8 REASONS WHY I LOVE CHENNAI

1. Legendary personalities born here


First and foremost I am proud of the fact that some of the eminent people who have made a mark all over the world, who have created a history, who are popular universally are either born in Chennai or have been brought up here. These are personalities who have not only excelled in their field, but have done such great work that people look up to them and worship them. They have not only won millions of hearts but have earned love and respect world-wide.
Most of these personalities are people I truly admire and have been inspired greatly from.

Ace Music Composer – A.R. Rahman                            World-class actor : Rajnikant     
                       

                               

 Chess wizard  : Viswanathan Anand                      Indian Michael Jackson – Prabhu Deva

 

Successful woman Chairperson &                            Bold & Beautiful Bollywood Actress : 

CEO, Pepsico: Indra Nooyi                                                               Rekha                               

                       

Freedom Fighter/ Scientist/India’s 11th President, Great contributor to Aeronautical & Missile Technology of India: 

Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam

(Born in Tamilnadu, Aerospace Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology –Chennai)

2. Low cost of living

Despite the fact that Lonely Planet describes Chennai as lacking Mumbai's prosperity, Delhi's history or Bangalore's buzz, nobody can deny the fact that the cost of living in Chennai is lower than the other metropolitan cities. 

Life in the financial capital(Mumbai) comes at a premium and the hike in LPG prices will only strike another blow to Mumbai's affordability quotient among major cities. An analysis of the latest consumer price index (CPI) figures issued by the Reserve Bank of India reveals that the cost of living in Mumbai is anyway higher than the average of all-India cities.

 Mumbai emerges as a more expensive city than Delhi, Chennai or Kolkata, pipped in the price race only by Bangalore.

 Cost of Living Comparison Between Chennai and Bangalore

Indexes Difference

  

Consumer Prices in Bangalore are 15.70% higher than in Chennai   

Consumer Prices Including Rent in Bangalore are 16.30% higher than in Chennai   

Rent Prices in Bangalore are 20.04% higher than in Chennai   

Restaurant Prices in Bangalore are 24.29% higher than in Chennai   

Groceries Prices in Bangalore are 13.04% higher than in Chennai   

Local Purchasing Power in Bangalore is 12.54% higher than in Chennai  

Source : Numbeo.com

      

3.   Safe and  Sound place for women

Women in Chennai can feel safer about venturing out alone; government statistics are on their side. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report on crime in India in 2009, Chennai ranks 34th among 35 cities across the country when it comes to crimes and offences committed against women.

While Delhi, Hyderabad , Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Mumbai take the top five slots, Chennai is penultimate on the list, followed by Dhanbad. 

Source: Times of India – Eve-teasing-NCRB report

        

4. Marina beach

The grand and exotic beach located along the Bay of Bengal of the Indian Ocean extending to a length of about 12 kilometers that is one of the most visited beaches of the world. Golden sand, pleasant ambiance and a shimmering clean blue sea, well enhanced with a jogger’s track, various memorials and spectacular statues, food stalls and shops, aquarium and a lovers spot ; that is what Marina beach is all about

The beach along with its extra-ordinary features and offering many attractive recreational adventures like beach volleyball, beach cricket, is a perfect hangout for people of all ages. 

                                   


5. Food

Although I agree that the weather of Chennai is scorching and humid  almost throughout the year, the food here is to-die-for! Be it the appetizing Idly-Vadai-Dosai or the irresistible and lip-smacking and tummy-filling ‘Tamil Sappadu’ served on Vaazhai Ilai/banana leaf is truly a great feast and specialty of this city or perhaps the state. I am very fond of Tamil Sappadu!!

6. Temples

Located in Mylapore, Kapaleeshwar is a centuries-old temple renowned for its 8th century Pallavan architecture. According to legend, the temple is located on the spot where Brahma, one of the Hindu trinities, installed a Shiva lingam. Kapaleeshwar is dedicated to Lord Shiva, and also has the shrines of Goddess Parvathi, his consort, and the bronze idols of 63 Saivaite Saints or Nayanmars.

A striking feature of this ancient temple is its towering gopurams (towers) - typical of South Indian temples – visible from a distance. 

I have visited this temple, and its soothing and divine ambience has made my experience wonderful and heartwarming.

Another beautiful temple, which is the country’s largest  ISKCON temple built on 15 acres of land is  located at Shozhinganallaur, Chennai.

7. The IPL Team – CSK

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni  and coached by Stephen Fleming,is the most successful team in the Indian Premier League team so far. The team has won the IPL title twice in succession (2010 and 2011) and reached the play-offs every season. They were also the first Indian team to have won the Champions League Twenty20. The brand value of Chennai Super Kings was estimated at $53.37 million, making them the second-most valuable franchise in the IPL in 2011. And people from other cities, instead of appreciating the Chennai Team are merely jealous and talk ill about it –which disgusts me just too much! :/

8. Sensational Hits 

Regardless of the fact that the movie stars are "not that hot", I can’t be without mentioning the sensational hits that the amazing artists from this city have produced. 

The History creator – Why this Kolaveri Di

 Entertaining -Nakka Mukka :P

The impish –Apdi Pode

These were the top 8 reasons why I love Chennai, my birth place so much. You are welcome to share your list !! :)

CREATIVE ADVERTISING – PART 2

My earlier post was about the various appeals used in advertising and this one is purely about how advertisers beautifully blend the ad message with incredible creativity.
It has always been fascinating for me to observe, analyze and explore how different businesses from different industries market their products and services. I have learnt that since the year 2000 or 2005 probably there has been a phenomenal transformation in the ways marketers do marketing. Transformations not just in the way traditional marketing campaigns were carried on but in terms of adding up of a plethora of unique marketing campaigns as well, which are not just attractive but effective and mindboggling as well!
Here are some of the interesting types of marketing campaigns which I thought were worth sharing.

1. TRADITIONAL MARKETING

This is the picture I clicked  at the bus stand outside Ispahani centre, Nungambakam. I happened  to see this hoarding few days back and found it extremely catchy and impressive.

The series of Ramesh-Suresh tv commercials of 5star are annoying as ever. I din’t like the idea  of the TVC – Lost in taste, “Jo Khaaye Kho Jaaye”.  In fact the repetition of advertisement on channels was such a put off for me that I stopped eating 5 Star for several months. Yes can you believe it?? That’s the effect of a silly and annoying advertisement! But few days back, when I saw this beautiful  5star shaped hoarding, it got struck so much in my mind that I bought ten 5stars that very day. It definitely made a strong impact on my mind and changed my buying behavior.

2. AMBUSH MARKETING

Ambush marketing is one of the innovative ways of marketing. Ambush, in general, means “A suprise attack from a  hidden position”. According to Wikipedia it’s a marketing strategy wherein the advertisers associate themselves and capitalize on a particular event without paying any sponsorship fee. Some people criticize this type of marketing as immoral marketing.

Here are some of the examples of Ambush marketing.

3. GUERILLA MARKETING

Aah! This one is my favourite type of marketing campaign. It is a strategy wherein low-cost unconventional means(graffiti, sticker bombing etc) are utilized. The unique thing about this form of marketing is that is very interactive, and customers are targeted at unexpected places. The objective is to create an engaging and thought-provoking concept to create a buzz among people. I think companies should explore the opportunities of Guerilla marketing for their businesses in order to make the target group excited in an unconventional way.

Following are some of the examples of enormously creative Guerilla marketing campaigns. A lot of them are ad picks from my favorite advertising website adsoftheworld.com

4. ONLINE/INTERNET/WEB/E- MARKETING

It not only refers to marketing on the Internet but includes marketing done via e-mail and wireless media. This type of marketing is flourishing today, though there are a lot of security issues.

Remember these Katrina kaif slice ads which kept displaying on god-knows-how-many websites???!!

Another one - FANTAstic Flirting

My favorite again - Avengers online marketing

5. VIRAL MARKETING

There cannot be better example  than ‘Kolaveri Di’ when it comes to Viral marketing. Apart from the gob spanking popularity of the ‘Kolaveri’ song just by a simple upload on YouTube, it is also marked one of India’s first super successful viral marketing campaign. People still don’t seem to get enough of this song in spite of its lyrics making no sense. The exceptional success of ‘kolaveri di’ is now being discussed in marketing sessions at leading management institutes. Professors feel the song is a perfect example of viral marketing which has created a huge difference in the world of publicity. Yeah...that's a well known fact now!!

6. E-MAIL MARKETING

E-mail marketing is a cost effective solution and a direct marketing of a commercial message to a group of people(current and potential customers) through electronic mail.

7. MOBILE MARKETING

Mobile being the fastest growing sector in India, advertising on mobile is becoming an acceptable model.

8. BLUETOOTH MARKETING

A very new form of advertising, Bluetooth advertising is a method of mobile marketing that utilizes Bluetooth technology to deliver content such as message, information or advertising to mobile devices. Bluetooth advertising is a permission based advertising, which means when a mobile device has received a Bluetooth message, the recipient has the choice to accept or decline the msg. The average range of Bluetooth advertising is 15-40 meters for most Bluetooth enabled devices, although with advances in technology, this distance is increasing to reach 250 meters or more in smart phones, tablet computers etc. 

9. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

I don’t have to say much. SMM has already created a lot of buzz in the world. The most effective and popular form of marketing which every business in almost every industry is now adopting with great interest is Social Media marketing. SMM is marketing of products and services on social platform or the social networking sites.

10. SOCIAL/ SOCIETAL MARKETING

Marketing campaign which addresses any social issue,i.e., for the society’s well being is Social marketing.

Ad message – SMOKING KILLS

Ad message – STOP AIDS

11. GREEN MARKETING

Marketing of products that are presumed to be environment friendly.

12. OUTDOOR MARKETING

Can I call it Bus marketing?? Well, I am not pretty sure. ;) :P

Minimum usage of content or the copy and brilliant visuals which themselves convey the message.  'CREATIVITY AT ITS BEST' is what I can call it! Some more of my favorite creative ad picks from adsoftheworld.com

 Ikea Furnitures

"Harry's bread. Nice and Soft."

"Save Trees. Trees save."

 "Thank God the zoom was invented..."

One of the best, by Seagram, that asks drivers to choose carefully between the two things.

Did these pictures quite catch your attention?? You can find a lot of other interesting ones at this website hongkiat.com. Think Out of the Box and be creative!!! :)