In the days when loud, full-on advertising and a host of other media content are beamed at you 24x7, including on social media, a media-shy brand sounds like an anachronism. Even more so, when it is a successful brand, highly regarded by customers worldwide and by discerning media channels. In fact, how many such brands… Continue reading Should Successful, Media-Shy Brands Advertise or Not?
There isn’t a single news programme or article on the global economy these days that doesn’t mention recession. This has been so for the past many months, but as central banks – especially the US Federal Reserve – keep raising interest rates to combat inflation, the prospect of a recession draws ever nearer. In their… Continue reading The Indian Economy: Bright Spot or Dangers Lurking?
I just finished reading a book about economists and their theories that my aged father gifted me for my birthday this August in Goa. Looking at the title and reading the preface and introduction, it struck me immediately as mischief and meddling in publishing once again. The Worldly Philosophers by Robert L Heilbroner, published by… Continue reading Whirled-ly Philosophising
Even in ordinary times, it is too much to expect consistency in economic policies from many governments. And these are anything but ordinary times. Yet, it is in turbulent times that we need consistent and relevant economic policies. Emerging from two years of a devastating pandemic, the global economy has had to deal with wild… Continue reading Winds of Change Affecting Economies
It’s a year since the worst of the Covid-19 outbreaks, and with most people fully vaccinated in many countries, economies are getting back to work. The biggest concern, though, around the world is soaring inflation which is well-entrenched now and broadbased, so interest rate hikes to tame it are in full swing. The tightening of… Continue reading Recession, Recession, Why Such Confusion
After reading news of India’s first quarter GDP for FY 23, which showed little sign of a base effect despite the fact that in FY 22, we had grown 20.1% in the same quarter, we are likely to think that base effects don’t matter anymore. It would be unwise to think so, however, because this… Continue reading Pay Attention to the Cyclical Economy
It’s been a while since I wrote about advertising and brand communications on my blog, even if I have been sharing my thoughts and ideas on brands here. I mean, it’s been a while since I wrote about our business and the industry in India, and it’s not only because I have been out of… Continue reading Whatever Happened to the ‘Life’ in Slice of Life Advertising?
From the time the Covid-19 pandemic broke at the start of 2020, people have been speculating about whether working from home will be the new normal. Even at the time of SARS in the late 1990s, there wasn’t such a fuss about how and where people worked from. Everyone just assumed that after the epidemic… Continue reading Returning to the Office and Why It Makes Sense
Having just written about India on the occasion of our 75th Independence Day, I thought I’d also reflect on the state of women in this country, 75 years after we won independence. And because I have just completed 60 years of my life, perhaps a good way to start this discussion is to look at… Continue reading The State of Women in India@75
On the occasion of India’s 75th Independence Day, I cannot but help repeat what sounds like a cliché. That our country’s source of strength is our diversity and we should do everything to preserve it. Last month, my Owleye column was on how our democracy is fraying and that we are letting petty communal issues… Continue reading India’s Diversity a Source of Strength
Peripatetic Perch 