Marketing Manifest Stations with Manasi: Episode 15
Deloitte's Jehil Thakkar on the unique challenges of marketing a people-powered business, and how the B2B brand is expanding deeper into Bharat.
In this episode of Marketing Manifest Stations, host Manasi Narsimhan, head - brand and communications, Accelerate Indian Philanthropy and SCALE, chats with Jehil Thakkar, partner and leader – marketing, brand and communications, Deloitte South Asia, about his unconventional foray into the business, the evolution of the Deloitte brand, and the role of marketing in driving growth when the product is not 'a conventional consumer product.'
Thakkar's journey into marketing was anything but stereotypical.
"I wanted to be a chartered accountant," he recalled.
But an early stint writing about stocks and equities for Mid-Day led him into media entrepreneurship, television, consulting, and eventually marketing.
"I got a whiff of the media business, which then morphed into a bit of a television company. I moved to the United States because I wanted to do bigger things in media. I worked briefly for 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks before coming into the consulting business in the media practice of a consulting firm. Those experiences gave me very early exposure to the media business, how advertising works, how consumers think, dealing with agencies, television channels, newspapers, and ultimately the internet."
That diverse experience proved valuable when he joined Deloitte and took on a role he described as an ‘accidental’ transition. One of the biggest revelations for him was the depth of the brand’s legacy in India, he disclosed.
According to Thakkar, the firm's contribution to India's economic development remains one of its most under-appreciated stories.
"Most people think of Deloitte in India as this MNC, but it's not. We've been part of shaping the Indian economy in so many ways. We've been involved in shaping the Bombay Stock Exchange and the first Global Depository Receipt issue by an Indian company. The brand has a very rich history."
Marketing a professional services brand, however, comes with its own set of challenges. Unlike consumer brands, Deloitte's reputation is built through every interaction its people have with clients.
"The brand for me is our people. I can do all the social media I want. I can do all the PR I want. But ultimately, if people experience us and don't experience the brand promise, I'm dead," he asserted.
That philosophy makes internal communications as important as external communications.
"What establishes credibility in clients' minds is credentials, and I want my people to be able to talk about our credentials. Internal communications, in a sense, is also a lead generator and a driver. It is not merely a culture creator."
Technology is another major pillar of Deloitte's growth story. While many still associate the organisation with traditional advisory services, Thakkar pointed out that technology now dominates its business.
"Many people may not know that 65-70% of our business comes from providing technology services, with our technology business growing at close to 30% a year."
The firm's technology strategy is increasingly driven by partnerships. "We're very focused on the fact that success in this business is not going to come by ourselves. It's going to come from being part of an ecosystem."
Beyond technology, one of Deloitte's biggest growth opportunities lies in Bharat.
Reflecting on the firm's expansion into tier two and three markets, Thakkar said, "I was amazed at the size and scale of the businesses that existed there. The well-educated, globally exposed new generation wants to transform these businesses, but they don't have the ecosystem to help them do that."
To bridge that gap, Deloitte has adopted a more localised approach through regional-language outreach, projects with government and technology-enabled platforms that make expertise more accessible to smaller businesses.
The same philosophy informs its talent strategy. "If one can break out of that mindset that I only want ‘convent-school English,’ there is a lot of talent available that understands those markets."
For aspiring marketers, Thakkar's advice is simple but direct: "Learn the business and the product you're trying to market. Too many marketers think marketing is just clever copy and good production values."
His second piece of advice centred on technology. "Become native with tech and AI. Otherwise, AI’s coming for your job."
And finally, he urged young professionals to get out from behind their screens.
"Network, network, network. Be out there," he signed off.
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