Limited time to hit target ?? : Resort to Online marketing campaigns

Limited time to hit target ?? : Resort to Online marketing campaigns

Despite India being the land of digital start ups many of us still languish in marketing proposals and succumb to day to day targets. 

By 15th of several months I have occasionally wished for (a) a client who would read my killer proposal and commit a huge investment instantly, (b) a boss who would say ‘Its Ok Pooja, next month will be stellar. I won’t ask you to justify your salary this month!’, (c) additional hands to dial phone numbers of C Category clients because panic makes me think like a scatter brain and frantically cold call, (d - my favourite)  a genie who can translate my relentless efforts into revenues.

Well I did find my genie in the form Online Marketing!

During my stint with WWF– India as a Partnership Manager my team had a pressing need to raise funds enough to exceed the yearly target. Over the year we worked on India’s biggest fund-raising campaigns: Earth Hour and Save the Tiger but for a team of three it was impossible to execute another ambitious campaign that too in the last quarter.  WWF India office was averse to new tools yet the tech enthusiast I decided to try digital media anyway. I explored opportunities with Ebay (a dormant stakeholder). My media planner friend informed that Volkswagen was re-branding as Think Blue (a CSR initiative) and has tied up with the Indian Cricket Team for promotion. I met the VW PR Head to see our ‘fit’.I synchronized the interests of the three parties: 

• Volkswagen: An international NGO will endorse the sustainability initiative and rebranding.
• Ebay : An auction of VW car on their website for a cause will attract high net worth individuals.
• WWF: Increase in online visibility, media publicity, celebrity endorsement (cricketers), raise funds.

 Prior to the launch of the Auction a buzz was created –

• Invites to participate in the online auction was sent out to HNIs (both hard copy and online invites) of WWF, Ebay and Volkwagon. Additionally to ICICI’s (a WWF partner) HNIs.
• Individuals could RSVP through ebay link.
• Synchronized reminders were sent out on emails through Google Calendars.

This tripartite partnership was a breakthrough since for the first time WWF-India used an online partner to raise funds by auctioning a car signed by Indian cricketers.

In two weeks we had 1000 respondents and raised 20 Lacs INR (for a car worth 10 Lac).

Interestingly , in the B2B sector direct email marketing and right SEO (through Ad Words) can help generate leads manifolds. At India Infrastructure ( a B2B infrastructure based publishing house where I was responsible for YearBook and Directory revenue generation) we had to increase the paid circulation of stocks of directories produced during the year. A combination of an attractive Pamphlet PDF, a sample of ‘Statistics’ provided in the publications , CXO level database and a feasible deadline was used for Direct Emailer Marketing. Well, I will not disclose the number of copies sold but I must add that the revenue generated from the sale, the queries that came in for advertisement in the publication and the space created in warehouse was worth every effort put in a period of two days.

Another example of how a big firm Evalueserve,India – Used LinkedIn for lead generation and brand building back in 2007. This financial KPO with HQ and Lead Generation team based in  India wanted to target the USA market. Cold calling, sending emails and hard copy letter was difficult to track. The company decided to explore Linkedin to connect with decision makers in USA.

The Marcom team systematically posted new white papers (excerpts or links) in relevant groups or forums, InMails were sent to connections through groups or forums to reach out to the top level executives.

• Through a dedicated online initiative the Sales team gained direct access to C-Level people without having to go through numerous rounds of calls with secretaries.
• Using LinkedIn for marketing has helped improve company’s visibility and catch the attention of it’s target audience.

 A recent example of how online space can single handedly catapult an initiative - 

Gofundme.com - USA based individual fund raising online site raised $4,732,627  by 893 campaigns from 58,885 donors for Nepal relief efforts in a span of 10 days. Yes, the cause is sensitive and propelled many people across the world the donate but it is this online space that provided the platform for us to do our bit at the right time…

Coming back to business! Clients may be in plethoric plenty, scattered geographically, perennially busy but judiciously picked online marketing tools (most being free) can come at rescue of marketing and sales professionals to get past the monthly marathon of targets.

https://twitter.com/PoojaDey

All India Bakchod : The next wave of social influence

   All India Bakchod : The next wave of social influence 

When I watched AIB’s version of Roast I was honestly a little offended by non-stop abuses being delivered by the best comedians in the country. Sure that is the format of AIB, I mean AIB stands for this however, it seemed like a bad and lame version of the American Roast which takes humour beyond just being abusive…it really rips an individual apart with some smart ass jokes.

However, AIB’s Roast was a one of a kind initiative in a very sensitive environment and I would like to applaud their guts. Additionally lets not forget they did raise charity fund worth Rs.40 Lakh for Being Human and other NGOs. They engaged millions of viewers online, several Bollywood celebrities on-ground through entertainment and all that for a noble cause.

But the real claim to fame for AIB group are the numerous stunts like ‘Alia Bhat : Genius of the Year’, ‘Its Your Fault’ and ‘Savetheinternet’ videos. I think Genuis of the Year is a master piece…It was a new way to help Alia redeem herself as an smart kid in Bollywood crib, it was extremely humorous ( I had knots in my stomach and almost peed laughing), it mirrored today’s Indian urban generation and most importantly it was rightly timed.

‘Its Not Your Fault’ is another intelligent short video by the group on rape. A serious video this time with a very strong message. It caught everyone’s attention and displayed AIB’s caliber as a responsible and matured creative group.

And their recent video ‘Savetheinternet’ literally hand holds the viewer and explains the concept of Net Neutrality. Just two weeks before TRAI’s closing date for the case this video created rapture in the social media forums. For a lot of us it was AIB’s video that pushed us to Pledge for Net Neutrality.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfY1NKrzqi0  

It wasn’t all a cake walk for the group. Before the group was formed Tanmay was a part of Weirdass and Khamba an Assistant Director. They had great ideas for AIB but no avenues to promote themselves. It was the lack of sufficient funds during the earlier days that forced the duo (back in 2012 it was just Tanmay and Khamba) to explore digital social media. They uploaded their videos on youtube and became an instant hit.

Before AIB, I used to (and still do often) literally park myself at www.funnyordie.com website and wonder if any crazy bunch of Indians will be able to defy sensitive and fragile walls of Indian society with original humorous content. AIB team is a classic example of ‘not giving a feck’ about anyone and being true to self.

AIB has made us laugh, contemplate the societal challenges, propelled to action, fostered new ideas of content development, raised funds while entertaining and will continue to do so.

Their efforts are a true manifestation of satirical comedy’s influence and impact in our society. 

How to make Provident Fund simple : EPFO your savings ally

Are you like me who has switched over three jobs in seven years and conveniently forgotten about hard earned PF money?? Every time we move to another firm we have to open a new PF account because we are too lazy to transfer the PF amount from our previous company. Pretty standard, eh?

Truth is,  at least 50% of us tend to let go of our PF money as we switch companies in the initial years primarily because the PF amount may have been negligible or due to paucity of sufficient information.

Surely, it  looks like a small amount of savings every time you see your salary slip but should you choose to withdraw ,  say after you move to another firm, the accumulated sum along with interest, it can actually take care of your next vacation,  higher education fees if you wish to study further., and so  forth. Or even better , retain your savings for something unforeseen! Please note - withdrawn amount is taxable.

I regularly have the opportunity to interact with EPFO core team for work and in due course I realized that handling PF money is as easy as booking flight tickets online. So I am sharing a few pointers-  to give a purview of PF  handling process at the back end and how to wisely manage PF portfolio- which  surprisingly is a matter of a few clicks.

 Overview :

Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is a government statutory body under Ministry of Labour that administers Provident Fund for over 4 crore members in India. It also gives you interest. Most of the firms are already registered.

EPFO has launched Universal Account Number (UAN). It is like a Social Security code unique to every individual.

What you need to know :

• Take your UAN number from your employer. Your UAN is readily available with employer. This is an umbrella code unique to you. Your PF Account number may change every time you switch jobs however your UAN number stays with you. This is just like you may change your hand set but your cellphone number is unique to you.
• You will have to manually activate your UAN at http://uanmembers.epfoservices.in  . You just need to fill in your identify proof details to it can synchronize both earlier and present PF transactions .And done! 

• Both Employer Establishment code and your PF A/C number would be mentioned in your payslip. If not, you may check with your HR. This is your number and firm cannot deny you this information.
• Should you move to another company, share this UAN with your new employer who will automatically transfer the revised PF amount (as per your new salary break up) to this account. It may be a new PF A/c but will come under your UAN.

 After 3 years if there is no inflow of money in your PF account ( i.e. incase you retire and don’t withdraw or left the firm three years back that was handling your PF account and have activated your UAN), EPFO will stop giving interest on the accumulated PF money.

Every big or small firm is usually registered with EPFO. Some really big companies which have their in-house trust funds don’t come under EPFO.

For further details please access : http://uanmembers.epfoservices.in/faq.php

Please feel to write comments and add any information I may have missed.

We are working class heroes. We pay are taxes. We take pride in every cherished electronics we acquire with our salary or every donation we make towards a cause that touches us. It is time we take care of ourselves too! 

Make provident fund your ally. Happy Labour Day.