Rohit Bhargava's Blog, page 41

How Sound Boxes Are Accelerating Digital Payments Across India

Digital payments are easier than ever in India, but what if you’re a street vendor who accepts them but doesn’t read or write? How could you confirm you’ve been paid and someone isn’t just trying to trick you? For years this has been a barrier to adoption of digital payment, but now a smart solution involving low cost digital speakers that can audibly confirm when payments have been made to help prevent fraud and streamline daily transactions might be shifting the entire market.

These “sound boxe...

How To Buy Cultural Souvenirs from Your Vacation in an Ethical Way

On a recent trip to Australia, I reached out to a local tattoo artist for a session. After learning it was inappropriate for someone without a native background to get an indigenous design, I opted for one that was a mix of Australian and Indian patterns instead. This is just one of the ways a Condé Nast article recommends to avoid unintentionally exploiting or appropriating a culture that you visit on your next trip – a timely reminder as many of you may be taking some type of holiday next week...

Inside the New York Times Big Bet on Gaming

The team of editors at the New York Times that’s currently breaking new ground isn’t one that you’d expect. Gaming has become such a major surging area for the media company that some staffers believe the organization itself is quickly morphing into “a gaming company that happens to offer news.” The brand has long been associated with games through its popular crossword puzzles, but expansion into online gaming plus its acquisition of the hugely popular daily Wordle game has propelled it to anot...

The Most Positive and Uplifting News From 2023 … in an Infographic

Just in time for the end of the year, the team at Information is Beautiful has put together an infographic with all the “positive trends and admirable global breakthroughs of 2023.” On the list is everything from promising new medical treatments to city-wide pronouncements that are likely to make a major impact to improve local environments.

Looking at the range of news stories and worldwide initiatives, you might just start to feel a little better about the future of humanity in the coming year....

The 2024 Soft Power Survey Honors Countries Who Still Practice the Art of Diplomacy in Complex Times

Pandas have long been used as a symbol of international cooperation. Known as “envoys of friendship,” the loaning of pandas from China to other nations was so popular for a time that it inspired the term “panda diplomacy” as a way to describe what is otherwise termed in geopolitical circles as “soft power.” This is influence exerted based not on military strength but on cultural cache instead.

This week, Monocle released the results of their annual 2024 Soft Power Survey and at the top of the lis...

What Three Beers Can Teach You About Reinventing Your Marketing

Beer is a category that has long been defined by the tastes great less filling debate. As a result, it’s easy to think that disruption would be nearly impossible to achieve through product alone.

In the last several weeks, I’ve discovered several new product examples that the opposite is true. I’m a beer drinker. I’m also a marketer. And the story of the rise of these three beers in particular can teach you some very interesting and useful ways you might rethink your marketing, no matter what...

The Untold Backstory of Warm Winter Spices Like Nutmeg and Cinnamon

There’s a story I used to tell in my marketing keynotes about the early popularity of cinnamon. Spice traders hundreds of years ago, wanted to inflate the price they could charge for cinnamon so they created an elaborate story about a fierce bird known as the cinnamologus that had to be tamed in order to harvest the fragrant sticks (the cinnamon) it used for its nest. Over time, the story was proved to be fabricated — but it turns out it’s just one of several unusual backstories for “winter spic...

Behind Netflix’s First-Ever Big Data Release and What We Watched In 2023

The Night Agent was the most popular show globally on Netflix over the past year and 30% of all viewing was non-English programming. 55% of all viewing on Netflix was original titles while the remaining 45% was for licensed content produced by others.

These are just a few of the insights you’ll get from Netflix’s newly released 2023 engagement report. For a company notorious for being secretive about their data, the data release is a sign something is changing. The company has been reluctant to s...

How Obesity Drugs Are Creating a “Seismic” Shift in the Travel Industry

As more people are taking GLP-1 drugs to lose dramatic amounts of weight, the implications for travel are definitely more than what you’re imagining … or what the industry is ready for.

Yes, restaurants will be impacted as people eat and order less food. But TSA may run into challenges as people no longer look like their ID photos taken many pounds ago. Airlines could save a stunning $80M per year in fuel costs if the average passenger drops just ten pounds. Active travel experiences will see new...

6 Non-Obvious Trends from Books That Shaped 2023

After six months of reading and deliberation, this week I shared our big Shortlist announcement for the top 15 books of the year, as well as a look at six curated macro trends from the hundreds of books published in 2023: Human AI, Good Work, Beyond Happiness, Forgotten Foundations, Broken Healthcare and Fix the Future.

You can watch the full show with reviews for all our picks and a description of the trends in the video linked below which is making the rounds right now (we just passed ...