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.

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.


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.

2. 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.