Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Editorial Team

With a change happening everywhere in the world, even we tried changing the trends our way. Here, at Culture Curry, we have renewed and refreshed the Editorial Team which will take the custom forward from hereon. With this aim we are proud to introduce our new Editorial Team from all corners of India – Annie from the South; Kiran, Akanksha and Prateek from the North; Nishant from the East; and Ishani and Asad from the West; but the earlier corners still remain with Pooja and Sneha holding fort.

As we stand at the threshold of the next year for Blue Lotus, let's hope this convergenge of the new team yeilds the best results.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

EDITORIAL

“There is no chance, no destiny, and no fate that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.” Being thankful to the hard times in life as an opportunity to grow and learn, to constantly endeavour to perform, and to excel, and to deliver the very best, regardless of circumstances is what makes all the difference. And at Blue Lotus we believe it is this determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal that will enable you to attain the success you seek.

Tough times never last, but tough people do! We together have come through and are now at the threshold of a new dawn, eagerly and expectantly anticipating the future. There were hard times not just for us but for every corporate living the same fate. What was different was how we took it in our stride and consistently moved on.

There were quite a few ups and downs the year around. Ironically, the company saw quite a new starts this year. Like the conceptualization and the inception of the already successfully running i9, Blue Lotus’ Communications firm handling the entertainment segment. It was conceptualized with the aim to cater to the lifestyle and entertainment segment of the industry. It has gradually acquired the big bulls with the likes of Paramount Airways, Vinsura Wines, SIL, Dream 11, to name a few.

Internally, the year also saw the expansion of teams with Ahmedabad and Chennai getting new team leaders. This supplemented the region with the needed impetus to the teams.

It was not all work and no play at Blue Lotus. The concept and execution of a Freaky Friday every month was very well received by all the branches. This could be gauged by the healthy participation of one and all alike. What it also brought was not just the team bonding, but camaraderie among members of different teams, strengthening and facilitating the smooth work flow between teams.

The best encouragement for the year was not just slowly but consistently bagging clients, but bagging the biggies. These ‘neighbour’s envy, owner’s pride’ critical accounts were YBG, Bajaj Alliance, and Paramount.

The market scenario forced many companies to levy pay cuts and exercise lay-offs. But unlike other companies, Blue Lotus not just boldly survived the odds but also managed to provide employees with their Performance Appraisals. The prevailing conditions would not have allowed any other company to even think of a pay raise. All this at the sumptuous PA party enjoyed by all.

The frantic year ends with the preparation for the annual BLUES awards. Like every year, the beginning of 2010 will see Blue Lotus start the year with a bang. This bang comes in the form of the BLUES blast. A good time to reflect on the past seven years, conjure and converge the experiences and surge ahead into the nascent year.

Let’s enter this new year of resurgence with the spirited BLUES and forge ahead to make our dreams real!

Reminiscence of the year for bluebytes

This recap for bluebytes was penned down by who better than the man himself, Piyush Jain. Read on this inspiring piece of the journey of bluebytes this year.

“Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try” – this has always been the way we do our things in bluebytes.

Innovation has always been part of our DNA right since the inception. Now when I reflect back on the year, this has probably helped us wade through the difficult times. In the year where the economy went in a tailspin, bluebytes still managed to grow at 64% (YOY), though of course, we were aiming to reach much higher.

Bluebytes is relatively a new entrant in the field of standalone media monitoring agencies (effectively, 3 years old). To our credit we have been redefining this space within such a short time, so much so, that our competitors are now forced to offer comparative solutions to the clients.

All this is being made possible by the army of dedicated byters who work tirelessly and always aim to reach higher levels of service quality. Much of this credit belongs to Prakash and the entire ops team, who at times work under challenging demands and conditions. We are amongst the very few agencies that maintain timeliness, accuracy and relevancy of news delivered to our clients. This has resulted in retaining almost all our direct clients even when budgets were getting slashed elsewhere.

Our innovative ideas are brought to life by our software team led by Laxman and Bhushan. Truly speaking their efforts are making life easy for PR professionals. Media Analysis, bluebytes trends and business news are some of the contributions in recent times.

Half way through the year our sales team was strengthened with the joining in of Irfan. With few clients already under his belt, there are promises of many more to come.

Trying never stops in bluebytes and we try out new ideas all the time- new offerings, new delivery methods, new ways of reaching out to our prospects and many more. Bluebytes event finder beta version is already launched and there are few more sweet surprises for our clients in the next year. So watch this space.

The Real New-kid-on-the-block

Asad, from i9 takes this opportunity to write about i9, as the team progresses towards newer and bigger ventures as well as adventures.

One experiences no difficulty in walking in the direction in which the wind blows. But, how obscured becomes ones’ path when one decides to break common practices and venture out on a new road? “It took me more than 6 months and a lot of sweat and toil to land my first client”, says Subhash Pais, the Big Daddy of the New Kid on the Block; No, I am not talking about the 80s American Pop group, but the ‘POP’ular - i9 Communications.

Something that started off as a dinner table conversation between some great minds of Blue Lotus ended up as an idea - An idea, which after a year, already has a precedent of its own, and has quite transformed itself into a Culture - A Culture called i9.

Coming from the Blue Lotus Umbrella, it was difficult to break from the traditional Corporate, Finance, Healthcare and Technology segments and penetrate into fragments unknown in the history of Blue Lotus. Yet, we chose the beats - the consumerist Consumer, the desirable Lifestyle, the glamorous Entertainment and the welcoming Hospitality – which together, today defines what we are.

In March 2009, after 6 months of conceptualization (and after a considerable expend of Subhash’s sweat!!), the first client to come our way was Dream 11, a fantasy gaming portal. Team Rustic, a Talent Management firm, also came through and signed us. During the same time, SIL too happened and all this in the first week of March itself.

But, who is to be crowned first client in the realm of i9? Well, Dream11 expressed interest first but signed the contract only in the last week of March. Team Rustic paid us first but SIL, with its Jam and Ketchup Bottles (a jealously guarded privilege of i9!!) signed the contract before anybody! Phew!! The line of accession to being the first client looks so fierce and muddled that even Mouli Sir, the Biggest Daddy, seems to have given up.

Amongst other crucial developments within i9, and a swing of ups and downs, the year also witnessed the formation of the team – Team i9. A relatively young and vibrant set of wheels constantly keeping i9 on the upward trend! The period beginning in March and ending in October saw the assembling of the squadron - Sameer, Wayne, Petrina, I, Anjum and last but not at all the least, Pournima with whom the ring of i9 was completed.

With already having celebrated an anniversary, i9 now has one of the most coveted clients in its kitty – DHL Lemuir Logistics, Vinsura Vineyards, Paramount Airways along with the steady – Team Rustic and SIL. And we strive to get better each day, every day.

So after a year, if you ask us - do we believe that we can be a match for other ‘BIGGIES’ in the industry? Well, it’s a question we have asked ourselves for quite sometime, and we do acknowledge that the other ‘BIGGIES’ have some value. So, WE ACCEPT THEM AS EQUALS! Wink!!

Turning Odds into Even!

Indira from Mustard takes us through a pulsating Mustardian year in a nutshell.

When the going gets tough, the Tough gets going…no more is this just a song; for the Mustardian it’s a reality and I am glad we are living it with success.

Turning tables is indeed no less than rocket science; it takes a pinch of determination, a bundle of passion, a fuming anger to prove oneself and lastly a lot of support from all corners to make the impossible turn possible. The year 2009 was a ‘happening’ year for us at Mustard, the beginning looked like the dry winters; but with time the summer took its lead and as the heat rose beyond limits, we saw the pillars on which vested the support of the team, take a bow and bid us good bye.

January, February, March and April…we hardly saw work flowing in, although the zeal to achieve and the quest to capture still ruled our minds. The month of May brought new hope in Mustard with the entry of our new business head ‘Piyush Jain’, with whom we planned from scratch, we spoke work, we went out hunting and although most of the time coming back empty except for a baggage of learning; and with this started a new chapter in the life of Mustard.

The year was no less than a roller coaster ride, we had our highs in the moment of a handshake with Mr. Yash Birla; lows in the moments when even our efforts could not fetch us the Birla account. We worked our guts outs functioning round the clock to bag the Emami account and had a long face when even that did not bear us fruits…these were not failures but they were experiences that we would cherish for years to come (until the day we in reality bag these accounts), the learning from the series of failures was that ‘the right time to eye the top notches’ had yet not arrived. We rose again and this time we found victory in the medium size players like a travel service provider for whom we coined an image called ‘encircle’. ‘encircle’ was a great learning and also a great achievement for us, which saw our creative juices flowing and ultimately the chemical reaction of all the juices combined with the hard work was the birth of an international brand which is working wonders in terms of sales for the client. If incase you are travelling and you get to grab a Kingfisher or the Jet airways magazine do look for the ‘encircle’ ad, it’s our creation.

Finally the stars took us to the notice of some international clients, one of whom we already are working with is ‘Yes Façade’, an Israel based client specializing in Italian doors and windows, we are now their agency on board, creating an introduction for their brand in India. Our efforts to extend our wings further to Bahrain and UK are consistent and our enthusiasm to welcome both is also on the hook.

The year began with empty hands and just one consistent client - Blue Lotus; but today, thank the stars or thank Piyush or Charlie’s angels that we are hands full - ‘Asian Paints’ wants us, ‘Encircle’ wants us, ‘Lapox’ wants us, the likes of ‘Edentulous Support Society’ and ‘Just For Hearts’ want us, ‘Yes Façade’ wants us and WE as usual Hungry for more.

The moral of our story is behind even odd there is an even…yet we have a long long way to go but we are glad is that ‘the beginning has begun’.

Of deadlines, headlines and frown lines

Now who better to write about deadlines than Srikanth, PR writer for whole of Blue Lotus PR. He offers a whole new perspective to overcoming given timelines…

“Dear Srikanth, Please prepare a-1,000 words article on ---------- for ------ client. We would need it by tomorrow.” “Dear Srikanth, Kindly write an authored article for ------- on ---------. Deadline is tomorrow.”

Free Dictionary defines deadlines as “A boundary line in a prison that prisoners can cross only at the risk of being shot.” Although am not a prisoner, the risk of being shot is real and grave. Easy to set, hard to keep, deadlines are those frightful time-lines that leave you dead if you cross the line. I am no stranger to deadlines. My career as a journalist spanning over 11 years was all about deadlines, headlines and the inevitable frown lines. Meeting a clear-cut deadline, especially with no proper guideline or a vague one-line on the storyline can be tough.

At Deccan Chronicle, my former editor, the lady Hitler as we used to call her in hush-hush tones, would scream at 10.30 pm, “Srikanta, move your butt,” reminding me of the deadline while I am still struggling to give a headline. I used to laugh it off and would whisper in my neighbor’s ears, “I would move my butt a thousand times if it produces a headline.” At TOI, the editor (Mr. Nag) would strike me with his deadly fangs as it clocked 11 pm, throwing tantrums at me leaving me all wired up. But each time, I was reminded of the deadline, I used to whistle and sing silently, “I’m writing some verse about mending, my deadline is soon and unbending. But alas I can’t fix it, and may have to nix it.” It's not that I don't like deadlines. At times, a deadline cannot bring out the storyline in a given timeline.

In the end, I must apologize for failing to meet the deadline on ‘deadline’ for Culture Curry.

An anecdote: On February 14, 1876, inventor Elisha Gray applied for a patent at two in the afternoon on a device he had invented. Gray’s patent was rejected. You see, just two hours earlier Alexander Graham Bell had applied for and been awarded a patent for a similar invention: the telephone. Had Elisha Gray been just two hours earlier, today we might be making calls via "Ma Gray." It pays to get important work done early!

About things which should have happened, but didn’t, and a few which did, but shouldn’t have!

Annie, from Chennai lists down the things which did and shouldn’t but didn’t and should have, with one of the longest title in Culture Curry history!

We all keep pondering about things that happened in the past and most of us do wish that life had a rewind button so that we could go back and erase certain things that did happen or to re-live the moments again. But fortunately or unfortunately life does not have a rewind option, but that’s not going to stop us from talking about things which should have happened, but didn’t, and a few which did, but shouldn’t have. For example, there are certain movies we wish were never made, like Chandni Chowk to China, Kambakht Ishq and London Dreams; rather what should have happened is that the money invested to make these movies should have been donated to charity, that way some good would have come out of it. Talking about Bollywood let’s not forget the Karan Johar – Raj Thackeray fiasco. Karan Johar apologizing to Raj Thackeray should not have happened, what should have happened is that Karan ought to have told Thackeray to look into matters of state importance rather than pointing out activities done by cricketers and film makers forever. Moving to sports, one thing that we keep longing for year after year is India winning more matches! But whether they win or lose they will be worshipped for years to come.

Now, moving on to things that did happen but should not have. One major event was the swine flu epidemic and the constant rise in prices of gold and petrol. Not to forget, Karunanidhi winning the elections! It’s officially become a typical ‘buy-one-get-the-whole-family-free’ offer. You elect one person and the next minute the sons (of 2+ wives) and grandsons are running the State!

Well, this can go on and on - the list is endless. Right now majority of us are wishing that that the splitting of States does not happen; the Prime Minister like Christ says “Ask and it shall be given” and everyone asks for a State and if this happens, very soon India will go from 28 states to 56 states and similar to The United States of America and The United Kingdom, we will not be far from re-naming our nation - ‘The Divided States of India’.

Well the list is NEVER-ENDING, but practically nothing can change the past. The only thing we can do is hope that things will change for the better; Until then, let's work hard for it and don’t forget to party harder. Cheerz!

NKOTB

Anjum Shaikh
DOJ:
29/09/2009
Designation: Management Trainee
Intro: Hmmmmmm...Something about me... good question.
Well, just five words- Affectionate, Naughty, Jovial, Ultimate and finally a real Monkey. So by now you must have known who am I. And do you know why monkey, because I loooovvvee to imitate people, GOD!!! It’s so much fun, try it!
Everything about my likes and Dislikes...
Just short stories catch my eyes, the longer ones droooooolllll....oops.
The free sale that puts me off...advice sale!!
Always ready for adventure sports...anyone for bungee jumping???
Just hate hate hate shopping...i donno how do girls spend hours in that futile activity i only like one girl thingie and that GOSSIP!! What FUN
Well now coming to the serious part.... its been beautiful working at i9.....the best colleagues, the best mentors and the best team. well not to mention apart from PR i am also learning a lot about Films....hehehe
Thanking Blue Lotus for Every thing...so here comes the New Kid on the Blog :)


Vanishka
DOJ:
02/11/2009
Designation: Account Associate
Intro: Hi, I am Vanishka Lalwani and have been part of Blue Lotus family since 1st November 2009.
I am often complemented for two things 1. My unique name & 2. My unique phone J
Allow me to explain: the interpretation of my name ‘Vanishka’ suggests serene music of flute which matches quite my personality as I am often referred to as the most calm person around (people who know me will agree) and people who have seen my phone know about its uniqueness.
My hobbies are no different than usual … I love reading, watching movies, travelling, shopping, partying etc. There are very few things which can irritate me. Couple of them being bad breathe or body ordour...simply can’t stand it.
My experience at Blue lotus in past one month has been very comforting. People here are absolutely wonderful and helpful. One thing I love about this place is the space it gives to work at our best abilities and allows us to be ourselves.
Having lot of fun and looking forward for a superb ride…


Vikram
DOJ:
02/11/2009
Designation: Account Dirctor
Intro: Vikram Singh Tanwer is working with Blue Lotus as an Account Director. Vikram brings a rich experience of 11 years in marketing & public relations and has worked with Agencies like Ogilvy PR, Text 100 and Mediacom He has also worked in Pharma sector with Cipla, Ranbaxy & Novartis looking after product sales.
Vikram holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration apart from PG diplomas in Event Management, Advertising & PR and Journalism.
Vikram is a big foodie and loves to hog on anything which grows and moves. He hates nothing because he believes everyone & everything is made by god and has a reason for its existence.
When he is not working, Vikram likes listening to music, cooking and workouts. One thing which he likes the most in Blue Lotus is his “TEAM” which is perfect blend of humor, sincerity and dedication.


Pooja Dhoot
DOJ:
21/09/2009
Designation: Research Executive
Intro: ‘Hi all, this is Pooja Dhoot Vyas, Research executive for Blue Bridge. Got so many things to write but to make it short, my experience with Blue Lotus (though for a short while) has been amazing. I have never seen, felt or heard of such a warm and friendly work place. Now I know even work can be enjoyed.
True to my sun sign i.e Pisces, I am an easy going and a fun loving person who is observant and friendly by nature. Rudeness and pessimism is what I dislike the most. Family, friends, dance, laughter is what adds fuel to my life every moment I live. In my spare time I love to choreograph Jive sequences or read some spiritual excerpts. I like life to be simple and lovely where I can enjoy every second of it to the fullest.’


Sarla Samuel
DOJ:
03/12/2009
Designation: Branch Head
Intro: Hello BLUE LOTUSIs.
Hi. I am Sarla Samuel, the latest addition to the Blue Ocean of the Blue Lotus family at Ahmedabad. With a combined experience in advertising and pr of almost 18 years, I believe one is a learner – an Abhyasi – from day one to the last and am sure will continue to do so in the august company of you all.
Myth logically, we are believed to be a rare occurrence, but like they say, all things change with times, so in this part of the world; we are happily multiplying with each passing day, thanks to THE VISION OF MR. N CHANDRAMOULI. And wish that his pond is not only full with many more and rare NEELKAMALS but is bright and shining evermore. I, though have just gone afloat on December 3, am learning the art of blooming blue and intend to be the brightest and the bluest in the family. Wish me luck, guys. Thanks and same to you all. Bloom, bloo... oom….


G. Vijay Chithra
DOJ: 23/11/2009
Designation: Sr. PR Executive
Intro: Hi…This is Vijay Chithra. I have completed my Masters in Electronic Media from Auxilium College, Vellore. I have 3 yrs of experience in PR industry.
It’s not been long since I joined. I find the working style is very different here when compared to my previous company.
I am very simple, talkative, possessive and a straight forward person. I like to help disabled and elderly people. I don’t like people who are dishonest.
My hobbies include reading books, watching TV and listening music.

Captured moments at Blue Lotus: Photo Feature

Class of 2009-2010

Fly away with us...

Our walking and talking Salad bars

Micheal Jackson gone Stevie Wonder!

Poultu shows his real moves

Different colours of Blue

Attention! Stand at ease.

Ok. You win.

Looks like Mickey's got all the gals!

Gone green...Literally.


Heroes with a heart.