German Engineering but definitely Chinese manufacturing

· Wribhu Tyagi

Todays Times of India (TOI) was a pleasant surprise for most readers. The lucky few were the ones to experience a nice innovation in advertising – something that brought together the print and audio media like never before.

A full page Volkswagen ad had a small speaker with a recorded message about the German Engineering excellence etc. The message starts playing once you reach that page only as its activated by a photo-electric impulse.Am sure most people have been playing around with the device since morning and they will remember this for a long time to come.

I for one, was glad to see this simple yet powerful idea give brands much more mileage through a very traditional channel. Am also sure that if this campaign was delivered at a viable price, the electronic device had to be manufactured somewhere in China/Taiwan.

I quickly dismantled the thing to see whats inside & heres the bill of materials

– two batteries

– one photo sensor that completes the circuit

– round speaker

– Mother board for the gadget

To make the thing sturdy the batteries had a back jacket, which ensured that they would not move out place when the gadget is moved around.

Long live innovation & the global collaboration that can make it happen !

Wribhu Tyagi has spent 25 years at the intersection of technology and retail finance, across banks, card networks and startups. He writes about technology, finance and what he is learning along the way. About · LinkedIn