Advertising and media veteran Dr Sandeep Goyal is back with his brand new book — BlogBuster. The book is a collection of 50 blogs penned by Dr Goyal on marketing, branding and advertising, published in Campaign India. Shedding more light on the book, he says, “The additional focus is the coverage of celebrities as human brands, a subject in which I have done a PhD from FMS-Delhi.” Interestingly, the book was not the outcome of a planned writing project. It was the well-received blogs in Campaign India that Goyal wrote from mid-2017 to mid-2018 on a host of marketing, branding and advertising subjects that led to its making. BlogBuster has been arranged into seven sections covering celebrities, marketing debates and controversies, brand stories and brand issues, opinion pieces, reviews, trends and life in the advertising business.
On his journey
Having spent over three decades in the advertising industry, Goyal has not only witnessed the changes but was in fact a pioneer of the entire transformation journey. When asked about the journey, a happy Goyal responds, “I have enjoyed the journey thoroughly. As a rookie in advertising, I got to work on clients like Maggi and Horlicks. As a young professional, I helped build iconic brands like Symphony air coolers and Moov. But my biggest high in advertising was the launch of Airtel which I helped conceive and develop into a market leader from absolutely nothing. Similarly, I can look back with great satisfaction on helping build a market leader out of Maruti Suzuki.” Goyal also had a lion’s share in bringing back shows like SaReGaMa to Zee TV when he was the Group CEO of Zee. Though Goyal wore many hats, his finest innings was his entrepreneurial phase as the India JV partner of Dentsu. From launching the Innova for Toyota, the Dzire and Ciaz for Maruti, CRV for Honda, to creating a challenger brand in Aircel, he has been at the helm of it all.
Rise of social media
In the book, Goyal has written blogs that focus solely on social media and a new tribe of influencers who are becoming role models and mentors to a new generation of netizens. Commenting on the rise of social media, Goyal expresses, “Today, many categories have seen fundamental change in basics. The consumption of music has become almost entirely digital, but it is the YouTube phenomenon that has created new stars and new genres. Also, music is as much listened to, as it is shared. Similarly, travel is governed more by peer ratings than any other factor. All of this was pretty much unthinkable even a decade ago. Every individual today can choose to be as visible and as public as he or she wants to be.”
Elections and marketing
Since the last elections, advertising and marketing strategies have become a part of politics. However, Dr Goyal believes that this move is not a political gimmick any more. He further adds, “I had seen much of this coming, especially the empowerment of the common man by the advent of the mobile, and the internet. Today technology enables not just conversations but two way conversations. It also allows for far more discussion and debate in real time.”
His success mantra
Over the years, Sandeep Goyal has been not just an advertising and media veteran but also a prolific writer. He is fired by a kind of curiosity that drives him to learn more, imbibe more, absorb more. “Over time, the ability to question, to know more and finally to do more is what makes for success,” he adds.
Parting tips
His only advice to young entrepreneurs is to THINK BIG. Goyal is of the opinion that most new start-ups have very limited ambitions, which is why they perish and die so quickly. “Hence, for new entrepreneurs, it is critical for them to invest heavily in creating, nurturing and growing their brands,” he concludes.
What next
Goyal is currently completing Japan Made Easy scheduled for an October 2019 launch. Also, he is focusing on writing The Witches of Worli, his first novel.