While dusting and spring-cleaning my father’s bookshelves at home in Goa, I happened to discover a book I had never seen before in his collection. When I opened it, I was even more surprised to see his inscription: Daryaganj pavement, Delhi, 1999. He did visit me in Delhi around then and we might have wandered… Continue reading Impressions and Sketches of Another Age
Hello readers and welcome to my blog in July 2021. Half of 2021 is already gone by and there seems to be little respite from the Covid pandemic. While the vaccinations are on in full swing, the pace seems to be wanting. Besides, many countries haven’t even received enough doses of the vaccine to start… Continue reading Ovid in the Time of Covid: Conflict
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
We are already past the middle of 2021, and what a year it has been. What a terrible couple of years the 2020s decade has chosen to begin with. So much suffering, loss of life and scars that are likely to remain for much longer. We even have some of the makings of the roaring… Continue reading Writings on the Wall #21: Reopening
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
In recent days, we in India have been witnessing people throwing caution to the winds, in the name of religious fervour. This, even as the Covid-19 pandemic ravages the country, with the discovery of a new, highly transmissible variant first found in India, the B.1.617. Whether it is the Maha Kumbh Mela, or the celebration… Continue reading Reading Russell During the Pandemic
