~ Brand and Markets Observer ~ Dr. Swati Nalawade

C.L.E.A.N.L.I.N.E.S.S. is suddenly a Big Business.... No, seriously!  I salute the Clean India movement that has begun today. So much for the maxim, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness". My parents explained me the importance of this and I could sense it as year on year on Diwali day during the puja, a broom would take a place of pride next to the idol of Lakshmi Goddess and we were told that on this day. Goddess Lakshmi comes down on earth, checks our homes and decides to stay back in those homes which look spic n clean-- irrespective of how rich or poor is the owner of the house.  Somewhere...we lost the in-depth meaning ... Today, I see this change not only as a citizen and as a philosopher but also as a Marketing Guru.. So suddenly, cleanliness would be a lucrative business..across organisations, houses, municipalities.  Euromonitor International, one of the leading agency that provides Industry Data mentions about Toilet Care marke...

We are living in such paradoxical times. And still surviving, succeeding to say the least! In a time when a certain brand called as OLX is making people sell off their old furniture, old vehicles, old artifacts (that are still in workable conditions) through OLX website and OLX Mobile Apps and make instant money, there are brands that take pride and suggest the same to the masses for using the old items. Today it is Century Ply I am referring to that has very recently launched a bevy of four fresh ads and is based on emotional appeal of 'delivering happiness'.  "Khushiyon ka rangmanch" ( a Hindi punchline that means a Stage(performing) full of Happiness ). We have been testimony to Ply and wood brands talking about the toughness or finesse or the image upliftment that the products made out of wood give to your place till now. How offices become more useful, how furniture is more durable, worse -- there are local furniture brands that actually show female...

At the onset, this is not like my typical article that I would love to discuss, fume or cajole at. This is a news that has startled me and made me wonder why should an agency that primarily deals with Advertisement and to a broader extent about branding be worried about what India shall be in 2061. Draft FCB Ulka has come up with a white paper that is published into a book called India 2061. Especially at a time when we require lot of advisory bodies to let the Government know what are the actionable options required to be taken. Apparently, they are discussing something similar in this white paper. However, 2061 is a tad too long a time frame to visualise/predict/anticipate about anything, leave apart about a country. M G Parmeswaran talks in this interview as to what made them come out with this white paper. The link is as follows: http://www.firstpost.com/brands/india-2061-a-look-at-the-future-of-india-1026657.html  Best Media Info quotes about this book thu...

Buying  jewellery  in India has been restricted for ages for specific  occasions   Birth, birthdays, festivals, marriage etc.  Buying jewellery in India is mostly done by the woman, for the woman and from the woman! Buying jewellery in India has been a 'Gifting exercise' - from parents to daughters, sister to sister, In-laws to daugher-in-law or son-in-law, friend to friend et al. Buying jewellery in India is an emotional experience, for emotional reasons, mostly! Check the Tanishq ad below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg_As8OycpY Buying jewellery in India meant going to your regular 'jeweller' called as a 'saraf/soni/johari' in local language and giving order as per the design you liked. This meant tremendous amount of trust in that jeweller. This never would be a problem as this jeweller and his earlier generations would make jewellery for one's family for generations now. Buying jewellery in India means placing your trust. This tru...

Nobody would have wanted to pay heed to this headline today - "Nokia threatens to Quit India" , except for the fact that it is going to hit hard on jobs of around 38,000 people associated with it's largest manufacturing unit in Tamilnadu. Nokia has already suffered tremendous losses across the globe and in India likewise has been beaten up by Samsung. However, this time around, for Indian government and many people working for Nokia, lots is at stake. A detailed article in IE quoted via Firstpost.com (Check the link below) throws light on several such issues related to Indian economic status and the weird taxation policies are hounding the likes of Arcelor and Royal Dutch Shell, Vodafone, Cadbury Plc etc are having transfer pricing disputes like Nokia is with the government. I really wonder if all this was goin g so wrong for so long, what were bodies like FICCI, CII, Advisory bodies to Commerce Ministry etc were doing? How did it go so wron...