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Showing posts from March, 2020

How analogies rule the world.

When you say "It's like…", "If you put it that way…" or "Think of it like this" you are using analogies to communicate better. Let's start this piece with a Vox documentary titled "some hospitals let a preventable infection kill their patients" No seriously, watch it.   It might not seem relevant to this piece yet, it will give further insight into how analogies can make it easier to understand the most complex of ideas. So you have watched this documentary (yay!) You noticed how they compared the approach towards the plane and car accidents with the approach that hospital officials have with patient deaths. With this analogy, they coined both the types of approach that hospitals take as plane crash hospitals and car crash hospitals. The argument that car crash hospitals make (see, I'm already using the analogy) is that it is a business and doctors are humans who make mistakes like everyone else, just the stake

An open letter to (the new) Facebook

The good, bad and ugly of the platform- from a brand owner's perspective. Dear Facebook, Voila! You have an awesome fan following. I mean, look at you, 2.41 billion monthly users (as of the second quarter of 2019). That isn't a small thing. And only shows that you are one of the biggest social media networks worldwide (Source: Statista). Ouch, then others just came floating by. 'Did you check out the new ad on Instagram?' or 'What does your pinboard look like?' I am sure you must have come across such comments on your platform. Did it hurt? Guess not. Because even though hundreds of hashtags are created every millisecond, so many tweets are published in the blink of an eye; you, my dearest, still win hearts of brand owners (mostly) across all industries. Over the years, you have turned into a personal, product and corporate marketing hub (now don't get too flattered). Your social graph is filled with CEOs, celebrities, entrepreneurs and start

Ten commandments of the branding bible: The entrepreneur's edition

‘Why do start-ups fail?’, do you wonder? Has it anything to do with the product they offer or the services they render? Or maybe it’s the way they handle their brand image! The latter is some food for thought if you have only just entered the pool. To simplify the branding process for your company, stick to these ten commandments. They are basic, most of them are common-sense (yet hide behind the curtain) and practical to stick by. Thou shalt understand the power of a brand: Do not read the other nine commandments of the Branding Bible, without clearly understanding the power of a brand. A brand’s substance is not related to just a name or a logo; your entire business depends upon it. When people think of online shopping, they think of Amazon. When they want to order food online, they say, ‘Let’s Swiggy’. Now, that’s the kind of immediate, definitive relationship you would want to establish with your customers. While this cannot happen overnight and for most start-ups, it lo

What does a brand strategy consultant do?

The kickass inspiration to write this piece I still remember that evening when I had found an injured puppy in our backyard. It was whimpering in pain. I sheltered it, medicated it and very soon it became my pet pup. A few days later, over the family dinner I told my parents that when I grew up, I would take up Zoology as my subject of study. My elder brother who was then pursuing his doctorate in Economics said mockingly, ‘And then what, are you going to open a zoo?’ While I still remember his tart comment, I let it slip from my mind as the years passed by. One fine day, my pet pup disappeared all of a sudden and my fixation on Zoology went down the dumps. Rather, I saw my life revolving around entertaining advertisements, tons of good and bad copy, long, gruesome hours of pitch presentations and gut-wrenching, heart-rending arguments between myself and account holders, art directors and CBOs. Then again, a very simple question would sometimes pop up, as people outsid