In conversation: Think like consumers, create with culture

In the latest episode of MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s Marketing Connected podcast series, “In Conversation,” we sit down with VJ Anand, co-founder and chief creative officer of creative consultancy Ballsy. Anand’s career spans agencies such as BBDO, TBWA, and Ogilvy in Malaysia, senior roles at Gojek in Indonesia, and a regional creative leadership position at VaynerMedia in Singapore and London.

Anand’s global journey has shaped the way he approaches creativity. “I kind of feel like I belong in all these places, and I'm a worldly person, but I also represent Asia and Southeast Asia,” he said. “I fall in love with things very fast, be it different cities and food in the different cities. I also find a lot of joy in gadgets, cameras, sneakers, fashion, and various passions.”

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That curiosity translates directly into how he creates. Anand describes himself as a “hyper consumer” who draws from diverse passions. “There's no real science to what it takes to market culture. But we can ask: what would get someone to stop and watch this piece of content? Or what would get someone to click buy? What's the culture that I can borrow or play around with. Or who can I collaborate with to make this work?”

For him, culture is not an abstract idea, but something lived and experienced daily. He often visits stores, studies how people react to products, and dives into social media comment sections. “Those kinds of things become an inspiration. Most people leave it at research, but for me, it becomes an inspiration point and think: 'Why can't we do this?'" said Anand. "You'll start questioning things, and then the ideas will flow. It becomes a spark.”

Anand stresses that cultural marketing only works if it remains rooted in relevance. "I've seen some instances where culture is used as a weapon to win the attention of today's audiences," he shared. With audiences scrolling across multiple platforms and flooded with content, embedding messages within cultural touchpoints has become essential.

More importantly, he added, impact doesn’t always come with big budgets.

Creating something that resonates doesn’t have to be expensive.

"It can be a simple text, and people will still like it if they resonate with it. I think finding that resonating point is the most important thing.”

Catch the full conversation here in this video:

Tune into the rest of this conversation on your favourite podcast platforms, by searching up Marketing Connected. For all the visual people out there, we’ve got your back as well, with our vodcasts on YouTube.

Accelerate your brand’s growth with AI-first strategies, emerging tech and data-driven experiences. Join the industry's leading marketers at Digital Marketing Asia 2025 Malaysia on 30 October to uncover transformative trends, real-world wins and powerful ideas for 2025 and beyond.

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