Name: Deepali Naair
Organization: Mahindra Holidays and Resorts India Limited
Designation: Chief Marketing Officer
Books you recommend to all the marketers:
o ‘Building Strong Brands’ by David Aaker
o ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’ by Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim
One campaign that remains your all time favorite and why: ‘There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s MasterCard’ campaign. I like this campaign for the courage it would have taken for the client to acknowledge that there are things that it’s product cannot do, for the fact that the idea is timeless, that it has run over many years, it has worked in all geographies and worked across media.
o “Likh ke doge Kya” by L&T Insurance to resonate the idea that we put the money where our mouth is.
A mantra that you adhere to in your work-life: Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”
It is ok to experiment and fail if you can contain the experiment within 1% of your budget
One thing that one will find on your work desk:
o A to-do list
o A bottle of tomato ketchup to spice up all food
One gadget that you cannot do without @work iPhone 5s
Profile: Deepali Naair has two decades of experience behind her. She started her career with Tata Motors followed by BPL Mobile. She has also worked in Advertising as a Strategic Planner at Draft FCB-Ulka and then joined – Marico as Marketing Manager for Saffola and Mediker. She thereafter spent 8 years in Financial Services with HSBC Global Asset Management India and at L&T Insurance. In 2013, Deepali has been awarded the ‘Leading Woman in Insurance’ Award by International Women Leadership Forum for her innovative work in designing the brand and digital strategy for L&T Insurance. In February 2013 she was recognized as the “50 Most Talented Brand Leaders of India” at the Brand Leadership Award instituted by The World Brand Congress. In 2012, Deepali was recognized by Paul Writer as one of the top 50 CMOs for the prestigious Marketing & IT Recognition (M.IT.R) program for using technology to enhance marketing. She is also the recipient of Indira Super Achievers Award in September 2010. She has also been listed as one of the ‘Maharanis of Business’, a listing of top marketing women in the country, by Paul Writer.
Follow her @deepalinaair
I too have enjoyed reading Building Strong Brands. Nice article.
Nice interview!
Thanks Sapna. And Ravi I have read it thrice from cover to cover in the last 14 years.
As usual always pleasure to read about Deepali and I agree with her completely – one should never be afraid to say “I don’t know” (I have learnt that from her only).
Cheers to you Somesh
I love Ketchup too 🙂