Protecting Children From Ill Effects Of Social Media

‘Australia banning social media for people under 16’ said the headline [Business Standard, 4 Dec 2024].

Obesity Cure in Here ?

If you are a little overweight you would have definitely not missed the advertising and media coverage around the new obesity medications.

Nutrition Labelling – Are Large Fonts Enough?

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India [FSSAI] approved an amendment to the Food Safety Standards Regulation 2020 [Business Standard 9 July 2024].

Neuromarketing May Pivot Again

Neuromarketing was making news more than a decade and a half ago. But what is neuromarketing?

Movie Goers Are Back

Movie goers had been reluctant to return to movie halls and so the story ‘PVR – INOX Makes Big BO Return With Blockbuster’ [Bus Std 31 August 2023] was a welcome change

Consumer’s New Addiction – Mobile Games

‘Tax demand on e-gaming cos may top Rs 1.5 Trn’ said a news report [Bus Std 27 Sept 2023].

Message in A Bottle

Gaza Cola is a new cola brand, launched in the UK, with a promise of sending all its profits to the rebuilding of hospitals in Palestine.

Making Sense of Census

For all marketing professionals working in large companies, Census of India is a treasure trove of information.

Making Milk More Interesting

‘Bournvita, other brands to lose ‘Health Drink’ status’ screamed the headline of Economic Times [14 April 2024].

Magic of Festival Food Advertising

Festival season in upon us. Food brands go on overdrive with specially created festival advertising. Cadbury will unleash its gift collections.

Life After SpreadSheets

I was taking a class on media planning at SPJIMR and we were going through data tables after data tables.

Is E-commerce going to throttle the Kirana?

The Business Standard editorial [26 August 2024] emphatically stated that  ‘E-Commerce policy should aim to enhance competition’.

How Consumer’s Perceive Quality

‘Recalibrating Quality Regime’ said the editorial of Business Standard of 10 November 2025.

How Cheesy Are You?

The Economic Times reported ‘Maharashtra FDA cracks down on McDonald's, catches fast food major using cheap vegetable oil in place of cheese’ [23 February 2024].

Ghee. Oil. Brands. Consumers.

Changing consumer behaviour towards one’s brand offering is the holy grail of  marketing. In a country like India it is indeed very difficult to get consumers to change their food habits, move from unbranded staples to branded foods.

Where is your daughter planning to go?

‘As bilateral ties deepen, more Indian students could head to Russia’ said the headline (Business Standard 6 December 2025).

Fair Wages (Schedules/Tips) For Gig Workers?

Gig workers are supposed to be free to work anywhere. But what if all the directions they turn to are equally exploitative?

E-Commerce – Love it or Hate it?

Do consumers love ecommerce platforms or do they approach them with suspicion? Is there a need to protect consumers from ecommerce players?

Diwali Advertising – Then & Now

Diwali has always had a special place in the hearts of Indian consumers and marketers. It is possibly the only festival that is celebrated across our vast country; yes I know Malayalees and Bengalis may not fully agree.

Diagnostics Labs Find New Growth Vectors

I remember as a young school student I was often entrusted with the task of checking on my grandfather’s urine samples for sugar levels.

Content Marketing - Before Its Time

The film Manthan [originally released in 1976] based on the origin story of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation [GCMMF - Amul Dairy] was in the news recently [Business Standard 7 June 2024].

Changing Saving Habits

‘Savers are slowly understanding mutual funds’ said K V Kamath at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit last month.

Brandification of Faith

Religion is everywhere. It drives our purchases. It drives our holidays. It even realigns our home décor.

Back To Office, Everyone

‘Not cutting down on hiring, but want to end WFH’ said the headline of a story quoting the MD of TCS [Bus Std 21 Feb 2024].

Are Kiranas the Markandeyas of Indian Retail?

A friend who was National Sales Director at a large FMCG / Consumer Goods MNC narrated this story to me almost a decade and a half ago.

Indian Ad to GDP Ratio – Stuck at 0.4%

‘Ad mkt to GDP ratio in India among the lowest in the world’ screamed the headline featuring the interview of Sanjay Gupta of Google India [Bus Std 20 Oct 2023].

Ambi Parameswaran announces his new book SPRING – Bouncing Back From Rejection

The book aims to motivate people, asking them to “Spring” back to action following any form of rejection

Post Covid Consumers and Nudging them.

How to 'Nudge' the post-Covid consumer? What could be the typologies of consumers that may emerge post-Covid. An article Prof Sridhar Samu and I wrote for Hindu Business Line. 

Who makes a better client to learn from - an MNC or a Local Player

All customers are useful. They pay your bill but also become great teachers, mentors and coaches even. But when it comes to MNC and Local Players, who makes a better 'Guru'. I believe both offer learnings of different kind. And both are valuable in their own way. 

Booming Hair Care Market

What is driving the boom in the Indian haircare market ? New products ? New services ? New consumer attitudes ? 

Parenting Redefined

Are we seeing the rise of a new form of very aggressive parenting in India ? What is driving this phenomenon ? And are there socio-cultural touchpoint that are confirming this? 

Alone Together

The obsession with social media / mobile is eating into real 'Face Time' of consumers.

The Patanjali Phenomenon

Should FMCG / CPG companies be worried about the rise of Patanjali in Indian market or should they 

learn from Patanjali's unconventional marketing? 

Shining Silver Generation

There is a great opportunity for marketers to tap the 60+ generation in India which is now becoming increasingly affluent. 

Impose Fines on Celebrities ?

Indian Government wants to impose fines on celebrities for wrongful claims made in ads. Is that such a good move ? If you start with this where will you stop. Some thoughts on the subject. 

Financial Inclusion : What is it ?

When we say Financial Inclusion, do we mean the same thing to all consumers ? A Round Table on Financial Inclusion opened up some new thoughts on the topic. 

Drone-powered advertising is here

Unlike aerial advertising that never really took off in India, pun unintended, I think drone-powered advertising could start flying soon

The diesel value mantra for luxury brands

The Indian market is often described as a pyramid and the term got immortalized by Prof. C.K. Prahalad with his pioneering work on "Bottom of the Pyramid" marketing. 

Start-ups set to bloom in advertising industry

The ad industry was waiting for the big deluge of new companies, new brands and new campaigns

Men who moisturize

Smart brands are latching on to the male moisturizing trend by launching male versions of their regular products

Intelligent rebranding of the Land Bill is the need of the hour

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his radio broadcast last month, defended his government’s case to carry out amendments to the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

Five stories from his life

A B Tech in Chemical Engineering from IIT Madras, an MBA from IIM Calcutta and I took the advertising path. How did that happen?