Anupam Yog founded Mirabilis Advisory less than a year ago to advise countries, cities, and institutions on marketing and branding strategies for India. Mirabilis Advisory has already landed three major projects, consulting for the Mayor of London, Volvo Ocean Race, and a US economic forum. Yog attributes some of Mirabilis Advisory's success to luck and being in the right place at the right time, having gained experience from previous roles marketing India. He hopes to continue building brands across various sectors and work with the government and others on issues like heritage preservation and supporting entrepreneurship.

1. PROFILE
Metro Yogi
Anupam Yog’s passion, and vocation is to turn cities into big brands
SUMATI NAGRATH
The pace of technological and social change, led futurologist Alvin Toffler to state in his 1970 book Future Shock that 70 per cent
of future jobs did not exist in society at that point in time. Today, the 28-year old Anupam Yog typifies the kind of changes Toffler
predicted 37 years ago.
While not as exotic as a teleportation specialist, Yog and his team of three have done well to capitalise on opportunities that
arisen as a result of India’s recently amplified presence in the global economic and cultural landscape.
Mirabilis Advisory, Yog’s company, is less than a year old. It specialises in advising countries, cities, regions and institutions on
marketing and branding strategies for India. “Today, the challenge is not connecting India to the world, but connecting the world to
India,” says Yog. He feels that while a lot of interest has been provoked in India, not enough has been done to translate this
interest into tangibles, especially for not-for-profit and public sector institutions.
A Matter Of Chance
Mirabilis Advisory was born from Yog’s desire “to not really have a job and do something that was creative and would have an
impact”. It has already landed three big projects as official consultants to the office of the Mayor of London, the UK-based Volvo
Ocean Race, the world’s longest yatch race, and the Bay Area Economic Forum in the US. All this came together because “a lot
of things just happened to be” says Yog.
After quitting as a consultant at the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), one of Yog’s advisors introduced him to the London Development Agency. Yog decided to take his chance.
Convinced of his ‘proof of concept’ he arrived in London with a single point agenda — to win over the Mayor of London’s team. “The people I spoke to were willing to take me on board,
despite my relative inexperience,” says Yog in his characteristic soft-spoken manner.
“Luck is always a strong factor in anything one does.” Of course, Yog must have sensed the opportunity while handling the Confederation of Indian Industry’s Incredible India campaign.
Contacts came easily. All current projects have come through word-of-mouth. “We have never had to go out and pitch for a project,” he says. “People who have known me and worked
with me in the past have referred my services to other people.”
He looks up to his older brother Siddharth, a Harvard Business School alumnus and a founder of the Xander Group, a global private equity firm, for inspiration and guidance. “Siddharth
paved the path on which I walk today.” But stepping out of the shadows of a successful older sibling is never easy. “I had to work really hard at figuring out what it was that I really wanted
to do without being influenced by my siblings’ opinions,” says Yog.
He mentions ‘the cause’, which he describes as “being true to what one does”. In his case, it’s about “facilitating, managing and catalysing change in a manner that does not exclude
anyone”.
Dreaming Big
Mirabilis Advisory’s work with the London Mayor’s office and his attempts to bring the VOR to India, tie in with this mandate. “We identified five practice areas in which to build brands,”
says Yog. “These include heritage, sports, education, government and the media. We want to understand these five areas and be able to speak about them with authority. At the
moment, we are creating marketing and branding strategies across this matrix.”
Yog anticipates there being some criticism about encouraging Indians to spend their money in London, rather than having Londoners come here. “One has to realise that it is two-way
traffic,” he says. “By getting international cities, events and institutions in India, we create synergies that make it possible for collaborations and an awareness of possibilities for various
Indian organisations.” He also points out that bringing the VOR to Kerala could mean a boost for tourism as well as creation of local jobs.
Prior to setting up his own company, Yog spent more than four years working as a consultant at the IBEF. “Anupam was one of the founding team members of IBEF and a great asset,”
says Ajay Khanna, CEO of IBEF. “He has the ability to work 48 hours in a day.”
Even though he disliked the structured environment and limited creative freedom, Yog acknowledges the importance of his IBEF stint. “It was during my time at IBEF that I learnt that
marketing and branding strategies do not have to be advertising led. And that it is actually impossible to brand India.” “While the vision of branding India was quite compelling, I realised
that India as a country cannot be reduced to a tagline like ‘Malaysia — Truly Asia.’” Now he has moved from trying to market India to marketing in India. A sign of the times, perhaps,
when the former colonial masters are looking to be re-branded and sold to countries they once colonised.
Yog’s most striking feature is his apparent lack of cynicism. While acknowledging problems he simultaneously believes that it is possible to find solutions with the right attitude and
resources. That attitude shines through in the manner in which he deals with a waiter who has just bungled his dinner order. Yog continues; “Even though I am bullish on India, I
recognise that there still isn’t enough infrastructure to support entrepreneurship and this needs to change pretty dramatically in the next few years.” And he is more than willing to
contribute to this change.
Being part of AIESEC, the world’s largest youth organisation, has according to Yog, been the defining period of his life. He joined the organisation while pursuing a degree in political
science at Delhi’s Venkateshwara College, and was soon elected president of AIESEC India. “Running a large organisation, making your own mistakes and taking your own decisions
was a very rewarding experience and a steep learning curve.”.
“We, at Mirabilis Advisory, hope to work with the government and other organisations on issues of regeneration,” he says. Preservation of heritage is something that is close to Yog’s
heart. “India has a heritage that we may not care about, but other people do and they want to help preserve it, and we will support their effort to do so,” he adds.
Close Window
Page 1 of 1Businessworld - Metro Yogi
8/11/2009http://www.businessworld.in/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2798&...