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The young generation has the potential to make or break a trend. And marketers often try to fit in their shoes. Undoubtedly, they are the world’s most influential and dominant consumer group today. And of course, with such tremendous numbers, it is only logical and expected that they push a lot of trends – notably in fashion. As per the research given, we can see that most of them are inclined to brand names as they cultivate experiences which are as significant as products. Their style trends can also turn in no time. Hence, fashion brands like Diesel. Calvin Klein Ralph Lauren, Gap, etc. are always on their toes figuring out what these shoppers desire and how would they want it in the market.

There is a twist as well. The brand name is important but the perspective of people play a significant role as well. Under the same age group, the choice of the brand may differ among boys and girls, and this one is an excellent insight. While boys are more about buying a t-shirt specifically from Calvin Klein or Ralph Lauren, women try to pick the unique piece that makes them stand out from the crowd. The brand is important, but which brand is not crucial in their case. But for boys, they specifically want a specific brand to fulfil their desire. This insight helps the marketers to curate their styles accordingly. For eg, for making a T-shirt for a boy, they will focus mainly on the branding, maybe their logo or just the name will be a part of the t-shirt. In the case of girls, it will be about colours, design, texture, material, and branding so that the buyer picks your brand. In the current scenario, the trend has moved to sustainable fashion than fast fashion. So, understanding the consumer mind becomes essential before planning a marketing strategy.

If I am the brand manager and I was provided with this result, first of all, I would try to analyze the time-period of this trend. Trends are a fad, so conjecturing the future is as important as formulating the present.

Secondly, I will try to gain loyal customers, and this strategy will work mainly with the boys. Since the brand name is important to them, giving them what they want will create a base of loyal customers. Hence, whenever they are planning to go for shopping, they should make most of the purchases from our showroom/store. As we know, it is 6 times easier to retain a customer than getting a new one.

Also, it is important to get feedback. How they are responding, what is their experience, what else they would like from the brand is also a matter of concern. This will help us to curate future campaigns and strategize accordingly. At the end of the day, the motto should be, make the customer happy and satisfied.

However, as I said earlier, it is important to anticipate the future as well. Since trends change like the weather, it is better not to face the storm. I will always try to make long-lasting strategies so that every campaign has a great impact for a longer period.

TATA Tea is a brand that did not engage in functional facet of tea advertising. Rather than promoting the taste of the tea or how energetic it will make you, it focused on advertising that supports a cause. Consequently, this strategy has elevated the brand and advertising to the next level.

I love all the ads under the campaign Jaago Re. I still remember it was in 2007, and I was a kid in grade IV. It was an ad were a politician came to this young man’s house to ask for votes. The young lad initiated the conversation by asking him about his qualifications, prompting him that he is unquestionably applying for a job; a duty of governing the country. I was a child and, to be honest, I used to think that being a politician is about being in power, just like being a king. It never occurred to me that it is actually a job. That 45-second ad somewhat changed my perception. That advertisement rather introduced me to the world of politics. Hence, even if it is a very old ad, the relevance is still strong, especially in the current political scenario.

‘Jaago Re’ started to come up with more compelling advertisements the following year. This one highlighted the lead persuading movie-goers on the election day by offering them tea so that they can wake up from their “sleep”. Another one is the Power of 49 that showed 49% of the voters are women. These advertisements portrayed a picture of how voting is important and how a single vote can change the ball game. Though TATA Tea then focused on other social issues as well, I particularly loved the ads related to elections because it educated me as well. The Jaago Re tune was so catchy that it seemed difficult to just say Jaago Re without humming the tune.

The birth of the ‘Jaago Re’ campaign is quite interesting. As per a report by Financial Express dated  December 29, 2009, the only demand or briefing of Tata Tea was to formulate a single brand positioning that can engage consumers across different segments and collectively establish the brand portfolio.

“As we discussed the brand over that crucial cup of coffee, we got thinking that considering that India is a young country, coffee had in very little time, occupied the youths mind space, becoming the young, cool, hip beverage to consume. And as the conversation went on, we were convinced that to create a strong positioning and to genuinely assume a leadership stance, you have the appeal to the critical mass called the youth. We looked at all the codes in tea consumption and realised that tea was always positioned as a warm, familiar and familial beverage. It was something that at times refreshed you and at times, simply woke you up. But considering that youth have so many opinions, issues, emotions and at times, anger simmering under the surface, we realised that the key to connecting with the youth was to turn this passive tea space into something far more intrusive and active. That is to say that rather than tea waking you up, it should awaken you. And that’s how Jaago Re was conceived.” – Balki (R Balakrishnan, former chairman and chief creative director, Lowe India).

Therefore, the target audience of the ads is the youth of the country. India is a young country. Half of its population is under the age of 25 and two-thirds are less than 35. Also, it is an initiative to urge young people to vote and make them understand the importance of it. They made a website – jaagore.com. This website aided youth to apply for voter IDs, list themselves as voters and locate the nearest voting booths.

Various companies under TATA have made attempts to proactively engage with the target audience on different problems without seeming sanctimonious. Tata Tea is one such brand whose tagline ‘Har Subah Sirf Utho Mat. Jaago Re!’ (Every Morning, Don’t Just Get Up, Wake Up) was utilised to induce a transformation in community and build a positive result on its promotional budget. Starting from 2007 with its election campaign, the brand encompassed several social issues — including women’s empowerment, voting, pre-activism, student pressure, corruption, etc. Tata Tea never talked about the goodness of the tea, rather hit the social causes with their tagline Jaago Re. The campaign as a cause-marketing initiative engaged to crores of Indians. More than 12-lakh Indians acknowledged their commitment against corruption and for voting in elections. Therefore, the campaign concentrated on the self-actualisation — enhanced civic knowledge and political consciousness — that a morning cup of tea could extend its buyers. The birth of the iconic “Jaago Re” campaign was seamlessly incorporated into its brand identity.

The election ad was targeted to the entire country. It was made keeping the political scenario of India in mind. This brand-led activism was informative and initiated a change in everyone’s mindset. When a young mind like mine can be influenced by the election ad, then we can understand how much it can be effective in educating the crores of youth. Political awareness is important and Tata Tea made it more comprehensible. Immense research ideate such brilliant Advertising campaigns. The ‘Power of 49’ campaign explained why you can’t ignore 49% of the population which are women.  Hence, these are thought-provoking and had a huge impact on our mindset. However, after a decade, Tata Tea chose to concoct a hyperlocal ads approach since other brands started adopting their cause-marketing strategy. 

Tata Tea ads are not controversial. Though they deal with sensitive issues, they are more thought-provoking than controversial. The election TVC is also ‘Woke Advertising’ since it makes us aware of who should be a politician. The brand has been constant in its “political” message and always emphasized on youth power. However, it doesn’t select any controversial issues that might affect a mass targeted brand. It urges you to “wake up” – that’s it. 

Talking about the creative aspect, in the case of print ads, Tata Tea’s approach was quite minimal yet informative. It preached their campaign and how they achieved their goal. The colour coordination and copy were harmonious and crafty. On the other hand, the TVCs were mesmerizing. As mentioned earlier, we can’t stop humming the Jaago Re tune whenever we talk about it. In a very subtle way, the ads proved their point and tingled our brain cells. They were simple yet so powerful that it had the potential to evoke a child’s mind as well. 

Cross-media optimization is necessary if the company aspires to keep costs low and ROI high. This requires a lot of efforts which can be complicated as well. It needs a proper formulation of strategies to achieve cross-media optimization. Instead of making big decisions at first, this CMO process involves taking small steps and then making bigger decisions. Customer data is fragmented in companies across different channels. Therefore, to optimize ROI, organizations are utilising cross-media to leverage their value.

Content marketing is becoming necessary in today’s digital World. With content marketing, you can establish trust with your audience, enhance conversions, connect with your customers, and create leads. In July 2019, Zomato made a funny, friendly tweet, ‘Guys, kabhi kabhi ghar ka khana bhi kha lena chahiye’. It got a fabulous success with likes over 18,000. This simple tweet got so popular that it gained media over other platforms since other corporations re-tweeted likewise post by twitching it with a different. Youtube tweeted- ‘Guys, kabhi kabhi raat ke 3 baje, phone side pe rakh ke so jana chahiye.’ So a simple tweet for Zomato’s audience reached other people as well through a different medium, eventually establishing Zomato’s brand image as well.

‘Joy Personal Care’ is another company which is using cross-media optimization. Recently they made an advertisement campaign for awareness around hygiene amongst the marginalised community. It mainly focused on the strains of sex workers and underprivileged transgender in society. This ad campaign captured the attention of different media houses like Economic Times wrote about this ad campaign. So, along with paid media, they are successful in getting earned media. Therefore, without investing a lot, the company was able to captivate the audience.

As the Internet contributes extensive volumes of unrelated information, people may perceive this medium as disputing. The obligation to evaluate and choose appropriate information elevates as more and more mixed sources and content are accessible. Information overload (IO) may be the outcome of such a situation. Based on an online survey, it is discovered that younger people with more limited information-seeking self-efficacy were more vulnerable to encounter IO. 

The human brain is meant to process and retain information in very distinct ways, and that doesn’t fundamentally improve or speed-up in the era of changing technology. Most of us are noticing that despite how much knowledge and information we have available, it’s more difficult than ever before to remember it. This challenges our capability of decision-making.

Along with impaired decision making, IO can also make people feel needlessly confused and stressed out. In an organization/corporation, the employees are constantly overburdened with emails, phone calls, and other information. In some cases, the employee may not even have too much on their plate, but information overload can shape the perception they do. This can initiate a lack of engagement and a decline in productivity. Too much information, especially when it’s redundant or irrelevant, can also confuse employees and make them uncertain of where to concentrate.

In today’s world, there is nothing called a ‘shortage of materials’. In this digital era, we and the media, both are saturated. The Internet has given us access to an endless supply of material while the information landscape is already overpacked with books, magazines, newspaper, radio, TV. Though people try to expose themselves to online resources, however, few know how it all moulds and what it all implies. It is not only about reading the news but also understanding what to do with the gained information, how to obtain genuine stuff, how to evaluate the resources. Here, media literacy becomes important. 

Even for young people who grow up with technology, grasping how to upload videos or manage a blog doesn’t elucidate to information literacy. They might know the technicality but not the authenticity of the information. Therefore, how to utilise search engines and databases accurately, and comprehending how to locate, filter, and assess certain information, are skills that must be taught and developed. Media Studies Teachers Barry Duncan and Carol Arcus wrote for the Toronto-based magazine Education Forum “This generation may surf the Net, but that does not mean that they think about how, why, and what they are doing.”

The primary role of the media is to provide us with information. Hence, it plays an essential role in developing our opinion. What is relevant and what is not is mainly decided by the media. It is also called the fourth wall of democracy because it encourages the improvement of society. Some other functions of media are defining the political agenda, presenting a nexus between the government and the people, serving as a government watchdog, and affecting socialization.

There are several cases around the world where we can see that when the law failed to give justice, media stood up. A great example is Jessica Lal’s Murder Case. An event, that seemed to be an ‘open and shut’ case, was continued for 6 years and surprisingly justice was not served. The people in power tactfully manipulated the evidence. 300 people witnessed the murder of which, 7 were the prime witnesses. Each of them refused to confess that because of fear.

At this stage, the media fought for Jessica Lal and showed the power of democracy. News magazine Tehelka did a sting operation and exposed actor Shayan Munshi – the prime witness of the incident. He blatantly lied in the court, saying he does not speak Hindi and the police manipulated his words. Other stuff started showing up and media exposed each and everything – how Manu Sharma, the murderer, and his family misused their political power to destroy all the evidence. Media infuriated the common people by showing the real faces of those in power. Massive SMS campaign was done and lakhs of people became a part of it. Here, media played its part – showed the world what is the truth. Media’s influence reopened the case and finally, justice was served. That is the power of media and common people. It can take down any political power if justice is denied.

However, sometimes we can see that sensationalism overpowers media. In the film Peepli Live, we can see how media sensationalized the suicide of a naive farmer. It was falsely announced by the media and made him a star overnight. But, nobody is interested in what’s driving him to do that. It influenced the political parties but didn’t do any good. The film exposed the true nature of Indian Media in certain cases. While it can influence people and stand for justice, it can also sensationalize information just for the sake of TRP/viewership.

Due to COVID-19, cancellation of programs, live events and sports undoubtedly impacted the media ecosystem. However, this situation marked a rapid change in consumer behaviour and media consumption. We can see those effects on different types of media like TV, Radio, Films, Print, Online, etc. This article will discuss how each of these platforms is reshaped as this virus prompts shifts in behaviour that hit both the business model and the operating model of media.

Television

TV audiences have risen drastically due to the demand for information. Hence, the news media are in the most profitable position because of this legitimate concern. On the other hand, there is a halt in content production which made the companies broadcast shows from the archives. Therefore, we can see the repeat telecast of some of our favourite old shows. Some channels also employed a new format, mainly creating content by staying indoors.

Radio

The radio industry is also one of the primary industries that have been affected by the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak in the country. While radio listenership has increased, revenue has been considerably decreasing because of lack of advertisers. Several of the prime advertising categories on radio have been knocked hard due to the pandemic including auto, and real estate. Also, government ad spend has fallen as much as 80% (Moneycontrol.com, 27th May 2020).

Film and Video

Cinemas are shut and we are not sure when they will reopen. Movie theatres generate their revenues from mainly 3 sources – Ticket Sales, Food and Drinks and Advertising. Even films which were supposed to be released during this time are being released on OTT platforms.

Print 

While the lack of advertising pressure lingers on Press due to the pandemic, the effect is certainly quite less. The need for information is increasing, so is the consumption of news from the newspaper. However, digital media surely has an impact on the Press Industry because people get their information at the tips of their fingers. 

Photography

The lockdown pushed everyone to stay at home and that certainly affected the photographers around the world. But, indoor photography is quite a trend now. There’s different creativity when you produce something from simple things. 

Electronic

Electronic media or digital media is our friend now. Most of the people are working from home which increased the usage of certain APPs like Zoom and Google Meet. Other than that, streaming sites are booming even in this crisis. For Example, the number of subscriptions in Netflix rise by 22.8%. We started consuming most of the content online, whether it is news, or programs, podcasts, etc. In India, Disney+ pulled 8 million subscribers in 1 month after it collaborated with Hotstar.

Outdoor

The lack of walkers and strollers due to the lockdown has resulted in the suspension or delay of all poster campaigns. 

Mobile

Just like digital media, people are constantly glued to their mobile screen, either for work or for entertainment. Consumption of Social media like Facebook, Instagram, etc, have dramatically increased along with OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. Even network providers are offering special internet plans to meet this demand of consumers. 

People are staying at home worldwide because of COVID-19, for which, media consumption is increasing rapidly. As a result, marketers had to tweak the way they produce and distribute the content as well to satisfy their audience.

The novel COVID-19 alarm may have momentarily slowed content creation but it didn’t hinder the progress of it. However, it surely swayed the shareholders of media, i.e. Owners, Advertisers, Operators and, of course, the Audience.

Firstly, the owners of the media (TV, Radio, Newspaper, etc) are dependent on advertisers for their revenue. And this Coronavirus situation harmed the AD Industry. Almost 107 media companies experienced from a revenue loss of up to 1 crore (April 21, 2020, ET Brand Equity.com) due to lack of advertisements. Most of the TV channels are repeating their old shows because they are unable to create and produce new shows. Some channels like Colors, Zee Bangla, etc tactfully used actors to produce skits/content at home. The shows explored their lives while they were quarantining.

As mentioned earlier, the Advertising industry had an unpropitious impact. Advertisers used to book the slots of shows which had the highest viewerships. Greater viewership of the shows ensure greater reach of the advertisements. Now, with the lockdown imposed, the media consumption increased, but the creation of new content decreased. So the old programs are being telecasted and advertisers are sceptic about advertising between those shows. Also, the production of TVCs is not possible due to this pandemic, hence, the situation gets worse. Today, most of the ads that we see revolve around COVID-19, even if it’s a product ad.

Cable Operators, on the other hand, were already losing their subscribers, especially after the advent of digital media. Most of the content that we see on TV is available online. You can watch your favourite shows on apps like Jio TV, Hotstar, Zee5, etc. Also, Netflix and Amazon Prime are very popular among us and they provide us with all of our favourite movies and TV series. Hence, the operators are facing strong competition with Online Media.

Last but not the least, Audience, is enjoying the shows and content they like in this lockdown. Some people are enjoying the old shows that were their favourites, while others are subscribing to Netflix and Amazon Prime to watch new shows and films. OTT platforms are releasing a lot of shows and now, a lot of Bollywood films are being released on such platforms, like Gulabo Sitabo. So, the audience has nothing to lose in such a situation.

Both Talvar and Detective Boymkesh Bakshi are thriller films directed by Meghna Gulzar and Dibakar Banerjee respectively. While Talvar is based on the real-life incident, i.e. Aarushi Talwar Murder Case, the latter one is a fiction story. However, both films give us a clear picture of how an investigation is conducted from scratch, from gathering facts to finding a conclusion. 

Facts of a case:

Any investigation or research starts with the accumulation of facts. The facts help in forming deductions and work as evidence. In the film Talvar, we can see when the murder of Shruti Tandon was discovered, the first suspect was the domestic helper Khempal who was missing at that time. However, facts changed when Khempal was found dead later on the terrace of the building where the Tandon’s live. Also, most of the pieces of evidence were destroyed because an incompetent local police officer who was put in the case did not know the basics of a criminal investigation. Facts are the most crucial elements in any research/investigation work and manipulation of them can set you back.

Similarly in Detective Boyemkesh Baksi too, a lot of available facts and observation made Bakshi deduce different circumstances which eventually supported as evidence. 

Investigation Techniques Used:

In Talvar, as we can see the local police did not close the house for investigation and allowed the public and journalists inside. Hence, a lot of forensic evidence was damaged because of the people walking in and out of the house. The local police questioned a few people and concluded the case, without any strong evidence. When the case was given to Ashwin Kumar, Joint Director of CDI, he methodically constructed a case upon the father’s indignant assistant. His team employed narco tests in their endeavour to establish that the assistant (and two accomplices) committed the murders. But this method was considered a dubious approach and these three men were not convicted.

Boyemkesh Bakshi, on the other hand, used simple means to find the truth. His investigation techniques involved intense research and minute observations. He talked to every possible person to investigate the case and their behaviour and body language assisted him to discover the bigger picture. 

Analysis and Conclusion arrived at:

Some internal politics in CDI led to an altercation. The CDI chief appointed a new team who, under the name of circumstantial evidence, concluded that the parents were engaged in the murder. The Tandons filed a compliant plea against the CDI report. But the judge rebuffed the closure report and blamed the parents in the case.

In Detective Boyemkesh Bakshi, we can see that Bakshi was able to find out a bigger motive from that murder case. He ascertained that an attack was supposed to happen in Calcutta and also discovered who Yang Guang was. 

Impact of conclusion on the case:

The Tondons (Shruti’s Parents) were accused of both the murder though it was solely based on circumstantial evidence. In real life too, the Aarushi Talwar Murder case remains unresolved. 

In Byomkesh Bakshi, the impact was that the Green Gang had taken Yang Guang. 

Questioning things is an unavoidable human trait. In research, it becomes inevitable. To get the answers, interviews becomes important. Therefore, questioning and interviewing becomes a major tool for gathering information in our daily life. We can see the art of intelligent questioning in Hitchcock’s film ‘Rope’. 

The narrative of Rope is based on the actual murder case of Leopold and Loeb. Leopold and Loeb were two students of wealthy University of Chicago who executed a 14-year-old named Robert Franks, as a way of establishing their “intellectual superiority.” 

As we see in the film, after Philip and Brandon killed David, Brandon wanted to show that the murder was performed in an advanced way because of their intellectuality. Philip, on the other hand, was highly disturbed about the whole situation and constantly bickered with Brandon. He threw a lot of questions at him to feel safe. For instance, why to utilise the chest as a table? what if the guests observe the arrangement is eccentric or peculiar? Though the inquiries originated from despair, they are still important from his viewpoint. Brandon had a different set of questions, mostly farsighted. Another instance of intelligent questioning was when David’s father asked Brandon about his obsession with the idea of superior beings. This can be a fascinating topic to a lot of people and hence the question was a smart and relevant one. 

The scene where Rupert quizzed fidgety Philip about the absence of David can be called a session of an interview. Out of observation, Rupert found that something is wrong with Philip and Brandon which arouses his curiosity. Rupert took Brandon and David out for a drink to theorize his suspicion of the disappearance of David. He started questioning both and eventually got o know they murdered David. 

We can see how questions and interviews are important to gather information in an investigation and reach a conclusion. In research too, they are important so that you can prove your hypothesis. If you notice, almost every day you ask questions to know more and learn more. An interview is just the tool to get the answers to those questions.

Observation is apparently the most traditional and easiest means of data collection. It does not demand much technical expertise. You tend to notice things when you observe, which is quite different from ‘seeing’. We do it every day, every time in our daily life. For example, noticing a change in family dynamics is also a sort of observation. Hence, we can say observation is a universal practice which is followed by everyone.

The plot of Hitchcock’s film ‘Rear Window’ is quite simple – professional photographer Jeff is confined in his apartment, recovering from a broken leg. Out of monotony, he starts to watch his neighbours, observes things and witnesses a murder.

Jeff, solely through his observations, solved a murder case. On the thunderstorm night, Jeff overhears a woman scream, “Don’t!” and then a din of shattering glass. Then he observes Thorwald ( the murderer) leaving his residence, carrying a suitcase in the rain. Jeff also noticed that Thorwald makes repeated late-night excursions carrying the case. The next morning, Jeff sees that Thorwald’s wife is missing, and then notices Thorwald washing a large knife and handsaw. All these things convinced Jeff that Thorwald killed his wife. He starts to investigate further with the help of his girlfriend Lisa, nurse Stella and friend Doyle, a police detective, because he was interested in the ‘why’ and ‘when’ of the murder.

Though the revelation of the murder through his observation was the biggest aspect of the film, however, spying on his neighbours made him realize a lot of things. Jeff marks the marriage and wooing rituals of his neighbours and those who experience the dangers of loneliness as well. These things impacted him too throughout the film.

There is a difference between seeing and observing. Just because you see does not imply you observe. Observation involves a mental process which includes both visual and thought. Things that you ‘see’ do not generally get registered in your mind. The most basic observation that I made over the years is that ‘Education (maybe Indian Education) does not help you to form a perception about social problems.’ Our education system is nothing but a tool you need to have to earn money. It does not enhance your personality, your upbringing, or your perception. These things are depended on individuals and only they can control it. I have seen a lot of “educated” people holding irrational thinking and many “uneducated” people making rational points. This comment made me form my second observation, that is, experience channelizes your rational thinking, not education. The more you experience things, the more you form opinions, which can be rational or irrational. However, education plays no part whatsoever.