MAM
Huge Cyber-Tsunami Developing in Asia
Today, for the first time, China has 100 million people on the Internet, 30 percent of whom are on broadband. Within a few years, a billion people in Asia will be playing with e-commerce. All that power and all that technology replicating at a phenomenal rate will create global shockwaves both in trade and communications.
The entire continent of Asia, including India and several other highly populated countries, is not far behind. The process of this advance is still hard to imagine by Western nations, most of which are comfortably nestled in vast, rich lands with very low populations.
When combined, this adoption of technology and new e-commerce attitudes in Asia creates the true ingredients in the making of a powerful cyber cyclone that will cut a clear path.
Ready to Go
Come 2008, at the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, when the athletes march in unison to their beautifully orchestrated national anthems, the whole world will witness a sleeping giant take a dramatic turn. The nationalistic pendulums will swing and, with all the other bells and whistles in place, a new trade war involved in posturing and making this the dawn of an Asian Century will come into focus.
Today in Asia, cell phones, computers and just about all other new paraphernalia is being purchased in several million units each and every single day. The price is becoming very affordable, and the population is being submerged in these new technologies. In addition, productivity is increasing and the easy life is becoming more widely embraced. The impact is awesome.
While the West took decades to develop and painstakingly bring to the market new technologies like fax machines, which were initially the size of a suitcase, and cell phones, which at first were the size of a briefcase, Asians got sleek, small, turnkey solutions from the get go, while missing the early cycles of the IT revolution. Those early cycles included huge costs to refine innovations and expensive obsolescence. Now there is cheap, off the shelf, all set, ready to go technology with full integration and full compatibility. Wow.
Undercurrent of Sensitivity
This emerging Internet-driven, technology-dependent and telecommunication-based society is also showing a cute sense of national and traditional values, directly reflecting in lifestyle change and consumer behavior throughout Asia.
The marketing and branding of products and ideas are in the forefront. There is also a dramatic increase in the production of local products backed by extremely fast distribution of marketing messages via cyber branding, almost becoming a killer to a lot of old-style Western media blitzes promoting Western products.
There is an undercurrent of pride seriously influencing the markets in Asia, a rise in a subculture based on embracing local ethnicity and nationalistic values. Western branding practices when marketing pushed gaudily packaged, overpriced Western-style products and services were mostly oblivious to local sensitivities. The concept that consumers are just sheep, so commonly and sometimes successfully used by Western ad agencies, has been adversely noted in the East. Most now fully understand that they are Asians first.
Overall, the benefits of technology will be felt far more greatly in Asia at the grass-root level then anywhere else in the world. The speedy low-cost Asian workers, their mass interaction and innovative spirits suppressed over centuries, are all about to be released.
Dangerous Path
While the West is losing its grip by the hour on the global branding of new and powerful products and services, the number of trademark applications filed in China each year for three years in a row were equal to all the new trademark applications filed in the world combined. Filing new trademarks positively indicates the introduction of new things in the markets.
The Western branding edge is turning soft, as the East is aggressively adopting global cyber branding and packaging. The real question is: What’s the future of marketing and branding, Western style? Where will be the next big expanding markets for branding?
What will the West and the rest of the world do for their corporate brand positioning to combat this awesome force? Furthermore, what will happen when all this e-commerce activity is funneled into the living rooms of every consumer of the globe?
Marketers and just about everyone else beware. A very big cyber-tsunami cometh our way.
MAM
Brands push beyond compliance as trust takes centre stage
ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026 spotlights shift from legal checks to credibility.
MUMBAI: In a world where a disclaimer can be legally sound yet socially suspect, brands are learning that compliance may tick boxes but trust wins markets. At the inaugural ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026, a panel on “Beyond Compliance: The New Currency of Trust” unpacked a growing industry reality: the gap between what the law permits and what consumers accept is widening and fast.
Moderated by Meenakshi Ramkumar of National Law School of India University, the discussion brought together leaders across law, marketing and academia to examine how brands must evolve in a digital ecosystem increasingly shaped by scrutiny, scepticism and speed.
Ramkumar set the tone by highlighting a critical shift, advertising today operates in the same digital space that fuels misinformation, scams and fake news, making credibility harder to establish. “The challenge is not just about what brands do, but the broader context of low institutional trust,” she noted, adding that when violations go unchecked, trust erodes not just in brands but in the regulatory system itself.
This vacuum, she said, has given rise to consumer activism from boycotts to social media backlash as a parallel accountability mechanism.
For Amit Bhasin, Chief Legal Officer at Marico, the distinction was clear, legal compliance is non negotiable, but insufficient. “Compliance is the minimum threshold. The real challenge is staying aligned with changing consumer expectations,” he said.
He pointed to how advertising narratives have evolved from traditional depictions of gender roles to more shared responsibilities reflecting a broader societal shift. “Earlier, it was fine to show one person doing the household work. Today, that may not land well. Consumers expect brands to reflect reality,” Bhasin observed.
He also highlighted internal debates where campaigns that may be legally permissible are still rejected for being culturally insensitive, noting that responsible advertising often requires asking uncomfortable questions before the public does.
If compliance is the baseline, reputation is the battlefield.
Bhasin noted that reputational risk has become a far greater concern than legal exposure, particularly in an era where campaigns can be dissected within hours online. “Earlier, a controversial ad might invite a newspaper editorial. Today, within hours, you’re at the centre of a storm,” he said.
Brands, he added, now evaluate campaigns through a dual lens legal viability and reputational vulnerability with the latter often proving more decisive.
From a healthcare perspective, Satish Sahoo of Cipla Health underscored the complexity of operating within fragmented yet stringent regulatory frameworks, spanning drugs, food, cosmetics and Ayush. “Anything under a drug licence is the most tightly regulated,” he said, adding that this necessitates proactive, not reactive, compliance.
He shared an example from the oral rehydration salts (ORS) category, where Cipla resisted the temptation to position products aggressively despite competitive pressure. “Our product is WHO compliant, and our communication reflects that. We chose not to blur the lines, even if others did,” he noted.
The long term payoff, he suggested, lies in credibility built over consistency, not quick wins.
Yet, as Harsha N of National Law School of India University pointed out, even perfect compliance does not guarantee trust. Drawing from historical and modern examples from exaggerated product claims in the 1800s to contemporary environmental and health advertising, he argued that legal frameworks often lag behind consumer expectations. “A brand can be fully compliant and still be perceived as misleading,” he said, citing instances where fine print disclosures fail to reach or convince the average consumer. He added that larger companies carry a disproportionate responsibility to set ethical benchmarks, even in areas where the law remains silent.
The conversation also turned to digital advertising, where the challenge extends beyond content to how ads are experienced. From algorithmic targeting to personalised messaging, brands now operate in an environment where regulation struggles to keep pace with technology.
Sahoo noted that social media has amplified awareness, with influencers and consumers increasingly scrutinising product claims and calling out inconsistencies. “Awareness has gone up dramatically. People are questioning what goes into products and what brands are saying,” he said.
The role of self regulatory bodies such as Advertising Standards Council of India also came under the spotlight.
Harsha acknowledged that while SROs play a crucial role, they are not immune to criticism, particularly around perceived conflicts of interest and enforcement gaps. “SROs have a higher threshold of responsibility not just to interpret the law, but to anticipate societal expectations,” he said.
He added that failures in self regulation often push the burden back onto government intervention, underscoring the need for stronger, more proactive oversight.
One of the more nuanced debates centred on whether building trust comes at a cost. While Sahoo acknowledged that quality and compliance can increase costs, he argued that companies must absorb them as part of their long term strategy.
Bhasin, however, framed the challenge differently not as cost, but as competitiveness in a market where not all players play by the same rules. “The real tension is when others cut corners and you choose not to,” he said.
The panel concluded with a call to embed trust into business metrics.
Sahoo suggested that organisations must go beyond revenue targets to include consumer equity and trust based KPIs, ensuring that ethical considerations are not sidelined in the pursuit of growth. “Trust sounds abstract, but it can translate into measurable consumer equity,” he said.
As the discussion wrapped up, one message stood out: the rules of advertising are being rewritten not just by regulators, but by consumers themselves. In an ecosystem where attention is fleeting and scepticism is high, brands that merely comply may survive, but those that build trust are the ones that endure.
