Wednesday, April 19, 2006

The Orkut Brand Value measure

The simplest technique

Log on to orkut and find out the community for a brand... the more the brand members the better.....the more cult ur brand is


Some high scorers

Cocólatras - Coca Cola 158,038 members

Ferrari Passion 58,390 members

Marlboro Cigarettes 21,182 members Community for Marlboro smokers!

Pepsi Drinkers 6,143 members

Apple 19,241 members

Harley Davidson 6,812 members and Harley Davidson - Brasil 19,783 members


Some indian ones

WILLS NAVY CUT 314 members

Old Monk Rum 212 members

Gold Flake 114 members


PS : This Orkut is by no means a scientific sample, being heavily skewed towards the really job less ppl in office, with internet and time at their disposal and is thus not truwlly represntative of the world at large. The numbers though are a good surrogate for the iconic status that sme brands enjoy.

and btw there is a community on a tribe called

Brand Managers 759 members
(The large numbers are fairly indicative of the amount hardwork they indulge in and the amount of freee time they have at their disposal.)

Sunday, April 16, 2006

The Kolkata house hunt

On any given weekend when the rest of the world parties, me and my friends ended a week long hunt for a flat to stay in kolkata for the second year of my corporate life. And what a hunt it was.

I wanted a 3bhk furnished acco (for there were going to be 3 cubicle bound lotus notes warriors -me and my 2frnds). I was shown lots of 3 bhk unfurnished acco and 2bhk furnished acco.And also one 4bhk furnished acco. And i thought marketing was about fulfiling needs and wants of the customer.The rates and his brokerage varied. Becoz theese brokers lie so much , there was no consitency in their replies. After they follow a unique pricing theory where the same property shown to the same person by two different brokers could be different.IF u wear a nice shirt and go (which i did) the rent was 14k. The nxt day (i was dressed in casuals) the same acco was shown to me for 12 k. So much for dressing down.

And the best part was ..asking the broker in the middle of the deal what his comission was. Pat came the reply 2 months. We retorted that he had orignally said 1 month (which was a bluff). In less than 1 minute he scaled down to 1 month. Atleast they should maintain a book of what version of the story they have said to which customer.

Despite all this , we have locked on to a house.A nice 2bhk for 3 ppl :-( with no balconies:-(( but airconditioned :-) and some quite decent furnishings :-)).

Hey but the agreement is not yet signed, and we still haven't moved. Who knows what can happen in the property market in like 5 days.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Business GURU Series: WALL STREET

The Dictum of Capitalism

Gordon Gekko("The point is, ladies and gentleman, is that greed - for lack of a better word - is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms - greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge - has marked the upward surge of mankind. And Greed - you mark my words - will not only save Teldar Paper but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA.")

Business Guru Series : Jerry Maguire

The Loudest MKTG pitch ever

Jerry Maguire: "What can I do for YOU, Rod? "
Rod Tidwell: "It's a very personal, very important thing. Hell, it's a family motto. Now are you ready? Just checking to make sure you're ready (Rod turns his boom box real low) here it is -- show me the money. (He now blasts the boom box at full level) OHHH!!!! SHOW! ME! THE! MONEY! Doesn't it make you feel good just to say that, Jerry? Say it with me one time brother! "
Maguire: "Show you the money. "
Tidwell: "Oh, come on, you can do better than that! I want you to say it brother with meaning! Hey, I got Bob Sugar on the other line I better hear you say it! "
Maguire: "Yeah, yeah - no, show you the money! "
Tidwell: "AH! Not show YOU! Show ME the money! "
Maguire: "Show me the money! "
Tidwell: "Yeah, that's it brother but you got to yell that shit! "
Maguire: "Show me the money! "
Tidwell: "Louder! "
Maguire: "SHOW ME THE MONEY!"


2. How 2 get ur girl back

Jerry: "I love you. You... complete me."
Dorothy: "Shut up. Just shut up. You had me at 'hello'."

3. Dicky Fox's business nuggets

Dicky Fox: "The key to this business is personal relationships."

Dicky Fox: "If this [points to heart] is empty, this [points to head] doesn't matter."

Dicky Fox: "Hey... I don't have all the answers. In life, to be honest, I have failed as much as I have succeeded. But I love my wife. I love my life. And I wish you my kind of success."