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‘tis the season of…

reflections,

musings,

planning,

but above all, to pat ourselves on the back for having made through another year, for having come so far, and finally, for kicking back to take a break from all the running around.

I started this newsletter in the first half of the year, and it’s one of the biggest highlights of my year, one that I’m proud of.

I started it from the scratch and I’m happy to have got so many regular readers in the last few months. Writing this newsletter taught me the value of consistency like nothing else. It gave me a reliable routine, worked as an anchor during my tough times, and above all, gave me a platform to share my learnings, experiences and thoughts with you.

It’s been a fulfilling and enriching experience, and I can’t be grateful enough to you for tagging along with me on this journey.

Thank you 🙏❣️

As I take a stock of the new year, one thing I clearly realize is that it’s no mean feat to keep putting out well-researched, well-articulated, thought-provoking, quality content week after week.

While it’s deeply satisfying, it also takes a toll, not just on me as the one-person force behind it, but also on the growth of the newsletter.

As I get consumed in putting together the content every week while also managing my work and personal life, there is little time and energy left to focus on other aspects of growing the newsletter, like promotions, increasing readership, research, collaboration, audience engagement, experimentation and monetization opportunities.

Hence, as I plan for the next year, I’m also considering the ways for tackling that. One of the ways I can do it is by changing the frequency of the newsletter, perhaps from weekly to once in two weeks. And I’m seriously considering that at the moment.

I would love to get your thoughts on this, and any other ideas or suggestions you might wanna share with me about this.

Write back to me, I’ll read and respond to every single email, I promise.

With that, let’s get to the final edition of this year with a compilation of five biggest Marketing moments of 2023 as per my observations, in no particular order.

But first, let’s quickly look at the themes that clearly emerged in 2023 across the spectrum:

• Impact of women on economy and popular culture

• Paradoxically, toxic masculinity has new takers and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere

• Post-pandemic return of live experiences and events

• Power of stoking nostalgia and how Gen Z is lapping it up

• Breaking of language and cultural barriers across mediums

We’ll see these themes underlining the moments covered in this edition too:

Table of Contents

• Barbenheimer

• Swiftonomics & Return of Live Events

• ICC Cricket World Cup

• Macho Mania in Indian Cinema

• Moye Moye

What other moments could have made to this list according to you?

Write back and let me know.

For now, let’s dive in👇

Barbenheimer

Let’s start with the most obvious stroke of pop-culture genius in the year 2023 - Barbie - the movie.

It won’t be an exaggeration to say that Barbie essentially ruled the first half of the year, first with a brilliant and all-out marketing campaign, then with a masterfully artistic and hard-hitting cinema content, and finally by delivering this year’s biggest Hollywood blockbuster.

In the year 2023, the world turned pink, and we loved it.

Pink Money or Female Dollars came to the forefront in its full glory this year and arguably saved the economy. Women across the world related with Barbie and drove in hordes to spend their money to watch her fictional beautiful world.

Opening on the same weekend was another summer blockbuster - Oppenheimer.

Christopher Nolan’s movies always create a buzz before their release. But this time, the intrigue was at its peak. The viewers were polarized in how they liked the movie.

Everyone initially thought that Barbie makers were being either audacious or plain foolish by pitching this female-led and female-directed “girly” movie against the might of a Christopher Nolan biopic drama.

The clash of Barbie and Oppenheimer stoked the imagination of people and gave birth to the double feature trend of Barbenheimer, giving both the movies a massive organic hype-boost led by fans.

And both movies benefitted from this immensely, with Barbie emerging as a clear winner.

Now that’s how you resonate with your audience and make it a win for everyone.