Tejal Daftary is the Founder of Alphabet Media
People Still Connect With People
Over the last two decades of working in communications, one thing has become increasingly clear to me. While platforms change, algorithms evolve and trends come and go, human behaviour doesn’t change as much as we think it does.
People still connect with people.
Today, we live in a world where consumers are exposed to thousands of messages every day. Every marketer is trying to find the next growth hack. Yet the campaigns, brands and stories that stay with us are often the simplest ones—the ones that feel real.
I believe the future of communication will belong to brands that are more human, more relevant and more intentional in the way they show up.
- The first shift I see is the return of genuine conversations. Audiences are becoming increasingly resistant to polished messaging. They want honesty. They want personality. They want to know the people behind the brand. Some of the strongest results we’ve seen have come from simply allowing founders to tell their stories. When a beauty brand we work with moved away from product-led messaging and began sharing the founder’s personal journey, challenges and beliefs, the engagement was significantly higher. People weren’t responding to the product alone; they were connecting with the person behind it. Whether it’s a short video, a podcast, a customer story or a long-form article, authenticity travels further than perfection.
- The second shift is the growing power of hyperlocal influence. While digital platforms have made the world smaller, trust is often built much closer to home. I remember working with a well-established fashion label where a focused neighbourhood activation generated more meaningful engagement than a much larger city-wide initiative. The audience felt seen. The experience felt relevant to them.
I was also once speaking with a renowned makeup artist who shared something that stayed with me. She told me she received more business from a bride she worked with in Matunga than from some celebrity collaborations. The bride’s recommendation travelled through families, communities and local networks. That’s the power of hyperlocal influence. Sometimes the most powerful advocate isn’t the most famous person in the room—it’s the most trusted one.
- Another lesson I have learned over the years is that growth is rarely achieved alone. The future belongs to collaboration. Brands, creators, founders, customers and communities all have a role to play in building influence. The strongest campaigns today are not built around a brand talking at people; they are built around people participating, contributing and sharing. We are moving from audiences to communities, from broadcasting to collaborating.
Of course, none of this matters if the product or service doesn’t deliver. Communication can create awareness. Public relations can generate visibility. Marketing can drive trial. But none of them can sustainably compensate for poor quality. The brands that thrive are the ones that obsess over the experience they create for their customers. Every successful communication strategy ultimately begins with one question: what value are we genuinely creating for people?
Which brings me to perhaps the most important principle of all: always think about what’s in it for them. Not what’s important to the brand, but what’s meaningful to the audience. The moment communication becomes customer-centric rather than brand-centric, everything changes.
And finally, simplify.
In a world overflowing with information, clarity has become a superpower. Too many brands try to communicate ten different things at once. The brands that stand out are often the ones that have one clear voice, one clear message and one clear point of view. They cut through the clutter because they know exactly what they stand for.
As I look at the future of communications, my perspective remains simple: be human, be locally relevant, work collaboratively, never compromise on quality and always communicate with clarity.
Because in the end, people may forget campaigns, content and advertisements.
But they rarely forget how a brand made them feel.