Simba wishes everyone a happy diwali

Importance of visual story telling for the purpose of brand building

Whether or not you are a budding entrepreneur, it is not hard to understand the importance of brand building in today’s world of highly competitive consumerism scenario. If you are en entrepreneur, you can relate to its significance even more. In these days of bid data and know it all consumers (due to over exposure of information on the Internet) making an impact is no more as novel as it used to be even a decade earlier. In order to make an impact and generate/ sustain consumer interest/ attention, one needs to contrive something impactful.

This is one reason why modern marketing techniques so whole heartedly swear by visual story telling or info graphics as it is more commonly known as, to do the talk. We anyway know, that audio visual (graphics included) makes more of an impact than written content alone.

The rise of social media has been a boon to online marketing: this in turn has been instrumental in a large extent to influence the visual story telling form of marketing.

" Attention is the new commodity. Visual storytelling is the new currency."

-          Ekaterina Walter & Jessica Gioglio

-          Co-authors of The Power of Visual Storytelling

Reasons for rising popularity:

1.    In the age of bid data and information explosion, people do not have time to assimilate a lot of information and categorize/ classify them simultaneously. The window for pondering over a content has drastically narrowed over the course of the past few years. This is the reason why visual story telling has had a more profound impact!

              Visual content is:

           1. Crisp

           2. Precise

           3. Informative without bordering on

               exaggeration

2. The narrative is explained via images and pictures which the reader can relate to thus, helping arrive at the conclusion faster. It makes for a more attractive packaging which in turn attracts readership. Especially, in an age of social media boom, visual storytelling- online content marketing has proved to be vastly more effective when images or video are added along with well thought out content.

Take for example: 

This attached image makes it quite evident that the attached video and the static image is what draws readers on social media forums to get attached to this post which highlights the cute animated characters of Minions. The usage of the image of the minions here acts as the leverage to draw reader attention and then, uses it to share the news.

In comparison, the sharing of the news as simple written content would have failed to generate the instant attention that the sharing of the image of the Minions here does! If it is anything to go by, the number of likes and shares for the post here on Facebook quite helps establish the fact.

Social media shares new faster; and nothing goes around the social forums faster than craft fully woven content that marries aesthetics of branding/ marketing with intelligent and communicable content that the masses can relate. There is no place for the abstract or vagueness in any form.

Visual story telling guarantees that instant ripple reason online that could erstwhile only be dreamed of. And, it does help that you can go on to connect to the masses (teeming up to hundreds) in a fraction of a second or so.

3. It also goes without saying that visual content is a lot more click worthy and memorable.

For instance: you see an extremely funny image and an accompanying text; you are more likely to share it and remember it more than a plain body of text. Consider the above image here again. You are ten times more likely to remember it along with the accompanying message and maybe, refer to your friends than just a plain text highlighting the message!

4. Visual content is recyclable and can be also used across multiple forums and in various differing ways, which makes them even more versatile. At a given time, as an online marketer, your competition is the entire world. This is the reason would want to make an effect that is- spontaneous and impactful.

What better way than through means of audio visual that directly interacts and engages your audience and customer and helps you directly talk to them. Right. 

Bye bye Monginis

It used to be hub for all "burger" and Pizza" food fetishes before the emergence of Dominios and Pizza Hut. But it was known as Mongignis then. However, the fizzle fazed out since then. As a measure for reinventing itself for sustenance and a possible resurrection, the brand name was changed to Mio Amore. So, did it manage to reinvent itself as completely as it did its name?

Sadly, no! Which is a big disappointment! For people like me, who have grown up on Kathleen, Flurrys and Monginis, this dwindling state of erstwhile favourites (of Flurry's does not figure ion the latter list; it reinvented itself and how!!) is a tad bit experience. It just takes away with it that part of childhood which connected us to a lot of possibilities. 

Now, without getting too nostalgic, let me. The food here is below average; well mostly. That is when, they have supplies. Although they did manage to incorporate a few new items into their list, they are mostly unavailable or not up to the mark of what is available at most other food joints. 

The bread used for burgers are not soft but crumbly and hard and the patties are not always tasty. Although a few of the cakes and the custom made cakes are quite tasty; the pastries available at the outlets are definitely not! While at a time most confectioneries such as Afraa Deli, Mrs. Magpie and others are doling out such amazing treats to entice customers; sadly, Mio Amore lags behind.
If only it had as quickly reinvented its menu in sync with its image and brand name! 

The food journey

 A foodies' journey is often not very gratifying..the innate desire to taste and experiment with the gastronomical senses often causes riot with the wallet, the palate and the other bodily functions..Plus,
 no one seems to relate to the simple nuances that goes behind tasting new dishes, at new eateries and sharing reviews with fellow foodies! But, at the end of the day, the simple joy of tasting new delicacies and trying out new food stops is the ome great pleasure that comes out of this otherwise thankless hobby. I am a foodie and yes, my simple leisures in life count eating out and finding new places to eat at, although, often the outcome may not be very satisfying to both my taste buds as well as the metabolism system too, I am quite open to accepting this challenge.
I will therefore, share my food journey with you too and hope that my food jounrey will be able to help out in some way (if at all), to anyone reading this blog!
Cheerios! 

Amazing Australia: the famous cities of Australia that are a must visit for a holiday trip

Australia is a riot of colours woven skilfully upon a tapestry, with azure waters, snowy white mountains, red deserts, green ranches. The land has many credentials placed sordidly on its mantle- it is a country and island continent. Surrounded by the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean on both side, the island has some of the best beaches to flaunt on its travel brochure.

It is a tourist paradise boasting of resplendent coral reefs brimming with exotic marine life, arid deserts, tall lush forests, blue-green waters, sun-kissed beaches, extensively long coastline, snow-capped mountains and magnificent cosmopolitan cities- these are but a few of the component that goes on to make Australia such an important tourism hub. Diversity is another name for this continent.

In fact, the cities play a definitive role in creating its cultural diversity and are great fodders for boosting tourism to this island continent. These hip cities, mostly established along the coastline are where almost 70-percent of the Australians reside. They are primarily what define Australia.

There are a host of cities vying for your attention but the more famous among them will find a mention here. So when you go ‘Down Under’, these are some of the cities to go see.

Sydney

The harbour city of Sydney is straight out of picture postcard. Flanked by turquoise Pacific Ocean and its coastline, the city has to its merit nearly 100 tropical beaches, some of the most coveted in the world like Bondi, Manly, Coogee. Many famous harbour, bays and rivers complete its topography, among which the Sydney Harbour and its adjacent bridge is a major tourist draw.

This good looking city has many other offerings for travellers. The Sydney Opera House, Darling Harbour, National parks, Blue Mountains, amazing night life, fine dining restaurants, and the effervescent lifestyles of the city’s dwellers, all make Sydney an attractive tourism package. The night-time silhouette against a blazing skyline is also among the salient charms of this picturesque city.

Canberra

Of course you cannot wrap up your Australian rendezvous without paying homage to its capital city of Canberra. The seat of all Australian hullabaloos, Canberra is set amidst mesmerising scenic natural beauty. Being a new city, it has only new age concrete architecture rather than any historical ones to claim ownership. Nevertheless, you will get the feel of the continent throbbing in the pulse of the city. While visiting this fledging, stylish capital, the liaison with your gastronomy will tease your senses and make it a cherished encounter.

Melbourne

This is the undefeated fashion and sport capital of Australia. There is a curious vibe resonating with the city. Sporadic zoos, national parks and aquariums spring in nooks and corners across the city. Colourful trams making way across new age set-up and the Billy Steam Train trip across Yarra Valley harks upon a time reminiscing the bygone era. Melbourne also has its share of history. The Melbourne Gaol is a historic memorial site where 135 people were hanged and the St. Paul’s Cathedral adds leverage to its historic appeal. Lastly, the city’s lively demeanour is a welcome charm to tourists who flock to it in hordes. 

Regression..the link to the past (literally!!)

The other day I came across a Facebook update by a certain friend of mind that stated that she had undergone regression therapy (not unlikely for a psychology student perusing her Masters). Being a psychology student myself, it isn’t a term quite unheard of. However, this certain post has got me all perked up, coupled with the fact that the Facebook update was tipped up with a quick read of Dr. Brian Weiss’ Many Lives Many Masters.

The book in itself was quite captivating and the idea presented all the more interesting because it is relatively unheard of till date. REGRESSION THERAPY…by means of which one can travel to different planes (or revisit) in their past lives in order to overcome a present life crisis.

The idea of gaining wisdom from knowledge about my past lives got me considerably excited and I began searching online more on regression therapy workshops conducted. After all, the lust of knowing what had being and connecting it to what could be is very alluring.

While talking at length on the same topic to another friend of mine enrolled for her masters in psychology, I developed a set-back on the idea that had somehow possessed me over the past few days. Elaborating about a workshop that she had attended on para-psychology, she described what the guest lecturer had stated while discussing regression. And it had a ring of truth in it that struck home. He said it is best that the past and present don't entwine to pave way for the future!

Our lives have been designed as such so that we have a broken link between the past and the present; it is for our best. So that we don’t get weighed down by the mammoth burden of knowledge accumulated over our past lives. On an astral level, if any of our knowledge is left incomplete and unfinished, it is certainly meant to be attained in the course of the present life without being hurried by the pressure of all the past lives bearing down on us.