CAN WOMEN BE ‘EFFECTIVE’ LEADERS?

We revisit the rhetorical question and jump across to a few women for their responses on why hasn’t the equality query been solved, despite eons of man-woman existence

Relax-feminists, libbers, bra-burners and the army of smart and successful women who are burning the top slot of their respective ‘spaces’ with mind-blowing work and professionalism! The article is not to question or challenge their proven commitment, focus, ability or capability in the area of performance or achievement… but to examine why (despite their proven track-record) the ‘big one’ eludes them. We asked a few people and the feedback was as entertaining as enlightening...

Poonam Singh, a young MBA aspirant believes that women have it in them to be “inspirational leaders because they use the Transformational style as opposed to men’s Transactional style. They are willing to listen, empathise and understand a colleague/subordinate’s problem.” However, Singh believes women have one “serious chink in their armour” – the aspect of emotionality. Unlike men who are focused, one-dimensional, business-like and hard-core pragmatic, women can [and often do] goof up in taking important decisions driven by the heart, not head.

Another student, Eshani Jha stands the stated weakness on its head and emphasises, “It is this very emotional quotient that makes her a better leader.” At the end of the day, she defends, it’s ‘people’ whom you lead – not computers, machinery, buildings, glass, concrete or stone – and therefore the inspirational leader is one who invests as much of the ‘heart’ as the ‘head’. Media House executive (a working mother in her early thirties) Mridula Sahay approaches the issue with her cautious maturity befitting the station in life. “I would hesitate to jump to conclusions or unleash opinions without pulling back and seeing the big picture.” She believes that ‘leadership’ is something that is inborn and (like in men) you either have this trait or don’t. It is seldom acquired. “If this issue [vis-à-vis women] is raised today it is because lesser women are there holding down leadership-status appointments, than men. The reason is basically historical. Women are perceived as the home-makers, while men are the providers, going out, doing jobs of work and earning a living. This places the two in different domains. Leadership – obviously – is more relevant and legitimate in the work place and therefore it has (traditionally) been linked to men. Today, with more women breaking the glass ceiling to invade the once ‘Men Only’-space, questions like these will invariably arise. This represents a tacit recognition of women’s presence in the higher echelons of business and industry and augurs well for our future.”

The critical question is: If leadership is about management, supervision, control and guidance in an authoritative mode, women are born leaders because they deploy and leverage these traits, successfully, everyday! But then, why is there still a huge coterie that still does not perceive women as true ‘leaders’? “Rampant gender-bias, and sex discrimination,” says Priya, a New York based IT employee for a multinational. “But there’s also the fear of experimenting at the top – women, by genetic makeup, cannot withstand the stress and work overload that men can. Therefore, shareholders feel extremely afraid to test out something totally new,” she adds.

Fittingly the last words are provided by an iconic woman who brilliantly fills several spaces with magical effectiveness, Aparna Sen. “Firstly, we need to understand the meaning of the word effective. Popular (male) belief will equate it with success, related to result, performance and achievement. For me, the word resonates with a different glow… It translates into the desire and ability to understand, mould, form, shape and inspire ordinary people to extraordinary heights. It takes into account everyday women who languish in the shadows, an unsung and unheralded community, because they are not high-profile corporate divas like the Indra Nooyis, Sulajja Firodia Motwanis, Vinita Balis, Shobhana Bhartias, Naina Lal Kidwais or Kiran Mazumdar Shaws. For me they are more effective because minus the massive infrastructure or resources of the workplace, these sublime creatures keep doing their stuff everyday, rising above a million problems, fighting against all odds, to emerge victorious.”

Woman, your time to lead will come; but not now... not soon...

CAN WOMEN BE ‘EFFECTIVE’ LEADERS?

6 COMMON PANGAAS TO EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING!

The road to good, engaging and effective advertising is often a bumpy one. Why? Our consulting editor attempts to unravel some of them.

Adland, to some of its practitioners, is a territory that is hallowed, sacred and powered by yellow, moth-eaten, stone-age clichéd laws. They are meant to be irrefutable and writ in stone. It’s time we look at six of these commandments – before burying them with an RIP epitaph! Ready? Let’s go...

Research Overkill: Some advertisers use research based on the rather pompous premise that what people say they do is what they’ll do! The history of advertising is choc-a-bloc with profitable ideas that died needlessly due to this premise, based on mindless scorekeeping – an overuse of research. Somewhere, research became the amazing art and science of turning potent magic to potent waste! The famous Anita Roddick of Body Shop once said research was “like looking at the rear view mirror of a fast-moving car.” We say, research and destroy!

OBJECTIVITY: Some other advertisers are constantly obsessed with finding the ‘logically and objectively right answers’, instead of the emotionally appropriate responses. No prizes for guessing what the result is… The simple fact is they are scared of risk, don’t trust their instincts and believe that the letter is more important than the spirit. Economists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky proved a few years back that consumers don’t think objectively (and they won the Nobel Prize for that). Then why should you?

Familiarity: Breeds contempt, inertia and clichés… and yet, clients continue to wail, “Give me something like…,” right? Brands were invented to achieve differentiation and what was effective then, is mud when repeated. When was the last time you heard a politician articulate truth with power and fearless passion? Or when you read a letter from your bank that got your eyes to glaze over? Got a talk from your boss that empowered you to focus on commitment to excellence rather than bottomlines? Innovate in advertising regularly (not in brands; that doesn’t help apparently); change the design, or the layout, or the colours, whatever! Let the customer not get familiar with the ad!

Cynicism: Like love and magic, you have to believe in advertising, rather than assume that the quality of the product would be enough to sell it. If advertising doesn’t make the waves it should, it’s because instead of going about discovering the richness (or infidelities) of human insight, marketers spend their lives and big bucks “ticking all boxes” and following “the checklist!” This results in lookalike, superficial, uninspired advertising. When faith colours profession, commodity turns into brands showcasing the essential values of the intangibles – passion, sensuality, story.

Interference: Wasn’t it the great pope of advertising, David Ogilvy, who said that one should stop barking when they have a dog? Sure, it’s a ‘collaborative’ activity, but nothing can be worse than decisions made by committees and through consensus! Like the moviebiz, advertising is a nervous industry and therefore checks and balances and risk-proof safety nets come into play like crazy; but in this crazy paranoia, reenforced by the new buzz word ‘relationship-bonding’, well-meaning clients (and superiors) peck to death great ideas of a creative whizkid, whose concepts are screaming to be approved! The secret is to let people get on with their jobs. Recognise, motivate, inspire, suggest, but never interfere. Sadly, as the late H. G. Wells once wrote, with chilling truth, “No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else’s draft!”

Gloss, Polish, Fake: While advertising is indeed the art of dramatising the truth, hyping reality and slicking up the mundane, it often goes over the top and becomes “cheesy! To any half-way sensitive, sane and informed human being, there is terrific irony at play here. As the world gets more new-age, there is an increased yearning for old-fashioned values, like authenticity, slow food, reading groups, organic vegetables, concerns over issues like climate control, preservation of tigers, et al. Unless you reach out and touch, no one will reach out and touch your brand. Nobody trusts voices that posit to be all things to all people. Why should Brands behave differently?

6 COMMON PANGAAS TO EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING!

WHY HUMOUR PAYS IN AD LAND

In the stressful times we live in, laughter – well packaged – can be a huge high and the ultimate bridge between a brand and its consumer

Once upon a time, the staid, starched and propah’ Ad-Gurus believed that advertising was deadly serious business and people don’t buy from clowns! But over the last decade, this thinking has been buried amidst wild laughter with humour taking on a superstar’s role! Why? Because humour and fun have become the breath of life in a lot of the advertising we see and advertainment is pretty much the new lingua franca in the communication delivery mode. Why? “Because humour disarms and makes one more accepting of certain thoughts and images that could be hard to take in a serious discourse,” says adman George Louis. He has constantly hit out at “scientific fools, marketing windbags stiffass bureaucrats, research fascists and pompous biggies” because he believes a lack of humanity (read: humour) kills great communication. People don’t respond as target consumers or demographic cross-sections. They respond as ‘him’ or ‘her’. You and me.

Louis says he finds a huge ra-ra constituency totally rooting for the Ha-Ha factor to attract, interest, provoke, desire and trigger the purchase intent in the consumer universe targeted. Ad film-maker Prahlad Kakkar, who began his foray into ad films by providing (at that time) a total break from conventional reason with audacious tongue-in–cheek, whacko stuff [It’s different, Boss!] believes humour is a great leveler because it breaks down barriers and distances in one fell swoop. Prasoon Joshi (whose Thanda Matlab & Happydent white ads plug humour with all cylinders firing) defines humour as a social lubricant that’s easy to catch and hang on to because it’s the most basic emotion. It comes easier than sorrow or grief. Successful recent TVCs that have hit the humour button include Centre Shock, Zoozoo, Fevicol, Naukri.com, Fastrack among others.

People around the world often find “compression” a good way of getting the point across in an effective manner. Arnold Schwarzenegger was once famously described as a guy “looking like a bunch of walnuts wrapped in a condom!” The writer confessed that he wasn’t consciously trying to be funny – only endeavouring enough to convey something in the least number of words. If compression leads to humour, then humour lead to a smile. Legend has it that a Chinese hospital reported a dramatic drop in the number of complaints after instructing their staff to show at least eight teeth while smiling at patients!

On a serious note, the reason why humour is so powerful in advertising is really very basic: it’s a bridge that links the brand to the consumer, because laughter is still the shortest distance between two people… and a smile, really, is that amazing meeting of minds. It signifies a positive and physical feedback from your audience. Wit invites participation. Humour ensures higher recall and memorability, and triggers word-of-mouth communication as no other mode can. Incidentally the best jokes aren’t based on imagination, but on observation of real people. See how they speak, gesture, react, joke, even kiss, and oh, how they never look at each other in a lift. Anything’s really funny as long as you know how to use the situation!

Everything considered, humour makes people more conducive towards the brand, socking it a solid “feel-good” factor, presenting super-high comfort levels… all of which makes it easy to connect with the brand in an effortless sort of way. It has been noticed that beyond any sales tool, humour invokes a special kind of collective intimacy that is hard to match. Remember, logic can make you think a product is a sensible choice, but only humour can make you lean towards it, invite participation that triggers a joyous recall. Fish swim. Snakes bite. Pandas eat bamboo. But hey, only humans laugh! Laughter is the common currency that humans use to make life rock, and advertising – for its turn – is perpetually pressing the H-button to persuade people in believing that their products and services make for a better life… So the alliance of the two is really a match made in heaven!

In a tense and pressure-ridden world that we inhabit, humour in advertising is getting to be increasingly an intrinsic part of the process largely because advertising as a form and the way it is consumed has radically changed. Says Santosh Desai, “It is undoubtedly an unwelcome and intrusive medium but what has happened in the last few decades is that we have consciously trained people to become consumers and see the world largely from a consumption filter. The strike-rate overall has been pretty good. In earlier times, the 8-reasons-why-you-should-buy-this, delivered in BBC-style English, worked. Today, it doesn’t. People are not looking for gyan but fun, entertainment, a laugh. No heavies.” This has led to substance and content being forced to take on and entertainment spin… Why go far? Isn’t news (presented and packaged – in both print and television – in a stylish, glossy and eye-catching manner) entertainment? Woo, romance, seduce, dazzle, threaten, warn, beg, plead, tease – but for heavens – entertain! If you want to grab attention or eyeballs, what better way than tickling the funny bone?

Today, in a world brutalised by pain, poverty and human suffering, stress, pressure and anxieties, the creator of funnies are the new superstars, because all said & done, even the most hardened sceptic & cynic will agree that, at the end of the day, humour is way better than tumour!

WHY HUMOUR PAYS IN AD LAND

PATRIOTISM AS PROP

Do the dozens of ads, religiously flooding the publications every Republic and Independence Day, make any sense or carry any weight? 4Ps B&M's Monojit Lahiri spoke to some evolved souls to seek answers

Come Republic Day, or Independence Day, or the birth or death anniversaries of Gandhi or Nehru – and a zillion ads, with differing degrees of engagement, conviction or focus, blitz our publications. Why? What is their basic agenda or objective? Do they achieve ‘it’? Aren’t they wasting the tax-payers’ money? Does anybody care to see them? In short, who is doing what for whom?

Leo Burnett’s hi-profile National Creative Director (NCD), Pops Sridhar is first off the block. He summarily dismisses most of these ads as “sheer tokenism, sycophancy and outstanding examples of how not to project landmark events of national importance!” However, he believes, that these affairs – for the evolved and sensitive communication practitioner – present amazing opportunities to showcase the nation’s new-found pride and confidence as being up there with the best. Celebrate their sense of self-reliance, their glowing image in the League of Nations as a vibrant democracy making huge strides, deleting forever their erstwhile complex of the white man or their goods and services. “I am not sure this has been done with any consistency. Connecting the core values of a product or service with the nation’s vision and values can be a fascinating and exciting challenge, if leveraged intelligently. However, there should be a brand-fit – like the patriotic ‘I don’t want to go abroad’ Hero Honda TVC or Hamara Bajaj, Mile Sur... TVCs – otherwise, it will appear corny, clichéd and contrived like most ads of this genre.”

Political commentator and media personality Paranjoy Guhathakurta adds his spin to the debate. He agrees that there is definitely mega-posturing and wearing-patriotism-on-my-sleeves factor on an over-drive “as clearly manifest in these rather embarrassingly inane ads. They can only be matched by the hysterical brand of patriotism emerging from the NRI fraternity. Distance – for them – lends enchantment, I guess! However, despite this lapse and the fact that a disturbing divide and disparity continues to define our amazingly complex land, we continue to remain a solid democracy and zap the world! This needs to be recognised, understood and celebrated. Seen in that light, these ads are doing their job for whatever they are worth. They may not be the most creative, imaginative and professional examples of advertising excellence, but the intent is honourable and well-meaning.”

Cigar czar Chetan Seth offers a light touch. He compares this exercise to “event management” and believes that “it provides the government agencies and public sector undertaking furms a great, legitimate outlet to spend big bucks, paying homage to whatever is the flavour of the day! In the normal course, not being an FMCG or ad-driven product or service, the Sarkari guys have no need to advertise. These events provide rare and eagerly awaited opportunities and they freak out... In the process, a great time is had by all!”

Lloyd Mathias, the savvy CMO of Tata Teleservices Ltd has his own professional take. “It’s true that come these days, lots of brands seem to leap onto the nationalistic bandwagon, flashing empty patriotic slogans and the tri-colour to display solidarity with the spirit of the day. Most times, (like the hordes of PSU ads) it’s done without imagination, creativity or focus.” However, Mathias believes, if a brand anchors it and establishes a relevant and powerful connect with patriotism – like the fabulous Pepsi Freedom ads in 1997 commemorating India’s 50th year of Independence – then it could result in powerful and memorable communication. Otherwise, mostly, it’s lazy marketing and a sheer waste of money.

Veteran Nargis Wadia (founder and Chairperson of Interpub, whose gorgeous presence rocked the sixties and seventies!) believes, “Context is the key. The Gandhi-fronted Montblanc ads are silly and amateurish attempts at leveraging patriotism in advertising. The challenge is to identify and establish, in a creative and memorable manner, products, causes or concerns with a suitable brand-fit”. The last words appropriately must come from a bright mass communication student, Anupama Sharma. Bringing all her youthful optimism into play, she opines, “These ads may not be great examples of creative excellence, but who cares? Life is about passion and emotion and these occasions allow us to express them with patriotism full-on! Do birthdays, anniversaries and special days happen every day? Don’t we celebrate them with feeling? We are an expressive, over-the-top people. Why should our flavour of patriotism differ? We are like that only, yaar!”

PATRIOTISM AS PROP