Will the Internet change the marketing rules or will it adopt similar practice in the medium?
Yes, yes; Internet is the revolution, because it's free, it's free, it's free. The biggest idea of the Internet and nobody has mentioned this-not only has it networked the world, it has networked the world for free. You can talk to your consumer without having to pay your research agency; you can do research from the Net free. All the sites that are on the Net, I am sorry to say, are rehashing old ideas.Is it absolutely essential for a brand to have an online presence?
I think any brand that is not on the Net sooner or later is going to be a dead brand. We'll be having a funeral of our brands in a couple of years. In fact, we're starting our presentation, tomorrow, with a funeral.
How will the Internet affect conventional branding and marketing issues?
Sooner or later anything that's free will be more attractive than other media. All the media owners, all the media heads better watch out because the medium that's free and that is interactive is the medium of tremendous power and significance. I predict a day when politicians will be voted through the Net and not in voting booths.
What is your impression about the existing India-specific sites/portals?
I think one of the problems is that sites have mistaken themselves for magazines. What's the point of being on the Web if you are offering the same stuff which some of the magazines are?
How's your experience of working for a CM been?
The experience of working for a particular chief minister has been surprising. Chandra Babu Naidu is the only two-eyed CM in the country-he has the eye for idea and implementation. The other CMs-and I worked for quite a few in the last 40 years including some PMs-had good ideas but they always fell down on implementation. Naidu is one guy who's a visionary and puts it into action. So, that's encouraging and rewarding.
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