Do you remember the famous Flipkart ad where children acted like adults?  Do you remember the Seagrams 'Men will be men' ad?   Listen to the man instrumental in both ads, Shaun Williams, in this week's episode of hippoBrain. He talks to Jaimit Doshi and Rajesh Jain about what it takes to teach and train kids to act (especially act like adults), and the nuances around it.

"What makes you a 'creative' (guy)? A creative is not about having an idea. It's about 'having to have' an idea... Only the creative people in the room have the responsibility of having to have an idea. The others don't have that pressure," says Ramki or Ramakrishna Desiraju, the Founder of one of the largest Ad agencies in the country, Cartwheel Creative. Listen to the Creative guru talk about what makes a 'creative', the challenges they face, how they inherently understand 'strategy' as...

This week, we speak to Ruchira Chaudhary, Leadership Coach, Academic and Author of the book, Coaching the Secret Code to Uncommon Leadership. She speaks to Rajesh Jain and Jaimit Doshi about the coaching managers into becoming the good leaders at work; how organisations can nourish and encourage good managers and leaders, and more.

This week, we have the Guru of Loyalty & Direct Marketing, Ajay Row, talk to us about an important topic: "Do loyalty programs really work?"  Listen to the guru narrate epic anecdotes from his experience on good loyalty programs and tips on how to build a program that works.

"Not an agency. We are an independent, integrated marketing services company that is digital first." That's how Sowmya Iyer, founder & CEO of DViO Digital would describe her company. In this episode of hippoBrain listen to her as she spills the beans on building DViO from scratch; how tough is it to be independent and survive in a cut-throat environment; how she bought DViO from the investors, and most importantly, the 'Zone to win' Framework.  Interesting insights for business owners...

Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.  Listen to Mahesh Vyas, MD & CEO of CMIE (Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy) talk about how to interpret the data in an effort to find meaning behind the numbers.  Did you know that employment figures went up during demonetisation and went down during the pandemic? How would these reconcile without throwing up aspersions on the data sets? Why did this happen, how did this happen, which...

“Take it. Read it. Return it” Imagine you were travelling on the Delhi Metro, and found a beautiful fresh new copy of a book you've been eyeing lying around. You take the book and find a cute note inside. And it says: “Take it. Read it. Return it”. Such joyous serendipity, right? That's what our hippoBrain guest does with her mobile library. With over 5,000 books in circulation, Shruti Sharma, founder of Books on the Delhi Metro and her 'book fairies' have spread the joy of reading over...

In this episode of hippoBrain, listen to Nigel Morris, a doyen from the field of marketing and business strategy talk about the challenges that companies face in keeping up with times, especially in a digital era. 

We all know that there is an 'India' market and a 'Bharat' market, where the Ramu Kakas reside.  One key differentiator between the two is that the Bharat market is dominated by a culture of service. Yet, internet as we know it is predominantly DIY - Do It Yourself. So how do you use digital and internet to service the Bharat market?   We have answers in this latest episode of hippoBrain. Listen to Sachin Jaiswal & Shishir Modi, the CEO and CBO of Niki respectively as they talk to...

Typically, you find an expert in the art of running a business. And another expert in the art of marketing for a business. What if we tell you, we found you one individual with both expertises? Listen to Gulrez Alam, Chief Investment and Strategy Officer of ArabyAds, speak to Jaimit Doshi and Rajesh Jain about all things business, entrepreneurship, technology and marketing. Don’t miss out on the little nuggets of wisdom and tips he shares throughout the conversation!

“Most people meet consumers to find solutions. It’s better to meet consumers to understand the problems,” says Prem Narayan, the Chief Strategy Officer at Ogilvy, India. And who would know better than him. After all, he was one of the first few 'planners' at the large agency, who's worked a lot of large projects for the likes of Hindustan Unilever and Tata Motors. Lots of stories. Lots of annecdotes. And most importantly, lots of gyaan. Definitely worth a listen for those interested in...

Lekhinee Desai- Co-Founder, Chief of Marketing & Operations. After doing my graduation in Management Studies from Usha Pravin Gandhi College of Management, I worked for 2 years with Great Place to Work Institute as a Senior Analyst managing & marketing the coveted India's Best Companies to Work for Study in association with The Economic Times. I went on to do my MBA from NMIMS, Mumba, alongside which I co-founded our sustainable fashion brand The Indian Ethnic Co, with my mother....

Is Internet no place for women? What do women want--on the Internet, that is? And how do you build a safe eco-system for women online? And importantly, how do you build a cohesive community and brand around the same that caters to real people and solves real problems? Well, there's one woman who has the answers in this episode of hippoBrain. Listen to Sairee Chahal, founder of SHEROES, talk to Jaimit Doshi and Rajesh Jain about unlocking the power of half of India's population--the ones with...

What does it feel like to be a Cricketer representing India? What does it feel like to be a Cricket selector & administrator? And what does it feel like to be a sports marketeer—working for a large brand like Nike amongst some of the top names in Sports across the world? Get your answers from the man who discovered Virat Kohli as Jatin Paranjpe, Ex National Selector and CEO & Founder, KheloMore talks to Jaimit Doshi & Rajesh Jain in this episode of hippoBrain.   Here’s the...

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you,” Maya Angelou quoted. Here’s another quote to build on this: “Listen deeply to the stories of humans and their lives, their stories hold within it every single vector of brand and consumer strategy.” But don’t forget to first listen to “the caretaker of stories" speak about Brand Strategy and Story-telling in an almost poetic conversation with Jaimit Doshi and Rajesh Jain.  From stories about the colour of emotions and...

“Media does not stand a chance when it comes to the old Ad-supported model,” Samir Patil said in one of our hippoBrains conversations. Our guest in this episode may agree. In fact, he wants to ‘make subscriptions great’. How does he do that? By looking at journalism through the lens of a Product Manager and optimise it for business. Sounds interesting right? You bet it is. In this week’s episode of hippoBrain, listen to Praveen Gopal Krishnan, the Chief Operating Officer at The Ken, one of...

85,000-90,000 views — PER DAY Over 1 million downloads 1,00,000 queries answered Amazing numbers, right? All of it belongs to one single portal. For financial content. It’s none other than Zerodha’s Varsity—one of the key pillars of the discount broker’s success. Listen to Karthik Rangappa, the brain behind Zerodha Varsity, as he speaks to Jaimit Doshi and Rajesh Jain about the success of Zerodha’s content, what sets it apart, their strategy behind Varsity and learnings over the...

In July 1991, the Indian economy was on the brink of collapse. It barely had money to pay for a few days' with of imports.  To raise funds, the RBI pledged 46.91 tonnes of gold with the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan to raise $400 million.  But it was supposed to be done without public attention. One journalist, however, noticed trunks of gold being taken away. He eventually put together the pieces and broke the story.  He is Shankkar Aiyar, a political analyst, an author and our...

Ask any entrepreneur and they will tell you—ideas can be found anywhere. Typically, where and how you least expect it. Our latest hippoBrain guest will agree. He found his idea in the unlikeliest of places. In a sector that he knew nothing about (Tech). And in a country far far away.  Hear #yourisraelguy, Saket Agarwal, talk to Jaimit Doshi and Rajesh Jain about his journey from CA in Kolkata to becoming the liaison between tech startups in Israel and Indian companies requiring their...

We all hear tales of the aggressive, ambitious entrepreneur. But what does it really take? How do they think? What drives such an entrepreneur--these are questions we all have.   This week, enter the mind of a serial entrepreneur, Rajiv Dhingra, and walk in his shoes as he speaks to Jaimit Doshi and Rajesh Jain about his startups, entrepreneurship journey and the story of Watt Consulting, his successful digital marketing agency, and starting his new venture, RD&X.

You may know the inspiring story of Amul and the white revolution. You may enjoy their timely, witty ads with the Amul girl. You may enjoy the Amul products too (maybe even stacked it in your kitchens!?)   But do you really know the story? Did you know, for example, that Amul is one of the rare businesses that buys at a higher price from its suppliers and sells at a lower price to its consumers? Did you know that it launched 57 new products during the pandemic—many of which are beyond the...

Loyalty is a big buzzword in the world of Marketing. Of course, some would say, brands have run such programmes for decades. But the power of Martech has breathed fresh life into this fundamental concept of deeply respecting your customer. This week, we speak to the founder of TLC Group, which specialises in loyalty programmes for the hospitality industry. Hear Sudhir Gupta as he speaks to Rajesh Jain and Jaimit Doshi about his experience in the hospitality sector, the economics of a...

Your phone buzzes. Your calendar notifies you about an upcoming birthday. It’s a close friend in another city. What do you? You open your browser and search for Ferns N Petals. You book a cake and bouquet of flow and get it delivered at 12am midnight. It’s a close friend, after all! Now, let’s pause for a moment and consider this:—  A business worth around Rs 500 crore. Of selling flowers. Online.  A business that depends thoroughly on the freshness of flowers, of timely,...

4.8 stars and 1,200 reviews on Amazon.in—what is it about Hestia cold press juicer that it gets raving fans? Drop all that you are doing and meet The Legend of Nehal Shah, the Chief Customer Growth officer of Hestia appliances. See how David beat the Goliaths in the cold press market by focusing obsessively on customer delight. In a beautifully candid conversation, Nehal describes his journey of the education of India towards using a cold press juice. You understand his passion as he...