India passes with flying colours!

In the years preceding the economic meltdown, paeans had been sung about how India was on the road to being an economic powerhouse. But believers were constantly at loggerheads with skeptics on whether this was India’s true future or pure fiction. For all the economic misgivings of 2009, India emerged with a positive story to take away. The trend of growth continued bringing attention to the strong fundamentals of our economy. The last quarter saw encouraging results from different companies and sectoral outlooks were looking positive. Our economy, the 12 th largest in the world, according to the World Bank, can now confidently be bullish about our future superpower trajectory.

The automobile and telecom industry lead the growth march from ahead. Through the year we witnessed several launches including the Tata Manza and Chevrolet Cruze, among others. The end of the year saw the most illustrious launch of them all. The Volkswagen Beetle announced its entry with great pomp and show, along with the Volkswagen Touareg. Interestingly, this was the year Bajaj halted production of its iconic scooters. The scooters were preferred modes of transport for decades, symbols of prosperity of a bygone era.

Telecom was the other sector where activity continued at a frenetic pace. Aircel kicked off its launch in the beginning of the year, and by mid-year Tata Docomo came into the fray. As late-movers into the category, both realised sound media spends and innovative advertising respectively will help cut ice with consumers. Tata Docomo’s foray with its unique second-based tariff challenged the category norms and threatened to change the telecom landscape of India. The end of the year saw MTS and Uninor launch. Competitive strategies unleased a battle of tarrifs, where the consumer gained clear advantage. Last heard, Uninor was offering tariff of 29 paisa per minute.

Another milestone in the year was the second season of IPL. The format successfully migrated to South Africa where it was warmly received. And back home the festivities around the new-age cricket format continued full-throttle.

The year’s most popular advertising campaign also took birth during IPL. Vodafone released not one or two commercials but twenty-five commercials that viewers began looking forward to. The Zoozoos migrated from the single television screen to multiple screens of mobile phones and computers. Recently, Zoozoo merchandise including calendar and t-shirts reached eager consumers. The advertising industry, in its own ode to this year of resurgence, saw 164 entries to the EFFIE, awards for marketing and advertising effectiveness, an improvement over the number of entries last year. Indeed, economic superpower status, here we come!

(The author, better known as Pops, is National Creative Director, Leo Burnett)