Businessworld

We in India are often fairly accused of irrational exuberance and premature celebration. Is the e-commerce bonanza another one such a delusion on our part? Are the valuations fed by hype? Are the business essentials geared for world leadership? ACI worldwide released a report ‘Prime Time for Real-Time’ in collaboration with GlobalData, on March 29, 2021. This covers entire year 2020 and ranks top 10 countries by Real-Time Payments Transactions. India tops the list with 25,478 million. China ranks second with 15,741 million. This is an interesting data point pointing to the development of the ecosystem as a whole. [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] At present, India is witnessing a fight for dominance between the world’s foremost retailers – Walmart-Flipkart and Amazon, each with roughly one-third of the market in terms of share. Reliance Retail launched its own online retail platform last year. India has always looked askance at foreign retailers. They are prevented from selling their own goods or owning inventory. Technically, they are only marketplaces. Of course, being a son of the soil, Reliance has no restrictions and can do as it likes. With its $3.5 billion acquisition of Future retail it looks to be set for a hybrid, omni channel play. Like all other areas of digital activity, e-commerce has seen a game changing surge thanks to the disruption brought about by the Covid pandemic. Looking back, one can say Walmart timed it well when it bagged Flipkart at a humongous $16.8 billion price tag in 2018 and Amazon has grown its brand and business in admirable ways. Let us now turn to China. It is quite another mindboggling order of magnitude. Its e-commerce market is twice the size of USA, Britain, Germany, Japan and South Korea put together! China and India have the largest mobile based internet users and shoppers. In China there are a billion internet users. China has immense consumer clout given its size and numbers and the online commerce world is about a demand structure where “more is better”. Because China is so populous and is developing so quickly, it is responsible for a remarkable share of global change. India and China had a parity share of world trade through 1980s. In fact, back then, we had a lead though a marginal one. Then China took off. In the last 10 years almost half of the world’s GDP growth came from China. By Purchasing Power Parity rankings, China became the world’s number one economy way back in 2012-13. Between 2000-2010, India also saw its sharpest rise in PCI in a low inflation environment. Nowhere else in the world has Per Capita Income grown so much, so fast as in India and China over the past 30 years (1991-2021). This is why, in combination with mobile based internet access, e-commerce underwent explosive growth along with rapid consolidation.  Alibaba, JD dot com and Pinduoduo now account for more than 90% of e-commerce retail. Amazon has a share of only 38% in USA where it is numero uno. In China, e-commerce was a phenomenal pole-vaulting feat. America was a brick-and-mortar play that matured to ecommerce. In China it was e-commerce to start with. For Asians -in general-shopping online is a discovery, entertainment, a bargain value feast and a sense of community – rolled in one. The poorer they are the more they like e-commerce. They feel empowered and equal. Online platforms don’t smirk at them. Influencers, shoppers, and brands are fully involved in this heady growth. Network effects are virtuous. Discounting, in bulk, became a massive phenomenon. Platforms became community sites and providers of video entertainment. Because of the numbers involved – China now has the biggest apps. WeChat has 1.2 billion users. It has video streaming, social networking, opening, bargain deals all at one place. On China’s singles day, Alibaba – in a pre-sale of only 30 minutes – got $7.5 billion of sales. Whereas all of the e-retailers put together in India made $3 billion during the entire festive period starting from September 29 to October 4th, 2020. Pinduoduo is a social network worth $175 billion, and it enables groups to drive bargain deals with local merchants on staples and essential groceries. It is reaching revenues and valuations never seen before. In conclusion, we in India have a long way to go. There is no denying that we have what it takes to get there. We are in the race for global leadership but for that India must benchmark right, innovate for scale and think of the future. Above all, we should not be smug or deluded. We need to stay humble and hungry. http://www.businessworld.in/article/Mirror-Mirror-on-the-Wall-The-China-India-E-commerce-Comparison/15-05-2021-389792/#.YJ_eeh73WN0.twitter

Technology is an enabler, disruptor, value creator all rolled into one. The most valuable corporations in the world are young companies brought into existence and prominence by the power of internet technology. In the present world, technology appears, transforms and diffuses at ever faster rates. It impacts every aspect of life, jobs, industries, communities, the origin and wielding of power. It is even forcing us to reevaluate what it means to be human.   [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] It is estimated that the Internet of Things will comprise of 6 billion devices by 2025. All of these will be connected and monitored in real time. In such a world there is fierce inter-corporate inter-national and inter-bloc competition to gain the advantage. Proprietary technology, intellectual property, patents – these are matters of national, planetary importance. More as technology becomes the source of power, more the corporations become above the government or society. Twitter can bans a sitting US President. Facebook can ‘boycott’ a country but not the other way around. Is there any example of a better way? In my opinion it’s Wikipedia. It turned 20 years old this year. Its survival and success is a big deal This is the one flower from the field of early internet that bloomed. It is a great example of crowd wisdom, untainted by baser motivations. Open to all, written often by amateurs, it is ‘freely’ available and always evolving. It is a hope, dream and prayer, all- in-one. I go frequently to it via search. Writing this article made me aware that my familiarity has not bred any contempt. Wikipedia is vast and it needs to be as deep as it is expansive. My maternal grandfather had bought me the junior encyclopedia Britannica when I was a young boy and I had asked him if it had in it everything there is to know. He had told me “the more we know the more we realize we know very little”. He was right. Wikipedia is funded by donors, is ‘not-for-profit’ and open to us all to add to its content. Isn’t that a worthy model? No VC, PE, jealous sponsor, corrupting advertiser – there is something appealing in it. The underlying argument is that it focuses on readers and contributors. No algorithm dictates that one is more valuable than the other “customer”. Yes it is not an academically kosher source of knowledge. Scrutiny depends on subject popularity. Updating is patchy and the most referred articles get updated better.  References are often neglected. But that’s the point of “each of us needs to be a better version”. Only if we care, do things improve. No shareholder, no instant billionaire, no unicorn tag, no frenzy. Just good intent. Wikipedia began with its first edit on 15 January 2001, two days after the domain was registered by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger. The Wikipedia project has grown rapidly in the course of its life, at several levels. Content has grown organically through the addition of new articles, new wikis have been added in English and non-English languages, and entire new projects replicating these growth methods in other related areas (news, quotations, reference books and so on) have been founded as well. Wikipedia itself has grown, with the creation of the ‘Wikimedia Foundation’ to act as an umbrella body and the growth of software and policies to address the needs of the editorial community. Wikipedia turned 20 years old this year. It has 53 million pages, 6.5 million articles and 310 active languages. It is amongst the most popular sites on the internet. It has many challenges like a smart evolution from desktop era design to the smartphone world. It needs to provide a ‘fact checker’ editorial structure. It needs more traction in Asia and Africa where it can be even more valuable. But it has the momentum to solve for these issues. Wikipedia is an example that tells us that a human powered, tech enabled not for profit success is not a Utopia.  We can say cheers to that! http://www.businessworld.in/article/Wikipedia-The-Utopia-That-Survived-And-Thrived/25-04-2021-387601/#.YIYiXBjq2_I.twitter

The pandemic has ensured that a new industry has rapidly come into existence which will eventually gross up to several trillion dollars of value. This is digitally enabled medicine. In the past. whenever the ‘digitization’ index for industries got put up for scrutiny – health care was usually ranked as conservative, high touch and low tech. It ranked much behind retail, entertainment, automotive, banking, etc. Healthcare remained an exception because it was privileged. Consumers went to meet physicians. Consultation was done face-to-face. Paper files were handed to patients. Metal filing cabinets in a clinic held your records. Even a doctor’s phone number was a rare data point. [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] Now, faced with overwhelming disruption in the form of a pandemic every aspect of normal life is in a lockdown. However, health concerns have peaked. Consumers and healthcare providers are per force embracing remote diagnosis, internet enablement, continuous communication and data analytics. Video conferencing, tele-consultation, continuous device based reporting and computer assisted support are being made mainstream almost overnight. The entire value chain is under a high tide of digitization –including but not limited to – hospitals, medical practitioners, wellness brands, self-care apps, insurers, pharmaceutical retailers, technology majors and data processing companies. The source of much technological innovation –America- also finds that its healthcare sector is ill-equipped for such a change. It is a $3 trillion market by itself. This gives a sense of the value opportunity, globally. Sensing this opportunity, venture capital, private equity and corporate investment has flooded in throughout 2020. There are more than 100 listed unicorns (each $1 bn+ in value) in the healthcare space. Google, Amazon, Apple are all active players in this world. Google invested in AmWell, a telematic operator whose market value is in billions of dollars already. No matter the varying extent of public or private involvement, the market sees value everywhere. In China, jdHealth, the pharmacy run by jd.com made a whopping $3.5 Billion IPO in Hong Kong. The numerous data linkages and customer lifetime value is making investors salivate. A lot of lifestyle disease management – hypertension, diabetes, gut health, etc. will be managed and monitored by wearable / implanted devices reporting into a cloud. The bigger leap will happen when hospital basics can be kitted and rolled out at one’s home. It will need a lot of work on standards being defined, responsibilities being classified and contingencies being managed. Will I retain rights over my data if my watch, tooth sensor, armband, room sensor and refrigerator all report on me 24/7? Insurance – liability – settlements are another area where data management and set protocols will be severely disrupted. Will an Apple watch and Alexa replace my local physician? Will it be cheaper, faster and better scenario? Will my sensor be authorized to call an ambulance and auto invoke my insurance? There are hundreds of such questions, answering each of these links to supplementary questions. Each scenario has associated data streams and a multi stage , monetization potential . But this is most unlike a ‘pitch and start’ business adventurism. ‘Failing early’ is not an option for health startups. Partnerships, processes and moral ownership must all work, in tandem. That said, the digital healthcare industry has arrived and truly brought the future along with it. http://www.businessworld.in/article/Wellness-Healthcare-Digital-Technology-Gaining-Techceleration/11-04-2021-386227/

If the world has been displaced, can brands stay the same . Its time to plan for the inevitable shift from a ‘mass marketing model’ to a ‘brand-to-individual’ model? Recently, I was on a panel discussing the importance of culture creation by brands at a time of collective displacement in terms of lifestyles and expectations. It was debated whether a reassessment of our value system would emerge. It was my conclusion –based on experience – that the best way for brands to navigate these changes is to get closer to their consumers in their everyday lives. [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] Brands are a part of culture. Some create it, others further it, while others are part of it. All brands create content but not all are able to create social impact and build culture. Cultural impact is a valid test for the greatness of a brand. Brands must have consumer orientation. If we understand displacement of the consumer, we will understand the best course for the brand to act as well. This demands intuition, active research and a lot of empathy. One only gets there by thinking, feeling and sensing. In an era of displacement, there can be a lot of untested approaches – what I would call ‘yellow flags’. Therefore it is important to guard against puffery, ineffective advertising, unempathetic fluff, vagueness and hollow calls to action. It is equally, if not more important to avoid cynicism. Therefore, in a changing world with displacement, scope is more important than scale. If the brand has value in the lives of consumers when the community is feeling this displacement, eventually it will gain scale and stand to benefit. Having a history of performance, specialization creates an advantage in terms of consumer preference. An ability to adaptively change course helps. That is what is demanded for meaningful differentiation. At their acclaimed best, brands are cultural systems. In times of flux and change, great brand creation opportunities exist. The actual market offering must make use of cultural content in the formulation of its marketing-mix. Denmark is not the same as India and they are both very different from Vietnam. Global brands must fully appreciate the cultural and social transitions to be made. Usually such understanding is systematically excluded from the insights and strategy stages with only a reliance on stereotypes proven by ‘data’. Corporate brand management enforces a top down command-and-control process that seldom has risk appetite for cultural innovation opportunities. It requires too much of an appreciation of the context. It also involves a willingness to punt – both missing as you go up the ladder where the stakes are higher. In a ‘normal’ world, the same product was for everyone. Mental and physical availability was achieved via advertising and distribution. The first goal was ‘to be famous before being liked’ and to rise above the cacophony of competing messages. Now, in an era of displacement, brands must elevate -with greater conviction-to the 1:1 model. Fundamentally, the 1:1 marketing model is not an enemy of scale. The challenge is how to figure out the full capability of tools and to know when and how to use them. Share of customer lives is as important as the share of the market. This demands a change of thinking from not only differentiating products but also differentiating customers. This brings me to my next point – Once brands reach the most relevant customers, they can connect well with them, motivate them and that is how they garner the ability to influence and lead the community as well. This allows them to build culture and at the same time, this keeps the brand at the top of the mind for consumers. Even as practising marketers, we don’t see it because the economic rationale for brand building has been given way more importance, while it’s sociological impact has been neglected. Consistency and commitment of brands is what creates culture. Those brands that achieve iconic status – are most frequently represented in popular culture and this actively grows the brand halo and leads to mythology for the brand. Brands are markers of trust, quality guarantee and community. Brands stand for a mission. And brands that stand for a culture allow you to experience a way of life or promote a way of life. If done well, every displacement will become manageable. http://www.businessworld.in/article/Brand-Bonding-In-A-Time-Of-Displacement/25-03-2021-384861/

Effie Asia Pacific is delighted to introduce Michelle Hutton, Vice Chair of Edelman Asia Pacific & CEO of Edelman Australia and Shubhranshu Singh, Global Head – Brand and Marketing at Royal Enfield as Heads of Jury for the APAC Effie Awards 2021. As a 25-year industry veteran, Hutton has built a reputation for inspiring clients to build brand trust to drive growth. She has led award winning teams and over the years she has worked with clients including Samsung, GSK, PayPal, Unilever and Kellogg. [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] Based in Australia since 2019, she previously held global leadership positions for Edelman while based in London as Managing Director, Global Client Strategy, COO of Europe and Chair of the agency’s global brand business. Besides the Effies, Michelle has also served on other global creative and effectiveness juries and PR award shows in Asia, EMEA and Australia, notably as PR Jury President at the 2019 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Hutton is an active member of Edelman’s Global Women in Leadership program, was a founding Board Member of the Global Women in PR network and was previously a Board Director of The Communications Council in Australia serving on its Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She is also an active member of the International Women’s Forum and is an Advisory Board Member for Second Bite, one of Australia’s largest food rescue charities. “I’m honoured to be invited to be a Head of Jury this year to help select the best of the best work from our region. Never before has demonstrating the impact of marketing been so important as we all step up to steer brands through the global pandemic and beyond,” said Hutton on her appointment. Singh on the other hand, is the Global Head – Brand and Marketing at Royal Enfield. A thought leader and growth catalyst, he has two decades of global brand and category building experience on some of the most admired brands in the world, having held leadership positions in global corporations such as Unilever, Visa, Star-21 Century Fox earlier in his career. Singh has been instrumental in encouraging path-breaking work, creating much loved IPs, and inspiring large teams to go beyond. He also has the proven, rare ability to marry the worlds of cultural mainstream, storytelling, and technology rather effectively. Based in India, he is a prolific writer and writes a column for several publications particularly on brand building, consumer sociology, technology and trends. Shubhranshu expressed, “It is an honour to be a Head of Jury and see cases from across the Asia Pacific region, which is the world’s largest economic bloc as well as its biggest consumer opportunity. I look forward to judging some highly effective work by great brands and businesses. I’ve always advocated that brand and business are one and the same thing. I am excited to learn from experienced jury members and have rich interactions with them.” http://bwmarketingworld.businessworld.in/article/APAC-Effie-Awards-2021-Names-Michelle-Hutton-and-Shubhranshu-Singh-As-Heads-of-Jury/17-03-2021-384083/

James Carville, a political strategist, participating in a TV show had famously said “It’s the economy, stupid!” He should have instead said “It’s about growth, stupid!”. The economy grows when value is created. Every bit of any corporate transition – innovation, enhanced sales, cost containment, quality enhancement, reduction of cycle time, faster adaptation – must lead to growth.     [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] Is it simple then? No, it is not. Growth is amongst the most used but also the most misunderstood concepts in business life. I owe it to my training at Hindustan Unilever that I was taught the real value and meaning of targeted growth. I was a summer intern, management trainee, sales manager, customer marketing manager and category head in HUL, and at every stage the focus was on sustained growth. Many seasoned business leaders, economic theorists and market analysts presume that each category will grow in some formulaic correlation to the GDP growth rate. This is a belief that will lead to abandonment of responsibility and eventual collapse. A management that focuses on macro factors alone or thinks of only operational excellence neglects growth. Incremental market gains won’t secure a future for a company. Corporate growth leads to economic growth. Hence it is vital. That’s where the first principle comes in. Growth is imperative but not all growth is good. Only sustainable, margin accretive and capital efficient growth ought to be celebrated. Just because volume surges do not mean all is well. In fact, this may deplete earnings, erode margins, or steal from the future. Secondly growth de-risks business. There is no point rearranging the furniture on the deck of a Titanic! Growth must be based on tightly defined customer needs and unique capabilities and advantages. A growth culture emphasizes the ability to learn and relearn, tool and retool. Growth doesn’t jump from the PowerPoint slide to the shop floor. It demands meticulous attention to costs, quality, product innovation, turnover time, productivity, asset utilization, efficient capital structure, strong brand pull, innovative supply chain and above all, customer satisfaction. These are the ingredients that make the ‘growth masala’. Lastly, I learned that growth needs humility. It needs creativity. Pre-conviction and hubris destroy growth. Those managers who walk in consumer shoes, stay curious, apply imagination and have more emotional energy, win. The biggest retardant is inertia. When successful, the question is “Why fix it if it isn’t broke?”. Then conditions change and the valley of degrowth appears right up ahead. But the road to growth is paved with tombstones of failed projects. Understand the difference between what you make and what the customer needs. Those who are on the needle of the Consumer True North, don’t lose their way to growth. The essence it to ask many questions such as: – “What’s happening in the marketplace?” – “What’s happening in consumer lives?” – “What are the change agents?” – “How are needs being addressed?” – “Can I address these needs, viably?” – “How can I benefit from the resulting opportunities?” – “What are the advantages we need to create?” – “What’s the gap between our present and future?” – “What do we need to de-emphasize vs. re-emphasize?” Before I conclude, you may be thinking I am only stating the obvious and that this is common sense. That’s a fact. But you should remember that in business, common sense is the most precious and the most elusive thing. Growth requires imagination with disciplined execution. The greater the change, the more we need to explore possibilities beyond currently served markets/categories to achieve growth. Wealth creation demands expanding the category and enlarging the market. Those who are invested in the past don’t want to change it. Old reflexes defy the change impulse. Careers, rewards and identities that get fixated to past success don’t allow the growth accelerator to be pressed. Above all, leadership promotes growth by setting a pattern for everyone. It guides how all stakeholders interact and determines which ideas get adopted. Critically, it sinks show boats and promotes those who deliver results. Talk is cheap. Growth is tough. Let growth talk. http://www.businessworld.in/article/Growth-It-Has-To-Be-Understood-Before-It-Is-Achieved/05-03-2021-382960/

The 1980’s witnessed one of the greatest paradigm shifts in economics since the advent of the industrial revolution. The engine of the global economy shifted gears from factories that make products to enterprises that develop platforms. The most valued companies across the world, since the 90’s, are the software giants that created Platforms, which are now the drivers of the Information age. Although platform businesses have always existed in some form or another, the scale of networks now is beyond imagination. For those looking for exponential growth for their business it is important to adapt to the business platform strategies   [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] Digital platforms have now become a vital aspect in our daily lives. From your personal computer, your e-wallet to your workstation, everything is connected to platforms. Platform businesses in a broader sense are spaces where multiple markets converge. Industry platforms are used by millions of individuals and thousands of firms to transact their daily business. Google, Amazon, Facebook are all examples of platforms used by people for several purposes. At the core of their transformative impact on global economics is a shift in thinking. From linear product-based thinking to a creation of networks and ecosystems that give value to millions across the world. The appeal of industry platforms –Why they matter? Industry platforms are foundation products or technologies that various firms can be built upon to create new products & services or transactions. They also get added complexity from these increasing connections. The most highly valued companies in the world are Platform Businesses. Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, each, has been valued exceeding a trillion dollars They derive great power from their scalability. Business platforms are broadly categorized into innovative business platforms, transactional business platforms and hybrid business platforms. If you are starting out with a good product then see if you can add value by opening your product to a third-party complementary innovation. This makes your product more versatile and instantly attracts more users thereby transforming it into an innovative business platform. If you are a service provider then there is opportunity to generate value by connecting market sides like any broker. You need to do so without owning assets or even providing the service directly. This is the classical transactional business platform. This is why such platforms, when corporatized, get highest valuations because of low asset ownership and high scalability. Once your business platform begins to grow, you can add elements of the other type of platform to create a hybrid platform. Typically, innovation platforms begin to grow access and distribution with a doubling down on the transaction side whereas the transaction platforms strive to add complements to build innovation advantage. The qualifiers for an Industry Platform: Broking Your platform needs to play the role of matchmaker and bring two interdependent groups together. Amazon is a platform for vendors to meet potential customers. Some pressing need ought to be liberated from some monster barrier. Only then does it qualify to be catapulted into the platform league. Networking Network effect is a self-reinforcing positive feedback loop where potential value of each user increases with an additional user or compliment. Facebook started out as a platform to share memories, interests, and opinions. Many individuals opted to be on Facebook for making these interpersonal connections. These people would often invite their friends and family on Facebook. This is called direct network effect. This attracted vendors and advertisers to Facebook, this is called cross side or indirect network effect. Tackling Contingencies When the presence of one group of targeted users is dependent on the presence of another. The best example of this problem is Airbnb. Airbnb needed hotel listings to attract users and needed users to attract listings. The value for users in using Airbnb exists only if they have large number of listings. So they got owners to list first. Their listings attracted the users. Network effects are bi-associated. It grows through mutual amplification. The key is to rely on your network effects to solve this problem. Throwing money to create one side of the network is as good as throwing the money. To create a winning business platform, you need not make the best product or provide the best service. You need to ensure that your network is good. This means that it should be easily accessible. It should have modularity and expandability. It should target a critical demand-supply shortfall and should be able to attract and sustain large ecosystems or networks. The growth model of your platform should depend on network effect. The rapid expansion of your platform should solve for your dependencies. This is what will ensure you find your niche in the vast internet of things and canalize the vast wealth flowing in the mainstream. http://www.businessworld.in/article/Business-In-The-Platform-World/12-02-2021-376865/

Last week, I was on a panel discussion on the importance of culture creation by brands and how the pandemic has led to a collective displacement in terms of lifestyles and expectations. A reassessment of value systems will hopefully emerge. It got me thinking about the best way for brands to navigate these changes so that they are closer to their consumers in their their everyday lives. Brands are a part of culture. Some create it, others further it, while others are part of it. All brands create content but not all are able to create social impact and build culture. The ability to create culture is a test for the greatness of a brand.   [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] Brands must have consumer orientation. If we understand displacement of the consumer, we will understand the best course for the brand to act as well. This is in part via intuition, in part by active research and a lot of empathy. One only gets there by thinking, feeling and sensing. In an era of displacement, there can be a lot of untested approaches – what I would call ‘yellow flags’. Therefore it is important to guard against puffery, ineffective advertising, unempathetic fluff, vagueness and hollow calls to action. It is equally, if not more important to avoid cynicism. Therefore, in a changing world with displacement, scope is more important than scale. If the brand has value in the lives of consumers when the community is feeling this displacement, eventually it will gain scale and stand to benefit from the business model. Having a history of performance, specialization, an advantage in terms of consumer preference and an ability to change course quickly helps. All these help build meaningful differentiation. At their acclaimed best, brands are cultural systems. In times of flux and change, great brand creation opportunities exist. The actual market offering must make use of cultural content in the formulation of its marketing-mix. Denmark is not the same as India and they are both different from Vietnam. Global brands must fully appreciate the cultural and social transitions to be made. Usually such understanding is systematically excluded from the insights and strategy stages with only a reliance on stereotypes proven by ‘data’. Corporate brand management enforces a top down command-and-control process that seldom has risk appetite for cultural innovation opportunities. It requires too much context and a willingness to punt – both missing as you go up the ladder. In a ‘normal’ world, the same product used to be for everyone. Mental and physical availability was to be achieved using distribution and reaching out to consumers – the first goal was to be famous before being liked and to rise above the cacophony of competing messages. For me my experience at Royal Enfield taught me that this model of essential FMCG style marketing needed to elevate to the 1:1 model and that tech advances are making it possible just like earlier mass media had made the mass marketing model possible. Fundamentally, the 1:1 marketing model is not an enemy of scale. The challenge is how to figure out the full capability of tools and to know when and how to use them. Share of customer lives is as important as the share of the market. This demands a change of thinking from not only differentiating products but also differentiating customers. This brings me to my next point – Once brands reach the most relevant customers, they can connect well with them, motivate them and that is how they garner the ability to influence and lead the community as well. This allows them to build culture and at the same time, this keeps the brand at the top of the mind for consumers. Even as practising marketers, we don’t see it because the economic rationale for brand building has been given way more importance, while it’s sociological impact has been neglected. We believe Royal Enfield has managed to achieve such a cultural status through a premium and engaging experience. So, when there was unprecedented volatility everywhere due to the pandemic, we were no exception. We too experienced collective displacement. Our rides and community activities like marquee rides and much loved events like rider mania, etc. were affected by the pandemic as people stopped stepping out of their homes. However, during these times, our bond with our community has only strengthened. We took steps to make sure the community is together at this difficult time. Our campaigns like ‘Trip Story’, the ‘Art of Motorcycling’ invited the community to stay connected online and thus looked at the allied interests of our community. Consistency and commitment of brands is what creates culture. Those brands that achieve iconic status – are most frequently represented in popular culture and this actively grows the brand halo and leads to mythology for the brand. Brands are markers of trust, quality guarantee and community. Brands stand for a mission. And brands that stand for a culture allow you to experience a way of life or promote a way of life. If done well, every displacement will become manageable. http://www.businessworld.in/article/Brand-Bonding-In-A-Time-Of-Displacement/03-02-2021-373085/      

Onida, a once successful Indian consumer electronics brand had a claim “Neighbour’s envy, Owner’s pride” .They got it right. We always want what the neighbours have, or better. I have gone on record in several published articles to state that the sociology of brands has been deliberately neglected and ignored. The economic value of brands and the importance of consumer psychology receive far more attention. After half a century of trying to get consumers to prefer brands for rational reasons, marketers are realising Daniel Kahneman was right when he said that “Thinking is to humans as swimming is to cats”. What he meant was that humans can think when obliged to but they’d much rather not. Thinking is not a natural condition. [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] Every consumer decision is essentially a spontaneous, emotional, unthinking, impulsive decision. The process leading to it may be interspersed by a logical, rational, measured, comparative input but nevertheless it is the servant, not the master. Nudge based interventions have received tremendous research attention because corporations realise that merely gaining traction through mental and physical availability is no longer enough. They see that to truly extract Consumer lifetime value, it is required to understand “behavioural economics”. The profound challenge is to change behaviour at a social scale. How does a society adopt habits, behaviours, values? My answer is they do so through copying others. Homo sapiens are fundamentally pro-social. Marketers must therefore develop sociological understanding. Consumption is an individual activity and a social activity at the exact same time. We are socially influenced in our behaviour as consumers. Our conventions, norms, cultural preferences are entirely shaped through social emulation. Our behaviour is guided socially. It is only natural that brands emerge in this way. Social norm is the mother’s milk for brands to be nourished with. Take the example of drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, applying makeup, using electronic payments, eating cereal with cold milk – in each of these examples – consumption amongst Indian consumers has been shaped and directed by social acceptance. How have we Indians adopted Halloween, Mother’s Day, and Valentine ’s Day? We have eagerly copied others. At a restaurant we make our choices from a menu but we also inevitably see what other people are eating. That shapes our choice. We assume that the social majority has already done the pre-work. We go with the majority because we presume, they have done the ‘cost-return’ arithmetic already. We feel safer ‘with the herd’. Mass adoption and popularity are linked. There is collectivism in how a society determines the popularity ofnames, colours, moods or fashion. There are a few pioneers who introduce it to many more adopters andthen most others follow and simply copy. Why were so many Indian boys named Amit, Anuj, Deepak or Navin say, in the 1980s? Why did these names then fizzle away in terms of popularity? Who decided their popularity or their subsequent expiration? When making choices for insurance, mutual funds or automobiles why do we imagine that we have the expertise to make a good judgement even though we rely on others for information or understanding? This explains how individual understanding nevertheless get anchored in social choice. Human beings are special not only because we think but because we are the only species that ‘thinks about thinking’. Still, we are happy to outsource our thinking and rely on shallow processing rather than deliberate thinking. Our shortcut to thinking is copying the choices made by others. Amazon, Netflix and many other new economy giants perfectly understood these basic attributes to do a sharp definition of segments and predict consumer choices. “People who like ABC also like XYZ “ that is a powerful consumer truth to deduce. Mankind has relied on social action. Theoretically, much knowledge may reside in my head, yet I depend on the expertise and knowledge application on part of others. We seldom take our own medicine. But Marketing is an empirically validated practice. Results must pave the way for rules. The ability to shape behaviour creates value for brands. The highest valued brands are those that can create habit. The easiest way to do measurable behavioural change is by seeding it to become a social norm. Once there is social adoption, individual adoption is guaranteed. Cognitive reflection is a discipline. That’s why low willpower makes consumers go with the group. Herding is a weakness . Herding is a call to abandon thinking and prefer feeling. Man has taken comfort in being with the herd and the gene pool has rewarded conformism. But great progress demands cutting away from the beliefs that make us feel comfortable. We need mental energy to think and keep thinking.

Every President of the United States has a place in history even though every individual President doesn’t make history. Every President reaches that office with effort, perseverance and demonstrated ability. Yet, not every President is great. I have studied the American presidency over many years to understand crowd psychology, brand building and communication since these are all part of winning and holding that office. My perspective is that of a brand builder, storyteller and student of communication. [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] In particular, I have researched those who have occupied the office of the President from 20th century and onwards. The list includes Teddy Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Harry Truman, F.D.Roosevelt or the more recent Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George.W. Bush, Obama or Donald Trump. Why? Because the US Presidency occupies a pre-eminent place in world affairs. In the US, no senator or Supreme Court Justice features on currency notes. Holidays are set aside only for great Presidents of the past. The only cachet in American public esteems is for the office of the President. I have been more alert to public perception than academic assessments. No expert is fully objective and no specialist is without bias. The American ‘liberal democratic’ mind set is credentialed but espouses a world view contrary to the one held by a larger percentage of US voters. Policy is different from process. Middle of the road policy cannot result in effective execution. Polls, surveys and focus groups cannot read the failure and frustration that an American president may feel. Huge energy is required to push any administration’s program towards achievement. That boldness is what propels an individual President into the gallery of the greats or the immortals. Judge a President on vision, operational abilities and gift of command. Each one has to leave an imprint on foreign affairs and economic policy. We must always ask what did they do for the safeguarding of human rights and liberty, proactive environmental action and protection of institutional space? Like every other power centre, Washington is an Olympics of ongoing political game. The game is glorious and uplifting but also aggravating and chaotic. It cannot be played using text book precepts. Moreover, old truisms have changed dramatically. There is a stunning transformation of the way the American system of government operates in a highly polarised environment. Be it congressional assertiveness, the power of staff and institutions, the rise of television and social media, the merchandising of candidates or the explosion of special interest politics. The demands of political fundraising and the marshalling of governing coalitions has led to a transformation. Power does not reside in the office of the President but flows to it readily if a skilful incumbent can tilt the balance towards himself. The rise of massive corporate power and the singular challenge from China have changed the game. New players and new game plans are throwing it wide open. It is harder to manage and manipulate. Being at the apex of the power structure in the United States of America is a serious enterprise. The world looks for substance where substance matters. Issues, ideas and directional initiatives matter most and are vitally important to holding Presidential power. Substance and stratagem are intertwined. It is a world which is moved by naked self-interest. It is a continuous contest, a scramble for power and influence. Nevertheless it is about the person. It is not a faceless power. So what are the watch out signs of a good choice? There are characteristics that voters can see while deciding amongst Presidential aspirants because they are predictive of which candidate may be more likely to succeed. These are traits that are shared by the most successful of Presidents with higher achievements. Firstly, one has to look out for a sense of purpose. Secondly broader life experiences and exposure to multiple occupations and life circumstances help a person go through the school of hard knocks and employ these lessons while running their administration. It is critical to possess a will to persevere and an ability to negotiate. The complexity of the world cannot be grasped by one man through learning in a political career of a few decades. Therefore, the ability to learn and be willingly tutored by specialists is very important. Organisational skill and self-discipline is required to be a man of all seasons. A President has to be an orchestrator of diverse institutions and lead via persuasion to be truly effective. Those who are loved, keep their egos in check. It is critical that there be enough humility to be able to surround oneself with experienced, knowledgeable, intellectually superior advisers. All great Presidents understood that they would ultimately receive the credit for the achievement of their subordinates and hence they went out of their way to find outstanding ones. Lastly, but above all, a well-developed sense of integrity is sine qua non. Whenever the heart and mind deviate from a sense of morality, disaster follows. http://businessworld.in/article/To-be-a-President-/16-11-2020-343058