BOOK SUMMARY/REVIEW: TEN LESSONS FOR A POST PANDEMIC WORLD BY FAREED ZAKARIA

TEN LESSONS FOR A POST PANDEMIC WORLD

BY FAREED ZAKARIA

Book Image

“We should have seen it coming. The coronavirus may be novel, but plagues are not.”

This line is prominent and well placed in the first few pages of the book Ten Lessons for a Post Pandemic World by Fareed Zakaria.

In retrospect, I feel we should have. Definitely.

Year 2020 has been unprecedented (sorry to use "The Word" once again) for everyone. While some people have thrived, for many it has been unsettling and unnerving. This is a timely and insightful book by Mr. Zakaria where he helps us identify ten lessons (and trends) for the Post Pandemic world.

As the host of CNN’s International Affairs show, and someone who thinks about globalization deeply, I think he is well placed to talk about the subject. Bill Gates gave a TED Talk in 2015 in which he had spoken about an infectious virus that could have the capability to kill millions of people.

In 2017, when President Donald Trump proposed budget cuts in key agencies that dealt with public health and diseases, Mr. Zakaria had devoted a whole segment of his show to the topic, where he had highlighted that the biggest threat to United States wasn’t anything BIG – but something that is really really small. Deadly Pathogens – Man Made or Natural could trigger a global crisis.

This is exactly what happened in 2020.
While United States is at the epicenter of the book, the TEN LESSONS are valid GLOBALLY.
This I believe is because of his outlook and experience as an International Affairs specialist.

First, let me spend a bit of time on the Ten Lessons that Mr. Zakaria has helped identify and then we move to my overall review.

LESSON ONE: Buckle Up: 

While the Pandemic spread rampantly because of the enhanced speed of Globalization and people movement, this emergency has highlighted one of the OLD TRUTHS of International Life. That ULTIMATELY countries are ON THEIR OWN. When Pandemic struck, many nations that have long co-operated, also shut down their borders. They focused on their own survival. This section really talks about the fact that these kinds of incidents are only going to grow in future. With increased Life Span, better Health treatment, people will have to face these issues more frequently. That is because of the Human Actions and the Natural Reactions to Human Actions. Like Pandemic and Global Warming. The threats will keep on increasing and make the world increasingly Fragile. However, humans have been resilient and faced various challenges and odds to come up on the top. We have to start acting NOW to reduce this ever-increasing instability.

LESSON TWO: What Matters is not the Quantity of Government but the Quality:

Pandemic has proved how Good Governance and Bad Chaotic ones can make people and economies vulnerable. While China controlled the Virus with its usual high-handed deftness, even democracies like Germany, South Korea and New Zealand managed the virus well because of clear policies and strong contact tracing and testing. On the other hand, World’s oldest democracy America went through complete chaos and lost valuable lives due to lack of leadership. Great Britain also faced problems because of lack of clarity in it’s policies. What is required in the world going forward is Good Governance with Transparent systems and strong follow through. Today, Singapore is one of the most effective Government in the world. There is a need to build a strong and better bureaucracy, that helps the follow through on policies and execution. America, unfortunately, has lost it’s place as the leader in Good Governance. Today America needs to learn from others and help build for the future.

LESSON THREE: Markets are Not Enough: 

Going forward, Governments will have to play a more active role and not leave everything to the markets. Markets tend to divide the world into the Have’s and the Have Not’s. However, Governments with their policies can bring in a certain sense of socialism and improve the overall well-being of the country as a whole. Properly tailored regulations and policies can ensure free and fair competition and at the same time be a little more generous towards helping workers more and helping in re-building and re-training. The writer takes the example of Denmark in highlighting that they have found a path that is dynamic yet democratic, secure and just. We should learn from the Best Practices and take the ides ahead.

LESSON FOUR: Listen to the Experts – and the People:

People should listen to the experts and experts should listen to the people. In US, the President as well as the people did not pay heed. On the other hand in some places where people did, the response to the Pandemic was far better. Taiwan’s near flawless execution was overseen by the Vice President, a John Hopkins trained epidemiologist. While re-opening former scientist Angela Merkel took to Television to give Science Lesson to Germany. It helped. The fundamental reason many people refused to heed expert advice on Covid-19 was not to do with the complexity of science and limited data, but more to do with the lack of distrust on experts. People view experts with doubt – with respect to their interest in self-serving or even political affiliation. However, as the World gets more complicated, for the World to progress we do not need less but we need MORE Experts. Similarly, from the elites or the expert’s side there is a growing need of ‘empathy’ that should come with this expertise. Only then will there be a sweet spot.

LESSON FIVE: Life is Digital: 

More than a lesson this is a Trend. Increasingly Life is becoming more digital. There will be enormous effects of Digital in our lives, health and work. Pandemic has just hastened the process and opened people’s mind a lot more to experiment and read data more effectively. Growth of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare related industry has been huge and is going to jump even more as we move through this decade. Along with this the Mobile Revolution is going to shape the future. In countries like ours (India) the access to Internet has primarily been through the advent of Mobile. In the year 2000 there were 20 Million Indians, with access to internet. In 2010 the number would have grown to a 100 Million and today it stands at a whopping 650 Million+ . This advent of smartphones will accelerate modernization like never before in places like India. While not all changes will be positive, how Humans harness this power needs to be seen. There will be humongous job losses and the way we work will change completely. There will be a need to re-invent the purpose of life.

LESSON SIX: We are Social Animals:

Lockdowns, stay at home, work from home have kept people away from socializing, meeting and this has in turn led to depression. Aristotle in his book Politics, written in 350BC, declares on its first few pages that Man is Social Animal. He goes on to explain that Human Beings can fulfill their potentials in cities comparing them to bees who truly thrives in Beehives. The rapid pace of urbanization was one of the main causes of the Pandemic to spread. Densely populated areas, limited spaces led to rapid transmission of the disease. However, this urbanization cannot be stopped and it will only continue to grow. However, the Post Pandemic city or the new Metropolitan Model should look different. Proper governance can increase the life of cities and therefore humans. Humans make cities and cities make humans.

LESSON SEVEN: Inequality will get worse:

‘Death is democratic’. Pandemic should have been an equalizer but it was not. Isolation, Overnight Lockdowns, Loss of Jobs etc hit the poor a lot more than the rich. The Big will get Bigger. The inequality will not just increase between nations but also within nations and across the strata of the society. The Top 10% will grow faster.

LESSON EIGHT: Globalization Is Not Dead:

While Pandemic showed, every country for themselves, Globalization is not dead and neither will it be. There will be more information flow, technological knowhow flow. While every nation will want to increase it’s self reliance and try to reduce dependence overseas, there will be some nations who will forge new friendships and partnerships and ditch some others. Globalization is not dead, but will have some amount of distrust.

LESSON NINE: The World is becoming Bipolar:

 Post Pandemic will China evolve as the Single most powerful nation or will USA retain it’s crown – needs to be seen. However, this will form a Bi-Polar world. The tensions between US and China are inevitable, but a conflict or a Cold War is a choice. The book has been written before the US Elections and the Democratic Party led by Joe Biden coming to power. What needs to be seen is how this plays out in the Post Trump and Post Pandemic era. The dependence on China’s raw materials and production is huge as is China’s growth dependent on US Consumption. Bipolarity is inevitable.


LESSON TEN: Sometimes the Greatest Realists are the Idealists: 

The truth about the liberal international order is that there never really was a Golden Age, nor has the order decayed as much as it is ‘claimed’. The core attributes are still firmly in place with peace and stability in all major countries. This is the time to rebuild in a Bipolar World. However, there are other stong forces as well and that gives a chance to Multilateral Systems.


A functional multilateral system offers a chance to solve common problems. The Pandemic illustrates perfectly the risks and opportunities of interconnected world. It is not a flight of fancy to believe that co-operation can change the world. It is common sense

This book has described the world that is being ushered in as a consequence of the Covid-19 Pandemic, and in a way it has painted the broad strokes in describing the forces that are gathering steam.

The author mentions that in addition to the 10 Lessons, we must add Human Agency. People can choose which direction they want to push themselves, their societies and their world. The Novel Coronavirus has upended society and people are disoriented. So, change is already happening, and in that atmosphere further change becomes easier. The Pandemic has opened the possibility for change and reform, and it has opened the path for a New World. It is ours to take that opportunity or to squander it away.

I felt, the book deals with various issues that we need to pay heed to. However, my only problem is that the book is entirely at a philosophical level and does not really get into the “How”, while it clearly “Why” and “What”. I guess because there are no frameworks available, the book has not really delved into those details. We have to see how the World works on it’s revival. With Democracy prevailing in America, the policies and thrust of the New Government will help shape a lot in future. We also need to see how China reacts to those policies. Closer home, India has it’s own set of issues pertaining to China. How the World order continues or changes needs to be seen.

Though not a 5 Star (I would rate it at a 4 Star), I would recommend the book to people to gain a perspective.


Buy the Book:

Amazon India: 

https://www.amazon.in/Lessons-Post-Pandemic-World-Fareed-Zakaria/dp/0241491657/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1BB5SGJ5B1NX6&dchild=1&keywords=fareed+zakaria&qid=1613811665&s=books&sprefix=Faree%2Cstripbooks%2C267&sr=1-1

2021 - Getting back to writing AND Doing the things I always wanted to !

 

We survived 2020 ! 

An unforgettable year. Perhaps the most 'meaningful' in my life. I had taken a decision of moving back to Mumbai in October 2019 and with the Pandemic nowhere in sight, was very optimistic about the move. I was leaving my set job based out of Kolkata, at one of the largest Media Houses in India, to go back to Mumbai and start afresh. I left my Job in January 2020 and went in for a 4 week rigorous Senior Leadership Course at IIM Ahmedabad. I thought this break will do me good. Get me focused towards the new goals. I finished my course, I went back to Kolkata, packed up and landed in Mumbai on 29th of February, 2020 (Leap Year). We were bold enough to have landed in Mumbai even without a flat on rent, though our goods were already in transit.

Post this we were really hit hard by the Pandemic - in terms of our (both me and my wife's) work as well as personal lives. All the 'learnings' from IIM-A and implementing them to grow, went for a toss, and I went in for a 'defensive' strategy. Survival ! Jack Ma had even said "If you survive 2020, you are already ahead". We survived ! 

There were multiple reasons to do this move, which when I look back, surprises me at times. 

Do I regret it? No ! However, I do feel the play out was completely different from what I had bargained for. I guess life happens to you, when you have something else planned!

There were some good things which also happened to us. 

We were able to enter the new flat and society by 20th of March - few days before the lockdown!

I spent some much needed time at home with my wife. We believe this is the Maximum Time I have ever spent on any rented accommodation ever. Though we have stayed in some apartments for 3 -4 years, I don't think I have spent so much of time at home. I learnt cooking. 

Along with everyone else, I guess 2020 taught us some valuable lessons which I want to keep in my mind as we move ahead. 

No, I am not sharing them here. Those are 'learnings' for me - but one thing is for sure - 2021 (and beyond) will be about doing the "Things that I always wanted to but kept postponing". Including writing ! 

Wish everyone reading this a Very Happy 2021. Let's all learn to live in the Moment !

What to look for while making Career Shifts?

In May 2016, we had our Mumbai Chapter Summer Alumni Meet. 

I graduated from my Institute (Goa Institute of Management, Y2K Batch) 16 years back. I really love going back to the Alumni Meets. There is a certain charm around it. Meeting friends, some of whom you meet only this one time in the year. 

Meeting seniors, some of them have extraordinary stories to tell and also meeting the ‘younger lot’.

They symbolize hope and aspiration. I really enjoy this evening and look forward to the Summer Alumni Meets.

This year I felt a little disappointed with the low turnout of the current batch of students, and those who have just passed. When we were in their place, we used to really jump into events like these to learn, network and build contacts. Perhaps the younger lot believes everything can be done digitally!

However, the purpose of this Blog Post is not to provoke thinking of how we are losing connect with our Alma Mater or how the younger crop of Managers are losing touch with us. It is about career shifts.

That night, I was asked this question about career shifts. Though I replied to the person who had asked the question, I started thinking about it. Today being a holiday, I again started thinking about it. I do not know if my post is going to help anyone or not, but I thought I will attempt an answer here.

I have made 2 major career shifts.

1. In 2007 when I moved from Financial Services to Advertising (And I again came back to Financial Services in early 2011)
2. In end 2015 when I moved (again) from Financial Services to Media & Entertainment Industry (my current job)

Let me first talk a bit about these shifts and then elaborate on my learnings.

In 2007, I was heading Marketing for a Mutual Fund company. Mutual Funds operate on a very small budget and activities are highly regulated and restrictive. I felt that while I was doing some ‘activities’ like Fund Launches and Product Communication, but I was not really building a brand.

For a Marketer and a person who loves Brand, this was a big concern. I started thinking, what next. 

I felt that I should join a place that will really help me with the tricks of the trade in building a brand. What better than a Brand Planning role in Advertising! 

However, in India, Advertising agencies pay a lot less than Corporations/ Client Organisations. 

So, when I started looking for a job, the first thing that put off my prospective employers was my Salary. I was quite upfront with them stating that I am willing to take a cut in my salary. 

However, nothing fructified till some bold people (and I am thankful to each of them), ‘disrupted’ the norm by hiring me! I took a 25% cut on my Fixed pay, agreed to forego the bonus and joined them. Today, I look back and thank my stars that I did that. The stint in advertising completely opened my mind to creative people, working with them, winning over them! Most importantly, I started working on assignments which taught me how to build brands.

If I did not have that experience, I am sure, I would not have been short-listed for the opportunity, that I got in late 2010 and finally joined in January 2011. So, net net, I got my Big Break in Marketing because of the stints that I had in Advertising.

After joining the new job in 2011, I kept my mind open and again deep dived to learn — How things happen? and How we can change things. I started acquiring different portfolios where there were synergies. I started my journey helping build a compelling brand. In our journey, we kept two things in mind — (1) Never accept results till you are convinced that this was the best and (2) Challenge the conventions and disrupt the norms!

These two things, I believe made me a far more aggressive & capable marketer and helped in driving the team for results. When the time came in 2015, the company which had these 2 values in their DNA hired me, though I was not from the Industry.

So, today when I look back (and my young friend’s question yesterday made me think about this even more), I see some key themes, to keep in mind, emerging from my moves. I am listing them down below. They are definitely not exhaustive — but perhaps a starting point.

a. When you start working — build your skills, irrespective of where you work, so that you can apply the same skills in other industries as well.

b. Be bold. If you do not take risks (especially in today’s day and age), do not expect returns. 

I took a 25% salary cut in 2007. I finally started making ‘similar money’ again in 2011. Perhaps I have been a little foolish about money and never thought that should drive my decision. 

However, in terms of work, I feel I have worked on one of the most varied portfolios vis-a-vis others from my Institute. I think it has made me more cognizant of my surroundings. I also feel, I would not have got the right opportunities, if I did not make the previous move. 

For me, more often, it has been the difference or impact of my work, and my drive to learn something new that made me shift industries. Within the same industry, I think an equal weightage should also be given to money.

c. Learn Learn Learn. The objective with which you should change a job (of course money is important), is to learn. Learning whereabouts in a new industry (my move in 2015) or learning a new skill (my move in 2007), or both should be the driving factors. So, whenever you get an opportunity to move industries the first thing you should do is focus fully on learning.

d. Be result oriented. Every new job gives you a certain amount of time to get yourself immersed. Take this immersion very very seriously and get yourself immersed into the consumers, category, culture etc. However, you should always focus towards output. Output orientation and a bias for action will help you make a mark within the new company. I myself have been slow on a few occasions and have seen the difference of my acceptance in that new organisation.

I feel India is opening up and a lot of new opportunities are going to come in everyone’s way. Make sure you are ready to grab them. 

I do believe, like Paulo Coelho mentions in his book ‘The Alchemist’, that if you really want something with your heart and soul, the universe will conspire to help you achieve it. So, if you really want to change tracks — start thinking NOW!

Good Luck!!

(* Appeared on 5 September, 2016 at randomshades.wordpress.com)

Lessons from Cannes Lions 2015

    

Cannes 2015: What I Learnt!

They say “Better Late than Never”. This was what played in my mind as I sat down to write this piece. Though I had visited The Festival of Creativity last Month, I could not put down my thoughts to paper. This attempt is to share my two bits on this Festival. I hope you will enjoy the effort and put in your comments to help me improve.

June 21^st to 28^th, 2015 will be etched in my mind forever. Cannes 2015 was an Awe Inspiring Experience. It was the first time I went to Cannes to attend the Festival of Creativity. The scale was jaw dropping. The way the whole festival was planned and executed was impeccable.



Over 13,500 delegates, across a 100 nationalities attended the event across Lions Health, Creativity and Innovation. I was ‘Mega-Impressed’ to say the least.

Now, this festival could be used for Networking, Partying, or Simply Learning. This was a great opportunity, I felt, to opening your minds to some stellar thinkers and start questioning the work that you are putting out.

I attended the whole festival and was lucky to be part of the #CMO Accelerator Program that is conducted by Jim Stengel.

Jim Stengel is the Ex Global CMO of P&G (2001 – 2008) and led P&G to become the ‘Client of the Year’ at Cannes in 2008. He has also written a book called Grow, which I would recommend everyone to read. This rounding off, of the Creativity festival via the CMO Accelerator Program, helped me jot down some of the Key Themes that seemed to be important at Cannes this year.

I am using that, as well as some notes that I had kept aside, for the purpose of this write-up on The FIVE KEY THEMES from Cannes.


THEME 1: BRAND PURPOSE

A lot of the winning work this year was not Creativity for the sake of being Creative. It was being Creative with a Purpose. Be it Volvo’s LifePaint or Grand Prix Winner ALS, or Shark Attack signaling systems, all the work told you that Brands are going beyond Products and Services and getting into “Purpose”.



The two wins from India – P&G’s “Share the Load” and “Touching the Pickle” also had Purpose behind it.

Global work from P&G – which included “Like a Girl” also had Brand Purpose behind it.

It is becoming evident that today’s discerning consumers will like to do business with Brands which not just deliver a superior Product or Service, but also stands for something.
Doing Good really matters!

Ex Vice President of USA, Al Gore was at a Q&A with Sir Martin Sorrell and also a winner, which went on to show that this industry heavily believes that sustainability will be the next frontier of communication.

I expect this kind of communication to increase in India over this year.

THEME 2: AUTHENTICITY

This was a theme that was being discussed by a lot of Agency Leaders as well as Brands.
This pertained more on the Digital Medium.

LinkedIn as a company was strongly focusing on this theme.

As a Marketer, I do believe you always need to be Authentic.

However, while positioning a product, and when you are seeking the USP of the product or service and helping it look better vis-à-vis competition, you may sometime tend to overlook this.

However, the key take out was that, today consumers have so many different sources of information, they will find out the truth way before they make a decision. They will search, seek reviews, speak to people and then speak to experts before coming to a decision. For Brands, therefore it is all the more important to be Authentic and Transparent all the time.


THEME 3: TECHNOLOGY, DATA AND CREATIVITY

This seemed to be the MOST debated topic this year. Almost every Agency tried to pitch themselves as ‘Data Scientists’ be it Media or Creative Agencies Alike! This apart from the ‘Specialists’ in the domain.

Data and Creativity will go hand-in-hand and the creative have nothing to worry from Data. There are some new business models coming up on the entire visualization of Data. Music Notes giving birth to Synchronized Lighting is one of it. There seems to be endless possibilities with Data leading to Creativity.

It is important for Brands to Listen carefully and interpret what their consumers are talking about.

The remaining is action. Actions to either improve Products, Services or just Communication. Better targeting, right messaging are outcomes of Technology, Data and Creativity.

This seemed even more apparent with the way Technology& Innovation Companies were ‘PRESENT’ throughout the festival.

Google had its ‘own beach’, Microsoft was a key sponsor, Facebook had its Hacks, Spotify its parties …. The list is endless. While the Big Brothers like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft are apparently there in a big way every year (this being my first visit), the amount of visibility for small shops, fringe tech companies, data interpretation companies seemed to be enormous. Every company I know of is talking about this.

My Technology is ‘bigger’ and ‘better’ is already the talk amongst Senior Management.

“Data – inspires strategy – inspires creative work. But when data seems to come too close to creativity, that’s when people get nervous.”
Guy Murphy, worldwide planning director, JWT
(Courtsey: WARC, 15 Quotes from 2015 Cannes)

I personally think this will be a big trend for future as Social Media, Technology, Innovation enters our lives through mobile devices and wearable technology, and Collides with Real world and the whole Convergence Culture evolves.


THEME 4: CONTENT & DESIGN THINKING

“Great advertising feels less like advertising and more about content.”
Sean Rad, co-founder, Tinder
(Courtsey: WARC, 15 Quotes from 2015 Cannes)

Content seems to be winning. From what I heard from the rest of the people (Veterans at Cannes), content and engagement were the hottest topics at Cannes in 2014. This year, what it seemed to me is that, winning Brands are winning at content. The storytelling is becoming more entertaining. With Digital Medium, the restrictions in ‘time-bound’ stories seem to be going down. We have already seen this catching up in India, but it is going to be even more.

The other thing that seems to be going hand in hand with content is the design thinking. With the advent of Digital, more and more thought is being put into the way websites and apps are being designed. Design is at the heart of innovation.

While every example seems to be going back to Apple and Google, there were some fabulous work, which were showcased in the various talks and workshops conducted at Cannes 2015.
An allied topic with respect to Content and Design is the advent of Pictures and Video as the backbone of telling a story. The understanding that I clearly got was that people would rather “see” than “read”. This is interesting as well as challenging for Marketers and Brands. How can we design the experience for our users/ customers keeping this in mind.


THEME 5: DISTRUST BETWEEN AGENCIES AND CLIENTS & AGILE MARKETING

One of the major things that happens at Cannes is Networking. Networking for business, networking to find out which agency might be really offering a more holistic experience.

This year, from what I understood, there were multiple businesses, which were going in to a ‘pitching’ stage. One of the primary reasons why this is happening is because of lack of right talent working on Brands. I understood that every marketer, not just in India, but also across the world is facing a huge problem around fragmentation.

They have specialists across every domain. The problem, therefore, increases for the Marketing Team as the smaller companies may not be on board as far as the Brand is concerned.

Marketers today have to respond ‘faster’ than ever before.

This agility will be possible if there is one ‘dedicated’ team with strengths across multiple domains and is economical. This mix seems really difficult.

So, one thing was clear, that in the new order, there will be Large Agencies that will co-exist with New Scrappy Technology companies that will be working on specialized projects with the Marketing teams.
The Marketing teams co-ordination efforts will need to be at the peak as they will have to be the Guardians of the brand and ensure the New Tech Companies are on-boarded as far as the Brand is concerned.

Unilever Foundry was an example that I took back home. Unilever works with a number of startup companies. They have created this Foundry, keeping the future in mind, where they understand that these new companies will bring up some ‘disruptive’ ideas.

The question is, while this may be possible for a large advertiser like Unilever, how will smaller advertisers replicate this model?


IN CONCLUSION:

Apart from the 5 Key Themes, which as per me were evident at Cannes, there was a huge emphasis on Gender Equality. The landmark verdict that happened in US soon after the Festival was a key awareness point of the event.

These 5 Key Themes will be something that I think will have an impact on Marketers like me. Hope it resonates with you as well.

Anything that I write will not be complete without the mention Rose` Wines. South of France and Rose` go hand in hand. The house wines are even great. I wish I could carry some of it back. Hopefully, I will make it again to Cannes sometime soon and will deepen my relationship with the Wine.


(Image Courtesy: MEC Global, WPP Group).

(* Post Appeared on 20 July 2015, at random shades.wordpress.com)

What's Your Story

One realisation that I had over the last 14 years of my work in the field of Marketing - communication - branding - content is that - to be a successful brand, there has to be a story.

The more this story becomes believable - the more successful the Brand becomes.

Often these stories take the form of by-lines and tag-lines - but that, in my view, is not essential. What is essential is, however, to deliver this story every time - each time.



The delivery of the story through different mediums is essential. If this story starts fading, then there is confusion. People's belief in the brand starts waning and over a period of time you will see a loss of franchise for the brand.

Year 2014 is an important year for India and rest of the world because of the upcoming elections in India. Which party wins the elections and who becomes the Prime Minister will become an important milestone for us as well as the World.

As an observer of this election, which in my view is the most important election for India ever, I feel there is some relevance to the 'Story' I mentioned above.

Congress - for the first time has NO STORY.

It looks like a bunch of confused men and women, who are just being reactive to what the other major party, i.e., BJP is doing. Mr. Narendra Modi, the Prime Ministerial candidate for BJP, has a strong story backing him as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Mr. Rahul Gandhi, the 'apparent' Prime Ministerial candidate of Congress has no story to call his own. In the last 10 years (2004 - 2014 when Congress has been in Power), he has never assumed a serious position of responsibility and delivered any 'story', apart from the fact that he has tried to remove corrupt candidates (but this Congress reign hs seen the unearthing of the biggest scams in India).

Which story will win? That we need to wait & watch. My guess is that the stronger story will outperform in 2014 General Elections.

Now let's focus our attention towards some Corporate Brands. It's not that, every brand has an inherent story. But if as the brand Owner, you can find a strong story, you could even re-align the delivery of the organisation to deliver the story.

Let's take 2 examples. Apple & IBM.

Apple's 1984 commercial announced its entry against the 'Big Blue' IBM. From the beginning, Apple's thinking has been different.

That of a Challenger Brand with a Disruptive Philosophy. Apple's story is inherent. Think Different is truly Apple's story.

Whereas, IBM which came out of a difficult situation by refocusing their business, found Solutions for a Smarter Planet not long back. It fitted them perfectly. They started delivering on this story by re-aligning a few things.

Both stories are strong. Both have their merits. Both are being delivered consistently through the products, solutions and people. But which story will outlive the other? Again we need to wait and watch. If they start diluting their stories, the strength of the brands and the price elasticity that it commands will reduce.

Overall, the biggest point that I wanted to make through these examples is that, its essential for every Brand to have a story and tell it consistently. It does not matter, whether or not the business started with that story.

But as a brand you need to be true to the story that you want your customers to buy into?

(* First published on 17 November, 2013 at randomshades.wordpress.com)

Winning the battle

Well, starting this blog has been like winning a battle. I have been contemplating about this for the last 2 years (almost). There are various reasons why I won't start. The most important of them being laziness. Finally, however, I have been able to ome online.

I dedicate this blog to my learnings in advertising, marketing and communication with an overriding focus to consumers. I sincerely believe the Indian consumers are undergoing a change. This coupled with economic factors will lead to a new India. My effort will be to capture this over a period of time.