In recent days, the Indian media has been full of news and views about Air India finally being sold to the Tatas. Divestment done. People have also been opining about how this reflects the government’s seriousness about privatization and reforms. My reaction was: If only it had been allowed a couple of decades earlier, when… Continue reading The Return of The Prodigal
We all talk of brand equity, especially in the advertising and brand communications industry. The Economic Times in India even has an advertising and marketing supplement called Brand Equity. What exactly do we mean, when we speak of brand equity? The term has come to encompass many aspects of a brand’s growth, from brand awareness… Continue reading Between Equity and Valuations, What Brands Represent
Hello readers. Welcome to the first of my Owleye blog posts - a monthly column of commentary on the most important issue facing the world - in place of my Writings on The Wall blog posts, that now says goodbye. This one is on Afghanistan's economic troubles and its future. After the longest war that… Continue reading Afghanistan Impoverished by More Than War
Finished reading Amartya Sen’s Home in The World, that my parents had gifted me for my birthday this year. The first I heard of it was in an article by Edward Luce of The Financial Times that he shared on Twitter and I remember thinking, well, it’s been a long time since one saw or… Continue reading Truly at Home in The World
The last time I wrote about Europe’s economy, it was in the context of global economic recovery, jobs and employment and how many people who had been furloughed were back to full-time work. Now that we know that the European economy has grown healthily in the second quarter of 2021, we must remember that it… Continue reading Europe’s Economic Recovery Could Be Hit by Own Goal
As an advertising and brand communications professional who has been observing and working on brands for many decades, it strikes me that there are many industries and indeed companies in India that are ripe for market segmentation. In marketing, of course, that would mean tailoring specific products/brands to meet the specific requirements of select groups… Continue reading Market Segmentation: Different Strokes for Different Folks
The occasion of India’s 74th Independence Day is a major milestone and I am sure it will prompt many articles, stories, films, songs, poems, speeches, etc on the subject. And so, it should, for it is no minor accomplishment. Guess what? As I typed the page heading “150th blog post for Peripatetic Perch” to start… Continue reading India at 75: Sisyphus in the Himalayas
It’s a year and a half since Covid-19 made its appearance in China and went on to ravage the world with amazing speed and virulence. China managed to control it effectively since they locked down Wuhan completely and prevented the spread of the virus while the infected were being treated. Other countries managed to control… Continue reading Road to Economic Recovery and Obstacles Ahead
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
As the Covid pandemic rages in India, one cannot help but think of how our leaders were gloating over having controlled the pandemic just a few months ago. In many other countries too, populist leaders - especially strongmen – were either in complete denial over the virus and contagion, or else were too absorbed in… Continue reading Ovid in the Time of Covid: Self-absorption
