Longing for the skyline?

By Sara Kiyani

Living as we do in Karachi, it is a blessing that we still know what sky means. I mean, when was the last time you saw the skyline? The horizon? A starry night? Lately Karachi has given up most of its already non-existing skyline to space hogging billboards and pole signs. You drive down Shahrah-e-Faisal and all you see is a parade of 60x20s sprawling all over. Although I would normally complain about this, I am convinced that we have so many things to whinge about, so I might as well try to find some good in this. So here goes... 

BRAND: Dove

Message: New Dove gives you the freedom to colour.

Effectiveness: Clean, crisp and simple.

We have finally broken free of the practice of dividing the space into three boxes; placing a pretty picture in the first, the message in the second and the product in the third. This is a neat layout, making good use of the space. The visual is pleasant and brings out a sense of softness – which is what the product is all about. And I like the fact that someone thought let’s not show flowy hair accompanied by a smiley face.

Verdict: I’m quite liking this! Works well amidst the clutter of the other billboards. There is a certain serenity to it and it is quite noticeable. Works well in the day and at night.

BRAND: Pampers

Campaign: Best Pampers

Message: Unbeatable leakage prevention.

Effectiveness: I saw this at night and it looks pretty nice. Pleasant to the eye.

The white background works well. However, I see this happening a lot now; somebody should explore something else, before we have an overkill of white, pleasant design. Anyway, as I said, it is nice, simple and effective. The backlit effect works and makes one notice what the brand wants us to notice most.

Verdict: So what? I mean I like it, but it doesn’t really tickle me.

BRAND: Audionic

Campaign: Let’s play

Message: Classic 7 Hi-Fi speaker.

Effectiveness: Didn’t we just miss that? The three boxed layout. So let’s go box by box. The first has happy, shiny, ridiculously smiling people, for no reason at all really – at least the design failed to give me a reason. The World Cup is over, no? There may be other matches on, but when you put cricket in your advertising it has to be big, and big is the World Cup. So fail there. The art direction is terrible. Attention to detail is missing. And the ketchup bottle on the table and the lamp are really annoying. It is obvious they wanted to show a café, so they created a fake one in a house. As for the other two boxes – never mind.

Verdict: It’s just too blah!

BRAND: Owsum

Campaign: Owsum’s new packaging

Message: Piyo dutt kay!

Effectiveness: I haven’t tried the product, but then maybe it isn’t for me. The message is strictly for kids and maybe it has encouraged them to try it. As for me, there is nothing enticing here. Flavoured milk is supposed to be yummy, right? There isn’t anything yummy about the communication. However, I like the fact that they are clearly talking to kids, making them the heroes, unaccompanied by a doting mother. The range of activities shown is a good hook. And the backlit factor – just so much fun! They could have spared themselves the cut-outs. Really didn’t add to it!

Verdict: I hope the kids are noticing. I am noticing when those backlights are on!

BRAND: Qubee

Campaign: Nationwide launch

Message: Live in your world, play in ours.

Effectiveness: Qubee is one confused brand! It’s almost as though they are scared. They will have a great idea, but the execution will make it barely average. I love their latest billboard campaign. There are plenty of them and some are at good locations. The message is daring, the visuals are uninhibited and the colours are splendid. Problem is, you drive around in the evening, and you realise they don’t have a campaign! In the evening, the billboards vanish. They are so poorly lit that even slowing the car down, you miss them.

Verdict: I love them! But let me see them properly. A little bit more money required maybe?

Sara Kayani is Associate Creative Director, IAL Saatchi & Saatchi. sara.kayani@gmail.com

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.

A case of two identical executions

Shoaib Qureshy on the reasons why Omoré and Wall’s Fruttare ended up using the same content executions for their launches.

Brand driven content on television is a new breed of advertising and different brands are experimenting with it these days. There is no denying its power. If done correctly and creatively, content creation helps brands defeat clutter during commercial breaks by becoming integral to the programme or appearing as a programme in its own right. 

However, content creation is no different from any other form of advertising. It is a ‘piece of creative’ that has to align with the brand attributes and reflect the brand’s personality. It has to be creatively driven and be on-equity and conceptually original.

Based on these criteria, content developed for Omoré should be totally different from content developed for Wall’s; they are different brands with different brand personalities. However, this was not the case when both ice-cream brands recently adopted the same creative content execution. In fact, it was a clear case of ‘copy ‘n paste’ marketing or ‘makhi pay makhi bethana’ as it is termed in our business, which is surprising given that both Engro Foods and Unilever are great marketers and know all about conducting brand wars between competitors.

The content execution

When Omoré launched in Karachi in April this year, it publicised this event with an innovative ‘breaking news’ format, whereby TV host Sahir Lodhi ‘announced’ the arrival of Omoré in the city. Two months later, Wall’s launched its Fruttare brand using the same ‘breaking news’ format; this time a newscaster announced that the ‘case of the missing fruit in the market’ had been solved, and they could now be found in Fruttare. 

This defies all logic. When the advertising execution for both brands is so different, why is the content execution the same?

Next, in an episode of the drama series, Bulbulay on ARY Digital, the cast is seen eating Omoré in its uniquely funny style, leaving the audience in no doubt that this is the best ice-cream in the world. In a later episode, the same cast is seen eating Wall’s and leaving the audience in no doubt that this is the best ice-cream in the world.

TV audiences are not fools and anyone who followed this series could see what was going on, to the detriment of the image of both the brand and the series.    

Who is responsible?

Given the reputation of both Engro Foods and Unilever, it is unlikely that they would have been aware of what was happening. In fact, Engro Foods must have been very angry, given they were the first to adopt both ideas, and no brand likes to see their work copied and pasted by their competitor. I am equally sure that Wall’s was angry too; they must have trusted their content agency and been unaware that the same idea had already been executed by their main competitor. This happened because marketers are not keeping as watchful an eye on the content work done by their competitors as they are doing for their regular ad work.

Here the responsibility lies with their shared content creation agency, ESP (the content development division of Group M). Isn’t that strange? Think about it. The same troops fighting for both sides? No wonder the same weapons (executions) were used.       

The lesson

The lesson for both companies, like it is for the advertising agencies, is that content creation and media placement need to be separated. Content is creative-led and not media-led; it is not about prices and tariffs, and most clients are willing to pay a premium for content in the same way that they do for their advertising campaigns.

Media agencies have convinced competing clients to work with them because of the chances of obtaining better rates (mainly because of a lack of choice) and also because they have created structures that supposedly defy ‘conflict of interest’. This example, however, has exposed the reality. Clients should either allow their creative agencies to also work for their competitors by creating similar ‘no-conflict’ structures or they should take content creation away from their media agencies.

This particular sequence of events happened because the media agencies were already dealing with the media placement and therefore the clients assumed (for ease and convenience) that the media agency was best placed to do the content development as well – an assumption media agencies are willing to buy into as it assures them of another revenue stream over and above their media placement commission. Although, once the content is created they will also push the TV channels to air it for free as a value addition. How does this mindset encourage creativity and achieve positive results for the brand?

Globally, the best content agencies are not part of a media agency, they are independent, creative-driven set-ups, staffed by creative people. Clients need to be aware of the fact that even if the media agencies claim to have a specialist content division, they do not know how to fill content space creatively, because they do not have the creative talent required to think creatively, do things differently and with creative impact. If they are serious about content, clients need to find better options; otherwise they risk being presented with the same idea for every new brand challenge from their media agencies, which are tuned into placing ‘same release material’ across all the TV channels. 

In conclusion, to create effective content, companies must be able to offer the combined skills of a creative agency and a TV programme producer, and although there are very few companies able to do this, there are some which can – but they are not media agencies.

Shoaib Qureshy is Chief Strategy Officer SQ Brand Consultancy. shoaib@be.com.pk

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.

“Only one percent of personal consumption expenditure in Pakistan is currently done via cards”

Amer Pasha, Country Manager Pakistan & Afghanistan, Visa International, talks to Marylou Andrew about the growth in the cards market and what this will mean for Pakistan’s economy.

MARYLOU ANDREW: You were with Coke for a long time; why did you switch to Visa?

AMER PASHA: I started my career with American Express and worked there for eight years. Then I moved to Reckitt and then to Coke as marketing manager and then became the country manager. Visa approached me in 2006 when it wanted to set up an office in Pakistan. The idea of starting from scratch with Visa and of coming back to the financial services sector appealed to me. When I joined, there were six to eight Visa-client banks in Pakistan, today there are 25.

MLA: Why did Visa feel it necessary to have a presence in Pakistan?

AP: Because of the number of banks that have opened up and the level of service they require. Visa has various products from credit to debit and prepaid cards, and the banks are now evaluating which Visa product will help them further their business. Our aim is to help banks with best practices to roll out our products so that they can achieve their key objectives.

MLA: How have the changes in Pakistan’s financial sector impacted where you are as a company right now?

AP: Much has changed as a result of the global financial crisis and we see a trend where internationally people prefer to use their debit card rather than their credit card to control spending. Out of the total Visa volume, debits have increased more than credits, although Pakistan is still predominantly a credit card market. A few years ago, when banks issued a lot of credit cards, customers did not pay back on time and the banking sector went through a credit crunch and the growth rate for credit cards came to a grinding halt. Banks then realised that they needed to offer more services to their account holders so they decided on Visa Debit.

MLA: Why don’t people use their debit cards in Pakistan?

AP: In the west, people are comfortable using their debit card; typically, if a person has both a debit and a credit card, they will use the credit card for big ticket purchases and the debit card for everyday use. The reason this is not prevalent in Pakistan is a lack of awareness and education. The time when cardholders are given the card is the opportune moment for the bank to educate them about what they can do with it. Most banks were missing this. We have noticed that if a person does not use their new debit card in the first month or so, the likelihood of that person using it decreases progressively.

MLA: But surely you need compliant retailers to make the usage of debit cards prevalent in Pakistan?

AP: Yes, and banks have helped to grow the number of retailers. Today there are over 40,000 retailers who take cards; we estimate that this figure needs to be in excess of 100,000 for the usage of debit and credit cards to be prevalent.

MLA: How will that happen?

AP: It is a chicken and egg situation: does the card come first or the shop? The retailer will say, no one comes to me with a card so why should I install the card machine; and the cardholder says why should I keep the card, where will I use it? Now that debit cards have penetrated into the smaller towns, cardholders are starting to ask where they can use them and as a result banks are placing the machines at smaller outlets. Using a card is an acquired habit. You have to break the habit of cash and this takes time; it requires constant messaging to the cardholder.

MLA: Are retailers apprehensive about accepting cards instead of cash?

AP: Initially, retailers who have never accepted cards before tend to be apprehensive because of the service charge attached to each transaction. They think they are losing money, until they realise that sales are increasing and they start to see the value in accepting cards. According to a survey we carried out recently, 30% of our cardholders said that if a shop does not accept cards they will go to one which does, and that was a pretty significant number.

MLA: What is Visa’s customer base in Pakistan?

AP: In excess of six million.

MLA: Can you tell me about Visa’s financial literacy programme?

AP: The more educated and financially literate customers are, the more they will be able to spend prudently and manage their budget. Having a financially literate customer is beneficial to banks in the long run, because they will be making smart decisions. We have noticed that in emerging markets, financial literacy is ignored and most people adopt their own way of managing their budget, which could be right or wrong. Through our programme we want to give people the right tools to manage their budget. This includes a website presence and seminars with journalists who can pass on the message.

MLA: What are your predictions for the card market?

AP: In a population of 180 million, there are hardly 10 million bank accounts, so penetration is low. The State Bank of Pakistan has realised that to fuel economic growth it is necessary to bring the majority of the population into the banking sector. Many banks have engaged in branchless banking and as this grows and as more and more bottom pyramid consumers become banked, they will need to transfer funds in and out of their accounts and that is where Visa comes in. At the moment we are doing this with plastic, tomorrow this could be via mobile banking. Visa is all about transactional banking so the sky is the limit. In addition, only one percent of personal consumption expenditure in Pakistan is done via cards and 99% is done via cash. As the electronification of currency takes place, people will come into the tax net, your economy will become more documented and GDP will grow. It’s a cumulative impact.

MLA: Why hasn’t mobile banking taken off yet?

AP: There are as many views on this as there are mobile phones; one is that it is evolving. The contention here is that you need to have robust financial applications on the phone that enable you to undertake financial transactions. Two things are important: security and reliability. All the thinking going on now is about how to develop a robust platform that is interoperable. Right now we have the old system whereby banks allow transactions to take place within their own network. The future lies in doing transactions regardless of which network a customer is using. That is where Visa comes in; we have been talking to banks and telecom companies to see how they can replicate their learning from plastic and take it into the electronic arena.

MLA: Is it challenging to work with so many different players with their own mindsets?

AP: It is a challenge but there is also common ground so it’s not insurmountable. It will happen sooner rather than later because the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, which is the regulator, is making the environment very conducive for change to take place. Visa believes that the growth in electronic payments (digital currency) is going to come from e-commerce and the mobile device; that is the future.

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.

Fuelling the future

By Maryam Murtaza Sadriwala

The opportunities open to Pakistani students to be creative and apply their theoretical knowledge are very few. It is rarer still when such opportunities come wrapped in a glossy package under the banner of a commercial company.

The Shell Eco Marathon is one such example.

The Eco Marathon was initiated by Shell 25 years ago with the objective of encouraging students to design cars which can go the furthest with the lowest fuel consumption. The event was first held in Berlin and then in the Americas. The first Asian leg of the Marathon was hosted in Kuala Lumpur in 2010. However, even before the Asian region had its own event, in 2009, Shell Pakistan sent five teams from Pakistan to Berlin to participate and gain exposure.

According to Afshan Khan Nanji, Social Investment Manager, Shell Pakistan, “The Eco Marathon looks to channel young people’s energies into doing something productive. We are giving them the opportunity to be an active part of the solution to the energy crisis and that in itself is extremely empowering.”

Clearly this is something students are interested in, and this year about 50 teams from Pakistan entered, of which 20 were selected to travel to Malaysia.

Haris Rehman from Team Winmark at NED University (one of the 20 teams selected) feels a deep sense of achievement at being able to play a role – albeit a small one – in seeking a solution to the energy crisis.

“In our model of the urban concept car, we paid special attention to reducing the release of carbon content. The focus is on producing green energy and consequently a green environment.”

Nanji also explains how initiatives like the Eco Marathon fit into Shell’s ‘big picture’.

“For the last century, wherever Shell has operated with a commercial objective, we have also adopted an important social role within the community. Although we began with philanthropy, today we practice ‘Social Strategic Management’, which means community work which is linked to our stakeholders. The Shell Eco Marathon comes under that ambit as it is linked with what we are doing commercially.”

Apart from the opportunity to put their expertise and passion to the test, the Eco Marathon provides Pakistani students a platform to meet their Asian counterparts and engage in a dialogue about energy.

There are, however, stark differences in terms of the infrastructure, technical support and funding available to Pakistani students. The teams are expected to cover their own expenses through sponsorships from the corporate sector and this has proved to be difficult, so much so that students have often ended up financing their cars from their own pockets. This doesn’t say much about the corporate sector but speaks volumes about the students’ enthusiasm to see the project through.

As to whether the technology is put to good use, Natasha Qamar, Communications and Web Advisor, Shell Pakistan explains that “this is a R&D project and the people from the energy industry who come to see the prototypes and the technology developed by the students may decide to take them to a commercial level; the possibilities are limitless. In Pakistan, it may take a few more years for this to happen, but we are certainly on the right track.”

According to Ali Nasir, Communications and Media Advisor, Shell Pakistan, the Eco Marathon will benefit everyone because “it is looking for the solution to a challenge we all face every day – which is the desire to go further, using less energy.

The technology developed by these students is studied for its potential application in different fields to create a road map for

the future.”

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.

Inspiring creativity?

Patrick Collister reports on the Cannes Lions 2011. 

Seven days, 57 seminars and workshops, 28,800 entries from 90 countries (including seven from Pakistan, three in Direct, one in Film, one in Media and two in Promo and Activation) and one befuddled reporter. This year, the Cannes Advertising Festival seemed to be just too much.

Too many attendees so every seminar was full to bursting. My own workshop, on ‘Laughter – the most direct response’, had about 150 people crammed into the basement with standing room only at the back.

As for the work, there are now 13 different categories in which to win a Lion including a new Effectiveness award. There were hundreds of awards dished out and I have spent three days going through them to see if I can discern any signposts to the future. A few shapes are emerging out of the fog. But if my piece seems wooly to you, I apologise. This year, I think, making sense of Cannes will take longer than ever. Partly because of the sheer volume of award-winning work, but also because of the diversity of it.

In addition, the really interesting stuff is rarely to be found among the Titanium and Golds but in the Bronzes of Cyber and Media. Juries tend to reward the familiar. Puzzled by the new, they usually recognise merit where it is due but will not always give it the metal it subsequently turns out to have deserved. So, taking that as my cue, it was all too predictable that Wieden + Kennedy’s ‘Write the Future’ campaign for Nike would be a big winner. Just as nobody ever got fired for buying IBM, no juror is ever going to get ridiculed for voting for a Nike ad. But, honestly, it isn’t that good.

Meanwhile, Grey Melbourne’s touching, shocking and effective ‘Ripple Effect’ campaign for the Transport Accident Commission got nothing in Cyber and a mere Bronze in Integrated. Based around the unnecessary death of a real 20-year-old, the campaign developed and grew in social media as more and more people contributed their own reactions to their loss.

A personal favourite from the week, and just a winner of Silver in Integrated, was Jung von Matt Hamburg’s work for the Dortmund Concert Hall. The problem was that people in the city weren’t going to the place and listening to classical music. The solution, get the orchestra to go to the farms of the region and play sweet music to the cows. Then to bottle this special milk and brand it Dortmund Concert Milk and let the packaging tell the story. I love the idea of turning a milk bottle into media.

Similarly, another wonderful media idea was ‘Spread the TED’ from Ogilvy Argentina. To promote the TED Talks series and get people to go online and listen to some of the most influential thinkers of the day as they expound their theories, 50 taxi drivers were invited to the TEDx event. What do taxi drivers do? They talk. It is estimated that the drivers started 7,000 conversations in the first week after they attended TEDx. Creating media out of thin air, now that’s clever. But only worth Silver.

Please don’t think I am saying that all the Grand Prix winners were poor. Far from it.

With double Grand Prix in both the Direct and Promo categories, McCann Erickson Romania’s ‘American Rom’ is a brilliantly lateral solution to a problem. When it appeared that the local candy was losing ground to American imports, they rebranded the chocolate bar in a stars-and-stripes wrapper and watched the outrage.

What is interesting here is that the winner should have come from a country not noted for its creativity. Big awards in 2011 went to agencies in China, Korea and Tunisia, countries that have never stepped up to the podium before. Agencies and marketers in Pakistan should take heart. Your time may well be about to come. Meanwhile, agencies in the UK weep bitterly, for their time seems to be well and truly done. UK creativity seems to be in the hands of the media agencies now.

The double Grand Prix winner (in Media and Outdoor) from Korea, Cheil Seoul’s ‘Subway Shopping’ campaign for Tesco Home Plus is a truly inspiring idea. What the agency did was to recreate the supermarket shelves as posters in the subways of the city. Commuters could stop, use their smartphones with the QR codes on the posters, and buy the groceries they needed later that day. These were delivered in the evening once they returned home. Sales increased and more online shoppers were recruited.

Two things to note about this winner. First, it is a brilliant use of mobile media. For the last five years, pundits have been saying, “This is the year of the mobile” but it has failed to happen. Until now. There were many great mobile ideas. So many, I confidently predict a 14th category at Cannes 2012, Mobile Marketing. The second thing about the Cheil winner is that it drove sales. So much of the work in Cannes drives clicks, drives awareness metrics, drives additional media value through PR, but not all of it translates into the bottom line. Two weeks ago, Diageo fired hip agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky in the USA because all their clever ideas were simply not turning into sales. The big dilemma facing advertising at the moment is, yes – brands need to win friends by sharing values and creating engagements with consumers. But brands also die if people don’t buy them. As David Ogilvy said, “We sell or else…”

Recognising this dichotomy, the Cannes organisers have introduced a new Effectiveness award this year, won by the UK’s AMV BBDO for ‘Sandwich’. Only problem is, this campaign won handsomely last year and so the Effectiveness award simply looks like giving last year’s winners a second bite at the cherry.

Besides, in all categories outside traditional press, TV and outdoor, juries are asked to judge the work against results as well as creativity. So every Lion should be a case study in effectiveness.

The organisers have made another change too. They have renamed the Cannes Advertising Festival to the Cannes Festival of Creativity. A subtle but not unimportant development. Historically, the South of France was a bolt-hole for agencies, especially the creatives. However, in the last few years the number of clients attending has increased dramatically. This year, Jim Stengel, the former CMO of Procter & Gamble, headed up the Young Marketers Academy. Young brand managers from 16 different countries (including one guy from Azerbaijan) came to spend the week studying new developments in communications.

Cannes now has a wider, broader appeal. In some ways this is good news. The more clients get to appreciate ‘return on idea’ as opposed to return on investment, the better. Yet there are some in adland who feel clients should back off. Give their agencies some space. Stop measuring everything. It is possible now to measure awards won by agency, by country, by brand, by category, by any which way you want to.

As an unreconstructed creative director myself, Cannes this year was interesting for all the above reasons. Was it as inspiring as I have found it year in, year out for the last fifteen years? I’m not so sure.

Patrick Collister is Editor, Directory magazine. He is former Executive Creative Director and Vice-Chairman, Ogilvy & Mather. patrick@directnewideas.com

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.

More pop than fizz

By Taimur Tajik

Being a musician, people ask me about Coke Studio all the time. How did I like the last season? Who was my favourite performer? What do I think of the platform? My answer usually varies depending on my mood. I either respond diplomatically claiming that I don’t watch the show but I hear it’s good (which is true). Other times, I give the slightly jilted outsider artist response; critiquing Coke Studio for being nothing more than a purveyor of the musical status quo. The truth is, despite my moods, Coke Studio is like any other programme on TV – it has its pros and cons and not everyone can be expected to like it. But if I am to be objective about it, I might have to put my musical instincts and inclinations aside and look at the programme for what it is… not what it ‘could’ be.

As an everyday listener, there are lots of good things I can say about the show. First of all, it is undoubtedly a showcase of talent. With the exception of a few amateurish guests that have performed in the past, the core musicians of Coke Studio are nothing less than seasoned professionals. Having worked with Gumby and Omran on my own album, I can vouch for their dedication, commitment and talent. And although I don’t know the others personally, it’s clear from the compositions, production quality and sound that producers Rohail Hyatt and co. know exactly what they are doing.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, for the first time in a while, Coke Studio is helping to draw positive attention to Pakistan, which is something we desperately need. With YouTube’s global audiences, it’s good to know that somewhere in the world people are tuning in and seeing Pakistanis wielding guitars instead of guns. And with the platform soon to be picked up in India, it’s clear that for once, Pakistan is doing something to present a positive image of itself in the media.

Thirdly, it’s refreshing to finally see Pakistani music on Pakistani TV. When it comes to music channels in this country, I think we are more Indian than India itself. I’m not trying to create a racial divide, but it’s about time we started focusing on our own home grown talent. We certainly have it. We see some of it on Coke Studio. Someone just needs to go the extra mile, sift through the layers of rubbish and expose the shiny nuggets of talent buried deep beneath the surface. My question is: shouldn’t that someone be Coke Studio?

Let’s face it, the Coke Studio band roster is reserved for the musical elite. The pool of artists remains small and heavily populated by the already established. The music is anything but diverse (in terms of genres) featuring traditional tunes aimed squarely down the barrel at the public. Although Coke Studio does a lot to promote popular Pakistani artists, there would be no harm in including one or two lesser known artists (and genres) in the show per season. This will not only help expand the platform but it will also develop our music industry as well as our capabilities as a music-making nation. Imagine featuring a hard rock or jazz act or an Urdu rap act? It’s different, but it’s still made in Pakistan. After all, if Coke Studio is going to represent Pakistani music, why not showcase a bigger slice of the delicious yet un-tasted pie?

Realistically speaking, I know that Coke Studio never had any intention of becoming ‘Pakistani Idol’. Nor am I saying it should be. It does a fantastic job of promoting traditional Pakistani art and culture locally and globally – which is no small feat. But if such a local platform ignores independent artists, how can we expect the musical forum to grow? Does it really represent Pakistani music if it excludes the unspoken talent of this country? If Coke Studio invited new genres and artists onto the platform, it would introduce new talents to the programme, developing new musical tastes and attracting new audiences.

Who knows, maybe I might even start watching it.

Taimur Tajik is Associate Creative Director, Spectrum Y&R.

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.

Anne French – the lemon version

Anne French recently launched a lemon scented variant of its depilatory cream. Although the launch of a variant is not usually a big deal, Anne French has been available in just one fragrance (rose) for all of its 40 year history and is in fact famous for this scent. Bilal Habib, Brand Manager, Anne French at Pfizer Pakistan (the company which owns the Anne French brand) says that as the depilatory market grows, consumers are looking for brands that offer a wider range of choices. Market research revealed two insights: one, that lemon was popular with Asian women; secondly that women believed that hair removal creams tend to darken the skin. Habib says the lemon variant allays this fear as lemon is known to have a bleaching effect. Anne French plans to launch a jasmine variant shortly; however Habib says this by no means indicates that the brand is moving away from its rose scented fragrance. “The rose scent is the hallmark of this brand; we are merely focusing on catering to a wider audience.”


First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.

Freedom from damage

By Leila M. Barry

Hair plays an important part in our lives; men worry about losing it and women spend hours and thousands of rupees grooming it. For millennia, hair has been at the centre of cultural, social and religious rituals and its cut, colour and style have defined social hierarchy, religious beliefs and ethnicity for centuries.

In this day and age hair is a medium of expression, especially for women. Hairstyles and colours speak volumes about the heads that sport them; women have their hair done when they want to celebrate; they have it chopped off when a relationship is terminated. When boredom or midlife sets in, they colour it. For a sophisticated look they put it up, for a sultry, sleek look they straighten it, for a glamorous look they curl it. Moods, fashion and even generations have been defined by the style of women’s hair. However, all this self-expression does take its toll, damaging hair and compromising its health.

Unilever’s latest beauty launch, the Dove Damage Therapy hair care range is promising Pakistani women the “freedom to curl, colour and straighten hair” (read express themselves) without having to worry about damage.

Salar Farooki, Brand Manager, Dove at Unilever Pakistan says that the damaged hair segment is globally significantly untapped with the “need for damage repair products exceeding the actual product offerings in the market, and Pakistan is no exception.”

According to Farooki, surveys indicated that damage repair was the third largest hair-related concern for Pakistani women; the same surveys revealed that most women with damaged hair do not realise the extent of it.

“Eight out of 10 women have damaged hair and only two out of them actually acknowledge their hair being damaged, the remaining six are either unaware or in denial, attributing their hair damage to factors such as changes in weather or water,” says Farooki.

Identifying this opportunity in Pakistan, Dove Damage Therapy has entered the market with a premium hair care range specifically for ‘damage repair’. The range carries six variants of shampoo: Colour Rescue, Dryness Care, Intense Repair, Daily Shine, Hair Fall Rescue and Straight & Silky.

In addition, there are four variants of conditioners and four ‘post wash’ treatments, including serums, masks and overnight treatment, all of which promise to repair hair damage from the core or ‘heart’ of the hair as well as from the outside.

Damage Therapy has been launched with a range of 28 SKUs, which Farooki admits is an ambitious number for a new entrant. He explains that Damage Therapy is a dedicated range catering to a variety of hair needs, varying from colour and curling induced damage to straightening and styling related damage.

“We have launched the Dove hair care range as a damage repair expert in Pakistan, it’s a one-stop solution to all major hair damage needs.”

The entire range contains Dove’s patented damage treatment technologies – ‘fibre actives’ and ‘micro moisture serum’ – touted to nourish and reconstruct hair from the core to the surface, giving women the freedom to experiment without worrying about rough, dry or brittle hair.

Dove started out in 1957 as a moisturising soap bar and has long been known for its formulation of one quarter moisturising cream. Decades on, Dove is Unilever’s biggest brand and a major player in the global cleansing and personal care segment.

Dove has always been known for its gentle moisturising formulae and in recent years has gained brand cachet with its global Campaign for Real Beauty and the Dove Fund for Self Esteem, a programme that aims to set healthy aspirations and role models for young girls through outreach workshops.

The current campaign focuses on reaching out to real women, connecting with them and breaking beauty stereotypes; it revolves around real women experiencing and sharing the real (and beneficial) results of Dove. Fareshteh Aslam, External Communications, Unilever Pakistan says:

“Dove is about real beauty; it is a departure from artificiality, it is a wholesome, unpretentious, and non-starry brand for real women.”

In Pakistan, Dove is currently using its launch campaign to educate consumers about the brand, the product and about how to diagnose and treat hair damage. Regarding the brand communication Farooki says, “Dove has always had a very strong global social presence over the years. We would like to establish similar initiatives such as the Campaign for Real Beauty and the Dove Self Esteem Fund for Pakistan as well, but the first step still remains creating awareness about damaged hair.”

Along with the traditional print, outdoor and TV advertising, Dove is employing extensive on-ground activation, and has set up kiosks at stores and malls where women can find out how their hair measures up on the damage scale. The special software, dubbed the ‘Hair Profiler’ asks some basic hair related questions, and then it rates the damage, even recommending which variant of Damage Therapy is suitable.

In the meantime, anyone curious about how bad their hair might be, can access the Hair Profiler on the Dove webpage and if you take its advice you may experience freedom.

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora. 

Desktop Thinking

To say that electricity, or the lack thereof, is the most pressing issue for the majority of the population at this time of year is a huge understatement. However, it is a year-round concern for frozen foods’ manufacturers (highlighted in our cover story this month), as the very existence of their business depends on the availability and constant supply of electricity.

Pakistan’s food industry has changed significantly in the last decade, rapidly progressing from generic, unbranded items to packaged and then branded foods. Basic items such as water, milk, rice, yoghurt and even rotis have undergone a transformation as multinationals and local companies have sought to provide consumers with a product of consistent quality, which they were less likely to find when buying the generic alternative.

Frozen food is a natural progression of this trend; it capitalises to some extent, on the consumers’ need for convenience, which, as some frozen foods manufacturers point out, resulted from the emergence and rapid growth of nuclear families with two breadwinners. But it is more than that; it is yet another step towards a more ‘instant’ kind of life, where everything, including food in this case, can be prepared within a matter of minutes. And instant solutions are more important now than ever before – not just because more men and (more importantly) women are working, but because there are far too many other concerns competing for our share of mind and time.

Therefore if you really think about it, the emergence of frozen food has allowed people (in a limited sort of way) to shift their focus away from food and on to other (perhaps more important) pursuits, such as careers, businesses etc. If this is done in moderation, it really cannot be a bad thing. However, as explained in our cover story, the power crisis has not done frozen foods’ brands or their manufacturers any favours, resulting in lack of consistency of the finished product, a quality which goes against everything a ‘brand’ stands for.

Moving on, however, our July issue also explores the trials and travails faced by young people in their quest to establish themselves in the ad industry. The problem occurs at the very outset, as most advertising agencies in Pakistan have yet to establish proper hiring and HR policies, an issue that has oft been highlighted by Aurora in the last decade. But even more than hiring policies, it is the mismanagement of young people’s expectations by agency personnel that leads to the greatest trouble and ultimately results in high turnover.

Another issue that has caught our eye this month and is highlighted in The Endgame is that of Coke Studio. Season four has created a buzz on the social networks, what with its coverage in AdAge and the initiation of the Indian franchise. But it seems as if some of the freshness and fizz has gone out, leading to a sort of sameness of sound which is becoming monotonous. Could it be time for Coke Studio to evolve, to go to the next level? To go from being a programme that produces great fusion music, towards becoming a launch pad for emerging new artists? Other brands have tried this and failed, but Coke Studio already has the brand cachet to be able to pull this off. The real question is: does it have the vision?

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.

Highlights from the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora

The Big Freeze – Can the Pakistani frozen foods market overcome its many challenges?

The Revolution will be Frozen – The liberating power of frozen foods comes of age.

Freedom from Damage – Dove launches its Damage Therapy range in Pakistan.

Going with Visa – Interview with Amer Pasha, Country Manager, Visa International.

The PAS Awards 2011 – Complete coverage and views from the winners.

Succeeding in a Challenging Environment – Interview with Faisal Sabzwari, Country Manager, P&G Pakistan.

Making it in Advertising – In three not-so-simple steps.

Identical Executions – Are Omoré and Wall’s Fruttare in need of new ideas?

Inspiring Creativity? – Patrick Collister on the Cannes Lions 2011.

Digital Countdown – Companies need to get digital, or else...

More Pop than Fizz – Is Coke Studio starting to fizzle out?

Defrosting Don Draper – Faraz Maqsood Hamidi presents Don Draper’s views on love, life and advertising.

Aurora goes to the Young Leader's Conference!!

The School of Leadership held its 10th annual Young Leader's Conference in Karachi recently (July 1-6). The theme of this year's conference was the celebration of Inquilab and the principles of Eman (Faith), Ittehad (Unity) and Tanzeem (Discipline). The Conference attracted over 350 university students from across Pakistan who lived and learned together for six days. The organisers of the YLC asked Aurora to conduct a session on Day 4 of the Conference, which was built on International Economic Leadership and the value of social responsibility.

Marylou Andrew from Aurora spoke to the young people about why companies need to invest in corporate ethics and responsibility and how these efforts can be communicated to end consumers. After a 30 minute presentation and intense debate, the students were divided into groups and given a practical assignment to create a corporate responsibility programme for a biscuit manufacturer based on various pre-defined parameters. Each group presented its programme and the winning group received prizes courtesy of Aurora and the Dawn Media Group.

Check out some pictures of our session at the YLC (click on each picture for a larger view).

Marylou Andrew from Aurora talking about the importance of CR.

One of the groups busy working on the practical assignment.

Another group deeply engrossed in the activity.

The winning group presents its CR programme.

Another group presents its ideas.

A group photo with some of the participants who attended the session.