How NOT to Write a Research Internship Application!

After writing this up, I was in two minds whether to post it. But when I received an application that, quite confusingly, began: “Dear professor, my name is [your name]. I am a third-year undergraduate…”, I decided that time for this post had come. So here goes.

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Dear undergraduates,

Every so often, I receive an email from someone among you who wants to do a research internship with me. They are mostly alike. The ones I do take a risk on, by inviting for an interview and often taking onboard for a piece of work, are different, though. How? Those have a genuineness and care to the writing.

That set me thinking and I listed here, for your benefit, who to do and what not to do (the latter first) when writing a research internship email. This is all based on my experiences with prospective interns like you. Much of this is written in a light vein, in the spirit of laughing over one’s own flaws and picking up from wherever we are. I hope you have fun reading and applying this, because I had fun writing it!

So, here’s what to avoid in your email:

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“India’s social network” is tea. The question is, which tea?!

First published July 2, 2023. Updated Oct 31, 2023 with a) an edited version of the ad shared by Red Label (following my article?!), and b) link to relevant research article.

A recent advertisement projects the humble tea as “India’s social network”. The ad is probably trending by this time, and worth at least one watch. The customer insight is spot-on. The video portrays various ways in which tea takes the form of friend requests, likes, shares, trends, stories, and so on in India, becoming a social network in itself. Engrossed as we are in the narrative, we forget that this is a brand’s commercial. Finally, though, the very last shot tells us that the ad is from Brooke Bond Red Label.

Screen shot from the “India’s social network” ad (watch the full ad here)

Well, as I watched the ad play, my thoughts centred on the cup of Kanan Devan (Tata Tea) tea that I usually drink in the morning and evening… steaming tea in a steel tumbler… the quantity never enough but I never make more… I am happiest when that tea is fully foamy at the top… and when I blow on it a teeny bit, the foam makes space for the beautiful brown color beneath… if the color is the right shade, the tea will be the right taste… oh yes, the tea packet at home is nearly finished and I need to buy another of the green packets soon…

These and many other thoughts ran parallel to the ad that was playing. And so, when the ad ended with a visual of Red Label, the first thought that struck me was: I was thinking of Kanan Devan the whole time! Nothing in the ad would have helped me predict that the ad was by Red Label. For that matter, nothing in the ad suggested it was from any brand, and the ad could easily have been from the Tea Board of India, let alone brands such as Taj Mahal or Wagh Bakri or Tata Tea or any of the umpteen tea brands that fight for India’s throats.

Oh, well. Not good, says the marketer in me. If the ad does not unmistakably cue the brand, then why run the ad at all? Simple marketing wisdom says that the purpose of an ad is to strengthen the brand and/or drive purchase. But in the case of the Red Label ad, I am very likely to forget the brand, remember only the story, and even connect the story to a different brand, perhaps my favourite brand. Put simply, all this effort from one brand, and its competitor gets the benefit!

Understandably, brands that wish to narrate a story would not like to show the brand logo throughout the story as that could prevent viewers from being immersed in the story. A similar reason holds for not identifying the brand at the beginning of the ad: why spoil the story by bringing crass commercialism at the start? Then again, presenting the brand at the end of the campaign video poses a risk, as we see in the case of Red Label. (The whole issue might not arise if the brand is already identified, such as through a label on the YouTube video or search result. But consumers are not always paying attention to labels.)

So, can a marketer ever safely show the brand at the end? To answer this, we need to consider how the mind works. Product cues such as tea being consumed at a chai stall can spontaneously evoke “mental associations” – a collection of related information and memories such as product color, category, shape, prior consumption experiences, brands in the category, and so on that the consumer has built up over time. For example, a piece of chocolate could cue the purple color, the Cadbury brand, a recent purchase of chocolate, the taste of one’s favorite chocolate, and even the memorable Five Star “do nothing” campaign (watch it for fun, you won’t regret it).

When a product is shown without any brand information, the situation is ripe for the consumer mind to come up with related information and memories, which is very likely to include the consumer’s favorite brand and other top-of-mind brands. And so, the ad on “India’s social network” that shows many instances of tea itself and tea being consumed, and is thus replete with product category cues, triggers thoughts of a wide set of tea brands. By the time the viewer reaches the end, the Red Label brand hardly makes an impression.

Is there a way out? One solution is to cue brand in subtle way or in a manner that integrates with the story. Coca Cola’s recent art gallery ad does this very well. Another way is to use a story that cues the category very lightly or not at all. A Fevicol ad from 2019 that recently became popular uses this technique; the narrative is all about a sofa that passes hands for generations. By not cueing the category explicitly, the ad drives curiosity without crowding the consumer’s mind with brand names. Ads launched by market leader brands might not face as much a problem as other brands in the market.

The solutions above might not result in an ad that seems “ingenious” or “fabulous” as some social media comments have termed the Red Label “India’s social network” ad, but they will certainly help Red Label reap the benefits of its effort. And prevent the ad being attributed to Kanan Devan!

P.S. In carefully viewing later, I noticed that a product pack is indeed shown towards the beginning when Mrs. Masurkar makes tea. Very incongruously placed, though – in most kitchens, the tea packet is usually on the shelf, not the counter. The tea jar is what the customer handles every day.

Updates:

a) Red Label has uploaded, on Aug 29, 2023 – about two months after my article was posted – an edited 20-second version of the social network ad on its YouTube channel. (The original ad was uploaded Jun 29, 2023.) Interestingly, this edited ad starts with a shot that clearly shows the tea package (this was the very last shot in the original ad) and sports the brand logo on the top right throughout the ad. I would like to think that this is so because of my post and the subsequent discussions on LinkedIn! 🙂

b) The 2004 article ‘Do Not Wait to Reveal the Brand Name: The Effect of Brand-Name Placement on Television Advertising Effectiveness’ by William E. Baker, Heather Honea, and Cristel Antonia Russell in the Journal of Advertising examines the above issue in detail. The article is available at the journal website here.

From the gallery to the well: A Wimwian’s reflections on the journey from student to teacher

© Priya Narayanan, Assistant Professor of Marketing, IIM Kozhikode. Views are personal.

This article narrates the story of my academic journey, and my admiration for my teachers at IIM Ahmedabad, and was first published in Writing on the Wall (Issue 5, May 2023, page 53), the annual students’ magazine of IIMA. The full magazine is available at IIM Ahmedabad’s LinkedIn post here.

Caution: The article contains an inordinate number of references to I, me, and my, and is best suited for fans of Priya Narayanan!

Late in the summer of 2009, I officially became a Wimwian by enrolling in the PGP and received the keys to my room in the “dungeon” of Dorm 3, where the sun hesitates to enter and a sweater is needed even at midday in the peak of winter. What followed was a hustle of classes in the gallery seating of b-school classrooms – for the first time ever in my life, I was not on the first bench! – and a life packed with activities and placements. Later, the place felt home enough to return for a second stint, this time for a doctoral degree in a topic that had become my favorite over the years, consumer psychology.

Now, as I (try my best to) patiently ignore the sleepyheads in the classes I teach, I find a renewed respect for the faculty of IIMA. In my MBA students, I see myself – eager, anxious, frustrated, capable, enthusiastic, bored, creative, jaded but curious – and I feel a sense of responsibility. More than anything, I realize now the relief and pleasure when students laugh at a teacher’s jokes!

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In the second year of PGP, despite the usual RGgiri, RCP, and the boredom of soporific classes, there were some academic discussions which caught my attention. And Wimwi was a place where you explored whatever seriously interested you, be it cricket or music, or even research. I plunged into independent projects, exploring two topics that seemed to pose an endless set of questions – why did corporates have so few women moving to the top? And how could ecommerce managers engage customers both online and offline? (this was before Amazon and Flipkart, and well before TikTok!)

With the PhD degree came the power and responsibility of teaching, of having others listen to my words merely because I had moved from the gallery to the well. And so, every day I find myself dipping into the store of teaching styles and techniques that I had unconsciously picked up over the seven years that I spent at IIMA. There were teachers who excelled at orchestrating case discussions, at board-work, at connecting personally with students, at clearly explaining difficult concepts, and often, at all this and more.

Growing up in the midst of these teachers could be why I took to academia like a duck to water! Today I run original courses – one of which is titled ‘The CMO’s Playbook’ – which reflect both ideas and independent thinking that I must have first picked up while at IIMA. Today my research examines questions that are both highly practical and highly conceptual, largely related to consumer decision making and brands. In my research, I am also inspired by the several IIMA PGP alumni who occupy impactful positions in academia worldwide.

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Coming from IIMA meant that when I chose to sign up for a PhD, I neither looked elsewhere nor asked myself whether PhD was the right choice. After all, a good doctoral degree is never easy, either intellectually or emotionally. But the process is rewarding because a good PhD teaches you about yourself and gives you space to reflect about meaning and purpose, making you (feel) fit to provide intellectual leadership in your chosen domain.

Of course, being a teacher is as much about learning as it is about teaching. My confidence as a teacher and curiosity as a learner stem in large part from the years spent at IIMA, helping me in my attempt to be equally comfortable in the gallery and in the well. While the field of management education is evolving rapidly and the role of an educator becomes uncertain, the responsibility is not any less and I am grateful to my teachers. I hope one day to possess the generosity and humility that the best of teachers at IIMA so effortlessly convey.

Me e Mia: An Introspection into Brand Love

Part I: The Customer’s Perspective

© Priya Narayanan, Assistant Professor at IIM Kozhikode. Views are personal.

The other day, I shared a thought on LinkedIn on the Mothers’ Day video of a jewelry brand. Mine wasn’t a well thought out analysis, it was simply a spontaneous reaction to the content of the video. Writing the post, however, made me wonder: why did I care so much? Why was I so strongly unhappy with the ad? (The tone implied in “golden shoulders” surprises me now!)

Well, eight years ago, I on about this very same brand, on wearing the Tanishq Mia mantle of confidence.

Rereading that led to some introspection, which then led to the conclusion: I am in love. Yes, I don’t wear much gold jewelry but I love the brand that is Tanishq. Naturally, I felt the possessive anger that only love can lead to when Tanishq made a statement I didn’t feel good about or agree with. So says the marketer in me about the consumer in me. Me e mia. Me and mine. Me and my brand.

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To My Students – Soar High and Fly Far!

© Priya Narayanan, Assistant Professor of Marketing, IIM Kozhikode. Views are personal.

There’s a glorious joy in standing next to your peers, wearing the black robe, and receiving the degree. There’s a sense of two tumultuous years of struggle, fun, excitement, boredom, stress, success, and learning, all trying to bundle themselves into a few joyous moments.

On this convocation, as my first set of students graduate, it is no exaggeration when I say that I feel the same joy as I did over a decade ago. Of course, this time round, my joy is for all of you, my students, who made me a teacher. Because you created every moment that I have been a teacher.

You made me think, you made me laugh (and cry, believe it or not!). I doubted myself, then conquered those doubts, only to have other doubts come up. I became more empathetic, inclusive, confident, perceptive, all through your relentless training. And by now I have forgotten how I have also been irritated and desperate!

Thank you for everything.

Whatever you did as a student, whether you prepared or not, spoke up or not, turned on your video or not (!), I hope you gave your best. Because to give our best is all we can really do.

Soar high and fly far! The sky awaits with promise.

The sky on convocation eve at god’s own Kampus!

P.S. When you come back to campus, all grown up, do say hi because I fondly remember every one of you!

Stop Talking About Her, Talk About Her Work

What are the issues that women professionals face in their organizations? What are the benefits they bring to the organization? How can organizations bring out the best from their women professionals? Here is my take.

© Priya Narayanan, Assistant Professor of Marketing, IIM Kozhikode. Views are personal.

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Now that the Women’s Day hoopla is done, it’s time for sensible views on women in business. This article is a collection of lists: the real issues faced daily by women in business; the real value that women add, over and beyond what regular employees aka men add; and the real action that everyone in business can take to realize the potential of women for their business success, and for justice in its most modern form. The article does not provide any advice to women, as most women are already taking several steps on their own, and non-contextual advice is often less than helpful.

Here are some real issues faced by women in business, daily and cumulatively, presented as quotes modified from my observations:

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The Ferrari Formula: A Ferrari in Every Home. Really?

© Priya Narayanan, Assistant Professor of Marketing, IIM Kozhikode. Views are personal.

From a well-known brand of racing cars to a fashion brand label, Ferrari has come a long way. Yes, you read that right, Ferrari is now selling in-house fashion apparel. Here’s a video of the models on the ramp, oops, on the Ferrari production line. Are we witnessing the democratization of luxury, or is this just another unimaginative attempt to milk the market?

So, Ferrari seems to say: If you can’t buy the car, you can buy the jacket. Or at least a cap. But then you could always buy Ferrari merchandise earlier through franchisees. These branded products have been used in product placements as well. (A hilarious scene in the Bollywood movie Munna Bhai MBBS shows taporis whisking off a tourist – wearing a Ferrari red cap – to supply a personal cadaver for Munna Bhai, the doctor-to-be, to tear apart and learn.)

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Fighting Covid-19 with Corporate Nudges: Time for Businesses and Governments to Join Hands?

© Priya Narayanan, Assistant Professor of Marketing, IIM Kozhikode. Views are personal.

Recently, Krispy Kreme came into the limelight for offering a free glazed donut to anyone in the US who could show a covid vaccination record card. Other companies have also started offering freebies for vaccinations. What’s going on? Why should a donut company care whether people get themselves vaccinated? After all, conventional wisdom tells us that it’s the duty of the government and not private companies to ensure public health.

Indeed, Krispy Kreme has faced criticism for its initiative, because it is offering an unhealthy snack in the interest of driving a public health measure. But what else can a donut company do, especially when it is simply offering a reward for good behavior? As every parent would vouch, rewards are an essential nudge towards desirable actions. In any case, offering something tangible in support of the vaccination effort does seem to be better than capitalizing on the covid situation through messaging in the form of unproductive lip service as this Horlicks ad purports to do. Just as this Dabur ad once did by (insensitively?) showcasing loss of hair caused by cancer.

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Why Virtual Should Continue Even After it’s Not Needed. At Least in Academic Conferences

© Priya Narayanan, Assistant Professor of Marketing, IIM Kozhikode. Views are personal.

Recently I participated in the Association for Consumer Research (ACR) annual conference 2020 as a presenter. The ACR conference is a large and prestigious academic conference on research related to consumer behavior. The conference was held virtually in Paris. Participating virtually meant that one could not get the “feel” of a typical conference (which I will call a “venue” conference going forward). But it struck me that once I let go of my expectations of a venue conference, the virtual format was probably – no, definitely – more effective, at least for me. The virtual conference starkly revealed how costly venue conferences had been, when I counted the nonobvious costs of venue compared to virtual.

In this write-up, I have attempted to explain why, and hence make a case for all conferences considering going partially virtual even after the pandemic lifts. Towards the end I have given a set of options that conference organizers can consider when the pandemic has been managed and virtual conferences are no longer essential.

Note: this post is long, but is structured with numbered and titled lists for easier reading.

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