Michael Jackson returned to the stage last month in May to dance to the beats of

the song Slave to the rhythm from the recently released XSCAP! album" A
virtual! Michael Jackson took on the stage and set it on #re" $e made it to the
headlines across the globe" %he general &ublic' the fans' the music lovers' the
media itself could (ust not sto& talking about it"
)ack in *ndia' in May' another su&erstar used the same technology to address
do+ens of rallies in the remote to,ns all over the country" -rom Andhra Pradesh to
)ihar' from Allahabad to .ainital' he addressed more than /00 such gatherings
leaving the voters a,e struck and mesmeri+ed" 1es' that ,as Modi' ,ho too like
Michael Jackson used the hologram! technology to reach out to the ma2imum
number of &eo&le and convince them to vote for )JP" 3oing by the results' it seems
to have ,orked out fantastically ,ell for both Michael and Modi"
%his technology is not ne," 4isney has been using it since 5676" *ts most &o&ular
attractions at the 4isneyland Park in .e, 8rleans 9 $aunted Mansion 9 has been
using this to s&ook visitors ,ith the hel& of 666 ghosts! ,ho make guests feel that
they have entered a haunted ballroom" %hese &ro(ected images 9 be it of Modi or
Michael or the ghosts 9 de#nitely take your breath a,ay" %hey are sure:shot ,ays to
a,e and ama+e your audience" %he 4ubai air&ort and many other air&orts have
installed virtual hel&ers! ,hich are nothing but hologra&hic &ro(ections of sta;
members ,ho hel& travellers and &rovide them information about ho, to handle
security immigration etc" .ot (ust are these avatars eye:catching' they are also the
easiest sta; to maintain 9 no lunch breaks' they ,ork <=>? and never ask for a
salary@
*f you ,ant to attract attention' you need to do something dramatically di;erent
from others" *t!s an o&en secret' and yet not many &ut in the desired e;orts to do
so" $ologra&hic &ro(ection is one such ne,:kid:on:the:block that can get you
guaranteed attention" As marketers' ,e need to look at this o&tion carefully and use
it to the hilt ,hile itAs still ne," %he ,orld of entertainment seems to have
understood the &otential of this and those ,ho have the funds are using it to create
a bu++ around their brand" %he business ,orld should also ,ake u& and reali+e the
enormous &otential of this" Marketing is all about creating a bu++ and standing a&art
from com&etition" .othing ,orks better and faster than a good image" *f you are
visually dramatic' the chance of getting attention is highest" Marketers today need
to #nd ,ays to make their brand visually e2citing"
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All great brands have a great story around them ,hich makes them enchanting and
gives consumers a reason to discuss about them" )e it the ,ay DeviAs started
making its (eans' or ho, 3oogle got its name' or ho, *nfosys ,as started' or ho,
8&rah braved &overty and abuse and made it big 9 the list goes on" A great story is
one of the best ,ays to build a brand identity" $o,ever' as brand builders and
marketers' ,e need to be a,are that today the ,ay stories are being told has
changed" 1ears ago' ,e used to chat ,ith friends around a table over co;ee' or
around the bon#re or in our living rooms' sharing stories and life e2&eriences"
Sharing! has a ,hole ne, meaning today" %hanks to technology' the co;ee table'
the bon#re' the living room have all been re&laced by the smart&hone" %he camera
and various a&&s no, hel& us in sharing! our e2&eriences instantly" Fhether this is
good or bad is ,orth debating' but the fact is this is the ne, ,orld and as
marketers' ,e need to change the ,ay ,e share our brand stories ,ith the
consumers" %hanks to technology and sites like Pinterest' Bine' 1ou%ube' the best
,ay to reach the audience is through visual engagement"
As marketers' ,e are not ne, to visual engagement!" -or years advertisements and
logos have been the key factors in engaging audiences visually" $o,ever' marketing
has moved ,ay ahead of these traditional ,ays of advertising" %oday' the ne,
mantra is sharing is marketing!" 1ou need to make visually entertaining content
,hich engages the consumers and encourages sharing on various &latforms"
%raditional media has been overtaken by digital &layers like -acebook' 3oogle'
1ou%ube etc and traditional advertising has been re&laced ,ith visual storytelling"
Dogos used to de#ne a brandG today' uniHue themes and stories around that theme
are de#ning brands" Dook at 3@ *t &osted a video on Bine ,ith a heading 4o you
kno, ,hat ha&&ens ,hen you combine milk' food coloring and dish soa&I %he 7
second video cli& ended u& becoming 3!s most successful &ost"
Seeing the &henomenal res&onse' 3 started a full blo,n social:media cam&aign
named J7SecondScience! asking users $o, much science can you #t into si2
secondsI" Csers could u&load their science e2&eriments and also ,in gifts" ACells
inside your hand!' AChemical &ro&erties of your daily cu& of co;ee!' and lava lam&!
,ere some of the &o&ular &osts" Fith the hel& of the 7SecondScience! series' 3
has built a uniHue identity around itself" %he videos are interesting and easily
shareable' and (ust the right tool to hel& them accom&lish their mission of getting
young users interested in 3"
Eit+ Carlton' on the other hand' used *nstagram to tell its story through a gira;e
,ho got lost on a family vacation" %he Eit+ is normally associated ,ith ultra:lu2ury
and this ,as a shar& deviation from that image" )ut the story ,as memorable and
shareable and that!s ,hat the brand ,anted"
And of course' the Sel#e!' ,hich is the biggest thing on the digital ,orld today"
-rom 8bama to Amitabh )achchan' everybody is &osting a sel#e!" A little:kno,n
South African retailer' Crban $ilton Feiner' used this trend to get &eo&le to ,alk
into its sho,room" very visitor to the store ,ho t,eeted a sel#e of themselves
trying on some clothes of the retailer using the hashtag Jurbansel#e got a K50
discount cou&on" *f their t,eet became the most &o&ular' they could ,in
merchandise ,orth K5000 from the retailer"
%he best &art about visual storytelling or visual cam&aigning is that it has no
restrictions" All that is reHuired is being able to identify ,hat is the key bu++,ord'
and Huickly building a strategy around it" .o one could have nailed it better than
8reo" 4uring the Su&er )o,l last year L<05MN' there ,as a &o,er outage and for M=
minutes there ,as no light" 8reo (um&ed at the o&&ortunity and t,eeted a &icture
of its cookie ,hich read Po,er 8utI .o &roblem" 1ou can still dunk in the dark"
%oday' nobody is (ust ,atching one screen" Along ,ith %B' there is almost al,ays
another screen Lmobile' la&to& etc"N Fhile many brands &aid almost K= million to
run a s&ot during the Su&er )o,l on %B' 8reo got the most &ublicity ,ithout
s&ending a &enny"
%echnology has changed the ,ay ,e communicate' interact ,ith each other' learn
and understand things" )rands too need to reali+e this that the consumer of today
interacts ,ith a brand in a ,hole ne, ,ay" %he one ,ho ,ill be most successful ,ill
be the one ,ho is most interesting' most dramatic and can think visually"
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%he ,orld is a ne, &lace today and ne, skills are reHuired to survive it" 8ne of them
is being visually literate" $o,ever' ,e remain a visually illiterate society" *n future'
the three Es Larithmetic' reading and ,ritingN ,ill not be enough to do ,ell in life"
%hat ,as old school thought" Bisual literacy or the ability to read' ,rite' think' and
solve &roblems visually ,ill be one of the most essential reHuirements" As 3eorge
Ducas' the very famous #lmmaker said' O*f students arenAt taught the language of
sound and images' shouldnAt they be considered as illiterate as if they left college
,ithout being able to read or ,riteI $e is absolutely correct" %he ,orld today is
more visual than it has ever been" Cavemen used to communicate ,ith dra,ings
and &ictures and ,e are almost doing the same" Most of our communication today is
visual" Consider thisP
A&&ro2imately 7Q &ercent of the &o&ulation are visual learners"
%he brain &rocesses visual information 70'000 faster than te2t"
60 &ercent of information that comes to the brain is visual"
=0 &ercent of all nerve #bers connected to the brain are linked to the retina"
Fe are &hysically built to &rocess visual information"
.o, consider thisP
8n -acebook!s brand &ages' the to& 50 brands get most traRc from &hotos and
videos"
-acebook reached 500 million users in = years but *nstagram did it faster"
Photos &osted on Pinterest are referring more traRc than %,itter' 3oogleS etc"
Bisuals are more convincing' more interesting and more e;ective" .o ,onder
)arack 8bama 9 the most ,ell crafted brand of modern times 9 too (oined *nstagram
in <05<" 8ne of the best ,ays to build his brand and a&&eal"
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Bisuals al,ays make more im&act than &lain ,ords"
*n 56MQ' 4orothea Dange took a &hotogra&h of a migrant mother and her starving
children in a farm in California during the 3reat 4e&ression" %he im&act of the
&hotogra&h ,as so enormous that the government ,as forced to rush food aid to
the starving ,orkers immediately" Bisuals have &o,er' and more so today" Fith
everybody armed ,ith a &hone cum camera' visuals are the easiest ,ay to
communicate and share" So if you ,ant your brand to be talked about' think
visually' dramati+e your brand!s &resence' use technology' use great ideas and get
&eo&le to share your thoughts" %he future is de#nitely for the ones ,ho can think
and communicate visually"