MAM
Metamorphosis 2005! decodes ‘Cool’
MUMBAI: A marketing conference organised by the ICFAI students on 15 January at the Nehru centre delved into ‘What’s Cool’ in the current context and how a marketer should understand, identify and capitilise the ‘Cool’ phenomenon.
The seminar saw speakers from all walks of the industry with the likes of R Balakrishnan, executive creative director, Lowe to Kaushik Roy, marketing head, Reliance Infocomm, Sumnatra Duta CEO Radio City to Alok Kejriwal CEO Contest2Win to name a few.
While Dutta defined ‘Cool’ as an emotion which can be expressed in diverse ways, Balakrishnan simply put it as interesting and a breath of fresh air.
Coming to why this desperation today to be ‘Cool’? Balakrishnan pointed out that there is a price to be paid for being cool. But one must know when to stop being cool to survive. Brands that position themselves as cool forget that they have to uncool things to remain cool.
Session one focusing on dissecting cool behavior had speakers like Meera Tenjuria director Aarohan Communictions and Veer Bothra project manager netcore Solutions. Tenjuria first pointed out that unlike advertising which has total control of the communication that is being sent out, public relations was a sum total of the analysis of reactions of the editorial. Cool was dissected as a mindset and a perception which need not have a direct co-relation to the product. Cool was also said to be stated in reference to the age group, industry, phase of society and cycle of rebellion .
Another point of contention was the role of the media. Media forms a crucial part of a brand strategy to create ‘cool’ parameters. While media reports trends, a number of times media also creates trends.
Bothra touched upon buzz marketing and the importance of word-of- mouth, which is the ultimate catalyst in boosting a brand.
While on the issue of developing ‘Cool’ products, speakers Ankan Biswas GM Philips and Biju Dominic VP Mudra Communications pointed out steps for the same.
1) Indentifying a need for the youth that is cool.
2) Articulating and defining the product attributes
3) Checking the environment or trend of a similar product
4) Evaluation of market forecast in terms of value and volume
Dominic also pointed out that thinking ahead in terms of ‘Cool hunting’ was crucial to the whole game. “The trick is really to dig deeper and do away with the peripheral.”
Session three defined exploring the ‘Cool and Gadget’ connect with Kejriwal and Roy as key speakers. While Roy emphasised on the fact that today’s youth want to be entertained all the time, and more and more people are out-of-home nowadays, Kejriwal presented three case studies on what he thought was really cool. The Apple i-pod, the segway human carrier and the Livestrong band.
The seminar concluded with an underlined thought that ‘Cool’ was a mindset and cool things market themselves. In essence, a product that is cool gratifies immediately.
AD Agencies
WPP Media elevates Dipti Gulati to vp, client growth for APMEA
Singapore-based executive to commercialise AI-powered solutions business across the region
SINGAPORE: WPP Media has promoted Dipti Gulati to vice president, client growth, handing her the mandate to lead the commercialisation of its solutions business across APMEA.
Based in Singapore, Gulati steps up after serving as senior director, client growth, where she drove expansion across APAC spanning programmatic, search, social, CTV, DOOH and cross-channel offerings. Now, she is tasked with translating advanced AI, data and technology ecosystems into scalable growth strategies for global brands across FMCG, luxury, F&B and financial services.
“I commercialise the future of media — at scale, across APMEA,” Gulati said, announcing her appointment. She added that she turns advanced data, AI and technology ecosystems into real commercial outcomes, shifting the conversation “from a pure media play to owning business outcomes”.
Her brief is unapologetically future-facing: addressable, accountable and AI-powered media. She will work with cross-market teams across APMEA, bringing together diverse perspectives and cultures to accelerate growth and build what she calls the “future of media”.
Gulati’s rise caps nearly two years at WPP Media and follows a six-month stint as regional director of growth, APAC, at Mindshare, where she led new business development and expanded capabilities for existing clients. Earlier, as global account director for integrated marketing communications on the Unilever business, she drove communications strategy for multi-million dollar beauty and wellbeing brands across Southeast Asia.
Before that, Gulati spent close to two years as associate director at Warner Bros. Discovery in Singapore. She also served as director, strategic partnerships and market development at TrustSphere, leading go-to-market and growth initiatives across Asia and evangelising relationship analytics to C-level executives. TrustSphere, credited by industry and Harvard Business School case studies as a pioneer in relationship analytics, became a springboard for her deeper engagement with data-driven growth.
Her board and evangelist roles at the Asia Cloud Computing Association and its Asia Analytics Alliance further sharpened her regional policy and analytics credentials. Earlier chapters include marketing consultancy at Blockchain Foundry and a seven-year run at Warner Bros. Discovery in India, where she led ad-sales and business development for HBO and WB across north and east India, delivering record billings. She began her career at Diligent Media Corporation Ltd and Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd..
From ad-sales floors in Delhi and Mumbai to boardrooms in Singapore, Gulati’s arc mirrors the industry’s own shift — from selling spots and slots to engineering outcomes through data and AI. At WPP Media, the brief is clear: scale smarter, move faster and turn algorithms into advantage.
