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After I finished recording this interview, I promptly ordered myself a double mutton whopper. The interesting part is, we did not talk about burgers at all. It was more of a tribute to a brand which has understood its audience so well - consistently delivering bulls eyes' each time. Srini took it many notches further in India by building an insight powered marketing engine that defined it's social and product relevance in the pandemic. And let's not forget a career spanning over 17 years working with iconic brands like Heinz, Kellogg's, ConAgra and Burger King!About Srinivas AdapaSrinivas has been helping build brands & business for the last 17 years. The former CMO of Burger King India has built a career which has been about building American Brands in India and other countries.From running rural marketing programs for Glucon D for Heinz, to launching Pringles in India to consumer insighting with Kenyan teenagers in Africa, to leading breakfast category marketing for Kellogg's and finally leading Burger King through a pandemic - he's done it all!An IIM Lucknow graduate, believes in leading by empathy, nurturing a team culture which puts the consumer first and creating curiosity at scale.Breaking Down the EpisodeBeing a hopeless romantic when it comes to marketing, enjoying the yin & yang of marketing and being empathetic.Keeping the consumer at the center of everything, building a culture around that and make it a way of life and being mentored by Prof Jha and Prof Avinash Mulky in IIM Lucknow.How looking at big juicy marketing challenges on the table totally works for Srini. From running rural marketing programs for Glucon D for Heinz, to launching Pringles in India to consumer insighting with Kenyan teenagers in Africa, to leading breakfast category marketing for Kellogg's and finally leading Burger King through a pandemic.Handling the marketing for Burger King during the pandemic and understanding howEvery crisis presents an opportunity and how do you make it count? We had a clear visionThey were fortunate to have the right teamStaying close to the customer was the order of the dayAgility first and perfection later was an important stepUnderstanding how moment marketing can be part of building a brandImpact vs effort grid in choosing the best ideas and the perils of always sticking to a calendarBuilding an idea engine with a strong team culture of encouragement, building rapport with the agencyWhy its crucial to look at digital marketing as marketing within the digital platform why its refreshing to work with digital natives in the marketing workforce but a word of caution!Building consumer insights with genuine interest in what is happening in the audience's life and culture built on curiosity and passion for understanding consumers at scale. In short, building an insight powered marketing engineWhy it is important to choose the right spot for your brand in the continuum scale and then live it across all touch points to be truly authentic.The positives of the pandemic for marketing. (Yes, there are positives!)The three fulcrums of Srini's career - parting words!Have a clearly articulated vision of the brandHave passionate people around youMarketing is a leadership function at all levelsFor the complete episode notes and links to the marketing campaigns mentioned by Srini, checkout the reltoK websiteHosted on Hubhopper Studio