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

by Kapil Gupta

January 7, 2015

Women Safety is NOT Women Empowerment

Reservations were necessary (absolutely necessary) for providing equitable treatment to people across the country. But they should have been removed (atleast refined) years back. Reservations are needed, anyday, to provide equal opportunity but they can’t really assure equal treatment by mere implication.

Before we gauge further, let me tell you this blog is NOT about reservations. It is about women empowerment but the quandary remains the same. Last couple of years have been majorly about women empowerment and all the conversations about it.Continue Reading

by Kapil Gupta

May 16, 2014

From two seats in 1984 to 272+ seats in 2014

It is the first time that a party other than Congress reached a vote share of 30% in Indian elections in the last 67 years. It’s the first time that a party has secured a majority after the 1984 elections (and the first time in the history that a party to secure majority is not Congress). It is the first time that the number of seats of the Congress Party has been reduced to 2 digits. It is the first time that BJP has won all 25 seats in Rajasthan and has also won a majority of seats in Uttar Pradesh diminishing the once-upon-a-time regional giants. There are so many firsts in these election results that it’s nearly impossible to list.

Even with all the firsts, the election results did not come as a surprise. The comprehensive marketing strategy followed by BJP and its flawless execution has been visible for months now and has helped them get out of their worst fear – coalition compulsions. BJP had hit the bullseye with its communication strategy of mission 272+.Continue Reading

by Kapil Gupta

April 9, 2014

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

7 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

by Kapil Gupta

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

by Kapil Gupta

February 27, 2014

Notorious Crazywal

In my post about ‘All that is wrong with Arvind Kejriwal’ (https://www.kapilgupta.in/blog/all-that-is-wrong-with-arvind-kejriwal/), I had talked about what he is missing. That was done with a conscious assumption that he has the right intentions. Today, I want to not constraint myself with that assumption.

A closer look at the events of the last few months somehow tells me that Kejriwal is self-centred, power hungry and not afraid to misuse people’s trust. Please note by no means am I claiming that’s where he started, I am suggesting that’s where he seems to be now. If someone had asked me in October, I would have given him a thumbs-up on honesty and integrity.Continue Reading

by Kapil Gupta

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.

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.

by Kapil Gupta

February 16, 2014

All that is wrong with Arvind Kejriwal

I had written in December about the power of common man and had very categorically mentioned that this isn’t about Kejriwal. This was the rise of the common man. And 60 days from then, I am sad to say I was right.

Arvind-Kejriwal When AAP came to power in Dec 2013, there was anxiousness all around. No one (including his best supporters and best detractors). Nobody knew how they will perform. Nobody knew what all they will be able to do.

It wasn’t only because this was very different that all governments we had seen before. It was partly because of their lack of governance experience. It was partly because of their reliance on other parties in formulating the government.

Lets look more deeply to see what is actually wrong (For the purposes of this I will assume that Kejriwal has the right intentions and is looking for positive changes).

The entire government machinery works through 4 pillars – elected representatives who create laws (ministers), bureaucrats who run the system using those laws (government department), police who identifies anomalies (law and order) and judiciary who reprimands the anomalies. My fundamental problem with Kejriwal is that he has convinced all of us and still maintains that all 4 in this country are corrupt. By no means am I saying this inference is wrong. But that can only work if you remain an activity forever and continue to challenge the system.Continue Reading

by Kapil Gupta

December 16, 2013

“Me Lord! Gay and happy…let me be!”

On 11-12-13, India witnessed a sudden upsurge in millions of criminals as the Supreme Court’s decision reversed the landmark order of Delhi High Court which had decriminalised homosexual acts in 2009. The court declared that two citizens of the same gender expressing love in the privacy of their own homes are criminals. Before I could […]

by Kapil Gupta

December 11, 2013

Don’t underestimate the power of a common man!

So, we have become a democracy now. Let me put things in perspective. Indian democracy has so far been elected and influenced by people who don’t know any better. As I mentioned in my last piece, only people who voted were: Very poor – Who are always occupied in the fight to earn a basic […]

Popular Searches