WHAT CRICKET TAUGHT ME ABOUT SHOPPING?

It’s been over 100 days of us living through various stages of Lockdown and Unlock. More importantly, it’s been a century of days without live Cricket. In the absence of live sporting action of any consequence, thrills are cheap and mostly attained by keeping score of kitchen essentials and live-tracking delivery of groceries. Somewhere along the way, the twain merged and I found strange but stark parallels between the state of Cricket and various Retail channels. Here goes:

1.    E-COMMERCE = T20

What’s common between ordering a cheese filled Pizza online and watching a close T20 Cricket match in the middle of a working day? The Rush! It’s fast-paced, It’s exciting, it’s instant gratification, it’s inexpensive, it’s (more often than not) non-essential, but it’s a lot of fun.

In last 10 years, the growth in the share of attention, investment and popularity for both T20 and eCommerce has been unparalleled. One the one hand, Amazon’s market cap jumped from $50 Bn in 2009 to $1.4 Trillion while on the other, the brand value of IPL more than tripled from $2 Bn to around $7 Bn. While the numerical jump is just indicative of a trend, it doesn’t encapsulate the cultural shift both T20  and eCommerce brought to the arena.

Both T20 and eCommerce are considered as the future of their respective fields. Both offer ample opportunities to new players and both have relatively lower barriers to entry. An artisanal Greek yogurt maker has the same opportunity of success on eComm as Amul. This is not too different from the platform that T20 leagues provide to relatively unknown players by pitting them against the best in the world.

However, despite the stellar growth rate and valuation surge – both T20 and eCommerce account for lower contribution to their core universe than the excitement they generate. The contribution of e-Commerce to overall FMCG sales as of March 2020 is still 2.8% (1.9% in March 2019) as per Nielsen. In his career so far, Virat Kohli has played 281 T20 matches and faced 6614 balls. This pales in comparison to the 12552 balls he’s faced in just 86 Test Matches that he’s played so far. Even among bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah has bowled almost as many number of balls in just the 14 Test matches he’s played as he has in the 157 T20s he’s appeared in for his national & local team.

There, I said it! Online shopping is T20 - maximum noise, a lot of analyst interest but - least playing time.



KIRANA = TEST MATCHES

For a lot of people, watching a 5 Day Test Match or visiting the corner store for provisions handed over in unattractive packaging is a tedious chore bereft of excitement. For years now, there have been multiple obituaries written for the same, all premature. Announcements of any new format or the entry of a new player - 100 Ball Match, Omni-Channel eco-systems, Big companies entering - usually expedite the pace at which these doomsday predictions are made.

While there is some merit to the decaying growth and audience interest in these formats, the robustness of their model stands unquestioned. In the initial weeks of the lockdown, in March and April, the humble Kirana store kept it fed as eCommerce players struggled to find their f(l)eet. Even as the overall contribution is trending towards a decline, Traditional trade channels account for 86% of all FMCG goods sold in India. In fact, as per an EY survey, nearly 50% of the consumers have a more positive outlook towards their local kiranas and they are quickly becoming a trusted point in the local ecosystem.  

Similarly, Test Cricket in India and around the World, despite the lack of audience interest, still accounts for majority of the cricket played at grassroots level. The Indian Ranji Season, English County Season and the Australian Domestic Tests are more important to the supply pipeline for future international cricketers than T20 Leagues.

Beyond all the attention, it is the respect accorded to Test Cricket and Traditional trade channels by Industry Leaders and Top Cricketers that is likely to ensure its longevity. True greatness of both, a Cricketer and a Consumer Product is measured by its performance in these channels. No matter how popular the said artisanal Greek yogurt brand would be online, it is not successful until it’s available and sold at the corner store alongside Amul Dahi!  

Along the course, there will be the big changes like Day-Night Tests and Kirana tie-ups with Tech & Telco players for hyper local delivery. These will further cement their places in the overall scheme of things. Just the way T20 money is being used to keep Tests alive, chances are EComm giants will continue to invest behind Offline Retail and Traditional Channels for supply efficiency. 

So, Cricket has taught me Kirana is the Test Match! Still the toughest, still the least "popular" in terms of perception - most revered by players & real fans (FMCG companies, distributors and home-makers)

3.    SUPER MARKETS = ODIs

This brings me to the final observation – Supermarkets! They’re the ODIs of the Retail Channel. Both see an occasional interest from the audience. A visit to the Supermarket isn’t entirely out of necessity, but neither is it as non-essential as ordering a cheese filled Pizza. Watching a One Day International match and visiting a Supermarket provide maximum satisfaction when limited to occasions. Sitting through a bilateral ODI series is as cumbersome as going to the supermarket for just a bar of soap. The time and effort spent just don’t do any justice to the utility derived.  

Just like ODIs offer the player an opportunity to showcase both their hitting prowess and their technical finesse, Supermarkets are the perfect place for brands to sell their bestselling SKUs and test new variants. Supermarkets just like ODIs, do suffer from the “Middle Overs” lull during weekdays and have all the action packed into Saturday and Sunday like Power-play and the death overs.

Which is why for both ODIs and Supermarkets an occasion is most important for relevance. ODI needs events like the World Cup and Champions Trophy to stay exciting just the way supermarkets create retail festivals during Independence Day and Price-Offs to generate consumer buzz.

The Supermarket is an ODI - somewhere in the middle of daily needs and irregular indulgences, best enjoyed through occasional visits.

Life, is an Ice Cream

How often have we heard this, Life is an ice cream, enjoy it before it melts? Aplenty right? I’d always wonder, if there was ever more to it than the ‘time is precious, enjoy it while it lasts’ angle. So recently, I was enjoying the wonderful spread at Haagen Dazs’ outlet, when an observation made me realize the deeper meaning to this age-old cliché.

As the creamy fruity flavors burst in my mouth registering their presence one after the other, I wondered, what separated great ice cream from a good one? For, all the good ice cream vendors I knew used fresh ingredients, the best quality milk and international standard procedures. But what actually separated the better one from the good ones was their texture. It’s insanely important to understand, what actually works for Ice cream is the texture, much more than flavors. I could have the best burst of berries and the sin of a chocolate in my ice cream, but it’d all be lost if it weren’t thick, creamy and left a buttery residue in our palette that enabled the flavor to actually linger. The secret to great ice cream, I understood, lies in the texture.

This is actually where it all got more interesting. If thought about deeply, the definition of texture, is nothing but, the way it feels. So, the idea of greatness lies, not in the way we are or what we’re made of, but how we make everyone else feel. Mind you, I’m not saying what we are made of doesn’t matter, but the transition from Good to Great relies on how we make the others feel.

I’d once read a Zaheer Khan interview where he said, we know when Sachin Tendulkar is upset or angry, he takes a second helping of ice cream. Which brings me to the calming aspect of ice cream. Here again, it’s the texture that works. Another example would be, the same ice cream, kept in the freezer for too long would crystallize and despite the ingredients, its magic would be lost. Sachin Tendulkar, as a batsman made us Feel good. Not that there weren’t batsmen of his caliber, but a when he scored runs, the nation slept well. His greatness lay in making a nation feel good. That’s the magic of texture.

Some of the best brands on earth are not necessarily the ones that make the most advanced products, but the ones that make us feel good about using them. It’s not about the mystery of an idol at a temple. It’s about what we feel once we’re in the environs. Faith again, is a feeling. The most effective marketing communication and the most successful movies, are actually the ones that make us “Feel”.

So, the point of this observation was Life, as an ice cream, would be enjoyed only if we made everyone else around us feel good. A kind gesture, a genuine compliment, a thoughtful deed, some support and just being a good human being would go a long way in adding the texture to the ice cream that our life is. Ingredients make one good, but the Texture, will make them great. There’s a limited time for it. So enjoy this, before it melts or crystallizes, else, the magic would be lost.

IPL Rantings - Read at your own risk.

I do follow cricket with quite a keen eye and do so with an open mind towards all formats of the game. I don’t necessarily subscribe to ‘Test snobbery’, nor do I have any cynicism about the way ODI is going nor do I believe that the future of cricket is just about an orgy of fours and sixes. A cricket match is just like art, ‘art for arts’ sake’, they say, and each format, a different ball game altogether.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that The Indian Premier League does interest me despite all it's commercialization and innovation (although, I believe the only innovations done are new terms such as Karbonn Kamal Catches, Citi moments of Success and Cricketainment and of course, the MRF Blimp. However, more on that later. I enjoy a closely contested match, regardless of all the 'fixed/rigged' allegations for I have not much tangible to lose or gain anyway.

While the cricket is fine and as great as it can ever be, it's the entertainment that gets me agitated. The overkill of content packaging and 'expert' opinions, which comprise of a wannabe model, a Video jockey and ex cricketers who have forgotten the that it’s a contest of Bat and ball not, proverbs and idioms, and the pre-mid-post-anytime match analysis are actually masking the actual cricket rather than enhancing it. A classic case of the wrapping paper so loud that it takes the sheen out of the actual present. As for the ads, enough has already been said. The marketing heads seem to have actually lost their heads and if the game permits, they would even have an ad for every breath a player takes. For one it does look like I’m being served ads with some cricket breaks in between.

What amuses me more is the fact that brands associate themselves with completely unrelated things. For instance, hardly do I understand why a tire making company would have a phallic shaped blimp at each of the stadia and call it a technological breakthrough. It still makes some sense for they do have some association with the game and also sponsor a cricket academy in the country. But try understanding and explaining why a new mobile handset entrant wants to ensure its name is heard at each catch, and I’ll show you a spin-doctor. Try doing the same for DLF Maximum and Citi moment of success. At the end of it all you’ll be wondering ‘How does it make any sense?’ Now just when you're about to lose it, you have another mind numbing phenomenon. There does exist in actuality, a brand which sponsors 'Nothing', absolutely 'Nothing'. Max mobile sponsors the strategic time-out, during which nothing happens. I may not be a media expert, and perhaps that's why I yet haven't understood why a brand would want to be associated with nothing. Funny! That said, there is no denying that it sells, and there are a bunch of people cashing in on it. I, for one, have caught most matches in the city at the stadium and also followed a large part on TV and the Internet. So I can understand that at any given point in time, the demand for cricket in our country will always exceed the supply. This isn’t even my real concern with regard to the tournament.

My real problem lies in the puny tokenism that takes place in this jamboree. We got to accept that it’s a funny world when charity becomes fashion. All of a sudden it seems cool to be associated with some act of philanthropy so much so, that it forms an important part of the agenda. While the act is not questionable, the intent is. Karbonn mobile, for instance, donates Rs. 25,000 per catch taken during their Kamaal catch competition or whatever that is, for each catch taken. I don’t doubt their ingenuity, but why would I really want to see douche-bags attempting to make full fools out of themselves while trying to grab the ugly pink ball hit by a lesser mortal of a franchise? More importantly, does the company actually need to show such belittling benevolence trying to build brand recognition and presence?

It’s unnerving. What’s even worse is the Green Responsibility taken by the IPL fraternity this season. Certainly, Green is the color of the season and his here to stay. But, this one, has surpassed all boundaries, infuriated enough to make an indifferent and an easy going (plain lazy, if you must) me to have actually written the following to the IPL authorities by virtue of the Feedback section on their website. Here is a copy of the same. Informal it is, but rarely does irritation and anger vent itself formally.

To Whom It May Concern:

This is with regard to the green initiative the IPL has taken this season. While it sounds great, I wish to know what green acts have you being doing? For, My only rant against the IPL is the tokenism it undertakes. Green Initiatives. Ha! Despite a spate of Fireworks after each boundary, Blaring Loud Speakers and Corporate Helicopters Flying to and fro for one puny man, they proudly give a stupid green tip right before the toss. This does nothing to reduce carbon footprints. The only green I see is the outfield, which too is fast disappearing because of advertising signage all over. I wish to know if you'll are actually planting any trees or undertaking such acts to offset the carbon emissions created by this tournament so far. If not, then I wonder of what use is the globe you'll got signed by the captains of all franchises, apart from selling it off at yet another 'charity' auction.

Regards,

Mangalam Maloo.

Finally, the eternal optimist in me still says, things will get better. One Day, Cricket (don’t mistake it for One Day Cricket. The comma lies between one day and cricket) will be played the way it should be, and we shall all enjoy it the way it should be. But then again, what should be, would be only if what could be, would be.

Much Love

M