Ten Years On
*Hums "The Circle of Life"* Welcome to the new What Is An Insight? - a newsletter on modern marketing.
What Is An Insight? was born in 2009, during that critical period when I was making the shift from traditional to digital marketing.
My teachers at the time were Techcrunch, Mashable and the handful of people who made up India’s nascent digital marketing flag-bearers. And as I navigated uncharted waters, I realised I needed to find new ways to reflect and learn.
And so I started writing. Putting down thoughts, ideas and frameworks around advertising and digital marketing.
And slowly, I began to learn. Largely from the conversation my posts sparked amongst fellow practitioners, but also during those intense periods of writing and reflection.
Over the years, What Is An Insight? gained a following. And opened doors I’d never dreamt of.
It helped me land a job at Yahoo!, where I had one of the friendliest interviews and quickest hiring processes of all time.
It then helped me land one of my most memorable gigs, leading the creative team at Jack In The Box Worldwide.
And then contributed significantly to my joining Google, way back in 2014.
And then, What Is An Insight? died.
It’s easy to say that I just didn’t have the time or mind space to write anymore, in a challenging new role that would take me some time to figure out.
But the main reason was that I simply hadn’t figured out what I wanted to write about.
Sporadic attempts to revive the blog from its comatose state failed.
Then, a few months ago, something clicked in my mind.
Ten years after putting What Is An Insight? to sleep, I’m waking it up. To share my experience and knowledge on topics covering the modern marketing spectrum. Brand management and marketing; marketing effectiveness; social media marketing; integrated marketing communications; agency relationships; creative; career and development; and more.
The first newsletter will hit your inbox in a week. After that, I’m committing to showing up in your inbox at least twice a month.
Why am I doing this again?
I’m a lifelong learner. I set myself a learning agenda every year, and try to follow it religiously. The way I see it: as I learn, I’ll write and share. Curating your personal learning and development, and accelerating my own.
Because learning comes from reciprocity. Giving back is getting back.
And that, my friends, is an insight.
Samit