Saturday, September 18, 2010

Family-Work Life


I have recently moved to a new city and now living alone with my hubby ... before that I was living with my inlaws .. and i have just realized that living alone is EXPENSIVE.

Unfortunately I had to quit to my job before I relocated , so currently I am unemployed and cash flows are at not at its usual pace , so that is additional cherry on the cake .


However , its very important to get this reality check at some point of time.. I may start work soon , and in future if I have baby , and I still opt to continue working ... the nosy people around will not waste a chance to give their parenting opinions.

But the child needs quality time .. putting on tv while you do errands is not quality time ... or even worse if a servant tends to a child.. .. we are still stuck in the era where physical presence of the mother is considered attention.

In the end its all about choice ... you may be a house wife or a working mother ... but no one has any right to criticise any one .... I personally think , its only a matter of some time ... considering how expensive things have become , very few women will have a choice be a house wife , like every where else in the world.

However , women who chose to work/need to work have to constantly battle for work life balance and may also have to chose a less competitive / demanding field .

Husband's support and encouragement is vital to have the best of both worlds . So what ever you do , do it with conviction !

Thursday, March 5, 2009

PCB Marriage lawns


"Pakistan Cricket Stadiums are now available for marriage lawns.

For booking please contact MLB (Marriage Lawn Board) formerly known as PCB.

Booking Starts from today… "


Have your dream wedding ,Stadium lights and back up generator for additional ooomph....and if you have 20,000+ guest list, you would be eligible to get sponsorship too..

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Annoying educated ill- literates


Our society is severely lacking in manners and today i could not be proved more right. Today I stopped over to do some errand, and when i come back, what do i see? My car is blocked by some car. I honk, nobody comes, i tried honking several more times but to no fail. While i am impatiently waiting, a stylish man in mid forty comes and is heading in my direction.

I ask him 'is that car yours', he nods and does not have the slightest decency to even look guilty, forget about appologising.

Then Mr X unhurriedly walks to his car, sits in his brand new carolla, wears his seat belt before starting the engine ... and then speeds off leaving me fuming behind.

These are educated and polished people of our society... And then we blame the less fortunate ones!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Pak VS Srilanka- Terrorism hits again


Terrorism striked again today in Pakistan. This time it was in Lahore at the gadafi stadium where Pak VS Srilanka were playing a test match against each other.
Kudos to Srilanka team for taking this bold step and to even agree on coming to Pakistan. But what have we given them back ?!?.. Now no team in their right mind would come to this country. And what should I say about security , its not even worth mentioning. Inshort, we have become a very sad state with hardly any hope!!!

And what about us? 90% of the population is suffereing because of 10% morons responsible for this.. which also includes our government ... GOD help us!!

Marketing: The art of selling ice cubes to Eskimos



Marketing concept revolves around identifying the need and then backing it with goods/service. But what if there is no need, then marketeers pretty much create the need.

The ultimate success of a marketeer would be to create an un-needed need. The art of selling, packaging and presentation can very much make eskimo crave for icecubes.

I felt this change when i used to shop in UAE. Shopping in those hyper malls is an experience. You end up buying tons of things you dont even need. And what for ? some promotion/discount/ or maybe you just wanted to experiment.
Variety and goods display leads to temptation and it compels you to make a buying decison. Unfortunately , in Pakistan , we have the product , but what we lack is packaging or the art of presenting. If you get that straight , trust me you would not crave to buy imported stuff

Advertising/ packaging itself is a very strategic task. It can make or break a product. This requires a thorough study and understanding of the medium.

One such example is of our local beverage, Pakola. It has everything to be an international brand. But yet, it has not been able to sell it at THAT level. There could be two things , either the manufacturers dont know the importance of branding or they are just content where they are right now.

India has mastered the art of branding. Whether it is Bollywood ,IPL or Indian Cusine. I truly feel that we have many things which have huge potential, provided we start thinking strategically and actually start functioning as a body, instead of an individual approach. Our Fashion house has become another joke, where instead working as a unified team with a common goal , people have split into Khi VS Lhr team , not unlike our country situation.

It will serve everyone's interest if we all increase the size of the pie instead of just one slice . Dont look at the slice , its too short term , get a biggger picture !!
And most impotantly , make your country the first base , win people's confidence, provide them quality with creativity. And if you have all the ingredients correct , international fame will follow automatically

Khaadi , Bbq Tonight , Shan , Pakola , Pak music , Fashion Industry, Bareeze have all the potential to become Huge International brands.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Pakistan Sinking Deeper and Deeper


Pakistan is sinking deeper and deeper into shit. Politics in Pakistan has now become a reality show where you get non stop entertainment, but unlike other reality shows , we citizens also get effected by it.
Then you have these news channel which create hype on something as little as an ant crossing the road, so one can imagine if any news has even 5% substance, what kind of headlines the media would create.
So what do i do , I tune out . Thats why they say "Ignorance is bliss"
Happy Mind = Happy people .
I highly reccomend it.

Creative and Effective Advertisments

I am a Fan of indian ads. I hope one day Pakistani media also rises to that level . But one can't totally blame the local ad agencies as well, because our target market is not yet mature or ready for such sophisicated marketing.

So if you are stuck with Documentory style Zong ads or other zillion ads , tough luck!! Because at the end of the day its the effectiveness and not the creativity of the ad. However, I so wished it was the other way round!


However Nandos is an exception ... its marketing is BULLS EYE. Creative and refreshing!

Now when it comes to indian ads, where should i start. My current favourites are,
  1. The Nokia ad, with Priyanka Chopra. OMG, She is looking so hot. And seriously the dusky sexy look is so in . The last phrase " Its who we are" is like cherry on the cake.

  2. Life insurance ads. I am not sure whether you have seen it , but its really out of the box. Not like the typical ads, where the husband dies in some accident and then there is the abandoned wife with two kids. The concept in this ad is about being able to sustain the same standard of living even after40 years, like when you are old and on fixed income. Food for thought, atleast it got me thinking.

  3. Job Ads. Thats another hilarious ad. Its for job seekers and about finding the right jobs. Here , the focus was not on the job itself, but finding the job which is best suited for the individual.
Indians ads drive on humor. Humor is the most powerfool and effective tool when it comes to first impressions. However the drawback with humor is that it wears down fast. So that means you cant have the same ad running for a long time. It has to refreshed quickly. Like we see with Ufone ads. They come up with new jokes and pun every now and then.