Archive for the ‘Brands’ Category

Contrary to popular perception (and current brand behaviour all around) you don’t pussy-foot around communication when you’re in the middle of hard times. In Hindi there’s a phrase ‘bolti-bandh’ which is quite like the English one ‘the cat got your tongue’. Which leads me to say brands that lie low in tough times, stand the risk of [...]

2008 was a hard-working year for India. As perhaps it was for the rest of the world. Not only did businesses strive to keep costs down and revenue up, people worked hard to keep their jobs alive and companies afloat. The Economic and Industries Perspective In terms of the economy, some sectors did very well, [...]

“Ouch!” That’s the first thought that struck me as I picked up the newspapers this morning. No I am not referring to the coverage of the FM’s interim budget, but to the full front page ad for State Bank of India in the leading and very-expensive-to-advertise-in newspapers. The full-frontal assault hurt for two big reasons: [...]

A couple of days back, I read an interesting article by Atul Hegde, CEO of Ignitee, on the role of digital agencies. I agree with him that the industry although nascent, is already bankrupt when it comes to ideas. The fact is, so-called digital agencies today flood clients with the same old SEO and SEM [...]

The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America is landmark in many ways. In fact, Obama’s slogan of “change” holds true in many more ways than perhaps even the man and his spin doctors would have imagined. But that’s not the point of this post. Enough has, and will be written about what [...]

The other day I was in small electrical shop in Shakarpur market, and was looking for an power extension board – “give me the best quality” I requested.  The shopkeeper smiled with pride, and then with great flourish revealed to me his “best quality” extension board. No it wasn’t Philips, Bajaj, or any such familiar [...]

In the battle for mindshare and market share, some companies in India have gone out of their way (way, way out sometimes) and hired celebrities to endorse their brands. While some celebrities have done a fantastic job (as actors and as endorsers), the rest have just ended up wasting a lot of money, and insulting [...]

I am not a negative person. I am not anti-India. It is in my blood to B+. And truly, I Love India. Which is exactly why I am writing this from the heart, with no holds barred. What is Brand India really about? What is the India beyond what we see in doublespread ads and [...]

So there I was sitting in the office of a large financial institution in Dubai. I had just met Sandra at the reception. Vinod brought me a cup of tea. And I was about to sit in on a meeting with Gaurav, Rajan, Michelle and Aman* . As I looked at my fellow desis buzzing around the [...]