Saturday 1 November 2014

Street Marketing



During my initial Bangalore days, one afternoon, I was walking on a busy street. I was in my formals; went for an interview that had gone really bad. All of a sudden a decent looking man approached me. He had a pleasant smile on his face. He was holding a brochure kind of thing. The picture of a bearded man in the brochure looked familiar to me. The man talked to me for a while. He was trying to convince me on something. It seemed he was a marketing guy of the very well known "Art of Living"

'What Art are you talking about, sir? At present I’m just struggling for a living. I am jobless and trying hard to get one,' I said to him.

'Oh! You are not working', the man responded and started to ignore me. 

'Is Art of Living, only for working people?' I asked.

With a charming smile the man disappeared into the crowd.




Some years later

I, my wife Anjali and my friend Sinha were walking on a busy Kormangala street, pretty close to Sinha’s house. Suddenly a smart looking guy blocked our way and handed over a brochure to Sinha, without saying anything and disappeared. Sinha had a look at the brochure and put it in his pocket. I was quite disappointed that the guy didn’t find a potential customer in me. Might be I looked more like a jobless fellow. I was confused that the guy even ignored Anjali. Ladies are by default potential customers and on top of that Anjali was quite well-dressed, well-groomed.

'What is it about, Sinha? I asked.

Sinha replied, ‘Nothing dude. Someone or the other would always give me something like this’

‘Wow! You look very wealthy. See how the guy neglected both me and Anjali,’ I commented and now, Anjali also started pulling Sinha’s leg. 

‘That is very true, Sinha, you look very wealthy,’ said Anjali and Sinha sighed. 

‘What is this about? Are there any offers? Show me the brochure,’ I asked.

‘Nothing dude, it’s not related to you guys,’ Sinha hesitated to show the brochure.

I and Anjali tried to have some fun, ‘It’s okay Sinha. We may not be as wealthy as you, but even we can afford to buy a few small things’

It continued for a few more minutes and then Sinha passed on the brochure to us. It seemed a new fitness center recently opened in that area. The brochure had many contents, including in bold letters ‘Lose 10 kg weight in just 2 months’

Well, the incident happened a few years ago. Now, both I and Anjali turned into potential customers for the fitness centers.

30 comments:

  1. You know how we respond to these situations is a thing to ponder on. These incidents mean nothing, yet they remain in our thoughts.

    www.volatilespirits.com

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    1. Yes, sometimes such small incidents remain in our thoughts. Thanks for dropping by Anupama!!

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  2. If I was in Bangalore i too would be standing there along with you in the list of potential customers :D

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    1. I must say, Bangalore is capable enough to make anyone a potential customer :) So, you still need lot of hard work to prepare yourself to be in the list of potential customers :) Thanks a lot for dropping by!!

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  3. Nicely written Jahid. Enjoyed reading it!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the post :) Thanks a lot for dropping by, Gowthama!!

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  4. Nice post Jahid..

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    1. Thanks Vartika :) glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for visiting out here!!

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  5. Very interesting ! But you didn't clarify why that "Art Of Living" guy wasn't interested in you ?

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the post, Rajat :) Well, nothing as such,usually marketing guys are not very interested in jobless fellows :) Thanks a lot for dropping by, dude!!

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    1. Thanks Gaurav :) glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks a lot for visiting out here!!

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  7. Hhahah...Every-time somebody tries handing me some beauty parlour's flyer or some cosmetic products brochure, my first reaction is (pointing towards my lacklustre face) - Do you think anything works on this this?

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    1. Aapke natural komal twacha ko cosmetics ki kya zaroorat? :) Hehe.. that was funny, thanks for dropping by Ragini !!

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  8. Your final ending made me smile. I too would have received that brochure to reduce.Lol! Loved that ending also love the way all your posts include something nice about Anjali your wife ! Very sweet of you Jahid.

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    1. Hehe glad you enjoyed the post, Nima :) Nice to know even you received such brochures :) Thanks for dropping by!!

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  9. Jahid, this is my first visit to your site. I enjoyed reading it. Very beautifully written. Kudos!

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    1. Thank you so much Usha ma'am :) Glad you liked my blog!!

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  10. So, is anyone walking up to you now with a new brochure or question?
    Interesting anecdotes.

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    1. Hehe Tomichan Sir :) it's quite common out here. Glad you enjoyed the anecdotes!!

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  11. ha ha hs=a that was fun,,,,,,,:-D

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    1. Haha glad you enjoyed the post :) Thanks for dropping by, Issac !!

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  12. I would have smacked the 'ART OF LIVING ' guy...
    This post left me with a smile.

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    1. Haha that means you need a 'Art of Living' course :) Glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for dropping by!!

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  13. What an amusing post. I could not help breaking into laughter.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the post Amitabha :) Thanks a lot for visiting out here!!

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    1. Thanks dear :) after a long time; thanks for dropping by!!

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  15. Well-narrated, Jahid :)
    Feels terrible to be ignored. But, not so terrible that the offer wasn't meant for us!!!

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    1. Thanks Anita :) glad you enjoyed the post. Sometimes we don't have to feel so terrible when ignored :) Thanks for dropping by!!

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