Follow Your Heart. Lead Your Mind. You'll find a window everywhere.

Monday, January 12, 2015

For her Sakhi, Kaushiki has to change her Perception about marketing.

"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture."

Word. 

Just the reason, it's commonsense to write about a mind used sensibly to ideate and create.

If that is 'music' then it can't be helped but written about, so some confusions about it get marginalised, minimised and, eventually, eradicated. 

As confusions create myths and myths create confusions, so no wonder music is considered as either divine to worship or evil to curse. 

Probably that's why, Friedrich Nietzsche had to quote: "Without music, life would be a mistake."

Of course it would be. If there is no mind to use sensibly to ideate and create, so obviously, life will become the biggest mistake to survive but live. 

For that matter, it's not only important but rather imperative to appreciate the fact life is synonymous to marketing. 

And whatever we think and/or do is/are nothing but marketing, notwithstanding our belief, faith or conviction that we do something exceptional or unique, which is not marketing. 

Though Philip Kotler's 4Ps of marketing have now become 7Ps, or even 8Ps, but still the fact remains as simple as that that marketing is all about only one P, and that is 'People'. 

However, the initial and basic 4Ps -- Product, Price, Place, and Promotion -- could never be avoided, even if infinite number of other Ps added, or some evolution takes place -- because in human society jargon and glossaries work wonders in terms of innovation or evolution -- to use 'Consumable for Product'; 'Cost for Price'; 'Convenience for Place'; and 'Communication for Promotion', spreading false hopes and utter rubbish that by converting Ps into Cs, the business approach gets changed from 'Company Centric' to 'Consumer Centric'; from 'Capitalism' to 'Communism'.

In light of that, if a musician proclaims and claims, "I am not into marketing then s/he is not into music either." 

Because, if s/he is not into marketing then s/he has nothing to offer by singing or playing an instrument -- as there is no product or consumable -- s/he performs (what?) for free then -- as there is no price or cost attached -- s/he is available nowhere -- as there is no place or convenience -- and s/he doesn't communicate -- as there is no promotion or communication. 

If this is the case then what does a musician do? Or, how come s/he is a musician in the first place, or for that matter, a living thing let alone music?

I guess, being a musician of global repute, if Kaushiki understands it, her interest in marketing will grow rather automatically to help (her) music only -- which has actually and factually made her what she is today. 

Once it happens, she might also realise the importance of 'marketing communications' (marcom) that noway will deter her musical prowess -- if indulged, nourished, and cherished. On the contrary, the right kind of marcom can add more value to her music and musical endeavours. 

Be it her workshop 'Perception' or her band 'Sakhi' will surely reach a new height, if her matchless musical dexterity and leadership quality are duly complemented with well-planned and proper marcom through step by step procedures, which might be costly but worth investing upon -- more so, as almost nothing needs to be spent from own pocket these days thanks to corporate sponsors -- for greater rewards.  

For instance, she created a piece of marcom -- looking at it, I suppose that was a hoarding -- for her band Sakhi's first ever appearance on stage.


    
While I looked at it, closely, with due attention, some issues bothered me: 

1. Is Sakhi getting presented by Kaushiki Arts along with Shyam Sundar Co. Jewellers? Because 'A Kaushiki Chakraborty Initiative' doesn't substantiate the fact, from marcom point of view, that Kaushiki Arts -- the company -- is presenting Sakhi, which is getting sponsored by the said Jewellers, primarily. 

2. The essence of the band, or even the crux of the show, which I reckon happens to be 'celebrating womanhood, musically, minus any dogma of feminism or misandry', is not coming out, visually, without which, the payoff 'her resonance...' is creating ambiguity to a great extent. 

3. Human eyes move to see things in a 'Z' order. That is from left top to right bottom, following a 'Z' shape or a 'reverse S'. Therefore the visual, the way it's been treated is creating quite a visual jerk. The scattered snaps of individuals should have been executed in a much better way, so as to maintain the visual balance. As Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni do maintain the balance of music, similarly, a visual balance with text or without is always required to maintain the balance of communications, which are visible. 

I am providing below a thumbnail design, so as to give an indication how the visual of a piece of marcom could be improved from the previous one: 


     
Here is the comparison between two pieces: 



Now, the inevitable question might arise for a debate's sake, "How does it matter, when everyone knows Kaushiki and her genre of music?"

To answer to that, if it doesn't matter, one would eat a piece of bread first then a dollop of butter to have bread and butter, instead of caressing the butter on the bread, fondly, to enjoy his/her breakfast. 

In short, for her Sakhi, Kaushiki has to change her Perception about marketing.

Finally, as Nietzsche had quoted, "There are no facts, only interpretations," so it's wise not to take chance with people's interpretations for facts.

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