The last I heard a phrase like “Sorry, Indians not allowed” was in the pre-independence India and it’s a kind of strange that even more than 60 years after independence that in the Capital City of India, an international company which is looking to make money from India would open their FIRST outlet with an “Exclusive Preview for international travellers” and restrict access to holders of international passports..don’t believe me check out the picture that my friend and colleague Shrey Khetarpal took when he visited their outlet at the CITY SELECT MALL in Saket, New Delhi.
What’s their message “INDIANS KEEP OUT”! Wonder how’s that going to be possible for a retail outlet in India? Apparently, this is a franchise outlet and the franchisee is an Indian national. The question I ask, “Does Haagen-Dazs have any control over its communication and the way it presents itself to its consumers?” If the answer in this case is a NO, then it’s their Click to Read More
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I watched with interest the ‘tweet that went wrong’ saga for our Junior Minister of Foreign Affairs Shri Shashi Tharoor. How an innocent TWEET led to knives being drawn out. As the call for his head became louder, the media incessantly reported the views of his party members, opposition, and all and sundry who had a point of view - and as Indians we have a point of view on anything - so there was a lot of content to fill pages, airtime! To top it all his OSD added fuel to fire by “tweeting” on behalf of his boss! It finally ended after several days with a glum Mr. Tharoor emerging from a meeting with the Party President Smt. Sonia Gandhi. I was reminded of a picture of him and Mrs Gandhi in an animated conversation at the Prime Minister’s Iftaar Party in the Indian Express. It looked as if as he was getting ‘gyaan’ from her!
So, how did a tweet about a phrase that we use so commonly to describe economy travel go wrong? How did a person who was Undersecretary of Communication at the United Nations get his own communication wrong? A person who has spent his Click to Read More
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“The only way to get a good reputation is to endeavour to be what you want others to see”
-Socrates
As the gruesome tale of terror was unleashed on Mumbai on 26/11, lives were lost, innocent citizens, foreigners and soldiers. The shocked nation watched spellbound the media broadcasting this story non-stop, breaking news almost by the minute and one exclusive to match the other.
What followed this tragedy was not unexpected, a collective expression of anguish and anger by the common citizens against their own elected representatives, who had failed them and were seen as being completely out-of-touch with the mood of the nation.
It’s without doubt a failure of the government but were the crisis managers inadequately prepared to handle the media spotlight and its subsequent and on-going scrutiny of their actions.
Are there any lessons to be learnt? I believe the manner in 9.11 catastrophe was handled could teach us a few things in crisis management and communication?
Tragic and catastrophic events almost always come unbidden and often Click to Read More
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