Co incidentally I have received more than 5 text messages & a couple of emails over the weekend on the above subject, details that are reproduced below:”Heart surgery, free of cost for children.SRI SATHYA SAI INSTITUTE HIGHER MEDICAL SCIENCES,Blore Ph.08028411500 paas to evry 1, it might hlp some one who needs”I do not know if this is true; If No, then people should stop blind forwards where except the cellphone companies nobody benefits & if true, let this be done in a structured manner so that it can reach more people & help them.

I was amongst the early users to pick up an iPhone duly & start using it.

Having given up E90 due to it’s dud speakerphone…. I was convinced by Anjan Ghosh of TV18 whom I refer to as Tech Guru(for the study he manages to do on any thing electronic) that “iPhone is all about style and not about ease of use. Typing text is easy once you get habitual, but since this is a touch panel handset and we use our fingers instead of stylus, typing long test messages or mails is not that fancy. And when you compare ease of typing on iPhone with Blackberry, black berry is better. iPhone is all about style, sleek looks of the handset, the flipping of pictures using your fingers, the zooming in and out function while viewing pictures or websites and not to forget that the front panel or display is scratch resistant And don’t forget the audio quality “ apple’s iPod always had an upper hand over any other music player and iPhone anyways has all the functionality of an iPod too !! though it has a 2megapixel camera, the quality of pictures shot are amazing. One can easily get deceived by thinking it has been shot using a 3.2 or 5 megapixel cam !! He also warned me : The worst thing with iPhone are : you cannot forward SMS, or send SMS to multiple recipients. You cannot send or receive MMS. The Blue tooth feature of this handset supports only hands-free devices and nothing else. Which means you cannot pair your phone with any Bluetooth enabled handset or laptop to send or receive songs, pictures, vide os, etc.” Read the rest of this entry »

Indian Retail that had been rocking a year back is facing rocks today; some of it due to circumstances beyond control, but some definitely within control. Based on experience, discussions, talks over the past year……thought that some of these can be listed down…. Read the rest of this entry »

Some months ago, BMC & other allied agencies in their enthusiasm completed the work of road, drainage, foothpaths, bus shelters etc. where I stay.

The next day morning & continuously I saw number of taxi’s; rickshaw’s being parked there from 7 am in the morning but post 1pm suddenly disappear. Being the inquisitive kind, after a couple of days, started asking questions - Why the rush? What is happening etc. etc. to the watchman of the building, my driver etc. Read the rest of this entry »

Another mail on Oil from my good friend Mohan Pai

July 23, 2008
Never ones to let raw facts get in the way of a good story, a familiar line spouted by Americans these days is, ‘Why should the US curb energy consumption, when India and China are guzzling petrol and polluting the whole globe?’

From New York to Los Angeles, and everywhere in between, the chorus can be heard: ‘Blame India! Blame China!’

Well, brought to our attention by Wired, recent empirical data rubbish this argument and kick it to the curb. The state of California’s own statistics show that, in 2006, the state consumed 20 billion gallons of diesel and petrol as transportation fuel, a more than 50 per cent increase over the past two decades. But even more interestingly, 20 billion gallons a year tops the transportation fuel usage of the entire nations of China or India!

Chew on that for a while, and allow it to truly sink in: California alone uses more petrol and diesel for fuel that any other country in the world, save the United States as a whole, which used a whopping 136 billion gallons, or 44% of the world’s transportation fuel consumption.

Of course, listening to US politicians, talking heads and media reports, one wouldn’t know it. They constantly inundate us with stories of India and China and their rapid growth, and what it portends for the developed world. The two emerging Asian giants have been blamed for everything from food shortages to rising fuel prices to global warming.

But instead of worrying why Indians need two rotis per day rather than one, or why our rapid development has led to increased vehicles on India’s roads, perhaps it’s time for America to do some soul searching and ask a few questions of itself.

Isn’t it outrageous for a state with 36 million people to consume more transportation fuel than a nation of 1 billion, India, and still point the blame elsewhere?

The second question, how is this even possible? How can every 1 Californian consume more transportation fuel than 30 Indians?

It’s simple, really. In Asia, we utilise compressed natural gas, mass transportation, bicycles and our good old fashioned leather chappals to get around. In California, it’s not unusual for a family of four to have four vehicles, and for each member to drive his or her own separate way, every day!

Whereas the Indian railway system is the world’s envy for its efficacy and efficiency, trains are a thing of the past in the States, more of a novelty than anything else. Buses are used only as a last resort, and metros, subways and other urban forms of mass commute are practically non-existent in the Golden State, save San Francisco’s iconic streetcars. And even those are primarily tourist attractions.

The average American’s idea of ‘public transportation’ is sharing a taxi. Compare this with Mumbai, where an estimated 6 million people avail of the local trains each day, cramming one on top of another into packed compartments. Now, the discrepancy starts to make sense.

So next time you read of an environmentally conscious American preaching about India’s lack of a commitment to green-friendly practices, chances are, that the American is alone in his sports car, cruising the highways around Los Angeles, with the air conditioning on high. Then, picture that packed Virar-Churchgate local in Mumbai.

Text: Matthew Schneeberger.

Surprising I received two mails related to Oil today from a friend Mohan Pai, while some parts may seem far fetched, makes interesting read

Why the Dollar Bubble is about to Burst.

IRAN HAS REALLY DONE IT…more deadlier than the nuclear..

The Voice (issue 264 -) ran an article beginning, ‘ Iran has really gone and done it now. No, they haven’t sent their first nuclear sub in to the Persian Gulf . They are about to launch something much more deadly — next week the Iran Bourse will open to trade oil, not dollars but in Euros’ This apparently insignificant event has consequences far greater for the US people, indeed all for us all, than is imaginable.

Currently almost all oil buying and selling is in US-dollars through exchanges in London and New York . It is not accidental they are both US-owned.

The Wall Street crash in 1929 sparked off global depression and World War II. During that war the US supplied provisions and munitions to all its allies, refusing currency and demanding gold payments in exchange.

By 1945, 80% of the world’s gold was sitting in US vaults. The dollar became the one undisputed global reserve currency — it was treated world-wide as `safer than gold’. The Bretton Woods agreement was established.

The US took full advantage over the next decades and printed dollars like there was no tomorrow. The US exported many mountains of dollars, paying for ever-increasing amounts of commodities, tax cuts for the rich, many wars abroad, mercenaries, spies and politicians the world over. You see, this did not affect inflation at home! The US got it all for free! Well, maybe for a forest or two.

Over subsequent decades the world’s vaults bulged at the seams and more and more vaults were built, just for US dollars. Each year, the US spends many more dollars abroad that at home. Analysts pretty much agree that outside the US , of the savings, or reserves, of all other countries, in gold and all currencies — that a massive 66% of this total wealth is in US dollars!

In 1971 several countries simultaneously tried to sell a small portion of their dollars to the US for gold. Krassimir Petrov, (Ph. D. in
Economics at Ohio University ) recently wrote, ‘The US Government defaulted on its payment on August 15, 1971 . While popular spin told the story of `severing the link between the dollar and gold’, in reality the denial to pay back in gold was an act of bankruptcy by the US Government.’ The 1945 Breton Woods agreement was unilaterally smashed.

The dollar and US economy were on a precipice resembling Germany in 1929. The US now had to find a way for the rest of the world to believe and have faith in the paper dollar. The solution was in oil, in the petrodollar. The US viciously bullied first Saudi Arabia and then OPEC to sell oil for dollars only — it worked, the dollar was saved. Now countries had to keep dollars to buy much needed oil. And the US could buy oil all over the world, free of charge. What a Houdini for the US ! Oil replaced gold as the new foundation to stop the paper dollar sinking.

Since 1971, the US printed even more mountains of dollars to spend abroad. The trade deficit grew and grew. The US sucked-in much of the world’s products for next to nothing. More vaults were built.

Expert, C?(R)il??nn Nunan, wrote in 2003, ‘The dollar is the de facto world reserve currency: the US currency accounts for approximately two thirds of all official exchange reserves. More than four-fifths of all foreign exchange transactions and half of all world exports are denominated in dollars. In addition, all IMF loans are denominated in dollars.’

Dr Bulent Gukay of Keele University recently wrote, ‘This system of the US dollar acting as global reserve currency in oil trade keeps the demand for the dollar `artificially’ high. This enables the US to carry out printing dollars at the price of next to nothing to fund increased military spending and consumer spending on imports. There is no theoretical limit to the amount of dollars that can be printed. As long as the US has no serious challengers, and the other states have confidence in the US dollar, the system functions.’

Until recently, the US-dollar has been safe. However, since 1990 Western Europe has been busy growing, swallowing up central and Eastern Europe . French and German bosses were jealous of the US ability to buy goods and people the world over for nothing. They wanted a slice of the free cake too. Further, they now had the power and established the euro in late 1999 against massive US-inspired opposition across Europe , especially from Britain - paid for in dollars of course. But the euro succeeded.

Only months after the euro-launch, Saddam’s Iraq announced it was switching from selling oil in dollars only, to euros only — breaking the OPEC agreement.. Iran , Russia , Venezuela , Libya , all began talking openly of switching too — were the floodgates about to be opened?

Then aero planes flew into the twin-towers in September 2001. Was this another Houdini chance to save the US (petro) dollar and the biggest financial/economic crash in history? War preparations began in the US But first war-fever had to be created — and truth was the first casualty. Other oil producing countries watched-on.

In 2000 Iraq began selling oil in euros. In 2002, Iraq changed all their petro-dollars in their vaults into euros. A few months later,
the US began their invasion of Iraq .

The whole world was watching: very few aware that the US was engaging in the first oil currency, or petro-dollar war. After the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, remember, the US secured oil areas first. Their first sales in August were, of course, in dollars, again. The only government building in Baghdad not bombed was the Oil Ministry! It does not matter how many people are murdered — for the US , the petro-dollar must be saved as the only way to buy and sell oil - otherwise the US economy will crash, and much more besides.

In early 2003, Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela talked openly of selling half of its oil in euros (the other half is bought by the US ). On 12 April 2003 , the US-supported business leaders and some generals in Venezuela kidnapped Chavez and attempted a coup. The masses rose against this and the Army followed suit. The coup failed. This was bad for the US .

In November 2000 the euro/dollar was at $0.82 dollars, its lowest ever, and still diving, but when Iraq started selling oil in euros,
the euro dive was halted. In April 2002 senior OPEC reps talked about trading in euros and the euro shot up. In June 2003 the US occupiers of Iraq switched trading back to dollars and the euro fell against the dollar again. In August 2003 Iran starts to sell oil in euros to some European countries and the euro rises sharply. In the winter of 2003-4 Russian and OPEC politicians talked seriously of switching oil/gas sales to the euro and the euro rose. In February 2004 OPEC met and made no decision to turn to the euro — and yes, the euro fell against the dollar. In June 2004 Iran announced it would build an oil bourse to rival London and New York , and again, the euro rose. The euro stands at $1.27 and has been climbing of late.

But matters this month became far, far worse for the US dollar. On 5th May Iran registered its own Oil Bourse, the IOB. Not only are they now selling oil in euros from abroad — they have established an actual Oil Bourse, a global trading centre for all countries to buy and sell their oil!

In Chavez’s recent visit to London ; he talked openly about supporting the Iranian Oil Bourse, and selling oil in euros. When asked in London about the new arms embargo imposed by the US against Venezuela , Chavez prophetically dismissed the US as ‘a paper tiger’.

Currently, almost all the world’s oil is sold on either the NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange, or the IPE, London ’s International Petroleum Exchange. Both are owned by US citizens and both sell and buy only in US dollars. The success of the Iran Oil Bourse makes sense to Europe , which buys 70% of Iran ’s oil. It makes sense for Russia , which sells 66% of its oil to Europe . But worse for the US , China and India have already stated they are very interested in the new Iranian Oil Bourse.

If there is a tactical-nuclear strike on - deja-vu - `weapons of mass destruction’ in Iran , who would bet against a certain Oil Exchange and more, being bombed too?

And worse for Bush. It makes sense for Europe , China , India and Japan– as well as all the other countries mentioned above — to buy and sell oil in Euro’s. They will certainly have to stock-up on euros now, and they will sell dollars to do so. The euro is far more stable than the debt-ridden dollar. The IMF has recently highlighted US economic difficulties and the trade deficit strangling the US– there is no way out.

The problem for so many countries now is how to get rid of their vaults full of dollars, before it crashes? And the US has bullied so
many countries for so many decades around the world, that many will see a chance to kick the bully back. The US cannot accept even 5% of the world’s dollars — it would crash the US economy dragging much of the world with it, especially Britain .

To survive, as the Scottish Socialist Voice article stated, ‘the US , needs to generate a trade surplus to get out of this one. Problem is it can’t.’ This is spot on. To do that they must force US workers into near slavery, to get paid less than Chinese or Indian workers. We all know that this will not happen.

What will happen in the US ? Chaos for sure. Maybe a workers revolution, but looking at the situation as it is now, it is more
likely to be a re-run of Germany post-1929, and some form of extreme-right mass movement will emerge…

Does Europe and China/Asia have the economic independence and strength to stop the whole world’s economies collapsing with the US ? Their vaults are full to the brim with dollars.

The US has to find a way to pay for its dollar-imperialist exploitation of the world since 1945.. Somehow, eventually, it has to
account for every dollar in every vault in the world.

Bombing Iran could backfire tremendously. It would bring Iran openly into the war in Iraq , behind the Shiite majority. The US cannot cope even now with the much smaller Iraqi insurgency. Perhaps the US will feed into the Sunni v Shiite conflict and turn it into a wider Middle-East civil-war.

However, this is so dangerous for global oil supplies. Further, they know that this would be temporary, as some country somewhere else, will establish a euro-oil-exchange, perhaps in Brussels .

There is one `solution’ — scrap the dollar and print a whole new currency for the US . This will destroy 66% of the rest of the world’s savings/reserves in one swoop. Imagine the implications? Such are the desperate things now swimming around heads in the White House, Wall Street and Pentagon.

Another is to do as Germany did, just before invading Poland in 1938. The Nazis filmed a mock Polish Army attack on Germany , to win hearts and minds at home. But again, this is a finger in the dam. So, how is the US going to escape this time? The only global arena of total superiority left is military. Who knows what horrors lie ahead. A new world war is one tool by which the US could discipline its `allies’ into keeping the dollar in their vaults.

The task of socialists today is to explain to as many as possible, especially our class, that the coming crisis belongs purely to
capitalism and (dollar) imperialism. Not people of other cultures, not Islam, not the axis of evil or their so-called WMDs. Their system alone is to blame.

The new Iranian Oil Bourse, the IOB, is situated in a new building on the free-trade-zone island of Kish , in the Persian Gulf . It’s
computers and software are all set to go. The IOB was supposed to be up and running last March, but many pressures forced a postponement.

Where the pressure came from is obvious. It was internationally registered on 5th May and supposed to open mid-May, but its opening was put off, some saying the oil-mafia was involved, along with much international pressure……………………….

In 2007 Crude was trad ed around 60 usd. Everyone knew dollar was getting weaker and weaker day by day. Th e n US with the help of their two NYMEX & IPE exchange started rising the price of crude by Future trading on crude (called speculation). Today crude is around 140 usd. It means whole world who were paying 60 usd, are now paying 140 usd, which means demand of dollar has gone upto 230% and dollar started rising again.

My daughter an ardent student of Shiamak Davar for the last couple of years was performing for the summer funk on May 29, 2008 at Shanmukhananda Hall.

For once there was light traffic, that enabled us to reach on time. The ushers were helpful, tickets numbered & crowd well mannered compared to last year. Read the rest of this entry »

My daughter was performing in two segments of the Terrence Lewis - Mumbai Mirror Camp & so went to watch the show on May 23, 2008 at St. Andrews.

Reaching is a nightmare but then which place in Mumbai is not? Once in, there is plenty of parking place & the ushers are extremely helpful. Read the rest of this entry »

The strike which was flagged off with great fanfare fizzled out mainly due to the following reasons:

1) The rickshawallahs forced the so called union leader, because at the end of the day they live on a day to day basis, so where would the next day’s money come from?
2) The government with a view to pacify everyone & more important keep the vote bank happy appointed a committee. This must be the 1000th committee on something or the other doing investigation or research that never sees the light of the day. Read the rest of this entry »

The MTV-Brand Equity Youth Marketing Forum held in 2004 had some eminent speakers who shared their perceptions of the various trends taking place just now. The Enclosed Note covers the key points made by each of the speakers.

1. Bill Roedy, President of MTV Networks International gave the opening address. The key points he made were as follows :

a. The biggest advantage of India is that half its population is under the age of 25 years.

2. Change is the common theme among the young.
3. The top 10 trends among the youth around the world are as follows :

i. Modding - Modifying yourself. Expressing yourself in a unique manner. Creating your own playlist. It’s got to be about me. Personalisation. Seen in the choice of ringtones.

ii. Communities - Age does not matter. What matters is who is hanging out with whom. The need to belong to communities of interest.

iii. Be Authentic - The need to become real and relevant. Sony organizes an event around break-dancing.

iv. Double identity - Co-opt another persona. Obsessiveness with Celebrities. Chatrooms.

v. Too much Information - Media turnoff. Navigation is what is being looked for. Serve it up fast and easy.

vi. Let’s rock - Music has its cycles. Rock is on the upswing.

vii. Local motives - National pride is in. Young people want to connect with their culture.

viii. Star seekers - Reality TV. May have nothing to do with talent. Want to become stars.

ix. Mobile-ization - Portability. I need it on demand and on the move. Has to be where I am. Centre of my universe.

x. Hin fluence - All eyes on India. Madonna and the bindi. If it’s Indian it’s gotta be cool.

4. Trendsetting can be inspired by risk taking. Fight the inertia to play it safe.

2. Irma Zandl, Founder of the Trend analysis shop, Zandl Group made the following points in her presentation on “Trendspotting – Trendology”

a. Need to first devise methods which are consumer-centric to find out trends. Some of these methods are ‘Crib-chats’ done in the home in an informal setting where there is no fronting. Also Ethnic travel where one goes to places which are proving to be Trend Incubators. Like in the USA, the South and South West are the places from where the last 4 Presidents have emerged. New Mexico influencing the growth of New Ageism. Another method is to have Panels which are a source of information which becomes the content of their ie. Zandl’s ‘Hotsheet’ Newsletter. She has a panel of about 3000 youth aged 8-24 years.

2. After this one needs to substantiate one’s findings with Facts/Figures. The Census, important polls like the Gallup polls or the CNN poll, and reliable sales data.
3. Lastly the above needs to be translated into ‘directions’ which are shared with the client.

4. There is a difference between ‘Trends’ and ‘Trendy’.

i. Trends are Long-lived eg. Hip-hop is now completing 25 years.

ii. Trends are based on lifestyle, technology, demographics. Eg. Moving away from obesity and ‘casualization’. Whatever is Indian being adopted in the West. Yoga, Food, Music, films like ‘Bend it like Beckham’

iii. Trends are always directional and can be monetized.

iv. Need to look everywhere to spot trends.

v. To spot the ‘Trendy’ one needs to look at ‘Fashionistas’.

vi. ‘Trendy’ has a shorter life span.

vii. Ultimately ‘Trends’ need to be used in Strategy while ‘Trendy’ needs to be used for promotions.

e. The Global Youth Trends according to Irma are as follows :

i. Free Agents :

- 30 and below are a group which is very discerning. They will buy online getting good discounts, download music free from the Net.

- Technology is the face of change which makes it exciting and innovating. They will burn their own movies now.

- Speed, Power and Upgradation is impacting brand loyalty among this group. They are changing the notion of what heritage means. They are looking for brands out there now and on which they have already done their research online.

- Fragmentation in virtually every category is impacting brand loyalty. Shorter product life cycles and declining market share.

- Companies are resorting to fluid pricing and deflation. Dropping prices and everyday low price.

- The DIY mindset. Want to create what they consume.

- Rise in niche brands. Mass customization. Nike bought Converse. Estee Lauder grew by purchasing niche brands. Strategy for growth through the purchase of niche brands.

ii. Chicks in Charge :

- Post-Feminist. No longer feel the need to sublimate one’s sexuality. If you’ve got it, flaunt it.

- Revolutionary, empowering and independent. Less pressure to conform to social roles.

- Take charge - Get the woman to purchase her ring. Left hand ring rocks the cradle. Right hand ring rules the world.

- Education/Careers - men relocating because wife’s job has shifted base.

- Single women buying houses, pole dancing classes.

- Marriage - The unmarried in the 17-34 age group in USA is today at 30%. 33 % of children are born out of wedlock. One of the possible reasons for the rise of Metrosexuals is that the boys now have single mothers as role models.

- P&G ran the tag line “Strong enough for a man, Made for a woman” for its brand ‘Secret” for years. They always do things after having done adequate research. They have now changed the line to “Strong enough for a woman.” A clear indication of the changed role of the woman.

iii. Soul Searching :

- Fundamentalist/Conservative Groups are rising in the USA. 46% are Born Again Christians. 141 mn. View Christian media.

- Polarizing the country.

- Impacting advertising and entertainment. TV, Movies, Radio, Online games, Toys and so on. Gucci is pushing back from sexual advertising.

- Janet Jackson’s wardrobe dysfunction was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It was done on Super Bowl which is like a religion.

f. The 10 ‘Trendy’ things today are :

i. Cubicle Action Figures like ‘Beanie babies’. Some of these collector’s items sell at $10,000 each.

ii. Being MOD/Strokes - ‘Strokes’ haircut, Rock and Punk, Girls playing the guitar is all a part of Modding. Being unique.

iii. Clowns/Krumping - In rap the singers put on clown outfits. In Krumping this means they put on a lot of ‘Tribal’ viz. war paint.

iv. Rathergood.com - A website about kittens doing cute things. Becoming very trendy.

v. Videogame sound tracks- Boys are collecting and playing only this.

vi. Dummies - Using creatures in advertising. Puppets.

vii. D I Drifting - This comes from the street. Like how well one does the corner with one’s car.

viii. Halo Parties – This belongs to a Sci-Fi future where people book ‘x’ boxes on Times Square to play at certain times with whomever one wishes to play with viz. online games.

ix. Poker nights - The TV networks are promoting this. Poker shows. Ben Affleck is a poker addict. Rumour has it that it was this addiction that caused the split with J Lo.

x. Movieoke - this is the equivalent of Karaoke. Here people act out the scenes.

g. It is very difficult to tell whether the life of a trend is over. One can only see that possibly it is when business is at its peak. When even the laggards are adopting the trend.

h. Rap is not growing. Rock is in.

3. The key highlights of a research done on the Indian youth by MTV, Nokia and Pepsi was presented. The age group was 15-34 years. It was done in the major metros. There was a Quantitative study, a qualitative study and an interview with experts. (One found it difficult to capture all the details). Below are just the highest scores.

a. The place where most time was spent was the ‘Home’.

b. The favorite activity indulged in was ‘watching TV’.

c. The coolest activity was ‘going out with the family’.

d. The coolest things to have ranged from Credit Card (Mumbai) to well-groomed hair (Chennai)

e. The coolest careers were ‘doctor’ and ‘business’.

f. Better to be on one’s own - Higher in places like Lucknow.

g. Spend for today - Highest in Vizag.

h. Have had pre-marital sex - Delhi much higher than Mumbai.

i. To be considered ‘in’ must have a boyfriend/girlfriend - Highest in Mumbai.

j. There will be 462 mn in 2006-7 in the very rich consuming class.

k. In Fashion - seeking comfort in clothes

l. Don’t see any harm in figure-hugging clothes. Wear what suits me.

m. VJs are trend setters.

n. The coolest singer is Sonu Nigam.

o. Old Hindi music liked more.

p. In technology email and chatting the most ‘use’ on the Internet.

q. SMSssing bigger in smaller towns.

4. Peter Arnell the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Arnell Group and Muktesh Pant, former Marketing Guru at Reebok made the following contribution.

a. Innovation and change is not about vision but guts to live with uncertainty.

b. Trend hunting follows the following sequence :

Hunt for Knowledge -> Discover the unexpected -> Create Catalyst -> Population joins brand -> Culture becomes trend.

c. How to create a trend and place it in the market becomes important.

d. There needs to be a desire to hunt for knowledge. Therefore need to listen more than talk. Most things have a voice. Bricks on a wall or people. Need to have a hunter’s mentality.

e. Train one’s mind to look for something not there. Look at taking responsibility for the void.

f. There are accidents. Getting lost is the essence to finding a solution.

g. Distill the essence of a message not there. Need to displace something which is already there in the category.

h. Identify a trend and then feed it to grow against all resistance.

i. The critical overlay is honesty. When the focus is on the right brain then realize how important it is to foster creativity.

j. Make the consumer a participant. If the consumer just buys then she is just a spectator. As a participant she is a medium for getting the momentum where the trend is concerned.

k. Can’t control a trend. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts lost sales dramatically because carbohydrates were suddenly seen to be the enemy. Anything is possible and has a lifecycle.

l. The story of ‘ipod’ shows how the elements are random but can be orchestrated by one man (Steve Jobs) to create a trend. The sequence in hindsight is as follows :

MP3 + Napster + Record industry in trouble+ Suits against suspects + Apple licensed Pixo Tech. + ipod + Steve Jobs on Fortune cover + Ad Campaign made by the same creative director who was responsible for the 1984 path breaking Apple campaign + website + current fashionable colours + articles which stress that Apple’s numbers are growing with ipod and all this leads to ipod becoming a Popular Trend.

m. Samsung was a company that was mistaken to be making luggage because of the similarity in name with ‘Samsonite’. It was also perceived to be making cheap products. All this was in 1993. By 2001 it was ranked 42 among the top 100 companies. To achieve this with a Company which had no specific plus to offer, came up with the tag line ‘Simply Samsung’. Grabbed at anything to get attention. 12 years ago there was junk real estate in NY. Took it and painted the huge wall paintings which have become common place today. Sold the Microwave on the basis of preserving the nutrients in food. Samsung bought AST a Telco which was making huge losses. Needed to build up AST. At an exhibition, got AST to capture the last signal to be released by Rover from Mars.

m. Hanes Hosiery was resurrected with Tina Turner. She epitomized the essence of the Hanes Resilience woman. She spoke to the woman. “All you’ve heard about me is true.” Created the ‘Wildest Dreams’ album. Partnered Oprah Winfrey to help make the dreams of the Resilient Woman come true. Creating a trend becomes plot based rather than product based.

n. To make DKNY into a big brand one had to come up with an idea which was bigger than life. The context where an idea lives is more important. Till that time cheaper fabrication was perceived to be at the second level. However, DKNY was positioned in a way that convinced people that there could be a casual side to the same sophisticated woman. So even though it was lower price it had the same ‘Value’ as the Haute Couture range. Now since Donna Karan was known for her drapery, the photograph of New York was draped to fit into the letters DKNY and this was painted on a huge wall in the historic precinct of NY. Because it was in the historic part of NY nobody could dismantle it. At a place where grafitti was regularly written on walls after 9/11 for 16 months nothing was written on that wall because that whole area took on a sacred significance. Everything one does needs to have talk value. Make a compelling story.

o. To make Reebok successful, married pop culture and entertainment to sneakers. Never done before. Needed to become irreverent. Reebok the brand name was written as if grafitti had been overwritten on the letters ‘ee’ and ‘o’. As well as ‘Rbk’. Teens like Rap and rhythm. So sneakers were created for rap stars and the 2 most influential rap stars 50 cent and Jay Z were used. Trends happen when a bunch of things fall into place. Reebok created a Terry Tate character. Ran it only once on Superbowl which served as a teaser to go to the website. The website still holds the record of the highest number of hits.

p. The trends one sees are the following :

i. Instant, constant communication.

j. Growing workplace stress.

k. Ever present Sound/Music.

l. Decreasing interaction with nature.

m. Longer careers.

n. Diet. Fitness methods.

o. India offers lifestyle solutions. Predated technology, Yoga, Ayurvedic, Rich cultural history, Superior managerial skills.

p. Project Y is what Muktesh Pant will be launching. A revolutionary new brand. It will impact lives. It will offer integrated facilities. Yoga/Ayurveda/Meditation. Brand extensions in different fields. Even if Yoga is known in India the way it is approached by Project Y will be different. For instance coffee is 1867 years old. Starbucks is just 8 years old. Yet Starbucks penetration is miniscule. Before anything good happens live through a period of uncertainty. Living on the edge.

5. Nagesh is the producer/director of ‘Hyderabad Blues’. He stated the following :

a. “Happiness is just a battle away.” Half the battles one fights is in one’s head. He wanted to prove to himself that he could make a film. If one attempts to do something on one’s own in one’s own way something good comes out. One does not consciously look for starting a trend. “If one doesn’t recognize a failure then there is no failing.” The name of his company is SIC (Stability is a Curse). ‘Hyderabad blues’ grew out of an anti-chic approach.

6. Wendell Rodricks is a fashion designer. He stated the following :

a. We want to blend in not stand out. So youth want freedom but upto a certain limit. They seek a balance between East and West. Trends start by being accepted by just a few. Madonna wore leggings in 1983. Gradually in 5 years it had become a trend. The influences for fashion are mainly Indian cinema, TV, Sport and Music. The actors and actresses are seen to be within reach. The Indian wants to preserve culture. She has a self-worth which flows out of an appreciation of one’s own culture and clothes. She wants to be Indian yet International.

7. Rishi Rich is a singer and one of the driving forces behind Bhangra and Asian sounds. He stated the following :

a. We are doing what we are doing. Proud of our culture. If it’s a trend then so be it. The Asians in Britain equate to 6% of its population. They traditionally owned shops and restaurants. Because of racial stereotyping polarization took place and clusters of Asian immigrants started forming. Asian business started flourishing. In the 80s music began developing with strong support from the community. They were doing traditional cultural music from Punjab. This became a trend. It began with groups playing at weddings. Traditional music mixed with modern music. Daytime parties and Club nights. Apache Indian was the first to break out.