The idea of working on this retail brand struck me when I was reading The Economist online recently. Not a place where you’d expect to see an advert for M&S, but there it was. A typical catalogue-style advert of women’s apparel, staring at me on my computer screen. I couldn’t help but think what is… Continue reading Ways a British Retail Institution Can Remake Itself
It was hardly surprising that automobile sales started to revive worldwide, post the Covid-related lockdowns. That was in large part due to China’s fast recovery from the pandemic. In luxury automobiles particularly, the Chinese market has a huge effect, in addition to US and Western Europe. This, accompanied by a general preference for SUVs for… Continue reading Ideas to Help Land Rover Go Above and Beyond
While writing about brands and brand-building in recent months, it once again occurred to me how little advertising and brand communications agencies focus on building their own brands. We spend all our time and resources advising client organisations on the best way to build their brands and grow their businesses, but hardly care to build… Continue reading Let There Be Light!
In a recent blog post, I had written that a necessary, even if not very engaging, part of building a brand is how it is valued. And I had promised to share some of my initial thoughts on the subject. As a writer in the advertising and brand communications industry who also happens to be… Continue reading Some Thoughts on Brand Valuations
Over a year ago, when the Covid-19 pandemic which started in Wuhan, China, spread around the world, there were accusations targeted at China by the US and China retaliated with its own allegations. When all the accusations and counter-accusations had died down, countries began to close down their economies to focus on containing the spread… Continue reading Why Global Cooperation Is Fraying
As someone who has worked in the advertising industry in India for decades, I am always surprised by how few companies think of themselves as brands. Not just in India, but across the world. The few who do, think of it in terms of slapping on a corporate logo at the end of a brand… Continue reading Building a Corporate Brand Requires a Change in Mindset
In recent years stakeholder capitalism has been the subject of much discussion among companies and in media. However, as I have written before, the idea was first introduced by Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum way back in the ‘70s. Still, it seems its time may have finally come, as a result of the… Continue reading Of Organization Cultures and Brands
It has been around three decades since Indian companies started going global. First, was the Aditya Birla Group, followed by the Tata Group, Mahindra, Godrej, Airtel, Reliance and many more. What does their internationalization tell us about their brands globally, and have they even begun thinking of themselves as multinational brands? The one strange feature… Continue reading Indian Brands in the Global Arena
In addition to my last blog post in which I had shared five of my presentations on the building blocks of brand development, I thought it might make sense to explore other aspects of brand-building as well. I have been thinking about these subjects for many years, while observing developments in the advertising and marketing… Continue reading Brands Need Long-term Vision and Care
I don’t know how many of us realize that we have already lived through a fifth of this century, mired in crises of one type or another. It all began with 9/11 in America which led to a series of ill-conceived wars in Asia. Then, we had the Great Recession from 2007-8 onwards from which… Continue reading Will the World Ever Rediscover Its Innovative Spirit?
Peripatetic Perch 