The Luxury of Time  

Gold, diamonds, paintings, Birkin bags - these are all products that are considered precious because of scarcity, either real or created.  If there were sufficient demand or demand, however, more can be produced. Time, on the other hand, is finite.  No matter how rich (or poor) you are you get only 24 hours a day.  So time is the ultimate luxury.  

The goal of luxury offerings should thus be to either (a) reduce the time you spend on things that you do not consider enjoyable or (b) maximize your enjoyment of time.

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The second in a series of perspectives on what luxury means in an emerging economy like India.  The first was Luxury at the Bottom of the Pyramid

Why Should Sales People Sell Ideas: An FAQ  

We all know the increasing importance of ideas in B2B marketing. But idea marketing doesn't start and stop with marketers. For the program to be successful, those ideas must find their way into the hands of salespeople. And I'm not sure that salespeople share the same passion for ideas as we do. I think they need to be convinced. Please tell me if you think the following does the job:

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Mobile Coupons: A Great Tool for Mobile Marketing

Mobile coupons offer an excellent opportunity for marketers to appeal to users on the go, and to drive them to take an action (e.g. come to the store, login to a website or become a social media member or buy a product or receive special discounts etc.)

There are ways for some companies to offer coupons to users, which can be downloaded to their phones and can be scanned at, check out (e.g. A redeemable coupon of x brand if printed out on a paper, which can be scanned at Big bazaar outlet for a freebie at the counter) 

Some key advantages marketers can gain through mobile couponing are:

Instant gratification

The users can download mobile coupons on the move (Users can SMS or dial a number or click an option on mobile website/app) and the offer can be enough for the customers to take an action, which can be a visit to the store to avail an instant purchase discount or a redeemable offer like mobile topup, content, download from the website etc

The 5 Most Important Lessons my Clients have Taught Me

You could literally drown in all the ink belabouring the tension that exists between clients and consultants. 

Poor briefs, poor communication, inaccessibility of the real decision makers and my all-time favourite "they don't get it", "it" being anything from creative concepts to expense report reconciliations or strategic business recommendations.

Like anyone reading this, I've been in achingly frustrating situations where the decision tree could be mapped as "homicide or suicide".

But what we don't celebrate enough...The clients who knock you on your butt. The one's who test you and raise your game. The one's who make you better.

Here are five lessons I learnt from some of my clients. I've deliberately named them because I believe they deserve the recognition and my thanks.

A Hackathon to "Reinvent Business"

Can social technology enable companies and the people within them to make better decisions? Can it improve corporate behavior? Can it perhaps even help restore the social contract between business and society? 

These are just some of the questions to be tackled by the"Reinvent Business" hackathon - a collaborative, rapid ideation and programming workshop - to be held in San Francisco on June 9-10, Hosted by frog and LRN, in partnership with BSR, Carnegie Mellon University, Dachis Group, Net Impact, Silicon Valley Bank, Fast Company, and the World Economic Forum, the two-day event will bring together software developers, designers, gamers, film makers, writers, business leaders, and other creative minds to imagine, design, and build a more human and truly social enterprise. 

The goal is both simple and bold: to develop concepts and prototypes for innovative products and services that have the capacity to transform business from within.

Marketers Master Their 3Ps: Push, Pull, Portal   

In today's head-spinning flat transmedia world, consumers can Friend, Like, Link, chat, review, tweet, download, play, ping, poke, yak, Yelp and otherwise connect with brands and each other any way they choose. And somewhere along the way (marketers hope) people find time to buy.

As we hear ad nauseum, the citizen is in control. Well, perhaps not so much not so much in control, as they are immersed in a digital downpour splintered across hundreds of different channels, drenched in a media bombardment that demands constant oversight. (Watch this. No, this! Did you read my tweet? You have to see this!!) In a media environment that seems to be refreshed every six weeks, changes abound. Angry Birds has been replaced by (or supplemented with) WordsWithFriends. Kony2012 became contagious within hours (what, you mean haven't seen it!??). Smartphones make awareness, decision-making and purchase intent simultaneous right in the store aisle.

One need only remember that while movies were invented in the 1890s, it took until 1927 for "The Jazz Singer" to link film and sound (and another dozen years for color), to get a parallel sense of what our journey may be like moving forward through the datacloud.

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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...  

Marketing leader responsible for broad marketing functions - Rolta India Limited, Mumbai

Responsible for Unit branding, Alliances, Analyst relationship, Events and webinars, Website development and SEO. Expected to facilitate thought leadership with the practice organization and manage PR and media coverage

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.  

Apply Now...