Contents: Aurora's Nov-Dec 2022 special edition
Editor's Note
COVER STORY: MADE IN PAKISTAN
What Makes a Pakistani Brand Iconic?
Mamun M. Adil sums up our Talking Heads poll and concludes that Pakistani brands needto work harder and smarter if they are to achieve real icon stature.
Talking Heads
Aurora ask Pakistan’s agency and corporate heads to name the Pakistani brands,which in their opinion have or potentially could achieve iconic status. We also ask them about what distinguishes Pakistani advertising and the communication strategies best suited to resonate with Gen Z.
Most firms in Pakistan working with foreign customers have not progressed in theirinternational development beyond the early stages, writes Amin Rammal..
Zohra Yusuf recalls the ambition of some of the Pakistani brands that have impacted the way we live.
Sheikh Adil Hussain discusses the different components that go into creating a successful Pakistani brand.
Fatima S. Attarwala examines the dynamics and challenges of two intrinsically Pakistani industries – sporting goods and surgical instruments .
Nabeel Qadeer pays tribute to the country’s unsung heroes.
LAUNCHES, CAMPAIGNS & MAKING WAVES
Olper’s Launches Cheese
Sadia Kamran covers the launch of a new cheese on the block.
Sadia Kamran covers State Life Insurance's new campaign.
Osama Saeed on the inroads Appollo is making in the plastic homeware segment.
Sarmad Iqbal on the his favourite and not so favourite recent ad campaigns
THE AGENCY TAKE
Kamran Sarfaraz speaks to Aurora about his agency’s business model and what lies behind the success of his campaigns.
The ad industry’s mania for foreign-made ad film productions is selling Pakistani creativity short, argues Shoaib Qureshy.
Umair Kazi on the dilemma of choosing between a global and a local client.
Khalid Naseem evokes some of the Pakistani brands that have withstood the test of timebecause of their consistent quality rather than any marketing prowess.
Sami Qahar reflects on how some of Pakistan’s iconic and favourite brands have lost their market share.
Rabia Shoaib Ahmad speaks to Zeenat Chaudhary about the Nutshell Group’s evolution.
Muhammad Ali Khan discusses some Pakistani advertising campaigns that made a difference strategically.
Mamun M. Adil profiles Salman Ali, Director Planning, MullenLowe Group.
THE CLIENT VIEW
Fahd Chinoy speaks to Aurora about the imperatives of creating a level playing field for the Pakistani industry and the importance of pivoting towards sustainability.
Few in Pakistan can do without their mobile phones, but are the telecoms adapting to thedemands of a new generation? Yasmin Malik poses the question.
Claiming to be ‘Made in Pakistan’ also means adhering to the ethics and values that comewith the responsibilities implied in the claim, argues Taimur Tajik.
This has been a very bad year for automobiles, but will its proverbial resilience be able to save it this time? Mazhar Mohsin Chinoy poses the question.
Awais Bin Nasim speaks to Zeenat Chaudhary about what sets the food packaging and processing company apart and what the dairy landscape looks like in Pakistan.
Mehr Husain profiles Master MoltyFoam.
Zeenat Chaudhary on why Knorr Noodles are targeting Millennials and Gen Zers.
Fatima S. Attarwala charts the emergence of a promising new Made in Pakistan brand.
Having been subjected to offers from Sensodyne and Tapal while watching a T20 cricket series,Julian Saunders suggests that astute brands should opt for a media philosophy rather thansuccumb to lazy offensive marketing.
Ans Khurram on how to build an effective marketing story from data.
Tyrone Tellis analyses the emerging trend of ‘quiet quitting’.
Given the paradigm shift whereby marketers are required to leverage technology to enhance CX,Fauzia Kerai asks whether marketing should be driven by data or intuition.
Zeenat Chaudhary profiles Faryal Ahmad Faheem, Deputy CEO, VIS Credit Rating Company.
PERSPECTIVES ON CREATIVE
Atiya Zaidi speaks to Aurora about her journey to the top and what it takes to be a successful creative.
Our brand communication is failing to make it into the annals of Pakistani pop culture, argues Fatima Nasir.
Adnan Syed takes a look at the supermarket shelves and concludes that design agenciesin Pakistan and their clients need to up their game.
Really good ideas that work come from really good research, posits Sarah Fahim.
Arooj Anwar gives her verdict on this year’s advertising.
Ruled by fear, agency people opt for the mediocre, argues Fahad Bombaywala.
The Aurora Team pick their favourite ads of 2022.
Zeenat Chaudhary profiles Ayesha Jalil, Founder, Y Productions.
ENTREPRENEURS & THEIR ECOSYSTEMS
Javaid Iqbal presents a manifesto for change.
WORKING THE DIGITAL SPACE
Khurram Mahboob discusses the technology trends that are fast-forwarding brands into the digital future.
THE MEDIA IN EFFERVESCENCE
Muhammad Sarwar Khan speaks to Aurora about why, to survive, brands need to re-engineer their marketing landscape.
Muna Khan on reigniting her love affair with the newsroom.
Has Elon Musk bitten off more than he can chew? Julian Saunders ponders the question.
Zahrah Mazhar discusses the digital dilemma of due diligence.
Aleem Durrani speaks to Mariam Ali Baig about the two companies he is running and the evolving media landscape post-pandemic.
Interview: Professor Ilhan Niaz, Department of History, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad *Professor Ilhan Niaz, Department of History, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, speaks to Mariam Ali Baig about his book Downfall: Lessons for Our Final Century.* ABOVE-THE-LINE THE ENDGAME Published in Aurora’s November-December edition every year, **The Aurora Fact File contains comprehensive and authenticated data on agency positioning, client advertising spend and media advertising spend (revenue).**
Mamun M. Adil profiles Aamna Haider Isani, publisher of Something Haute.
Adil Najam, Founding Dean Emeritus & Professor, Boston University Pardee School of Global Studies, speaks to Aurora about the impacts of climate change and what Pakistan’s response should be.
The media must stop covering climate change-induced disasters as mere events, argues Afia Salam.
Aisha Khan makes the case for aligning private finance with net zero.
Zohra Yusuf reviews Introducing Pakistan’s Climate Change Heroes.
As Gen Z increasingly define what the market will be in Pakistan, brands must ensure they reallyunderstand these important new consumers, argues Noaman Asar.
Akbar Notezai assesses the popularity of Quetta’s Sariab Road and concludesthat it may soon be counted as one of the city’s shopping hotspots.
Romano Karim speaks to Shoaib Qureshy about his unique venture into the world of classic cars.
Mehr Husain profiles Sarmad Khoosat.
10 Pros in Top 5 Mode
Top 5 Big Ideas of 2022 by Patrick Collister
Top 5 Brand Activations by Nuzair A. Virani
Top 5 Design Ideas by Julian Saunders
Top 5 Influencers by Siham Basir
Top 5 Marketing Resources by Tyrone Tellis
Top 5 Green Brands by Taimur Tajik
Top 5 Most Talked About Campaigns by Fatima Nasir
Top 5 Startups That Made It Big by Nabeel Qadeer
Top 5 Things That Broke The Internet by Umair Kazi
Top 5 Television Moments by Talha Bin Hamid
Faraz Maqsood Hamidi – The Death of the Holding Company
Zeenat Chaudhary – A Very Pakistani Shopping Spree