Long time coming... Kaminey!!

Thank god and God bless my friend Gautam for having compelled me, in fact coerced me, into accompany him in watching a movie. Which one did he want to watch? – the critically acclaimed and extolled Bollywood cinema Kaminey. It is after a long time that I enjoyed a Bollywood movie which is quite diverse in its own sense. The last one I loved was Dev D.

I am glad I watched this movie, simply because of the fact that I can now believe that there is someone who is capable of producing a gangster movie which is unlike the mundane and persistently boring string of Indian gangster films majorly given birth to by Ram Gopal Verma. And that someone is Vishal Bharadwaj. Indian gangster cinemas needed innovation in storytelling, much like the way Guy Ritchie writes and directs his movies. The manner in which the movie is presented subtly in the first half and the second half taking off with an alarmingly brilliant screenplay making the audiences sit at the edge of their seats, reminds you of Guy Ritchie’s presentation style followed in the movie especially Snatch.

Albeit, this film would not impress the masses which is quite alright since it is not intended for the masses, instead it would and has been appreciated by particular TGs for whom it was made. In fact, there were a couple of people who left the movie hall and I could hear them grumbling that they couldn’t comprehend the movie at all. This has not disheartened the makers because these movie goers who prefer typical gangster films do not fall into their TG and that is great marketing for you!!

It needs to be understood that defining a suitable target market would take proper research and more importantly precise judgement on who would fall into the TG. It takes an even greater deal of courage not to be worried about leaving the masses out. Marketers needn’t be too ambitious in considering the entire mass market as their TG, which is where most film makers fail. So, kudos! to Vishal for his courageous effort and his excellent storytelling to both the movie buffs and to marketers respectively.

Can’t wait for Vishal’s next named Ishqiyaa!!

The Futuristic Level

Last but not the least - the futuristic level; and one that shouldn't be negated by marketers. The futuristic level of the product gives an idea about the trends which are taking place in the market in a specific product category. In the two-wheeler category; there may be some on-going research related to solar-powered two-wheelers.

New concept products require marketers to be cautious. There is a need to create awareness of the concept rather than just of the brand when new concept products are introduced. The introduction of washing machine in India is a very good example. Videocon created awareness of the concept of washing machines during the earlier phase of introduction of washing machines. Hence, a futurisitc view must be embedded in marketers' brains, in order to predict future trends which exactly what happened in the case of Videocon.

I hope the posts on 'The Product Level Concept' serves a reminder that even though the concept is quite basic, there needs be an understanding of it, that enables marketers to create wholly - a product that offers value to consumers eventually gaining a brand image and entering into the consideration set of the entire target group.