Excerpts:
There is a new voice emerging in the business world that brands are dead. Consumers do not want to pay a premium for a product, which is functionally similar. What is your opinion?

I agree. Brands are running out of juice. Even great brands are in danger of becoming commodities. And people refuse to pay a premium for commodities. The brands that have escaped the commodity trap have tapped into something unique. The way forward, like most good ideas, comes down to simplicity: people want to feel love for the long term. The consumers of Lovemarks are loyal beyond reason. Lovemarks emotionally connect their customers and constantly strive to make the world a better place. In return, those customers give love unconditionally.

Does your response hold true for a country like Bangladesh?

For what motivates and moves people, Bangladesh is no different from nations with more developed markets. When the consumer has options and the resources to exercise them, he/she is in the driver's seat, and commoditised goods, services and experiences get relegated.

Globally, technology and choice have shifted control from companies into the hands and hearts of people. For Bangladesh this is acutely qualified by an economy that constrains abundance and choice. Overcoming poverty is a key issue for Bangladesh, and there are encouraging signs. Led by the microlending of Grameen Bank, the country's annual poverty-reduction rate has doubled since the beginning of the decade.

In your book 'Lovemarks' you identified love as the key tool to build an enduring brand. Can you elaborate on that a little?

Human beings are powered by emotion, not reason. And the most powerful emotion is love. When I first suggested that love was the only way to transform business, CEOs turned a deaf ear. But I knew that love was the only way to ante up the emotional temperature and create the new kinds of relationships brand needed. I knew that love was the only way businesses could respond to the rapid shift in control to consumers.

Most brands focus on earning high respect. But respect is now a table stake. To go quantum from incrementalism, that takes love. Super-evolved brands make emotional connections with consumers in astonishing new ways. Through mystery, sensuality and intimacy they become Lovemarks. Lovemarks inspire loyalty beyond reason. They make brands not just irreplaceable, but irresistible as well.

Can that be a universal approach or is it applicable only for developed markets?

Lovemarks are as universal as the human condition. What drives behavior in developing markets is no different from what drives behavior in more developed markets. All humans are drawn to the sensuality, intimacy and mystery that infuses Lovemarks.

Consumers in developing markets share the same hopes, dreams and aspirations as people elsewhere. Their economic situation may be different, but the fundamental drivers are not. Simply put, they want to experience a better world.

What is the role a brand can play for a developing country like Bangladesh where new categories are being developed? Should a company focus on brands in that phase?

Companies should focus first on what they do best, where a market opportunity exists. Creating and innovating in new categories is however a powerful way to differentiate and accelerate share. If you connect with real emotion, you can jump shift from being a product right across brands to become a Lovemark and define your category.

In today's world everything influences business, poverty, global warming, religion and politics. Where do brands fit in there?

We're in a time where, because of the internet, everything connects with everything, and everything affects everything. Brands have many dimensions, from responsibility through to irresistibility. The first role of a brand is to create a product, service or experience that in its entirety has a positive impact, not a negative one, on our planet and our people.

What is the biggest challenge of business in the days to come for countries like Bangladesh?

Stability, increased foreign investment and innovative financing are a major challenge. There is a need to balance entrepreneurship and enterprise with commercial discipline and social consciousness. To commit to the long term, businesses need a stable operating environment, both in terms of government and corporate governance.

Bangladesh needs heavy foreign investment in its economy to support the growing population. Microlending really has been one of the country's resounding success stories, but other innovative approaches to financing are needed to spark the economy and attract foreign investment. The idea advanced by Muhammad Yunus that marries commercial values with social well-being, is a superb and sustainable model.