Good morning. But, some pragmatists among us will ask whether it is truly a good morning for brand marketers? In an increasingly dystopian (for some) reality, product is being innovated by R&D, pricing is decided by finance, place is negotiated by trade, and promotion is driven by procurement. With all the four P’s of marketing […]
Alas, they come in all shapes and sizes. And mindsets. How is marketing going to be able to satisfy this cacophony of desires, unless it puts them in neat little boxes of uniform dimensions? How will it create a mythology of leadership, unless it measures itself against one little, albeit profitable, box? And how will […]
Now days, when you throw a pebble into a crowd, you are likely to hit three social media experts at once. Obviously, one wonders, how does one become a social expert? It’s real easy. Start by saying, “I am a social marketing expert”. Say it again, this time a bit differently “I am a social […]
This is not a happy article. It does not have a happy beginning, and neither does it end happily. In today’s #happiness-as-the-collective zenith-of-all-marketing-promises, you would rightfully wonder, why would anyone read this? But, the author hopes that you would indulge him beyond this first paragraph. In this 21st century, we are chasing happiness, as opposed […]
There was a day not too long ago, when a free sachet of shampoo cello taped with the bottle would bring a joyful glee on our faces. And, now, we look for the free sachet before we decide to buy the shampoo. It seems like copycat marketers (and agencies!) have coached us to not see […]
For some, this is may be an innocuously easy question. But for me this has remained, till date, the bane of my life. One day, I was asked by a novice trainee (who shall remain unnamed), “What do you do, all day, at work?” No sooner had my auditory cortex received this signal that my […]
Aspiration is the tool that forges the future. And nowhere does this aspiration burn brighter than amongst the middle classes in Asia. Enough has already been written about the size and demographic profile of the Asian middle class, in other places also referred to as the consuming class. Some studies estimate that, by 2030, the […]
Every marketer wants to influence people to think favorably about his brand (in the hope that this favorable thinking will ultimately convert into purchase). In an earlier dinosaur age, this influence was through advertising on mass media. This influence now seeks to transition to social forums. And the reason is simple – the viewers have […]
Ms.Krishnan spends as much time on her laptop as she does with her daughter’s homework. What she does not have time for however, is watching TV at a stretch. Which is why she isn’t aware of the new flavoured yogurt in town. But the loss is definitely not hers. Ms.Krishnan is a case in point. […]
There is a famous quote that goes “Today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday” And one of the current ‘worry’ topics is the future structure of the advertising agency. The last big change in this area was the unbundling of the media agency and that was over a decade ago! After media unbundling, […]