On-street Value
By Harish Bijoor
How rich and prosperous is a city? Is there a quick measure and metric for this one?
Is a city defined to be prosperous basis the number of cars its citizens buy? Or by the ownership pattern of homes? Or by the investment profiles represented by the stash in their banks as cash or in their lockers as paper securities and gold on hand?
Having spent a fair bit of time with macro-economic data that talks of prosperity indices that are complex and aggregated to a country, I have been in the quest for a measure that is true-blue micro, true-blue representative and true-blue comparable across cities and economies, never mind the color of their politics.
Being as rustic as I am, I have always wanted to get at it simply rather than look at complex numbers that boggle more than answer right. One measure that serves me right and serves me well, particularly after using it across cities in India (21 to date), and across cities from some 17 countries (Eastern Bloc cities included), the On-street value method is a great way to go.
What does this method do? It very simply looks at the on-street value of the citizens of a city and does a quick valuation of the various commodity items and brands carried on the persona of an individual on the street.
Take for instance Bengaluru. Hit the street and pick a whole cross-section of people off the street for an assessment. Pick from bottom to top. Pick up an auto rickshaw driver, a bus conductor, a newspaper hawker, the driver of a BPO van, the cook at a local dhabha, the pan-wallah at the street corner, the BPO employee in a hurry either to or from office, the Tech-worker from an end-to-end services enterprise, the bank clerk, the tinker, the tailor, the teacher and more.
Having picked sets of people who truly represent a city, run a clear and clean audit on what he or she is wearing, carrying and with. Let me look at two possibilities we have explored.
Look at the tailor and the techie for a start. The tailor has on him a shirt, which is stitched by him. Check the cost of garment and put a notional stitching cost to that. Add to it the price of vest and every other under-garment he is wearing. In most cases, the under-garments are aggressively branded items and the over-garment is not. Put a price tag to everything.
Look at the watch he is wearing and the purse she is carrying. The mobile phone, the blue-tooth device, and more. The contents of the purse, every one of them, lipstick, mascara, comb and every one of the 26 other items that adorn a woman’s handbag. The cost of the slippers, the belt, every earring, every accessory and right upto the point of assessing the value of the brand of perfume sprinkled onto her. Add the gold and silver ornaments on the persona as well. The cost of the 'Janivaara' (sacred thread) as well. God is in the details of this assessment.
Having done this basic exercise across every one of them, do it across every city. Do it across countries and you have a benchmark that tells a rich story. A story that is both gory and dark as well as bright and prosperous.
Is Chennai more prosperous than Bangalore? And is Delhi equally as prosperous as is Istanbul? The answers are blowing in the winds of such a study.
Some quick data points then for Bangalore.
The average on-street value of a techie on the street of Bangalore is INR 87,500 when on the way to work. At a weekend his value dips to 31,450, as he is without his trusted laptop on shoulder.
The average on-street value of an auto rickshaw driver in Bangalore is INR 12,100. And this is nearly three times more than the on-street value of a black and yellow taxi-driver in Mumbai.
The average on-street value of a BPO employee in Bangalore is INR 13,700, not too far from the on-street value of the auto rickshaw driver he employed to ferry him around.
The data goes on and on in the impact-throw of prosperity and flaunt value of the man and woman on the street.
A great way to check, compare, collate and literally run on a quarter to quarter basis as well to see a change in trend, if any. A rustic route to market. A rustic route to understanding cities and consumers who live and thrive in them as well.
We have just emerged from a study of some 7970 such on-street people from all walks of life. A study that looks at 38 cities across 18 countries. A study that is rich and compelling and a study that can get richer by the day.
Reading a city off its streets is a rich and satisfying way to go.
The author is a brand-strategy specialist & CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.
Email: ceo@harishbijoorconsults.com
Monday, March 22, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
A Budget for Bangalore
Budget ethos for the city of Bengaluru
By Harish Bijoor
Bengaluru is a very vital part of Karnataka. The city is today not only the capital of Karnataka, but in many ways, is the Intellectual capital of India as well.
If Mumbai is the financial capital, Delhi the political capital and Kolkata the cultural capital, Bengaluru is surely the Intellectual capital of India.
In many parts of the world where I travel, I have had cab drivers ask with awe about the mystique of Brand Bangalore. Many flatteringly mistake the city to be the capital of India as well. This has happened to me equally in Singapore as it has happened in Addis Ababa and Ankara alike.
Bengaluru is therefore a city with a significance index for the nation, which is larger than life. The city in many ways belongs to each and every one of us in India who believes in the power of knowledge and the power of technology and technology enabled services.
If I am to look at the Budget ethos for a city such as Bengaluru, I do believe attention needs to be disproportionate, futuristic, global and of a cutting-edge variety. The city needs all of this and more.
Let me start on the allocations side. The budget for Bengaluru for a start must look at an outlay that is significantly larger than the INR 3000 Crore that was allocated in the Karnataka Budget for 2009-10. There is a demand that seeks a minimum INR 5000 Crore need. Bengaluru needs the attention of funds that are disproportionate to the total outlay on the Urban Development initiatives in the Budget. The last budget saw 40.7 percentage of the Urban Development budget kitty go to Bengaluru. This year, for a start , the need lies in a deeper percentage as the budget allocation to Urban Development initiatives deepen all across.
I would list the following basic ethos that the budget document needs to follow and use as a beacon light:
1. Infrastructure spending has been earmarked well budget after budget. This time round, there needs to be investments in the maintenance and sensible enhancement of the infrastructure that has been put into place. There is a need to allocate moneys on the soft side of infrastructure as well. It is important not only to build the flyovers and under-passes, it is important to invest in educating the public on the proper use of roads and the sensible use of infrastructure as well. Lane driving for one is a forgotten aspect on Bangalore roads.
2. Bengaluru is a really big city today under the BBMP limits. This mega-city produces a lot of waste. There is little expenditure that goes into waste-management. It is important to focus on this. Recycling of water and recycling of non-bio degradable waste is an important imperative the budget needs to allocate moneys to. Garbage is the biggest issue staring at us. Creative use of garbage needs the application of minds and moneys. I do believe the budget has a role to play here by upping allocations to recycling expenditures.
3. Slum rehabilitation is an important city need. As the city spreads and as consumptiveness becomes more and more vulgar in its orientation, it is important to manage the needs and wants of those who live in our city slums. It is important to invest in infrastructure development to provide for decent houses with drainage and water facilities. The city cannot cater only to the needs of the haves. It needs to look after the needs of those who have very little. The polarization of wealth is a big issue in a city like Bengaluru. This is a powder keg that acts as a crucible for the development of crime and simmering social discontent that waits for an opportunity to erupt.
4. The Language of GREEN is important to back. It is important to look at showcasing Bengaluru as a green-city that believes in green initiatives that are eco-friendly. Investment in building a nodal body that spearheads this and showcase Bengaluru to the world as a leader among all cities going green is an initiative that is needed. Bengaluru has up-rooted many trees in the last two years. It is important to focus on re-greening Bengaluru back. It needs to be disproportionate to need. Budget allocations on this count is what I look forward to.
5. Bengaluru can be an excellent tourist destination. We need the allocation of moneys for the re-invention of the tourist route of Bengaluru. The last budget saw an excellent allocation of INR 180 Crores for Tourism initiatives. In this budget ahead, I look forward to see a healthier still allocation with a focus on Bengaluru as well. Properties such as Nandi Hills are screaming for the need of attention. Let’s give it that.
Lastly, as a parting note to this budget-need piece, I do believe it is time for Bengaluru to invest in the creation of a logo of its own. We need a symbol the city can own and nurture. Bangalore is already a brand. The brand now needs a symbol. Progressive cities of the world own symbols of their own. I think Bengaluru has arrived enough to ask for one its own. Let’s start the debate on this at least now in this budget with a small allocation that helps put together an eco-system to make it happen.
The author is a brand-expert & CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.
Email: ceo@harishbijoorconsults.com
By Harish Bijoor
Bengaluru is a very vital part of Karnataka. The city is today not only the capital of Karnataka, but in many ways, is the Intellectual capital of India as well.
If Mumbai is the financial capital, Delhi the political capital and Kolkata the cultural capital, Bengaluru is surely the Intellectual capital of India.
In many parts of the world where I travel, I have had cab drivers ask with awe about the mystique of Brand Bangalore. Many flatteringly mistake the city to be the capital of India as well. This has happened to me equally in Singapore as it has happened in Addis Ababa and Ankara alike.
Bengaluru is therefore a city with a significance index for the nation, which is larger than life. The city in many ways belongs to each and every one of us in India who believes in the power of knowledge and the power of technology and technology enabled services.
If I am to look at the Budget ethos for a city such as Bengaluru, I do believe attention needs to be disproportionate, futuristic, global and of a cutting-edge variety. The city needs all of this and more.
Let me start on the allocations side. The budget for Bengaluru for a start must look at an outlay that is significantly larger than the INR 3000 Crore that was allocated in the Karnataka Budget for 2009-10. There is a demand that seeks a minimum INR 5000 Crore need. Bengaluru needs the attention of funds that are disproportionate to the total outlay on the Urban Development initiatives in the Budget. The last budget saw 40.7 percentage of the Urban Development budget kitty go to Bengaluru. This year, for a start , the need lies in a deeper percentage as the budget allocation to Urban Development initiatives deepen all across.
I would list the following basic ethos that the budget document needs to follow and use as a beacon light:
1. Infrastructure spending has been earmarked well budget after budget. This time round, there needs to be investments in the maintenance and sensible enhancement of the infrastructure that has been put into place. There is a need to allocate moneys on the soft side of infrastructure as well. It is important not only to build the flyovers and under-passes, it is important to invest in educating the public on the proper use of roads and the sensible use of infrastructure as well. Lane driving for one is a forgotten aspect on Bangalore roads.
2. Bengaluru is a really big city today under the BBMP limits. This mega-city produces a lot of waste. There is little expenditure that goes into waste-management. It is important to focus on this. Recycling of water and recycling of non-bio degradable waste is an important imperative the budget needs to allocate moneys to. Garbage is the biggest issue staring at us. Creative use of garbage needs the application of minds and moneys. I do believe the budget has a role to play here by upping allocations to recycling expenditures.
3. Slum rehabilitation is an important city need. As the city spreads and as consumptiveness becomes more and more vulgar in its orientation, it is important to manage the needs and wants of those who live in our city slums. It is important to invest in infrastructure development to provide for decent houses with drainage and water facilities. The city cannot cater only to the needs of the haves. It needs to look after the needs of those who have very little. The polarization of wealth is a big issue in a city like Bengaluru. This is a powder keg that acts as a crucible for the development of crime and simmering social discontent that waits for an opportunity to erupt.
4. The Language of GREEN is important to back. It is important to look at showcasing Bengaluru as a green-city that believes in green initiatives that are eco-friendly. Investment in building a nodal body that spearheads this and showcase Bengaluru to the world as a leader among all cities going green is an initiative that is needed. Bengaluru has up-rooted many trees in the last two years. It is important to focus on re-greening Bengaluru back. It needs to be disproportionate to need. Budget allocations on this count is what I look forward to.
5. Bengaluru can be an excellent tourist destination. We need the allocation of moneys for the re-invention of the tourist route of Bengaluru. The last budget saw an excellent allocation of INR 180 Crores for Tourism initiatives. In this budget ahead, I look forward to see a healthier still allocation with a focus on Bengaluru as well. Properties such as Nandi Hills are screaming for the need of attention. Let’s give it that.
Lastly, as a parting note to this budget-need piece, I do believe it is time for Bengaluru to invest in the creation of a logo of its own. We need a symbol the city can own and nurture. Bangalore is already a brand. The brand now needs a symbol. Progressive cities of the world own symbols of their own. I think Bengaluru has arrived enough to ask for one its own. Let’s start the debate on this at least now in this budget with a small allocation that helps put together an eco-system to make it happen.
The author is a brand-expert & CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.
Email: ceo@harishbijoorconsults.com
Cities lose thier Frugality-mindset
Losing My Frugality
By Harish Bijoor
Decades ago all of us were very frugal in everything we did. If not us, at least our parents were.
Decades ago there was a method to every spend. There was a calculation that went behind every replacement of a pressure cooker in the kitchen and the good old 'tawa' to fry the puris in. There was a calculation at play even when it came to replace bed-sheets in the bedroom and towels in the bathroom. Decades ago, there was an entire attitude of frugality that was the big sentiment at play.
And then the decades rolled by. We now enter a brand new one in the series of years that will follow 2010. I now wonder, where has frugality as a sentiment gone? Where did it go? How did it go? When did it all happen?
Look into our city lives today. Is frugality a sentiment we associate a bit too closely to that one big vice called stinginess? Has it somehow got lost and has it altogether vanished form our lives?
Forty years ago, when I was al of 5 I grew up with a shortage of sugar. While holidaying with my grandparents in Mumbai one felt he pinch of shortages al the time. Delhi was no better. The sugar shortage was so acute that Udupi restaurants in Mumbai had stopped keeping sugar in eh small little bowls on the table for use with your cup of coffee or tea. Restaurant guests wee in the habit of swiping the sugar with eh bowl in tow. The shortage had bitten everyone hard.
This was one thing that spurred on the sentiment of frugality all around I guess. Everyone used everything frugally. With care. The more expensive the item, the more the care that was shown to it.
And then things changed. As India moved on from a supply-short economy to a supply-excess mode, advertising helped changed peoples mindsets on what to use and how much to use.
In a nation where even toothpaste it eh bathroom was used frugally, in came mass media advertising that encouraged consumers to fill the entire space of their tooth-brushes with sensuous looking tooth-paste (at least in the ads made during the day). India changed. Gradually though.
I still remember catching the sight of a ‘chimta’ in several bathrooms in North India and South India alike. These 'chimtas' were used to squeeze out the last bits of paste from the metal tubes of toothpastes the day. And we did it with pride.
That’s how frugal we were.
In the mid eighties and right upto the last years of the series 1900, India remained reasonably frugal, despite what mass media advertising has always wanted us to do. Sped more. Use more. Waste more even.
Mass media advertising wants us to have three television sets in the home. One in the drawing room as the family TV set. One in the bedroom for private viewing. And one in the kitchen for the moment, for Shantha-bai to watch while she cooks.
Mass media advertising has also wanted us to have more than one car in the home, use a lot more of snack-food and maybe even have three hair-dryers in the home.
India somehow remained rigidly and resolutely frugal. For a long number of years. An older generation of people who had seen wars ands shortages and strife, helped rein in sentiment.
India somehow continued to be rooted to the method of using what we must use, saving what we must save and not throwing what we must not throw.
We continued to be a nation that still has homes selling old newspapers to a “raddi-wallah” at the end of every month. In many of our homes we still save up empty plastic sachets that bring milk in them to our homes. At the end of the month we sell them to the 'raddiwalla' as well.
We buy a new car and keep the polythene seat covers on them on for a year and more. Never mind how sweaty and uncomfortable it gets. D never mind how yucky it looks. It at least prolonged the life of the seat cover.
As we enter the years of the 2010 series, I am afraid things are morphing. Frugality has somehow slowly found it sway out. Our city lives are filled with attitudes that fight frugality instead of perpetuating the sentiment.
We buy more than we must. We eat more than we must. We waste more than we should as well. We buy things we don’t really-really need. We buy things on impulse. We buy things led by emotive appeal rather than functional need and want.
I think advertising has succeeded at last. If you really peek at every product and service we buy and use, every one of them has two dimensions to them.
One is the “need and want” dimension. The other is a “desire and aspiration” dimension.
Let me explain. Coffee has a “need and want” dimension. When you need and want it, you go buy it. It is simply to satisfy this need and cravingn that is reasonably functional.
Coffee does also have a “desire and aspiration” dimension. When you want to try an exotic Colombian blend that costs twenty times the price of your local blend from Sunticoppa, in comes the dimension of “desire and aspiration”/ This is mostly cosmetic. This is mostly led by the allure and drama of branding and advertising at play. It is also spurred on by the influence of the Joneses, or the neighbors and peers who do the same.
Frugality as a sentiment has gotten lost from our city lives slowly but surely. Some of us are still frugal. But the rest may not allow us to be. For long. So watch out.
Must we then re-invent frugality in outr lives once again? Just to stay in touch with who we are rather than who or what we want to be?
Touche!
The author is a brand-strategy specialist & CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.
Email: ceo@harishbijoorconsults.com
By Harish Bijoor
Decades ago all of us were very frugal in everything we did. If not us, at least our parents were.
Decades ago there was a method to every spend. There was a calculation that went behind every replacement of a pressure cooker in the kitchen and the good old 'tawa' to fry the puris in. There was a calculation at play even when it came to replace bed-sheets in the bedroom and towels in the bathroom. Decades ago, there was an entire attitude of frugality that was the big sentiment at play.
And then the decades rolled by. We now enter a brand new one in the series of years that will follow 2010. I now wonder, where has frugality as a sentiment gone? Where did it go? How did it go? When did it all happen?
Look into our city lives today. Is frugality a sentiment we associate a bit too closely to that one big vice called stinginess? Has it somehow got lost and has it altogether vanished form our lives?
Forty years ago, when I was al of 5 I grew up with a shortage of sugar. While holidaying with my grandparents in Mumbai one felt he pinch of shortages al the time. Delhi was no better. The sugar shortage was so acute that Udupi restaurants in Mumbai had stopped keeping sugar in eh small little bowls on the table for use with your cup of coffee or tea. Restaurant guests wee in the habit of swiping the sugar with eh bowl in tow. The shortage had bitten everyone hard.
This was one thing that spurred on the sentiment of frugality all around I guess. Everyone used everything frugally. With care. The more expensive the item, the more the care that was shown to it.
And then things changed. As India moved on from a supply-short economy to a supply-excess mode, advertising helped changed peoples mindsets on what to use and how much to use.
In a nation where even toothpaste it eh bathroom was used frugally, in came mass media advertising that encouraged consumers to fill the entire space of their tooth-brushes with sensuous looking tooth-paste (at least in the ads made during the day). India changed. Gradually though.
I still remember catching the sight of a ‘chimta’ in several bathrooms in North India and South India alike. These 'chimtas' were used to squeeze out the last bits of paste from the metal tubes of toothpastes the day. And we did it with pride.
That’s how frugal we were.
In the mid eighties and right upto the last years of the series 1900, India remained reasonably frugal, despite what mass media advertising has always wanted us to do. Sped more. Use more. Waste more even.
Mass media advertising wants us to have three television sets in the home. One in the drawing room as the family TV set. One in the bedroom for private viewing. And one in the kitchen for the moment, for Shantha-bai to watch while she cooks.
Mass media advertising has also wanted us to have more than one car in the home, use a lot more of snack-food and maybe even have three hair-dryers in the home.
India somehow remained rigidly and resolutely frugal. For a long number of years. An older generation of people who had seen wars ands shortages and strife, helped rein in sentiment.
India somehow continued to be rooted to the method of using what we must use, saving what we must save and not throwing what we must not throw.
We continued to be a nation that still has homes selling old newspapers to a “raddi-wallah” at the end of every month. In many of our homes we still save up empty plastic sachets that bring milk in them to our homes. At the end of the month we sell them to the 'raddiwalla' as well.
We buy a new car and keep the polythene seat covers on them on for a year and more. Never mind how sweaty and uncomfortable it gets. D never mind how yucky it looks. It at least prolonged the life of the seat cover.
As we enter the years of the 2010 series, I am afraid things are morphing. Frugality has somehow slowly found it sway out. Our city lives are filled with attitudes that fight frugality instead of perpetuating the sentiment.
We buy more than we must. We eat more than we must. We waste more than we should as well. We buy things we don’t really-really need. We buy things on impulse. We buy things led by emotive appeal rather than functional need and want.
I think advertising has succeeded at last. If you really peek at every product and service we buy and use, every one of them has two dimensions to them.
One is the “need and want” dimension. The other is a “desire and aspiration” dimension.
Let me explain. Coffee has a “need and want” dimension. When you need and want it, you go buy it. It is simply to satisfy this need and cravingn that is reasonably functional.
Coffee does also have a “desire and aspiration” dimension. When you want to try an exotic Colombian blend that costs twenty times the price of your local blend from Sunticoppa, in comes the dimension of “desire and aspiration”/ This is mostly cosmetic. This is mostly led by the allure and drama of branding and advertising at play. It is also spurred on by the influence of the Joneses, or the neighbors and peers who do the same.
Frugality as a sentiment has gotten lost from our city lives slowly but surely. Some of us are still frugal. But the rest may not allow us to be. For long. So watch out.
Must we then re-invent frugality in outr lives once again? Just to stay in touch with who we are rather than who or what we want to be?
Touche!
The author is a brand-strategy specialist & CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.
Email: ceo@harishbijoorconsults.com
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