store media – whatever name you call it by, this is a medium whose birth 2007 will be remembered by. I was fortunate to attend a conference in November in Mumbai, where a lot of stake holders spoke very passionately about digital signage networks, why and how they work and about highly advanced technology driving it. Unfortunately, there were not many creative or media agency folks attending that conference, to receive the wake up call, although I remember meeting some people from ICICI, Levers and ITC. I understand that there are close to five thousand LCD screens that have been installed in stores, at workplaces and in lift lobbies across the country and hundreds more are going live every month. Mark my words, very few media will generate as much curiosity and excitement in the next two to three years as this one.

Wake Up Call 4: The Vanishing Line

As many of us started putting the tag Experience Society on ourselves, the already thin line between above-the-line and below-the-line became even thinner in 2007. Call it IMC, 360 degree marketing, through-the-line marketing or holistic marketing, no marketing practitioner worth her Kotler and Levitt can today ignore the necessity to connect with the consumers using all the cards in our box. This was particularly heartwarming for us at Starcom MediaVest Group, as we have invested significant managerial energy and other resources building new competencies over the last four years and today quite proudly claim to be the media network with the biggest competency portfolio in India. Today, many of us are learning to activate one idea through multiple media and platforms, rather than plan one medium ate a time. It is my strong belief that anyone, marketer or communication practitioner, who does not upskill herself rapidly in how to think and activate in a holistic way, runs the risk of being left behind.

Wake Up Call 5: Digitisation of Life

After years of wondering and imagining, more marketers than ever embraced the digital way in 2007, recognising that you cannot forever hide behind meek arguments of ‘too few internet connections’ and other such. Unfortunately, many are still stuck in the early 2000’s model of generating leads by burning a billion banners. This will change, with or without another wake up call. In 2008, I believe, we will see many genuine attempts by marketers to use digital as a platform, rather than medium, to deliver an enriching experience to their consumers.

Wake Up Call 6: Using a New Body Part

To call the mobile phone a technological device would today be an error. It’s something we sleep with, take to the bathroom with and cannot truly imagine our life without. The irony is the contrast between consumers’ alacrity to adopt everything mobile and the marketers’ hesitation in using the platform as a communication and enablement platform. Companies like Affle, One-to-One Technologies, Sixty Nine mm are creating highly interesting mobile marketing platforms that can allow marketers to connect well with consumers, particularly young consumers. Many of our clients are more curious than ever and we have to move to the next level of converting the excitement into application.

Wake Up Call 7: TV isn’t dying anytime soon

In the last few years, particularly with the growth of non-classical media and experiential marketing disciplines, it became fashionable to talk about the reducing effectiveness of TV and many of us were challenged to divert budgets to other media. At Starcom, we have a contrarian’s view. We believe that if anything, TV will become even more important in future. We call that future an era of visual engagement. The way consumers watch TV will change, and the way we will use TV both in its traditional box format as well as through other screens, will change.

The fight in the traditional TV front is getting interesting, with Zee TV slowly but certainly narrowing the gap with Star Plus, but the debate on TV is more than just a Star Plus versus Zee TV debate. It’s not even about dozens of new stations springing up. It’s about innovativeness of programming, about audience engagement and freshness of thought. The broadcast industry needs to stop for a breather and take a long hard look at what it has been doing and how it wants to do that in future. It won’t be easy. Waking up rarely is.

Have an exciting 2008. I will!

Related Topics:ICICI ITC Kotler Levitt Starcom Mediavest Group T20 World Cup

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Awards

Hamdard honours changemakers at Abdul Hameed awards

Published

23 hours ago

February 7, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.

The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.

Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.

The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.

Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.

Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.

Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.

Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.

The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.

Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.

MAM

Why the Best Campaigns Today Start With Insights, Not Ideas

Published

23 hours ago

February 7, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: For decades, creative storytelling has been the cornerstone of brand communication. The “big idea” amplified through catchy jingles, striking visuals, and memorable hooks was once the gold standard for relevance and recall. Creativity defined presence, and the loudest, boldest campaigns often won attention.

But the marketing landscape today looks very different.

Audiences are more exposed, more discerning, and far less patient. They are inundated with messages across platforms, formats, and creators, often encountering hundreds of brand touchpoints in a single day. In this environment, creativity alone especially when untethered from real consumer truths is no longer enough to move behaviour. Great ideas are abundant. Meaningful impact is not.

This is where insights matter.

The difference may seem subtle, but it is fundamental. An idea represents what a brand wants to say. An insight reflects what the audience is already thinking, feeling, or experiencing. The most effective campaigns emerge not from cleverness alone, but from the intersection of these two forces.

From creativity to relevance

As the marketing ecosystem becomes increasingly saturated, consumers are growing immune to inflated claims and surface-level storytelling. Even beautifully crafted campaigns can fail if they are disconnected from lived realities. The gap between a brand’s internal enthusiasm and the audience’s actual sentiment can be the difference between attention and indifference.

Insights help bridge this gap. They force brands to pause, listen, and observe to understand emotions, behaviours, cultural contexts, and contradictions. Instead of trying to be remembered through louder branding, insight-led campaigns allow audiences to see their own experiences reflected back at them. When a campaign articulates a problem that feels personal, relevance is created. Trust follows.

Insight is interpretation, not information

It’s important to distinguish between data and insight. Data tells us what is happening. Insight explains why it is happening. While data is measurable and structured, insights are interpretive and dynamic, shaped by real-time sentiment and human behaviour.

Modern consumers are full of contradictions. They demand authenticity while remaining deeply aspirational. They want brands to take a stand but expect nuance, not instruction. They seek transparency, yet are drawn to curated narratives. These tensions are not obstacles, they are opportunities. When understood correctly, they can shape communication that feels timely, credible, and human.

Some of the most effective campaigns today are born not in isolated brainstorm rooms, but through listening to audiences, creators, editors, online communities, and cultural signals. Insights often exist in blurred patterns, but once identified, they can redefine how a brand connects.

A recent campaign we executed for Domino’s illustrates this shift clearly. The brief wasn’t to make a pizza look bigger or louder. Instead, it was rooted in a simple behavioural truth: in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, sharing food is an emotional act tied to family, celebration, and value perception. The “Big Big 6-in-1 Pizza” became a canvas for this insight. The campaign leaned into regional voices and real sharing moments, allowing people to show how they experienced the product rather than being told why they should buy it. Influencers and celebrities amplified genuine usage, not scripted endorsements. The impact from engagement to footfall to sales came not from a clever idea, but from understanding how people relate to food in their everyday lives.

Shifting the starting point

Today’s consumer landscape demands a shift in perspective from “What should the brand say?” to “What does the audience need to hear right now?” This marks a move away from inward-led marketing toward communication shaped by behaviour, emotion, and cultural relevance.

Brands leading today are keen observers. They notice when perfection stops resonating. They sense when luxury shifts from aspiration to excess. They recognise when influencer content begins to feel repetitive and trust erodes.

Virality, too, is often misunderstood. It is not a strategy to chase, but an outcome. Campaigns rooted in insight do not aim to go viral; they aim to resonate. When content reflects something familiar, a shared truth, emotion, or tension, it travels organically because people see themselves in it.

Ideas attract attention. Insights build connection.

The evolving role of PR

For PR professionals, this shift has redefined success. Coverage volume alone no longer tells the full story. The more meaningful questions today are: Did the communication influence behaviour? Did it align with cultural conversations? Did it address a real consumer pain point?

Insight-first thinking allows these questions to be answered at the planning stage, rather than corrected midway through execution.

In a world where formats and platforms will continue to evolve, what remains constant is the power of authentic communication. The strongest campaigns today do not begin with a brainstorm, but with observation, interpretation, and empathy. That is not just better marketing, it is more responsible, resilient, and meaningful brand-building.

Brands

Ahmad Muneeb elevated to VP – HR centre of excellence at Zepto

Published

23 hours ago

February 7, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Zepto has elevated Ahmad Muneeb to vice president – HR centre of excellence, placing him at the helm of the company’s total rewards, executive compensation and organisational effectiveness as the quick-commerce firm powers through a high-growth phase.

The move follows his stint as senior director of the HR COE, where he played a central role in preparing the company for IPO readiness while scaling its people analytics capabilities. During this period, Muneeb helped align complex performance management structures with more streamlined and scalable employee experience frameworks.

In his new role, he will steer the design of total rewards strategies, executive compensation planning and organisational design, while also overseeing performance management, employee experience initiatives and people analytics programmes.

Before joining Zepto, Muneeb spent nearly three years at Meesho, where he held multiple rewards and HR business partner roles. Earlier in his career, he worked as a senior rewards consultant at Mercer, advising high-tech clients on compensation benchmarking, pay structures and talent-focused reward frameworks.

He began his hr journey at Cognizant, where he supported compensation programmes for nearly two lakh employees across India and worked on m&a compensation alignment and skill-based pay initiatives. Prior to moving into HR, Muneeb started his career as a software engineer at Netcracker, bringing a technical grounding to his people strategy work.

With a mix of consulting rigour, start-up agility and enterprise-scale experience, Muneeb’s elevation signals Zepto’s continued focus on building robust people systems as it races towards its next phase of growth.