Ep 23. Is brand marketing less relevant in the age of digital and AI? : A discussion with Bharat Puri

Send us Fan MailWelcome to another episode of Money Majlis focused on consumer marketing. Suvo Sarkar is in conversation with a doyen of the Indian business world, Bharat Puri, managing director of Pidilite Industries which owns the famous adhesive brand Fevicol, a case study on branding in many business schools. Why does a low-involvement brand like Fevicol dominate the Indian consumer psyche over decades with its tongue in cheek irreverence? How does a company and ad agency build a lifetime bond of trust and challenge? And will performance marketing take over from brand advertising in the near future? In an entertaining and inspiring discussion with Sarkar, the veteran Puri recounts how Asian Paints trained him to take calculated risks, how he managed the biggest PR crisis that Cadbury’s ever faced and how he is creating a “proneurial” culture at Pidilite. He explains how he starts and ends everything with the customer, how brands will become more relevant in an era of digital and AI and why treating marketing like an expense is the beginning of the end. Puri says leadership entails building a team that complements you, treating people well and doing the right thing every day. His serious advice to leaders: Don’t take life too seriously! Research by : Shekhar Krishnamurthy Production by : Poddster