Hope for the Quantified Self 

The fate of the 'moral economy' lies squarely in the hand of software engineers - all the more reason to appreciate intangible value.

 At any rate, the moral economy is in popular demand: With debt and inequality undermining social contracts and eroding social capital worldwide, citizens and consumers alike expect more inclusive models of decision-making, higher standards of integrity, and fairer mechanisms of creation and redistribution of wealth. The various protest movements are self-organizing themselves and seeking to demonstrate the very values-based behaviors and organizational principles they find lacking in their institutional counterparts. At the corporate level, alternative forms of 'doing business' are burgeoning - from the social entrepreneur to the social intrapreneur, the hybrid for/non-profit to the B Corp, from Gary Hamel's Management Innovation XChange (MIX), Ashoka's Corporate Change-Makers, to frog's Reinvent Business hackathon - in a quest to rethink business from within, 'socialize' corporate gain, and yield 'shared value' (Michael Porter), or 'thick value' (Umair Haque), instead of maximizing shareholder value as the ultimate moral obligation of business.

Read on for more...

Luxury at the Bottom of the Pyramid

At Ogilvy & Mather I handled a tea brand, Brooke Bond Super Dust from the Unilever portfolio.  This had been launched in 50 paise (1c) sachets, a part of the 'low unit' revolution sweeping India around 20 years ago.  I went to a weekly haat (temporary market) to better understand our consumers many of whom lived in small towns and villages that were not connected by roads or a bus service.  Some had a weekly shopping budget of just Rs 5 (10c) and included Super Dust tea in that meager outlay.  I was appalled.  I wondered why they did not just buy the unbranded unpackaged tea that was also available at the market for 40 paise or less.  Discussions with them showed that this branded, premium, tea was their one luxury purchase.  A shopper who couldn't provide their family with the best of anything else felt proud that at least they could drink quality tea.  It was their little burst of luxury every morning before a long and dreary day at the bottom of the pyramid.

Where I'm going with this is that there is room for a luxury brand in every category, no matter how humble.  And that rather than just look at the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid, marketers can look at luxury at the bottom of the pyramid. Not only will you make profits, but you'll do so in a way that adds a little luxury, a little pride, some daily joy, to someone's life.

Mobile Marketing in the Festive Season

Festive season in India is big and not to be missed from a consumer targeting perspective. Brands will ramp up their spends with multichannel marketing strategy during this period. There's simply lot of consumer spending going on during festivals/holiays and mobile is a key touch point to reach and activate consumers at almost every level of behavioral cycle from aiding awareness, engaging them to purchase/fulfillment journey as its with them at every single moment 

Call to action elements on mobile featuring an SMS keyword and short code where they can receive information or get instant call back making them listen to a voice portal providing information or engaging them can make festive themed traditional media actionable and savvy. Brands can get the word out about promotions, sales via SMS, voice, the mobile web and branded mobile apps, which can get integrated into all forms of advertising

Get the tips here...

Post IPO,What's next for Facebook?

I never thought I'd say this, but I feel sorry for Mark Zuckerberg.

A recently minted billionaire. A recently married young man. The (anti) hero of an Academy Award winning movie. Creator of a verb - "I facebooked you". And, besides Alexander the Great, likely the only person under 30 years old who can confidently say he's changed the world.

Granted I've yet to see any recent photo where he looks sad and depressed but this is the dude I feel sorry for.

Read Hilton Barbour's case for and against Facebook...

Anna Akbari, Serial Entrepreneur, on Tech, Fashion, Karaoke and Rollerskating!   

Anna Akbari is a serial entrepreneur, as well as a sociologist and professor in the department of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University.

She is the founder and CEO of Splice, an enterprise software recommendation engine; and the founder of Closet Catharsis, her fashion and image consulting company, which takes a holistic approach to individual empowerment and identity construction through personal styling and image management.

Anna serves on the advisory boards for Dapprly, a men's social fashion app, and Stone Creek Entertainment mobile gaming company.  Her academic research focuses on visual and virtual self-presentation, mediated / digital identity, group and individual identity construction, visual culture, and digital happiness. She is also a frequent guest lecturer and writer, most recently for TEDxSiliconAlley, The Atlantic, The Financial Times, and she has a regular column inStylecaster.

The NextWomen Magazine recently interviewed Anna Akbari. Get the interview here... along with tips on style for success...

When Too Much Spice is Bad for Your Brand

Indians take 2 things very seriously: deals and anniversaries so when you combine the two - (the Spice Jet 777 deal for their 7 year Anniversary) 

Job Listings on Paulwriter.com 

Watch this space for new job listings on Paulwriter.com every week for mid to senior level marketers. Or post a job here...  

Manager/ Sr Manager - Marketing - Based in Bangalore - Bhartiya Group

The Bhartiya Group is diversified with a global footprint in fashion, design and real-estate.Reporting to the Group CEO you will program manage the marketing activities for the Bhartiya Group ( http://www.bhartiya.com/). This includes controlling the marketing budget, managing the external communications of the senior executives, and ensuring that the multiple creative partners executing the marketing program adhere to predetermined timelines, guidelines, and deliverables. 
Paul Writer is advising the Bhartiya Group on marketing and is assisting with the search process in this capacity. 

Manager / Sr. Manager - US Marketing - Based in Bangalore - US Based MNC

Drive outbound marketing of digital transformation solutions to the best companies in the US. Apply your experience and understanding of the US B2C market, and your expertise at hard-hitting marketing communications to drive demand and generate leads in a busy, competitive market.  

CMO - Based in Gurgaon - Confidential 

An MNC / VC firm in the process of establishing 3 internet platform companies in India operating in the areas of telecommunications, LMS / CMS, and online creative design and web development for enterprise customers
Successful candidate will join in a formative stage of the sponsored companies and will assume lead responsibility of developing and executing marketing programs to bring the company's products into the mainstream indian market. 

Apply Now...