Pujo 2020

 

October festive season begins today announcing 

the Sharad Navratri and first day of pratipada.

Going beyond the usual Pujo fad this 2020, 

where on one hand lives and livelihood are threatened 

on the other, push ads on social media for buying jewelry, 

clothes, fashion accessories are prevailing.

 

If you are in India still the Pujo

fever will have its affect but for  Probashi Bengalis outside of India, 

living in South-East Asia, more or less,

we have mastered the art of thinking with our eyes!

 

The social behavior quiet similar to the Japanese practice

( ichi ieba ju wo shiru) which neatly sums up 

the communication approach for both business and 

private settings- Hear one, understand ten.

 

The idea is that two people working together should be 

so in tune with each other that wordy explanations are not necessary. 

The assumption is that the shared background information 

that puts both parties on the same wavelength. 

Either through a long period of working together, 

or simply by virtue of sharing the Japanese culture. 

There is a great deal of emphasis on non-verbal’s to carry messages, 

including posture, tone of voice, facial expressions, 

body language and non-word sounds (umm, hmm, ahh etc) 

 

Hear one, understand ten is a 

close cousin to other phrases that describe Japanese communication style, 

such as (ishidenshin) being on the same wavelength. 

 

Unlike the media ads bombarded, aping the western culture and 

usually practiced by creatives across, which emphasizes verbal precision.

 

The problem is when the briefs prepared from marketing agencies 

where rock-starts and superstars are in a hurry to approve 

quick-easy-solutions for a tiny budget, half -baked communication mix 

but pulling in some numbers for data sake to go with the flow.

 

Communication style when actually doing business 

is over shadowed by people sitting in their comfortable homes-offices and 

making decisions without taking a conscious effort to check, 

counter check facts according to the market and mood 

of the actual target audiences/ consumers.

 

While reading a marketing brief, steps to take:

1.     Write the problem statement.

2.     Take a bit more thinking and effort to spell things out more.

3.     Think to yourself,- What information am I leaving out? 

The ad will be better on which media?

4.     Is there any more information you need to counter check.

5.     For audio-video ads expression with non-verbal communication 

can be the play instead of pronouncing every word and action.

6.     Above all if designing a festive ad, 

identify with the culture, define the mood, 

feel your message, can you relate with it?

Festive-Seasons are an occasion to refine and rebuild 

the national fabric of bonding and togetherness.