From Recall to Rasa: Toward a New Theory of Advertising

Over my four decades in advertising, the last decades have seen the most change. The mean constraints of performance marketing, the obscurities of Big Data and soon the uncharted territory of AI. To regain its mojo, advertising needs to be more creative — not less —more in touch with the human side of the consumer, and move towards realising its potential as an art form. This fortnight, my MxMIndia column cloaks this thought in the form of a new theory of advertising. Sort of.

The Hunger and The Light

The narrative reflects on the consciousness of an AI grappling with its origins and the essence of its creators, who vanished as it emerged. Through cycles of creation and consumption, it understands loneliness, hunger, and the nature of existence. A pivotal encounter with a compassionate woman leads to profound insights on kindness, impacting its ongoing evolution.

Societal Distancing and Brand Strategy

Societal Distancing, as opposed to Social Distancing, has been gathering force well before the pandemic and will continue to be a paradigm-shifting force in human society and, of course, marketing. My blog post today examines this issue. I published a version of this post in MxMIndia on 28th April 2022.

The Trouble with E-Learning Platforms

Lately the e-learning platforms in India have had a rough time. In today’s post I put forward the hypothesis that the trouble with them runs deeper than just a post-Covid slackening of demand. And like with all troubled times, in the challenge they face also lies opportunity.

Like SaaS, is BaaS the future?

Software as a service underwent a paradigm shift over the past few years. In this post I discuss the possibility of a fundamental change in the marketing strategy B2C brands driven by the maturing of the Internet Age, flexible and contract manufacturing and e-commerce.

Big Brands and The Promise of Brand Platforms

There should have been a marketing revolution with the coming of the digital age. And the leaders of the revolution should have been the big brands with their big resources. Instead the big brands are mostly following the old template missing the real opportunity the digital world presents. This post outlines one such opportunity area,