How Popular Car Brands Can Maintain Their Edge

Since I have written about luxury car brands – Jaguar, Land Rover, JLR corporate brand and Porsche - on my blog before, I thought I’d turn my attention to mass-market popular car brands this time. Mass market and premium cars ought to constitute the most crowded of car segments in any country, I would reckon.… Continue reading How Popular Car Brands Can Maintain Their Edge

Have Consumers Changed the Way They Make Brand Decisions?

In the old days when I was still a cub copywriter in the advertising industry in India – which is around 35-40 years ago – the prevailing marketing wisdom was that the consumer or customer is the one who makes the biggest decisions on brands. “Customer is King” was always heard at meetings, in conference… Continue reading Have Consumers Changed the Way They Make Brand Decisions?

Airlines as Image-Builders of Countries

In my previous blog post, I had written about airlines as world connectors, providing an important economic and cultural link between countries and their people. And in it, I tried to create and recommend a new brand strategy for British Airways, already an image-builder for Britain as well as a world connector. I had envisaged… Continue reading Airlines as Image-Builders of Countries

Airlines as Connectors of the World

We think of airlines as transportation, and also in the context of tourism, but rarely as providers of international connectivity, as vital as telecommunications and the internet. And even more rarely do we think of them as performing an important economic function, not even in today’s globalized and highly connected world. They are critical not… Continue reading Airlines as Connectors of the World

Technology or Brand, Which Comes First?

With all the excessive focus on technology in the times that we live in, it’s easy for companies to lose sight of brands, and consumer connection. These days particularly AI is the focus of so much attention, that I fear at least my industry of advertising and brand communications is getting carried away by all… Continue reading Technology or Brand, Which Comes First?

How Market Leaders Can Sustain Growth Against New Headwinds

We have all seen many businesses scale up and grow in their early years and become market leaders. That is to say they acquire the largest market share in the industry. That continues for a few years, or perhaps even decades, until they hit some kind of roadblock. The roadblock could be of many kinds,… Continue reading How Market Leaders Can Sustain Growth Against New Headwinds

Rebrand, Refresh, Rethink – the What and Why of Change

These days, there is a lot of discussion on rebranding, brand refresh and brand rethink in the advertising and brand communications industry. Not sure that is a good sign, because ideally brands ought to be consistent in their product offerings as well as in the way they relate to consumers. In fact, an article shared… Continue reading Rebrand, Refresh, Rethink – the What and Why of Change

Colour-conscious, Are We?

I have observed many new conscious biases and prejudices in the world of work for so many years now, that I wonder if this is just a trend or something more enduring. If it’s the latter, we ought to have reasons to be seriously concerned. It is recent, irrational and to that extent speaks of… Continue reading Colour-conscious, Are We?

Spotting Brands with Revival Power

There are times in every brand or company’s life, when it ages, or its audience ages, or the brand’s performance seems jaded and stuck in a rut. The reasons could be many. From the product’s features not keeping pace, to the market having outgrown the product, to stiff competition in the marketplace. We have all… Continue reading Spotting Brands with Revival Power

Whatever Happened to the ‘Life’ in Slice of Life Advertising?

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?