At the start of the Covid pandemic, we all faced shortages at grocery supermarkets and while some of it was due to panic buying, the main culprit was supply shortages due to lockdowns imposed. It has been widely reported that due to lockdowns as well as economic and job uncertainty, many consumers were forced to… Continue reading Open to the World, Covid or Not
It’s been such a long hibernation and hiatus in my career, that I have even stopped thinking about it. Though I can’t afford to not think about it, with aged parents to care for, and with whom I now live in Goa. It seems like an eternity since I heard the bustle of an office;… Continue reading Exiled with My Thoughts and Ideas on Brands
As someone who has a scientific temperament and is a rationalist, I tend to always approach a problem in a rational, scientific way. Or at least, I always prefer to, circumstances permitting. And it’s one of the many reasons I think strategically on advertising and brand communication matters, even though I have spent my entire… Continue reading Why Brandthink Needs Imagination
Right now, with Covid-19 wreaking havoc across the world, launching a new brand or embarking on a new future would be the last thing on people’s minds. Yet, think about the new future that awaits Britain at the end of this year. It will be a whole new world of business, living and working that… Continue reading Corporate Brands and the Idea of Renewal
In this edition of the Owl Wisdom Podcast, I would like to talk about brands, which is linked to my profession of advertising and brand communications. However, this time the focus is on countries as brands. I have always believed that countries too are brands, though in a different way from companies, products and services.… Continue reading Countries as Brands: Owl Wisdom Podcast
There has been a lot of discussion lately, at least in India, on whether brands should stay quiet during Covid or continue to communicate with their customers. I think much of the dilemma stems from the fact that certain industries have been hit so hard during Covid, either from pandemic fears or from the lockdowns… Continue reading Brands and Covid: Long Time, No See!
With the phenomenal growth of China over the past three decades and its adoption of capitalism and private enterprise, albeit with Chinese characteristics, we have to question many of our assumptions about capitalism, communism, free market economies and state control. Not only are some Chinese companies beginning to enjoy high market shares and market valuations,… Continue reading Brands and Democracy: Freedom of Choice Helps Brands Thrive
This is an article I wrote for LinkedIn as it was prompted by a share there. However, the subject of educational institutions as brands has been on my mind for quite a while now. Especially India's institutes of excellence in engineering and business management, the IITs and IIMs. Like many companies, educational institutions don't see… Continue reading Educational Institutions as Brands
As businesses slowly try to get back to work and shops and establishments open after the Covid-lockdown, it will be a while before people get used to the idea of moving around freely in our cities. Post-Covid, the automobile industry in China seems to be seeing a reasonable uptick in sales, though it is not… Continue reading Time for Automotive Industry to Change Lanes
How do you teach an old dog new tricks? By subjecting it to experiments, of course. Perhaps the best known experiment in behavioural science – and the oldest trick in the book - is the Pavlov experiment, now considered standard in generating conditioned responses. Nowadays, behavioural economics, behavioural insights, behavioural tech are all the rage.… Continue reading Much Ado About Behavioural Insights
Peripatetic Perch 