Introducing a new weekly column on The Media, Advertising and Marketing industry in Pune. A candid review of all that ‘Is’, ‘Is Not’ and ‘Should be’. No gospel, just sheer ‘in the face’ brevity.
A column that is meant to build perspective, beyond media school and university academics. Every Tuesday, only on Pune365 !
Its been on my mind for a couple of month’s now; Pune has a plethora of media and communication schools and yet, the students lack insight into the industry they are stepping into..
Lack of industry information and perspective is a void that results from pure academics bereft of on-ground experience. This is true of both students and a majority of faculty. With media schools almost dime-a-dozen, faculty is often common. Some of these academic wonders, bounce in an out of several institutes in a given week. Its a reasonably good way to earn respectably, or so I am told. Its a different matter, that this is almost as bad as having the same course module repeated across the city’s colleges, giving way to sub-standard cloning of skill sets.
The wheat gets separated from the chaff almost instantly once they are at work. From shamming to sub-standard work, the industry sees it all. Unfortunate, since a lot of these students have it in them to excel, but the system and their inclination to learn is bereft of long term vision. Most have a fall back and hence the job is often merely a statement for their peers and parents alike.
Now this is where I felt, industry professionals like us could make a difference, however tiny that may be.
Reading is a long lost habit but for those who still do, this is a feeble attempt to transport their learning to Ground Zero. Hopefully, much like the proverbial wind wane, this column will give students basic direction in meandering through the viciously addictive industry, I call Media…
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A few weeks ago, Pune witnessed a slug-fest of sorts between the two regional leaders Sakal and Lokmat, each crying themselves hoarse to proclaim their market supremacy. A few hundred hoardings and in house-ads later, Lokmat managed to build perception of being the No 1 in the Pune market. We did this with The Times of India, when the Pune edition was being launched and the whole town was plastered with a simple message saying No1, The Times of India. Consumer Neuroscience at work.
Its much like scaling the professional mountaineering. Someones already been there, yet if you get there and hoist your flag and scream the loudest, its almost certain, that you will be heard and accepted.
Structured ‘shouting from the rooftops’ can lead to immense belief and Sakal missed leveraging this. Sitting pretty on your laurels isn’t often the best thing to do. Market leadership can change hands as fast as diapers and its often best to keep reinforcing positive statements in the marketplace. Reactions can herald erosion of brand positioning and hence its best to either take your competition ‘head on’ ( if you possess the meat to do so ) or quietly whimper with a weak campaign. Alas, this is what the city saw.
Insipid for the likes of the fraternity at least. Did the Sakal strategy work, no it didn’t, and Lokmat is inching forward with missile like precision. For now, each to his own I guess. Only time will tell whether all this has impacted readers or the lack of them..
The larger picture is the distressing fall in advertising revenues for media as a whole.
Actually Print more specifically in Pune; Whatever little remains locally, is monopolised by Radio. More spontaneous, cost effective and has a zing about it. Print is boring now, and expensive at that or so hundreds of retailers and smaller advertisers say. The majority of our city magazines for instance are faced with significant losses, thanks to the ever shrinking budgets of Pune’s local advertisers coupled with insane production and staff costs.
Undoubtedly, the death knell has been sounded by mediums like Radio and Online; They are clearly delivering results and greater ROI for clients. Online for instance is almost consumed 24/7 and hence often results in immediacy of response. The lifestyles of today do not permit stagnant mediums like print. Its almost the last pick up now. Media that is fact paced, in the face and portable score above all.
It isn’t a coincidence that Online and Radio see such acceptance. Its integral to every citizens day at work, or at play…
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Editors Note : Pune365 invites the Pune Media and Advertising fraternity to send in their latest work/news from time to time. If this merits attention you can be sure to find and unbiased mention in this weekly column. Inputs may be mailed to editorial@pune365.com with “Jd’s Media’ as the subject.
Disclosure: Jaisurya Das is also Co-Founder of Pune365
The views expressed in this column are the Author’s and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them.
Jd also consults in Consumer Neuroscience and Neuromarketing, both of which are integral to his brand interventions.
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