We help you get
closer to your customers.

Selling hope to one billion people

The Indian stock market is hot, and it’s gone retail in the most literal sense of the world. One of the first things you notice in the India is how many billboards feature upcoming IPOs. Of course there are billboards for fashion, luxury goods, and travel. But a stock prospectus for the county’s largest home loan provider, including the fine print? It’s not something you see in the US everyday. Or any day.

And that wasn’t the only surprise. In a region with nearly 10,000 years of culture, India blends business and political ambition, strong familial bonds, a fascination with celebrities and sports, and at least three major religions. Yet despite or perhaps because of its rich, ancient heritage, this country can still dance.

In the last sixteen years since the Indian government officially opened its doors to participate in the global economy, the annual growth rate has risen from 4% to 9%, poverty has been reduced by 10%, and there are now eight private Indian airlines where there was once one official government carrier.

Yes, infrastructure is years behind demand, land prices have skyrocketed, and urban renewal is desperately needed. These issues are on the front burner and provide daily fodder for debate in the many national newspapers and business magazines.

India is pregnant with opportunity, and its citizens have embraced the process, even if it involves birth pangs and painful labor.

And for a small marketing service agency like closerlook, India offers a remarkable opportunity to learn about and participate in the global economy.

We just returned from India, having visited five major cities in 10 days. We covered the north, the south, and the east and west coasts. We met with service providers and prospective clients. Everywhere we went we detected a sense of urgency to fulfill India’s destiny as a world power. Everywhere we looked was another story to be told, another opportunity in which to invest.

And it’s not just at the corporate level. It’s at the retail level, too. It’s among small businesses, at the entrepreneurial level.

And it’s among the emerging middle-class, anxious to grow and prosper. To own their own home. Which is why the real estate market in India is red hot.

And which explains why ICICI Bank, India’s leading home loan provider, took out billboards announcing their follow-on public offering.

And it’s why by the end of the trading day on Friday, June 22, ICICI Bank had received bids for 10 times the number of shares it was offering!

It’s not entirely clear to me yet how exactly closerlook will participate in the global economy, but participate we will. I saw enough opportunity in ten days to confirm to me that we would be foolish not to.

Stay tuned…