Anubhav Mishra articles cover advertising, branding, digital marketing, and consumer behavior for national newspapers and leading marketing trade publications. My work has appeared in ET BrandEquity, TOI Education Times, HR World, Campaign India, The Hindu Businessline, BusinessWorld, MoneyControl, India Today, and Indian Management (AIMA), among others. Below is a selection of these marketing articles, grouped by publication. For more on my background, check my profile.
Anubhav Mishra Articles, By Publication
ET BrandEquity
On why capturing attention, not just reach, is becoming the real currency brands compete for online
ET BrandEquity: Interrupting Scrolling: Attention Is the New Brand Currency
Businesses now compete for attention, not just for product value, as consumers face an information overload. Viral phenomena like the Jantar Mantar creator, aura farming, and the "Meow" book demonstrate that visibility and conversation have become the primary products. Brands must now focus on generating earned attention and becoming part of cultural conversations to remain relevant and successful in this attention economy.
On what brands should learn from IPL’s advertising saturation problem:
ET BrandEquity: What Brands Can Learn From IPL’s Saturation Problem
IPL Saturation Problem: Exploring how the IPL's surge in cricket scores reflects broader marketing challenges of overexposure and ad fatigue, with lessons for audience engagement and brand reinvention.
On festive advertising tipping into overconsumption:
ET BrandEquity: Dark consumerism: Can festive lights eradicate the evil? - ET BrandEquity
Amazon: Diwali, Dussehra, or Holi, these occasions bring joy, togetherness, and moments of reflection. However, in recent years, the essence of these festivals seems to be overshadowed by an increasing wave of consumerism, driven by aggressive marketing campaigns by e-commerce giants and offline retailers alike. The result is what can be termed “dark consumerism”—a shift where the focus on celebrating becomes secondary to spending, often driven by artificial demand created through massive promotional campaigns.
On brands navigating cricket season and election season together:
ET BrandEquity: IPL and the Parliament Elections? Branding strategies to mine the two goldmines together - ET BrandEquity
Following the IPL, Lok Sabha elections are slated to happen in the same period. What else can a brand manager ask for in India – the magical cocktail of cricket mixed with politics? For some veterans, it’s heaven, but for those who are unprepared, it may be hell as well. While IPL will take over the prime time, elections and discussion will rule the rest of the day. How can brands make the best of these goldmine opportunities to enhance user engagement, reach a massive audience, build a strong brand recall, and improve sales?
On what’s actually driving (and limiting) OTT growth in India:
ET BrandEquity: Decoding the future of OTT market in India
The OTT industry needs to retain consumers and acquire new users to grow subscription revenues, the author writes.
On why the metaverse hype outpaced the underlying technology:
ET BrandEquity: All that Glitters is NOT Metaverse: The Meta challenges for brands in the virtual world.
Metaverse has gained a lot of popularity in the last few years. However, it may be surprising for the readers that the concept of the metaverse is not at all new. American science fiction writer Neal Stephenson coined the term metaverse in 1992 in his novel ‘Snow Crash’.
On applying Product Life Cycle thinking to public health messaging:
ET BrandEquity: How to overcome vaccination hesitancy? Strategic lessons from Product Life Cycle
There are many parallels between vaccination coverage and a typical product life cycle. Can we use lessons from PLC to improve vaccination rate and influence people to overcome vaccine hesitancy?
On the ethics of moment marketing around the Olympics:
ET BrandEquity: The Olympics of (un)moment marketing
While posting a congratulatory message on Twitter handle is not a crime, including the brand in the message to advertise is definitely not ethical. Moment Marketing and its challenges.
On what behavioral science teaches us about writing headlines that work:
ETBrandEquity: Headlines Matter! Communication lessons from behavioral sciences
The authors reveal the results of a research focusing on the behavioral sciences domain to understand how communication can affect people’s behavior...
On using behavioral nudges in public health advertising during the pandemic:
ET BrandEquity: Advertising lessons and nudges to defeat COVID
We should look at famous behavioral nudges and apply the learnings to encourage covid appropriate behavior using ingenious advertising.
On the mental health toll the pandemic didn’t put a number on:
ET BrandEquity: The Psychological Cost of Corona
While the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is evident, the real impact of corona cuts deep into the social, psychological, and mental well-bei..
The Times of India
AI May Assist Doctors Make Medicine Smarter
On why AI is set to support doctors rather than replace them, and where the real workforce gap in Indian healthcare lies.
(Print edition — no online version available)
On the psychology behind why misinformation spreads so easily:
TOI: Fake news is fine for many, study finds out why | Lucknow News - Times of India
Lucknow: Are you one of those who believed that Rs 2,000 notes were introduced with a Nano-GPS chip that could give precise location coordinates of th.
India Today / EducationTimes / ETHRWorld
On why retail hiring for MBA graduates has stayed resilient despite the shift to e-commerce:
Store expansion and strong offline market keep retail hiring steady for MBA graduates - EducationTimes.com
Though still a small segment in placements, this sector is slowly emerging as a key recruiter as companies seek graduates who can manage both traditional and digital operations - EducationTimes.com
On why women MBAs remain underrepresented in operations and manufacturing roles:
Women MBAs yet to break into Operations, Manufacturing role - EducationTimes.com
Despite gender diversification initiatives at B-schools, structural barriers and workplace conditions continue to shape sectoral choices for women graduates - EducationTimes.com
On why the “college is dead” narrative oversimplifies a genuinely complex debate:
Education TImes: Colleges are not dead, and MBAs are not idiots - EducationTimes.com
As the debate over self-driven mastery vs guided institutional learning continues, students must not oversimplify the complex role played by higher education in shaping aspirations, employability, and economic mobility, writes academic Anubhav Mishra - EducationTimes.com
On the real disconnect between what academia teaches and what industry expects:
Job-ready or just ready to learn? The real battle between academia and industry - ETHRWorld
The End Goal Of Higher Education: Employers often complain about the gap between academic knowledge and workplace skills. The author argues that industry expectations may be unrealistic. He suggests that higher education focuses on critical thinking, not specific skills. The industry should support new hires’ growth through real-world application. Continuous learning is key to professional development, he adds.
On bringing design thinking formally into the MBA classroom:
India Today: Integrating the principles of design thinking in MBA programmes
Integrating design thinking principles into MBA programmes foster innovative problem-solving, adaptability, and creativity, preparing graduates to lead organisational transformation
MoneyControl
On how political messaging is starting to borrow generative AI’s playbook:
MoneyControl: Branding and politics in the age of Gen AI
Today, generative AI is the new disruptor, promising to change marketing, branding, and business forever. AI-generated ads, chatbot-driven customer service, and personalized content at scale are the new frontiers
On what generative AI actually threatens to automate — and what it doesn’t:
MoneyControl: Can Generative AI turn us all into redundant humans?
As generative AI transforms various industries, concerns about job displacement intensify. While AI enhances efficiency and customer experience, it also poses challenges to employment, especially in roles like customer service and content creation. Balancing AI integration with workforce protection is crucial for future job seekers
Campaign India
On marketing discipline during a crisis, distilled into one simple model:
Campaign India: Marketing in the time of Covid-19
Brands should follow the simple LAC model for marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic. LAC stands for - Listen, Act, and Communicate.
On Greta Thunberg, teenagers, and whether social media can move the needle on pollution:
Campaign India: Can teenagers and technology solve the problem of pollution?
An interesting perspective on how teenagers and social media can potentially solve the pollution problem across India and world.
On how Patanjali built an entire linguistic identity around “swadeshi”:
Campaign India: A new ‘kool’ language by Patanjali
Tan man dhan – IndiaPan – resonates with the audience says the marketing professor Anubhav Mishra (IIM Ranchi)
On the shrinking relevance of print advertising in an increasingly touchscreen-first India:
Campaign India: Paper or touchscreens? The challenges of advertising in India!
Has the print media lost its sheen? Author takes a peek into the future. and highlights the importance of touchscreens over print media.
On whether mobile wallets solved a real consumer problem, or just added a new step:
Campaign India: Mobile wallets - convenience or pain points?
The world is divided into those who have used digital technologies and those who are going to use them. But is it resulting in the paradox of choice?
On what Indian teenagers’ online behavior means for the brands trying to reach them:
Campaign India: The online teens and what it means for marketers
Consumer behavior of Indian teenagers and implications for marketers. How to influence teenage consumers in India?
The Hindu and Businessline
I got this published on the The Hindu Editorial Page connecting political campaign and making oa brand. On how a hashtag became a full-fledged political brand:
The Hindu Editorial: How #Chowkidar became a brand
Lessons the Opposition could have picked up from the marketing world to mount an effective poll campaign against Narendra Modi
On the smartphone’s quiet takeover of everyday Indian life:
The Hindu BusinessLine: Smartphone rules
How SmartPhones are enhancing lives, improving businesses and life of people across all the spectrum of social class.
BusinessWorld
On the generation raised on selfies, emojis, and constant connectivity:
BusinessWorld: Selfie, Emoji And Smartphone, Live In The Moment! The New Mantra Of Young Generation
Craze of smartphones, selfies, and emojis among young consumers and what it means for marketers.
On the early tipping point from offline to online retail in India:
BusinessWorld: Sales : Plunging Into Online Mode For Shopping
Analysis and comparison of offline and online shopping. One cursory glance at the newspaper or scrolling down Facebook ads or google can tell you how many brands are offering goodies for consumers to purchase online.
Indian Management (AIMA)
On resetting business strategy in a post-COVID world:
Indian Management - AIMA
The New Normal after COVID. Time to Reset and Revise the business strategies.
On the opportunities hidden inside a crisis:
Indian Management - AIMA
This article talks about the opportunities available during the dark phase of covid pandemic.
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