Project – ACL I

1. Insights or Critical to a marketing Manager. Cite 5 products born out

of insights. Explain why they succeeded in the Indian business
environment. Then take 5 other products which failed bringing out
clearly the same reasons.

2. Is there anything called a new product? I don’t think so. In our world
of innovation we have only establishments and supplements to using
products and no new products. Please argue the pros and cons.

3. Take any recent media campaign you have seen. Discuss the media
used, explaining how Marshal Mchluhan Lu famous dictum ‘The
medium is the message’ can be applied.

What is the Meaning of The Medium is the Message?

by Mark Federman
Chief Strategist
McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology

"In a culture like ours, long accustomed to splitting and dividing all things as a means of control, it is
sometimes a bit of a shock to be reminded that, in operational and practical fact, the medium is the
message. This is merely to say that the personal and social consequences of any medium - that is, of any
extension of ourselves - result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of
ourselves, or by any new technology." (McLuhan 7) Thus begins the classic work of Marshall McLuhan,
Understanding Media, in which he introduced the world to his enigmatic paradox, "The medium is the
message." But what does it mean? How can the medium be its own message?

Of all the Internet searches that end up at the McLuhan Program website and weblog, the search for the
meaning of the famous "McLuhan Equation" is the most frequent. Many people presume the conventional
meaning for "medium" that refers to the mass-media of communications - radio, television, the press, the
Internet. And most apply our conventional understanding of "message" as content or information. Putting
the two together allows people to jump to the mistaken conclusion that, somehow, the channel
supersedes the content in importance, or that McLuhan was saying that the information content should be
ignored as inconsequential. Often people will triumphantly hail that the medium is "no longer the
message," or flip it around to proclaim that the "message is the medium," or some other such nonsense.
McLuhan meant what he said; unfortunately, his meaning is not at all obvious, and that is where we begin
our journey to understanding.

Marshall McLuhan was concerned with the observation that we tend to focus on the obvious. In doing so,
we largely miss the structural changes in our affairs that are introduced subtly, or over long periods of
time. Whenever we create a new innovation - be it an invention or a new idea - many of its properties are
fairly obvious to us. We generally know what it will nominally do, or at least what it is intended to do, and
what it might replace. We often know what its advantages and disadvantages might be. But it is also
often the case that, after a long period of time and experience with the new innovation, we look backward
and realize that there were some effects of which we were entirely unaware at the outset. We sometimes
call these effects "unintended consequences," although "unanticipated consequences" might be a more
accurate description.

Many of the unanticipated consequences stem from the fact that there are conditions in our society and
culture that we just don't take into consideration in our planning. These range from cultural or religious
issues and historical precedents, through interplay with existing conditions, to the secondary or tertiary
effects in a cascade of interactions. All of these dynamic processes that are entirely non-obvious comprise
our ground or context. They all work silently to influence the way in which we interact with one another,
and with our society at large. In a word (or four), ground comprises everything we don't notice.

If one thinks about it, there are far more dynamic processes occurring in the ground than comprise the
actions of the figures, or things that we do notice. But when something changes, it often becomes
noticeable. And noticing change is the key.

McLuhan tells us that a "message" is, "the change of scale or pace or pattern" that a new invention or
innovation "introduces into human affairs." (McLuhan 8) Note that it is not the content or use of the
innovation, but the change in inter-personal dynamics that the innovation brings with it. Thus, the
message of theatrical production is not the musical or the play being produced, but perhaps the change in
tourism that the production may encourage. In the case of a specific theatrical production, its message
may be a change in attitude or action on the part of the audience that results from the medium of the
play itself, which is quite distinct from the medium of theatrical production in general. Similarly, the
message of a newscast are not the news stories themselves, but a change in the public attitude towards
crime, or the creation of a climate of fear. A McLuhan message always tells us to look beyond the obvious
and seek the non-obvious changes or effects that are enabled, enhanced, accelerated or extended by the
new thing.

McLuhan defines medium for us as well. Right at the beginning of Understanding Media, he tells us that a
medium is "any extension of ourselves." Classically, he suggests that a hammer extends our arm and that
the wheel extends our legs and feet. Each enables us to do more than our bodies could do on their own.
Similarly, the medium of language extends our thoughts from within our mind out to others. Indeed, since
our thoughts are the result of our individual sensory experience, speech is an "outering" of our senses -
we could consider it as a form of reversing senses - whereas usually our senses bring the world into our
minds, speech takes our sensorially-shaped minds out to the world.

But McLuhan always thought of a medium in the sense of a growing medium, like the fertile potting soil
into which a seed is planted, or the agar in a Petri dish. In other words, a medium - this extension of our
body or senses or mind - is anything from which a change emerges. And since some sort of change
emerges from everything we conceive or create, all of our inventions, innovations, ideas and ideals are
McLuhan media.

Thus we have the meaning of "the medium is the message:" We can know the nature and characteristics
of anything we conceive or create (medium) by virtue of the changes - often unnoticed and non-obvious
changes - that they effect (message.) McLuhan warns us that we are often distracted by the content of a
medium (which, in almost all cases, is another distinct medium in itself.) He writes, "it is only too typical
that the "content" of any medium blinds us to the character of the medium." (McLuhan 9) And it is the
character of the medium that is its potency or effect - its message. In other words, "This is merely to say
that the personal and social consequences of any medium - that is, of any extension of ourselves - result
from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new
technology."

Why is this understanding of "the medium is the message" particularly useful? We tend to notice changes
- even slight changes (that unfortunately we often tend to discount in significance.) "The medium is the
message" tells us that noticing change in our societal or cultural ground conditions indicates the presence
of a new message, that is, the effects of a new medium. With this early warning, we can set out to
characterize and identify the new medium before it becomes obvious to everyone - a process that often
takes years or even decades. And if we discover that the new medium brings along effects that might be
detrimental to our society or culture, we have the opportunity to influence the development and evolution
of the new innovation before the effects becomes pervasive. As McLuhan reminds us, "Control over
change would seem to consist in moving not with it but ahead of it. Anticipation gives the power to deflect
and control force." (McLuhan 199)
As 2007 draws to a close, Mint brings you exclusive insights from the
global 2008 Trend Report from Trendwatching.com BV, the Amsterdam-
based consulting company that relies on a network of about 8,000 trend
spotters in some 70 countries to identify promising consumer trends and
insights.
The network is based on volunteers who alert the company on trends they
have spotted, be it a new male grooming lounge in Dubai to an
affordable book publishing service for new writers in Canada. Such ideas
are then simply emailed to the firm by the spotters, who register
themselves with the company and collect points for every accepted trend.
Points then add up to gifts. Mint readers, too, can register by visiting the
site, Springspotters.com.
Here are edited excerpts of the 2008 Trend Report to give Indian
companies and marketers lots of examples from around the world and,
perhaps, new ways to pitch their products and services to Indian
consumers. Part I introduces two such trends.
1. STATUS SPHERES
Here’s something trend watchers, chief marketing officers and other
business professionals should be able to agree on: in the end, when
dealing with (and selling to) people, everything always comes back to
status. In a traditional consumer society, he or she who consumes the
most, the best, the coolest, the most expensive, the scarcest or the most
popular goods, will typically also gain the most status.
Traditional sphere: Airbus SAS CEO Tom Enders (left) with Prince
Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia, who bought a
$320 million Airbus 380, which will be turned into a ‘flying palace’.
Now, you guessed it: the above will still ring true in 2008, and should be
on your mind whenever/wherever in the new year —when tracking
trends, when mapping out new strategies and when coming up with new
products and services for your customers.
In fact, expect 2008 to be the year in which even more brands realize (if
not grudgingly accept) that old, mass-era status symbols, from the Audi
R8 to the De Beers Talisman Watch Collection are no longer every
consumer’s wet dream. After all, as mature consumer societies are
increasingly dominated by (physical) abundance, by saturation, by
experiences, by virtual worlds, by individualism, by participation, by
feelings of guilt and concern about the side effects of unbridled
consumption, status is to be had in many more ways than leading a
lifestyle centred on hoarding as many branded, luxury goods as possible.
We’ve dubbed the above phenomenon status spheres— a variety of
lifestyles, activities and persuasions, which can be mixed and matched by
consumers looking for recognition from various crowds and scenes.
Getting too vague? Here are some status spheres to keep an eye out for in
2008:
TRADITIONAL SPHERE:Traditional consumption is about buying
more and/or better stuff than fellow consumers. Which is by no means
dead. In fact, expect the consumer arena in 2008 to still be about hundreds
of millions of consumers who do want to consume more, who do covet all
things bling and who do crave in-your-face brands.
If conspicuous consumption were ever to subside in mature consumer
societies, then count on the emerging middle classes in China, India,
Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Nigeria, Vietnam and Brazil to proudly
take over the torch. In other words, count on multiple consumption and
status arenas to develop simultaneously for years to come.
While the rise of the global middle class is as big a story as they come,
the rise of high networth individuals (HNIs) has an equally significant
impact on consumerism. Consider the following numbers, from the 2007
World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch and Co. Inc. and Capgemini. The
number of HNIs—individuals with net assets of at least $1 million
(Rs3.94 crore), excluding their primary residence and consumables, in the
world increased 8.3% to 9.5 million.
The number of ultra-HNIs—individuals with net assets of at least $30
million, excluding their primary residence and consumables, grew by
11.3% to 94,970. China’s HNI population grew by 7.8% to 345,000
people and Russia’s has increased by 15.5% to 119,000. Brazil (120,000
HNIs) and India (100,000 HNIs) also showed continued strength.
With so much (new) wealth and disposable income around the world, not
only is there money to be made from selling premium goods, there’s also
a constant need for redefining what constitutes luxury, for what
constitutes status in bling-driven consumer societies. If millions have
access to the same premium goods, to the same premium brands, these
premium offerings lose some of their value, as their entire raison d’être
was to offer something that others could not get access to. Scarcity is
becoming less scarce and wealth is always relative, leading to actual
‘status despair’ among those who are by all means, financially well off.
So, in an arena that has become crowded with middle class and high net
worth consumers, expect luxury goods to take on more outlandish forms
and shapes, at ever-higher costs.
London’s St Pancras International railway station is now home to
Europe’s longest champagne bar (96m).
Our most recent favourite example of status despair was Prince Alwaleed
bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia buying himself a $320
million Airbus 380, which for another $100-plus million will be turned
into a ‘flying palace’ with three bedrooms, private lounges, bathrooms,
offices, a steam bath and exercise machines. But even here,
commoditization is threatening the Prince’s purchase: Airbus actually
expects to sell about 20 VIP versions of the A380.
TRANSIENT SPHERE: Attractive to consumers who are driven by
experiences instead of the fixed—those who are driven by entertainment,
by discovery, by fighting boredom, who increasingly live a transient
lifestyle, freeing themselves from the hassles of permanent ownership and
possessions.
We dubbed these consumers Transumers about a year ago, and the trend
is still building.
Implications for 2008? An obsession with the here and now, an ever-
shorter satisfaction span, and a lust to collect as many experiences and
stories as possible, is undermining the perceived value (and thus, status)
of fixed goods and services.
ONLINE SPHERE: Where to begin? In an online world or virtual
world, social status 2.0 is all about who you connect to and who wants to
connect to you, tribal-style. It also encompasses status gained from the
number of views for one’s photos on Flickr, to the number of friends on
Facebook, to one’s gaming skills and levels (just a snippet: Microsoft’s
Halo 3 racked up $170 million in sales on its first day of availability,
making it the hottest-selling title in video game history. Total sales since
September: four million copies) to the good looks of one’s avatar, to
finding out about whatever/wherever on anything before anyone else
does.
ECO-SPHERE: With the environment finally on the agenda of most
powers that be, and millions of consumers now actively trying to greenify
their lives, status in the eco-sphere is both more readily available, and
increasing in value. A substantial subset of consumers is already
bestowing recognition and praise on Prius drivers, while scorning SUV
owners, and this will only accelerate as even more design-minded and
branding-savvy eco-firms push to the forefront in 2008. Make it green,
make it effortless, make it visible if not bold if not iconic, and don’t
hesitate to point out your competitor’s polluting alternatives.
GIVING SPHERE: Find us one high-profile billionaire who’s not
deeply into “giving” right now. In fact, whether it’s giving away your
riches, your time, or sharing your (content) creations with total strangers,
giving is the new taking.
PARTICIPATIVE SPHERE: Especially for younger (and younger-at-
heart) consumers, participation is the new consumption. For these creative
beings, status comes from finding an appreciative audience, which is
much the same way brands operate. No wonder that it’s becoming
increasingly important to hone one’s creative skills. Status symbols, make
way for status skills? What’s going to be your participation strategy for
2008?
ADD YOUR OWN STATUS SPHERE: One thing you can’t go wrong
with in 2008 is to ask yourself how your current and new products and
experiences will satisfy an audience of very diverse status seekers.
If you haven’t done so already, get rid of the habit of only focusing on
traditional status symbols, and you will find there is no end to the number
of status spheres you’ll be able to identify.
2. PREMIUMIZATION
Definitely part of the traditional sphere, premiumization is not going to go
away in 2008. Basically, with more wealth burning holes in saturated and
experienced consumers’ pockets than ever before, quick status fixes
derived from premium products and premium experiences will continue
in full force next year.
Some premiumized luxury marshmallows.
What’s new then? How about 2008 being about the premiumization of
everything and anything. In other words, no industry, no sector, no
product will escape a premium version in the next 12 months. Some
poignant premiumization examples to watch out for:
WATER: OK, so we’ve done wine, coffee and tea, which leaves water to
get its much-deserved premiumization moment. And we don’t mean of
the Pellegrino or Perrier kind: those upgraded bottled water brands have
become too mainstream to excite truly premium-obsessed consumers.
So, make way for Evian’s limited release Palace bottle, only available in
high-end bars and restaurants. Features a specially designed pouring top
and is accompanied by a stainless steel coaster, selling for $15-20 per
bottle.
Or how about Bling H20, a bottled water that comes in limited edition,
corked, 750ml frosted glass bottles, embellished with Swarovski crystals.
Aiming to be the Cristal of bottled water, it’s been spotted at everything
from the MTV Awards to the Emmys. The bottles cost from $17 to $480.
Then there is Tasmanian Rain, captured “on the pristine north-west coast
of the island of Tasmania, Australia.” The water is collected “just minutes
from where the World Meteorological Organization records the world’s
purest air.”
As this rain has travelled eastward via air currents over Antarctica and
10,000 miles of ocean, it contains 17 parts per million of dissolved solids.
Tasmanian Rain is collected by a custom-designed catchment facility and
never touches the ground. And so on.
Limited-edition Carlsberg 900 bottles.
BEER: Carlsberg 900launched
  this summer in a very limited number of
selected bars in Stockholm. Developed in collaboration with 12 top
Swedish bartenders, Carlsberg 900 is “brewed from refined virgin hops
and selected crystal malt, and triple filtered with a longer cooler
fermentation process to ensure a pure, delicate taste.” Carlsberg 900 is
priced at the premium end of the market, about the price of decent glass
of champagne.
FOOD: Further proof that anything can be premiumized: luxury
marshmallows. From Dean & DeLuca’s 1-pound Boulé Marshmallow
Sampler of lemon chiffon, passion fruit, vanilla and rose-petal flavours
($28) to Pete’s Gourmet dipped and undipped marshmallows, which are
$1 a piece!
Meanwhile, get ready to welcome honey to the world of premiumization.
Most supermarket honey in the West is imported from China and
Argentina, and/or blended from many sources, creating a homogenous
taste. But, like water, marshmallows and beer, honey is now striking back
with a sweet vengeance, and artisanal honeys are on the rise. Since
honey’s flavour and colour are determined by the source of nectar, there’s
a huge variety of very local and exclusive types of honey, with floral
sources varying from tupelo gum tree and Tasmanian leatherwood to
cranberry and orange blossom.
The Savannah Bee Co. Inc., for example, sells its honeycomb jars with
this awe-inspiring description: “Filled with honey equalling the life’s
work of two bees, each golden cell brims with the concentrated nectar of
thousands of rare and remote Georgia flowers.” In New York, the Blue
Ribbon Bakery Market has installed a honey bar, selling imported raw
honey from Mexico. Seasonal (read: limited time only) varieties include
mesquite blossom, orange blossom and golden reserve.
Also emphasizing the unique flavours of different varieties, Bee Raw
Honey sells sets of honey samples, packaging the liquid gold in test-tubes
that are corked and hand-sealed with beeswax.
Chocolates from Sir Hans Sloane Chocolate and Champagne House.
CHOCOLATE: More premiumization of the sweet kind is chocolate,
which succumbed to this trend years ago, with artisan chocolate boutiques
now charging top dollar/euro/pound for wasabi-infused bonbons from San
Francisco to Singapore. So, what’s next? How about chocolatiers who are
going bespoke? Check out firms such as Melt, Paul A Young and Sir
Hans Sloane Chocolate and Champagne House Ltd for some mouth-
watering bespoke inspiration, then figure out if the future of
premiumization for your industry is bespoke, too. Hey, Puma is already
on board.
TOYS: Hasbro’s FurReal Friends Butterscotch Pony seeks to “fulfill
every little girl’s dream of having her very own pony.” From Hasbro:
“Butterscotch is a miniature Shetland pony, with a fur coat and mane that
feel just like a real pony. Butterscotch also has built-in sensors all over
her body, which enable her to respond to children in lifelike ways. If
talked to, she will cock her head towards the speaker quizzically and blink
her eyes. She will also react to petting, showing her enjoyment by rubbing
her head against a child, twitching her ears and swishing her tail. At over
3ft tall, Butterscotch is more than strong enough to support a rider up to
80 pounds (about 36kg) in weight. Along with her brush and carrot,
Butterscotch comes with a special adoption certificate.”
AIR TRAVEL: Air travel has become one massive inspiration source for
premiumization. We’re not even going to try to list all the business-class-
only carriers that have sprung up, some of which are thriving. Also keep a
close eye on the premiumization contest in First involving airlines such as
Emirates (First Class private suites), Singapore Airlines (12 suites on
board of each of its new Airbus 380s) and JetMax (Suite in the Sky).
The battle continues on terra firma: Lufthansa has been operating a
dedicated First Class terminal in Frankfurt for a few years now, but got
trumped in size and pomp by Qatar Airways’ Premium Terminal in Doha.
STUFF: Hauzen is Samsung Electronics’ new premium home appliance
brand. Products include a washing machine, kimchi cooler, fridge and air
conditioning system. All appliances are designed by well-known Korean
designer Andre Kim. Not available outside South Korea. Yet. Or the
Plantronics Voyager 855, the first two-in-one stereo Bluetooth headset
with AudioIQ technology for crystal clear wireless sound. Price: $120.
Lenovo now offers the ThinkPad Reserve Edition laptop, encased in
leather. The Reserve Edition is based on the recently released 12.1-inch
Lenovo ThinkPad X61s, and comes with ‘Blue-Button Instant Access’ for
instant messaging with dedicated support staff. Price: $5,000, sold by
invitation only.
TRANSPORT: The KABE Royal Tower is a double-decker caravan.
The 8.2m-long camper is 4.4m-high, allowing people to stand up straight
even on the top deck. The lower deck features a living room, kitchen and
breakfast dinette, plus a bedroom with single beds, while the upper deck
has a ‘lounge’ with an L-shaped sofa and a cocktail cabinet. A door from
the lounge leads out onto the roof of the front section, which serves as a
sunbathing terrace. The new double-decker caravan is fully equipped with
air conditioning on both floors, a dishwasher and more. Price: €105,000
(Rs59.64 lakh).
Strollers had their premiumization moment a few years ago when
Bugaboos and Stokkes burst onto the scene. Now car manufacturers such
as Porsche AG want a piece of the premium pie: their stroller folds up
small enough to fit in the luggage compartment of almost all sports cars.
It comes with pneumatic tires and Carrera S rims for a high-performance
ride, as well as a lockable front wheel, a handbrake and parking brake.
Price: $690.
IN HOME: Next up—baby furniture. Combining functionality with
style, Ooba designs cribs and high chairs that are touted by everyone from
the curator of MoMA to French magazines that cater to parents who want
to help their children develop a taste for beautiful objects. And toilet
paper? Portuguese paper products company Renova sells Renova Black,
lauded as the first fashionable toilet paper. Price per roll is €2.17. Renova
Black is also available as Renova Red, Renova Orange, and Renova
Green.
The Laundress is a collection of high-end fabric detergents and care
products. When Lindsey Wieber, a sales executive for Chanel, and Gwen
Whiting, a senior designer for Ralph Lauren, realized that their expensive
clothes were suffering from dry cleaning, they took matters into their own
hands and created The Laundress. Their line of premium fabric care
products provides detergents for superior fabrics, from wool/cashmere
shampoo to baby detergent. In their own words: “All fabrics are different
—everything needs to be treated differently. All of our products were
developed for a specific reason.” Adding to the sense of luxury,
detergents and care products come in four signature fragrances: Classic,
 
Cedar, Baby andLady. The Laundress range also includes laundry bags
and ‘wet’ swimsuit pouches.
Candles. Did we mention candles yet? Check out Acqua di Parma’s
Design Candle Collection, priced at a cool $130 per candle!
Clearly, the list goes on forever. In 2008, no self-respecting brand, even
those who market the most mundane of commodities, will fail to
introduce at least one premium version of whatever it is they’re peddling.
Is your industry or sector next?