Explorer of Experiences

As a marketer currently visiting my birthplace, Nigeria, how can I not share my commentary about Indomie ! For the uninitiated, Indomie for many Nigerians is more than just a product . Over four decades, this Indonesian brand of instant noodles has swirled its way into being a staple on the dining tables of the people of this West African country, both locals and expats alike. Here, you don’t eat noodles, you eat Indomie. As little kids in school in the early 90s, I envied that one classmate who used to enjoy those yummy soggy chicken flavoured Indomie noodles for lunch while I ate the healthy tiffin my mum packed for me (delicious as it was). As teenagers, our evening congregation was incomplete without a packet of Indomie that we crushed, seasoned, and ate off the packet (what a snack!). And as high school students studying our nights away during exam season, our hungry stomachs and tiring minds only craved that warm bowl of Indomie.   For years, Indomie had no competitio...

Between April 1 and May 20, I co-organized 11 webinars for Michael Page Middle East and Africa, as part of our engagement strategy with our key stakeholders during COVID-19. That's a handsome number considering the time-frame. I put together our first webinar within a two week period, and thereafter, I was churning out 1-2 webinars on an average per week. But until mid March, I was a complete webinar novice, not privy to the power of the medium and also clueless about the logistics involved in hosting one. But it was evident very early on that with companies switching to remote work, webinars were going to be a powerful marketing vehicle. So, I began my research and very quickly learnt the basics of curating webinars, including reaching out to my network for help. Hosting my first webinar was quite nerve-wracking: Can the audience here the speaker? Can they see the presenter's screen? Why are speakers facing dial-in issues? And so on. But there's no better teacher tha...

In the past two years, I have met some famous and very interesting people in Dubai. It is not everyday after all that you can say you've met the world's happiest man or one of the world's most creative person. So I decided to jot down my brief yet treasured interactions with them, so you can read about it, and I can reminisce a few years down the line. SHASHI THAROOR  [Former Under-Secretary General, UN, Author and Politician] I met Tharoor shortly after I finished a heavy read of his book Inglorious Empire (read my thoughts on it here ) at the Emirates Literature Festival in February 2018. I patiently made my way towards him in a snaking long queue but it was worth it because I even got snapped with him. Tharoor is highly educated, articulate and has an impressive body of social work. But he also has a long list of things he has been criticized for and accused of. Yet, in his numerous TV interviews, I have never seen him frazzled but always patient and calm in ...

In this age of social media, no matter what the industry, it is in the business’ interest to have digital presence. Just maintaining presence for the sake of it is one thing, but doing a great job of it is another. Few other aviation brands are doing as good a job on social media as KLM is. Just browse through the airline’s global Facebook page . You don’t need to be a frequent flyer with the airline or a travel enthusiast or a plane spotter to enjoy their page. You simply and inevitably will enjoy it. And what is remarkable is that the brand’s social content has such a universal reach and appeal. Let us see what they are doing well and more importantly, differently. 1)       Beautiful imagery You would think seeing images of the blue KLM plane daily on Facebook would be boring. After all, the aircrafts look alike and the colours are the same. So what’s new? Well, they share some really magnificent pictures of their fleet fr...

I wrote this article as a Guest Contributor for Social Samosa . Here is the link to the published write up:  http://www.socialsamosa.com/2014/09/interns-social-media/ The call to be on social media should be made consciously by a company. The  herd mentality  syndrome should not apply here. Some companies, depending on their line of business or the expertise and funds at disposal, need not feel the hurry to jump on the digital bandwagon. The company’s senior leadership team should be convinced of the need to create digital assets; they should profess commitment to social media – they should be in for the long haul. Identify The next significant step of action is to identify social media champions within the company. Social media is normally entrusted in the safe hands of a company’s marketing team. This is crucial to ensure that social media strategy is on equity with the brand. However, not just marketing, but other functions (operations and finance for instance...

That's me, glam-ed up.  I wrote this entry back in October 2010 when as a part of my job with a PR firm, I attended the Elle Beauty Awards. You can imagine, the excitement of attending one of these in my first job... So glad I wrote about it back then, it brings back so many memories. Enjoy the read! Ever since I watched ‘Devil Wears Prada’, I secretly cherished the thought of working for a magazine, as I am sure, did heaps of other girls. The lure of pricey bags, exquisitely crafted shoes and artfully designed dresses has for so long enraptured the senses of womankind. Courtesy those clichéd ‘girly’ novels and ‘chic flicks’, we have envisaged a surreal portrait of the girl that works with a magazine. Well I did not end up working for any publication but working in PR for an established and renowned brand in hair and beauty is the closest I had come to it. Recently my team and I received an exciting invitation to attend an awards function hosted by a popular fashion and...