Read Between the Ps

Playing the old classic patriotic songs with every flag hoisting, the emerging innovative combination of saffron, white and greens represented in our attire (and not necessarily with a flag), and the varying degrees of pride while looking at the national flag - all this along with celebrating a mid-week national holiday with high laziness quotient!  - That is how 15th August passes with most of us every year! (I am excluding the NRIs from this lot, as the " NR but I " bit in them comes out very strongly today). Advertisers try to be topical around independence day - either through s(t)ale discounts or through innovative emotive connects. Some of the key words I noticed in most of the ads include Freedom - the quintessential term without which the ad is seemingly irrelevant, Tri color representation Offers - from 15% to 2017/- only Independence day Gandhi ji  On the other hand, we talk about Freedom from the societal aspects of our country, where we take ...

Spending money on a full-page print ad is definitely noticeable. You spend a lot of money and time to invest behind the creatives, the messaging and the back-end preparation. It would then be quite heart-breaking for a marketer when readers would ignore or not get your message and flip over! Worst, it is noticed more by marketing students (like me) who would rather intellectualize than buy! When such a step is taken by one of your peer companies that you admire, the marketer in me cannot hold myself from opining! Case in point is iChef   - In case you heard the name for the first time, let me not tell you what they do - just see this ad and see if you guessed it correctly. This was the ad on 5th of August - front page of Bombay Times So what did you guess? The company is into ready-to-cook meal kits pre packed and served fresh to you - so that you don't have to get worked up on sourcing the ingredients and make a nice complete meal for your family. The next one cam...

According to  a new report  by Accenture Strategy, Retailers and consumer goods companies could unlock  $2.95 trillion  in value for the industry and consumers over the next decade by accelerating digital transformation,  Investments in new, digitally-driven business models will give consumers greater choice around how they purchase goods and services and enable companies to deliver profitable, differentiated experiences.  Part of this Digital transformation entails brands hovering around the key influencers that are rapidly emerging out of new technologies. Very soon you would notice the brands flirting around with these tech hulks flaunting their strength, seeking their attention! A new innovative Go-to-market approach is imperative for any brand now! The one that involves mollycoddling AI experts like Amazon Echo - a swayamvar of sorts for brands! If you Echo what I just mentioned (pun intended), maybe you would have h...