Of Telling, Listening and Selling

"Caste System is not a problem, it’s a solution!"

Gautam Ghosh – a friend blogger – participated in a seminar with the topic "There is nothing to tell but lots to sell" and brings home some sound bytes from the esteemed bunch of Marketing and Business Gurus (thanks for sending the link, Gautam).

Here is a collection of the sound bytes:

• "Brand has become bland in today’s world"
• A quote by Sam Walton "The customer wants something more important than the product"
• "Selling is about shouting louder"
• "we are moving from the attention economy to the attraction economy"
• "Marketing is about engagement rather than communicating propositions"
• "From repetitive messages we have to move to surprising the consumer"
• "Moving from transactions to relationships"
• "From one way channels to interactive"
• "Control and command to moving away to co-create and collaborate"
• "When a consumer sees a great ad, he or she is smart enough to say ‘a very good ad’"
• "A brand is not independent from the product"
• He also shared examples of how as a design studio they get insights into a target audiences behaviors and design the products around their needs only to have advertising firms dilute that insight.

There was also a discussion on how political and economic agendas in media…

Prof. Matthew asked the audience to start thinking of how the political and economical reality of global media empires were impacting content at a local level. From newspapers to movies. He gave examples how Rupert Murdoch controls the editorial content of his 100 odd newspapers and TV channels to reflect the reality he believes in. How the common man is aware of 9/11 but unaware of what happened in Darfur, Rwanda or Kosovo. How locally produced content in France is just 10% of what what the French see on TV and movies. He also noted how the content of Hindi films itself had changed after 1991 to become more intolerant of minority groups.

Meanwhile I also read about this French Guru who "decodes" the DNA of countries, societies, groups and companies! All, in order to help companies connect with their clients. And is paid truck-loads of money! He came to India to decipher its Cultural Code. And this is the scene of him participating in a group situation of different hues of "Indians".

This brings me to think – should the question to the advertisers and marketers be – ‘There is lots to listen before you sell!"

By feeding the group concepts like "caste system," he’s looking for patterns and structures that are true across the culture. In this case, Rapaille observes, Indians are at root a practical people. While they claim to be strict rule followers, for example, their political system is corrupt, and business and educational institutions are riddled with bribery.

In the Hindu religion, Rapaille says, "you can buy, you can bribe them, you can change gods depending on what you need." Even on India’s streets, no one abides by traffic rules. "Deep down they’re just practical," he says.

Rapaille is quick to point out that these insights aren’t positive or negative, or even judgments, but merely expose the flexible, adaptable structure of the Indian people. So the caste system–which to most of the world seems oppressive–is for Indians a triumph of practicality, clearly signaling to all their places in a complex society. "It’s not a problem, it’s a solution," he concludes, oozing a mischievous grin.

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