Alka Dwivedi

Check out this sign posted at Starbucks today.
It reads:
“An email offering a free Starbucks iced coffee beverage was distributed by Starbucks partners (employees) with instructions to forward it to their group of friends and family. Unfortunately, it has been redistributed beyond the original intent and modified beyond Starbucks control. Regretfully this email offer […]

You can’t escape advertisements in modern world. They are all pervasive. Watching TV, reading a magazine, waiting for bus at a bus stop or if you are in contemplative mood and just looking out of your window or balcony, you can’t ignore ad world.
What it takes to make a successful ad copy? How much effort […]

We can take the cue from the NCERT, how not to prepare the course material. I have seen geography books of NCERT. In the sixth and seventh standard they teach children about Europe, America, Australia, the Middle East, the Far East and Africa. In the eighth standard they have included India.
I don’t know who prepared this […]

Seth Godin’s post discusses about Marketing Morality . It looks like fresh air from Alps.
I remember the recent Pepsi and Cola controversy brewing in Indian Parliament. The minute it was reported that soft drinks contain dangerous levels of pesticides all kinds of cold drinks were withdrawn from the parliament.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare […]

I was reading Harvard Business School Working Knowledge Newsletter. It states that Jeana H. Frost, Michael I. Norton and Dan Ariely are taking an academic look at online dating and how it can be improved. They have created virtual dates. Using virtual dates the couple can communicate in real time. Couples can use colors, […]

This snap was forwarded to me by ‘This Girl’s Life’. She writes:
This is actually an on-the-ceiling poster in the smoking room at an IT firm in Mumbai, India.
Some more facts about this ad:
This ad was prepared by Everest Brand Solutions, in Mumbai, India. It’s called “Cemetery.” And this ad was awarded a bronze lion for […]

I have just seen a good advertisement following the AIDA Model.
This ad copy attracts attention by providing a black and white snap of a little girl. Magazine is specifically designed for men. It mainly contains gadget section, politics, grooming, what’s in what’s not and interviews of prominent personalities. Not to forget, there is no dearth […]

Whenever I read these kind of articles, I remember Gandhian economics. He always emphasized on the optimum use of local resources. This way he wanted to stop the migration from villages to cities. When I read and listen that Gandhian model is outdated in the era of global economy, I want to write innumerable posts […]

I was reading this post. Believing in “customer is always right”, can be quite frustrating. But research into consumer behavior states that the average satisfied customer conveys to three people about his experience but the average dissatisfied customer grumbles to eleven other people.So the bad mouthing of products or services are unaffordable for any company.
Tackling […]

I was reading Good enough . It prompted me to write, what prompts manufacturers to add many useless features to a product, which a normal user probably won’t even explore in the product’s life time. Is it desperation to score over competitors? Or is it the mind of an expert psychiatrist at work who is […]

I often snigger at various advertisements. Very few advertisements are successful in achieving their objectives. At the basic level, it is taught, if you are creating an ad, try to follow the AIDA Model. It goes something like this (for the un-initiated):

A – Attracting attention
I - Interest
D – Desire
A – Action

Let me throw light on […]

I have written about a couple seeking mercy killing for their gravely ill son. This post somehow was side tracked from its real intention. But I tried in a very small way to do something for this ailing boy. And many of you supported me fully. Raghuveer even trusted me, a faceless and intangible stranger, […]

I was unwrapping a shirt. It was like solving a complex maze with so many metal and plastic pins inserted at every nook and corner along with tissue paper, a thin sponge and hard board. I was thoroughly annoyed after being out for shopping. How shopping distresses people is beyond my comprehension. Or I think […]