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
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
Each year, when International Women’s Day comes around, we can expect to see a lot of articles, reports and social media shares on women. Indeed, I too have something that I have written for the occasion this year. We will usually see a lot of pious statements about gender diversity in organisations, plenty of platitudes… Continue reading Women in Work Never Had It Worse
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?
