Marketing Trends: Rewiring Brand Building for the New Age: Prof. Ramesh Kumar

In the ET Brand Equity article ‘Rewiring Brand Building for the New Age’ by Prof. Ramesh Kumar, former faculty, Marketing area, IIMB, with Sashank Koneti, Country Marketing Director, Michelin, Vietnam, highlighted how consumers now shape brands through peer opinions, social content, and earned media, diminishing the role of traditional advertising. Brands must embrace authenticity, radical transparency, and community engagement to build equity in this flipped model, as exemplified by boAt’s success via user-generated resonance rather than ad spending.