Brain Box Catalysts

In today's newsletter we continue to dive deep into the world of innovative marketing strategies and their implications for modern businesses. In this issue, we explore a particularly bold and contentious strategy: ambush marketing. Remember Pepsi's "Nothing Official about it" campaign? Coca Cola had paid 10 crores to be the official sponsor of the 1996 World Cup co-hosted by India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka! (P.S. 10 crores in 1996 is 500+ crores today!) We talk about Michael Jordan and the latest Burger King 'burning' McDonalds in Brazil!!!

We did many PR campaigns in 2024, but my personal favorite was for one of the rising jewelry brands in India. And here are some stats that might surprise you (Sorry can't disclose the brand due to an NDA): 1. Approximately 85% of products sold are: a. Bracelets, b. Earrings, and c. Bangles! Necklaces and rings hardly contribute to the top line of these brands! (Before this, I used to think these two would be a sizable market. Turns out these are more few-time purchases. 2. Just the 4 metros account for 50%+ of national business! 3. If you include Hyderabad and Chennai, these 6 cities account for nearly 75% buyers in the country! Brain Box Catalysts: 360° PR & Personal Branding Excellence

While we were late to the YouTube party for our podcast, we finally started our channel in March this year. Interestingly, this was a critical element to achieving 150,000+ views each episode in the ongoing Season 19. We crossed 10k subscribers in about 8 months & hit the 80k views mark yesterday! (Long form) In contrast, Arpita Bose built her YouTube channel 'publicly' from 1-10,000 subscribers in 95 days! (Only YT Shorts) My parting advice for this post is "𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐎𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐁𝐄 𝐀𝐒𝐀𝐏!" Doesn't matter if it's B2B or B2C, long-form or short-form! While getting our PR clients on this channel is obvious, you might be surprised to know that we're even getting all our Personal Branding Clients on YouTube!

We run LinkedIn ads for quite a few of our clients, so I love to watch the ads others also make. This, however, happens to be the first sponsored survey I’ve seen! First of all, we are very clear that ads are meant to generate leads or business. Surveys on the other hand, help brands to measure public sentiment. Back to this ad.. it's specifically for Lenovo's AI offerings! There would be many who've missed that, many others would be unfamiliar with the brand’s AI offerings altogether.. Doesn't mean that their service lacks value! In my view 80% of the people would rate it based on the Lenovo products they’ve used! And it'll be very worrying if they plan their strategy based on THIS feedback! Brain Box Catalysts: 360° PR & Personal Branding Excellence

I have a thought-provoking conversation with Ratna Viswanathan, the First Indian CEO of Reach to Teach on Episode 93 of our podcast. In this clip, we discuss the challenges that are currently prevailing in education funding and focus. This brings us to an important distinction: 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐯𝐬. 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 is about creating the same environment for everyone, ensuring both boys and girls have access to the same resources and opportunities to learn. 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲, on the other hand, goes a step further. It’s about addressing specific gaps—whether it’s infrastructure, access, or societal barriers—and giving girls the additional support they may need within an equal framework. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧. Every child deserves to learn, grow, and thrive. Addressing gaps is crucial, but we must ensure the system remains inclusive. Don't miss this episode! She was the first Social Impact Leader on the show.. and I was simply blown away by our discussion!

And it's begun. Like it or hate it.. everyone was thinking about it. Artisan just said it. Openly. With a massive PR campaign. When I tell folks that we've pushed close to 5,000 pieces of content (video & written!) with a 7-member team ... JUST in November, they find it hard to believe. And this is Personal Branding content for CXOs & Thought Leaders.. so the quality is fantastic. And here's the kicker, one of them ONLY focuses on YouTube, one ONLY on Sales Outreach. And if you exclude Arpita Bose & me, it's actually 3 people who've churned this volume! I've been saying this for well over a year now.. you either learn to use AI, or get ready for a lot of heartburn very soon. P.S. Sorry for bringing you down on a weekend, but you need to think about this. (And please don't fall for those crappy ₹99 courses that 26-year olds teach) Brain Box Catalysts: 360° PR & Personal Branding Excellence

Mission accomplished. September 09: I 'Publicly' posted (on LinkedIn) that we will scale our YouTube channel from 1-10,000 followers in 100 days. December 12: We've crossed that mark. 27 videos & 95 days later 🥂 After 15k Instagram followers & 2 Mn+ reel views in 2024, I can safely check the YouTube box also! 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐞? 2.5 bn users globally with 80 mn paid customers! India is the #1 country globally with 462 mn users! More than half of YouTubers are Gen Z and Millenials. So, it's obvious that's where you need to be. All your customers are there. A very big thanks to Kaushik Bose 🎙️& the Brain Box Catalysts team for making it happen 🥳

What is 𝐙𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞? How Mark Zuckerberg pivoted fearlessly from the metaverse to a leading AI player with Llama at the age of 40! Once synonymous with hoodies and stoic expressions, he now exudes confidence, blending technical mastery with a renewed personal brand. His leadership style—direct, hands-on, and visionary—has proven essential in orchestrating Meta’s ambitious AI pivot. Meta isn’t just building AI; it’s creating a movement. Read this week's newsletter to read about this AI revolution that will change the way you think 2025 will be.

Here's a screenshot from the 2024 Spotify summary for our podcast! We were voted 𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐧-𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐, 𝟗𝟑% of our audience joined us 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 & we've hit a 10X 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒! Episode 93 would be dropping next week & should easily cross the 150,000+ reach we have been getting last season. Thank you all for all the love & support, with a very special mention to our exemplary guests (right from October 2021) who made this possible! 🙏 P.S. As the host I was awarded the "Globe Trotter" personality, since our podcast was consumed in 10 countries ✈️ Brain Box Catalysts: 360° PR & Personal Branding Agency