We are told that in the attention economy of 2025, technology is king. I differ, technically… Technology is the medium, but empathy is the one that’s driving it. I believe that most brands are gasping for genuine connection. As marketers we are not done by delivering a service, our intent is to forge a relationship. The state of the Bollywood industry today, is a fitting analogy – it is trying all tricks in the hat to gain the Indian viewer’s attention. In contrast, production houses like TVF get it done effortlessly and become dinner table conversations at every season release of Panchayat, Gullak, Kota Factory, Aspirants, Pitchers. It’s because they are built on a foundation of authentic, relatable truth.
The Landscape Has Changed
In a marketplace of noise, empathy or sensitivity towards the consumer is the only thing that cuts through. It turns transactions into relationships, customers into advocates.
Empathy is a practice. Zerodha didn’t rise to manage ₹6 lakh crores in assets by complexity. They looked at the small investor who was intimidated, confused, and said, “We SEE you!” They turned the stock market from a country club into a public park.
Paytm didn’t conquer India’s tier-two and tier-three markets with a sleek app. It won by understanding the merchant and that’s what I like about Vijay Shekhar Sharma. He built a platform that worked on a 2G network, offered simple onboarding and met the user where they were. More than a code, it takes humility.
Urban Company, now here’s a company that gets it right. They understood that letting a stranger into your home is like letting someone read your diary. They felt that fear, that anxiety, and they crushed it with verification and tracking. That’s establishing trust.
But the real maestro? Amul! For decades, they’ve had their finger on India’s pulse like a doctor checking for life. Cricket victory? They’re there. Fuel prices through the roof? They’re there. I say they sell compassion wrapped in butter paper.
Some Hard-earned Lessons
As Marketing and Communication professionals, let’s aim to augment human acumen with AI. It should bring us closer to the truth.
- Listen Before We Build: We use social listening, ethnography, and AI feedback not to target, but to understand. We map the moments, not just the market. The farmer and the gig worker have different lives. To treat them the same is to have already lost. Modern loyalty is built on context.
- Co-Create with Consumers: We invite honest feedback. We let rural women design a savings feature. We let regional language speakers shape a campaign. That’s not a focus group. That’s a partnership. Your customers know what they need. Have the courage to ask them. In their language. On their terms.
- Live Our Values: We talk about our supply chain that supports rural producers. We show our commitment to vernacular content. We don’t do this because it’s trendy. We do it because it’s true. Gen Z and every customer who remembers who stood by them in a crisis reward this authenticity.
- Stay away from the Moment Marketing Trap: Build trust before the crisis. Let’s be clear, jumping on a trending hashtag with a “clever” tweet is not empathy. It’s marketing opportunism because real empathy doesn’t show up only when it’s convenient. It’s there in the quiet, consistent actions when no one is watching.
Why This Is the Winning Formula
The brands that are building loyalty are actually building communities. They are the fintech app that feels like a partner, troubleshooting a failed transaction in Tamil. They are the agritech platform that understands the nuances of a farmer in Vidarbha. They design for 2G and 5G and respect digital literacy. They learn from feedback in 17 languages. They earn second chances because they were listening from the beginning. This is the courage an enterprise needs – to be vulnerable, to admit what we don’t know, to put the customer before the quarterly report.
Here’s a Masala Tikka to savor, until we meet again next week:
Last week, I proposed to my Mom, “Ma Kantara dekhne chalen?” With a slight tone hinting condescension, she replied to me, “Rehne de, agle hafte tak Netflix mein aa jayegi.” Well, I know Kantara 1, will take a while to land on Netflix. In Mom’s mind, she’s lost all hope from Bollywood.
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