It is over. The results are known. A democratic exercise, unparalleled in human experience, has concluded. What has emerged is the key to the flood gates of power. A government has been elected with an unambiguous verdict. It will be responsible for the most populous and youngest human population on the planet. It will be endowed …
What marketers can learn from this year’s Lok Sabha elections? Read More »
Globally, the trillion dollar marketing, advertising, and branded content economy runs on things new, loud and ephemeral. But consumers, individually and collectively, are creatures of memory. This is a fundamental contradiction, and perhaps hypocrisy which is hardly discussed. Managers, creative partners, and disseminators get enormous energy, profit, and career growth from creating brand paraphernalia afresh but this …
At a trillion dollar, Apple is a wow that truly defies valuation. Yet the stock market is not sanguine about its prospects. Apple has its success and its failings to pin on one flagship product, the iPhone. The iPhone holds significant market shares in only three countries: the United States, the U.K. and Japan. Even there, its share …
Political reputation is a mystery. The reasons for it to wax and wane are seemingly arbitrary and yet we care intensely about our collective opinion. Good reputation, judged amass, percolates down to the deepest roots of our social existence. Fame or popularity is not alogical basis for action. Still, we act as per group judgement. …
In today’s world privacy dilution often camouflages as a convenience even as it manipulates. With the ‘Jio revolution’ India has surged to the top ranking in growth, per capita usage, sheer cost and availability of data. There is no parallel in history for this. Yet, as the world sees the power and depth of data, …
I joined Hindustan Lever as a management trainee in the year 1999. In the last summer of the 20th century, judgement and intuition were counted as pre-requisites for brand building. Instinctive acumen and an appreciative eye for creative were the core competencies. Hiring for these competencies and then training for skills was the mantra. How …
As the digital age approaches adolescence, it is already possible to capture, store and analyse data on a planetwide scale. Triangulation of data beyond all historical human capacity is boosting predictive analytics, trends mapping and decision foresight. The immense concentration of this data gathering ability is paralysing in terms of implications. The biggest generators of …
The British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan when asked what it was that he most feared, is supposed to have replied “Events, dear boys, Events!”. This oft-repeated quote was perhaps never uttered. But its place amongst the most frequently cited quotes on politics, makes its import levitate above its authenticity. Indeed, most politicians will attest that …
Why political brands need a crisis management strategy. Read More »
It was obviously not something that looked like it would be as popular as it has become. As a game it didn’t have glamour: it was familiar but not particularly desirable,” says Santosh Desai, MD and CEO, Future Brands, one of the leading chroniclers of Indian consumer culture. He freely admits he didn’t see the …
