Sharath Bhat
Creative Director / Advertising Writer

There’s good news from The Economist. A whole new meeting ground that will incubate innovations, intelligent infrastructure and human potential. Just the setting, for a collaborative marketplace in an ideas economy. 

From the vantage point of The Economist, innovative thinking and the advancement of good ideas can spur human progress. And this is really the objective behind a new series of events that brings together top thinkers from around the world. An event that will draw comment, debate and discussion on the most important ideas of our time. 

Setting the ball rolling
“Innovation: Fresh thinking for the ideas economy,” is the theme for the inaugural event being held at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, on March 23 and 24. Essentially seen as more than a discussion forum, the event has been planned and structured to fuse creativity with action. The multi-part, multimedia forum promises to be ground-breaking - opening new perspectives to innovation and innovative thinking. 

According to the organizers, “This event will expand and possibly overturn established thinking about what innovation is, where it comes from, and how to make it work.” The canvas here is Innovation, Intelligent Infrastructure, and Human Potential within an ecosystem that facilitates the cycle of development - from concept to implementation. 

Calling today’s top global innovators
The share of voice at this event will draw some of today’s most celebrated innovators, who will probe, explore, dissect and reassemble the process of innovative thinking. Their focus will examine historical milestones and the challenges of the twenty-first century.While the core objective is to define the constructs of an ideas economy, the organizers visualize a progressive ripple effect – improve customer relationships, develop new products and services, explore untapped markets and fine tune efficiency. Regardless of geography or industry, innovation re-defines the growth curve of an organization – it gives R&D a whole new dimension.

There's more information on the event at this link: http://ideas.economist.com

Sharath Bhat
Creative Director / Advertising Writer

Who is Scottie Callaghan?

Look up the winners of the World Latte Art Championship in 2006 and the Australian Barista Championship in 2007, and see who walked away with top honours. Today, the name “Scottie Callaghan” is known in the coffee hubs of the world as someone who really knows his beans.

Scottie has worked hard over the last eight years alongside some of Australia’s most reputed roasters, baristas and barista trainers – learning the art and the science of coffee that looks good, tastes good.

All the hard work eventually paid off. Here’s a quick line-up
from Scottie’s personal hall of fame.
2007 - Australian Barista Champion **
2007 - 9th place - World Barista Championship
2007 - NSW Barista Champion
2006 - World Latte Art Champion **
2006 - 2nd place - Australian Barista Championship
2005 - Sydney Barista Champion
2005 - Pura Milk Latte Art Champion
2004 - 2nd place - Danes Gourmet Coffee Institute
           Grand Barista Championship

I cut into Scottie’s coffee break the other day, to find out a little more about the man who can serve up the most perfect cup of coffee in the world.

1. Did you always want to be in the café business?
I think I was destined to work in the café industry, for as long as I can remember - I have always appreciated the importance of flavor.

When I was young, I would cook a lot for the family - traditional Australian dishes like roasts, porridge, Shepherd’s Pie - and my family didn’t mind when I cooked. These were humble beginnings in a large family of nine. Mum use to make porridge in the morning before we all got up, some mornings I use to beat her to it and make the porridge for everyone. Some might thing I was sucking up, but I honestly just loved cooking and I still do.

2. And what does work mean to a world champion? 
I work full time for Belaroma Coffee as their Coffee Champion, working on blends and barista training to make sure the coffee served in cafés that use Belaroma Coffee is at the highest standard possible. I also sell a range of packages to suit people’s budgets and then show customers how to be a personal home barista.

Before joining Belaroma, I worked as a consultant to cafés, baristas and coffee companies - teaching people the finer points of espresso preparation.

3. Do you share your magical trade secrets with people?
For the home DIY enthusiast, I offer a complete Home Barista package – this is all people need to make great espresso coffee at home. My personalised inputs here include setting up the machine and showing customers how to make a great cup. This can be invaluable as it helps people skip the minefield of department stores with lines of espresso machines and no one to tell you what to buy and how to use them.

At another level, baristas also need a guiding hand. And I go to great lengths in helping baristas make a better cup of coffee, at their café or place of work. My orientation is in-depth - right from the basics of grinding, dosing, extractions and milk texturing, to the overall appreciation of high quality espresso. I help them acquire a knowledge base that will be useful on the job.

4. What does a barista need, to earn his stripes?
A natural feel for the sensory aspects of making coffee and familiarity with technical aspects that can get the optimum out of machine and process. A little understanding about the roasting side of coffee also goes a long way in honing skills. According to me, what tops it all is a deep understanding of customer service – and this can take years to learn because it involves people skills.

5. Should barista’s competitive spirit aim at winning prizes?
I guess prizes are not everything but who am I to comment? Barista competitions have been great for me - I have learnt a great deal, met great people, travelled all over the world and built a business on the back of my prizes. But there are baristas who are brilliant at what they do and make a great living for themselves – without entering competitions.

6. What are the five key tips to making good coffee?
A great cup of coffee is an awesome experience; a bad cup of coffee? Well after the good one, one might say, "That's not coffee."

So here are five tips that can be useful. Tip One: Always buy freshly roasted coffee - look for a roast date not a use-by date. Tip Two: Buy a good grinder - if you want to make truly great coffee, you need to grind the coffee fresh. Tip Three: Keep your machine clean, which means regular cleaning and maintenance. Tip Four: Adjust the grind to achieve a correct espresso pour. Tip Five: Before you adjust the grind, make sure you achieve the correct dose.

7. Over these years, have you invented any tools for the trade?
I always tell people that the correct dose can make a big difference to taste. And what I mean by that is how much ground coffee to put into your filter basket (the handle that inserts into the espresso machine) and the importance of dosing the same amount for every coffee you make. With my experience in the field, I have come up with some tools that will help users achieve a correct dose and be consistent - cup after cup after cup.

8. Do you make a beeline for espresso bars on your holidays?
The coffee industry is full of beautiful people who I have been privileged to get to know. And I have been fortunate enough to get to travel. Over the last two years I have been to Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Tokyo, London, Singapore and Canada. And I have been able to stop by at some of the best cafes and espresso bars in the world - like Café Europa in Copenhagen or Monmouth Coffee in Covent Garden, London.

9. Is there an interesting offbeat café that comes to mind?
Café Lambre in Tokyo, a small café owned by a 93 year old man named Sekiguchi-san - my all time favourite café owner and one of the true legends of the international café scene. I once asked Sekiguchi-san what he thought of espresso. Waving his hands in the air, he started with an aghhghhghhgh!! “When you are making coffee, everything should be done by the hand - not a machine. Coffee needs to be treated with respect, not with all these electronic gadgets.”

10. Scottie, is there life beyond being a barista?
Oh yes, there is. I am in the middle of a great book called Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts - a great read about someone who escaped from prison in Australia and fled to India. I also love snowboarding and wakeboarding; I have spent many weekends out on the Hawkesbury on my friend’s boat. And a great weekend for me would be to go shopping for grocery, veggies, fish or meat - and other bits and pieces. I then get home and cook for friends, with a glass of red to keep me company before my friends arrive.

If you want to invite Scottie to your part of the world
to organise a training program or just give your boys
some pep talk, here’s how you can reach him.

Scottie Callaghan
ph 0405117991
fax 02 8399 1450
email 1 -  scottie@scottiecallaghan.com
email 2 -  info@scottiecallaghan.com
www.scottiecallaghan.com

Image source : Scottie Callaghan

Sharath Bhat
Creative Director / Advertising Writer

 “Cards of Change” is a transit portal for people who get the pink slip. It was launched recently by a small team that left TBWA/Chiat/Day in Los Angeles, California. Tom Van Daele, former creative director at TBWA/Chiat/Day, and founder of Unknownlab, is behind this unique concept that puts people back on the re-hire radar.

I liked the branding around this exercise and how re-cycling your old card becomes the first step to a new tomorrow. When someone gets laid off, he usually has a stack of business cards that would normally go into the shredder. Tom’s advice to people is not to do that in a fit of anger and frustration. And that’s where “cardsofchange” comes in.

What you first have to do is strike-through the contact information on your old card, pencil in your new digits and add a small mission statement for good measure. Next, scan the card or take a real close-up picture; that’s the image you need to upload when you sign up at the “cardsofchange” portal.

Once your card goes online, it’s part of a gallery that employers and head hunters can access for potential re-hires. Your link on “cardsofchange” can also be shared across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Digg, Reddit and other social networking sites.

Unknownlab is a strategic and creative partnership bringing together award-winning marketers, creative entrepreneurs and technology executives. Unknownlab leverages emerging design and technology talent, marketing innovation and product development and uses it to push brands forward. Unknownlab drives business through innovation. Innovation that drives conversation. Unknownlab is founded by Tom Van Daele, previously Creative Director at TBWA\CHIAT\DAY. Unknownlab is headquartered in Santa Monica, California and operates around the world to offer a global mindset paired with local, cultural integration.

I mailed Tom to find out more. This article has excerpts of the chat I had with Tom, on the “cardsofchange” launch.

Related links:

http://www.cardsofchange.com
http://www.unknownlab.com

By Sharath Bhat
Creative Director / Advertising Writer

I had a very interesting session at Text100's Bangalore office the other day. Basically, shooting the breeze on the best ways to get a group of bloggers together, for an event to showcase a client’s products or services.

One of the difficult things about a bloggers’ meet with a corporate agenda is the actual handling of the event - especially in terms of presentation logic. It can’t be orchestrated, or formal. It can’t be to a script. And it can’t be blow-dried.  It has to be open-ended and  freewheeling – with no timers set on presentations and discussions.

After all is said and done, you want them to get back home and do a story on their blogs. Though you can’t enforce or ensure that this happens, you can sincerely hope they will.

Here are some of the guidelines we discussed at this compact, seminar-like session that had the entire boardroom full, with eager participants from Text100’s Bangalore office. I have added to the guidelines discussed, to make this post a fairly comprehensive check-list.

- Plan the event carefully in terms of venue and F&B; this has to be nice and easy – not even remotely reflect a press conference format.

- Work towards a first level list of 35 bloggers and start a good two months before the event; one month’s lead time will cut things really fine.

- Use Google intelligently and pick bloggers who are relevant to your client’s product or service category; you need bloggers based in your city for a local meet.

- Get a good mix of age groups and writing styles; you will achieve uniquely different  ways of approaching the same storyline.

- Share your core list of bloggers with your client; useful to get their approval and feedback on your first set.

- Once you’ve got an OK, send out mailers at least 15 days in advance; talk about the event and check out if the bloggers are available in terms of time and date.

- As you countdown from Day 15, you will notice your list getting shorter and shorter; there could be more than one legitimate reason for this. (Including : Need to baby-sit my son – wife’s out of town.)

- Once you have your final list in place and all confirmations wrapped up, personalize the event; get participant names printed on label tags and place- holders.

- Plan the actual roll out carefully; there’s got to be enough time after the presentation, for bloggers to interact with the team and test drive the products.

- If senior executives from the client side are present, encourge them to interact with the bloggers; helps break the ice.

- When you’re planning your menu for the event, get blogger responses on whether they’re “vegetarian” or “non-vegetarian”; very, very useful.

- When the presentations are through, hand over a file folder with brochures, white papers and technical information on the products showcased; very, very useful.

- The file folder that you give each blogger should have a business card of the person who could be contacted for images of the event, or more information.

- Also hand over a thank you card and a small meaningful gift; a small gesture that says: Thank You For Your Time.

- After the event, send another “Thank you for your time” mail to each blogger; tell them you’re keeping the lines open for any assistance that they may need.

- If a blogger has indeed covered the story on his blog, send another “thank you” mail. Better still, give him a ring.

- Keep in touch with your core team of bloggers, at least once in two months; helps you profile your bloggers better for your next assignment. Could also help you widen your network.

PS: If some of the bloggers on your list can’t come for some reason, have an exclusive session for them at your office; you just can’t lose out on your core set. However, this can be done without the frills – just make sure you plan a decent lunch, instead :)

Click here for my earlier post on the bloggers' meet organised by Text100.

Pictures below, taken during the brainstorming session at Text100, Bangalore

The message is this: Help us design this billboard

By Toni Fitzgerald
Jun 4, 2009

When it comes to billboards, we're used to signs with big letters that shout out the advertisers' messages. But sometimes the best message is the one with few words that gets across a far bigger statement.

One such board is up in Albuquerque, and at first glance it appears to have no words at all. It's just plain white.

But look down in the right corner and you see these words: "Help us." Right below is the red ribbon associated with AIDS awareness and a web site, DesignThisBillboard.com.

The billboard, which went up on May 8, was created for New Mexico AIDS Services by Esparza Advertising of Albuquerque for the group's annual AIDS fund-raising walk.

And the aim is not just to get folks to turn out for the walk but to build a real sense of community support for the group and the movement, both among longtime supporters and the public. Thus the billboard is asking people to kick in not their money but their creativity.

It is a call to activism of that sort that has defined the AIDS movement from its earliest days, from sewing patches for the AIDS Memorial Quilt to demonstrating for increased funding. 

"In addition to the outdoor board and web site, the campaign was promoted through email blasts to NMAS core supporters, a list of approximately 400 people," says Karen McCallum, media director at Esparza.

"Those supporters were then encouraged to share the project with others using email and social mediums such as Facebook."

When any visitor logs onto the web site, they can choose one of eight footprints, such as a boot, sandal or clog, to affix to an AIDS Walk banner that will eventually become another billboard. That will go up shortly before the walk on June 14.

Visitors can also add a few words to be displayed online along with their footprints, such as a tribute to a friend who has died from the disease.

"New Mexico AIDS Services wanted to get their core supporters excited about the upcoming AIDS Walk and to encourage them to recruit others to the cause," says Tiffany Hobson, Esparza director of accounts. "So since the campaign had a limited budget, the idea was to create something that the core supporters could easily share with everyone in their circle – to turn these otherwise passive supporters into active recruiters for the cause."

The billboard site has already received hundreds of submissions. The cost of the campaign was minimal, just $3,000, and New Mexico AIDS Services has reported an increase in donations compared to the previous year.

www.designthisbillboard.com
Check out the link on the billboard.
One of the most amazing creative rollouts
I have even seen. Sharath Bhat

This article has been featured on this blog with prior permission
from Gene Ely of Media Life Magazine.

Link back to article on Media Life Magazine

By Sharath Bhat
Creative Director / Advertising Writer

I now see a new and encouraging trend in a company’s efforts to be visible in the marketplace. And I’m not talking about press, outdoor, film or television. The new recipe has carefully hand-picked ingredients that can even get a steak to sizzle : bloggers. Bloggers, specially invited to a freewheeling session that is informal, interactive and informative.

My invite gave me a sneak preview of two new Lenovo products. The new IdeaCentre A600 and IdeaPad Y650 – just off the blocks from the Lenovo launch pad.

One of the difficult things about a bloggers’ meet with a corporate agenda is the actual handling of the event - especially in terms of presentation logic. It can’t be orchestrated, or formal. It can’t be to a script. And it can’t be blow-dried.  It has to be open-ended and  freewheeling – with no timers set on presentations and discussions.

I wanted to understand the thinking behind the bloggers’ meet and here’s the overview I received from Karthik S - Account Director at Text100.

 “Lenovo believes in the rise of micro-influencers amidst conventional macro-influencers that includes traditional mainstream media. After a recent bloggers’ meet in Hong Kong we were buoyed by its results and decided to extend the idea to India. The idea of hosting it at a youthful café was to make things very, very informal - we did not want this to seem like a press conference.”

The youthful café, was Café Mocha on Lavelle Road in Bangalore. And as I walked in with fellow blogger Ravi, I found key executives of Lenovo and the entire PR team from Text100 welcoming bloggers and ushering them in.

Poornima Matthan, Country Head of Communications at Lenovo started proceedings by welcoming the bloggers and placed the spotlight on the main event – the much awaited curtain raisers on the IdeaCentre A600 and the IdeaPad Y650.

The first product showcased was the IdeaPad Y650 and the presentation here was made by Anand Subramaniam - 4P Integration Manager, Consumer Notebook Transaction Team, Lenovo India.  Everything about the Y650 was a jaw dropper – right from its defy- gravity weight index. Anand made the presentation highly interactive – encouraging the bloggers to touch, feel and experience one of the thinnest and lightest 16-inch laptops to hit the new world. (Everything you wanted from a laptop, in less.)

The second product under the spotlight that evening was the IdeaCentre A600 and the presentation was made by Alen Jose, Product Manager - Consumer Desktops, Lenovo India. Alen Jose is one showman, who knows his product inside-out and he took that session to dizzy heights with feature callouts that held us spellbound.

The new, sleek IdeaCentre A600, described as an “all-in-one” has a 21.5-inch frameless screen and gives the weight-conscious, space-conscious and style-conscious a whole new metric – it measures only one inch at its slimmest point. Making it one of the most compact and slim desktops under the all-in-one banner. (I would call it a home theatre in disguise.)

A surprise visitor that evening, was Amit Mangwani - National Business Manager - OEM Business, South Asia, Intel India. Amit talked about fast changing skyline in product design and the technology behind the two products showcased.
 
After the presentations were concluded, the bloggers were invited to test drive the two machines and interact with the Lenovo team on features, specs, support and compatibility with typical user profiles. Providing a useful corporate backdrop at this session was Peng Yang – Director, Consumer COE India.

The evening’s presentations underlined Lenovo’s global perspective on new product launches: Keep pushing the limits of good design - balancing form and function, with a unique blend of design and engineering that sets Lenovo apart from competitors - giving consumers a new kind of entertainment and computing experience.

Handled by Text 100, this was one bloggers’ meet that rolled out smoothly. For me, the net takeaway was awe-inspiring - and how can I forget the food … now that was a lot more than blogger-friendly.

Some links where you could get more information on new products from Lenovo.
 
http://www.lenovo.com/news/us/en/2009/01/consumer_pc.html
http://lenovoblogs.com/connections/?cat=13
 

Sharath Bhat
www.indianink.in

Pictures below, taken during the bloggers' meet organised by Text100, Bangalore