I remember digital media being the shiny new thing on the horizon, the year Apple launched the iPhone and the smartphone era was born. That was 2007, and there have been plenty of disruption and changes since then. Much water has flowed under the digital bridge and nowhere more so, than in the advertising landscape.… Continue reading What the Digital Medium Needs, To Be a True Brand-building Medium
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!
The much-awaited GDP figures for India’s economy in the last quarter of the last financial year and for the full year are finally here. And while the immediate reaction seems to be one of relief, there is plenty to read between the lines. For the last quarter of FY21, the Indian economy seems to have… Continue reading Indian Economy and Covid Recovery All Slow Down
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
The surging numbers of fresh Covid cases in India makes for grim reading, day after day. The daily hunt for hospitals, oxygen, ambulances, even cremation ground space is simply heart-rending. It seems that our cities have turned into funeral pyres, with not enough space to even cremate or bury their dead. If times weren’t already… Continue reading Testing Democracy in a Pandemic
Just a few months ago, India was being lauded for how well it had handled the Covid-19 pandemic and how the severe lockdowns that were imposed in 2020 actually worked. Never mind that they were cruel on the lives of millions of migrant workers and their livelihoods. Still, the fact that the government quickly scrambled… Continue reading Indian Economy Caught Between a Raging Pandemic and Politics
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
Peripatetic Perch 