Blog/Vlog

Dussehra was coming up. What could a travel company possibly do in content?

The first idea was, of course, the journey to Sri Lanka… someone yelled ‘how about a coupon code’ for Sri Lanka‍ ‍♂️ , or we could celebrate that flight, that journey by showing on a map.. But that’s done and dusted, same same, nothing different…

You know, the first ideas which hit you are usually the wrong ideas because they come from your programming, from what you’ve seen.

After that, when you dig deep and ask the magical question of “what if”, that’s when creativity happens. That’s when so many doors open.

(Brief intro: Dussehra is an Indian holiday celebrating good over evil, with the story of Rama defeating the ten-headed Ravana, by travelling all the way to Sri Lanka)

We had so much fun just brainstorming different possibilities, and we applied the “What if” scenario here: What if Ravana was travelling today? How would that be?

Within an hour or two, everything was created. We had so much fun creating this. The more fun we have, you know, the audience will also have. We just need to protect the integrity of exactly what we laughed at without the analysis of a lot of other people.

So here it is, this is what we did a few years back celebrating Dussehra  

PS: Try applying ‘what if’ as a hack to generate fun ideas, would love to know what you come up with :)

The video which fed 1.5 million people..

During the lockdown days, there was a crisis on the streets. While we were tucked away in our homes, a lot of migrant workers were going back to their native places, walking all the way, scrambling for any resources to get home, without food or help.

A friend of mine, Dev Amritesh, CEO of a company which had big industrial kitchens, called me. They had sprung into action. Just like any other company during that time, they were working in crisis mode. They started creating simple meals since all the offices were closed, and these meals were being fed on the ground by local NGO support.

They created a landing page where for ₹30 per meal, anyone could contribute. They would prepare it at no profit and get it delivered on the ground.

He called me to see if I could create a video. Me and my wife made this, and spent ₹350 making it. One of those lockdown moments of just teaming up after washing the dishes and cooking the food to create this video.

This video sent 10,000 people to the landing page (from instagram) with-in days and 1.5 million people were fed. I look back on this with a heavy heart and hope.. something I always remember – the power of content and storytelling to inspire action, which directly helped someone in need.

UPDATE: Comments on Linkedin Post

Dev Amritesh
Compass Group Chief Strategy Enablement officer

This brought back many memories Aashish Chopra. A great example of how crisis gets people together. And how to create impact sometimes all it takes determination and timely intervention. Lots of people played a huge role in making this happen and I remember each ones contribution fondly. Richa S. Ashwani Vohra MALABIKA GUPTA Arjyo Banerjee Abhishek A Keyur Shah Manish Mamtani Munish Sharma Supriyo Dasgupta Bhaskar NM Sriharsha M.


Aashish Nanavati
Growth-Focused Fractional CMO | Data-Driven Digital Marketing Strategist | Building Thriving Businesses Globally

Aashish what an inspiring story! This is such a powerful reminder of how meaningful impact can come from simple actions, especially in times of crisis. The fact that a ₹350 video could help feed 1.5 million people shows the true power of storytelling and the impact of collaboration. It’s heartwarming to see how creativity and purpose can come together to drive real change. Kudos to you, your wife, Dev, and everyone involved for stepping up when it was most needed. Stories like this restore faith in humanity

You’re facing constant algorithm changes. How do you ensure your content stays optimized?

Always remember: algorithms for all platforms are created and evolve to serve the audience’s interests. When you create content that authentically aligns with providing value to the audience, it’s a win-win with the algorithm and your content, plus a third win for the audience.

So, whenever you’re stuck about algorithm changes, just raise your focus on the audience. If you’re providing value to the audience as your first priority, not peddling your brand, then the algorithm will work in your favor.

To optimize your content:

  1. Restructure it to provide value as the top priority.
  2. Only after that’s taken care of, integrate your brand.
  3. Remember, audiences love storytelling. Look at successful platforms everywhere – they prioritize this.

Your brand should become a conduit, a pipeline through which value flows to the audience.

All the best

Digital Marketing can get overwhelming. How do you navigate your way?

With so many options, platforms, tools, hacks, and best practices to glean online.. it can get overwhelming to make this whole marketing engine work. If you’re a student, it seems like a mountain of a task.. and doing an MBA doesn’t really help because the game keeps changing fast. If you’re working.. it seems you’re always chasing, behind the curve, and for CXOs.. sometimes it feels like you’ve missed the bus on this..

First, go buy an expensive notebook. Make sure it’s exquisite with premium quality pages. Why? Because with an expensive notebook, you’re careful what you write. You don’t waste pages.

Whatever you learn about how things are changing – technology, insights, online courses, books – write it in that notebook. This becomes your manual, your equation of what works. It becomes your perspective, your vantage point.

In this fast-paced world of evolving digital marketing, technologies, and platforms, you need to be sure about the fundamentals and how to be tactical. 

The best guiding light in this ocean, will be your own manual. Because deep down, you know what’s right.

Trust your inner magic, your inner flow.

And go buy that notebook.