“Helloji, Pammi Bha-bhiji, we really found your daughter — Babli puttar utterly charming. As you know my son Balvinder will be coming from Cannnada, only on Baisakhi. So don’t mind ji, bachhe log can share Facebook link with each other and get to know na! Ki kehende ho tussi? (What do you say?) When my cousin Pammi Bedi, from Amritsar shared this novel request from her “kitty’’ party friend Suks (Sukhvinder) Kaur with me, asking for my advice, I was absolutely flummoxed. What an innovative use of the portal! I wondered if Marc Zukerberg, had thought of this pathbreaking use of his creation — courtesy the Punjabis from India. Professional screening through sites like LinkedIn seemed really run-of-the-mill, in contrast.
Just when I was bemusedly trying to absorb the interesting innovation, my mail box signalled a new message. Suhani and Raghav had sent me an e-link to a website called mywedding.com/su-haniraghav which I could visit for information about their romance, the various ceremonial functions, locations, menu options, dress code and yes a short description of their planned honeymoon itinerary, as well. Good heavens! what was the fall back of this going to be on the matrimonial sites and event planners for weddings, I wondered to myself.
The glitzy world of consumer communication is experiencing turbulence as it sits on a virtual (pun intended) volcano of personalised and interactive e-communication. The jaded and cynical buyer wants to explore, analyse and decide not on the basis of a glossy and intriguing advertisement promising him manna from heaven, but on the advice of fellow beings, which seems more plausible.
If you wish to travel, advice on the attractions to visit, the suntan blocs to carry, choice of cuisine, stay and transport options, local customs and behaviour — everything is available through testimonials on sites like tripadvisor.com. You want advice on a new diet plan, exercise regime, financial planning, even a new dish that you want to try out and there are sites galore where enthusiasts are willing to advise , share and certify from their individual experiences. Management schools, gadgets, cars, even the new pizza flavours in town are enthusiastically reviewed and shared on gadget guru, car wale, pagal guy, mouthshut.com. Julian Assange with WikiLeaks could be changing the face of news reporting, as documents and information through anonymous sources are available for one and all.
And if that was not enough there are celebrities, politicians, common men, women and children who blog, tweet and influence the fertile and receptive end user in any which way they can.
If one views this wild fire like a blaze that singes the mind space so swiftly ag-ainst the backdrop of the human psyche, it is really not that difficult to comprehend. The panch mukhi (five faceted) gyan are just simple human truths.
People trust people: rather than an enticing Aishwarya Rai one would rather believe a faceless but human ‘friend’ on the Sunsilk gang of girls about how to handle limp and mousy hair. After all she is like ME!
Soap box opera: all human beings have a fascination for the soap box and love to voice their experiences, opinions and would go all the way to even spend precious time helping others decide about anything from hair perming to home décor. The Pied Piper, that’s ME!
The Peeping Tom: the fascination of peeping through the key hole to know kya chal raha hai whether through WikiLeaks or reading the walls on Facebook or reading what others are gossiping about on chat forums is so scandalously wicked and enticing. Mr/ Ms Voyeur, that’s ME!
The secret veil: the comfort zone of the shrouded confession box and the faceless identity of the world provide relief for the hesitant and confused punter who seeks answers to seemingly rudimentary and yet irksome questions on my-advice.com. From real to imaginary and from fact to fiction, my-imagi-nation.com seems to be the oracle that innumerable habitants seem to rely on. The mystique of, ME!
w Unique I-dentity: This monster of the unique self, the I, has been created by the marketeer and yet when it comes to customised wants and desires there seems to be a lacuna as the available offerings are for a flock and not for the unique sheep. So, create an interactive medium that understands unique needs and personas and ...Eureka! the DELL-ivery is picture perfect and hard, if not impossible to match. I, ME, MYSELF!
Thus, just as the pot bellied old 2010 makes way for the sprightly long legged 2011 and predicts new beginnings, the interactive ava-tars of a world prophesise exciting new possibilities of consumer moulded brand communication and personas that are unpredictable and enigmatic and no longer protégées of the parent marketeers.
The world is evolving Mr. Marketeer...How about you?
The writer is professor, marketing, International Management Institute,
New Delhi