“Who do I call – a digital agency or a creative agency?” The economy is flat, supply side efficiencies have been maximized, consumers are becoming demanding, the competition is getting fiercer and quarterly revenue performance pressures are only rising. No wonder then, at this very moment in history, a creative renaissance is under way in […]
Enough has been written about the miasma of commoditized product offerings in crowded shopping aisles with increasing retailer arbitrage and reducing margins. Equally, there has more hard evidence than ever before on the shifting power equation from omnipresent brands to digitally connected consumers. The consequent workplace tensions of being forced to work within old world […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
“When you can dramatically lower the costs of connecting supply and demand, it changes not just the numbers, but the entire nature of the market” says Chris Anderson in The Long Tail. But then, this article is about a completely different ‘long tail’. It is not about the economics of media choices (covered very well […]
There is an ancient African adage “Smooth seas do not make skilful sailors.” And nowhere is this truer than the FMCG category. From the late nineties where life was relatively easy focusing on benefits and branding, the last decade has been testing the mettle of FMCG marketers. To know more about the kind of choppy […]