ISSUE 1 • OCTOBER 2020 GenZ Contents A Doggone Year 03 GenZ First IssueMarketing Heist 05 Brews of the Month 14 Gen Z and the end of "Purpose" 18 ct News 22 Vintage Fusion 23 Gladvertising 23 O 2020 A Doggone Year On the 24th of November, 1992, in a speech marking the 40th year of her accession, Queen Elizabeth II had famously 2020said, “1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an annus horribilis.” That year, in particular, was one which had witnessed a lot of turmoil in the royal family. One wonders what the queen would have to say about 2020, a year which has outdone every year in recent history and definitely not in the good sense of the word. For the advertising industry, this has been the harshest year in a long, long while. What do you do when consumers can’t buy? What do you do when clients can’t sell? But then, we work in advertising. It’s a creative business at heart. It’s an ideas business at its core. It’s a people’s business all the way. How long can any virus contain the heart or, for that matter, an idea that’s waiting in the wings? From total lockdown, to work-from-home, to countless Zoom and MS Teams calls, to blurring the hours of the day and endless days of the week, our teams across the Rediffusion offices rose splendidly to the occasion. 03 It’s not just the fact that we created campaigns, shot films remotely and even added new business in the middle of all this; what stands out is the fact that we had each others’ backs, we held each others’ hands, we worked in a more integrated manner than ever before and we were there for our clients, day or night. And that’s Rediffusion for us. The one maverick institution that has weathered storms of every kind and emerged on top. An institution that is packed with mavericks who simply refuse to give in. An institution that has thrived in the most difficult of circumstances. Our gratitude to the ones who have helped us put together the first edition of the Fusionist with so much love. Going ahead, on a monthly basis, The Fusionist will celebrate what we do best. With our latest work, viewpoints, insights, advertising & communication trends, industry news, humour and much more. We hope you will enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it all together. Rahul & Navonil On the 24th of November, 1992, in a speech marking the 40th year of her accession, Queen Elizabeth II had famously said, “1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an annus horribilis.” That year, in particular, was one which had witnessed a lot of turmoil in the royal family. One wonders what the queen would have to say about 2020, a year which has outdone every year in recent history and definitely not in the good sense of the word. For the advertising industry, this has been the harshest year in a long, long while. What do you do when consumers can’t buy? What do you do when clients can’t sell? But then, we work in advertising. It’s a creative business at heart. It’s an ideas business at its core. It’s a people’s business all the way. How long can any virus contain the heart or, for that matter, an idea that’s waiting in the wings? From total lockdown, to work-from-home, to countless Zoom and MS Teams calls, to blurring the hours of the day and endless days of the week, our teams across the Rediffusion offices rose splendidly to the occasion. It’s not just the fact that we created campaigns, shot films remotely and even added new business in the middle of all this; what stands out is the fact that we had each others’ backs, we held each others’ hands, we worked in a more integrated manner than ever before and we were there for our clients, day or night. And that’s Rediffusion for us. The one maverick institution that has weathered storms of every kind and emerged on top. An institution that is packed with mavericks who simply refuse to give in. An institution that has thrived in the most difficult of circumstances. Our gratitude to the ones who have helped us put together the first edition of the Fusionist with so much love. Going ahead, on a monthly basis, The Fusionist will celebrate what we do best. With our latest work, viewpoints, insights, advertising & communication trends, industry news, humour and much more. We hope you will enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it all together. Rahul & Navonil Joint Presidents 04 Marketing Heist What Marketers Can Learn from Money Heist Navonil Chatterjee From Nairobi to Rio, Berlin to Moscow, Denver to Helsinki, Tokyo to Oslo – around the world, one word has changed from being a common noun to a proper noun – and that word is ‘Professor’! The first association for anyone with the word Professor today is that of the intelligent yet enigmatic, ruthless yet romantic, fearless yet vulnerable lead character of Netflix’s most in-demand show in the world, Money Heist. What makes the story of a band of bandits so endearing? What is it about these con artists that makes everyone fall in love with them? In the day and age of content marketing, we chose to look at the world’s favourite content to see if the rules of engagement have really changed. What is it that truly connects with audiences? Are there new lessons that marketers can learn and imbibe from such a globally popular show? Or does the success of Money Heist reiterate and reinforce the evergreen effectiveness of the same basic principles? The makers, crew and cast of Money Heist have come to the conclusion that it is the following 9 factors that are responsible for its resounding success. I submit following these same principles can help do wonders for your brand too. 1. Power of Passion Despite the story being based in Madrid and having a global ensemble of characters, the makers had decided that the show will be ‘Latino’ in spirit. Passion makes the world go round and when something is made from the heart and made with passion, it shows. Look at some of the most loved brands in the world like Apple and Nike- and you know that the people behind these brands are passionate about what they do. In fact, you cannot get yourself recruited at Nike without having sports in your blood. And it is obvious that these companies not only make their ads, but also their products with a whole lot of love. Which shows and which even consumers get. 2. Allure of the Unpredictable The Money Heist mantra has been to never let the viewer relax and to keep him on the edge continuously. It is unexpected from the start and in Tokyo they have a character who is their Sputnik, their fuel for a good script, 06 The first association for anyone with the word Professor today is that of the intelligent yet enigmatic, ruthless yet romantic, fearless yet vulnerable lead character of Netflix’s most in-demand show in the world, Money Heist. What makes the story of a band of bandits so endearing? What is it about these con artists that makes everyone fall in love with them? In the day and age of content marketing, we chose to look at the world’s favourite content to see if the rules of engagement have really changed. What is it that truly connects with audiences? Are there new lessons that marketers can learn and imbibe from such a globally popular show? Or does the success of Money Heist reiterate and reinforce the evergreen effectiveness of the same basic principles? The makers, crew and cast of Money Heist have come to the conclusion that it is the following 9 factors that are responsible for its resounding success. I submit following these same principles can help do wonders for your brand too. 1. Power of Passion Despite the story being based in Madrid and having a global ensemble of characters, the makers had decided that the show will be ‘Latino’ in spirit. Passion makes the world go round and when something is made from the heart and made with passion, it shows. Look at some of the most loved brands in the world like Apple and Nike- and you know that the people behind these brands are passionate about what they do. In fact, you cannot get yourself recruited at Nike without having sports in your blood. And it is obvious that these companies not only make their ads, but also their products with a whole lot of love. Which shows and which even consumers get. 2. Allure of the Unpredictable The Money Heist mantra has been to never let the viewer relax and to keep him on the edge continuously. It is unexpected from the start and in Tokyo they have a character who is their Sputnik, their fuel for a good script, someone who is capable of blowing away any kind of situation and changing the course of events. There is unexpectedness even in the fact that someone like the Professor, who is a nerd, a sociopath and a bit of a loser can create something so huge despite being so regular! Brands too need to keep themselves fresh BrandsBrands too too with new twists and turns when it comes to their products, their offerings, their services needneed toto keepkeep and their communication.