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  • Language can turn ideas into magic or dust: Tim Love

    Language can turn ideas into magic or dust: Tim Love

    VARCA, GOA: In today‘s diverse world compressed by an overwhelming digital presence, language is the most powerful technology around.

    “Language is a technology in itself,” Omnicom Group vice chairman and Omnicom Asia Pacific India Middle-East and Africa (APIMA) CEO Tim Love said, presenting a new facet to the debate of the relevance of technology in a post-digital World.
    Quoting McLuhan, Love said that once you master technology, it becomes invisible. As human beings have more or less mastered their respective language – verbal and non verbal, it is becoming invisible. Every advertising professional needs to bear in mind that this technology is omnipresent and affects the reception of the message globally.

    As a consequence, we have also started focusing on electronic technology and started undermining the potential of “human technology”. The potential of human insights and understanding still plays a major role in determining the effectiveness of an ad message.

    Speaking at Goafest 2012, Love went on to give the example of an automobile brand Nova which was to be launched in the Latin American countries. While in some cultures and languages the word Nova refers to something new, in this particular country it had a negative connotation. The local agency professional pointed this out to the brand. It did not deter the brand from going ahead with the name, but it did make for a good study of the multicultural fabric we operate in and how marketers and ad professionals need to be sensitive to the language difference that exists in the world.

    “The worst thing you can do is to presume we all think the same,” Love warned. “Respecting the difference in the languages and culture and moulding your communication accordingly makes for a better strategy. Even sign language is not universal.”

    It is necessary to keep in mind the syntax of different languages as well. For example, Japanese use their verb at the very end. Also, the intonations in the language make it slowly spoken. Hence, while communicating to a Japanese audience, the message should keep these things in mind for the audience to better assimilate and comprehend the matter.

    Cultural agility also needs to be maintained to gauge the preferences and choices of the audience in this case. While some factors like language, environment and symbols may be evident, there are many aspects like religion, history, superstitions, values and attitudes that are more covert.

    “I would give three tips for maintaining cultural agility. First, treat language with more reverence. Second, when using an interpreter slow down and use crisp sound bytes and third, learn how to say hello, please and thank you in the language of your communication partner,” Love said.

    An idea is not an idea till it drives innovation and explores new realms of understanding and conversation. In this context, Love concluded that an idea can be turned into magic or dust depending on the hand that rubs against it. Using the linguistic and cultural context while planning and executing a campaign can make that difference between dust and magic.

  • Full circle marketing integration is a necessity: Tim Love

    Full circle marketing integration is a necessity: Tim Love

    VARCA, GOA: In a world where out of seven billion global citizens nearly five and a half are connected to the web, there is no denying that technology is affecting our way of life. But while we go gung-ho about digital and strive to integrate in the marketing plans, we must sit down and realise that while using digital, especially social media, a frame of reference is of paramount consequence.

    Speaking at Goafest 2012, Omnicom Group vice chairman (APIMA) Tim Love touched upon the concept of ideas that impact the full circle.

    “We live in a world where people and individuals are interconnected and interdependent. What the economic crisis has taught is that our behaviour is definitely going to have an effect on other people, the geography notwithstanding. In this case, full circle marketing integration becomes a necessity. We live in a post-digital world, we are up to our eyes in it. Digital is the air we breathe,” explained Love.

    Also with the advent of technology, not only has the interconnectedness increased, but there is also a higher level of transparency. This also needs to be taken into account while planning and executing marketing. A misstep may be magnified manifold, thanks to the reach and use of social media today.

    “I would say that we live in a post digital world. The digital wave has already hit us and we are riding it as we speak. We are surrounded by digital and in my view it offers more depth to marketing,” offered Love.

    One of the consequences of the proliferation of digital media is that people have become the first media. Digital has enabled us to live in a borderless multicultural universe of individual all connected through the web. According to Love, the industry we operate in has become an exchange of ideas among the people, corporations, brands and nation.

    The growing penetration of digital also begs us to have a look at the dynamics that govern networking. Of all the theories, Metcalf’s theory is most accepted and is also the basis of the advent of the Internet. According to this theory, as the number of connections grows, the value of the network grows as the connection itself also has value. Thus a network of one individual will have the value on one, while a network of two people will carry the value of three (two for the individuals and one for the connection itself). Similarly a network of three people will have the value of six and that of four people will have the value of 10 and so on and so forth.

    According to Love, apart from the connection, in today’s multicultural borderless online world, one should also consider the emotional reactions and cultural background of the individuals in the network. This will increase the value of the networks exponentially and make them richer in experience. “This is what I like to call Love’s Law,” he quipped.

    Research also shows that individuals that function in a multicultural atmosphere have richer experiences and broader perspectives and may even be better thinkers. It has also been established that the first language a person learns affects his/her thinking and processing habits to a great extent. In view of this, Love’s Law finds further proof.

    Having established that operating in the full circle is the need of the hour, one needs to look at the challenges this task offers. Firstly, there is the challenge of integration which transcends functional and geographical boundaries. Secondly, one is faced with the challenge of efficiency in terms of cost and speed while the third challenge comes in the form of mastery. Last but not the least, one must also solve the puzzle of targeting and planning the marketing plan for the TG.

    Love explained how Omnicom deals with such challenges. The ‘trick’ is in six tenets that the company follows throughout its verticals namely – consumer is the client, brand first, share and re-apply, let ideas lead and trust. Applying these concepts in tandem, Omnicom has been able to integrate functionally and geographically with efficiency.