In my experience, whenever we had a time constraint – for example, if we had to get content out by a certain date because of an event or topical moment – we took decisions really fast.
Keep all stakeholders aligned and on standby. When time is less, decisions need to be faster. That’s the only thing which made sure it was delivered on time.
Just love pure creativity, where ever I see.. ‘What if?’ is the magical question to create insane experiences, and then obsessive attention to detail..
reminded of the chaand/mars video we did.. imagining Indian train travellers in space.. Yashaswi Dev Devanshu Biswas .. can’t wait to jam on more such scenarios
*Spotted in a Tokyo mall, Japan is something else
Topical content may last a day or week, but this video is still circulating on Instagram, just found that it was shared by 186,000 people recently.. (https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9ohYnvvCgW/)
To create timeless content:
1.. Focus on the basics, storytelling above all else, more real it feels the better.
2.. Dive deep into audience research, get to the tiniest micro-moments and pain points. Your products solves for one pain point of the audience, for all other pain points on the orbit.. use your content to solve them, your brand exists to make the lives of the audience better, through your products and content.
3.. Create authentically, no fancy graphics were used in this video.. actual book was printed and a top shot, oh and those are my hands
During the lockdown days, there was a crisis on the streets. While we were tucked away in our homes, a lot of migrant workers were going back to their native places, walking all the way, scrambling for any resources to get home, without food or help.
A friend of mine, Dev Amritesh, CEO of a company which had big industrial kitchens, called me. They had sprung into action. Just like any other company during that time, they were working in crisis mode. They started creating simple meals since all the offices were closed, and these meals were being fed on the ground by local NGO support.
They created a landing page where for ₹30 per meal, anyone could contribute. They would prepare it at no profit and get it delivered on the ground.
He called me to see if I could create a video. Me and my wife made this, and spent ₹350 making it. One of those lockdown moments of just teaming up after washing the dishes and cooking the food to create this video.
This video sent 10,000 people to the landing page (from instagram) with-in days and 1.5 million people were fed. I look back on this with a heavy heart and hope.. something I always remember – the power of content and storytelling to inspire action, which directly helped someone in need.
UPDATE: Comments on Linkedin Post
Dev Amritesh
Compass Group Chief Strategy Enablement officer
This brought back many memories Aashish Chopra. A great example of how crisis gets people together. And how to create impact sometimes all it takes determination and timely intervention. Lots of people played a huge role in making this happen and I remember each ones contribution fondly. Richa S. Ashwani Vohra MALABIKA GUPTA Arjyo Banerjee Abhishek A Keyur Shah Manish Mamtani Munish Sharma Supriyo Dasgupta Bhaskar NM Sriharsha M.
Aashish Nanavati
Growth-Focused Fractional CMO | Data-Driven Digital Marketing Strategist | Building Thriving Businesses Globally
Aashish what an inspiring story! This is such a powerful reminder of how meaningful impact can come from simple actions, especially in times of crisis. The fact that a ₹350 video could help feed 1.5 million people shows the true power of storytelling and the impact of collaboration. It’s heartwarming to see how creativity and purpose can come together to drive real change. Kudos to you, your wife, Dev, and everyone involved for stepping up when it was most needed. Stories like this restore faith in humanity
There’s something about returning to Kolkata.. the energy the enthusiasm is ❤️
DM If you’d like to catch up.. I’ll be there Saturday
