Thursday, October 17, 2013

How regionalism effect branding decisions




Imagine if in 1947 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel did not succeed in annexing all 562 princely states to create a united India? India could have been a collection of countries, much like the European Union Even today, India has 10 states with a population of over 60 million - close to, or more than, the United Kingdom's - and 17 states with a population of over 25 million, which is more than Australia's. Allowing for their demographic composition and economic well-being, they could have been independent countries. An ambitious multinational could have had up to 17 marketing managers in these states - or countries.

However, this is today only a case of imagination. That India is politically "single" stimulates the marketing of a "single" India. That unified concept of India has been the focus of most marketers in the last two decades.
 
Politically, however, India has been unbundled in the last three decades. There is already talk that the leadership at the Centre in 2014 will be more influenced by the views of regional parties. As we stand today, six big states (Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar) are ruled by regional parties and four others (Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand) have a strong regional party presence. Somehow, in the political arena regional connections are working better than national promises. Further, if we consider language to be a big repository and reflection of culture, then India has at least 11 languages spoken by over 30 million people and five by over 60 million. This provides the opportunity to segment the market on the basis of culture rather than general psychographics or behavior  - the form favoured by many national marketers. Interestingly, four of the 60 million-plus languages are restricted to four distinct states - Bengali, Telugu, Marathi and Tamil.
 
Finally, consider this truth. Even today, there are very few number one "national" brands that are also number one in each of the 17, or even 10, big states or markets of India. Most national number ones manage by being in the top two or three in many markets, rather than being the leader in all markets. Often, they are big in some pockets, and non-existent or insignificant in others. Many markets have their own strong regional players. Brand strengths are determined by the location of head office, the history of the brand's launch and even the origins of the brand's owner or creator. Since brands often have part of their creators in them, the origin of the owners helps create a better and stronger connection with their own cultures. The creator knows what makes his people tick, and hence creates a mix - from product to proposition to communication - that resonates better with them.

In the last 20 years, the only cultural segmentation considered by national marketers is the north-south divide. At product level, some categories, especially in foods, have recognised the differences and created the right composition for these markets, though under the same umbrella brand positioning. For example, it is leaf tea for the north and dust for the south; pure coffee for the north, blending with chicory for the south. Similarly, confectionery focuses on fruity flavours for the north and more pungent flavours for the south. Even exterior paints recognise that Kerala is rainier and consumers are more house-proud, so they have a more water-resistant product vis-a-vis the north.

However, in branding, the efforts have been rather limited. Besides language dubs, national marketers have often substituted film star celebrities in their advertising to address the south Indian markets, since they recognise the fact that the four south Indian states have their own thriving film industries. There has been no conscious effort to unearth local insights to create brands. Creating specific mixes for a market from product to positioning to communication has not been on the radar - leaving space for local brands to find their niche and offer stiff competition to national players.

Recognising the subcultures that exist in India could open possibilities of new portfolio and branding for national marketers. North and south are perhaps as different as we think Indians are different from the West. A study of feature films that have successfully travelled across the two zones is quite instructive. If two hits - Saathiya and Virasat in Hindi and Thevar Magan and Alaipayuthey in Tamil - were to represent the two zones (itself an oversimplification, but representative of cultural differences), the following observations emerge. Professions, upper-middle class homes, melodies, class consciousness and what younger people look like travel; names, lower-middle class homes, musical instruments, and the looks of older people don't travel - they are distinctly different. Food, clothes and rituals are distinctly different. Education is big in the south; business and making money are big in the north. The south is more formal and ritualistic; the north more spontaneous and participative. Male machismo is exciting in the north; assertive woman are more acceptable in the south.

All this clearly points to distinct rituals and role models for the two parts of India. Similar differences have been found when working on pan-Indian campaigns. For example, it was resoundingly well accepted in the north to show domestic helps dancing with the family, but it was decisively rejected in the south, where family and helps are more clearly delineated socially. Commercials based on Karwa Chauth, even if charming, lose their emotional appeal as they move southward. A mother not in control of her kids connects with the north, while it loses the attention of the south Indian mother, who feels she is always in control. Clearly, a closer examination of cultures represented by specific states and languages could be more illuminating and uncover richer codes for brands to closely connect with local populations.

As we move forward, it is worthwhile for national marketers to ask themselves: are our propositions and communication working best for each of our subcultural groups? Why are local brands finding a stronger local connection? Are the advantages of price and product the only reasons for their success, or are we as national thinkers missing a trick? If we tell global partners to localise their mixes for India, is there a case for applying similar principles to our local cultures?

Just as a child playing with Lego blocks finds joy in putting them together and then finds equal joy in breaking them up, there is an opportunity for national marketers to explore the joy of unbundling India. Something worth thinking about.   

Article Source (http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/madhukar-sabnavis-regional-mixes-113030400553_1.html )

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Why Amitabh Bachchan became an Icon? Know the reason from lens of Brand Management

The 1970’s era was the era of political and economic unrest for India .In 1971 India fought another war with Pakistan.  In 1975, Mrs. Gandhi declare a state of emergency ,which allowed the Central government to assume sweeping powers to defend law and order in the nation and suspended many civil liberties. Strikes and public protests were outlawed in all forms. At this time Bollywood got the superstar Amitabh Bachan  and he became cultural icon due to his Angry man image that he depicted through his movies like Zanjeer, Deewar etc.


The youth of 70’s associated with hero because he invoked anxieties, aggression and desires that have emerged due to country’s unrest. In the same way brands become icons when they provide extraordinary identity values which address the collective anxieties and desires of the nation and they got mediated mainly through the mass media, usually with television advertising.

This process (as shown in Fig) of targeting customers by creating successful and iconic brands through association with their identities is referred to as cultural branding.

(Based on Holt 2004 )


A variety of social sciences and humanities disciplines (Holt 2002) outside of business schools routinely examine the tensions between how firms market and how people consume. These critical accounts of marketing have long argued that, collectively, firms’ branding efforts shape consumer desires and actions. The concept “consumer culture” refers to the dominant mode of consumption that is structured by the collective actions of firms in their marketing activities. To work properly, capitalism requires a symbiotic relationship between market prerogatives and the cultural frameworks that orient how people understand and interact with the market’s offerings.