Je Suis Charlie
January 20, 2015

Je Suis Charlie?

We have grown extremely intolerant as a society.

The recent Charlie Hebdo incident triggered a lot of conversations around the world and it got me thinking. Let’s keep the violence and killing aside for a moment, I can’t (hopefully nobody can) justify and/or support that.

But Islam prohibits anyone to draw any image and call it Prophet. There is no ambiguity, it is plain and simple prohibited. And it forms a very important tenet of Islam. Having said this, does a devout Muslim have a reason to be upset over violation of what they regard as their belief system and/or their religious rights?

To answer this, I shall quote Pope Francis who in a recent interview said, “You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others.”

Some of you might argue saying that if you don’t like images of Prophet Muhammad, don’t draw them but don’t tell me that I can’t draw them. But the point that all of us miss here is that freedom of expression has its limits, especially if it involves insulting or ridiculing someone else’s faith.Continue Reading

April 9, 2014

If It’s about Facebook and Twitter, We Are All Doomed

Social Media Marketing7 years back when I founded OMLogic, online business was ruled by two major elements – keywords and technology but I was careful not to fall in this trap. I categorically placed the element of ‘communications’ while making the business and strategy plan. This step also led to the naam-karan of the company – OMLogic, bringing logic to online marketing.

Soon enough we had a team who believed the same and we continued weaving the communications part in the brands’ online approach until one day, we saw that the others were doing the same (which essentially meant that everyone was doing the same thing).

Forward 3 years and we transformed into a social media agency but our rationale was the same. We used the online medium for brand evangelism and to create engaging conversations with the desired target audience. We did wonderfully well but we saw the same trend across the board. Take any vertical and Facebook posts from any brand in that vertical (travel, fashion, beauty, real-estate, politics) and you can’t even distinguish which post belongs to which brand. EVERYONE LOOKS ALIKE. Although the online medium gives us the opportunity for ‘Brand Building’, the ‘Brand Differentiation’ element approach needs a lot of work.Continue Reading

April 7, 2014

Oriflame in Limelight!

Working in a Social Media Agency means witnessing instant feedback for the work you put under public eye. A very enthusiastic social media team at OML works for Oriflame and they love to get reviews on how they are doing. So, here’s how 3 reviews done by ‘Social Samosa’ were taken by them.

Oriflame’s social media presence has grown immensely over the last two years, with new campaigns on Facebook, the blog witnessing a traffic that was initially unexpected, a Twitter page where tweeple share their lovely feedback and hashtags that make it to trending topics in just 20 minutes of going live. With our team putting in generous amount of efforts in trying new concepts, language and strategies, it all paid off when Oriflame made a hat-trick on ‘Social Samosa’!

Being reviewed for its social media presence on the basis of recent campaigns and an overall approach on social, it was more than just a feature for the team that is always up with suggestions, advice and undying passion for the brand. It was no less than being featured on a page 3 column with our full sized photos, full names and no spelling errors. Considering Oriflame is a direct selling company and different from the regular league of cosmetic brands… The brand is all about looking great, making money and having fun at the same time.Continue Reading

February 20, 2014

What you say is what you shall reap

The mistakes that brands and agencies make on social media have been talked about a lot. The problem here is not that agencies or brands lack something like a structure to deal with such mistakes; it is more to do with knowing what needs to be done in some unforeseen and undesired situations.
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Social media is a place where the brands and services are most exposed to both appreciation and flak alike. The last thing one can do on social media is to remove negative comments on their pages and especially if you are a brand like Starbucks and have disgruntled customers talking about you. If there was a faulty service or a product, the best thing is to accept and promise to resolve. The agency executive or the social media manager may not know the exact reply but is there any person on the client side who may know it? It could be someone from the customer care team or the legal team or any other team who may be equipped to resolve the query in the most appropriate manner. We at our agency have created a simple process to seek the answers from the right people before going out there and replying! The key to resolving such issues is patience and the right intent.

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June 13, 2013

Secrets to Strategising Social Media Unplugged

It’s instant, it’s implausible, it’s impactful and it has an incredible reach. It’s the Social Media. If online marketing is the future, social media is the fuel. My passion for this intriguing resource has led me to hunt for ways to improve talent in it. As much as it is important to identify this talent, […]

December 6, 2012

Call to boycott Cleartrip!

PR and the Buzz about Cleartrip   Cleartrip’s recent firing of BuzzPR is definitely justified; a PR agency misusing the data is abominable. Having said that, using this to get cheap publicity with their customers by telling them ‘how much they care’ is just as sad. As an agency, I am very disappointed by Cleartrip’s actions. […]

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