BUY WITH YOUR TIME

'Time is money' is an aphorism that was coined by Benjamin Franklin two centuries ago. It seems that IKEA Group is keen to prove it to its consumers .

In UAE, #Ikea gave consumers the opportunity to pay for their goods using time as a currency! Yes, that is right. 

Most Ikea stores are located far from the city centres and it takes lot of time for #consumers to reach the store. This is a pain point for consumers. Ikea understood this consumer insight and converted it into a delight for them. 

How?

Ikea put a certain time value to every item in their store. Consumers had the option of paying for those goods, using the time that they had spent in reaching the store. 

Check out this video to see more.

JAMES BOND - I AM WORKING

If you have been a James Bond fan and a regular watcher of the Bond franchise movies, you will remember the classic dialogue 'Shaken, not stirred' when James Bond is asked how he prefers his Martini. 

All of that started changing when #Heineken started associating with the Bond movies since 1997. However, James Bond himself was shown drinking Heineken only from the 2012 film Skyfall. 

Now, as the new #Bond movie 'Time To Die', which is set to release in April'20 starts its promotions, Heineken has gone a step further by showing James Bond drinking their alcohol free version of beer - Heineken 0.0, while working. 

They have released a new video, and in that you see Daniel Craig, dressed in a tuxedo, refusing the vodka martini that the bartender serves to him, and rather calls for a Heineken 0.0

"I'm working," he then says to the barman.

The ad ends with the tagline: "Now you can while working". 

You can see the full video here:

James Bond Heineken 0.0 Ad

DIWALI – A FESTIVAL OF…

Diwali is the biggest festival in India, celebrated by millions across the nation with great pomp and fervour. It is a festival that is awaited every year with lot of excitement.

While the general feeling is that Diwali is a festival of lights, which it surely is, one needs to analyze this a bit deeper to really put down meaning on what Diwali means for different people. Basis my observations of Diwali over the years, I am attempting to broaden the scope and definition of Diwali. Diwali is a:

• Festival of glimmer and hope for all the candle-makers and diya makers who try to earn a large amount of their annual income through their sales in the few days prior to Diwali.
• Festival of coming back home and enjoying home food for all those students who are studying in another land away from their homes.
• Festival of a holiday abroad for the families who head out of the country every year on Diwali as this is the time when the parents and the kids, both have a long enough leave to enjoy a good holiday.
• Festival of opportunity for all the trading communities, consumer durable companies, gifting companies as a large part of their revenues get generated during the 15 days preceding Diwali.
• Festival of socializing for all the la-di-dah ladies who attend various high profile Diwali parties across their friends.
• Festival of Glee for all the Teen Patti and Poker enthusiasts who emerge from various locations with Gaddis in their pockets and the illusion and belief in their head that it will be their day today and they would make a big kill.
• Festival of new beginnings for all the business and trading houses who start their new books of accounts on the day of Diwali.
• Festival of Welcome as the doors of every house is open to welcome Goddess Lakshmi as well as the guests who come to greet and meet them.
• Festival of splurging as saving money as a concept goes out of the window for these few days as it is the time of indulging yourself in new clothes, new products, new mobiles or anything else that you can splurge on.
• Festival of bingeing and weight gain as every house is filled with sweets and chocolates and it definitely goes and sits in someone’s tummy.
• Festival of Desire as everyone who sees people better off (whether in terms of the car that they drive, the clothes that they wear, the parties that they attend, the gifts that they buy) desires to such a lifestyle.

Last but definitely not the least, Diwali is a Festival of Money. It is a festival where money changes hands every minute and every second, where money comes to a few and goes from a few, where money defines the feeling and the mood of the people, where money decides whether it is really a prosperous Diwali or not.     

On that note, wishing all you readers a very Happy and Prosperous Diwali and a great year ahead!