infotonic

Influencer Marketing is growing rapidly   Influencer outreach has matured, grown in size, influence is still defining itself within the world, jockeying for position among more established routes to consumers.  Instead, we must acknowledge the role influence plays in reputation management, and how its unique success can best benefit the company.  The question is no longer if you should partner with influencers.  At the outset, many were skeptical of this approach to communication. Indeed, as social media matured, this new kind of stardom, or at least fame, was not wholly embraced.  Create Conversation Don't just be part of it   The conversation is no longer something that you can plan for on a calendar. Today, it happens serendipitously. So as audience-first trends bubble up across social media, brands need to embrace these cultural catalysts, rather than trying to forcefully wedge PR moments into the digital space.  Just let the hits happen.  ...

Metaverse, Naam to Sunna Hoga. Been referred as “the new internet”.  Is it all all-consuming virtual game that is described in Books and Movies?  In reality, it is somewhere in the middle.  Whatever you may or may or not have heard, that’s undoubtedly true is that the metaverse is here to change our world. So what is metaverse; the definition is something like “the convergence of physical and virtual realities”.  Crypto technology, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or platforms like Epic’s  Fortnite are current and growing manifestations of the kind of interactions and experiences the idea of the metaverse brings. The metaverse at its core is an idea, a concept, an aspiration. But it’s no longer a dream. How can Companies Shape the Metaverse to Their Advantage? The metaverse presents a potentially major opportunity for brands, but only if brands make sure to prioritize consumers and their experiences over everything else. This is the final frontier for major tech play...

 METAVERSE  It's not a question of if, but when and how. As all of the world's major tech players have made clear, the metaverse is the next frontier of the digital world. An immersive virtual world built on established gaming, VR, and AR elements, the metaverse doesn't merely present a massive opportunity for brands—it's something all brands will have to engage with and utilize to grow. Our metaverse experts are on it, recently kicking off a new multi-part series investigating the metaverse and all its implications for brands.  The metaverse, at this point, is much like the internet of the early 90s or the smartphone of the early aughts—we know it's going to be big, and it's going to change people's day-to-day. But we don't quite know exactly how yet, or how big the shift will truly be. This is discomfiting. But the brands which have endured through other major technological shifts have done so by understanding the consumer, and providing relevancy and ...

NEWS IN FOCUS  1. Economist reported that  as countries and industries look to transition away from fossil fuels to help stabilize the climate, hydrogen has increasingly become part of major decarbonization plans. More than 350 large-scale hydrogen projects have been announced globally—and they are expected to receive $500 billion in public and private funding through 2030. Some companies in steel manufacturing and aviation have already built hydrogen into their energy-transition plans.  Read the story here:  https://www.economist.com/briefing/2021/10/09/creating-the-new-hydrogen-economy-is-a-massive-undertaking?cid=other-eml-onp-mip-mck&hlkid=eb21e67798b74a94b7de9a12cfbd8b55&hctky=9431270&hdpid=16a85c20-d196-43ee-81dc-96a396f74775 2. In August, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans for a National Hydrogen Mission to reduce carbon emissions and bolster production of clean energy. The ambition is for India to become a major hub for green hyd...

 https://www.cnbctv18.com/personal-finance/how-covid-19-has-impacted-personal-finance-space-10577031.htm How COVID-19 has impacted personal finance space? Mini A report by KPMG cited that as the impact of the pandemic intensified through the second year, economic hardships and uncertainties led consumer spending behaviour to take a sharp turn towards piling essentials, ordering in every day to day needs, opting for contactless spending and avoiding public transport, public places, restaurants and outlets. The first and the second wave of COVID 19 over 2020-21 and the unprecedented societal and economic disruptions that it caused with businesses shutting down operations, long-drawn lockdowns, the migrant exodus that followed along with job losses, pay cuts and the severe uncertainty as to what the future actually beholds. John Lennon’s famous lines, “Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans”, have never been truer! Not just the economic impact, which is now o...

 Office Opening: Is it time to reclaim control over your schedule The news   • Blurred lines. Work–life boundaries blurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, and work schedules remain complicated as some offices open back up. To support employee productivity and mental health, some organizations are marking certain hours as meeting-free times. Such “core hours” are meant to allow more flexibility and keep nonstop meetings from overtaking calendars. WSJ Article  https://www.wsj.com/articles/too-many-zoom-meetings-core-hours-keep-some-remote-workers-productive-and-sane-11626753660?st=kp2w2z981c3ua12&reflink=article_email_share&cid=other-eml-onp-mip-mck&hlkid=dd4ff1742d9d45669dd1dbf84a0d1ad1&hctky=9431270&hdpid=4bf15601-6571-4970-88bb-f20da7f4ce05 ...

  Fasten your seatbelt The news • It’s electric! Consumer interest in electric vehicles seems to be picking up. While still just a small share of the auto market, sales of plug-in vehicles more than doubled in the first half of 2021 versus 2020. But higher prices and a lack of charging stations continue to be challenges for the industry. https://www.wsj.com/articles/electric-vehicle-sales-growth-outpaces-broader-auto-industry-11627032601?st=nslspiq6nd83eqz&reflink=article_email_share&cid=other-eml-onp-mip-mck&hlkid=59f6a7cb92b94e0babb2d10bad64cef4&hctky=9431270&hdpid=bc71d8a0-3944-4ae2-b217-5b63900f0698 • Who’s in the driver’s seat? A shortage of computer chips and increased demand f...

The more things change, its turn out to be the  same as it ever was.  A new book about the history of work reveals that today’s workers have much in common with all those who have come before them over the past 12,000 years.  People’s appetites drive them to produce more than they need, and they build political and economic institutions to help them do it. Then those institutions drive them to do more. NYT ( see the story in the link)  also talks about  Gluttons for punishment.  We work so much because we want so much. That was anthropologist James Suzman’s conclusion after studying hunter-gatherers in the Kalahari Desert who satisfied their survival needs with roughly 15 hours of weekly labor. But modern, urban societies cause us to develop unlimited desires, which lead us to endless labour https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/podcasts/transcript-ezra-klein-interviews-james-suzman.html?cid=other-eml-onp-mip-mck&hlkid=38845d000b404e829c41b7395739f39a&...

2 news item and one McKinsey article is the reason for this post. First the news.    The news   • Piping hot, but with a fragile crust. Global growth, according to one index, is at its highest since the exuberant days of 2006. But today’s booming economy could be destabilized by fallout from three risk areas: the unvaccinated, supply-and-demand imbalances, and the looming withdrawal of government stimulus. ( https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/07/10/the-new-fault-lines-on-which-the-world-economy-rests?cid=other-eml-onp-mip-mck&hlkid=1f8b5ab63d7246b988bc63b65592ed40&hctky=9431270&hdpid=d5a90330-bdac-4cfe-94b2-0d822ed4fa11) • Inflation 101. Many CFOs are managing inflation for the first time in their car...