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A real-world example of A/B testing!
What to price a bespoke suit, should it be Rs 6000 or make it tempting at Rs 5999? Rather than debate endlessly in meeting rooms or hire a consultant, this tailor in Chennai seems to have implemented the acclaimed split testing. Based on the price the walking customer(s) asks he will know which billboard is effective – he will also know which size, portrait or landscape works. Smart guy! #billboardadvertising #chennai #bespoketailoring #pricingstrategy #abtesting
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Advertisements in Tamil for enterprise offerings
கணினியில் தமிழை முதல் தர மொழியாகக் கொண்டு வர வேண்டும் எனப் பலர் முப்பது/நாற்பது வருடங்களாகப் பாடுப்பட்டு வந்துள்ளார்கள். உத்தமத்தின் (INFITT) மூலமாக அவர்களின் அருகில் பயணம் செய்யும் வாய்ப்பு எனக்குக் கிடைத்தது, என்னால் முடிந்தச் சிறிய வேலைகளும் (பங்கையும்) செய்துள்ளேன். அந்த பின்னணியில் இந்த விளம்பரம் எனக்கு மகிழ்ச்சியளிக்கிறது. ஏன் என்றால்? உலகத்தின் மிக அதிக மதிப்புக் கொண்ட ஐந்து நிறுவனங்களில் ஒன்றான மைக்ரோசாப்ட், அவர்களின் (அதிகமாக) பெரு நிறுவனங்களுக்கானப் படைப்பான டீம்ஸ் (Microsoft Teams) சேவையைப் பற்றி தமிழில் ஒரு பெரிய விளம்பரத்தை இன்றைய இந்து தமிழ் திசை நாளிதழில் கொடுத்துள்ளார்கள். இதில் தொழில்நுட்பமான விசயம் புதிதாக இல்லையென்றாலும், இது ஒரு முக்கிய குறியீடு – பெரு நிறுவன அதிகாரிகளிடம் தமிழ் மொழியில் பேசலாம், ஆங்கிலம் மட்டும் உதவாது – தமிழில் பேசினால் வியாபாரம் கூடுதலாக ஆகும் என்பது. விற்பனைக்கு பின்னர் தமிழ் பயனாளர்களின் தேவைகளை தமிழில் சிறப்பாகக் கொடுக்கப்பார்கள், கொடுத்தாக வேண்டும். இது உடனே நடக்காது, ஆனால் படிப்படியாக நடக்கும், ஏற்கனவே…
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The marketing machine called the USA
If #China has super-power ambitions, they need to “up” their #marketing & #PR efforts. Look at the #USA, here are 3 well-known examples: Every three years, the world news everywhere is dominated by #American Presidential elections for the following twelve months, even though people outside the America have little reason to care about them. To make everyone read and talk about a news item that has no real impact for them is a dream for branding managers. Every year, the nine months preceding a new #Apple #iPhone launch, it is the major item covered all the time by tech press around the world. Following the iPhone launch, the next 3…
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Digital Marketing Playbooks for Early Stage Startups by Vedanarayanan Vedantham
Today TiE Chennai had organized a webinar on “Digital Marketing Playbooks for Early Stage Startups” by Vedanarayanan Vedantham (SME Business Head at Razorpay), who I am happy to say is my cousin-brother. The topic he covered was a very relevant one for all the startups out there. Below are from the notes (in no specific order) I took during the talk: The benefits of Digital Marketing: Push or Pull marketing: Let us see a story, assume you are working in a restaurant and your boss has tasked you with eliminating flies in the place. You can do it in two ways: one you take a electric fly catcher and try…
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Do marketers like the long Queues at events
Attending few events in the recent days, made me thoughtful As humans and especially us engineers, can have computers that can play GO – one day we may even reach full artificial intelligence, but we will not be able to solve check-in queues at events. Why is it? What happened to the wonderful technologies like QR codes, Bluetooth beacons and NFC – is it only for preaching to others by technology firms?. Everyone attending a technology, literary event in a metro city carries a smartphone, can’t something be worked out whereby they can just breeze their way in, if they have already registered and paid. And, don’t get me started…
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My thoughts on Facebook’s dual News Feed
Yesterday, Manish Maheshwari, CEO, Network18 Digital wrote an article with inputs from a friend of mine “Avinash Mudaliar“, titled “Why Facebook’s Latest Dual News Feed Pilot Is a Nightmare for Publishers“. In this article, Manish says “It is the fundamental problem of trying to assume power by controlling what a certain section of users can do on their platform, and displaying this intent through their various initiatives”. After reading the article, this is what I wrote in the comments on what I thought about the issue: This topic becomes important with the spread of fake news, and their impact on electoral results and so on. The problems are being noticed now, because…
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Promotions in a 1960 Kalki magazine
Recently a friend showed me an old copy of Tamil magazine “Kalki” published in 1960. In the issue published 56 years back, I came across two advertisements that were interesting. The first was for a cruise ship journey from Chennai to Nagapattinam to Penang, onward to Singapore. Unfortunately, passenger ships from South India are nowadays a rarity. If they make a comeback it will be fun to go in them to cities in South East Asia. The second advertisement was given by my father Sri T.N.C.Varadan who was heading LIFCO Books. The ad announced the release of LIFCO’s 64 pocketbooks series on popular Tamil literary classics including Tirukural, Manimekalai, Kundalakesi,…
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The End of local book stores
Born into a book publishing family its natural for my love towards books, but not necessarily reading them always as that would have made me a scholar which I am not!. Every city I travel to, my must go list will include local bookshops or libraries. During Singapore & US trips I have spent countless hours in Borders, similarly at Barnes & Noble in the USA, W H Smith in London and Airports around the world. In India, any shopping trip is not complete for me without customary visit and purchase (to the chiding from wife) of books from Landmark or Higginbothams. Speaking of Landmark bookstores, for many in Chennai…
