Kotler's recent visit to India

For all of us in marketing, our marketing thoughts were shaped by none other than father of Marketing, Phil Kotler. Recently he visited India to address Cognizant's top management on 'Customer Intimacy'. My first post is a tribute to him.
Here is a brief transcript of his responses to different questions raised on marketing:
Q1: One of the biggest challenges that Microsoft is facing is changing the perceptions of the company over the quality of the product. How do you change a brand perception using a quality product? A: My experience with Microsoft is that some years ago they would develop new software without much input or participation by marketing. Some of the software was overly complex and failed to win a following. In the last three years, my colleagues at the Kellogg School--Dipak Jain and Mohan Sawhney--have been teaching Microsoft how to upgrade its marketing skill and include marketers in developing new products. To my knowledge, the success rate is now higher because of the marketing participation in new product development.
Q2:Does the brand have any value in today's world where we see the life cycle of a brand and inovation is of such a short duration , which lead to ask me a question how much must we concentrate on brand building verses INNOVATION, i guess which was one of your theory in wealth of nationA: Product life cycles are truly getting shorter because of an increased number of competitors from here and abroad and their readiness to copy anything that seems to be taking off. This was the problem faced by Steve Jobs with his iPod where he knew that all the electronic firms would rapidly come in with their iPod versions. But he is a marketing genius and instead of defending in his innovation with expensive advertising, he defended it with more innovation. He upgraded the iPod to carry photos as well while his competitors where only carrying music. Then he moved on to video. He obviously has mapped out a marketing trajectory for his product development which keeps the competitors always lagging. This is a less for all of us. The same marketing magic is being worked by Howard Schultz of Starbucks who continues to add new innovations to the coffe service business.
Q3: Are Indian corporates good enough to compete at the international level or do they have a long way to go?A: I am impressed with a number of Indian corporations and their management. Look at what Mittal is accomplishing to rationalize the world steel industry. Look at how Infosys, Wipro and others have set up huge and impressive campuses for training and attracting new business clients who tangibly see highly professional companies to serve their interests. In the last 6 months, Indian companies acquired 85 foreign companies, while foreign companies only acquired 35 Indian companies. India is on a roll.