India win T20; enable globalization of cricket

Pakistan was on the verge of a sensational victory and Misbah-Ul-Haq, an unlikely hero. Alas, he didn't know there is a malayali in every corner of the world. The T20 tournament couldn't have been better what with the grand finale seeing two arch rivals battling it out in and out of the field. The brief version is set to take on the cricketing world by storm with a slew of leagues on the anvil. The first of its tournament had all the necessary embellishments - dance, music and masti. Countries vying to host the next one will certainly include more add-ons, package it effectively for a wider audience including non-cricket playing nations as well. After all, T20 is set to feature in Olympics.

Towards better valuation

"Whether a brand identity lasts or not, what we relentlessly pursue is better valuation" - statement from a brand definer, which when tweaked up a little made relevance to the human endeavor - quest for prominence. Guess, it has a lot to do with the increasingly flatenning world. The result of such an endeavor slowly unravelled when I flipped through the Business Standard today. India Inc gained momentum in M&As - signing two deals a day on an average. A whopping 62 M&A deals valued at $3.37 bn were announced in August, against 59 deals worth about $0.94 bn in July, according to data compiled by Grant Thornton. Well, a collective effort of a nation towards development, pursuing better valuation.

Cut to the FMCG sector in India. AC Nielsen has identified 24 categories in the personal grooming space growing at a rapid pace. The 'feel good' category, which include perfumes, body washes, perfumes, after shave lotion is experiencing high double digit growth. Companies like HUL, Dabur and Marico are making a killing with young Indians increasingly investing in looking good. With the competition in every field increasing, unique differentiator is an imperative. While organizations in India are pursuing competitive differentiators, even individuals are working towards the same - a distinct fragrance, to begin with.

Step up PR efforts for India

India's image building exercise seem to be not as far reaching as it should be with the enormous success the country has had in offshoring of IT Services. People from Spain, France, Italy and Denmark thought India topped the list of poor countries whereas Sigaporeans and Japanese perceived India as a modern nation, high on development and technology. This is according to a study by Synovate, an international research agency. Interestingly the study doesn't feature perception from America or for that matter England. Well, these are markets where Indian companies have made a mark when it comes to visibility. With competition increasingly becoming intense in US and UK, companies are slowly developing marketing strategies for other markets that include Spain, Italy and France - all developed nations. Hopefully, the perception will change remarkably in the days to come when the manufacturing and IT firms from India spread their presence.

It would also be interesting to delve into the respondents profile of this particular survey. Any business savvy profesional or for that matter anyone aspiring to be succesful in this increasingly flat world will know the potential about India and its promise. The positive take away is that there are two brands (if I may call them so) strongly associated with India - The Taj and Mahathma Gandhi. India could leverage the success of these two brands to build its image across the world.