MAM
GUEST COLUMN: When marketing stopped shouting and started working
MUMBAI: In this guest column, Sameer Joshi and Anindya Ghosh, founders of brand marketing firm Sam & Andy, bring together their combined experience of over 45+ years to reflect on how 2025 reset the rules of marketing and branding. Drawing from careers that span leading global agencies and corporate roles, the duo examine the industry’s shift away from chasing extremes towards balance, focus and fundamentals. They discuss the rise of micro-influencers and micro-dramas, the reversal of content thinking where short formats lead to big ideas, and why the long-standing divide between brand and performance has finally collapsed. The column also explores marketing’s closer alignment with business outcomes, the emergence of quick commerce as a high-intent media platform, the growing relevance of B2B storytelling, and omnichannel becoming hygiene rather than hype. Anchored in an India-first perspective, Joshi and Ghosh argue that growth today is built through system-led thinking, credibility and clarity, making the case that 2025 was not about louder brands, but about clearer ones.
If 2025 taught the marketing and branding industry anything, it was this: growth no longer comes from chasing extremes. It comes from balance, focus and a return to fundamentals.
This was the year marketers stopped looking for silver bullets and started building systems that actually work.
One of the clearest shifts was the rise of micro-influencers and micro-dramas. Influence is no longer defined by scale alone. Brands increasingly leaned on smaller, credible voices that speak to specific communities with authenticity. Alongside this came micro-dramas. Short, episodic content formats designed for attention-fragmented audiences. These weren’t cut-down versions of larger ideas; they were the idea itself.
This marked a reversal in content thinking. Earlier, brands made long films and edited them into shorter formats. In 2025, the thinking flipped. The six-second or ten-second film became the starting point. If the idea worked, it earned the right to scale up. Even film promotions followed this model. Movies were marketed through hundreds of short reels that gradually pulled audiences into theatres. Everything small now leads to something bigger.
Another long-standing debate finally lost relevance: brand versus performance. The industry realised that these are not opposing forces. Performance without brand hits a ceiling. Brand without performance lacks accountability. The most effective marketers treated them as one system, not two separate mandates. Legacy brands demonstrated this balance well, proving that sustained growth requires both short-term efficiency and long-term meaning.
This shift also moved marketing closer to the business core. Marketing conversations increasingly happened in revenue rooms, not just creative reviews. Banks, startups and large enterprises began expecting solutions, not just campaigns. Marketing was no longer measured by what it said, but by what it delivered.
A major structural shift came from the rise of quick commerce as a media platform. Media budgets didn’t vanish; they migrated. High-intent environments where discovery and transaction coexist became far more valuable than passive reach. Quick commerce platforms evolved from distribution channels into powerful influence points, reshaping how brands think about visibility and timing. B2B marketing also came into its own. It moved beyond relationship-led selling and embraced visibility, storytelling and relevance. Decision-makers are people first, not designations. B2B brands began competing for attention, not just access, recognising that mental availability shortens sales cycles.
On the distribution front, omnichannel stopped being a buzzword and became hygiene. Digital-native brands acknowledged the power of physical presence, while traditional brands strengthened on digital platforms, sometimes offering products unavailable anywhere else. Growth now sits at the intersection of offline trust and online convenience.
At a broader level, India itself underwent a branding shift. The country is no longer content being just a manufacturer or exporter. There is a growing understanding that markets are created through narratives, not just capacity. Indian businesses, from commodities to consumer brands, recognised the need to build brands with global relevance. The industry also witnessed consolidation and fragmentation at the same time. Large agency networks merged and streamlined, while independent agencies thrived by being agile and fearless.
Scale and specialisation now coexist.
Trust became non-negotiable. Brand crises this year showed that audiences expect honesty, speed and accountability. Saying sorry early proved more powerful than explaining later. Authenticity stopped being a value statement and became a survival skill.
Looking ahead, several signals are clear. Media platforms will be judged harder on real business impact. AI-led discovery will reshape search and commerce. Categories like jewellery will see clearer articulation of purpose; natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds and gold will coexist, each with its own reason to exist rather than competing for the same space.
Politically and economically, change is inevitable. But fundamentals remain unchanged. Brands that win will be those that focus on clarity, consistency and credibility.
One myth, however, needs retiring: the disappearance of the Indian middle class. It hasn’t vanished; it has evolved. The middle class is no longer a single income band, it is a mindset. Writing it off is not insight; it is misreading India.
2025 wasn’t about louder brands. It was about clearer ones.
Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.
Brands
Wipro hires 7,500 freshers, withholds FY27 hiring outlook
Profit rises to Rs 3,522 crore, Rs 15,000 crore buyback announced.
MUMBAI- Hiring may be on, but visibility is off, Wipro is adding talent even as it pauses the crystal ball. The company hired 7,500 freshers in FY26 but stopped short of offering any hiring outlook for FY27, underscoring the uncertainty gripping the IT services sector as it pivots towards an AI-led operating model.
The disclosure came alongside its fourth-quarter earnings, where management flagged volatile demand conditions and refrained from committing to future workforce expansion. Chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil noted that over 3,000 of the total hires were onboarded in the March quarter alone, signalling continued intake despite a lack of clarity on deployment pipelines.
This divergence active hiring without forward guidance reflects a broader industry pattern where talent acquisition continues even as deal conversions remain uneven and client spending cycles stretch. Wipro expects its IT services revenue for the June quarter to range between a decline of 2 per cent and flat growth sequentially in constant currency terms, reinforcing near-term caution.
Chief executive officer Srini Pallia pointed to artificial intelligence as both a disruptor and an opportunity. He said evolving client priorities are pushing the company towards outcome-driven engagements, with Wipro increasingly focusing on a services-as-software model through its AI Native Business and Platforms unit. The shift marks a structural change from traditional headcount-led growth to AI-enabled delivery frameworks.
The company has already committed over $1 billion to its AI ecosystem, with investors closely watching how these investments translate into revenue. For now, the numbers present a mixed picture. Net profit rose sequentially to Rs 3,522 crore, while revenue grew 3 per cent to Rs 24,236 crore. However, core IT services performance remained under pressure, with full-year revenue declining 0.3 per cent in dollar terms and 1.6 per cent in constant currency.
Large deal bookings offered a counterpoint, rising 45.4 per cent year-on-year to $7.8 billion, highlighting a widening gap between deal wins and actual revenue realisation. On a quarterly basis, IT services revenue slipped 1.2 per cent sequentially, signalling continued softness in execution.
Margins, however, told a more optimistic story. Operating margins expanded to 17.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, up from 14.8 per cent in the previous quarter, reflecting improved cost discipline. That said, the company cautioned that upcoming wage hikes and the ramp-up of large deals could exert pressure going forward.
Attrition stood at 13.8 per cent in the March quarter, indicating stabilisation after periods of elevated churn. Alongside its earnings, Wipro also announced a Rs 15,000 crore share buyback, reinforcing its focus on shareholder returns, with a payout ratio of 88 per cent over the past three years.
Taken together, the numbers capture a company in transition investing in AI, maintaining hiring momentum, but navigating a demand environment where growth is uneven and visibility remains limited.
