Goafest 2015: Don't look for Secure Solutions, Moseley

The last day of Goa fest began with the knowledge seminar powered by Star India. Speakers at the session included, Devdutt Pattnaik, Leadership Coach, Consultant, Mythologist ,he spoke about how God is a brand. Alan Moseley, President & Chief Creative Officer, 180 Amsterdam threw light on how advertising plays an important role in communication. Lastly, Suhas Gopinath, Founder and CEO, Global Inc. shared his entrepreneurial journey.

God as a Brand

Devdutt Pattnaik set the tone on the last day of Goafest by talking about ‘God as Brand’ and the importance of context and the interpretation of the word Brand.

At the onset he briefly touched upon how Lord Shiva is the hermit and Lord Vishnu is the householder. He went on to say that there are different communication messages when it comes to a poster art and when it is a performance art. He means that Poster art has a lot to observe while later is carved from nature. In that manner he differentiates the brand messaging for both the Gods.

He was  of the opinion that both Shiva and Vishnu are different in forms of Ecosystem, nature, dance forms and the kind of animals they are associated with. At the end of the day the marketers message is to be consistent over a period of time just the way Gods have been consistent in their messaging over the last 2,000 year.

Communication Matters

Moseley shares his insights on how your communication strategy is important. Sharing  an anecdote on how people eat Croissants in his office he said, “Earlier people used to have one croissant without breaking it. But later when the communication to have a croissant changed, people cut the croissant into two and ate it and never knew how much they ate because every time they had half a croissant. At the end of the day it is all about changing strategies from time to time.

"If you Tackle problems in a normal way, you will never solve it," he said giving the example of renowned film maker Francis Ford Coppola while directing apocalypse now, turned out to confront his problems with full force. The creativity rose out of horror, said Moseley, who was inspired by one of Coppola's quotes in a magazine to start his agency.

What brands and agencies at time overlook is thinking out of the box. He states an example of how their organization made an advertisement for a sports brand called Asics and it had a powerful messaging. He adds, “The best sports brands turn the passive on full force.”

He stresses on the fact that ‘Reframing an issue allows us to find better solutions and change human behaviour.’ People lie, and they lie all the time. What if people signed the form from the top? Doesn’t work that way. So we are trying to change human behaviour. It’s hard to shift perspective when everyone feels safe with the obvious. We need brands facing an Apocalypse.

Sharing an insight of Apple when it was on its verge of bankruptcy and they came up with a campaign without marketing budgets. It is not always the biggest companies who are facing the biggest problems. There are all sorts of companies who face that.

He concludes by saying that, “Whenever you get into trouble, keep going, Do a 180 degree turn. Turn the situation half way round. Don’t look for the secure solution. Don’t pull back from the passion. Turn it on full force.”

The Digital experience

Gopinath shares his experience on how he started Global Inc. at the age of fourteen. He was not quite good at studies but his brother was brilliant as he had got in the IIM and his parents told him that he will take care of you. That is when Gopinath felt that I don’t need anyone to take care of me, I need to do something.

During his days in school he used to go an internet café and tell the owner that you keep it shut in the afternoon, I will take care of it and also use it in that period. The owner agreed to that and that is how he started exploring the internet and started learning from there.

Today Global Inc. designs websites for companies across the globe. It is present in fourteen nations including markets like US, Western Europe and India. He shared on how he used get clients on board by figuring out which company has a website and which doesn’t. Initially they used to service five companies in a month, later that grew to fifteen and then to forty websites a month. The team which has about 250 plus personnel across offices is doing a great job in helping organizations build their presence in the online space.

On asking about his advice to CEO’s he said, “I am too young to advice CEO’s. All I would like to say is do what you are passionate about. Bring alive the fire in the belly.” By Archit Ambekar | Twitter: @aambarchit

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