MAM
Economic confidence of Indians shaky: Ipsos
MUMBAI: India’s economic confidence remained shaky due to gloomy investor sentiments, chronic gaps in infrastructure, high inflation and interest rate, according to a report by global research firm Ipsos.
According to the Ipsos Economic Pulse of the World Survey, India‘s economic confidence dropped further by two points to 70 per cent in the month of May compared to the previous month.
However India continued to hold the second most economically confident country position after Saudi Arabia which stayed at the top of the table with a wide margin at 88 per cent.
Ipsos India CEO Mick Gordon said, “The symptoms of Indian economy being in poor health are building fast with growth rate slipping to a nine-year low of 6.5% in 2011-12, current account deficit touching a high of 4% and inflation at a high of 7.55% in May. Rupee has plunged sharply in recent weeks especially on account of foreign fund outflows and gloomy investor sentiments. It has lost over 20% against the US dollar over the past few months.”
“The chronic gaps in infrastructure, a shortage of skilled labour, unproductive farming, government expenditure on inefficient subsidies, barriers to overseas companies looking to invest and a proposal for punitive retrospective taxation on foreign companies has added to the already slowing growth,” added Gordon.
Half of the Indian population believe their local economy is good and 54 per cent people expect that the economy in their local area will be stronger in the next six months.
“Now hopes of revival are pinned at Dr. Manmohan Singh who takes over the finance portfolio. He is expected to bring in changes to revive the stalled economic growth, arrest the rupee‘s fall and deal with the fallout of a possible breakup of the euro zone, a tough task,” added Gordon.
The Ipsos report, which examined citizens‘ assessment of the current state of their country‘s economy, said that the overall global economic engines has lost significant steam in May and has dropped another point to 37 per cent, the lowest it has been since the economic downturn of 2009.
The Ipsos Economic Pulse of the World survey was conducted in May 2012 among 18,713 people in 24 countries such as Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States of America.
Saudi Arabia again shows the strongest proportions of people rating their current national economic situation as ‘good’ (88 per cent). They are followed by: India (70 per cent), Germany (69 per cent), Sweden (64 per cent), China (63 per cent) and Canada (62 per cent).
Only a handful of those in Spain (three per cent), Italy (three per cent) and Hungary (three per cent) rate their national economies as ‘good’, followed by Japan (nine per cent), France (nine per cent) and Great Britain (10 per cent).
Countries with the greatest improvements in this wave are Belgium (+7 to 28%), Argentina (+7 to 45%), Indonesia (+4 to 40%) and Russia (+3 to 36%).
The nations that saw the sharpest declines are Brazil (-10 to 49 per cent), Sweden (-7 to 64 per cent), Mexico (-5 to 28 per cent) and the US (-4 to 23 per cent).
Brands
DeVANS sparks buzz with self-chilling beer can April Fools campaign
Godfather stunt racks up 7 million impressions, blending humour with hype
NEW DELHI: DeVANS Modern Breweries has stirred up the marketing pot with a playful yet high-impact campaign teasing a futuristic “self-chilling beer can” under its flagship Godfather label.
What began as a seemingly bold product innovation quickly turned into one of the most talked-about brand moments online, before being revealed as an April Fools’ Day prank. The reveal, however, did little to cool the buzz.
The campaign clocked over 7 million organic impressions across platforms including LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and X, with users debating whether the concept was a genuine breakthrough or clever marketing theatre. Thousands of shares and comments turned the idea into a full-blown conversation, drawing in both consumers and industry insiders.
The hook was simple but effective. A self-chilling can positioned as an on-the-go convenience product tapped into the imagination of younger, urban audiences. Add the timing around April Fools’ Day, and the campaign struck the perfect balance between curiosity and scepticism, keeping audiences guessing.
Marketing experts have pointed to the campaign as a case study in leveraging cultural moments. By leaving just enough ambiguity, the brand invited audiences to participate rather than simply observe, turning passive viewers into active contributors to the narrative.
“Godfather has always been an iconic brand, but iconicity must evolve to stay meaningful,” said DeVANS Modern Breweries chairman and managing director Prem Dewan. “The ‘Self-Chilling Can’ was our way of showing up in a cultural moment with confidence and a sense of humour.”
Beyond the numbers, the campaign signals a broader repositioning for Godfather. Long seen as a legacy beer brand, it is now leaning into youth culture, digital-first storytelling and topical engagement to stay relevant in a crowded alcobev market.
In a space where attention is fleeting, DeVANS has shown that sometimes the coolest idea is the one that keeps people guessing.
