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In India's consumer durables landscape, few brands command the category authority that Voltas holds in air conditioning. For decades, the name has been synonymous with cooling solutions—a position built not through aggressive advertising alone, but through systematic brand building rooted in engineering credibility, distribution strength, and strategic product diversification. Origins: An Engineering Legacy (1954) Voltas was established in 1954 as a technical collaboration be

August 2016. In the pre-dawn darkness, when most of India sleeps, one radio jockey arrives at his station for a show that nobody listens to. This wasn't just a scenario in an advertisement—it was a truth that NESCAFÉ India transformed into one of 2016's most memorable campaigns. Created by McCann Worldgroup Delhi, the #StayStarted campaign featuring RJ Rishi would challenge a fundamental assumption: that starting something is the hardest part. The Evolution of a Brand Idea Th

Executive Summary Bournvita, a malted chocolate drink brand owned by Mondelez International, has navigated a complex and evolving health drink market in India for over eight decades. Launched in India in 1948, the brand established itself as a trusted nutrition supplement for children during an era when malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies were widespread concerns. However, the health drink category has undergone significant transformation over the past two decades, driv

Executive Summary KitKat, the chocolate-covered wafer bar owned globally by Nestlé (except in the United States where Hershey holds licensing rights), represents one of the most enduring examples of consistent brand positioning through a singular communication platform. Launched in the United Kingdom in 1935 by Rowntree's, the brand developed its iconic "Have a Break, Have a KitKat" slogan in 1957, establishing a positioning that has remained largely unchanged for over six de

Executive Summary Dettol, owned by Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (now Reckitt), is one of India's most recognized hygiene and health brands. The brand operates across multiple product categories including antiseptic liquids, soaps, hand sanitizers, and surface disinfectants. India represents a critical market for Reckitt, with the country contributing significantly to the company's developing markets revenue. The Indian market presents unique challenges and opportunities due to

Executive Summary boAt (stylized as boAt with lowercase 'b'), founded in 2016 by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, emerged as one of India's fastest-growing consumer electronics brands by targeting young consumers through digital-first distribution and marketing strategies. The brand, which specializes in affordable audio and wearable products including earphones, headphones, smartwatches, and speakers, disrupted the traditional consumer electronics market dominated by established

If you still remember Amul’s tagline from 30 years ago but can’t recall the billboard you saw yesterday, there’s a reason. Great brands don’t sell products. They sell stories. “Thanda matlab Coca-Cola” isn’t about a cold drink. It’s about summer afternoons, cricket on TV, and sharing moments with friends. That’s the power of a brand story. And this is where most brands go wrong. They assume storytelling means a touching ad or a clever line. It doesn’t. A brand story is the en

Executive Summary Domino's Pizza entered India in 1996 through a master franchise agreement with Jubilant FoodWorks Limited (JFL), which operates the brand across India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Over nearly three decades, JFL has transformed Domino's into India's largest and most profitable quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain by store count and revenue. The company's operational excellence strategy has been built on four pillars: aggressive store expansion with a fo

In December 2013, two IIT graduates met while working at Cambridge Systematics and decided Indian grocery shopping was broken. They started OneNumber—a simple pickup-and-drop service for local stores. Eight years later, after near-bankruptcy, a complete rebrand, and countless pivots, Zomato acquired their company for $568 million. This is the story of Grofers-turned-Blinkit: how it survived the grocery delivery wars, pioneered 10-minute deliveries, and became India's quick co

June 2025, Father's Day. In a world where every convenience is literally at our fingertips—food delivery, ride booking, home repairs, music streaming—Zomato released a campaign that asked a simple but profound question: Who was providing all these services before the apps existed? The answer, delivered with warmth and nostalgia, was "appa"—the Tamil word for father that resonates across Indian languages and cultures. The Campaign That Collaborated Across Brands What made "For

Executive Summary Oreo, the world's best-selling cookie brand owned by Mondelēz International (formerly Kraft Foods), faced declining relevance among younger consumers in various global markets during the late 2000s-early 2010s despite maintaining strong market positions. The brand's revival strategy, prominently featuring the "Play with Oreo" platform and associated creative campaigns, centered on repositioning Oreo from a passive consumption product to an interactive, playf

Executive Summary H.J. Heinz Company, founded in 1869, faced declining relevance in mature Western markets during the 2000s-2010s as consumer preferences shifted toward fresh, natural, and artisanal food products. The brand's revival strategy centered on packaging innovation, product reformulation, and repositioning to address changing consumer values around health, convenience, and authenticity. This case examines Heinz's strategic initiatives in product design, packaging ev

Executive Summary OYO Hotels & Homes, founded in 2013 by Ritesh Agarwal, pioneered an asset-light franchise model in India's fragmented budget hospitality sector. The company aggregated independent hotels under a standardized brand, offering technology-enabled revenue management and operational support without owning real estate. According to media reports, OYO expanded to over 80 countries at its peak, leveraging a capital-efficient model that attracted significant venture f

Last Diwali, two jewelry brands appeared on my Instagram. One said: “50% off gold coins. Limited stock. Shop now.”  The other told a story: a grandmother secretly buying small pieces of jewelry over the years, building a treasure for her granddaughter’s wedding. Tagline: “Some traditions are worth their weight in gold.” Guess which one I saved, shared, and remembered? It’s not about which ad was “better.” It’s about finding the creative angle that turns marketing into convers

Executive Summary Britannia Milk Bikis represents a notable example of leveraging childhood consumption patterns and maternal decision-making insights in the Indian biscuit category. Launched in 1997, the brand positioned itself in the glucose biscuit segment with a specific focus on children as primary consumers and mothers as primary purchasers. This case examines publicly documented positioning strategies, market context, and communication approaches employed by Britannia

Executive Summary Zepto, founded in July 2021 by Stanford dropouts Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, emerged as one of India's fastest-growing quick commerce platforms, promising grocery delivery in 10 minutes. The company's rapid ascent in a competitive market dominated by established players like Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit (formerly Grofers), and Zepto's ability to scale operations hinged critically on its underlying technology infrastructure. This case study examines Zepto'

March 2022, International Women's Day. While brands across India celebrated women with feel-good messaging and empowerment slogans, Prega News—Mankind Pharma's pregnancy detection brand—chose to confront a question that millions of working women grapple with in silence: Can I be both a mother and an ambitious professional, or must I choose? The answer came in the form of #SheCanCarryBoth, a campaign conceptualized by Team Pumpkin that would challenge one of India's most persi

In 2008, two IIT Delhi graduates stood in long queues at Bain & Company's cafeteria, frustrated by the time wasted finding restaurant menus. So they scanned menus, uploaded them to an internal website, and named it FoodieBay. Seventeen years later, that frustration became Zomato—India's largest food delivery platform with 58% market share, ₹1.95-2.2 lakh crore market cap, and over 1.5 million daily orders. This is the story of how Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah quit their

Executive Summary BharatPe, founded in 2018, disrupted India's merchant payments and lending ecosystem by integrating zero-fee UPI payment acceptance with data-driven credit products. The company's "QR Stack" model used transaction data from merchant payments to underwrite working capital loans, addressing two critical pain points for small merchants: payment acceptance complexity and credit access. This case examines BharatPe's business model, growth trajectory, and the stra

Last monsoon, I watched a small mithai shop owner in Pune do something brilliant. He noticed customers hesitating at his doorstep during heavy rains, reluctant to step inside with wet shoes. Within two days, he'd placed colorful umbrellas outside, set up a small shoe rack with towels, and created a "Monsoon Special" sweet box. His July sales jumped 40%. Meanwhile, a national FMCG brand spent six months analyzing the same monsoon consumer behavior, only to launch their campaig