ld theories no longer apply uniformly, as the consumer has stopped playing by the rules. The quintessential �Mrs Kulkarni� (or Geeta from Gorakhpur, if you must) has ceased being quintessential, forcing marketers to question the efficacy of pet practices and propositions. The change in Indian consumer mindscape has been more revolutionary than evolutionary of late, fuelled, no doubt, by the technology and media boom. The change also has a catchment of self-contradictions, which have got marketers to abandon their best laid plans. In short, Mrs Kulkarni has got brand and marketing managers in a tizzy.

With a focus on trying to unravel the mind of today�s consumer, WPP Group-agency Rediffusion DYR organised a daylong seminar on emerging consumer trends recently, where it got marketers and representatives of the ad industry to shed light on the evolving nature of the consumer. Those who spoke included Saugata Gupta of Marico Industries, Ravi Bhatia of Maruti Udyog, V Ramani of Mediaturf, V Chandramouli of MIRC Electronics, K Subramanian of Rediff, Gautam Sharma of ING Vysya Life, Vijay Ramachandran of Citibank, Dr Devdutt Pattanaik of Sanofi-Aventis, Ajoy K Misra of the Taj Group, Vivek S Bali of Bharti Tele-Ventures and consultant Rama Bijapurkar. ... more