Category Archives: branding

IPL’s (the brand) Road to Perdition

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Harsh Vardhan Dutta

Kochi sacked, SRK banned, Modi fired, Spot-fixing emerges. Barring spot-fixing accusations in IPL6, IPL has remained as a premium brand – Pepsi paid Rs 400 Crores for five years’ rights if that is some indication to brand’s worth. Most brands … Continue reading →

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Brand Face-shift on Facebook

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Harsh Vardhan Dutta

Whenever I see a newsfeed post from Cricinfo on Facebook, it gives me shudders. There’s a reason for that. I have been a cricket devotee all my life. For the past decade or so, since the Internet dawned upon us, … Continue reading →

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In the Face with Pan Bahar Crystal and Lifebuoy

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Harsh Vardhan Dutta

It’s never been done before, at least in my memory that a brand has come out stating quite unabashedly that they are not most expensive in their league. Yes, not the most premium, but the most expensive (in cost)! The … Continue reading →

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The Age of 1+1

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Harsh Vardhan Dutta

Remember the days when the common question at a kirana store used to be “is pe koi scheme hai kya?” (what’s the scheme/offer on this product?). The good-old 80s and 90s were the decades of 1+1, when getting a detergent … Continue reading →

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4 Marketing Rules you Should Never Break

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Harsh Vardhan Dutta

Yes, marketing may be about innovation and finding new ways to beat the rival, but the basic rules of playing the game remain constant. Here’s an elaboration: a) Read the brand guidelines: If marketing is a religion, then brand book … Continue reading →

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ebay TVCs: The Rights & Wrongs

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Harsh Vardhan Dutta

The deep-rooted skepticism that comes with online buying is what online retailers and commerce portals have been trying to address for a long time now. And yes, ebay is following the suit. In their latest TVC, ebay, the global online … Continue reading →

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What Makes a Top Brand?

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Harsh Vardhan Dutta

Top brand is not necessarily that one that breaks all the sales records or spends unprecedented amount of money on marketing. For me, top brand is the one that has the ability to retain customers (loyalty), continuously gratify them and … Continue reading →

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The Worst Brand-Celebrity Pairing

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Harsh Vardhan Dutta

To cut it short, these are the few recent celebrity-company signings that caused more embarrassment than brand value. Virat Kohli – Celkon I have no idea what Virat Kohli’s agency is up to. The guy is the most promising cricketers … Continue reading →

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Produce to Promote

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Harsh Vardhan Dutta

Dewar, the whisky brand, did it recently on Star TV. Their production The Dewarists (A social, political and economic doctrine, based on the writing of Tommy Dewar, expressing the conviction that the journey of life can be enjoyed without giving … Continue reading →

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Encounters of an In-different Kind

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Harsh

It’s a curious job to be a marketer or to be positioned as a marketing consultant/expert. For some you become the ultimate fraud who earn for what they preach, or a demi-god whose final word is a divine proclamation of … Continue reading →

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