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The Hindu stays ahead of The Times of India

by bhatnaturally on January 25, 2012

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Competitive advertising can be fun. The Times of India fired the first salvo against The Hindu in Chennai recently. In my blog post I had noted: ‘the needless skin-show (not just in the city supplement) even in the mainline articles, the celebrity gossip in city supplements and the prominence given to ‘Page 3 culture’ you [...]

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iPhone 4S – trouble with brand expectations

by bhatnaturally on October 5, 2011

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And so Apple announced a new iPhone. Except that it’s not new – at least as ‘defined’ by media, tech blogs, general public and everyone in between. Of late, Apple product launches follow a similar pattern: speculation, more speculation and even speculation. All of which is ‘substantiated’ with hazy product shots from various factories of [...]

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Nokia: when brands try to re-connect with the youth

September 25, 2011
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In mass media, stereotypes are everywhere. In movies –  an Indian call-centre employee, the loud Sindhi, the perennially drunk mechanic Pinto, the vibhuti-clad South Indian are all stereotypes we are used to. Advertising too isn’t far behind with these kind of images – the eternally exuberant Sardar being just one of them.  The attempt, I [...]

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Samsung and Apple: tale of two approaches

September 8, 2011
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A retail analysis firm recently published a report after studying 160+ US retail chains. In terms of sales per square foot, Apple ranked No.1 with sales of US$ 5626 (approx INR 258,000) per square foot. With that number, Apple is almost two times ahead of their closest competitor (Tiffany & Co), and almost five times [...]

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Of Pantene, paid news and brand credibility

September 6, 2011
Of Pantene, paid news and brand credibility

The paid news phenomena in Indian media has been a subject of debate. The focus has largely been on journalists selling out to politicians by creating positive stories for a price. Brands have also done opted for this route with celebrity endorsements and brand launches dressed up as ‘news’. The belief is that the unsuspecting [...]

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Google, Motorola and iOS

August 21, 2011
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Google’s purchase of Motorola Mobility has been hailed as an excellent strategic move. Pundit’s have praised Google for outwitting Apple & Microsoft in the battle for smartphones. Many have alluded to Motorola’s trove of patents as the trigger behind this move. Some, notably Apple blogs, have declared this as a vindication of the Apple Way [...]

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Android experience of an Apple fan

July 31, 2011
Android experience of an Apple fan

My first experience of Apple was through the Mac OS 9. Compared to whatever Windows version we were using then (’98, ME, 2000 etc.) I found it far more elegant, trust worthy and classy. Yes, one had major compatibility issues when it came to file transfers, network sharing etc. I even bought a copy of DAVE [...]

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