Built by Anurag Lala

As someone who has spent years studying marketing strategies and watching the Indian business landscape, I've been fascinated by how several homegrown brands have successfully implemented what W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne call the "Blue Ocean Strategy." Today, I want to share my observations on how Indian companies have created uncontested market spaces, making competition irrelevant while capturing new demand. My Understanding of Blue Ocean Strategy Before diving into examples, let me explain what I understand by Blue Ocean Strategy. Unlike red ocean strategies where companies fight over existing market share in bloody, competitive waters, blue ocean strategy is about creating new market spaces – untapped territories where competition doesn't exist yet. It's about value innovation: offering something so unique that you create your own category. I've noticed that successful blue ocean strategies focus on four key actions: Eliminate factors the industr...

Real Fruit Power's 2025 Rakhi advertisement tells a heartwarming story that captures the essence of genuine sibling relationships. The narrative likely unfolds through moments that showcase the unspoken understanding, playful banter, and unconditional support that defines real brother-sister bonds. The storyline appears to focus on authentic, everyday moments between siblings – perhaps showing a brother and sister navigating life's small challenges together, sharing Real Fruit Power during candid conversations, or supporting each other through both trivial disagreements and meaningful milestones. Rather than presenting a picture-perfect festival celebration, the campaign seems to honor the beautiful imperfections and genuine care that characterize true sibling relationships. The ad likely weaves Real Fruit Power naturally into these authentic moments – not as the hero of the story, but as a companion to real conversations and genuine connections. This approach allows the bran...

 I still remember the first time someone asked me if I had ever considered a role in product management . At the time, I wasn’t entirely sure what a product manager (PM) even did. Was it marketing? Was it engineering? Was it project management? Or was it something else altogether? So… What Exactly Is Product Management? At its core, product management is the practice of building the right product for the right people . That might sound simple, but in reality, it involves juggling many hats: understanding customer needs, setting a vision, collaborating with design and engineering teams, prioritizing features, analyzing data, and ensuring that what’s being built aligns with both business goals and user expectations. I often explain it this way: If building a product were like making a movie, the product manager is the director. They don’t do the acting (engineering), camera work (design), or music (marketing), but they’re responsible for making sure all of it comes together in...

When I first saw Flipkart's "Everything you need for Rakhi, in 10 minutes! ✨" campaign, I knew I was witnessing a pivotal moment in Indian e-commerce. As someone who has studied retail marketing, this campaign represents more than just another festival promotion – it's Flipkart's bold entry into the quick commerce battle, strategically timed around one of India's most emotionally charged festivals. Flipkart's new service offers customers the ability to have a wide range of items, from grocery to smartphones, delivered to them within 10 to 15 minutes, and choosing Rakhi as the launch vehicle for this message was nothing short of marketing brilliance. The Strategic Context: Why Rakhi, Why Now? The Festival Marketing Opportunity Rakhi presents a unique marketing challenge and opportunity. Unlike Diwali, which allows weeks of preparation, Rakhi often catches people off-guard. Brothers realize at the last minute they need gifts, sisters remember they haven...

A few years ago, I was managing a marketing campaign for a client in the tech space. We had everything—eye-catching graphics, keyword-optimized content, an irresistible CTA. But the campaign? It flopped. Impressions were high, but conversions were dismal. It felt like we were screaming into the void. Then, we tried something different. We shared a story. It was a simple narrative—about a small startup founder juggling work, family, and ambition. The story mirrored the journey of many of our client’s target customers. And suddenly, the numbers started climbing. Higher engagement. Better retention. Actual conversions. That was the moment I understood: marketing without storytelling is like a movie without a script. Stories Stick—Stats Don’t If I tell you that 92% of consumers want ads that feel like stories (a real stat, by the way), you’ll probably forget that number in a few hours. But if I tell you about the time a brand used a single video to turn a side hustle into a six-figure busi...

I still remember the first time I heard it. December 2012, scrolling through television channels, when suddenly this infectious melody stopped me in my tracks. The ad depicts people from the different parts of India humming along to what would become one of the most viral jingles in Indian advertising history. In 2012, Idea Cellular wanted to talk about its pan-India presence, and wanted to come up with a campaign that would capture the fancy of people across geographies. Within days, I witnessed something extraordinary unfold. In less than half a month, the ad has gone totally viral with everyone sharing and 'liking' the jingle and many of them making it their ring tone. This wasn't just advertising anymore – this was a cultural phenomenon happening in real-time. The Creative Genesis: When Bollywood Meets Telecom What immediately caught my attention as a marketing professional was the pedigree behind this seemingly simple jingle. The song is composed by Bollywood music ...

When I first watched Aditya Birla Group's 2023 Teachers' Day film "Window to the World," I was immediately transported back to my own school days. The film begins with a typical classroom roll call scene. While all students promptly respond to their names, one girl, in particular, is distracted by the scene outside the window. This opening resonated with me because it captured something universally relatable – that moment when a student's attention drifts from the lesson to the world beyond the classroom walls. Throughout the film, this girl is shown enthralled by the birds soaring across the sky and the lush greenery, paying little attention to what is being taught in class. The true beauty of the narrative unfolds in the teacher's response. Rather than scolding the distracted student, recognising the young girl's love for the world around her, her teacher decides to nurture her curiosity by encouraging her to think of her school textbooks as 'windo...