I see Nepali brands trying to copy “Black Friday.” It fails. Why? Because we spent all our money in Dashain and Tihar. Context is everything.

The Filters

When I see a new trend (like “Threads” or “Metaverse”), I run it through 3 filters:

  1. Infrastructure: Does Nepal have the bandwidth for this? (e.g., Metaverse is tough on 4G).
  2. Culture: Does this fit our buying behavior? (We trust people, not brands. Review videos work better than slick ads).
  3. Economy: Is the market ready to pay for this?

Success Stories

Look at Pathao. They adapted the “Uber” model but added bikes (cheaper, faster in traffic) and cash payments. They didn’t copy Uber blindly. They localized the solution.

Marketers need to do the same. Don’t copy. Adapt.