Reverse School

Embrace the journey from failure to success this Eid al-Adha. We celebrate the perseverance and triumphs that make every story worth telling. Eid Mubarak!

From being the “go-to-toy" after being introduced in 1959 by Mattel to being questioned to criticized, and then jumping out of nowhere to become one of the greatest modern-day toys again – Barbie has come a long way. However, it has not been easy. The current day attachment to barbie breaking all forms of social stigma is a processed change caused overtime with attention to socialisation.

The origin of the Barbie enterprise can be traced back to 1959, when Ruth Handler, the co-founder of Mattel, invented the doll after observing her daughter, Barbara, engaging with paper dolls. Handler was inspired by the paper dolls, which allowed Barbara to project her desires and ambitions onto them. She recognized an opportunity to create a three-dimensional doll that would enable girls to do the same. Handler christened the doll Barbie after her daughter, and she was first presented to the toy industry at the New York Toy Fair in 1959. The doll experienced immediate triumph, and it swiftly became one of the most sought-after toys globally. Throughout the years, Barbie has transformed to mirror the evolving times. Initially, she was marketed as a homemaker and mother. Nonetheless, as women's roles in society shifted, Barbie's portrayal changed accordingly. Presently, Barbie is a prosperous entrepreneur, physician, astronaut, and more.

Barbie, the famous style doll presented by Mattel in 1959, has undergone an impressive resurgence in recent times. Being one of the most well-known and long-lasting playthings in history, Barbie encountered major difficulties in the past due to evolving views on physical appearance and variety. Nevertheless, Mattel has addressed these worries and undergone a substantial change to guarantee Barbie stays pertinent and diverse.

However, with falling sales and backlash on fixated, unrealistic beauty standards, Barbie took a 360 turn when inclusivity was an aspect integrated. Because now, Barbies came in all shapes and sizes, Ken dolls even had vitiligo, Barbie and friends even came on wheelchairs – isn't that beautiful? The sense of internalizing differences truly paved the way for further emotional attachment. Furthermore, it is important to note how Matell incorporated the digital arena for an immersive play experience.

The brand internalized change with a clear vision, the realization of not giving up, resilience and digital transformation with the world to maintain relevance. And look at the brand itself today, someone who has not heard of or known Barbie is extremely hard to find. The true example of Barbie’s strategy is the promotion of the recent movie.

A brand is a fragment of continual existence. What matters is, how well retrieval and recall are eased for customers.

Being one of the legendary entrepreneurs of all time, Henry Ford transformed teleportation and disrupted the American automobile industry forever through constant innovation in manufacturing processes after inventing the assembly line based mass production technique.

However, his fail-lore is just as chilling. With initial productions failing, investors getting nightmares and difficult finances, he could have stopped but then there would have been nothing to marvel at for the world.

His meticulousness, constant efforts and the urge of not to quit, caused him to build models that changed the world forever, even after the company itself falling twice and even being dissolved.

It is essential to learn from the falls and rise rather than not rise at all!

Being the only coach to bag four undefeated seasons of 30-0, The Wizard of Westwood focused on values and integrity for internal determination as a coach. As it comes to failure, his leadership sheds light on how it is more quintessential to adapt with the dynamics of the status quo and then innovate.

In order to internalize the insights of failure, it is imperative to change, instead of just remaining constant.

With the digitization of music and deviating interests in store-bought, tangible music, it is not unknown that CDs and Vinyl had disappeared into the realms of time. The surging trend of vinyl had been taken over by the rise of CDs. Yet, the tide of time had led CDs to become nothing less than a distant memory of the ones who had ever seen one in real life.

However, it is interesting to see the return of Vinyl after the extinction of CDs and the widespread socialisation of modern music, available-streaming platforms, piracy and several others. For the year 2022, Vinyl Records have reported to have generated $1.2bn in terms of Vinyl sales in 2022 - a 20% increase from the last year. In simpler terms, it is hard to believe that in a time where listening to music is as easy as stepping out of one’s room, why would someone be listening to vinyl?

The answer lies in the power of human appeal. Apart from being promoted by a few artists, vinyl purchasers enjoy the tangibility of interaction with albums, the sensation of touch and ultimately the better musical experience of vinyl centering on immersiveness. While some proclaim nostalgia to be a key influencer of sales, the younger population also has developed a liking for vinyl.

The key insight in the context of vinyl ranges across the perplexing multitude of endorsements, time-factor and perseverance. Vinyl did not let go and somehow became relevant over time even after becoming obsolete.

At the time of India being more skewed towards a planned economy, Coca-Cola had to leave India in 1977 since it refused to share its secret formula with elite authorities. In order to cope, the Indians became loyal in consuming Campa Cola. The brand surged in the absence of competition into being a nationalized product. The product became a spotlight for ethnocentric consumerism.

When India liberalized as of 1991, Coca-Cola and Pepsi returned while Campa Cola started to disappear from shelves. Recently, Campa Cola has been reincarnated into shelves under the strength of the richest man in India - Mukesh Ambani. Currently, the brand would need to pe*****te generational layers against the competition of Pepsi and Coca-Cola who have branded across every nook and cranny of the Indian market with high engagement from the youth.

The spectrum being used at present is a patriotic narrative for Campa Cola. It is rooting itself as a product of India and aims to instill patriotism within the youth.

The case of Campa Cola is a classic example of economic favorability and unfavourability with heed to how the capitalization of being at the right place at the right time propels a brand forward. The disappearance sheds light on how it is significantly important to understand the offerings and narratives of competitors to remain relevant.

Even though the month of serenity is upon us no more, may Allah SWT keep the same sense of fulfillment in our hearts until we cross paths with another Ramadan.

Eid Mubarak to you and your families! May He keep us blessed and help us in fulfilling our dreams.

The South Indian film industry had always been deemed as a separate genre and yet exists as being subdivided into diverse channels based on regionalism and diversity. Its existence has always occupied the hearts of viewers as a completely different existential plane. However, in terms of acceptance and entertainment, a large chunk of viewers from different regions have often imposed criticism and trolling due to the exaggeration across South Indian movies. Yet, as it stands now, the South never deviated away from their core philosophies in terms of entertainment and has instead shattered the differing glass ceilings that once divided entertainment in India due to differing “woods”.

Just as Bollywood, the South has had its fair share of flops and experts even have commented on how there have been endless flops when it comes to national and international boundaries. That occurred fairly due to film-makers sticking to their own norms and not incorporating modernism.

Yet, notable films such as Bahubali, KGF, RRR have emerged amongst the endless narratives of love and cliche romanticism. The originality that had been scrutinized has now become the key player of Indian films in general. The South now stands elevated. In terms of the philosophical transition, South Indian filmmakers have incorporated solid scripting, strategy-oriented marketing tactics and integral character development in order to build the perfect mood and orientation for their films.

Looking into the recent hits, each movie has solid character development, a proper narrative till the end and the entire approach seems more cinematic. Reddit and Quora users have shared their thoughts on how the South focuses on entertainment itself instead of demonstrating "wokeness" and "glorified romanticism".

The film RRR has gone into winning the Oscars as an Indian film for the Best Original Song with the song “Naatu Naatu” and left a mark on how one’s core proposition should stick to originality instead of derived innovation.

However, entertainment itself tends to be subjective and does not cater to two people in the same way.

The time to be UNDOne has come upon us again. May we be guided towards faith and have all our sins forgiven.
Ramadan Mubarak!

Luminescence had been a synonymously resonating variable with Philips at a point in time. The dominance of the brand itself had been positioned as such that it turned out to be a placement as the king-bulb of Bangladesh. The advertisement piece of Philips positioning itself as the king-bulb in alignment with how the king-fish of Bangladesh is Hilsa, still packs a punch as an effervescent fragment of Nostalgia. The dominator was truly the king when it came to popularity and purchases. As of 2008, Philips sold around 2.27 crores tungsten bulbs worth approximately 30.81 crores which dramatically fell to 57 lakh units in FY 2018-19.

The ordeal emerged as Bangladesh Lamps Limited, BLL - the entity that teamed up with Philips to manufacture incandescent light bumps. Later on, as of 1993, Philps sold its shares to BLL and allowed the manufacture; promotion of Philips light bulbs in exchange of a 3.6% royalty.

While Philips drifted away with shifts in tastes and preferences with audiences becoming more skewed towards energy bulbs, Transtec gained momentum and went on ahead within the market.

Yet, Philips survived with its range of energy efficient light bulbs centered on brightness and quality and still exists in the market as a fragment of imports.

The lessons in the case of Philips centers itself on three principles:
Having foresight:
The primary knowledge of markets remains the same, that is, it remains dynamic and changes instantaneously with heed to all the variables at play. In this case, if Philips had realized its ultimate vision to stick with, the brand would have devised efficient strategies.

Integrations Need to be Realized:
Collaborative efforts are indeed the key to having a successful offer on the table. However, it is essentially important to understand the key strengths, weaknesses and probable motives of stakeholders in collaboration. What may seem to be a fantastic opportunity in the present, may turn out to be a disaster for the future.

Brand Promises Need to be Kept:
While the brand promised itself to be the king-bulb of Bangladesh, what the future entailed substantially deviated it away from the promise and instead became an apparition of the past. The key ideology of a brand’s strategy and development should protect the initial promise that has been made to the customers.

Albert Einstein, who was perhaps the greatest scientist to ever live and was born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Germany, brought science to the highest level of human achievement. He is one of the select few who doesn't require an introduction, but his road wasn't without its challenges. Albert struggled against the odds to achieve greatness.

In his early years, he was considered to be an absolute failure. Albert didn't start speaking until he was four years old, and at the age of 16, he failed the entrance exam for the Zurich-based Swiss Federal Polytechnic School. Contrary to popular belief, Albert was proficient in math and physics. However, while he did well on his entrance exam in both of those subjects, his performance in other subjects was subpar, and the overall score was regarded as academically subpar.

His academic prowess fell far short of what is generally believed. Even ordinary grades were difficult for him to maintain during his graduation. The teachers had a terrible opinion of Einstein as a student and never took him seriously. He began working for the Patent Office as an examiner at the age of 23. He reviewed a range of patent applications there.

His entire life was altered by this. Every patent application he reviewed throughout his tenure at the patent office was given careful consideration, and he would take the time to sit down and examine the mathematical calculations as patents typically contain a lot of arithmetic. His research on space and gravity had a significant impact on science. He lost his kids and had to go through a divorce. He had no one nearby to encourage and believe in him, but he was confident in his ability to succeed. His recognized contributions to the study of space, time, gravity, and light helped us get a better understanding of the universe. Albert received physics' most prestigious award, "The Nobel Prize," in 1921, and as a result, quantum theory started to take shape.

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

Looking a year back, Indian paparazzi were under the constant grasp of how the greatest Khan of Bollywood had succumbed into uncountable troubles. From his box office collections in no way resembling his stardome to political inaccuracies coupled with troubles of his son, Shah Rukh Khan had been on a landslide.

It was indeed quite hard to believe that the star who was once on a hit-spree with fan favorites such as DDLJ, Karan Arjun, Deewana, etc had crashed onto constant flops like Zero and Fan. The phoenix seemed to have lost its wings indefinitely and was not expected to re-emerge. However, fate and hard work had something completely else in store for the Badshaah. With the release of Pathaan - the movie that has been referred to as the demolisher of all-time box office records, the king had stepped back into his throne with a completely new personality and vibe.

Few of the insights behind the immense success of Pathaan happens to be centered on widespread sentiments. Firstly, the anticipated comeback of SRK after absence created enough intrigue on its own to attract the public. Furthermore, in terms of content, each of the characters of the movie manage to tap into the narrative of Gen-Z aspirants which somehow created a form of connection and liking. A matter of luck was how the movie had several songs which posed a contradiction to religious interests and was on the verge of being boycotted. All of it somehow surged public interest and this followed with the cameo of Salman Khan.

On a different note, YRF had ensured mass promotion of the movie in terms of being marketed - even on the FIFA World Cup stage and SRK himself promoted the movie in the middle-east in various ways. And finally, the SRK-Deepika duo has automatically positioned itself as a hit streak with successes such as Om Shanti Om, Chennai Express, Happy New Year and now Pathaan, and all of them have been commercially successful.

Yet, as the matter of failure remains, the king Khan has tweeted about how his ideologies do not stand on the faith of a comeback. Instead his advice remains on “moving forward”.