South Africa-2010 was the greatest spectacle on Earth till date. Agreed the quality of football on display as well as the drama quotient was at a level lower than what we experienced in Germany-2006; however South Africa as a host nation;TAKE A BOW...
The FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of international football and as such the tournament offers fans the unique experience of seeing so many stars performing at the highest level.
What an extravaganza!!! Everything about the tournament was perfect, right from the stadiums, to the organizers, to the crowd. The action on the pitch could have been better but still the tournament saw it's glimpses of extraordinary skill and supernatural performers with the likes of Diego Forlan, Wesley Sneider, David Villa, Meuller, Messi lighting up the stage at every given opportunity.
The stadiums for the tournament were indeed a piece of art as far as infrastructure is concerned. Not only were they state of art but the buzz around each stadium was an experience to cherish. South Africa came alive in all its colour and splendor; especially because of its people who were instrumental in making the tourney a huge success...
The Soccer World Cup provided South Africa the opportunity to show case to the world that they are no longer a third world country and are more than ready to step into the limelight.
The World Cup in itself was a wonderful sporting spectacle capturing audiences world wide. The action on the pitch was wavering in terms of quality and drama. However the strong showing of countries like Ghana, Paraguay and Uruguay brought the element of uncertainty to the fore.
However countries like England, Brazil, Argentina,France & Italy failed to live up to the pre-tournament hype.
The World Cup however did throw up some new soccer powerhouses who were traditionally known to be big tournament chokers. Spain and Netherlands did their reputation no harm and showcased their pedigree all through the duration of the tournament, establishing themselves as best 2 teams in the tournament.
In it's 80th year since the inception of the tournament in 1930; World Cup-2010 bought forth a new holder of the trophy in the form of Spain. Spain became the 8th nation to have won the most prestigious tournament in the world.
To conclude, as I said earlier, World Cup 2010 will be etched in my memory for a long time to come. The month long extravaganza has been one of the most memorable event in my 26 years of existence.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Cartoon Anyone...
In today's BEM class (BEM: - Brand Equity Management for the uninitiated), we were discussing about how brands are formed.
The discussion ranged from what are the do's & don't for brand formation, to the attributes and values which a brand name should symbolize.
During the class, we also discussed about the origins of some the world's most famous brands such as Rolex, McDonald's, Nike etc.
The most insightful learning from the session was the reason behind why cartoon characters have large heads with respect to their body size. any ideas why????
Well the logic behind the whole thing as stated by our prof was that since cartoon characters were catering to the target segment of children above 3 to 12, the characters had larger heads since the children also had larger heads w.r.t to their body size when they are young.
Hence the cartoon characters were replicating the physical form of their target segment...i.e children between age 3-12...Funny isn't it...
So next time you find yourself watching mickey mouse or tom & jerry on cartoon network, sit back and think for a minute about how much thought and strategy has gone into making the characters of your beloved cartoon shows.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Test of Patience...
Monday, 17th May 2010 will have to go down as one of the most frustrating days of my life yet. The last month and a half has been nothing but useless in terms of work experience, or any experience for that matter. I started my summers at HUL on 5th April'2010 thinking that in the next 8 weeks I'll learn a lot, execute a lot and achieve a lot in terms of my individual development.
Well the only thing which I have learnt over the course of my internship has been the art of being "patient".
On Monday I arrived at office and my desk at exactly 9.30 am hopeing to meet up with my bosses and to discuss the status of my project which appears to be in tatters. I waited the whole day for my divisional head in order to brief him. The wait ended at 21.30 in the evening when my brand manager informed me that the meeting looked bleak for today and I should try my luck again tomorrow.
Can you believe that? Waiting 12 hours in office doing nothing but waiting for your boss in order to just meet him for 5-10 mins. Utter nonsense I say...
I have no respect for those who don't have respect for other people's time.
Well, there is more to this dreadful day that this. I reached home by 10 pm completed exhauted & frustrated. However my day was just going from bad to worse. As soon as I reached home, my moom started with her usual banter which I had no inclination to hear at that moment. She just over did her bit and I completed lost it...Period...
I guess at the end of the day, I come out on the losing side as far as testing my patience was concerned.
Well the only thing which I have learnt over the course of my internship has been the art of being "patient".
On Monday I arrived at office and my desk at exactly 9.30 am hopeing to meet up with my bosses and to discuss the status of my project which appears to be in tatters. I waited the whole day for my divisional head in order to brief him. The wait ended at 21.30 in the evening when my brand manager informed me that the meeting looked bleak for today and I should try my luck again tomorrow.
Can you believe that? Waiting 12 hours in office doing nothing but waiting for your boss in order to just meet him for 5-10 mins. Utter nonsense I say...
I have no respect for those who don't have respect for other people's time.
Well, there is more to this dreadful day that this. I reached home by 10 pm completed exhauted & frustrated. However my day was just going from bad to worse. As soon as I reached home, my moom started with her usual banter which I had no inclination to hear at that moment. She just over did her bit and I completed lost it...Period...
I guess at the end of the day, I come out on the losing side as far as testing my patience was concerned.
Monday, May 3, 2010
How Ironic Part II
Well it seems it was a week of ironies for me. On Friday, at work as I was browsing through facebook (yeah that's a part of my J.D here at HUL), I came across a status message of one of my friend from engineering college.The guy has been in the U.S for the past 3 years and I hadn't communicated with him since then. I was very tempted to reply to his status message but decided against it in the end.
Well to my utter amazement I met the same guy, in the evening when I was on my way to Sambit's place to have a few rounds of beer.
The expression on my face said it all...It seemed as if I had seen a ghost...Well how ironic is that!!
Anyways this friend of mine is in Mumbai for a few months now & when I met him he was also on his way to grab a few drinks with his friends near Dadar...Hahaha...
Well isn't it funny that the status message which started this whole thing was the following: -
" Mixing drinks is never a good idea"...LoL
Well to my utter amazement I met the same guy, in the evening when I was on my way to Sambit's place to have a few rounds of beer.
The expression on my face said it all...It seemed as if I had seen a ghost...Well how ironic is that!!
Anyways this friend of mine is in Mumbai for a few months now & when I met him he was also on his way to grab a few drinks with his friends near Dadar...Hahaha...
Well isn't it funny that the status message which started this whole thing was the following: -
" Mixing drinks is never a good idea"...LoL
Friday, April 30, 2010
How Ironic!!
I was watching a movie on T.V till late last night. The movie in question was "Iron Man " an action thriller. I was just remembering the time when I had seen the movie in the theater a few years back. However during one of the commercial breaks in between the movie as I was channel surfing, I was thinking in my mind about a hindi song which I hadn't seen for 8-9 years. The song in question was " Zanam Samjaa Karo" from the movie of the same title. I think the movie released sometime in May 1999 and I hadn't heard the song or seen the movie on T.V since then...That's 11 years back. Well to my surprise as I was channel surfing, I chanced upon the movie on one of the hindi movie channels and that's not all; with in minutes the song in my mind was playing on the screen...Talk about wishful thinking coming true.
However, it's sometime nice when something which is very insignificant in the larger schemes of things comes true even though you could easily do without it.
Well of all my wishes in the wish list God decided to grant me this one. Thank you God...!! It was worth its weight in gold in the circumstances
However, it's sometime nice when something which is very insignificant in the larger schemes of things comes true even though you could easily do without it.
Well of all my wishes in the wish list God decided to grant me this one. Thank you God...!! It was worth its weight in gold in the circumstances
Thursday, April 15, 2010
First Week Back in Mumbai...
It feels so good to be back home…Back to my roots, back to my friends and family.
The last one week has gone in a blur. Everyday there is something or the other happening. So if one day I was busy getting my license at R.T.O, the same evening I found myself sitting at Sambit’s terrace having Chivas Regal. In between I have managed to play cricket & carom with my engineering friends too. The first venue was Sanket’s place where we tried our hand at both cricket and carom and then on the weekend it was Matka’s place.
It was fun catching the Man Utd and Chelsea match at a sports bar… (More details on the same in my previous blog entry)
In between all this I have also managed 3 trips in a span of 7 days to the now rechristened “Zeus Fanoos” to have hukka with friends. Reliving old times. Well it seems nothing has really changed here in Mumbai, but at the same time my life has changed a lot since I left the shores 11 months back.
The last week has also been good in terms of catching up with people who are back from the States for a while. I met up with Ruchi, Aditi and Aarti in the past 2 days too.
Well the only thing which I hadn’t been able to do yet in my first week was play squash at the club. I did manage a practise session with my coach but until yesterday I hadn’t played a game of squash for exactly 11 months now. Well my this wish was also fulfilled yesterday when I had the chance to lock horns with Mandar at the club yesterday. Though I was comprehensively beaten it was fun to be back at the court. We celebrated the game by having a couple of beers afterwards. Even Manpreet had come for a game after a long time. So it was kind of a reunion of sorts.
The first week of my short Mumbai trip has gone better than expected and as I enter my second week here; my internship at HUL is just about picking up steam. I guess from tomorrow all my time and effort will go into doing the project at HUL well in order to get a PPO. Anyways I am sure I’ll survive since the after work scenario now is much better and I have friends to catch up with every evening and play squash which is a welcome relief…
The last one week has gone in a blur. Everyday there is something or the other happening. So if one day I was busy getting my license at R.T.O, the same evening I found myself sitting at Sambit’s terrace having Chivas Regal. In between I have managed to play cricket & carom with my engineering friends too. The first venue was Sanket’s place where we tried our hand at both cricket and carom and then on the weekend it was Matka’s place.
It was fun catching the Man Utd and Chelsea match at a sports bar… (More details on the same in my previous blog entry)
In between all this I have also managed 3 trips in a span of 7 days to the now rechristened “Zeus Fanoos” to have hukka with friends. Reliving old times. Well it seems nothing has really changed here in Mumbai, but at the same time my life has changed a lot since I left the shores 11 months back.
The last week has also been good in terms of catching up with people who are back from the States for a while. I met up with Ruchi, Aditi and Aarti in the past 2 days too.
Well the only thing which I hadn’t been able to do yet in my first week was play squash at the club. I did manage a practise session with my coach but until yesterday I hadn’t played a game of squash for exactly 11 months now. Well my this wish was also fulfilled yesterday when I had the chance to lock horns with Mandar at the club yesterday. Though I was comprehensively beaten it was fun to be back at the court. We celebrated the game by having a couple of beers afterwards. Even Manpreet had come for a game after a long time. So it was kind of a reunion of sorts.
The first week of my short Mumbai trip has gone better than expected and as I enter my second week here; my internship at HUL is just about picking up steam. I guess from tomorrow all my time and effort will go into doing the project at HUL well in order to get a PPO. Anyways I am sure I’ll survive since the after work scenario now is much better and I have friends to catch up with every evening and play squash which is a welcome relief…
Sports Bar experience in Mumbai
Venue: - Gamley’s, Phoenix Mills (Lower Parel)
Occasion: - Manchester United vs. Chelsea (EPL)
The experience of watching a football match at a sports bar far outweighs the experience of watching the same sporting spectacle at home.
The atmosphere in a sports bar is electrifying and watching the action as it unfolds on the big screen surrounded by fellow lovers of the game is just not the same as watching the game all by yourself in the comfort of your living room.
Well my first experience of watching a football match in India with friends at a sports bar, sadly fell a bit below expectations.
One of the reasons could be that I was comparing the experience at “Bowling Co” Phoenix Mills to the experiences I have had at “Heckles & Jeckles” in Manila.
Let’s dissect my experience piece by piece in order to fill up the puzzle.
First the good stuff…
The décor of the place was good and fitted the image of a sports bar quite well.
The cover charge for the game was Rs 700 per head (i.e. min expenditure of Rs. 700 per person was mandatory) which was quite acceptable given that the match being screened was between Manchester United & Chelsea (End of the season top 2 clash).
The menu was had enough varieties for both veggies and non veggies to keep the stomach happy.
The bar also provided with free tit bits during the entire duration of the match. Hence we had something to nib into all through the match.
The bad stuff…
The most depressing part of the place was the lack of understanding & homework on the part of the bar owners. They started showing the match just a few seconds before kick off. Hence the pre match reports and team news was missed in the process. By doing this the owners missed a trick since by getting the patrons involved early in to the game by broadcasting the pre match show would not only have increased the consumption of beer and food but also made the patrons more comfortable & involved. Since they started showing the game just before kick off, the anxiety and irritation was very much visible amongst the sports enthusiast who had come to watch the football match. I guess the saving grace for the owners was that the IPL match between CSK & RR was already showing on the numerous small screens.
Next, the picture quality and the sound quality of the big screening had much to be desired. I spent watching most of the match on the smaller LCD screen since it was much brighter and clearer.
The sitting was a bit to cramp to my liking but it is the case in most sports bar when you are watching a highly anticipated clash between table toppers.
The service was also not that great (May be I am influenced by the service provided by “Heckles & Jeckles” which is an all woman workforce compared to CO’s which had only male workforce). Well on a serious note the whole experience could have been better if the crew at the place was well informed. For e.g. During a pivotal moment of the match when there was a penalty appeal by Park for Manchester United, the waiter comes right in front of me and starts pouring beer and in the process I missed the part on the big screen. He did get a firing and we asked him to keep the beer pitcher and go.
All in all the experience was good even though the team I was supporting suffered a disappointing loss. As a marketer I see a lot of potential and improvement in this aspect of sports entertainment.
The dearth of good sports bar in the city is a wonderful opportunity worth exploring. Given that India is on a growth spree both in terms of economical growth as well as population the prospects of having sports bar though a costly affair is one worth venturing into.
My rating for Gamley’s on a scale of 1 to 5 would be 2.5… The ambience and location scored good points but the service and the overall experience was missing something.
Occasion: - Manchester United vs. Chelsea (EPL)
The experience of watching a football match at a sports bar far outweighs the experience of watching the same sporting spectacle at home.
The atmosphere in a sports bar is electrifying and watching the action as it unfolds on the big screen surrounded by fellow lovers of the game is just not the same as watching the game all by yourself in the comfort of your living room.
Well my first experience of watching a football match in India with friends at a sports bar, sadly fell a bit below expectations.
One of the reasons could be that I was comparing the experience at “Bowling Co” Phoenix Mills to the experiences I have had at “Heckles & Jeckles” in Manila.
Let’s dissect my experience piece by piece in order to fill up the puzzle.
First the good stuff…
The décor of the place was good and fitted the image of a sports bar quite well.
The cover charge for the game was Rs 700 per head (i.e. min expenditure of Rs. 700 per person was mandatory) which was quite acceptable given that the match being screened was between Manchester United & Chelsea (End of the season top 2 clash).
The menu was had enough varieties for both veggies and non veggies to keep the stomach happy.
The bar also provided with free tit bits during the entire duration of the match. Hence we had something to nib into all through the match.
The bad stuff…
The most depressing part of the place was the lack of understanding & homework on the part of the bar owners. They started showing the match just a few seconds before kick off. Hence the pre match reports and team news was missed in the process. By doing this the owners missed a trick since by getting the patrons involved early in to the game by broadcasting the pre match show would not only have increased the consumption of beer and food but also made the patrons more comfortable & involved. Since they started showing the game just before kick off, the anxiety and irritation was very much visible amongst the sports enthusiast who had come to watch the football match. I guess the saving grace for the owners was that the IPL match between CSK & RR was already showing on the numerous small screens.
Next, the picture quality and the sound quality of the big screening had much to be desired. I spent watching most of the match on the smaller LCD screen since it was much brighter and clearer.
The sitting was a bit to cramp to my liking but it is the case in most sports bar when you are watching a highly anticipated clash between table toppers.
The service was also not that great (May be I am influenced by the service provided by “Heckles & Jeckles” which is an all woman workforce compared to CO’s which had only male workforce). Well on a serious note the whole experience could have been better if the crew at the place was well informed. For e.g. During a pivotal moment of the match when there was a penalty appeal by Park for Manchester United, the waiter comes right in front of me and starts pouring beer and in the process I missed the part on the big screen. He did get a firing and we asked him to keep the beer pitcher and go.
All in all the experience was good even though the team I was supporting suffered a disappointing loss. As a marketer I see a lot of potential and improvement in this aspect of sports entertainment.
The dearth of good sports bar in the city is a wonderful opportunity worth exploring. Given that India is on a growth spree both in terms of economical growth as well as population the prospects of having sports bar though a costly affair is one worth venturing into.
My rating for Gamley’s on a scale of 1 to 5 would be 2.5… The ambience and location scored good points but the service and the overall experience was missing something.
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