By Babita Baruah
It was a rare sunny day in snowy Boston when I walked down the corridors of Harvard Business School. I was a speaker for the India Conference 2016 in February, that saw personalities  celebrities like Shashi Tharoor, Karan Johar, Kamal Hassan, Chanda Kochhar, Chef Vikas Khanna and many others share their views on India in transition.
The marketing panel that I was a part of, was about making sense of a billion minds. It was an opportunity for me to speak about the three factors that, in my view, are causing a seismic shift in marketing and communications today. They are:
1. Retail Infrastructure: Marketers are confident investors today because of the rise of retail. From malls to e-commerce that delivers to the remotest doorsteps. Along with improved media measurement tools, there is scope for better resource management and relatively-reduced wastage of goods and spends.This has resulted in a strong market. With multiple players that are breaking the strongholds of their predecessors.
2. Media Explosion: I still remember the days my sister and I went to our neighbour’s house every Sunday to watch TV. Every programme is imprinted in my mind. There was hardly any choice then. We remembered everything we heard or saw or felt. Today, we have more than a thousand channels. Free content that brands have to vie with, in their communication. That smartphone in the hands of over 200 million people — that is the window of information, connection and entertainment and has helped the nation leapfrog to Web 2.0 and the Social Age. In this context, brands cannot restrict communication strategy to the tried and tested, but have to make unexplored moves in both creativity and ways of engagement.
3. The Changing Mind: Our growing up years were about consumption being a social embarrassment. It was not something we flaunted. The Ambassador car was a sign of the times and of our mindset. We couldn’t go faster, even if we wanted to. Today, we are a nation of risk takers, tearing down the social fabric of family and tradition. Moving cities, investing in ourselves – all this leads to the forging of new ties. We are increasingly being connected by culture and technology as an enabler. Therefore, the expectation of people from brands today is way more than just an ad. It is about what the brand is giving me; how is the brand engaging with me; is there a platform where I can express myself, is there an issue being addressed that makes my life better, and such concerns. It is a challenging environment for brands. But in that challenge also lies potential — the meeting point of proposition, culture and technology. An exciting time indeed, for marketing today.
Babita Baruah is Senior Vice President, J Walter Thompson. The views expressed here are her own, and do not reflect the views of her organisation. This article first appeared in dna of brands dated February 22, 2016