Four Eyes and Two Lenses

My fascination for political marketing was rooted in 2014 when Mr. Narendra Modi came to power. It was the first time when I witnessed the real power of a brand. Back then I was not a student of marketing but always had an appreciation and aspiration to make a career in it. I always wondered about the kind of creativity one requires to come up with ideas of portraying the products, services, or anything a customer wants to buy. Fast forward to today, 6 years of Modi government and 6 years of me trying to decode his way of communicating with the masses. Although, in these years, I learned marketing basics in my MBA class but saw live examples in form of BJP's political campaigns. The importance of 5W1H ( Why, Who, What, Where, When, and How ) was clearly visible, the art of storytelling and gamification was aptly used, and the use of technology and social media was smartly leveraged. It was something out of a playbook to win masses. It was surreal to see the magic Mr. Modi had on ...

When I think of Congress I think of a party where there are several wanna-be leaders who boast their knowledge on the public platform and hope to become a leader someday. Although this is a good thing and can be pursued by anyone, what I see is that they don't care about or support what the other person is actually doing for the party, as they speak for themselves and always want to be known among the public for their thoughts and actions rather than of the party. Though, they do associate themselves with the party name but do not acknowledge or promote things done by other party members. They are focusing more on individual branding and achievements rather than collective branding and achievements. And, this is not just limited to bottom-level party members but can also be seen in the top-level party members of Congress. They like to play solo but within an umbrella of several solo players. And this has brought problems for Congress in the past and will continue in the futur...

The famous 8 PM speeches of our PM, Mr. Narendra Modi, have always excited us and put us on the edge of our seats. We are excited because he tells us a story (more like a fairytale) and we are nervous because we do not know what surprise he carries every time. His speeches although never contain any promises from his side but they certainly bring a sense of positivity for most of the citizens. He portrays citizens as national heroes who have contributed to nation-building and this portrayal provides them a sense of pride and loyalty for their nation. He requests, inspires, and motivates citizens through his speeches. Earlier in the past, we have seen how people religiously followed his requests, accepted his decisions, and believed in his actions. Our PM has created an aura around him that is so strong that many people start to justify even when he is wrong. Being a good orator, he reads the pulse of the public and comes up with a strong pitch that can sell or buy anything. ...

Recently, I happened to watch the press conference of Mr. Rahul Gandhi, the former president of the Indian National Congress party, on the ongoing pandemic around the world. It was not something everyone was excited about or was waiting for him to deliver his thoughts on this topic. Although he came out, like any other opposition leader, and spoke his words out and gave suggestions to the ruling government to combat the current 'emergency-like' situation as well as to have a strategic plan to offset the economic and social repercussions that might arise due to it. We often, in the past, heard words like 'Chawkidaar chor hai' in his speeches where he tried to question every work of the ruling government. Although there is no doubt that his work compels him to ask questions to the ruling government but he was often criticized for the lack of oratory skill and for his choice of words in his speeches where he had gone blank a few times. Leaving all that aside, I ...

The most anticipated speech of the prime minister, we all have been waiting for, came at 10:00 AM today. After following every other instruction he gave earlier to the citizens of the country during the lockdown, many were excited to listen to what the prime of the country had to say on the ongoing pandemic and what decisions he had taken to tackle it. While others had anticipated an extension of the lockdown given the gradual rise of the COVID-19 cases in the country despite lockdown. Although a nearly half an hour speech of the PM gave few answers to the problems the business environment is facing due to the lockdown, he gave several pointers for the crisis communication every brand and marketer should look upon. Therefore, I have decoded his speech structure into 7 parts. People The prime minister started his speech by praising citizens for their efforts in following and respecting the lockdown. He also acknowledged the hardships people are facing due to it and felt so...

Lessons learned during Elections 2019* > KG students are better behaved than our politicians. > Politicians complaint more to EC than the KG student to CR. > The life of actor-turned-politicians outside their home is equal to the number of the election campaign days. > India is not a poor country. Thanks to the billionaire politicians. > The amount of money in your bank account has nothing to do with your educational/entrepreneurial qualifications (actually, it is inversely proportional). > We can see a lot of jumping jacks during election time. Jitendra (Bollywood actor) is not the only Jumping Jack. > Unpronounceable (and obviously uncountable) figures of money can be seen in this season as well. (after GATE season) > Criminals can be found using TikTok inside the jail to spread their love for the country (and for the people, of course). > News channel anchors grow a new pair of ears to listen to everyone politely proving his/her point during the...

It was one of those days when he came back to his office after a very long tiring day, visiting several constituencies, talking to the people in charge, and taking the status of several ongoing government schemes. He was trying very hard to make these government schemes reach the bottom of the society, to every single citizen of the country, and in doing so, he had also faced the brunt of the people. The government was criticized for poor planning and implementation of a few policies, due to which citizens suffered a lot. Though the clear and huge mandate by the people had given him an extra responsibility to do something better for the country and to improve the lives of his fellow countrymen, thoughts on not performing well in the coming Lok Sabha election often came to his mind. He rushed into his office only to find his friend sitting and patiently waiting for him. He received him with a hug and started to talk. Parmendra Modi : Mota Bhai! This time it is going to be tou...