Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Are Very Important Themes Of Sustainability: Rahul Talwar
Rahul Talwar began his journey in the marketing landscape with a simple passion for storytelling. His career is punctuated by four pivotal stints. He began in the slow-moving textiles industry, learning the ropes of building brand advantage in a B2B (business-to-business) environment. Transitioning to the fast-moving FMCG sector at PepsiCo deepened his understanding of consumer-centric marketing.
With the experience at McVitie’s Biscuits, he embraced a startup mindset. Finally, at Max Life Insurance, Talwar navigates the world of services, balancing B2B and B2C (business-to-consumer) dynamics while integrating data and technology. “Each of these experiences has left behind an interesting stamp on my journey which has just helped me deliver on the different tasks that marketing as a function has,” reflects Talwar.
Marketing Spends on the Rise
Talwar believes that marketing is the growth engine for businesses, mirroring the momentum of growth in the Indian market. “I foresee that marketing spends are going to be trending upwards for some time,” he says, especially in context to the year ahead. The increased measurability of marketing efforts and the upcoming festive season, coupled with events such as cricket tourneys, are expected to drive marketing budgets upward.
As more conscious themes trickle into marketing and creativity, Talwar points out the need for authenticity and transparency for brands. “Diversity, equity, inclusion, are very important themes of sustainability but in each of these, a brand must remain authentic in its storytelling,” he says.
Democratising Creativity
Talwar sees newer technologies that are disrupting creativity as a democratising force, providing quicker turnaround times for content creation and opening up newer opportunities. He says, “Learning techniques is going to be a big skill upliftment.” While it will transform marketing, he believes that human creativity will always play a role, with technology acting as an enabler rather than a replacement.
He underscores the importance of marketing ecosystems and agency partnerships. Embracing artificial intelligence (AI), he says, “Generative AI is going to be one of those phenomena that will need both the marketing and the brand side and the agency partners side to work together on.”
Talwar states that prioritising ideas over budgets and maintaining the balance between data-driven insights and the instinct that defines great marketers will continue to be the growth mantra in the time ahead. He says, “I believe marketing delivers magic when there is a great balance between data and gut, because a marketer should have a marketer’s gut.”
