I have been writing on the travails of the advertising industry on my blog for the past couple of years at least. These are based on my observations from the outside, since my career in advertising in India was wrecked over two decades ago by unprofessional organisations. These problems have now reached an existential crisis… Continue reading How the Advertising Industry Can Reinvent Itself
In an earlier blog post on media brands, I had written that BBC’s coverage of the conflict in Gaza was found wanting, and that I was particularly disappointed because I happen to be a regular BBC World News viewer and because I had done some advertising work for BBC when they were launching India-specific programmes… Continue reading How the BBC Can Become More Competitive
While the connection between product sales or revenue and corporate performance is obvious and better understood in the world of business, the connection between brands and company performance is not so clear. This is because it is not a direct one. A recent post on LinkedIn and a comment to the post – to which… Continue reading Exploring the Connection Between Brands and Corporate Performance
The history of advertising and marketing is probably littered with scores of cases of companies and brands that began with a brilliant invention, but then petered out somewhere along the way. I have myself written about brands like Kodak, Nokia and Philips CDs in my older blog posts, and I am sure there are many… Continue reading Is Being a Pioneer Brand Good Enough?
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?
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
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
With the phenomenal growth of China over the past three decades and its adoption of capitalism and private enterprise, albeit with Chinese characteristics, we have to question many of our assumptions about capitalism, communism, free market economies and state control. Not only are some Chinese companies beginning to enjoy high market shares and market valuations,… Continue reading Brands and Democracy: Freedom of Choice Helps Brands Thrive
Peripatetic Perch 