Host Manasi Narasimhan, head of communications and fundraising, CEGIS, is joined by Amrita Kumar, vice president and head of marketing at Isprava, a luxury real estate brand known for offering curated lifestyles to affluent buyers.

At the outset, the duo reflected on Kumar’s journey over the years - from co-founding Candid Marketing, an early pioneer in brand activation in India, to spearheading digital transformation and the rebranding exercise at Air India, to now leading marketing across Isprava, The Chapter, and Solene. 

Kumar shared insights into the shifting mindset of the HNWI (high-net-worth individual) audience, with people moving towards experiences over ownership.

“Today, the discerning audiences want to move away from accumulation to curation. Personalisation is also something that is getting increasing prominence. Digital integrations, while niche, are still important. Another significant element is the whole seeking of purpose and legacy in the HNWI audience.”

Describing what appealed to her about Isprava, she said, “There was this whole heritage and legacy aspect where they're building a very aesthetic brand, which helps you create your legacy. Premiumisation as a movement fascinates me, whether it was during my agency days, or it was my stint at Air India, where also premiumisation played a role.” 

She spotlighted how, at the high-end realty brand, this translates into homes that offer a ‘fully plug-and-play’ lifestyle complete with curated bookshelves, stocked kitchens, and personalised Netflix accounts, embodying the rise of premiumisation in Indian consumer behaviour.

“What I also love about Isprava is that it’s a lifestyle. So when one buys an Isprava house, one gets everything. One gets a Netflix account, which is created for you. One gets a bookshelf with books, which is as per your tastes, there is food in the kitchen, and there's a bar set already. So it's a whole lifestyle that one is handed over. It's literally like a fully furnished, ‘plug and play’ lifestyle, which is fascinating, and something one doesn’t see much.”

Kumar also touched upon some of the trends seen in activation, sharing how brand activation has evolved from a fringe discipline needing validation to a core part of the marketing mix, especially post-Covid, where digital integration has become essential.     

“Activation in India has evolved a lot over the last 20–25 years,” she noted. “When we first started, we had to justify why activation was even necessary - it was a battle to secure any marketing budget for it. Over time, that has shifted; instead of justifying the medium, agencies were now competing for a piece of the activation pie.”

She emphasised that the biggest shift came with the merging of offline and online. “As the two integrated, activations became richer - one could create amazing on-ground activations and extend them through online content. Social media  played a crucial role in amplifying these efforts and has helped activation grow.”

Tune into the conversation here.