Arun Srinivas

Shoppers today often blend physical and online experiences, browsing in-store and purchasing online or starting online and finalizing in-store, based on multiple factors like convenience, availability etc. Brands like Target and Best Buy come to mind—they’ve nailed the art of seamless shopping, allowing customers to browse online, buy in-store, or vice versa, with options like curbside pickup and same-day delivery. Both brands’ apps even let you check local availability and access product details, keeping the experience connected and hassle-free. As a consumer, which brands do you think are doing a great job in omnichannel shopping? And have you come across any brands that could improve their online and offline integration? Share your thoughts!

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Who says B2B marketing is dull? Clearly, they haven't witnessed a spreadsheet win a dance-off at a company retreat (It happens!). On a more serious note, I am quite chuffed that ZETWERK has been recognized as one of India's Top 100 Most Valuable Brands by India 100 report of Brand Finance. To be precise, we are 64th in the pecking order. It also positions us as the #2 force in the Engineering category. While we pride ourselves on delivering predictably reliable manufacturing, being acknowledged as a company shaping India's economic narrative is truly humbling; and we could not be more grateful to our customers, investors, employees and partners in helping us get there. Zetwerk's journey began in a small HSR Layout apartment, and today, the world is recognizing our potential. Be assured, the best is yet to come! #Zetwerk #Top100IndianBrands #Manufacturing #Innovation #Engineering #Proud

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#BrandVoice A tale of segmentation Last week, during a casual chat with an academician friend, my thoughts struck around brand segmentation. It’s a riveting story about how the universe of consumer products has evolved. Segmentation, once a prisoner of convention and rigid rules and gender stereotypes is now transforming into a canvas of inclusivity. Most of us would possibly recall the iconic Surf Ad, when TV was a rare luxury in middle class homes. Back then, a graceful lady named Lalita Ji was the star, intelligently advocating how to choose a detergent for a sparkling clean white cloth, like her sari. Today, the brand has evolved into a lovely father-daughter story in the new Surf Excel Matic Liquid ad, re-scripted to connect with a diverse world. Let me take this thought to the spin cycle of laundry machines. Once stereotyped as a female territory, have adapted to the modern rhythm of DINKY & DEWKs, both. Major brands have sprinkled their machines with the fairy dust of smart technology, turning them into AI-driven helpers, magically sensing the fabric type and selecting the perfect wash cycle, remotely even from offices, engaging couples equally in the laundry job. Likewise, the kitchen, long considered as a woman’s place, is now being embraced by men, specially in the post COVID period, as they discover their inner chef. Several brands are creating campaigns where men wield spatulas like magic wands, conjuring up delicious meals, encouraging women to ask for a shared role in the kitchen. Beyond these traditionally female centric domains, there are categories where gender lines have already blurred. In the world of sound, brands like Bose & Boat appeals to music lovers. Mobile phone Ads showcase diverse experiences, while notebook ads highlight creativity and portability. Cola commercials, featuring stars from Aishwarya to Amir and Shahrukh to Samantha tell the interesting stories behind. The dance of consumerism is spinning a vibrant tapestry of inclusivity, continually! #Brand #BrandStrategy #MarketSegmentation #AdvertisingandMarketing #EdChat

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A decade ago, Sean Aggarwal was addressing a room full of Trulians and reminded us that it is important to stop and savor the good moments. Being an entrepreneur and a single parent can be challenging at times. The last few months have been filled with evaporating budgets, starts and stops on new projects and other obstacles. 🚶‍♂️I've been using the "free time" to take a longer daily walk, cook more, focus on the kids and re-engage with friends in my community. ⚽ This will be my last year coaching soccer before my son heads off to high school. A father/coach/son relationship is tough but also very special. We finished the regular season undefeated and are onto the playoffs next week. Our first undefeated season together. It’s moments like these that remind me how important it is to stay present, even in the busiest of times. 😱 Later in the evening, I hosted 20 teens pre and post a trip to the haunted house. At one point in the evening, I stepped outside and snapped this picture. The teens were playing an ol'skool game of telephone and nobody was staring at their iPhone. I went to sleep with a HUGE smile on my face savoring a moment in what has been a hectic and challenging three months. Why share this now? I know lots of folks also dealing with challenging work environments. More companies are still letting people go and cutting budgets versus the newer AI companies spending on talent and building their brands. 10 weeks left in 2024. As the year wraps up, I’m looking for new projects to collaborate on. Feel free to reach out to me. If it is not a fit for me, I have a feeling I may know the right person for the project.

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“MEASURE WHAT YOU TREASURE” is something that I really believe in and hence I keep repeating it quite often. In the latest episode of CoBB | Conversations on the Business of Brands, Sharavana came up with a logical extension to this appeal and spoke about different types of data points/ measurable and how they should be used. If you want to use data the right way, listen to our latest episode. Links in the comments 👇🏻 TL; DL (Too Long, Didn’t Listen) - 1. Understanding the context & requirement is paramount to know which data to measure and how to use it 2. Differentiate between - historical record, snapshot and forecast 3. Remember - not all metrics were created equal 4. Keep listening to COBB 😀

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"Give me the SV" One of my aunts (shout-out Aunt Elaine) has ALWAYS told me "Give me the SV (short version)" before any story. And, while it's sometimes annoying (the long version has the juiciest details!!), it's made me pretty good at condensing emails, docs, and more. So here's the SV of Hubilo's State of Webinars report. I promiseeeeeee you'll like the 60 page LV, too - which you can download for free here: https://lnkd.in/g6EXMWgT

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Thrilled to get some glowing reviews on my book from some absolute industry stalwarts! Grateful for the same! :) ‘Most marketing books teach you WHAT marketing is all about – its concepts & principles. This one goes beyond and tell you HOW to be a good marketer – the processes & tools that you can use, to arrive at a sound marketing strategy & plan. A truly invaluable resource for anybody in marketing – or aspiring to get there’ Rohit Srivastava, Chief Strategy Officer, Contract Advertising, India ‘Saurabh’s ‘The Practical Marketer’, is a great encyclopedia for students of marketing and young marketing professionals. It’s a practical Kotler of our times for marketing in the complex Indian stage. In the fast-paced world today, the classical mentoring and learning on the job is going down. In other cases, brand managers find it awkward to ask basic questions on the go during everyday work. ‘The Practical Marketer’ can be a ready reckoner for all those times.’ Nikhil Rao, CMO Mars Wrigley, India As the name suggests, Saurabh’s book is a treasure trove of practical insights for anyone who wants to make a career in marketing. It will be of great value to both students as well as marketing professionals. Nitin Saini, Vice President Marketing, Mondelez In a country where most MBAs do the course without much practical experience, they can feel quite clueless in the early years. This book bridges the gap and is a great guide to learning the tricks and trade of the job called marketing. Saurabh expertly draws from his wide experience and observations of brands across multiple industries and creates a structured and categorized mental diagram of what young marketers should expect, and how their can contribute to their jobs and build their careers. Ganapathy Balagopalan, Deputy Chief Strategy Officer, Ogilvy India   ‘Right from when Saurabh was a young marketer in Cadbury during the early 2010s, his voice would be heard in the meetings involving the ace Cadbury marketing stalwarts and Contract Advertising. Never shy, always clear, always objective and fearless, one knew that his was a voice that would shine. Which is now even more amply reflected in the Practical Marketer where he shares the fundamentals of marketing for young hopefuls. A must read for youngsters coming into the Marketing universe.’ Raj Nair, Growth and Creative Consultant. Former CEO and CCO, Madison BMB. My book is now available for Pre Order at Amazon. Do book your copy now! https://lnkd.in/dzccvxjs #thepracticalmarketer

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"For brands, pain is the proof of purpose." - Shashank Mehta sums up in one pithy sentence an entire discourse around building brands with purpose. Matrix Partners India's very own Vikram Vaidyanathan spoke to Shashank about Building Company Culture, on Matrix Moments. The chat goes deep into how he's led The Whole Truth Foods with purpose and that has helped build a strong company culture. This has not been without dilemmas, or enduring the consequences of their "clean ingredient" decisions. Shashank elaborates on a particular dilemma: The Whole Truth protein bars have zero preservatives. This means a shorter shelf life in retail, and higher returns: the Whole Truth has 20% returns from retail, whereas their closest competition has 2%. Shashank and team can extend the shelf life of their product by simply adding a drop of preservative, but they choose not to. And this is the pain that they are willing to endure, to stick to the company & the founder's purpose. Brand purpose isn't a marketing buzzword, it's a reason for your business to exist. Purpose percolates to all business decision making, from which problems you decide to solve, how you train your team, to how you create your product, to how your brand campaign looks. For founders, it comes down to: how willing are you to stay true to purpose, in the face of pain from the market. Wisdom for founders about building company culture on the latest episode of Matrix Moments: https://lnkd.in/d6K_UUZA #FoundersFirst #CompanyCulture #Purpose #BrandBuilding #StartUps #Founders

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This was one fab discussion! With many marketers around on the ET BrandEquity panel, a theme emerged: create meaningful nudges, not ads. Traditional ads can feel pushy and are increasingly being ignored. Many of us have seen a considerable drop in CTRs and conversion rates of our typical demand gen campaigns. This makes focusing on sending thoughtful, personalized messages that really connect with people super important. A timely message offering helpful advice or a special deal based on what someone likes can feel like a friendly nudge, not a hard sell. It shows that we understand and care about our customers’ needs. A paradigm shift like this can lead to better engagement, happier customers, and stronger relationships. A genuine conversation will convert and retain our audience better than anything else. #Marketing #CustomerEngagement

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The power of emotional and psychological triggers in successful advertising Read more at: https://lnkd.in/g2vHVqdc

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What is the process of Making Advertisements? Such an important topic, yet it isn't something you are likely to learn in B School. This is just one example of the many topics I cover in my book 'The Practical Marketer'. Thank you Dushyant Bhatt for sharing this fantastic conversation. The Practical Marketer: Your Ultimate Guide to Consumer Product Marketing is available on Amazon at https://amzn.in/d/0zRbvnR or at Crosswords Bookstore near you. #thepracticalmarketer #advertizing #brands #marketing

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If you want a copy of the report, let me know . Give your name , designation and company name.

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"Quick commerce companies, including the likes of Zepto, Blinkit and Instamart, are set to face a slew of operational hurdles as they foray into full service ecommerce, which runs on a different logistic and warehousing model, top industry executives said. Zomato-owned Blinkit’s plan to operate 1,000 dark stores, including for broader ecommerce deliveries, by the end of this financial year is quickening the pace for its peers — Swiggy’s Instamart as well as Nexus Venture Partners-backed Zepto, which has begun selling air coolers, fans, and luggage, in addition to expanding into fashion. Typically, quick delivery firms record an average order value (AOV) of around .₹500-600. Now, as they look to deliver higher-value products, new challenges will emerge for these firms. “The whole supply chain follows a certain cost structure but with newer, more expensive goods, it will require an overhaul on account of real estate, logistics and even working capital costs going up in certain categories,” said a senior Gurgaon-based executive at a quick commerce firm. Recently, Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart started delivering air coolers that are priced upwards of .₹5,000 in addition to other high ticket products. This includes items such as jewellery, gaming consoles and smartphones. Mumbai-based Zepto also partnered with new-age luggage D2C brand Nasher Miles, while Blinkit started delivering products of Mokobara. “We have been trying to crack same-day delivery in the ecommerce industry, how to stock enough goods in the right locations (small dark stores won’t be adequate) size, scale and volume add to its own challenges,” said a senior company executive who noted that movement of vehicles and turnaround time will come under stress when one has to deliver bigger goods compared to grocery or staples. “The moment you shift from two-wheelers to a three-four wheeler, costs increase,” the person added. Some quick commerce platforms have begun redesigning their dark stores to better stock a higher quantity of stock-keeping units (SKUs). People aware of the changes said that Zepto is setting up “mother warehouses” to feed the more hyperlocal micro stores as and when demand arises for certain products. Meanwhile, Blinkit is looking at increasing the density of its stores in high-demand areas. These dark stores will work in tandem with each other, helping the company manage a bigger inventory. Platforms are also implementing one-time pins (OTPs) for deliveries of high-priced items such as jewellery, smartphones, and more expensive electronics. Typically, Flipkart and Amazon do this for high AOV products. A spokesperson for Zepto didn't comment while emails sent to Blinkit and Instamart didn't elicit any response." Full report: https://lnkd.in/gdyHZfcQ

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2X growth in 1 month This is the stuff that qcom fairytales are made of. Thanks to interventions by category and brand teams at Zepto, we grew by 2X (almost!) in one month. Enabled by shopper relevant assortment, availability across dark stores and overindexing on marketing assets that Zepto has to offer- Search, Display, Zepto 3rd Birthday Sampling, Rakhi etc; couldn't be happier for having done so. All relevant metrics are trending upwards (Zepto brand analytics info is gold) and we are committed to keep it that way. Let's grow!!! Pankaj B MoreJapen KhokhaniAnjal ThakurDevendra MeelChandan Mendiratta Gaurav ChowdharySnehee AlagNeha ThakurKapil Jain Ishan Chawla

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Been entrenched in the Indian ecommerce scene this year and I have come across quite a few business problems that sellers and brands are grappling with. One that made me go whaaaattt?.... was the lack of a proper returns module that can help D2C brands make their customer experience seamless. With Shopify sunsetting their own returns app, D2C brands are left with a few expensive solutions (returns are a cost in the first place and for D2C brands, paying through the nose to offer that to your Customers is nuts!) Did you know that we - Base.com (formerly BaseLinker) - offer Return Forms for FREE to users of our all-in one ecommerce system? If you are a D2C brand facing this issue, please reach out, will be happy to help. Check how you can do it here: https://lnkd.in/gbRGMXMi #d2c #base #returns #shopify #ecommerce Base.com India Govind Singh Rajpurohit Yash Shukla Abhinav Gupta

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I’m excited to share some insights from our recent discussion at Grocery Doppio’s AI in Grocery live session: I highlighted how #retailmedia has transformed from an emerging opportunity to a top priority for C-level executives. The consumer-centric approach, coupled with continuous testing and learning, is crucial for driving significant growth and volume expansion. Think Blue Parag Shah Sri Rajagopalan

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From Posters to Pixels: How Marketing Transformed 🌍 Ever wonder how we went from handing out flyers to launching viral digital campaigns..? 📰➡️💻 The journey from traditional to digital marketing is nothing short of revolutionary! 🚀 What sparked this change? 🤔 📉 Targeting: From broad strokes to pinpoint precision. 🕒 Speed: Campaigns that took months vs. instant launches. 💰 Cost: Exclusive to the big players vs. open to all. 📊 Analytics: Hunches vs. hard data. 💬 Curious: What’s your take—are we better off in the digital age, or does traditional marketing still hold its charm? Share your thoughts! 👇 #DigitalMarketing #MarketingEvolution #BusinessStrategy #Innovation #seriesguy

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