When I was quite small and growing up in places like Assam or Kolkata we were encouraged to help out the disabled and the elderly. We were also taught not to help any able person begging or asking for alms as we would not be helping them but spoiling them. Then while growing up we heard tales about gangs forcibly disabling people, specially children and force them to beg. So every such beggar was seen with suspicion and many a times I learnt to look away from such people, sometimes wondering whether I denied someone who was truly in need. I then focussed my attention on to organisations who were big and who were dedicated to some good causes. Cancer Aid, Blind school etc.

And I was happy. In my own quite way, I was doing my bit towards society. In fact just yesterday I wrote a blog on CSR and how corporates can use social media much better for CSR (https://vikasmehta08.blogspot.in). The blog was inspired by the ALS Ice bucket challenge. I thought it was a good example of involving the audience to generate funds for a good cause.

Until I read a post by a gent named Jose Canura, based in US. He had done some research on the net and had some shocking findings. ALSA had dedicated only 7.71% of its budget to research, administrative cost at 10.54% and fundraising cost at 18.11% was much more than the research allocation, in 2012. To me this was an eye opener.

I had indeed heard rumours of this kind before. During the Tsunami crisis we as an office were donating one day salary to the Red Cross. A dear colleague who happened to be in Sri Lanka at that time beseeched us not to do so. She told us tales of senior people from world renowned charitable organisations staying in 5 star hotels and hiring fleets of AC cars. Later on I heard similar tales about some UN organisations too. I also remember getting a fancy new year card from one respected charity organisation not more than 2 years ago. I had got so miffed by it that I had written a strong note to the Director of the organisation taking him to task on such wasteful expenditure. He was defensive about it saying that it helps to pamper donors. Well he did not pamper me. I cut him off my list of donors.

In today's age of everything available online, I guess it is not difficult to do some research on your own. But if such figures are true then it means that even people like Bill Gates or George Bush have frittered away $ 93!!!

What is happening to charity? Is it become bottomline oriented business? Are there shareholder returns being calculated here also?

Or is it that this was always the case and only now with easy access to information these things are coming out in the open. I am confused and annoyed. I think charitable organisations are hell bent on killing the goose which lays the golden egg.

But I am now going to be very aware and watchful. I shall go through the annual reports and audited accounts of all organisations to whom I contribute. And I would urge you to do the same. Your responsibility does not end by donating. It in facts starts by ensuring that when you donate, donate to a cause where the maximum amount is being put to good use. And not ensuring big perks, fancy cars and bonuses to the people who are in the business of charity.   

The ALS ice bucket challenge has been a big hit on the internet. It has spread virally across the world and since the challenge began the ALS association has collected 41.8 million dollars in contributions. So the challenge has done two things very well. One it has raised the awareness of ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease and two common individuals have also got involved and contributed $100 each to the association. A great example of crowd funding, though the raising of awareness has contributed to big time donations too.

Social media is a great opportunity for corporates to get involved in CSR activities. CSR needs to be something which is transparent, genuine and which is seen to be benefitting the society. What better way to achieve all this than social media. Your customers or consumers can see you making a difference.

Just as an example, if this challenge was in India maybe a private hospital chain or a pharma company or any socially responsible organisation could have come forward and raised the bar saying that for everyone participating in this challenge and contributing $100 or Rs 5000 they will from their side contribute something extra. It could be even Rs 1000 per person. But imagine the goodwill they can generate with this gesture.

In India on the occasion of a festival or even valentines day or new year we see companies/brands make desperate attempt to link with the occasion. They will have offers or discounts and try to make it look like an offer because they want they consumers to enjoy that festival or occasion. Can they turn the same into a CSR opportunity which increases sale and also generates good funds for a good cause.

Last year in Oman for Valentines day, we did a proactive twitter campaign for a confectionery client. Confectionery are sweet, gooey, mushy things which come in handy on a valentine's day. But could we use the occasion to bring a smile to the underprivileged?

So we had a simple tweet offer. Instead of using the word love use hasgtag name of the brand in your tweet. So instead of saying "I love valentine's day" say" I #nameof brand valentines day". For each such tweet the brand will donate one candy and one unit of the local currency towards an orphanage. We invited some local celebrities to tweet the message and ask their followers to retweet the same. And there was a linked micro site which was keeping a tab on the scores.

Results were great. The brand had a high recall around Valentine day. The tweets got the brand to donate money and candies, bringing a smile for some orphans. The consumers got involved. Sales increased at the opportune time. CSR was achieved transparently and genuinely.

On hindsight we missed a small trick. We could have announced some simple prizes for the best or the most tweets. This way the consumer would have been motivated to do more and the healthy competition would have helped us to get better CSR response.

The point here is about doing CSR by involving the consumer. It's not just about donating some money to charity or sponsoring some event which can generate charity. It's about making the consumer be at the forefront. These ideas get bigger and gets viral because the consumer sees his own involvement. Its like their own contribution to a good cause. The brand or company's contribution become secondary.

I think there is a huge opportunity here. The festival season is now approaching. Brands like Cadbury's etc will spend quite a bit of money on promotion and advertising. Other brands like Raymonds, Samsung, Coca Cola (these are all indicative brands) will spend a lot on feel good ads. They will have promotions, contests, discounts. Can we expect them to think a bit differently this time? Can they use the festive occasion to spread cheer not just as an emotion but as a result of a good act? Can they first think of an idea of what they will do and then look at a TVC or press ad? Can their agencies take up the challenge to think about activities which will help the needy, involve the consumer and help increase the brand bottomline as well as the bottom line of a cause?

I am hoping to see some genuine CSR lead activity/media campaign/social media campaign this year. It's not a difficult thing. The challenge is to think Digital or more specifically social media first. The challenge is to think an activity. The challenge is to create a win win situation for all stake holders. Who will take the lead? #Mohit HiraNishad RamachandranKushalSanghviAtulHegdeJitenderDabas

Just before the turn of the century, I started getting some noises in my ears. It was not a distraction but was definitely an irritation. I was in my early 30’s happily married, upwardly mobile. Had just got my first international posting and the world was mine to conquer. Within months it all came crashing down.

While in Egypt I was diagnosed with Menniere’s disease. It’s not a life threatening illness. But it is a social taboo illness. It affects the hearing and sometimes causes vertigo. It’s cause is yet unkown but is linked to an unhealthy lifestyle…..anxiety at work place, irregular eating and sleeping habits, processed food rich in sodium, cola and caffeine culture….all of which I was guilty of. There is no cure but one needs to take preventive measure. I went for diagnosis and treatment to UK, US and even got an unsuccessful surgery done in my inner ear. But my tinnitus in the ears kept on increasing, my hearing diminished. Frankly more than the hearing it was the speech discrimination which was an issue. In plain language, I could hear but was not sure of what was being spoken.

My first reaction was that this cannot be happening to me. But my immediate second reaction was that I am going to fight it. I acquired hearing aids of the highest order in order to improve my speech discrimination, I changed my eating habits totally. Cut out all tea, coffee, colas, processed foods and salt from my food. Started daily walks and jogs and also alternate medicine.

And I never allowed it to interfere with my work. I was concentrating much harder, was more focussed even developed a bit of lip reading! And the results showed. Some of my best years in terms of results happened in Egypt and Indonesia. In Egypt I turned around an ailing division restored client confidence in the agency on all globally aligned MNC clients and broke all records in client performance appraisals and bonuses. Exactly the same results came in Indonesia too where I was leading a team of more than 50 people and also handling regional responsibility, which meant extensive travel throughout Asia and London.

But I noticed another change. In the way society started dealing with me. I was no more a high flyer or a rising star. I was not shunned but when people realised I was wearing hearing aids, suddenly there would be doubt in their eyes and actions. Since I was wearing a hearing aid therefore it was assumed that I was at a handicap. People would raise their voice automatically, repeat the same things twice and if I asked them to repeat what they said would look at me with pity. First I thought it was mind playing tricks but on closer observation I realised it was a definite behaviour trait.

Worse was to follow. People started assuming that I was getting dumber. I could see exasperation setting in if I did not follow something at the first attempt. I could see impatience because it was assumed that having a handicap meant that I have become an inferior person.

And then the worst social behaviour emerged. I would notice people sniggering behind my back. If I misinterpreted something it was because I was hard of hearing, and I did face some moments when people actually took advantage of my condition. There were some colleagues and also superiors who blatantly lied, “But I told you so. Oh! You may not have heard it!” There were times when I knew that some one was trying to shift blame on me and use my problem to their advantage and I could do nothing about it. It was almost as if I was marked out.

Mind you I was in a communication business. I was at the beck and call of my clients 24x7. And I had to always keep in touch with my consumers too. Attending group discussions, strategy meetings, new business pitches were all a normal part of my day. It was a high pressure, result oriented, deadline driven career.

All this did get to me. It was not only frustrating but also dealt a severe blow to my self confidence. Maybe, I actually didn’t hear what he said? Maybe, my mind is not processing information with same precision? Maybe, I am not capable of handling big projects? Maybe, I should retire and look at a more sedate profession?

My strength was my wife. She not only believed in me but was my walking talking medical advisor. She would be on the net for hours surfing for more information on the disease. She would look at all types of alternate medicines. She would become part of medical groups or patient grous related to the illness. She would restore my self confidence and she would exhort me not to give up. She always looked at the brighter side of things. At least it is not a life threatening disease, would be her usual refrain. That certainly put things in perspective.

The interesting part was that while I was being set up for failure due to societal and even peer rejection, my results at work place weren’t bad at all. Yes, there were hiccups and lows but then these happened when my confidence was at the lowest. In fact more often than not I realised that my clients were very appreciative but my industry and peers were not. The word was out on the street. He wears a hearing aid. Poor fellow, he has lost it.

I was really frustrated. Down in the dumps. I started withdrawing into a shell. I was never a firm believer but I started losing faith in God and even humanity. I would decline invites to client social meets, I would shun office group events, I would not be part of any weekend outing trips….the more I secluded and cut myself off, the more tongues wagged. The more people became convinced that I am no more a capable professional or even a friend.

But I recovered with the help of my family support system. Luckily the worst in terms of the disease was also over. My ears stabilised and I doggedly got back into my groove. My life perspective had changed and I was now determined to change some more people’s.

This is not an attempt to make a victim of myself. I don’t want this piece to get me sympathy. But I think there has to be an understanding of how some acquired physical disability does not make the person less than what he used to be. How can society and work place change their impression about someone just because he is using a device which has him labelled, handicapped? Just because I had become poor in one of my physical faculty did not mean that I had diminished as a person.

It is funny. If I had a heart attack and I had survived it, I would have been more accepted than as a person who has got a disability. Isn’t that ironic? So I soldiered on. Bagged new assignments, made a difference in my job. But the fact that I wore hearing aids always caught up.

Our society is full of preconceived notions. In as much as we try, it is not easy to fight and break these notions. My experience shows me that no one will fight for you. If you are lucky as me and have a good support system like my wife, my family, my in laws then you can fight. But what about those who do not have such support system. And also an economical support system. What do those people do? How do they fight these pre conceived notion? What do they do? How do they survive?

I turn fifty today. According to our customs and belief this is an age when a person gets into Vanaprastha ashram. Give up worldly goods, emotionally detach yourself from the world, give up the materialistic things. I will do none of that. For I want to be a role model. For I am a survivor who has survived to say his tale.

I want to tell everyone who has a disability that they are not inferior. They are just differently abled. I want them to not accept sympathy. I want them to not expect a warm, accommodating society. I want them to not accept preconceived notions. I want them to not disrespect their own self belief.

I want them to understand that the only disability in life is a bad or wrong attitude.

I want them to know that they may be disabled in one aspect but they are better than the abled in many more aspects as they will always try harder. I want them to understand that they can be more compassionate as they realise others pain.

I want this compassion to drive them. I want their disability to drive them. I want the hostile world to drive them. I want the sympathetic looks to drive them. And I want the desire to prove the preconceived notions wrong, to drive them.

And I need your help, to help them. From today when you meet a disabled person, treat him as a normal person. Respect him for what he is. Motivate him, encourage him and look at his strengths. Help him fight any preconceived notion. And if you find any other person doing the opposite of this tick him off. Educate your children on these issues. In fact introduce them to handicapped people. Let them know that they are no different than anyone else.

If each one of you demonstrate this attitude to even a single person with disability, it will be my best 50^th Birthday gift. I hope you will not shy away from giving me one.

This morning while browsing through the Times Of India one innocuous looking ad suddenly jumped out as its implications sunk in. It had a very boring, oft used, hackneyed headline but when I looked at the name of the advertiser, I was surprised. For it was a joint ad of OLX.in and Flipkart. One brand which specialises in selling your old, outdated, not useful for some products online and the other who specialises in selling new, upto date, in sync with times products, also online. The line read upgrade now. Sell old goods on OLX.in and buy new ones on Flipkart. Brilliant. Great strategy, which automatically translated into effective creative. (Scroll below to see) Link http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/index.aspx?EID=31808&dt=20140806#

I have often wondered why brands which have synergistic products or which can be strategically in sync cannot talk together or use each other's strength. More so when a masterbrand has complimentary products addressing the same TG. When I handled Philips, I would wonder why the TV division not talk to an audio product buyer? Or the vice a versa? Why couldn't the packaging of a hi fi audio system not have an interesting leaflet about some great sounding TV's? Why couldn't the database of decorative hi end home lighting system buyers be shared for a hi end TV audience?

And today's ad actually proves that one can do good co branding communication with disparate brands also.

 Imagine an ad for La opala dishes which says to keep the shine on these dishes always use Vim. Or an ad for a SUV which promotes a 3 day adventure package to tented living in Ranthambore.....And why just ads. It could be any mode of communication. DM, leaflet, contest.

The usual practical problems faced in these situations is the practicability. What's the share of each brand? Not just in size or space or airtime but also costs. Whose agency does the creative? Whose  ego to be satisfied? And the problem exists even within divisions of the same company. It's not easy to sort out these issues even within say Philips Lighting or Philips appliances. I remember one of my bosses actually recommending me to stay away from such proposals. He had burnt his hand in the past as both of his clients whom he tried to involve in co communication accused him down the line of favouring the other one!
Ok, by now I hear some of you say that co communication has been existing for ages. Don't washing machine detergent manufactureres claim that they have been approved by so many brands. Or doesn't Samsung give you airtime free with Airtel or Aircel bundles an iPhone amazing free 3G offers. Yes, I hear and agree with you. To me that's no co branding. That's endorsement or enticement. And without spouting jargon it means that these are not based on an insight. But these are either natural extensions of a product usage or they are conveniently bundled products or manufacturers claims.

Look at the OLX.in and Flipkart ad and think about it. To me it has a solid insight. In today's disposable world and flaunting the latest here are two brands which allow you to dispose off what's out of fashion or need and upgrade to the latest. That's why this piece of communication is a wow.

Similarly a person buying a high end TV would want to have proper lighting in the room to facilitate good viewing and accentuate the beauty of the TV itself. A la opala buyer would want the beauty of his dinner set to be sustained. A 4x4 buyer is a high end buyer who would want to run the vehicle through it's pace.

I think there is a huge opportunity in co branding. Egos aside, practical issues can be sorted out, insights waiting to be developed. Any takers?



 

After India's victory in the second test match at Lord's, England was down and out. They had not only lost comprehensively but their established players, including the Captain had serious form issues and there were calls for his head and radical changes. But in a week's time, England had bounced back with a resounding victory, their Captain was amongst the runs as were the other established players. The team astounded critics and supporters alike. It is one of the best examples of "bouncing back" in cricket.

In communication business too this terms carries a lot of weight. The business is service intensive. It is result oriented and deadlines are sacrosanct. Technology today plays an important role but ultimately it's the business of ideas so human intervention and error is inescapable. Mistakes therefore are part and parcel of the business. But it's never the mistakes which define the men in the business it's the bouncing back which separates the men from the boys.

And it is critical that agencies have bouncing back in their DNA. For mistakes are inevitable. But if an agency can learn from these mistakes and then prove that they can yet make a difference, then their worth is in gold. And clients understand this. Or at least good clients do. They are tolerant enough to accept agency mistakes because they know that the agency will more than make up for it.

To encourage the culture of bouncing back agency must also show patience with its employees. In today's day and age of hire and fire there is a tendency for employees to indulge in blame game or deflect the blame. This was because they are keeping their jobs safe. But if the management can inculcate a culture of people owning up to mistakes and then suggesting how they will bounce back and overcompensate the client with their bounce back ideas, then the blame game will disappear. It will contribute to more transparency and team work. In fact I have always been a great proponent of bouncing back and whenever faced with a mistake my first thought has been to bounce back. And mostly it has paid off handsomely.

Let me give you an example. Almost two decades ago with the advent of satellite channels new types of programmes were coming on air. Zee was starting with a new programme  showcasing Top 10 Bollywood songs of the week. The idea was to create a programme which had a theme with a compeer and songs interspersed throughout.

We at Contract were at that time handling the Philips audio business and were convinced that the programme suited the profile of the client. This was of course the pre separate media business days. Agency was handling the full business including media and money was made through agency commission and not a fixed fees.

The channel had proposed a naming right programme and we were excited to call it Philips Top 10. Fortunately our client concurred with our views. But the problem was that the audio business did not have enough budget for the programme and the other parts of Philips business, Colour TV and Lighting were handled by different agencies. And these agencies were not too happy with us getting a programme for their clients as it would eat up into their revenue. With a tight deadline and other big clients showing interest in the programme we managed to convince both Colour TV and Lighting to come on board. This would be India's first naming right programme and we went about trying to milk it to the maximum extent possible for our client.

We called a press conference to coincide with the launch of the first episode of the programme. The idea was to hold the conference live while the programme goes on air at 9 pm on a Friday evening. We hired a hall in Mumbai's only revolving hotel, installed latest Philips TVs, audio systems and lighting solutions all over the place. We also had a small contest for the press as to which would be the top 3 songs of the week. As the programme started the excitement mounted. And the commercial breaks carried the ads of the three product divisions. Or at least they were supposed to. For some logistics and scheduling reason the Lighting division ads never came on. And then all hell broke loose. The lighting division took us to task and accused us of negligence and not caring for them since we were not their agency. They even threatened to withdraw.

Thankfully the response to the programme was very good and the PR was excellent. We also negotiated with Zee and managed to get some extra free commercial time for a mistake which was evidently from their side.

But we at Contract weren't still happy. We wanted to bounce back. For some time we had been eyeing the business but could not as it was handled by our big boss HTA (JWT). So we decided to bounce back by impressing the client so much that we could get them to ask us to pitch for the business.

We over serviced them ( with no assured revenue except for the committed spend on Philips Top 10). We inundated them with ideas. We met up with their senior management whenever possible and within 6 months the client asked us to pitch. To cut a long story short we pitched and won the business under the noses of our big brother HTA, which they had been handling for about 35 years. All because we had been inadvertently involved in a major goof up but we decided to bounce back.

It was not as easy as it sounds. We had detailed internal meetings on who would be responsible for what. We briefed creative pro actively, we had meetings with Zee on how to highlight each division, we did our own market research, we met the lighting dealers. And it was all done on shoestring budget, strict timelines and as addition to our regular client responsibilities.

The best part was that our bond with the Audio team strengthened. They were more proud of us, would almost flaunt us within the company and allowed us to take creative risks. They also became our vocal spokesperson within Philips.

I firmly believe in the process of bouncing back. Of course it does not mean that we continue committing mistakes and then making up for the same. It means that as and when mistakes are committed learn from them, do not repeat them and try to convert the same into opportunities.

Sometimes, I wonder why all the brands today who have big customer service departments, who mouth impressive slogans and have serious mission statements cannot follow this simple philosophy? Why have I never got a feeling that after committing a mistake these guys still deserve me? Even after their CEOs intervening, why they have never felt the need to bounce back and reconvert me into their brand (http://vikasmehta64.blogspot.in)?Why have they never let me feel that the mistake was only an aberration and not a habit?

Maybe it's time that "bouncing back" philosophy is taught in business schools and at corporate campuses?