BRAND LOVE - APRIL FOOL'S PRANKS

Brands that are loved by people are brands that are able to humanise themselves. These brands form deep relationships with their customers by displaying an emotional aspect.

Humour is one of those emotions that brings people together and April 1st is one of those dates that brings a smile on people's faces because of the pranks that they play or become a victim of.

Brands all over the world, have also been capitalizing on this date, connecting with people through news/announcements/videos that they launch on 1st April to shock or surprise people, only to tell them in the end that it was all an April Fool's joke, making them smile as they feel loser to the brand.

Click on the link below to see how some brands have used April Fool's Day very smartly. 

Brands that capitalized well on April Fool's Day

Throwback to a visit to Symbiosis as Keynote Speaker

I have always enjoyed opportunities to interact with students across B-schools, share my experiences and journey with them, discuss aspects of marketing, communication and advertising and in the process learn from them through their questions. Here are a few throwback pictures from 2015 when I was invited by Symbiosis Institute of International Business (SIIB) to give my perspective on a very interesting topic 'Retailing, E-tailing and Beyond'. I was honoured to be one of the keynote speakers along with seniors and stalwarts like Mr. Damodar Mall - CEO of Reliance Retail and Mr. Kinjal Shah, CEO of Crossword Book Stores. I am hoping to interact with more students in the future as well. 

hashtag#Symbiosis #SIIB #throwbackthursday #retail #ecommerce #marketing #communications #keynote

When New Age Innovation meets Old World Charm

Here is a great example of merging tradition with modernity. This is a picture from a hotel room in England that I stayed in. It is a heritage property, hence they have retained the icons of the past without compromising on the practicality of today. So this telephone will remind you of an era gone by, but its utlity is for today as there are push buttons on the top instead of the ringer buttons of the past, where you would have to put your finger in each number and turn it all the way to the end.

This is a great lesson in #innovation where you don't throw the baby out with the bath water. You modernise what needs to be upgraded but retain the value of those attributes that the #consumer wants or cherishes. You nurture the nostalgic #values and give consumers ease of functioning. 

As I always say, you can learn lessons in #marketing everywhere as long as you keep your senses open to those signs. Have you seen anything recently that pleasantly surprised you because of its fusion of modernity and tradition? Do let me know. 

#modern #technology #nostalgia #productdevelopment

Qantas gives a great lesson on Public Relations

As the world is still grappling with the recent Ethiopian Airlines crash and wondering about the safety of a Boeing plane, there is lot of fear and negativity regarding air travel.

In the midst of all this comes a spark of joy when the CEO of Qantas Airlines decides to write a letter to a 10 year old boy in response to his letter where he talks about having his own airline!

Now this could have been a simple incident that would have gone unnoticed by the world, but Qantas tweeted about it with the words 'CEO to CEO' and turned this into a fantastic PR and brand building opportunity and smartly spoke about the features and qualities of their own airline while answering the boy's questions.

Very well played #Qantas!


#PR #BrandBuilding #Leadership #Marketing