From the field of automobiles, ExM spoke with Suhas Kadlaskar, Director - Corporate Affairs, Human Resource & IT, Mercedes-Benz India. Kadlaskar told ExM that a new regulation for fuel efficiency is something he is looking forward to. "The government is expected to announce CO2 norms for passenger cars in 2012. This is a very important step towards taking India to the international automobile scenario. It will go long way in introducing the latest technology in the field of emission, and cleaning up the environment."

Besides the automobile industry, ExM spoke to a representative of the advertising industry, a close cousin of the experiential marketing industry. M G Parameswaran, Executive Director & CEO, DraftFCB+Ulka, told ExM that he hopes the sense of optimism returns to the marketing community in the country, and noted that the current uncertainty in the industry could push marketers to start cutting back dramatically. "It is the power of positive persuasion that will get consumers to adapt to new products and services. Advertising plays a vital role and I do hope that the marketing community looks at 2012 not from a short term lens but from a long term lens," said Parameswaran.

To read the full opinion piece in ExM, click here