- MICA President & Director Dr Shailendra Raj Mehta felicitated the brand magicians — Achal Bakeri, Chairman & MD, Symphony; Piruz Khambatta, Chairman & MD, Rasna; Jayen Mehta, COO, GCMMF (AMUL), and Pradeep Chona, Former CMD Havmor & Director of Huber & holly with a copy of the book and a memento.
NE EDUCATION BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, FEB 27
Lauding that the brands that emerged from Gujarat provided authenticity, the value of money, and quality, Prof Errol D’Souza, Director, the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad on Saturday released MICA’s maiden publication ‘Brand Magic: The Art & Science of Creating Successful Brands’ — an extensively researched book that delves into ten notable brands that emerged from Gujarat.
Speaking at the book release function, Prof Errol D’Souza, Director, IIMA, said, “The book ‘Brand Magic’ is the testimony of courage, mettle, hard work, and ideas to make things happen. All the stories are about how these home-grown brands provided authenticity, the value of money, and quality during the controlled era of the Indian Economy, when consumers were not sure whom to trust. Likability and trustworthiness always help brands to be exponentially successful. Everything is conveyed in an interesting storytelling format in the book.”
MICA President & Director Dr Shailendra Raj Mehta felicitated the brand magicians — Achal Bakeri, Chairman & MD, Symphony; Piruz Khambatta, Chairman & MD, Rasna; Jayen Mehta, COO, GCMMF (AMUL), and Pradeep Chona, Former CMD Havmor & Director of Huber & holly with a copy of the book and a memento.
Authored by Prof Alan D’souza and Dr Prashant Pareek, the extensively researched and curated book traces the origin and history of ten iconic brands from Gujarat such as Amul, Fogg, and Symphony, and shows how the brands created a leadership position for themselves in the Indian, and in some cases globally.
“Branding is not only an art but also a science. We have captured the story of 10 iconic brands from Gujarat that merged science into art. These brands used textbook strategies to become the successful brands they are today. The book showcases how marketing communications played a significant role in taking these brands from state-level to national and international levels and gives insights into what went into creating these iconic brands,” said Prof Alan D’souza.
“From being just products, each of the 10 brands we have covered has become successful brands. Each brand tells its own story, and what makes the stories relevant is that all of them continue to hold premium positions and continue to grow. There is a lot to learn from their stories, and we are confident the book will be an interesting collection for budding entrepreneurs, academicians, communications professionals, students, and many more,” said Dr Prashant Pareek.
The other brands the book covers are Astral Pipes, Waghbakri Tea, Balaji Wafers, Havmor, Jio, Rasna, and Sugar Free, each of them well-established and successful brands. The authors initially surveyed all leading brands in Gujarat, of which the ten were shortlisted for being chronicled in the first phase, while the others would be taken up in the next phase.
The book, published by MI-Press, MICA’s academic publishing house, is available on all e-commerce platforms.