JWT-Sri Lanka Blog

Address by Irfan Ahmed , VP & Group Account Director :JWT Colombo
Covered by : Heshan Perera , JWT BlogCrew
First session of the Friday training’s at JWT got underway last Friday evening with Irfan speaking to everyone on the value of ‘Insights’.

What is an insight?

Irfan explained an Insight as a learning or an understanding related to the consumer. When used in communications, it will pierce deep into their souls thus evoking the strongest form of response. Now it is our responsibility then as advertisers and custodians of our brands to guide those reactions in a way that is beneficial to our brands.

With this, the definition of marketing was somewhat transformed by Irfan into “Planned manipulation of the target audiences behavior to evoke a desired response for making profit”. So now we can understand that an Insight is a Pithy nugget of understanding about human actions, preferences or desires that leads to more effective stimulus. Insights are crucial as, it is at the heart of what we do, and it leads to better communication and Innovations.”

Finding an Insight is not rocket science, it does not require you to read pages and pages of management books with the BCG Matrix, the GE matrix and a whole alphabet full of matrices. No, you only need to observe, listen and be topical. Insights can be found drawing on, attitudes, behaviors, inner motivations, world views, & relationships. The key to finding an insight is to put yourself in the customers’ shoes; you have to look at the world from the consumers’ perspective.  A simple way to see if your understanding is in fact an Insight, is to put it through the 3 R’s Test.

1.       Reality – Is there a deep truth in the Insight?

2.       Relevance – Is the Insight relevant to your brand personality?

3.       Resonates – Does the Insight strike a chord with the target audience?

Another thought shared by Irfan was that an Insight will not always be some sort of Holy Grail that is hidden so that only the most deserving of us can find it, sometimes revolutionary insights might be there in plain sight waiting to be identified.

Conflict is another area that was spoken about in detail as a great method to identify & unearth Insights. Any story worth telling is formed due to conflicts; conflicts are Yin & Yan the balance that keeps order. Conflicts occur in Human beings at the very heart of their being. Conflicts occur within us due to forced compromises between competing “Human Truths” and “Cultural Truths”.

Human truths are the fundamental needs & wants, hopes & dreams, and concerns & fears of people these conflict with Cultural truths of what is viewed as correct in society and what is done according to tradition.

“I want to look beautiful but I don’t want to be seen as vain” – Human Truth conflict

“ I Like to spend time on my grooming but I have to take care of my family first” – Human Truth conflicting with Cultural Truth

“ It pains when you get hurt but real men don’t cry” – Human Truth vs Cultural Truth

Now once the insight have been identified using conflicts how we manipulate it to fit the Brand Idea becomes crucial. By merging the Consumer Insight with the Brand offering we can come up with ground breaking creative ideas.

I would like to sign off with this nice Insight I came across, Maruti Suzuki in India positions its vehicles for the millions of Indians who are concerned about cost.

“ Maruti Suzuki, for a nation obsessed with mileage”

The Dual Sim Chronicle
The two timing mobile generation of Sri Lanka
Part II

At the outset, the writer would like to thank everyone who contributed with their valuable ideas with regard to the Part I of the Dual Sim Chronicle.Be it the Mega Sim or the Chinese Dual Sim Phones , it is very much evident that there will be more than one service provider present almost in every mobile phone via different technological frameworks in the near future.On this note , let us begin the finale of the Dual Sim Chronicle.

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It was established that the Dual Sim owners’ choice of network would depend on

:a. Where? (The location of the consumer)

b. When? ( The time of day and the respective call charges)

c. Who? ( The intended caller and their network)

d. What? ( The most sought after Value Added Services – VAS)

What are the implications of this theorem to all the marketers in the telecommunication sector? Is there an opportunity for small players to take on the big guns? Would the traditional marketing techniques still work? The writer wish to approach this in 3 aspects.

1. Low bargaining power of service providers

2. Opportunities for small players

3. The need for innovative marketing tactics to stay on top

1. Low bargaining power of service providers

With the advent of the Dual Sim phenomena , the consumer could switch between network providers with consummate ease. They will choose the appropriate network depending on where , when , who and what they want to do with their phone. Such flexibility would result in lower bargaining power of the service provider. If the service provider fails to deliver what the consumer wants , a network switch would be the result.

An ideal strategy to negate this “switch” would consist of Four main attributes where the success of each attribute will be determined by the communication campaign the respective service provider adopts.

a. Island wide coverage

If every network could deliver 100% Island wide coverage , it will directly eliminate the reason to “switch” from one network to another as there will be no network failures at any given location.

However , here lies a question mark of how could small time operators could survive? Would a “niche” market operation highlighting the superiority of coverage in a particular province be the way forward? Would this mean that the future of telecommunication advertising be provincial based?

Certainly , an interesting point to ponder upon.

b. Best call charges

If a service provider could offer the lowest call rates throughout the day, it would eliminate another reason for a Dual Sim user to switch.

However , here lies another issue in practicality. Could any service provider be the lowest cost operator and still remain profitable? Does this mean that the way forward would be to own a certain time belt of the day and support that claim via a consistent media campaign ?

c. Highest number of subscribers

If a service provider could own more than at least 70% of the market share , it would mean that roughly 7 out of 10 people that a Dual Sim user would want to call be belong to a single operator. This would eliminate the need to “switch” .

However , there is hardly a single operator who could stake a claim as such. Hence, does this mean that the service providers would have to select their allies and start offering special rates from “Network A” to “Network B”?

Or could a single operator unleash the equivalent of the “Hiroshima Bomb” and be the superior entity? If so , what would this “Hiroshima Bomb” consist of?

d. Best bouquet of Value Added Services

If a service provider could provide the best bouquet of VAS , then the need to “switch” could be eliminated.

However , how could any service provider have each and every VAS a user wants? Even if they could offer everything , would it be profitable? Does this mean that each service provider has to dig deep into their core target market and identify what VAS they really want?

Or ,just as how the aviation industry has their own networks among other airlines , would we witness an association of mobile service providers sharing their Value Added Services among all mobile phone users?

2. Opportunities for small players

The advent of Dual Sim phenomena would certainly bring about many opportunities for all the small players in the category.

Just as how Easy Jet, Air Asia revolutionised air travel the advent of Dual Sim Phones would create market gaps for small players to operate in.

Niche marketing strategies focussing on specific profitable provinces would be a strategy of choice in time to come among many small time service providers in the country. This would not only help them differentiate from the “big guns” but also carve out a niche in each of their selected geographic location.

It won’t be surprising to see 5 years down the line , when entering the Northern Province , a huge road side gantry saying “ Welcome to Jaffna – the land of Network A”. A clear indication of geographical focus in communications would be mandatory to survive.

Or , would the small players get-together and roll out Dual Sim packages to the masses? Would it be as effective as the strategy above? Imagine, a Dual Sim package from two different operators covering the whole country with the best call rates coupled with the best bouquet of Value Added Services. Wouldn’t that be just awesome?

3. The need for innovative marketing tactics to stay on top

All the factors discussed above would boil down to one pertinent question. What would be the marketing strategy?

Would geographical focus pave way for different breed of marketing? Tapping into deeper consumer insights and understanding what they really need?

A simple example out of many would be , there are over 200,000 migrant workers who enter Western Province every week. Would it profitable to identify where these workers come from and offer specific packages linking Western Province and the state of their origin?

i.e. “Outgoing calls only 30cents per minute between Southern and Western province on Network A”Opportunities are …… indeed…. Endless.

Conclusion

The Dual Sim phenomenon is here to stay in Sri Lanka. The low cost of owning a phone would drive the masses to purchase such a phone. The added aura of “superiority” of now having the choice to switch between service providers would also play a major role in this.Service providers would need to challenge their status quo and question , whether they are ready to face this paradigm shift? Would traditional marketing strategies still hold true will be a decision they would have to take fast.

Small players have a tremendous potential to grow in the backdrop of the Dual Sim phenomena.Presence of multiple service providers in a phone will bring about major changes in the telecommunications sector.

However , one thing will always remain the same. That is… the consumer will always be the King!

Availability of multiple service providers…… As the “remote control TV” revolutionised the world of media in the 20^th century , would the Dual Sim Phenomena revolutionise the telecommunication industry in the 21^st Century?

Your guess is as good as mine.

The End

The Dual Sim Chronicle
The two timing mobile generation of Sri Lanka
Part I

Prelude

A small grocery shop situated right next to a paddy field. Sarath, a 19 year old school leaver enters the shop and orders a “plain tea” and sits on a stool to play a game of checkers with his friend, Saman.

Whilst playing, Sarath gets a call on his mobile phone. As soon as he finishes,

Saman : “WOW! , a new Nokia E71 phone!! , let me see!”

Sarath: “Here you go”

Saman: “This even has a TV antenna! And it’s Dual Sim!! Never knew this phone had all these cool functions!”

Sarath: (smiling) “You don’t , it is not a Nokia Phone. It is made in China with the exact features of the original Nokia phone, plus more”

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Welcome to the latest phenomena in the mobile industry of Sri Lanka. The invasion of the low cost Chinese mobile phones.

Introduction

To a youngster ,a mobile phone is an aspirational product. It makes them feel as if they are “in-style” or in other words , makes them “cool” individuals. Hence there is a strong correlation between becoming an owner of the latest phone and being regarded as a “cool” person within their respective circle of friends.However , gone are the days where a teenager had to go through the hardship of convincing their parents to buy them a phone or skip meals to save their pocket money in order to buy their “dream phone”. An exact replica could be bought for almost 1/4^th the cost of buying an original phone.After all, “who cares whether it is original or not, this has the same features and much more… and it is Dual Sim!”

The Dual Sim Phone

A Dual Sim phone can be described as a phone where two Phone Sim cards could be used simultaneously. In other words , the user could now use two different phone numbers on a single mobile phone. The writer foresees four game changing areas as a result of the Dual Sim phenomena.

1. Boosting consumer choice

2. Low bargaining power of service providers

3. Opportunities for small players

4. The need for innovative marketing tactics to stay on top

1. Boosting consumer choice

As discussed earlier , the Dual Sim phone will enable the user to select the service provider as and when he/she pleases.

This selection will depend on 4 factors. I.e. Where? When? Who? What?

The “Quadruple W Theorem”

a. Where? (The location of the consumer)

It is a well known fact that every service provider has their own weak link in terms of coverage.

E.g. Take “Network A” and “Network B”

“Network A” has a strong coverage in the Southern and Western Provinces of Sri Lanka. However, its coverage in the Northern and Eastern provinces is weak.

“Network B” has a strong coverage in Northern and Eastern provinces but is weak in the southern and western province.

This would result in the fact that , when the Dual Sim user is in the Southern and Western provinces , he/she will use “Network A” and when in Northern and Eastern provinces, “Network B” will come into play.

The Dual Sim phone has now enabled the user to select the network with the best coverage depending on their location.

b. When? ( The time of day and the respective call charges)

Another contributing factor would be the time at which the Dual Sim owner is going to use the phone. This is due to the fact that each service provider has their own pricing mechanism where certain service providers have lower “night time call rates” and certain providers have “a standard charge” throughout the day.

E.g. Take “Network A” and “Network B”.

“Network A” offers a phone call for only Rs:2/= for an unlimited duration during 12midnight and 6a.m. However , their daytime chargers are high.

“Network B” offers a standard Rs:2/= per minute throughout the day.

This would prompt the Dual Sim owner to use “Network B” during the day and “Network A” during the night. In essence , the Dual Sim owner would choose the lowest cost service provider at any given time.

c. Who? ( The intended caller and their network)

Another factor would be the network which the intended caller is using. This is directly related to the call chargers as it is a fact that outgoing calls to a number within the same network will always be cheaper than to a number from a different network.

E.g. Take “Network A” and “Network B”.

Saman is a Dual Sim phone user. He uses both Network A and B on his phone. When he wants to make a call to Sarath , who is using a “Network B” Sim , Saman would use the same network as the call charges are low.

In essence, there is a direct correlation between the choice of network and the network to which the intended caller belongs to.

d. What? ( The most sought after Value Added Service – VAS)

A mobile phone today is not used solely for the purpose of conversation. It is used to fulfil various other wants of the consumer.

i.e. To surf the internet , to make an appointment with a doctor , to make dinner reservations , to book movie tickets , to subscribe and receive news alerts , to reach a destination using real time GPS maps , to keep track of your loved ones using network enabled tracking devices etc.

The amount of value added services are limitless. The network which best identifies which VAS the consumer is looking for and fulfils it would benefit a great deal.

In essence , there lies a strong correlation between the Dual Sim users’ choice of Value Added Service and his/her network selection.

The “Quadruple W Theorem” brings forth 4 aspects which a Dual Sim owner would consider when deciding which service provider to choose. As discussed above, these 4 factors are:

a. Where? (The location of the consumer)

b. When? ( The time of day and the respective call charges)

c. Who? ( The intended caller and their network)

d. What? ( The most sought after Value Added Service – VAS)

Having identified the Dual Sim Owners’ basis for the selection of the service provider, it is certainly interesting to explore the implications it holds for all the service providers of the country. How would they tackle this?

Would they still focus on improving share of market or try to capture share of phone?

In our next blog post , the writer will be exploring these implications under 3 broad categories. Whilst inviting our readers to post their comments on this edition , we invite all of you to stay tuned for the part II of

The Dual Sim Chronicle
The two timing mobile generation of Sri Lanka

The concept of business strategy in many of us has been imbibed through many years of formal training throughout college and executive school. We have been taken through the paces in terms of the evolution of business strategy from production to sales to consumer orientation and how strategy translates to objectives within the different spheres of an organization. Theories, models, case studies are presented, analysed and dissected to form the basis of an opinion on which a strategic choice is made. Well and good, it’s worked to some extent but as an “adman I’m increasingly skeptical of how “strategy” dictates that we stick to the same routine and never go beyond.

Let me elaborate.  I have the “pleasure” and the “pressure” of working with a typical hard nosed businessman with an instinct for strong business sense. I hope he pardons me for this expose but by his own admission he doesn’t even hold a diploma in any field. He was instrumental in opening up the locally manufactured t-shirt market but instinct told him that to build value he needed to build a brand. He decides to invest in a brand building effort, the cost of which far outweighs any rational budget setting exercise. He goes a step further and invests over 60 % of his marcom budget in the production of his campaign retaining as low as 40% for media scheduling, his rationale being “ I’d rather my consumer see a good ad once than a bad ad ten times”. An ad mans dream come true but perfect sense. A point we “ad people” have been trying to drive in to our clients for years.

Flip the same scenario on to any brand owner amongst us. Budgets are set as per turnover or an elaborate formula. Creative is developed as per guidelines and templates, can and cant do’s. The interests of internal stakeholders are generally put before the needs of the target audience. Media plans resplendent with magic buzzwords such as GRP’s, language break downs justify the expense as an investment but is it really so. A brand manager will sleep comfortably at night safe in the thought that he has impacted 70 % of his audience at least 5 times with a consistent message when he really should be having nightmares since all he’s done is repeatedly smack him with a dead fish.

Don’t get me wrong, being single minded and consistent, making sure media is accountable etc is required but my point of contention is on two fronts.

1. Why do we still hide behind these models ?
2. The world is changing faster that fast but we keep holding on to a way of doing business that is woefully failing to keep up.

Years of experience and business education has wired our brains in such a way   that we tend to see the problem first and then devise a solution around it as suggested by history and conventional business logic.

Let’s look at point no 1 best illustrated via an example from the mobile services category. The degree of uncertainty is an opportunity rather than a threat. If we only deem to see it so.  Research and reality suggests that all the consumers seek is value for money. Correct! And that’s what everyone is clamoring to offer.

As per conventional business thinking, value for money is defined as cheaper tariffs which are literally poured down the consumers’ throat.

In my opinion marketers in the mobile category have been too literal in defining value and have paid the price for it.  Consumers have benefited but the category has regressed. The actual definition of “value” the consumer seeks in this category is beyond just tariff. Surely it’s a key consideration criterion but what spins the bottle is the consumers’ notion of “as long as I get what I’m paying for”. An insight simple enough but never identified simply because years of “inherited business logic” dictates against it.

A different spin on it therefore would have been to position value as “ money for  value” instead of “ value for money”. 

As for my second area of contention it goes without saying that we are living life in fast forward.  Business and brand custodians however are still to get over a certain fondness of the “rewind” and “pause” button.  The entire process of brand management and communication management has turned out to be a “stop and go” process. Malcolm Gladwell, an imminent pop economics author is his book “ blink – the art of thinking without thinking” clearly illustrates how complex decision making can actually be made within a blink of an eye. The information and direction we need is around us all the time. Its how we identify it, process it store it and use it when it matters that counts.

Malcolm refers to this as “thin slicing” and it actually hit a blue nerve the first time I heard of it. With all due respect to Research Agencies, how may of us have sat at research presentations and come across a magical new insight. The ideas, the information, the direction the business sense is within us all along. Its just that formal business education has never thought us to trust out what we call “gut instinct”. Yet we stick to various forms of testing when a faster decision could be made by just combining the “thin slices” of key brand and communication people.

The core of good strategy to me is defining three key areas  

1. the problem or opportunity
2. the insight
3. the proposition

“Real strategy” to me could be three lines, critically crafted to capture the true essence of the above three pillars.

Its time for us to get over the buzz words, the theories and guru’s.  Its worked so far but its time to get real

“Real strategy” is purposefully single-minded in establishing “thought leadership”. A key characteristic sadly lacking but easily found. It’s suffocating behind the next “theory” or “model” you choose. 

Irfan Ahmed
Group Account Director – JWT Colombo