'Sarin' Soup


It pays to keep one's mouth shut. As much as people, brands too should let others do the talking. Guess why publicity is more credible than advertising.

The BB blog has discussed the potency of 'publicity' as a marketing communication tool before. Brands should let publicity drive their visibility, not advertising. Sure, advertising has it's own uses in creating recall, but lacks credibility to dictate 'positive attitudes' of consumers' towards itself. The furthest it can go is to initiate the first purchase by the consumer, nothing beyond.

Arun Sarin's recent comments on the Indian bureaucracy has not gone down well. Sure, again, it may have been the truth, but why articulate it? Does that mean never to raise the issue. No, do raise it, but be careful about the forum and the choice of words. That's the same with brands too. They have to be visible at the right times and at the right places, and get others to notice their presence and talk about it. Arun Sarin since then has attempted to clarify on what he said. That's a soup he got into on his own doing.

The media is why the latest voting on the 7 wonders worked. Cashing in on the frenzy created, a fallout of the publicity garnered through the media, this private initiative started by Bernard Weber, made a killing through merchandise sales and other marketing initiatives. What's interesting to note is the success of the initiative despite no UN sanction.

It pays to keep shut and let others do the talking.

Cartoon : www.cartoonstock.com

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