Activity: Mock-tales

(Stories in Mocktale are works of fiction intended to bring a smile to your face)

Here is an activity in which each participant will create a satirical and fictitious news
concerning any field, for instance, sports, music, politics etc. and present it in the class as a
TV anchor. The news item must be humorous in content and must have an association with
the real being or a real incident. Participants will create 3 fictitious news items and a
channel to carry out the activity.

Following are the examples of the Mock-tales published in Times of India-

a) Satire: FBI sends new recruits to Indian media for training (28 February 2018)

Impressed by the highly speculative coverage that Hindi media in India has been doing on
Bollywood actress Sridevi’s death, FBI has decided to send a team of their newly hired
investigators to India to learn a thing or two from Indian journalists.

These guys don’t need trivial things like evidence, medical knowledge, first hand account of
what transpired to arrive at a conclusion. They normally give verdicts based on some
psychic abilities they seem to possess. Maybe after spending few days with them, our blokes
would also become capable enough to operate without proofs,” the FBI chief told our
reporter.

They are so dedicated to something which is not even their craft. One of their reporter even
dived into a bathtub while trying to investigate. That’s the sort of commitment I expect from
my boys. Compared to them, our agents are sissies,” the chief confessed sheepishly.

“I just hope that reporter never has to reconstruct Sallu bhai’s hit and run case,” he quickly
added.

Post training with the Indian media , FBI will also organize an induction of their recruits
with the renowned CID team.

“Who isn’t their fan? Whenever we are stuck solving an important case and seem to reach
dead-end in our investigation, we immediately watch episodes of CID. I wouldn’t s ay it
helps us in solving any case, but it surely provides us with some much-needed comic relief,
and then we are in better frame of mind to proceed with our investigation,” a veteran FBI
agent revealed.
Sherlock Holmes is lucky to not have taken birth in the times of ACP Pradyuman and
Inspector Daya. Else he would have been forced to quit ‘detectivism’ and take up a Bank
PO job looking at the competition,” he added.

b) Went to SBI for loan first but they turned me down saying it was lunch time:
Nirav Modi (19 February 2018)

In an explosive confession, man of the moment Nirav Modi has revealed that he had
initially approached State Bank of India for loan, but a bank employee had turned him down
saying it was lunch time.

"I went to a SBI branch to ask for loan because I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my
mentor Vijay Mallya
, who had also taken a loan of around a thousand crore from SBI. But as soon as I entered
the bank, an employee told me to come back later because it was lunch-time. I told him I am
a billionaire jeweller and I have some urgent work in the bank, but he did not care and said
only Swiggy delivery guys were welcomed in the bank during lunch hours and no one else,”
Nirav Modi told our reporter.

“I assumed they had never heard the name Nirav Modi before, so I told them I am a
business mogul. But one employee laughed at my face on hearing that and said it does not
matter if you are Nirav Modi or Narendra Modi, no one can make SBI employees work
during lunch hours. This made me so angry that I decided I will never come to SBI again. I
called my mentor Vijay Mallya after that and he suggested that I visit Punjab National Bank
,” he added.
The SBI employee who had turned down Nirav Modi was awarded by the bank because he
prevented a huge scam.

“After the Vijay Mallya incident, we are making sure that no one can scam us. We won't
allow anyone to walk away with public's money. In fact, we have started implementing such
safety features that even the public can't walk away with their own money; that is why all
our ATMs are never working,” the employee who averted the scam said.
 Activity 2 – Product Launch

Here is an activity on Product Launch. Teams of four participants each may be formed.

Step 1- Each group will come forward and launch a product of their choice, using their creativity
and inventiveness. Each member may take the following roles-

Roles –

Product manager - A product manager is a professional role which is responsible for the
development of products for an organization, known as the practice of product management.
Product managers own the business strategy behind a product (both physical and digital
products), specify its functional requirements and generally manage the launch of features.

Marketing head - Marketing manager is an individual or an employee in an organization who

carries out marketing activities like branding, product promotion, new product development,
market study, customer relationship etc.

Creative head- They are the creative leads at advertising and marketing companies, working
with designers, artists, copywriters, sales teams and marketers to create a vision for products
sold. Creative head plans advertising and oversee the creative process involved in the
manufacture of product.

Finance manager - Financial managers are responsible for the financial health of an
organization. They produce financial reports, direct investment activities, and develop strategies
and plans for the long-term financial goals of their organization.

Step 2 – Simulate a marketing situation

Each member may take the above mentioned roles and design their launching speech
accordingly.
While launching the product the group must acquaint the audience with the following –

• How original and innovative is your product?

• How is your product different/unique from other products in the market?
• Why should we buy your product?
• What is the cost of your product? ( if it’s expensive – why? ; if it’s cheap – why?)
• What are the benefits of the product?
• What additional service will the product provide?
• What strategies do the learners use to stimulate the sale of the product?
Step 3 – Question/ answer round – Media interaction
After the launch or the presentation of the product, the audience/media will put questions to
the group members. Through this question answer session, the audience/media will be able to
clarify their queries in relation to the product launched, and also the company members will
be able to validate their logic for the claims made.

Sample – (5mins)

Product Manager – Goodmorning Ladies and Gentlemen.

My name is ………………..and I work with/for Xeynolds. Today my team and I are here
to unveil a pen. Considering the availability of the ordinary pens in the market, our
company has come up with a new model which has been manufactured to give you an
experience worthy of investing. To overcome general problems often faced with the
usage of pens, Xeynolds brings you the model RollerPen..

While writing, sometimes there is an unusual discharge of ink-blotches which render writing
illegible along with staining hands. On other occasions we tend to invest in a pen which is
either very light or very heavy on our hand causing problems with the attainment of a good
grip. Refills are impossible because of use-and-throw nature of these pens. Moreover, the
shelf life of these ordinary pens is 2 years max. Once all these factors are combined, they
impact our handwriting.
So with the idea of preventing you from the disadvantageous features of the pens already
booming in the market our company ‘Xeynolds’ is here today to launch a new model
‘RollerPen’

Now I would like Mr. X, the Creative Head of our company to take over. His innovativeness
has assembled the product to be resourceful. I request him to acquaint you all with the
unique/special features of pen.

Creative head

Goodmorning everyone.

With its sleek metal (platinum) body ‘RollerPen’ is light in weight and has been designed
keeping in mind the present demands of the consumers. The ballpoint nib allows the smooth
functioning of the pen and also aims to enhance the handwriting skills of the consumers.
Moreover, the customers will be able to avail the benefit of refilling the empty cartridges
from nearby stationary stores. The pen has also been modeled to be presented as a gift.
The essential features of this product include its convertibility into a 16GB pen drive. It has a
camera installed in it, other than this there is an audio recorder fixed which could be used by
students to record lectures and refer to them when required. No other pen in the market offers
you with such additional features. The usage of this pen isn’t confined only to the students or
other employed professionals. Rather it can be used by the Intelligence bureau officials for
executing certain confidential tasks.

Now I would like Mr X, the finance head will talk about the price and other additional
services related to the product.

Finance Head

With all the essential features of the product already mentioned, I would now unveil the price
of the product which is Rs 5K with a three year warranty assurance. As an additional benefit,
procurement of the product can be claimed on 0% EMI from the retail stores and online
shopping houses.

Marketing head

For the promotion of our new launch we are offering an initial discount of 50% to our first
five hundred customers. Also our company will be offering free seasonal coupons to our
prospective regular customers. The product will be available exclusively in all the retail
stores. Other than that we have tie ups with the various online web houses, like Flipkart,
Amazon etcetera. Within a week the product will claim its availability on the online
marketing houses. The company is also providing the facility of free insurance along with the
warranty of three years
You could find the videos about features of RollerBall on our official website, the link to
which has been mentioned in the brochure.

Finance Head

Xeynolds novel medel ‘RollerBall’ is ‘A pen so smooth, you won’t want to give it away.’
Considering the price and target audience for sales along with importance of the product, the
company graciously offers an additional 5% discount to all the college and university
students.

Thank you.

We are now open to questions.

 Sample 2

Here is a template for a successful media speech marking a product launch.

1. Introduction – Get Excited!

You have to be fired up about the product so that the media gathered are interested enough to
write about it. Talk about the name, how great the product is and how you have plenty of free
samples and promotional items – everyone loves a freebie!

• Introduce the product

• Give away lots of freebies

Example: Hello everyone. I’m really excited to be able to reveal to you our new beauty product –
Happy Skin - the result of many hours of research and development. Before I start telling you all
about it, why don’t you help yourselves to a couple of pots of Happy Skin – you can even take
one for your mum in case you’ve forgotten it’s Mothers Day this Sunday!

2. Explain the Product Key Message

Depending on the nature of the product and the expectations of your industry, now is the time to
go into some details about the features and benefits of the products. You can also give out
printed mailshots that include the key messages so it makes it easier for the media gathered to
write about your product.

• Highlight the features and benefits

• Give the key message/marketing slogan of the product

Example: As I’m sure you’ll realise when you try Happy Skin, it really is a revolutionary product
for women everywhere. The rich cream is packed full of vitamin C, a little self-tan and
illuminating pearl extracts to give tired skin a boost of sunshine – even in the middle of winter.
3. Repeat, Repeat!

You must conclude your media product launch speech by repeating the slogan and brand name to
ensure they remember it. You can also say that you are available for media interviews and more
information. The main reason for this speech is to gain as much media coverage as possible, so
show that you are easy to deal with, interesting and willing.

• Repeat your slogan

• Be approachable
• Give away more products
• Explain what your other media launch plans are

Example: Happy Skin gives your skin a boost of sunshine. It’s the perfect day cream for all of us
that spend most of the day inside at our desks – but want to look like we’ve just had a run along
the beach! You’ll see Happy Skin on a number of prime time advertising slots in the coming
weeks and we have a promo stall across various core train stations for the next five mornings. If
anyone would like to talk further, come up and speak to me. Help yourselves to sample pots and
share the Happy Skin secret with everyone you know!

To get you started, try some of the following “magic marketing words” -

1. You: Write as if you were speaking directly to the customer. Make it about the reader, not
about yourself.

2. Because: Give customers a compelling reason to take action.

3. Free: Don’t underestimate the appeal of “free.”

4. Value: Highlight the value that customers receive for their money. “Cost” or “price” imply
losing something – in this case, money.

5. Guaranteed: Make readers feel they have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

6. Amazing/incredible: Customers respond to something out of the ordinary. But be careful

not to overuse these terms, or they lose their power.

7. Easy: Let subscribers know how much easier life will be with your product or service, and
then make it simple for them to take the next step in the purchasing process.

8. Discover: Imply there is something new and unknown to the customer, something that
offers distinct benefits and gives them an edge.

9. Act now: Motivate an immediate response with a limited-time offer.

10. Everything included/everything you need: Establish that your product or service is all
your customers will have to buy in order to achieve their goal.

11. Never: Use this to point out a “negative benefit,” such as “never worry again,” or “never
overpay again.”

12. New: Like “free,” “new” has the ability to make people sit up and take notice.

13. Save: The best, clearest word to showcase monetary or time savings.

14. Proven: Remind customers that your product, service or business is tried and true.

15. Safe and effective: Minimize risk perception for health and monetary loss.

16. Powerful: Let customers know that your business, product or service is robust.

17. Real results: Everyone wants results.

18. Secret: Is your product or service the secret to success? Let customers know you can reveal
that secret.
 19. The: This implies your solution is the be-all and end-all. Consider the difference: “3
Solutions for Marketing Success” vs. “The 3 Solutions for Marketing Success.”

20. Instant: Instant access or downloads are more appealing than waiting.

21. How to…: Help your readers accomplish a challenging task or goal.

22. Elite: Invite newbies to join the highly desirable club you’re hosting.

23. Premium: Premium helps denote high quality.

24. Caused by: If your email campaigns build a case for your product, transitional phrases
such as “caused by,” “therefore” and “thus” reinforce the logic of a purchase.

25. More: Do you offer more than your competitors? Show it.

26. Bargain: Customers want a great deal.

27. No obligation: Create a win-win situation for your customers.

28. 100% money-back guarantee: Again, no risk.

29. Huge: A large discount or outstanding offer is difficult to resist.

30. Wealth: If you’re selling products and services related to money, wealth is a desirable
word for customers.

Bonus: 10 more words and phrases that trigger positive responses in readers

The list of powerful marketing words is nearly endless. Here are some more to consider in your
campaigns:

31. Complimentary: This works almost as well as “free.”

32. Last chance: Inspire urgency.

33. Now: No one likes to wait.

 34. Flash sale: Flash sales create urgency and a sense of being in the know on a great deal.

35. Convenient: How will you make readers’ lives easier?

36. Breakthrough: Stay on the cutting edge with new solutions customers haven’t seen before.

37. Buy one, get one: It’s easy for customers to understand the value you’re offering.

38. Thank you: Readers like to feel appreciated.

39. Introducing: Let readers know they’re the first to hear about something.

40. Join: Encourage readers to join a select community.

And 5 words to avoid

• Miracle: This oversells. Is what you’re offering truly a miracle?

• Revolutionary: This is another oversell. Unless the product or service truly upends its
industry, it’s not revolutionary.

• Unique: Everyone uses unique now, so nothing is unique.

• Great: Don’t be generic by using “great.”

• Exciting: This is nearly as generic as “great.”

Sources - https://www.verticalresponse.com/blog/the-30-magic-marketing-words/