Tag: Dr Bhaskar Das

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Q: Given India’s young demographics, do you believe Indian brands are sufficiently innovative in their approach to engage with the youth?

A: You haven’t defined the generational cohort of young demographics. My response would be different for different generational cohorts. For example Gen-Z would be different from Gen-Y.

I agree with your observation that the current approach of brands is not innovative enough for engaging with the youth irrespective of which generation the youth belong to. In the age of possibilities of tech-led hyper-personalisation, it’s quite a doable exercise, provided customer-centricity of any business goes beyond its purfunctory adherence.

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Q: How do you react to the self-declaration order of the Supreme Court for all print. TV/Radio, digital ads? Do you think it will be a deterrent for advertisers?

A: I am in favour of such a self-declaration dictation from the highest court of the land. I am not sure if the solution is worse than the problem the decision wants to address. Frankly speaking, I have no visibility of the size of the actual problem. But given the number of incorrect claims or irresponsible advertising that one comes across, some concrete steps had to be taken to protect consumers’ interest. ASCI is doing a good job but its directives are not followed with full commitment. It can be a nightmare for advertisers to actually implement in real life, but let’s wait and watch.

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Q: Do you think the increasing reliance on Artificial Intelligence (AI) might stifle innovation, or will it open new avenues for creative thinking?

A: The whole of Artificial Intelligence (AI, in short) is still an arcane subject lacking homogeneity of clarity. The perceptions range from stifling of innovation to need for regulatory intervention to prevent misuse for humanity to fostering innovation. Everyone has a confirmation bias and perhaps there are partial truth in every position.

I strongly believe that the clock of technology can’t be reversed. So, the best route is to treat it as a force multiplier through appropriate usage. When innovation is powered by powered by AI in business would help ensure that businesses could improve productivity, to start with just by sheer speed of execution and realtimeness. AI could enable comprehensive data research capabilities that facilitate effective decision-making and risk assessment. The possibilities for ensuring mass adoption of AI in business would increase only when it is realised that the value benefits of AI far outweigh its negative implications. It all depends on who uses it for what purpose. Beyond business, I can visualise it can revolutionise other field too, including healthcare, fintech etc. Regulatory might be required for AI’s misuse but regulators need to be alert that over regulation must not stifle innovation.

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Q: If public service is the ultimate high for an individual, would you recommend embracing politics to senior A&M professionals in the run-up to 2029?

A: I wonder how I would give a normative answer to a subjective question. What an individual decides is, exclusively, her or his decision (whether it’s aspiration or desire to serve the nation) and no one is capable of giving a lecture on its rationality. Therefore, if an A&M industry professional opts for the journey, it’s his/her calling. Just a caveat: success in one profession need not get automatically transferred to another profession like politics as the grind is more rigorous and not meant for weak-hearted. As a final statement, I would add a motherhood platitude: it would be good news for the polity, perhaps, if more professionals get attracted to the political process of a country.

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Q: Public memory they say is short. But given the negativity in the political campaign in the last six months, do you think all will be forgotten?

A: Yes, I agree with you that public memory is poor, generally. So, the public opinion moves from one subject to the next moment that triggers mass hysteria. Hence, negativity, if perpetrated by various actors on the political stage, is natural. I am not going into the domain of any moral judgment on the subject. These are changing times, globally, for political rivalry and in a professional sense, it is part of marketing one’s party/ affiliations amongst all the alternatives available to the electorate. The high decibel level of stridency during political campaigns follows the convenient adage of “everything is fair in love and war”. And today’s political arena is as good as a war zone.

I don’t think the fallout would continue, now that the new government has been formed and they would be busy in delivering the commitments to the electorate, rather than frittering away energy on proving browny points on competitive superiority. The electorate knows everything, as the election results show , every time.

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Q: Whatever be the outcome of any India-Pakistan match, is the rivalry way too unhealthy – for the sport and the already soured relations between the two countries?

A: Rivalry in sports arena is normal. But it’s more evident or articulated by the so-called fans and hyped these days through social media and the legacy media. Hence the surround NOISE makes us feel there is acrimonious relationship between players of the two teams. I have observed that amongst the team members/ players there is no visible tension.

In case of India and Pakistan, there are historical prejudices and pandered generation after generation by interested parties, on both sides of the border, to further their own agenda.

Hence, sports rivalry/ competitiveness is normal and healthy- it’s there in all forms of sports- but when it is used for myopic agenda , then it becomes unhealthy.

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Q: Given that T20 matches are so very unpredictable, even strong teams can’t be sure of winning. Should there be a call for citizens from both India and Pakistan border to temper their emotions in case their side loses?

A: I understand from where your concern emanates. It’s a legit concern but in a ubiquitous social media environment, this trend of losing temper on the outcome of a match (irrespective of the type of sport) is increasing at an alarming rate. Perhaps this trend is also an offshoot of hyper-nationalism camouflaged as patriotism.  There are psychological theories which rationalise crowd behaviour.

1. First is Contagion Theory, which proposes that crowds exert a hypnotic influence on their members that results in irrational and emotionally charged behaviour,  often referred to as crowd frenzy.
2. Secondly, Convergence Theory that argues the behaviour of a crowd is not an emergent property of the crowd but is a result of like-minded individuals coming together. If it becomes violent is not because the crowd encouraged violence yet rather people wanted it to be violent and came together in a crowd.
3. Thirdly , Emergent-Norm Theory that combines the two above arguing that a combination of liked-minded individuals, anonymity and shared emotions leads to crowd behaviour.

Why am I going into a conceptual framework for a simple question? Simple, no amount of a clarion call on this subject would cause a change of heart of crowd behaviour as such. It should perhaps be combined with a mix of advocacy of the essential spirit of sports and a some punitive steps for the recalcitrant behaviour. There is no readymade solution to it. Only rational behaviour at every level can mitigate the rampant growth of such negative behaviour.

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Q: As a website which has carried content that was often critical of the ruling party, should we now be worried?

A: Unless one has any skeletons in the cupboard, why should one be apprehensive about any negative backlash from one’s coverage in a democratic country. If the reportage is fact-based and there is no agenda to opinionate or impose thrusted rationality to news consumers, one has nothing to worry about. Otherwise, elections would not happen. Or, the very fact that you are asking this question and I am answering it exemplifies that the threat is more perceived than reality. It’s a human frailty that we see things as we are , and not as they are.

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Q: Even as there’s time for the formation of the next government, any one thing that you would like the ‘new’ government to do for the A&M fraternity?

A: Irrespective of the government in power,  the business interests of the A&M cohort would always be critical. When business interests general prosper, the marketers and business enterprises would reap dividends. Hence, I would recommend to the new government to engender a climate of ease of doing business and encourage more and more entrepreneurial ventures for generating employment, and Income. Everything else would follow.

I feel that economics (and therefore A&M is included) and politics are deeply connected. Look at the stockmarket though it’s too much sentiment-based. While politics may be fluid, economics is on a solid ground. But the message from the voters is clear: deliver some core ground-level realities like job creation (it implies focus on brisk business that creates more blue collar jobs). But as it might be a coalition central government, the elbow room for bulldozing controversial and painful economic decisions would not be easy.

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q: What was your one big takeaway from Goafest that happened last week?

A: Adaptability is being considered as the most crucial skill for success, be it personal or professional life.  Robin Hogarth used a term called “wicked environment”—where uncertainty and complexity dominate due to various tectonic shifts. Hogarth, a renowned psychologist and decision-making expert, highlighted the importance of flexibility and learning in today’s unpredictable settings. How does one navigate the scenario where the operating rules are getting altered constantly?

I wanted to set the context of the theme of Goafest. Given the above background, I don’t see any further explanation for the selection of the theme of the prestigious festival held last week.

The above is the first and most important takeaway from the conference. Secondly, well-calibrated sessions were another positive from the festival. There were parallel dedicated sessions for special interests. Thirdly, the spirits were high as was evident from award functions and networking engagements during coffee and lunch breaks.

Since you asked me to give one key takeaway from Abby-Goafest, I would say that the overall sentiment of the audience was positive and the   camaraderie was palpable.

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Q: The Lok Sabha election results will be known in less than 24 hours from now. Your sentiments

A: Why this Kolaveri di (murderous rage) about election results? Que sera sera… Whatever will be, will be. We shall get the Ruler we deserve, rather it should be which party the country’s population have opted for. So we should wait for one more day. Anyways, Nifty has given a thumbs up to the sunny side up sentiment, if that is any indication. So sentiments are upbeat and as I am not an astrologer, I don’t want to guess the result at all.

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Q: The Lok Sabha election results will be known in a few days. What’s your sense: achche din aanewaale hain?

A: In a democracy, election results, are always very critical as we elect a government who would run our country with the hope of maximum achche din for maximum number of people to mitigate their existential challenges. In view of this, all concerned citizens of the country would be excited to know the outcome of the general election. I am no exception.

Achche din is a quintessential hope of every human being, irrespective of economic strata or geographic location. So even I shall be hoping for the same and I am specially an incorrigible optimist.