Brand Development Insights

WIPO’s global report on IP filings is out and records are being broken. 2024 saw the highest ever patent filings – 3.7 million worldwide. Design filings also peaked at a record 1.6 mln, while trademark filings stabilized after two years of decline. But within this rich trove of data from nearly 150 IP offices, a few deeper insights stand out. First, emerging and developing countries continue to embrace IP-driven growth and transformation, whether driven by the need to diversify engines of growth, support increasing aspirations of local innovators and entrepreneurs, create more attractive investment environments, or simply seek new sources of growth. For the sixth consecutive year, India posts double-digit growth in patent filings, with Türkiye also up some 15%. Among the top 20 countries of origin, 12 saw increases in trademark filings, led by Argentina, Brazil and Indonesia, and with strong growth in upper middle-income economies like Colombia, South Africa, Thailand and Viet Nam. Design filings tell a similar story, with the fastest growth in India, Morocco and Indonesia. What this means is that many emerging economies are following the path of the world’s established innovation powerhouses in using IP as a strategic lever for economic growth, diversification, development and resilience. The next challenge is commercializing more of these filings, so they become real-world products and services. Second, we’re seeing more domestic, or “resident” filings. In areas like trademarks and designs, resident filings have traditionally made up the vast majority (+70%) as local businesses often register IP to protect brands and designs serving domestic markets. Now, we’re seeing the same dynamics in patents. Resident patent filings grew almost 7% last year, the fastest rise since 2016, to 72% of the total. This growth in domestic filings suggests that innovation ecosystems are maturing (even for high-tech discoveries, inventors typically file at home first before expanding abroad). It may also reflect shifts in global trade flows, with some industries becoming more localized. Third, many of the major trends in recent years continue to accelerate. Just as AI and digital innovation dominate the headlines, computer technology remains the top field for patent activity, with its growth outpacing all others. The gender balance in innovation is also improving. The proportion of women inventors in international patent applications has increased from 11.6% in 2010 to 18% last year. Beyond the individual data points, the value of this report lies in what it reveals about the global state of innovation and the direction it’s heading. This year’s WIPI shows that people everywhere continue to believe in the power of IP to protect ideas and incentivize innovation, and it gives WIPO the energy to continue strengthening IP ecosystems everywhere to give these innovators and creators the tools to protect and commercialize their ideas. 🔗 https://ow.ly/gub150XqnE7

Consumer marketing might be the toughest job in business. That's exactly why I love it. Too many marketers treat it like a communications role. It's not. To be great in brand management, you can't sit on the sidelines of anything. • Understanding the consumer. • Building positioning. • Shaping advertising. • Guiding innovation. • Partnering with sales. • Managing the P&L. • Digging into analytics. • Building forecasts that actually hold up. It's a role that forces you to think, decide, and lead — all at once. Yes, we have experts in each bucket. We need to know how to engage them. And they expect us to make the decisions. The best consumer marketers don't just "do marketing." They analyze, think, define, plan, and execute. But here's what too many still overlook. 👉 The emotional side of consumer decision-making. Too many brands hide behind features and claims as their so-called "difference." The real opportunity is building a meaningful bond with consumers. When you truly understand your consumer — and bring your positioning to life — your brand becomes part of their moments. Not just another option on the shelf. Consumer marketing takes everything you've got. But when you get it right, you don't just drive growth. You build a brand people genuinely care about. I've pulled together a framework that captures everything it takes to run a brand end-to-end. https://lnkd.in/gs9-Wenv Here's what great consumer marketers must master: ⭐ Brand Promise — The backbone of strategy. Defines functional and emotional value. Filters every decision. 📚 Consumer Knowledge — Beyond demographics. Motivations, barriers, and moments that matter. 🏢 Business Operations — Own the P&L. Build forecasts. Connect strategy to financial outcomes. 🧭 Brand Culture — Build the brand from the inside out. Purpose, values, behaviours. ❤️ Consumer Experience — Every touchpoint either delivers on the promise or breaks it. 🛒 Purchase Moment — Turn strategy into sales. Packaging, pricing, promotion, e-commerce. 💡 Product Innovation — Solve real consumer problems. Strengthen positioning. No random launches. 📣 Brand Story — Create meaning and memory. Clear, emotional, consistent. If you're in consumer marketing, this is the game you're in. And if you love the complexity as much as I do? You're exactly where you should be. P.S. Want to sharpen every one of these skills? The Beloved Brands Mini MBA was built for marketers who want to think better, plan smarter, and execute with confidence. 👉 https://lnkd.in/getpWDR

The recent transformations within leading Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies signify a paradigm shift underscored by the necessity to adapt to evolving consumer preferences. As these brands pivot away from traditional food categories toward personal care and wellness, they are responding to critical market dynamics: shrinking profit margins in food sectors, a surge in health-conscious consumer behavior, and eroding brand loyalty among food products. This transition illustrates how businesses must not only recognize but anticipate changes in consumer values, particularly the growing inclination towards premium self-care and wellness products. The implications of this shift are profound. For instance, while the global personal care market is projected to reach $758 billion by 2030, the sluggish growth within processed food sectors signals a pressing need for CPG leaders to innovate continually. The evidence revealed through L'Oréal’s robust revenue growth in skincare juxtaposed with declines in traditional food categories serves as a clarion call for all CPG firms: the future lies in aligning product offerings with consumer demands for personalization, health optimization, and quality over quantity. Thus, the critical question posed to FMCG executives is not merely one of survival but of strategic foresight: Are you actively redefining your brand strategy to harness the potential of emerging categories, or are you resigned to merely managing a downward trajectory? This moment is not just about adaptation; it represents an opportunity for reinvention and sustained relevance in a rapidly changing consumer landscape.

Real consumer insight does not sit in market reports. It lives in everyday behaviour. I have always believed that if you want to understand the Indian consumer, you must walk the aisles, visit the kirana stores, and spend time in homes. The questions are simple: why did they choose this brand, what made them switch, what are their latest unsatisfied needs, what habit stopped them from trying something new. The answers are rarely written down. They are observed in the pauses, the hesitations, the way a hand reaches for one pack over another. India is a mosaic of markets. What sells in Chennai might fail in Chandigarh. A message that resonates in Delhi could fall flat in a tier-three town. Income, culture, and even climate shape choices. Unless you immerse yourself in these realities, your strategy risks being built on assumptions. The sharper your consumer insight, the stronger your competitive edge. Do not delegate consumer understanding to agencies or reports. Make it a personal discipline. Sit with retailers, shadow buyers, watch the trade. The real breakthroughs are found not in a meeting agenda, but in how people actually live, shop, and decide. #leadership #entrepreneurship #consumer #mindset

A first-time buyer makes no assumptions. That's what makes India's consumer market so unforgiving and so valuable. When someone in a mid-sized Indian town like Ranchi, Patna, or Lucknow buys their first AC, they don't default to a brand out of habit. They compare energy ratings, check service networks, read reviews, and often consult the local shop owner before deciding. Metro consumers, by contrast, often just repurchase what they already know. Most brands miss this. They treat tier-2 and tier-3 markets as a scaled-down version of metros, with cheaper SKUs, translated ads, and heavier discounts, but the consumer they're trying to reach is often doing more research than the metro consumer they already understand. 35% of tier-2 and tier-3 consumers now use e-commerce platforms as research tools, not checkout counters, and 37% rely on YouTube reviews before buying. Two things make these markets genuinely different: → Brand loyalty here isn't inherited. It's being formed right now, often for the first time. Win that purchase well, and you've won a household for a generation. Celebrity influence has collapsed to just 3%, while creator recommendations now sway 23%; trust is being earned, not bought. → Distribution isn't logistics. It's credibility, built through local presence, service reliability, and trust that no national ad campaign can manufacture overnight. That's why at Spencer's Retail, we've been steadily expanding our footprint in East India and UP, with more stores and deeper market penetration in places where preferences are still being shaped, not settled. India's next consumer chapter is being written in these towns. The brands that earn it will be the ones that took them seriously first.

It’s never been more fun to be a brand builder. With the rise of AI, there are also a lot of questions about what's next. We prompted P&G’s AI engine, CHATPG, with some of the biggest questions on people's minds. Here’s our conversation—with a human touch from me. Q: How is brand building shifting? Three shifts are in perpetual motion: -From newspapers to GenAI, the exponential growth of information creates both challenges and opportunities to build brands. -The path to purchase is collapsing. Consumers can see a product and have it at their doorstep in minutes. -AI is personalizing consumer experiences and enabling incredible creativity from all sources. These shifts are creating a new S-curve in brand building. Q: What changes and what stays the same? What changes is how we work. What stays the same are the fundamentals. Brands still need human insights to create meaningful brand experiences. A great example is Fairy's "Skip the Soak" in the U.K. We launched Dawn Powerwash in the U.S. to great success, allowing people to "clean as they go." But in the U.K., people soak their dishes before cleaning. AI could analyze the data, but only human observation uncovered the cultural ritual of soaking dishes—and the insight behind "Skip the Soak." The result was double-digit growth, proving the fundamentals of brand building still matter. Q: What is the impact on brand builders, agencies, and retailers? Every brand builder becomes a direct-to-consumer "founder," constantly engaging with consumers. This requires a modular approach with agency partners, or Most Valuable Partners (MVPs), to leverage each other's superpowers. For retailers, the collapsing path to purchase means co-creating ideas in fast cycles. The Secret Deodorant team is a great example. They uncovered the insight that stress sweat smells the worst and used our ChatPG Idea Generator to develop the "Fresher Under Pressure" campaign. The result: +50% digital commerce growth and +8% total brand growth. Q: How should we use AI? Use AI to develop better insights and ideas, executed faster and at scale. But remember, it's the combination of AI and HUMAN creativity that turbocharges brand building. Pantene Europe used this approach to launch "Sunkiss Glow Spray." AI helped generate insights and concepts in a day, while people added the Pantene brand equity. The result: 5x the volume of assets, 5x faster, and 5x cheaper. Q: How do you know what works? What about ROI? Retail sales growth matters most. The convergence of media and commerce through retail media gives us a clear view of what's working. We can immediately see the impact on sales. Q: What’s your one piece of advice for how to win in 2026 and beyond? Get ready for the most fun you’ll ever have building brands. This is a new era of creativity, but creativity has always been—and always will be—a deeply HUMAN endeavor. Robots don’t build brands. People do. #BrandBuilding #PGInsights #CannesLions2026

Brand is your best sales startegy. Here's why. Most B2B companies fall into the same trap. They pour money into lead gen, paid ads, and short-term promotions. Why? Because it’s easy to track. Feels like progress. Makes the board happy. But this is not growth. This is buying attention...and it's addictive. And the second you stop spending, the attention stops too. So what happens next? - They spend more. - And more. - And more... Until they’re stuck in an expensive loop they can’t escape. What’s the way out? Brand. Not colours. Not logos. But real brand-building. The kind that makes customers come to you. Care about you. Talk about you. The type of brand that lowers acquisition costs, makes hiring easier, and builds trust before the first call. The type of brand that stays top-of-mind when your customer is finally ready to buy (remember the 95-5% rule?). But here’s the catch… - Brand takes time. - It’s harder to track. - And that’s where most CEOs and CFO lose patience. They cut too soon. Before the brand flywheel kicks in. Because when that brand flywheel kicks in, magic happens: - You stop chasing leads. They find you. - Marketing costs drop. Trust kicks in. - Sales convert faster. Buyers already believe. It’s not a this or that game. Brand VS Sales... Brand and sales must run in parallel. Sales = attention now. Brand = attention forever. According to Binet & Field, the ideal ratio is 60% brand, 40% sales. But let's be clear: that 60/40 is a starting point, not a strict rule. It varies across industries, business models, and growth stages. What matters is knowing where you are and adjusting accordingly. Start building brand today to make the sales of tomorrow easier. Because if you wait until you need it… it’s already too late.

Will this brand hit a growth ceiling soon? Is current growth based on strong brand/product For founders and even VCs evaluating 50 cr plus revenue brands who don’t have an offline presence yet and want to look at marketing metrics beyond LTV/CAC to answer these questions 10 metrics that can help 1. Total Media Spends as percentage of revenue This is a very hard metric without any assumptions and difficult to manipulate Plot Monthly Data for total Media spends across platforms ( Amazon, FB, Google etc) as a percentage of total Net E-commerce Revenue( Marketplaces, D2C etc) If this remains constant/reduces as the brand scales, it is a huge positive If this increases, needs double clicking 2. Advertising driven Sales At early stages, brands rely on pure performance marketing to drive sales. But this reliance should come down as the brand scales. Plot Monthly Data for percentage of Sales on e-commerce platforms directly driven by Ecom Ads, and percentage of sales on D2C directly driven by paid media If both remain constant/reduces as the brand scales, it is a positive 3. Organic Visits and Brand Searches For consumer brands, it is important to reduce their reliance on performance marketing by working on organic acquisition channels, improving brand awareness and good of word of mouth Tracking Organic Visits and brand search volumes on marketplaces and search engines are good ways to understand this If awareness improves, brand searches always improve. Both on marketplaces as well as google 4. Amazon Reviews and Ratings At scale, Amazon Reviews and Ratings are very difficult to game and gives a very true picture of quality and customer experience Rather than overall ratings and reviews, plot the monthly data of ratings Often early adopters are more considerate and rate new products better But if the monthly ratings remain consistently high with growing scale, it means the products are really good. And has a wider PMF beyond early adopters 5. Conversion Rates Conversion rates trends tell a lot about product-price-market-fit, and about the future scope of growth Look at monthly trends on conversion rates. With scale, conversion rates should go up on both Amazon and D2C A lowering conversion rate often means the in-market audience/core affinity TG is getting exhausted It is a big red flag if it happens as, it often indicates that future growth by paid media is going to be difficult and expensive 6. Repeats Repeat purchases are often the difference between the life and death for CPG brands with AOV on the lower side Look at monthly data on M1 and M3 repeats depending on the consumption cycle If these numbers keep on improving/keeps constant even when the brand moves and scales beyond its early adopters and core affinity TG, it is a big positive as it indicates product market fit at a bigger scale The remaining points are in the blogpost the link to which is in the first comment

Why ‘Household Penetration’ Might Be Lying to You: In the world of CPG, "Household Penetration" is often the North Star. If your brand is in 35% of homes, you assume you have 65% headroom to grow. But what if that logic is fundamentally flawed? When I took over as CEO of Unilever Philippines, our food business—led by Benjie Yap, uncovered an insight that didn't just change our marketing; it rewrote the global blueprint for how we measure success in some categories. Our data showed Knorr Sinigang (tamarind flavored cubes) had a household penetration of 35%. Traditionally, that suggests massive, untapped potential. However, when we looked at the kitchen diaries of thousands of Filipino families, we realized something startling: Knorr Sinigang had already penetrated 90% of all tamarind soup dishes cooked in the country. In other words, we weren't in 35% of homes—we were in 90% of the relevant moments. If we had continued to push for broad household growth, we would have been shouting at people who didn't cook the dish, wasting millions in "spray and pray" advertising. We pivoted our entire strategy from "who buys" to "what is being cooked." This led us to a new metric: Dish Penetration. By mapping the "unrealized potential" of specific dishes, the "geometry" of our market changed. Instead of broad national campaigns, we shifted to localized micro-marketing. We identified the regions where these specific dishes were staples, used local dialects and influencers, and tailored our promotions to the "pot," not just the "person." Over three years, we increased Chicken Cube dish penetration from 50% to 72%. This insight triggered years of double-digit growth for Knorr and became a global standard for Unilever. Lessons for Every Strategy Leader: 1. Be Sceptical of "Painted Facades": Annual reports and broad metrics often hide the "beams and pillars" of the business. Go into the "kitchens" (or the factories, or the stores) to see the reality. 2. Find the Relevant Moment: Growth isn't always about finding new customers; often, it’s about increasing your share of the moments your current customers already have. In my soon to be launched book “A CEO’s BREW”, I share stories, principles and learnings from across different markets.

Most marketers don’t know what an insight is. And it shows. We’re drowning in data, trends, and decks of charts. But most of it is useless. Here’s the brutal truth: Data = Numbers on a page. (OK) Observation = “Oat milk sales are up.” (Yawn) Trend = “Plant-based is growing.” (Blind Freddy could see that) Insight = “Shoppers are switching to oat milk because it feels healthier and more sustainable than dairy.” That one sentence? That’s where growth comes from. An insight is not something you read in Nielsen. It’s the sharp “why” behind behaviour. It’s rare, valuable, and worth millions when you get it right. Most marketers confuse data with insight. That’s like confusing a shopping list with a three-course meal. One feeds you, the other doesn’t. And let’s be clear: if your “insight” could be copy-pasted from a LinkedIn carousel with pastel graphics, it’s not an insight. It’s marketing wallpaper. Examples of insights that built brands: Coke Zero Sugar: Saw “diet” was toxic, so reframed the offer. Now worth billions. Dove: Saw women were alienated by beauty ads. Built Real Beauty, and built category leadership. Red Bull: Saw people didn’t want a drink, they wanted an edge. Created a whole new category.   How to actually find a real insight (not the fluff most marketers call one): 👂 Get out of the office. Stop staring at dashboards and start talking to consumers. Go into homes, watch how people shop, sit at the dinner table or go into a few stores. You’ll learn more from one hour in front of a consumer than from 10 PowerPoint decks. 🔍 Look for contradictions. Insights usually hide in tension: “They say they want healthy, but they buy indulgent.” “They say they care about sustainability, but only if the price is right.” That gap is where opportunity lives. 📊 Stop worshipping data. Data tells you what is happening, never why. Treating data like insight is like mistaking the weather forecast for a holiday. 🧩 Connect across culture. Insights don’t come from a single dataset. They come when you combine consumer behaviour with wider cultural shifts. Example: plant-based eating didn’t explode because of soy milk — it rode the wave of climate anxiety + health + foodie culture colliding. 🚦 Test for action. A good “insight” is useless if it doesn’t drive different behaviour. If it doesn’t change your strategy, your comms, or your innovation pipeline, it isn’t an insight, it’s trivia. ✂️ Be ruthless. Kill weak insights. If it’s just “consumers like convenience,” bin it. That’s not an insight, that’s a horoscope. Most marketers stop at “interesting.” The best marketers push to the uncomfortable “why.” That’s where the money is. So let’s see it. 👉 Drop the best consumer or shopper insight you’ve seen in the comments. I’ll call BS on the weak ones.