2020 - Tech & Product - expected trends

5G Network
One of the most enigmatic new upcoming technology that businesses will need to adopt is the advent of 5G.

But to take this speed to everyday mobile users, mobile network carriers will need to increase bandwidth and reduce network costs. Moreover, LTE adoption isn’t waning and is estimated to reach $672 billion by the end of 2020.

Autonomous Driving
Elon states, “We’ll have over a million Robo-taxis on the road.” Functions like automated braking, lane-changing, and automation of the other in-car systems are on its way to being streamlined with the guidance of data capture and analytics.

However, Gartner analyst Mike Ramsey says "The idea is just not plausible at this point. There is still time for the modulation of the laws for autonomous driving by legislators, regulators, and authorities. Over that, significant tweaks will be required in the existing infrastructure, laws and social attitudes before we can embrace autonomous vehicles in the current technology trends."

Edge Computing
Today, industries are focusing more on the efficiency and the response rate of computing, through which, data analysis is made - And here comes the role of edge computing which brings data storage and computation closer to the target, and hence, ameliorates the response times and save bandwidth. 

As of now, edge computing is being fueled by the rapid evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT) and in the future, it will create an unstructured architecture over a set of distributed cloud services. For instance, we have got drones that directly communicate with the enterprise IoT platform and conduct peer-to-peer exchanges. There is every increasing rise in the use of storage, sensor, computer, and advanced AI capabilities. One such example is the latest package delivery drone by Amazon.

Democratization of Technology
It means the easy access of technical domain to everyone, irrespective of their profession and place. A good example would be of a developer, who will be able to generate data models without learning the skills of a data scientist.

However, there is still concern about the future use of this latest trend in information technology because it will also enable people to exploit easy-to-use tools, which may pose harm to society.

Human Augmentation
It is the process by which a person’s physical and cognitive ability is strengthened. Once implanted in a human being, it will enable the person to execute tasks that were earlier impossible for him. For instance, miners use wearables to enhance their safety. The augmentation humans will not only enhance the physical endurance of a person but also, it will enhance the human’s ability to think and decide better.

Human augmentation in soldiers are running silently by the armed forces of many countries, as per reports.

Distributed Cloud
The trends of cloud storage and cloud computing are already embraced by the industries across the globe and the next big thing that is going to hit the tech ecosystem is the distributed cloud system.

Distributed Cloud is still in its infancy and there is a long way to go. Many companies are up with their service subsets to be used in a distributed way. It helps in connecting the public cloud distributed operation of cloud services to specific locations.

It’s expected that by 2020, 75% of the enterprise-generated data will be processed regardless of the centralized data center. This upcoming technology of 2020 will be a significant breakthrough in the cloud infrastructure.

DARQ
Distributed ledger technology (such as blockchain), Artificial intelligence (AI), Extended reality (including virtual and augmented reality), and Quantum computing, abbreviated to DARQ form one such future technology trend of 2020 that business must integrate on priority. So, when you approach hiring, training, and employee retention, keep DARQ in mind.

Volkswagen, for instance, is already cashing in one of the biggest technology trends of 2020. It used quantum computing to test traffic flow optimization and accelerate battery development.

The company is also testing distributed ledgers to provide automatic payments at gas stations, create tamper-proof odometers, protect cars from hackers and more. Similarly, it’s using AR instructions to help service employees repair vehicles.

Personal Profiling
Digital integration into people’s lives has become so deep that data analytics has more information than they could ever analyze with current technology. As consumer analytics becomes a crude priority of every business, the latest tech trend is profiling consumers by examining how they interact with the technology in hand.

To analyze the gateways to profiling user spending patterns, we need to answer questions like:

What social media apps do they most visit?
How do they curate their social profiles?
What pictures do they post?
What all places they check into on social media?
The trick here for businesses is to integrate and adapt to an individual’s preference for the latest technology. Gillette is one such example that’s partnering with 3D printing startup Formlabs to offer customized razor designs.

A top technology trend like this raises one glaring question – where is consumer consent in this personal profiling and where do we draw the socially acceptable line and how will this line differ from consumer to consumer?

Well, for that, we have to wait and watch the manner in which personal profiling is done in the future.

AI
Artificial technology or AI is not a new term in the IT sphere, but now there are further verticals of AI that is shaping the industries globally.

AI technology trends, including products like AlterEgo, a mind-reading wearable, and citizen robots like Sophia, are only a promo to how big AI technology will get in 2020. Companies like Dominos and Doordash are already experimenting with drones and robot delivery.

Although at present, these latest emerging technologies are still riddled with glitches threatening human safety, but looking at their enormous prospects, it is bound to become a technology trend in 2020.

Data Policing
Ever since the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) tightened the bolts on privacy and data protection laws, businesses and consumers alike have become more aware of their vulnerability to data breach and cyber-attacks.

According to Gartner, by 2020, nearly 70% of organizations will be exposed to personal data archiving. That’s a 60% growth since 2018 when the number was at 10%.

In fact, emerging technology trends like cryptocurrency will be one of those upcoming technologies that are yet to be compliant with privacy laws. An insertion of personal data into public blockchains can be a major worry for 75% of public blockchains by 2020. As a result, an entire ecosystem, based on data-driven technologies, that is constantly growing in its interconnections is a key tech trends that businesses can benefit from by forging early-on partnerships.

Momentary Markets
Real-time opportunity to capture "momentary markets" will change the face of customer analytics and advertising in ways hard to imagine. As digital realities get more sophisticated and narrowed down to an exclusive reality of each moment, global technology trends will align towards more customized and on-demand experiences to fulfill customer needs.

To do this, businesses will need to combine real-time analytics capabilities with sophisticated back-end systems to capture constantly altering customer needs. Pairing this with constantly updating digital demographics will open new alleys for businesses to discover unmet customer needs.

Automation
Automation is aimed to augment people and propel the automation process. It combines packaged software, machine learning, and automation tools to deliver the results. In the next couple of years, automation of data science will empower scientists to churn out advanced analysis.

Automation has already had us welcome cashier-less AMAZON Go stores across the US, but according to CNBC, the number will be 3,000 of its cashier-less AMAZON GO stores by 2021. For example, businesses in retail will need such sophisticated automation to compete with cashier-less AMAZON GO stores.

According to a PWC report, automation will go through three waves of automation:

Algorithmic displacing around 3% to 30% of jobs from the early 2020s to mid-2020s.
Augmentation increasing these percentages higher as technology improves itself.
Autonomy wave that is predicted to surface in the mid-2030s.

Reskilling Human Workforce
Workforce needs to be trained in AR, VR, IoT, Blockchain, AI.

The present human workforce is dealing with a disruptive digital transformation where cloud, analytics, and digital wave may still stand essential for groundwork but are no longer the crown jewels of “disruptive technologies.” Yet they are still recruited, trained, and assessed in pre-digital ways.

MedTech
3D printing will open a new business of advanced prosthetics (3D printing bionic body parts). Tele-medicine and virtual diagnosis powered by AI and AR will need businesses to rework their business model in medicine.

Scientists at Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, for instance, have 3D printed a "bionic ear" that can "hear" radio frequencies far beyond the range of normal human capability.

Cryptocurrency
Facebook’s cryptocurrency project Libra is expected to be completely fleshed out and in sync with government regulations by 2020. 

It’s no coincidence that banks like Bank of America are gathering blockchain patents.

AgriTech
In agriculture, companies that offer products using computer vision, AI, and big data stand out. In 2020, it will become common to monitor crop growth by computer vision Ceres Imaging (U.S.), Taranis (Israel), Farmwise (U.S.).

Robots, such as those by Abundant Robotics, that harvest plants and fruits will become more common. The technology for improving crop growth efficiency will also be enhanced by indoor farming companies, such as Bowery Farming (U.S.), funded by GV.



Credits:
Mobileappdaily.com/future-technology-trends
Quora.com/What-are-the-top-10-emerging-technologies-in-the-next-5-10-years-2020%E2%80%932025
Venturebeat.com/2019/12/30/10-technology-trends-that-will-impact-our-lives-in-2020/

Youtube launched for Toddlers & Kids & young Children - Chapter 2 of 2 - Business story

Youtube has recently asked all the creators to designate their channels as being either not child their channel is "made for kids".

This is what Youtube is officially asking the creators to do, and what changes they will start to see on their kids-related content:


Why all this hu-ha?

This story begins back in September 2019, when YouTube reached a $170 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over its practices involving children.

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) enacted in 1998 and in effect since 2000, places rules on when and how websites and services can collect personally identifiable information about children under the age of 13.

YouTube, theoretically, has always been subject to the law but, according to the FTC, was not in compliance. They claim that YouTube, and its parent company Google, collected information on minors in a bid to show them more targeted advertising. This was despite the fact that portions of its site were clearly directed at kids.

In addition to the monetary settlement, YouTube was forced to “develop, implement, and maintain a system that permits channel owners to identify their child-directed content on the YouTube platform so that YouTube can ensure it is complying with COPPA.” That system is what is being implemented now and it requires creators to designate their channels as being either not child their channel is “made for kids”. According to the settlement, if a creator fails to comply with this rule, the liability can be as high as $42,000 per mislabeled video.



Credit:
Kids.youtube.com
Support.google.com/youtube/answer/9383587?hl=en
Plagiarismtoday.com/2019/11/18/why-2020-could-be-a-disaster-for-youtubers/
Ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2019/11/youtube-channel-owners-your-content-directed-children
Hollywoodreporter.com/news/new-youtube-policies-aim-make-kids-videos-safer-but-creators-will-suffer-1239664
Support.google.com/youtube/answer/6173147?hl=en

Youtube launched for Toddlers & Kids & young Children - Chapter 1 of 2 - YoutubeKids.com

Youtube has launched a separate service especially for the Toddlers & Kids & young Children - It is called "YoutubeKids.com".

Following is it's User-journey (click on images for viewing their larger versions):

# Page loads an animated version of Youtube's icon (slide 1,2)
# Users get to choose whether they are a parent or kid (slide 3)
# Parents are shown the "Welcome screen" (slide 4)
# Parents are asked to verify by mentioning their age, which Youtube claims to not store (slide 5)
# Parents are shown a video in which basic features are explained - This video can't be skipped or skimmed (slide 5)
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# Once the video gets played, the 'Next' button on the page gets activated (slide 1)
# Parents can now sign-in into their accounts - This step is skippable (slide 2)
# Parents are shown a 'Notice' that they need to agree to (slide 3) - See the complete text of the Notice in Slide 4 
# Parents are now supposed to choose their kids' age-group - "Pre-School", "Younger", "Older" (slide 5)
# Parents are shown a glimpse of the content that Youtube would be allocating for age-group (slide 6)
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# A glimpse of the content that Youtube would be allocating for the 3 age-groups (slide 1, 2, 3)
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# Parents get option to switch off the 'Search' (slide 1)
# Parents are shown a slider in which key features are explained (slide 2, 3, 4)
# Landing page loads - 2 animated characters are shown (slide 5)
# Landing page is shown after the content is ready to be shown (slide 6)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Landing page has various tab - Shows, Music, Explore, Learning (slide 1, 2, 3, 4)
# Another tab called 'Recommended' (slide 6) automatically gets added to the Landing page once you've watched a video (slide 5)
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# Profile Page shows the history of the watched videos
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# On clikcing the 'Lock' icon present on the top-right, the Prenets can access their 'Parent Settings' page. Upon clicking the same, Youtube asks the Parents to enter a captcha to verify their identity.
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# The 'Parent Setting' page
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Seniors & Elderly & Super-aged population - Episode 2 - Product Innovations

A report filed by the European Commission says:
“Notably, the share of those aged 15–64 is projected to decline from 67% to 56% by 2060. The share of those aged 65 and over is projected to rise from 17% to 30%. As a consequence, the EU would move from having four people of working age to each person aged over 65 years to about two people of working-age”

Ideally, we should always design our UX for the Seniors & Elderly & Super-aged population. In the previous episode of this series (click here to read the episode 1 of this series), we analyzed the problems that this population faces and how we can solve the same while building great products. In this ep, we will take a look at some of the latest product innovations that have built products following these principles...

1.
IDEO Singapore proposed Cane-like posts could be installed in busy urban areas - To give seniors a spot to rest, catch their balance while stepping off the curb, or hang shopping bags while waiting for the walk signal or public transportation.

2.
"Liftware" spoon house motion sensors that cancel users’ tremors.

3.
"Buddiband" high-tech personal alarm system can be worn seamlessly around the wrist. It has GPS tracking that aims to provide security and confidence for people living with dementia to go out.

4.
"Trading Times" is a web-based service that matches people who care for those with dementia with local businesses for flexible paid work, providing opportunities to earn and stay connected with society.

5.
Loss of appetite is a common problem at the late stages of dementia. "Ode" is a system where a special fragrance is released throughout the day to stimulate the appetite.

6.
Students want to practice English and elderly people need someone to talk to. "Speaking Exchange" created an educational project that connects students and seniors over the Internet. It serves multiple age groups and helps both in an equal opportunity.

7.
Pillboxie app is a medication-reminder app. Its UI has shelves & jars, that look exactly like the ones in the physical world - As the UI mimics the physical world, it becomes extremely easy to understand and use the app. See their video here: Youtu.be/lLgOcxK80b4)



Credits:
Reviews.com/blog/fully-accessible-guide-to-smart-home-tech/
Medium.com/inside-vbat/how-to-design-for-the-elderly-b20b4a58f34d
Uxplanet.org/ux-accessibility-for-elderly-12-principles-9708289b6f78

Seniors & Elderly & Super-aged population - Episode 1 - Design Guidelines

A report filed by the European Commission says:
“Notably, the share of those aged 15–64 is projected to decline from 67% to 56% by 2060. The share of those aged 65 and over is projected to rise from 17% to 30%. As a consequence, the EU would move from having four people of working age to each person aged over 65 years to about two people of working-age”

Ideally, we should always design our UX for the Seniors & Elderly & Super-aged population. In this post, we will analyze the problems that this population faces and how we can solve the same while building great products:

Problem:
# Difficulty in reading.
Solution:
# Text & Button large in size.
# Fonts 16px min.
# Make it easy for users to increase/decrease font sizes at will.
# Sans serif typefaces.
# Test the product with a screen reader before launch.
# Larger icons.
# Line spacing 1.5 min.

Problem:
# Shades of blue appear faded to seniors.
Solution:
# Overall, color contrast should be increased.
# Keep contrast ratio (difference of text color to the background color) of at least 4.5:1, although it would be best to stay over 7.0:1. (Check it here: webaim.org/resources/ContrastChecker/)

Problem:
# Icons are difficult to comprehend.
Solution:
# Icons should be labeled with text.

Problem:
# Difficulty in listening.
Solution:
# Include subtitles with video or audio.

Problem:
# Seniors can sometimes stumble in "Gestures", especially when they’re new to touch-screen tech.
# There are a number of interaction patterns seniors may have that aren’t common in younger generations, like: typing with one hand, particularly on a mobile device.
Solution:
# Keep gestures simple to perform.
# Simple horizontal, vertical, or diagonal movement is fine, as these are all natural motions.
# Avoid incorporating gestures with quick movements, difficult positioning, or multiple gestures that require the use of both hands or more than two fingers.

Problem:
# In the general population, a mouse is more accurate than a finger. But older people perform better using touch interfaces (finger tapping declines later than some other motor skills)
Solution:
# Reduce the distance between interface elements that are likely to be used in sequence (such as form fields), but make sure they’re at least 2 millimeters apart.
# Buttons on touch interfaces should be at least 9.6 millimeters diagonally (for example, 44 × 44 pixels on an iPad) for ages up to 70, and larger for older people.
# Interface elements to be clicked with a mouse (such as forms and buttons) should be at least 11 millimeters diagonally.

Problem:
# Good news is that Elderly people have a better attention span (as compared to current young gen) - It means that older people often find things that younger people skip right over. The downside of this is the slower pace & increased time to complete tasks.
# The speed at which seniors process information slows with age.
# They can still complete the same tasks, but it may take them a bit longer.
# They need a bit more time to absorb the information to take appropriate action.
# Prospective memory (remembering to do something in the future) suffers - This is particularly relevant for habitual tasks, like remembering to take medication at the right time every day.
# The good news is that the procedural memory (remembering HOW to do things) is generally unaffected in older people - They are able to learn new skills and reproduce them over time.
# Older people almost exclusively use PAPER (calendars and diaries) to supplement their memory.
Solution:
# Progressive disclosure
# Minimalist design
# Avoid Multitasking
# Ensure that their attention isn’t being divided by multiple tasks/parts of a screen
# Avoid splitting tasks into multiple screens if they require memory of previous actions.
# Include reminders and tooltips.
# Introduce product features gradually over time to prevent cognitive overload.
# During longer tasks, give clear feedback on progress and reminders of goals.
# Provide reminders and alerts as cues for habitual actions.
# Don’t be afraid of long-form text and deep content.

Problem:
# Younger generations have grown up using tech, so it’s a natural extension of their life - That's NOT the case with Older gen. Older adults need the MOTIVATION to use tech - and the Motivation is that the app should be USEFUL to them.
# Even with notifications, if an older adult doesn’t find an application to be useful, they’re likely to ignore it for days, weeks, or even months.
# While gamification and similar motivators work well with younger adults, they are often not as effective on seniors.
Solution:
# Build Apps that are Useful to them - like 'Healthcare apps'

Problem:
# Older adults tend to prefer tablets to smartphones (considering the differences in screen sizes and ease of use)
# According to studies, older adults are the primary users of tablets and adopted them earlier than younger users.
Solution:
# Build apps for tablets & large-screen-phones

Problem:
# Older adults prefer to connect with smaller, more intimate groups of people - At the same time, isolation can be an issue, so making those smaller networks more meaningful is key.
# Seniors have trepidations about privacy & security (they would NOT like to share their healthcare data, but would be open to sharing family pics/vids).
# If the app is not tested for aged users, seniors can end up sharing information publicly without realizing it or would struggle to limit the same.
Solution:
# Privacy and security settings should be easy to manage.
# App should be transparent in how information is used.
# App should be forthcoming about any data breaches to ensure trust is maintained.

Problem:
# Older people are even hesitant in Exploring an installed app.
Solution:
# During onboarding introduce users to functions they might not be familiar with.
# Every part of the interaction needs to be kept easy to understand and complete (this should in-general be a practice) - example: keeping the navigational structure simple, strictly adhering to usability best practices, minimizing sublevels in navigation, keeping menus to a single function, keeping the “return” function and the “home” navigation readily accessible.

Problem:
# Older adults need help frequently.
# While younger users are more likely to skip onboarding screens, older users will likely pay more attention to them, reading all instructions before clicking.
Solution:
# App’s help functions &/or tutorials should be readily accessible.
# Include contextual tips throughout an app that are both automatically shown the first time a feature is accessed, and are available at later points when the user requests them.
# Use clear, objective, and educational language without being condescending or patronizing.

Problem:
# They often ignore SMS’ entirely.
Solution:
# Don’t rely on SMS to convey important information.

Problem:
# While young people tend to weigh a lot of options before settling on one, older people emphasize prior knowledge and they give more weight to the opinions of experts (for example, their doctor for medical decisions).
Solution:
# Prioritize shortcuts to previous choices ahead of new alternatives.
# Information framed as "Expert opinion" may be more persuasive (but don’t abuse this bias).

Problem:
# They often make mistakes/errors/misclicks.
Solution:
# Increasing the error-tolerance, even at the cost of suggestions accuracy.
# Error tolerance should apply to form fields, search engines,  misclicks, etc.
# It should be easy to recover/undo.
# Think about how important information can be brought up again if it was skipped too quickly.

Problem:
# Especially the elderly users from the pre-cyber era, or the ones from less computerized areas, dont understand latest UIs - (Over time this issue will probably become less and less relevant)
Solution:
# UI should mimic a physical world (example: Pillboxie app has a UI having shelves & jars. See their video here: Youtu.be/lLgOcxK80b4)



Credit:
Gutmicrobiotaforhealth.com/en/gut-microbiota-exceedingly-healthy-elderly-people-100-years-old-similar-healthy-30-year-olds/
Medium.com/capitalonedesign/tips-from-the-mother-of-empathy-on-designing-for-elders-e96ee8c6a15
En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_accessibility
En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology
Uxplanet.org/ux-accessibility-for-elderly-12-principles-9708289b6f78
Toptal.com/designers/ui/ui-design-for-older-adults
Smashingmagazine.com/2015/02/designing-digital-technology-for-the-elderly/

Netflix’s India posted an 8-fold rise in FY-19 Revenue

Netflix India grows at a fiery pace of ~700% in 1 year.

Revenue FY-2019:
Netflix - ₹466.7 crore ; (FY-2018 ~₹58 crore)
Hotstar - ₹1112.74 crore (surged ~95%)

Net P&L FY-2019:
Netflix - ₹5.1 crore (Net Profit) (FY-2018 ~₹20 lakh)
Hotstar - ₹554.38 crore (Net Loss) (Up ~42.5%)

Factors that stimulated growth of Netflix:

• The Mobile-only plan at ₹199 per month is one of it's most economical offering compared to global markets & has accelerated growth since Jul'2019 in India.

• The partnership with Airtel & boosting efficiency on payments were key factors for fierce growth.

• High quality of international, original content, local content expansion & marketing blitzkrieg has helped Netflix dominate 'profitably' the price-sensitive Indian OTT market.

Hotstar owns majority of the market share in India regardless of losses posted and is all set to be launched globally. The Walt Disney Company now owns Hotstar after buying Star India as a part of the $71 Billion Fox Deal. Launch of DisneyPlus is round the corner ready to disrupt FY20 and pile even more competitive pressure on Netflix.


Credit:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/news/netflixs-had-a-blockbuster-year-4459403/

Brand Management lessons from Disney & its Marvel Cinematic Universe

When an actor signs on to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe owned by 'Disney'), they have to adhere to some pretty strict rules aka protocols, which serve 2 purposes:
1. Data Security
2. Brand Management

Some of these rumored protocols are:

1. FAKE SCRIPTS AND WINDOWLESS ROOMS
To read a full movie script, each actor must individually go into a dark, windowless room without their cell phone and finish the reading in one sitting. Apparently, each script comes with fake items and endings to prevent actors from spoiling the movie.

2. EXTENSIVE BACKGROUND CHECKS CONDUCTED ON PROSPECTIVE ACTORS
Whenever Disney signs up an actor for an MCU role, no matter how seemingly small, extensive background checks are conducted in order to unearth any potential skeletons in their closet. They do background checks to ensure they weren't hiring someone with weird baggage or someone likely to leak things on social media.

3. NON–COMPETE CLAUSE
People might not understand the gravitas of the Marvel vs. DC feud. These two comic book entities have been fighting back and forth, jockeying for position for years now.

4. MUST ATTEND ANY AND ALL PRESS TOURS TO PROMOTE THE FILMS
Not long after the camera stops rolling, and the actors take off their costumes, they begin packing for a traveling caravan of interviews. These tours are extensive and can leave actors extremely exhausted and jet-lagged. Not only are these events lengthy, they're hosted at a variety of international venues.

5. ALL MCU ACTORS HAVE TO MAINTAIN THE DISNEY IMAGE
Disney has never hesitated to drop actors because of their public image or any negative publicity. This means that once the Avengers strip off their tights, they still have to remain a superhero in real life. Each MCU actor must maintain his/her public image by constantly being a person that children look up to. This means that they volunteer at children’s hospitals, partake in charities, and give back to the community.


Credit:

Brand Management glossary simplified - volume 1

Brand essence
It is the spiritual center - the central & timeless essence of the brand ie. the core value(s) that defines the brand and permeates all other aspects of the brand. It is most likely to remain constant as brand travels to new markets and products.

Brand identity
It is how the company presents the brand to the market & how the company wants its customers to view its brand.

Brand personality
It is a set of human characteristics that consumers attribute to a brand. The personality makes the brand more relatable in the eye of the consumer. A consistent set of traits that define this personality will appeal to a specific market segment, and increase brand equity and brand affinity. The personality is a qualitative value proposition for the brand, in addition to its more tangible, functional benefits. The theory behind brand personality states that humans feel more affinity to certain brands as the personality they embody matches that of the customer. There are five types of brand personality: sincerity, ruggedness, excitement, competence, sophistication. Within these categories are further associations. Excitement is associated with being carefree, daring and having a youthful attitude.

Brand positioning
Brand's positioning takes the brand's identity and positions it to a particular audience in a way that magnifies certain attributes of the brand while downplaying others. You’ll notice I say downplay; it must never contradict them. So when Apple, for example, sell to businesses, they position themselves a little differently from when they’re selling to consumers. Sure, the products are still beautiful and easy to use, but Apple know they need to give a little more detail to assist in what is a more rational decision process. They will talk about how apple products aid collaboration, improve efficiency, and increase security. Another example would be me on a night out. My intended brand identity would be a mature, sophisticated Ryan Gosling lookalike, and I’d likely be trying to position myself for the evening as still fun and cool and generally down with the kids, while the reality of my brand image would be that a short, greying man entering middle age who probably shouldn’t be hanging around student nights any more.

Brand experience
It refers to the subjective, internal customer responses (sensations, feelings, and cognitions) and behavioral responses evoked by brand-related stimuli that are part of a brand’s design and identity, packaging, communications, and environments. In other words, brand experience means the experiential aspects consisting of the sum of all points of contact with the brand. These shape how someone perceives your brand ie this shapes the brand's image.

Brand image
It is the set of perceptions that the customers have in mind about a particular brand. It signifies what the brand currently stands for, how it is viewed by the customers. The brand’s image really determines its position in the market, regardless of what the technical details may be.

Brand equity
It represents the value of your brand in the eyes of your customers. Unlike brand value, which is weighed against the market, this metric takes into account loyalty, trust, emotion, and perception. A positive brand value does not always equal positive brand equity, but a positive brand equity tends to equal a positive brand value.

Brand affinity
It describes the consumers who believe a particular brand shares common values with them. These shared values help build a relationship which tends to retain loyal customers for longer. All brand purchases are a mixture of an emotional, rational and behavioral decision. When a customer feels an affinity to a brand, the emotional aspect is more likely to play a part in the decision.

Brand loyalty
It is the tendency of consumers to continuously purchase one brand’s products over another. Someone can be loyal to a brand without feeling an affinity for that brand, simply because they believe it sells the best product. With brand loyalty, there is often no strong personal connection tying consumer to brand. The customer is loyal to the brand because they perceive the brand to provide them with some value. This perceived benefits of this value can keep customers loyal to the brand regardless of pricing or competitor actions. Consumers who are loyal to a brand remain loyal because they believe it offers the best experience and higher quality than the competition. It is a rational decision, rather than an emotional one. It can also be a behavioral decision, in that a customer might continue buying the same brand due to apathy, not loyalty. The difference between the two can be difficult for brands to understand. This habitual nature of a loyal purchase can be accentuated by so-called customer loyalty programs. Encouraging loyalty through special offers does not foster real customer loyalty. Brand affinity is the most valuable and enduring level of customer relationship, as there is a connection between brand and consumer, as well as product and consumer.

Brand value
It is the financial worth or market value of your brand, should you choose to sell it. If someone were to buy your brand, how much would they be willing to pay?


Credit:
Brandwatch.com/blog/brand-affinity
Boss-digital.co.uk/blog/difference-brand-identity-image-positioning
Quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-brand-value-and-brand-equity
Quora.com/What-are-the-differences-between-brand-image-and-brand-equity
Quora.com/What-are-the-differences-between-brand-identity-and-brand-image
Quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-brand-identity-and-brand-personality
Quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-brand-essence-and-brand-positioning
Medium.com/@sillysampi/cutting-through-the-jargon-brand-positioning-brand-essence-brand-equity-and-brand-idea-4020d64f22f3

30 Indian Statups became Unicorns in last 10 years

All of these are Tech companies & 4 of these are listed:

MakeMyTrip
InMobi
Flipkart
JustDial
MuSigma
Snapdeal
Naukri
Ola
Quikr
Hike
PayTm
Zoho
ShopClues
Byjus
PayTmMall
InfiBeam
Oyo
Swiggy
Rivigo
PineLabs
Zomato
FreshWorks
PolicyBazaar
Udaan
PhonePe
BillDesk
BigBasket
Dream11
BlackBuck
DelhiVery


Credit:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/2824458/

44 Famous & Memorable Indian Advertisements hidden in 1 picture - Can you solve this Puzzle ?

Beat your memory drums and use your razor sharp eyes for finding the minutest details...

For answers drop me a mail at:
iAmSaurabhKautilyaGupta@gmail.com

click to enlarge (size: 2048x1536)

Want Hints?

the Universe of Marketing - basic Keywords - for newbies

Marketing: Business process of creating relationships with and satisfying customers.

Needs: Something necessary for people to live a healthy, stable and safe life. When needs remain unfulfilled, there is a clear adverse outcome: a dysfunction or death. Needs can be objective and physical, such as the need for food, water, and shelter; or subjective and psychological, such as the need to belong to a family or social group and the need for self-esteem.

Wants: Something that is desired, wished for or aspired to. Wants are not essential for basic survival and are often shaped by culture or peer-groups.

Demands: When needs and wants are backed by the ability to pay, they have the potential to become economic demands.

Marketing mix aka the 4 Ps model (product, price, place, and promotion): are the set of marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in the target market.

Product: Refers to an item that satisfies the consumer's needs or wants. Products may be tangible (goods) or intangible (services, ideas or experiences). The product aspects of marketing deal with the specifications of the actual goods or services, and how it relates to the end-user's needs and wants. The product element consists of product design, new product innovation, branding, packaging, labeling. The scope of a product generally includes supporting elements such as warranties, guarantees, and support.

Price: Refers to the amount a customer pays for a product. Price is the only variable that has implications for revenue. Price also includes considerations of customer perceived value or simply Value. Pricing refers to the process of setting a price for a product, including discounts. The price need not be monetary; it can simply be what is exchanged for the product or services, e.g. time, energy, or attention or any sacrifices consumers make in order to acquire a product or service.

Value: Is the difference between a prospective customer's evaluation of the benefits and costs of one product when compared with others. Value may also be expressed as a straightforward relationship between perceived benefits and perceived costs: Value = Benefits / Cost.

Place: Refers to how the product gets to the customer; the distribution channels and intermediaries such as wholesalers and retailers who enable customers to access products or services in a convenient manner. It also refers to the channel by which a product or service is sold (e.g. online vs. retail), which geographic region or industry, to which segment (young adults, families, business people), etc. also referring to how the environment in which the product is sold in can affect sales.

Promotion: Includes all aspects of marketing communications; advertising, sales promotion, including promotional education, public relations, personal selling, product placement, branded entertainment, event marketing, trade shows and exhibitions. It is focused on providing a message to get a response from consumers that is designed to persuade or tell a story to create awareness.

7 Ps model: Comprises of the original 4 Ps plus process, people and physical evidence, as being more applicable for services marketing.

People: Human actors who participate in service delivery, Service personnel who represent the company's values to customers, Interactions between customers, Interactions between employees and customers.
Marketing decisions that are taken around this P:
Staff recruitment and training, Uniforms, Scripting Queuing systems, managing waits, Handling complaints, service failures, Managing social interactions.

Process: The procedures, mechanisms and flow of activities by which service is delivered. 
Marketing decisions that are taken around this P:
Process design, Blueprinting (i.e. flowcharting) service processes, Standardization vs customization decisions, Diagnosing fail-points critical-incidents and system-failures, Monitoring and tracking service performance, Analysis of resource requirements and allocation, Creation and measurement of key performance indicators (KPIs), Alignment with Best Practices, Preparation of operations manuals.

Physical evidence: Refers to the non-human elements of the service encounter, including equipment, furniture and facilities. It may also refer to the more abstract components of the environment in which the service encounter occurs including interior design, colour schemes and layout. Some aspects of physical evidence provide lasting proof that the service has occurred, such as souvenirs, mementos, invoices and other livery of artifacts. Thus this P includes: the environment in which service occurs, The space where customers and service personnel interact, Tangible commodities (e.g. equipment, furniture) that facilitate service performance, Artifacts that remind customers of a service performance.
Marketing decisions that are taken around this P:
Facilities (e.g. furniture, equipment, access), Spatial layout (e.g. functionality, efficiency), Signage (e.g. directional signage, symbols, other signage), Interior design (e.g. furniture, color schemes), Ambient conditions (e.g. noise, air, temperature), Design of livery (e.g. stationery, brochures, menus, etc.), Artifacts: (e.g. souvenirs, mementos, etc.)

7 Cs model: Comprises of the 4Cs (Commodity, Cost, Channel, Communication) that map to the original 4 Ps plus Corporation, Consumer, Circumstances.

Corporation: Factors in the competitors, organization, stakeholder, compliance, accountability - within the corporation.

Consumer: The factors related to consumers can be remembered by the compass NEWS directions:
N = Needs, E = Education: (consumer education), W = Wants, S = Security

Circumstances: In addition to the consumer, there are various uncontrollable external environmental factors encircling the companies which also can be remembered by the compass NEWS directions:
N = National and International (Political, legal and ethical) environment, E = Economic, W = Weather, S = Social and cultural



Credit:
Wikipedia.org
Image Credit:
Self.com/story/6-incredibly-impressive-women-share-their-best-tips-on-giving-a-big-presentation

44 Famous & Memorable Indian Advertisements hidden in 1 picture - Can you solve this Puzzle ?

Beat your memory drums and use your razor sharp eyes for finding the minutest details...

For answers drop me a mail at:
iAmSaurabhKautilyaGupta@gmail.com

click to enlarge (size: 2048x1536)

Rise & Fall of Jet Airways in India

21 years of Rise & Fall of Jet Airways have been perfectly illustrated in the given video. Also visualized are how other airlines (Indigo, Air India, Indian Airlines, Sahara, Kingfisher) fared and how Indian government regulations impacted Aviation Industry in India.


Data credit:
http://dgca.nic.in/

using Robotics & Automation to convert Garbage into Money

What is Impossible?
Cleaning 1,000,000 Tons of Garbage in 200 Days from 100 Acres of land & also Generate Revenue while doing so - Is this even remotely possible?

'Impossible is Nothing' & this man has proven it without a doubt - Asheesh Singh (IAS, Municipal Commissioner, Indore, M.P., India).

the Story:
1. Indore became 100% Garbage-free & India's cleanest city
2. Cleared 1.3 Million Metric Tons of garbage (dumped in last 45 years)
3. From 100 Acres of land
4. Done in just 6 months
5. Used Robotics & Automation & Software-based-monitoring
6. Generated Methane & Compost from Wet-waste (revenue generation)
7. Segregated Dry-waste in ~30 categories & sells the same further (revenue generation)
8. Generated Diesel from Plastic (revenue generation)
9. Of the 100 Acres of reclaimed land, 10 Acres being used to build a Forest
10. Part of #SwachhBharatMission led by India's PM #NarendraModi

#WasteManagement #WasteDisposal #Waste2Energy #WasteToEnergy #WasteRecycling

Credit:

Sell Me this Pen - attempt 2

You: Sir are you left handed or right handed?

Customer: I am right handed.

Take out a 2000 Rupees note from the pocket and keep it on the table.

You: If you could write your name with the left hand with this pen, those 2000 Rs are yours.

Customer: Okay give me the pen.

You: That would cost you 2010 Rupees sir.

This was the 2nd strategy. Click here to read the 1st strategy


Sell Me this Pen - attempt 1

[Wrong way]
You- Do you need a pen?
Interviewer- No, I don’t.
[Sale Fail]

[Wrong way]
You have a normal, cheap pen to sell (Let’s say 045 Reynolds)
You- Can I know, what kind of pen you use?
Interviewer- Yes, I use good pens. But I don’t use craps like yours.
[Sale Fail]

[Correct way]
You- Sir, this is 045 Reynolds fine carbure, normally runs 15 days smoothly for an average sales guy.

(You just provided general information and told the interviewer that your target market is salesmen. As we know your interviewer is also in sales. And this pen is specially designed for salespersons.)

You- 70% of the salesmen found it useful as per our survey.

Interviewer- What happened to the other 30%?

(Now you are controlling the subconscious of the interviewer, he is asking the questions you want. It will make your process easier)

You- Rest 30% don’t use it [humour].

(You just told him your pen is the best selling pen and favorite among the salesmen. At the same time you respected other companies and showed honesty by not saying 100%)

Interviewer- So what? My pen is working perfectly for me and I think I’m among the rest 30%.

You- Sir, it is more than a normal pen. Its ink doesn’t get spilled in high temperature as normal pens. Spilling of ink might cost you a fortune. Your costly suit might get dirty. It might cost you a sales call and you might lose your job.

(You just told him the biggest problem and scared him)

Interviewer- So what? My pen doesn’t get spilled.

You- Sir, your pen is unique (He gets happy). But, this pen costs only 6 Rupee and is easily available in every store in your city. If you lose this pen, don’t worry, you can have it easily.

(You just showed your pen’s availability. People use products which are easily available to them. Will you buy a cell phone, which doesn’t have a service center? Pen is something, people get used to it. If you are using a particular pen, you will need the same pen when you lose it.) 

You have just processed his mind to buy your product. Before he says anything, say this-

You- It has a white body and a blue cover. White stands for clean, purity, honesty and blue stands for reliability. It will definitely create positive aura around you and your customer/ prospect during a sales presentation and it might lead to a sale.

Interviewer- Okay. I will think about it. (Objection- 1)

(Someone is going to think means he is not going to buy your product)

So, It’s time for CTA (Call To Action)

You- Sir, this amazing pen normally costs 6 Rupee but if you buy it today, I will give you for 5 Rupee.

(You just created an emergency. Let’s see how he responds.)

Interviewer- Well, I will buy it tomorrow then. Today, I don’t have money/ change. (Objection-2)

You- Sir, I won’t mind if you pay me tomorrow. But I want to see you getting benefitted from today. So, please have the pen. Pay to me tomorrow.

(What will he say, now? No, I don’t want to get benefitted from today?)

He will buy the pen.


Credit:
This answer is copied from Barun's answer to the same question on quora.

Netflix's Pricing experiment for Indian audience

Indians love to buy 'Less', and buy 'More Often' - is a well-researched-and-acknowledged fact - This is the reason that sachets of shampoo / tea / hair-oil / etc. are the hottest selling commodities in India. the BIG NEWS is that even the World’s largest OTT platform; with 140M users worldwide; 'Netflix' is experimenting with this fact in India.

OTT = Over-the-Top media services.
Over the top is a term used to refer to content providers that distribute streaming media as a standalone product directly to viewers over the Internet, bypassing telecommunications, multichannel television, and broadcast television platforms that traditionally act as a controller or distributor of such content.

Netflix is to introduce Rs 65/week plan in India (This plan will allow access of Netflix only on mobile phones).

Netflix is the costliest OTT platform in India - Netflix’s actual plans start from Rs 500/month, and goes upto Rs 800/month, depending on the access of screens, and quality of videos.

India’s #1 player 'Hotstar' charges Rs 199/month
India's #2 player 'Voot' charges Rs 199/month
'Amazon Prime' charges Rs 129/month
'Zee5' charges Rs 99/month
'AltBalaji' is cheapest with Rs 100/3-months

No other country has a weekly plan as of now, except for India - And if this experiment works, it can change the entire dynamics of OTT in India.

Last question:
Should Netflix further lower their plans for India?

I think 'YES'. But, some experts believe otherwise:
Netflix isn’t interested in getting into price wars at all - It is going for a premium pricing strategy backed by good content. Dropping prices may get Netflix market share but it will be a one-way street and they will never be able to increase prices if they start dropping prices in response to competition. Also, at Rs 500/month their plans may be a less competitive rate when compared to other streaming platforms, but it’s still less than the price of two tickets at a multiplex - Moreover, it would be an over-generalisation and simplification to call all Indians price-sensitive. The market which the likes of Netflix caters to isn’t necessarily reflective of broader India and therefore isn’t that price conscious and this group is now hooked to Netflix and will take a membership even if the pricing goes up.



Credit:
Trak.in/tags/business/2019/04/06/netflix-launches-rs-65-plan-for-india-is-this-a-sachet-experiment-for-netflix/
En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over-the-top_media_services
Qz.com/india/1525269/amazon-prime-hotstar-rival-netflix-didnt-raise-prices-in-india/
Impawards.com/

How to become a Product Manager at Google

Email from Google’s Recruiter to a PM candidate

As an overview, our PM’s bring to fruition new products and features that genuinely benefit our users while at the same time make good business sense. They act as general managers of our products, providing leadership across functional teams to conceptualize, build and deliver Google‘s next great app. PM’s find our entrepreneurial culture to be exciting and challenging, because they are never stuck maintaining an existing product, but are instead focused on developing new product ideas and strategies.

We have openings across all of our products in areas such as Consumer, Mobile, Apps, Enterprise and Infrastructure to name a few. As a brief outline, we have an agnostic interview process in which we aim to hire PM “generalists”, who may have niche experience but can easily float through our evolving product lines. We find this keeps our Product Managers fresh and with distributed, homogeneous experiences for our project teams. So, in a nutshell, we do not hire for a specific product, but rather, are seeking generalists who can work on multiple products. As such, you’ll interview with PM’s working on any number of our various products. At a later point, our leadership reviews your interests, background and interviews to identify relevant projects that align with business need.

What to Expect

There are five components to the Google product manager (PM) interview:

Product design.
Google PMs put users first. PMs are zealous about providing the best user experiences. It starts with customer empathy and always includes a passion for products, down to the smallest details. They can sketch a wireframe to convey an idea to a designer. Sample questions include:
How would you improve Google Maps?
How would you reduce Gmail storage size?
How would you improve restaurant search?
What’s favorite Google product? What do you like or not like about it?
If you were to build the next killer feature for Google, what would it be?
You’re part of the Google Search web spam team. How would you detect duplicate websites?

Analytical.
Google PMs are fluent with numbers. They define the right metrics. They can interpret and make decisions from A/B test results. They don’t mind getting their hands dirty. Sometimes they write SQL queries; other times, they run scripts to extract data from logs. They make their point by crisply communicating their analysis. 
Some examples of analytical questions:
How many queries per second does Gmail get?
How many iPhones are sold in the US each year?
As the PM for Google Glass ‘Enterprise Edition,’ which metrics would you track? How do you know if the product is successful?

Cultural fit. 
Google PMs dream of the next moonshot idea. They lead and influence effectively. They have a bias for action and get things done. If Google PMs were working anywhere else, they’d probably be CEOs of their own company. 
Sample questions to assess cultural fit:
Why Google?
Why PM?

Technical.
Google PMs lead product development teams. To lead effectively, PMs must have influence and credibility with engineers. During the final round (aka onsite) interview, a senior member of the engineering team will evaluate your technical competence. Be prepared for whiteboard coding questions at the onsite interview. 
Example questions include:
Write an algorithm that detects meeting conflicts.

Strategy.
Google PMs are business leaders. As a result, they must be familiar with business issues. It’s not necessary for PMs to have business experience or formal business training. However, they do expect you to pick up business intuition and judgment quickly. 
Sample interview questions include:
If you were Google’s CEO, would you be concerned about Microsoft?
Should Google offer a Stubhub competitor? That is, sell sports, concert, and theater tickets?

Also
Be prepared for behavioral interview questions such as Tell me a time when you had to influence engineering to build a particular feature. Google PM interviewers are relying more on behavioral interview questions in recent months.

What Not to Expect - Brain teasers, such as logic puzzles, are rarely used in today’s Google PM interviews. Google’s HR department found a low correlation between job performance and a candidate’s ability to solve brain teasers. 
Examples of brain teasers include
I roll two dice. What is the probability that the 2nd number is greater than the 1st?
What’s 27 x 27 without using a calculator or paper?

However - Hypothetical questions have not been banned at all. Hypothetical questions are imaginary situations that ARE related to the job. (This is in contrast with brain teasers, which ARE NOT related to the job.) Examples of hypothetical questions include How would you design an algorithm to source data from the USDA and display on Google nutrition?

How to Prepare

Here’s what I’d recommend to get ready for the Google PM interview:

Review tech blogs, such as:

Product design.
Practice leading design discussions using a framework. (Need a framework? Try CIRCLES Method™: LINK). Start with possible personas and detail use cases. Prioritize use cases and brainstorm solutions. Many PM candidates (wrongly) suggest solutions that are incremental or derivatives of a competitor’s feature set. The Google interviewers are evaluating your creativity, and they place a big emphasis on big ideas (aka “moonshots”). Inspire them with unique, compelling ideas.Drawing wireframes on a whiteboard will help illustrate your ideas. To practice, download a wireframing tool like Balsamiq. Also study popular web and mobile design patterns for inspiration.

Technical.
Coding questions are unlikely during the phone interviews. But if you are invited to an on-site interview, you must prepare for programming interviews. The technical interviewer does not expect your programming syntax to be perfect, but you should have sufficient mastery of technical concepts so that you can participate in technical discussions and help make technical trade-offs. I would recommend going over computer science fundamentals and practicing a couple coding questions. One of my favorite resources is How to Ace the Software Engineering Interview. Also be prepared to describe key technologies including search engines, machine learning, and MapReduce.

Analytical. 
Prepare for estimation questions such as How many queries per second does Gmail get? Get well-versed in product launch metrics and A/B testing, including interpretation of results.

Strategy. 
Use a framework to structure your strategy discussions. If you’re not familiar with strategy or frameworks, Porter’s Five Forces is a good start.

Cultural fit. 
Understand what it means to be Googley by reading Google’s corporate philosophy. Review Google’s Android design principles. Optional readings: Google’s visual asset guidelines and Steven Levy’s 2007 (but still useful) article on the Google APM program. Another optional, but more in-depth (and recent) perspective, read Steven Levy’s “In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives.”


Credit:
Blog.recruitring.com/what-recruiters-and-hiring-managers-can-learn-from-google-hiring-process/