Glued to India

MADHUKAR PAREKH HAS BUILT ONE OF INDIA'S MOST ICONIC BRANDS ON THE BACK OF POWERFUL ADVERTISING.

- BY AJITA SHASHIDHAR

TUCKED IN A narrow, dusty lane, the Pidilite Industries headquarters in Andheri, Mumbai, is far from glamorous. The old-school campus is, however, home to one of the country's most loved brands, Fevicol. Be it a carpenter, a builder, an art teacher, a homemaker or a child, there's hardly anyone who would not relate to the iconic adhesive brand and its tagline—'Yeh Fevicol Ka Jod Hai, Tootega Nahin'—often used to symbolise not just the longevity of products, but also relationships that last a lifetime.

At the heart of this emotion of bringing Indians together is Madhukar Parekh, chairman, Pidilite Industries, who has always believed that emotional connect in businesses is crucial, so what if it's a category like chemicals or adhesives. At a time when brand-building was a far cry in the chemicals industry (in the 1980s when Parekh took over the business from his father, the late Balvantray Kalyanji Parekh), the younger Parekh chose the brand route. “When I joined the business, my belief that even something as functional as an adhesive could evoke emotions and become a part of people's lives, became strong. That's how the journey of iconic communication and lasting collaboration with Ogilvy and Piyush [Pandey] began.”