CRUNCH - All things crunched.

  GenZ Vie. Monsters or Masters? Often in marketing, we experience a fear of unknown. GenZ is a bit of the unknown. Especially when it comes to personal choices. Topics like connection, relationships, dating, meeting up & hooking up. For millennial or boomer marketing professionals in Vietnam, it is often confounding to distinguish one from the other, hence we tend to perceive this target as a mystery. Some people so significantly divergent that it begins to attain monstrous proportions. GENZILLA is one such popular and oft repeated term in a multitude of insight reports trying to decode GenZ.  Terms like this tend to polarize our view and forces us to imagine them as a different species. It also fails us at an intellectual level and makes it difficult to fathom the human within this group of people. Often treating them as a bunch of colorful cohorts, dressed in monochromatic funk, sheltered under their bucket hats, floating whimsically in those baggy flannels – almost hal...

Debates shape interesting perspectives.  Especially with smart strategists getting high on strategy and some talented onlookers.  Sharing some excerpts from some experts ...  Marketing maestro ... "recently there have been few arguments on best approaches to marketing and media strategy. one phrase/term that is least popular these days is 'spray n' pray'..."  Strategist A ... proclaims ... vehemently !  In the age of agile marketing ... 'spray n pray' is old school and outdated.  A juvenile/novice way of marketing.  Junior marketers do that !   Strategist B steps in ... 'pray n spray' is not outdated it is an evolution.   She explains ... convincingly !  The term is coined from an earlier approach known as 'broadcasting' whats interesting is broadcasting has its roots in farming ( yes agriculture).  Farmers used to throw (spray) seeds into the soil (after tilling) hoping (pray)for a good harvest.  It has worked for ce...

  WITH BRIDGES WE RISE  Countries are obsessed with construction.  Every economic success story begins with an ambitious construction project.  Especially the high and the mighty types.   Take for examples cities like Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai.  All went through a major real estate boom en-route to financial supremacy. And almost all cities across the world has one towering jewel in the construction crown.  So why is a high rise more important than a low rise ? As kids we learn to look up into the sky  The day sky seemed limitless and the night sky is filled with stars. It appeals to the inner child wanting to grow up. It forces us to dream.  Somehow, we believe that we progress if we can soar high in the sky.  For us, growth has become a vertical idea.  We have to rise above the messy ground reality level to a place that is higher up. We also define ambition in terms of height.  While real estate boom...

In 2020 the screens are abuzz.  People stayed in and they stared at screens … endlessly.  Watching became the new everything.  With watery eyes, people soaked in as much newness as possible.  But something sparkling seems to be the flavor of this month.  An alternate musical form & a global number one web-series is trending. Say yay … for Rap Viet & Emily in Paris ! So why are RV & EIP generating all this buzz.  The answer is in the type of story these shows are telling.  Both plots are QUESTS. The journey of a character pursuing a goal. The plot focuses on the journey and not the destination. Hence the QUEST is ...  Will RAP music make the journey from underground to mainstream ?  Can a bright eyed hopeful , find acceptance  (in the romantic capital of the world)?   The QUEST becomes interesting when the journey becomes interesting.  Both shows deal with the edge of acceptance and rejection.  Characters ma...

#cwg, #CWG2018. #CWGgoldcoast games find playgrounds. a few months ago the commonwealth started and concluded on aussie playgrounds with great aplomb. the entire concept of commonwealth is quite an intriguing construction. a common-ground formed for the 54 countries that were previously part of an empire. the idea of all these nations sharing something in common in todays context is highly unlikely. Even if there is something in common, it is desire to triumph over the other. neverthless, the games provide a competitive playground. with some of the best talents on-show, this is no ordinary match-up.  for some of the countries sport is a livelihood, for some it is an avenue for immigration, for the rest it is just another contest. india seems to have taken to this event with purpose, intent, rigour, planning and great strategy. where india of today is visibly unique from the india of the past is the role sportspeople are playing in sports administration. across key discipli...

the insight Aggasi used to beat Becker A player many referred to as the punk, reveals one greatest examples of sharp insight used in sport. the insight comes from a brilliant observation and intuition. But the strategy to use it at most crucial moments of the match is the decisive factor between winning and losing.  in strategy, the factor of concealment is often overlooked. strategy is put on the wall, written on post its and never protected as much as it should. what teams must learn is to overcome the temptation to over use ideas too often and give away the game plan  Advertising and brands are often guilty over-exposure and thereby surrendering the competitive advantage. Sport, just like business, is all about winning and bringing the best game to the court when it really counts.      

IN YOUTH WE HOPE & IN AGE WE EXPECT  across the multiple sporting events and initiatives unfolding across the world these days, there is one consistent thread. the world is getting ready to welcome a new set of champions. At the Australian open, in the winter olympics, in the U23 AFC, or the under 19 world cup of cricket a new bunch of athletes are taking centre-stage. A new crop of countries are producing the latest champions. A whole new sports culture is emerging from kids coming from mixed families. What is surprising is ... the reputation these kids come with.  The future is interesting because it looks different from the present. Countries often invest in future sports initiatives to avoid the mistakes of the past. investments are made, foreign coaches are sought, facilities are improved and diets are changed only to place an athlete on a podium.  Today development and training has followers. Even before these athletes start achieving, they develop huge f...