“Kuch jamaa nahi!” (Translated in English, the phrase loosely refers to something that was supposed to set but did not. Like an idea that did not firm up. Or curd, that stayed runny.)
Ask any advertising professional worth his salt, the true meaning of the client reaction stated above and chances are, he/she would be short of tearing out hair in frustration or turning red in the face with the mercury climbing higher and higher or deflating like a punctured balloon or dissipating in resignation – because this is a line that is as old as the hills and has been thrown around since the beginning of this unfathomable profession of advertising, branding and creativity.
So what does this line really mean? In client parlance, it means,”I don’t know what to make of this.”
Or, “I can’t tell if this fits our brief/brand/product/industry.”
Or, “I don’t understand this.”
Or, “I don’t know if the boss will like it.”
Or, “I don’t like it.”
Or simply, “I am paying you through my nose for this so you bloody well work more and give more options!”
Whatever it means, one has to slink back quietly to one’s cubicle and start re-chewing the weathered tip of the chewed pencil and start staring into nothingness again, hoping that inspiration will strike or fall from the skies and will make the client scream,“Jamaa!”
Reading between the lines though, I would like to believe that as creative minds, we are really working for two clients– one is the target audience and the second is our client.
The client is the decision maker who figures whether your idea will hold water or not and he comes with his own likes and pet peeves, whims and fancies and moods; which project onto his decision. So, if by sheer misfortune, he is in a foul mood and has fought with his missus in the morning, God help your idea! For whatever it is worth, it is not going to sit pretty on his mahogany desk and is most likely to land squarely in his already overloaded bin. And if he, by God’s grace is in a good mood, then even your wishy-washy idea may pass his scalpel without getting royally butchered! So what if he has asked you to marry option I and option II and come up with an awkwardly produced baby that goes by the name of option 3!
The point is that your idea/ad/campaign/name/logo has to first ‘connect’ with your client and later with the brand’s official target audience/customer. And that is the bitter truth. From that point-of-view, your client becomes your primary target audience and the official target audience your secondary target audience. The consumer doesn’t know best. The brand manager does.
And if you understand that, maybe you will finally figure out the answer to the question, “ Kuch jamaa?”
Sonali Karande Brahma is a Strategist, Creative Consultant and a Writer with 12 years of experience in creating powerful stories for advertising, brand building and communication. She has worked in mainstream advertising for major MNC and Indian brands. She writes on subjects that interest her and teaches Creativity and Writing to young student managers at B-Schools. She can be reached on writersonalibrahmat@gmail.com