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BJP's "Chintan Baithak"

I was completely shocked when I was told that BJP expelled Mr. Jaswant Singh. Unfortunately, there was only Jaswant Singh(among few) in BJP whom I respected as an intellectual. He was the only man or I should say the Man-Mohan of BJP. He was intelligent, highly qualified and above all, apolitical like many other BJP leaders. If not secular, at least he seemed secular to the general public.

Moreover BJP's "Chintan Baithak" came out with reasons of loss in 2009 general elections. All the reasons were pointing only two things.
Firstly, poor strategy and secondly poor marketing of ideas.
As per me,BJP used all media tools effectively to convey their ideology. But the problem was never in the promotion.
The main reasons for BJP's loss are the other two P's.
Product: The ideology of being stubborn, the ideology of spreading hatred, the ideology of introspecting the past and not planning for the future, the ideology of non-secularism, when mixed together, forms BJP i.e. a poor product. Such a poor product can only be sold to your customers(electorate) once. Soon the customers realize that they have been cheated.
Price: If we would have brought BJP back to power, then the price we had to pay for it would have been huge.BJP's ideology disturbs the social coherence of India. I have always believed that BJP is an Allopathic medicine. They may solve India's problems; but would also give various side-effects(for e.g. hindutva,moral policing etc.) that would hurt our country later.

My dad, who was once BJP loyalist, amusingly used to say, BJP means " Bhaago Janta Peetegi"...

KAMINEY... !!!

This was the movie; I was desperately waiting for .Reason, interesting trailers and Visual Bharadwaj. He has given movies like Makdi, Maqbool, Omkara and The Blue Umbrella. All have been meaningful, interesting and entertaining.
I always wanted to watch premiere of the movie. Thankfully to CREDAI Karnataka Realty Expo, I wasn't able to watch the movie, whole weekend. Reviews were out, everyone had loved it. Now I have to see it.
Monday after the job, I ensured not to miss the movie. And guess what, it was memorable experience. As rightfully Rajeev Masand says,'Kaminey is imaginative and original’. It made me remembered movie of 70s era, which had everything, fun action thrill drama and romance.
Kaminey was nice blend of all. I had completely forgotten that there was Shahid Kapoor in the movie. I flowed with the story through Guddu, Sweety and Charlie.
I was mesmerized with Shahid's acting and the supporting casts. As per me the movie is "Fuberb". Movie is embraced with catchy and classy music blended with Gulzar Sahab's unmatchable lyrics.
Loved the line... "Ek dil se dosti thi... Ye huzur bhi kaminey...!!!"

My next target... "What's your Rashee" by Ashutosh Gowarikar.

SWAMI...

Yesterday, I saw the movie “Swami” again on television. I loved the movie when saw it for the first time and even this time too. I decided to blog about this movie because many people would not talk about this movie.

“Swami” is a simple movie on a life story of titled fictional character. Movie casts Manoj Bajpai and my all time favorite heroine, Juhi Chawla. The story is about their unconditional love towards each other and later towards their children. It’s a complete family movie that will make you cry in some of its scenes.

The movie was a flop and I guess wouldn’t have even heard its name. Technically and critically speaking, this movie is below average. But its heart lies at the right place. Moreover, it teaches you the essence the relationships. The relation of Swami with his arm-chair shows you the love for his wife ”Radha”. Swami has only one dream, to fulfill the dreams of his wife through his children. Swami depicts a very good husband, father, and above all great man. His relation with his son is shown astoundingly emotional in the movie.

Moreover, this movie also shows a life of a common Indian middle class family. This movie beautifully depicts small but important moments of one’s life. One feels connected to the movie, and can easily relate to his/her life.

You will never understand all this nor will I be able to explain, until you watch this movie. Be patient, forgive the editing and try to appreciate the soul of the movie.

Team Manmohan !!!

I missed the opportunity to congratulate Mr. Manmohan Singh through my blog on 24th April. On 24th I was elated when I got the news that Congress is back. Or I should say, back with bang. I was so afraid, on 24th morning. I never wanted to BJP to be back, atleast until they drop their idea of hindutva.

Moreover, I am more or less happy with the list of ministers in Manmohan’s team. I personally wanted people like Shashi Tharoor and other young guns in some form of ministries. Inclusion of people like Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jatin Prasad, Agatha Sangma etc. as MoS was a great decision. People like Pranab Mukherjee, P. Chidambaram, Kamalnath, Kapil Sibbal, Dayanidhi Maran, Praful Patel and others all getting key ministries to bring results rather than promises. Yes they had to compromise bit due to politics, but Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and adamant Manmohan hand-picked most of them.

I guess for the first time ever on Indian news channels, we found so much discussion on list of ministers and portfolios. As if Team Manmohan is on a mission to change India. Team Manmohan gives me hope, a hope for progress, hope for social security, hope for secularism. I trust Team Manmohan, because most of the ministers are extremely qualified with education and experience. Moreover we can see a nice blend of youth and experience in the team.

HORN OK PLEASE…!!!

Firstly, a good news. I bought a bike, “Bajaj Platina”. It was badly needed as I have to daily travel to the office. Travelling in buses was horrible and “autowallas” of Bangalore were too demanding. So I had to waste more time in travelling, which could also have been spent doing something constructive.
Bike gives you a sense of freedom and a driving pleasure. I can now go anywhere in city, anytime. I am so happy, not only because, I own a bike, but also, I have to no more be dependent on Bangalore’s autowallas.

Bangalore traffic made me realize the importance of horns in your vehicle. Not only it is necessary to alert the vehicles around you, but it’s also a mode for expression. During long traffic queues, I have seen people honking to show their anger towards vehicle ahead them. Their horns yell asking people to make roads for them. Horns are also a great mode of stress buster. Angrier you are with the traffic, harder you press the horn. Horns are also used to irritate people. I myself have tried to horn out autowallas ahead of me, just to irritate them. It’s my form of revenge against all the problems they have given to me during my two year stay at Bangalore. Horns are also mode for fun. I have heard weirdest of horns,from a baby’s cry to police’s siren. But actually I believe horns should always be weird. I guess, only then you are heard among all the similar sounds in traffic.

So next time, when you listen to a harsh horn around you, just for one second, try to think the real reason behind it.

I am back…

Hi all welcome back to Be A Step Ahead…

It’s been long since I have stopped writing.
Reasons? Infact many…

Early April, I joined Dun & Bradstreet, and it was a start to a working professional life after two years of life as management student.
Moreover, things leading to that were, shifting to a new house, a new life and many adjustments in terms of facilities. The new house had independence, a sense of belongingness but lacked facilities like internet, television, library etc., all needed to keep you updated and blog about that. We had to start from scratch.
During this phase, many ideas came in, many views, many reactions, but there was no medium to express it to the world. Moreover, I was fed with comments on my blog, which I couldn't answer due to this problems.

So, here’s I am back. Back to the world of blogging, back to the social media, back to something constructive and above all, back to the freedom of expression.

The importance of PR campaign... "Grappo Fizz"

Just a week back, I wrote about Parle Agro’s new refreshing brand, LMN. But soon I found that, Parle Agro have also introduced a new brand named, “Grappo Fizz”. It seems they are going aggressive this summer. After the success story of Appy Fizz, the product is been extended to Grappo Fizz. As the name suggests, Grappo Fizz is a carbonated Grape- flavored beverage. Grappo Fizz comes in two SKUs — 300 ml (priced at Rs 20) and 500 ml (at Rs 27). I am yet to see its TVC and more importantly, yet to taste it.

Nadia Chauhan, Joint Managing Director and CMO, Parle Agro, says, “Grappo Fizz is targeted at the youth who is constantly looking for ‘new options’. Parle Agro plans to tap into this segment through various activities including a television commercial, which will be on air this weekend. The TVC will weave an “entire brand persona around” Grappo Fizz who is introduced as a “Youthful rapper” and the cousin of the Appy Fizz character."

But I am disappointed by few things. When I tried searching about Grappo Fizz on internet, I found only one article listed in Business Line and Money Control. I also tried to get the image of Grappo Fizz, but even that was unavailable. Thus, it means, a pro-active PR campaign is missing out. The only reason could be, Grappo Fizz may still be in experimental stage. I believe, Parle should aggressively market their new products to catch consumer’s attention. But the saddest thing was, one cannot find any information about these new products of Parle Agro even on their official website. Neither have they mentioned LMN as their new product nor Grappo Fizz. I guess Parle Agro have really forgotten to update its website.

Parle expects youth to buy Grappo Fizz, who is constantly looking for 'new options'. But they have forgotten that these new-product exploring customers will like to grab more information through either retail stores, or newspapers or internet. But due to lack of poor PR campaign, no information could be found in newspapers or internet. Neither Grappo Fizz is extensively distributed into markets, just after its launch. Parle doesn’t even care to inform their inquisitive customers through its website.

Parle Agro needs to be proactive in marketing and should be a step ahead. Moreover, they should realize the importance of PR campaigns to create successful brands in future.

Dun & Bradstreet... !!!

With all your good wishes, I have been placed in “Dun & Bradstreet”, famously known as “DnB”. Being a business to business (B2B) company, very less consumers know about it. DnB affect everyone’s life all around the world. To let everyone know about the company, I decided to post a blog on it. Following is the company information.

“Dun & Bradstreet”, the world’s leading source of global business information, knowledge and insight, has been enabling companies to “Decide with Confidence®” for over 165 years. Through the D&B Worldwide Network – an unrivaled alliance of D&B and leading business information providers around the world – customers gain access to the world’s largest and highest quality global commercial business information database.

Customers use D&B Risk Management Solutions to mitigate risk, increase cash flow and drive increased profitability, D&B Sales & Marketing Solutions to analyze markets, locate prospects and increase revenue from new and existing customers; D&B Export Marketing Solutions to gain significant insight into overseas markets and increase sales; D&B Financial Education Solutions to facilitate professional growth and excellence among their executives and D&B Economic Analysis Group to derive pragmatic and solution-oriented analyses of strategic economic and business developments, thereby aiding informed decision making.

• The world’s leading provider of global business information, knowledge and insight
• Established in 1841
• Listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
• Present in over 200 countries, in 82 languages or dialects, covering 181 monetary currencies.
• Manages the world’s most valuable commercial database with information on over 131 million business entities
• Annual revenue of US$ 1.6 billion
• Market capitalization of US$ 5.6 billion

Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Pvt. Ltd. (D&B India) started in 1995, offers a wide suite of information solutions and its services are used extensively by banks, financial institutions, multinationals, corporate entities, public sector undertakings, exporters and importers.

To know more : DnB

April Fool's Day...

Enjoy friends! Play pranks on others and have fun. Don't forget to laugh at yourself !!!

Lemony... "LMN" !!!

Yesterday afternoon, after lunch, I went to my nearby retail shop to buy a soft drink. Generally, I tend to buy Thums Up or Coke. But there I saw a new beverage brand, named “LMN”. I liked the packaging, which attracted me towards that brand. Moreover, I was really impressed by name “LMN” as it sounds cool, young, yet meaningful. In today’s times of fast food and speed dating, the name “LMN” seems to be derived from the SMS version of the word lemon. I bought it. Price was reasonable and competitive, as 200ml. tetra pack was of Rs.10. I really liked its taste as it was a nice surprise to me. Unlike other carbonated drinks, “LMN” was a non-carbonated lemon drink on lines of traditional Indian ‘Nimbu-Pani’.

Being an inquisitive marketer, I tried to look up more about the brand. Interestingly, “LMN” is a brand from the house of Parle Agro. My favorite beverage brand, Parle Agro, has always given tough competitions to MNC giants Pepsi and Coke. As an industry pioneer, Parle Agro was the first to introduce fruit drinks in a Tetra Pak in India, the first to introduce apple nectar and the first to introduce fruit drinks in PET bottles. Its brands like Frooti and Appy are successful and have created their own niche.

“LMN” will interestingly get a direct competition from Pepsi’s “Nimbooz”. But, I believe, “LMN” has got better packaging and brand name than “Nimbooz”. The striking green and yellow color makes the pack noticeable and increases its shelf appeal. In the PET offering, the unique bottle design of “LMN” makes it stand apart from the rest. LMN differentiates its appearance from common carbonated lemon drinks like Limca and Mirinda. As per Nimbooz, it looks like another version of Limca, and thus it seems repetitive. LMN feels new and fresh. “LMN” also takes a refreshingly fresh take on lemon, with a catchy tagline – “The Emergency Lemon Refresher”.
Interestingly, "LMN" was everywhere into the market much before its TV commercial, whereas TV ads of "Nimbooz" is on every TV channel, but diificult to find in stores.

I am yet to taste” Nimbooz”, but personally, even if “Nimbooz” tastes better, I would still buy “LMN”. Reason, it being Indian (you know how nationalist I am).

Watch TV ad here: LMN

I salute you Mr. Kamlesh Patel !!!

These days, on Friday late evenings, whenever I call up my loved ones, I get a same reply from all, ‘We are busy watching, Dance India Dance, so can we talk later!’ After months of being neglected on Friday evenings, I decided to check this show out. And believe me or not, I got hooked up to show! I was mesmerized by the emphatic dance performances of the contestants. I saw the whole show with the feeling of awe! I was personally impressed by the prince of popping and locking, “Prince” from Baroda.

But one performance made me cry (you know how emotional I am!). In fact everyone cried, including Mithun Da, the jury, the contestants and the audience. The credit goes to a man named, “Mr. Kamlesh Patel”. I was touched by his performance! As if, I was taught a great lesson of life, by that dance performance. You all must be thinking, what was so special in that performance?

Kamlesh Patel is a physically challenged man. He cannot stand on his legs, as his legs are paralyzed (at the age of 5). So he danced with his hands on Indian patriotic songs! We were all speechless by his performance with moistened eyes. We felt so small in front of him. As Mr. Remo (jury) said, ‘No one in this world can judge this performance’. When everyone was crying, Kamlesh Patel was smiling. I guess he was smiling on God, on the whole world, on us!

Kamlesh Patel had the fortitude and determination to fight against the odds. Even being paralyzed, he never bogged down, practiced dancing and honed his talent. Today, for me he is the man to look up to. He is the man, who teaches us, even in adversities, one shouldn’t accept defeat. Kamlesh Patel is an answer to all those who think, that being physically challenged is a curse.
Friends, learn not to complaint. Instead, learn to fight against the odds and emerge as the winner. And as always, be a step ahead.

Watch his dance performances here:
Kamlesh Patel Video 1
Kamlesh Patel Video 2

Will Manchester United Stay With AIG ???

With $150 billion of US government support, there has been intense scrutiny on the insurer’s spending habits, including those bonuses, some of which have now been returned. But AIG has to pay somewhere in between $20 million and $28 million to finish its four-year deal it signed with the team Manchester United in 2006.

The Question is not that how is AIG doing this? But the issue is that whether Manchester United and the owner Malcolm Glazer really cool with sporting these jerseys as they continue their quest to win championships? Actually it’s hard to get a quick sponsorship deal in this environment, but you have to think that it’s worth shelving the embarrassment by paying back the money from the rest of the deal and trying to sign a temporary stand-in.

But what about the ‘Nike’ jerseys which are already in production for next year? As explained by the London Telegraph recently, should AIG change the name to AIU (American Insurance United) would be responsible for the jersey change, but obviously if ManU ditches AIG, or whatever they’ll be called, for a blank jersey or another sponsor they would probably have to pay the bill.

How embarrassing would it be then for ManU to wear the AIG logo on their chests as they try to win the Champions League in Rome in May?

Ref.- Reuters

Credits - Manik Gursahani

Biggest Holders of US Government Debt !!!

As the US government spends an unprecedented amount of money to fix the nation's economy, there is an equally great need to raise the cash to pay for it. This is accomplished through borrowing, whereby ‘US Treasury’ sells Treasury securities of varying maturity.

For investors, the government bills, notes and bonds are considered a safe financial product because they have a guaranteed rate of return, based on faith in future US tax revenues. The government has been partially funding operations via Treasury securities for decades. This borrowing adds to the national debt, which is now above $11 trillion and is rising every day. Much of that debt is held by private sector, but about 40 percent is held by public entities, including parts of the government. Here's who owns the most.

1. Federal Reserve & Intragovernmental Holdings- $4.806 trillion
2. Mutual Funds- $769.1 billion
3. China- $739.6 billion
4. Japan- $634.8 billion
5. State & Local Governments- $522.7 billion
6. Pension Funds- $456.4 billion
7. Other Investors- $413.2 billion
8. Oil Exporters- $186.3 billion
9. Caribbean Banking Centres- $176.6 billion
10. Brazil- $133.5 billion
11. Insurance Companies- $126.4 billion
12. United Kingdom- $ 124.2billion
13. Russia- $119.3billion
14. Luxembourg -$87.2billion
15. US Depository Institutions- $107.3billion

I believe even if 5% holdings of all these entities enters the stock market of this world the volatility of the market will try to smoothen up and it would bring comfort and confidence to the financial market. Every entity being futuristic is still ready to hold and borrow more and more debt from an economy which is said to be the sole cause for this recession.

Ref.- CNBC

Credits - Manik Gursahani

"YOU” vs. “YOUR BEHAVIOR”...

Why my friends don’t understand me?
Why does everyone don’t like me?
Why I am not getting selected?
Why my product is not selling?

If you get failed in your relationships, in your professional life, or in your business, there is only theory that can bail you out.
The theory of"YOU” vs. “YOUR BEHAVIOR”!

One should understand that it is not "You", who is getting failed; it is "Your Behavior" that is the loser. One needs to understand that, it all about how the world perceives you. It is not about "You". It is all about how you look like, how your behavior is, how do you interact etc. Your friends don’t understand “You”, because the imagery that they have formed about you is not matching with the real “You”. “You” failed to present the right imagery to your friends, the inner “You”! One should not change its inner-self, because there is a risk of losing your own identity. Instead “You” need to change your communication strategy so that the world perceives you exactly in the same way “You” are!

Similarly, in marketing, it is not the product that’s got failed. It is your communication with your customers, it is your imagery in the minds of the consumers, and it is how you are perceived that’s got failed. The brand has failed to present its real qualities to the consumers. Customers form some perception about your product and use their instincts before buying a product. Thus, a brand needs to change its communication strategy and make sure; concerns of its target audience (only) are taken good care.

Hence, it’s not about “You”. It’s all about how the world sees “You”!

OPEN... a weekly mind stimulant...!!!

RPG group is entering into publications by launching its new current affairs magazine named, “OPEN”. It would be launched on 3rd of April. Sandipan Deb is the editor of the magazine, who, in fact, was one of the founder editors of Outlook, more than a decade ago.

The positioning of this magazine is quite interesting. As per the report from afaqs, the target audience would be. 'Individuals who belong to SEC A1, are around 32 years (both male and female) of age, with a monthly household income of Rs 2 lakh, hold senior managerial positions, drive C segment cars, wear branded apparel, use high-end phones or Blackberrys and travel abroad at least once a year.'
It would be available only in top 12 cities of India, with the price of Rs.30. Its competitors India Today, Outlook etc. charges Rs.25 per issue. Open, feels that there is no direct competition with these magazines, which, according to them, are more mass magazines. ‘It will be positioned as an interesting, intelligent and stimulating magazine.’

Open also thought of interesting form of marketing too. Firstly, magazine would be sold only on its merits and not on the basis of freebies. ‘Therefore, the magazine is actively pursuing an alternate model of acquiring readers. They have a database of their target audience that has passed through stringent filters. Open is sending an exclusive and personalized offer to these cherry-picked consumers, giving them an opportunity to experience the product for four issues free of cost.’

Moreover, Open’s size will be more than an inch wider than the standard A4 size of most of the magazines. Thus, when opened, the magazine gives an additional two inches for the content and also maximizes the ad impact.

Open has planned a 360 degree communication strategy, which includes outdoor in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, multiplexes and the Internet. To start with, television isn't part of the media mix. Ad films will be shown in multiplexes, before movies that are frequented by their target audience. Also, there will be buzz-marketing activities at malls to engage them.

It would be interesting to see, how successful is Open's marketing, once it is out in the market.

Ref. - www.afaqs.com

Ohh Ri Duniya... Gulaal !!!

I was really impressed by the movie "Gulaal" based on dirty politics in Rajasthan. Anurag Kashyap, the director has its own style to portrait his script. But I was overwhelmed by lyrics and dialogues of the movie, all credits to Piyush Mishra. Here are few lines from the song "Duniya". Similar to the movie, the lyrics is hard hitting and very true. Read this friends !

"पलछिन में रातें चली जाती हैं ,
पलछिन में बातें चली जाती हैं !
रह जाते हैं जो सवेरा वो ढूंढें,
जलते मकान में बसेरा वो ढूंढें !!

जैसी बची है वैसी की वैसी, बचा लो ये दुनिया,
अपना समझ के अपनों के जैसी, उठा लो ये दुनिया !
छिटपुट सी बातों में जलने लगेगी, संभालो ये दुनिया,
कट पिट के रातों में पलने लगेगी, संभालो ये दुनिया !!
ओह री दुनिया, ओह री दुनिया...

वो कहें हैं की दुनिया ये इतनी नहीं है,
सितारों से आगे जहाँ और भी हैं !
ये हम ही नहीं, वहां और भी हैं,
हमारी हर एक बात होती वहीँ हैं !!
हमें ऐतराज़ नहीं हैं कहीं भी,
वो आई है फाजिल हम पे सही की!

मगर फलसफा ये बिगड़ जाता है जो,
वो कहते है..
आलिम ये कहता वहां इश्वर हैं !
फाजिल ये कहता वहां अल्लाह हैं,
काफिर ये कहता वहां ईसा हैं !!

मंजिल ये कहती तब इन्सान से की,
तुम्हारी हैं तुम ही संभालो ये दुनिया !
ये उजड़े हुए चंद बासी चरागों,
तुम्हारे ये काले इरादों की दुनिया !!

ओह री दुनिया, ओह री दुनिया..."

Why India needs a Nano ???

Suhel Seth rightly says, "From a marketing perspective, it has already gone into the lexicon of India's people and the fact that Tata called it a people's car is even more suggestive of the transfer of ownership of the brand from a company to its users: the people. How many brands can claim this? And how many brands have ever used this form of positioning? It is rare in times such as these to avoid paid advertising and yet launch a brand that has a lot riding on it. But then again, Nano is one car that needs no definition. It has been embraced as a vehicle of change but even more critically; as a vehicle of empowerment and it is here that the Tatas have provided that huge leap as it were."

Read More - "Why India needs a Nano?"

A Small Story... "Smart Dog" !!!

Once, a dog lost his way deep into the jungle.
He almost fainted to see a lion coming straight to him at a very near distant.
' I will be dead today ' , thought he.
There were some bones lying over there.
He turned his back towards lion and started pretending as if he is eating those bones.
When lion was very close to him he cried out loudly ' Wow, what a fun eating a lion, by chance if I can get another one, it will be a treat '.
Lion thought ' What a dangerous dog!!!!! He kills lions and eats it. Let me run away from here and save my life '.

Now, there was a Monkey hiding on the tree there watching the entire show.
He thought ' It`s a good chance to tell the truth to the lion. Lion will become my friend and I will not have to run saving my life from him '.
He just ran away to inform the entire episode to Lion.
The dog had seen him going and quickly understood the ploy.
Both lion and monkey were coming back to the dog and the lion was furious.
When lion was very close to him he again cried out loudly ' It has been half an hour and yet that stupid monkey can`t fetch another lion???

Moral of the story... you decide ???

Build your own NANO...!!!

Without going to the showroom, now you can decide upon how your Tata Nano should look like. Tata Nano’s website offer’s you to build your own Tata Nano. Customize your Nano as per your preference. The website offers you to customize on colors, wheels, decals, scoop trim etc.

Go and check out yourself!

Visit - Tata Nano