MAM
Kantar: Only 49 of top 75 brands hold ‘meaningful difference’ since 2019
Outperformers grow financial value 2.5x faster, report warns AI and creators risk eroding trust.
MUMBAI:In the brand race, most are running hard but only a handful are actually sprinting ahead. Kantar India in its 2026 Brand Building Playbook reveals a stark reality: fewer than two-thirds of India’s top 75 brands have sustained a “meaningful difference” that potent mix of relevance, differentiation and emotional connection since 2019, even as marketing budgets swelled and digital tools multiplied.
Just 49 brands managed to keep the edge, spanning legacy giants like Nestlé’s Maggi, Tata Group’s Tanishq and HUL’s Surf, alongside digital-first stars Zomato and Swiggy. These outperformers grew their financial value 2.5 times faster than peers who let the advantage slip.
Kantar managing director and chief client officer Soumya Mohanty put it plainly, “When brands maintain meaningful difference consistently over the longer term, they see a disproportionate financial upside.” The gains, she stressed, build gradually rather than arriving in one flashy campaign.
The report also flags twin risks in the creator economy and AI. Influencers can amplify reach, but overuse erodes credibility much like celebrity endorsements once did. Mohanty warned, “AI should deepen human connection and elevate consumer experience. If it is used only to improve efficiency, brands risk weakening that bond.”
Kantar’s “Pentagon Imperatives” for 2026 urge marketers to shift from backward-looking scorecards to forward-looking “desire spaces” emerging motivations shaped by cultural and digital signals. Brands must “think meta spaces” and spot trends before they show up in sales data. In rural India, where consumers are now tech-savvy and digitally sharp, the report calls for faster foresight powered by AI systems.
Zero-click search and Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) are emerging battlegrounds for visibility. Ultimately, Kantar argues, lasting success belongs to brands that prioritise cultural relevance and emotional clarity over short-term noise.
In a world obsessed with quick wins, the playbook’s message is clear: the brands still standing tall in 2026 aren’t the loudest, they’re the ones that stayed meaningfully different when everyone else chased the next shiny trend.
MAM
Indigo appoints Aloke Singh as Chief Strategy Officer
Air India Express MD joins to steer global growth and operational efficiency.
MUMBAI: Indigo just recruited its next big strategist from the rival camp because when you’re chasing the skies, sometimes the best way to fly higher is to borrow the pilot who already knows the route. InterGlobe Aviation, parent company of IndiGo, announced on 23 March 2026 that its board has approved the appointment of Aloke Singh as Chief Strategy Officer. Singh, who most recently served as managing director and CEO of Air India Express, will lead enterprise-wide strategic planning, operational efficiency initiatives and the airline’s aggressive push into international routes.
Reporting initially to managing director Rahul Bhatia and later to Indigo’s incoming CEO Singh brings over three decades of experience across strategy, operations and commercial functions in aviation. At Air India Express he drove network expansion and performance turnaround, earlier roles at Air India and Oman Air sharpened his focus on long-term planning.
“Aloke brings an exceptional blend of strategic vision and operational depth,” Bhatia said. “His experience will be critical as Indigo seeks to build a more agile, resilient and future-ready organisation.”
The appointment arrives at a pivotal moment. Indigo, India’s dominant domestic carrier, has faced intense scrutiny after operational disruptions in December 2025 thousands of cancelled and delayed flights due to crew scheduling misalignments with new pilot fatigue norms triggering fines, passenger chaos and regulatory heat. Former CEO Pieter Elbers resigned in March 2026 citing personal reasons, though his exit followed sustained pressure from those setbacks and rising costs.
Singh described joining Indigo as “a pivotal moment” for both the airline and Indian aviation, as the carrier accelerates beyond its domestic stronghold into a more competitive global arena.
In an industry where turbulence is measured in both altitude and headlines, Indigo isn’t just hiring a strategist, it’s recruiting a steady hand to navigate from domestic dominance to international takeoff, one calculated flight plan at a time.
