How l’affaire Gaikwad burnished AI brand

Chennai, April 7:   

 

L’affaire Gaikwad has ended with Air India lifting its ban on flying the Shiv Sena Member of Parliament after he expressed regret for the incident in which he was caught on camera assaulting the carrier’s cabin crew. 

What impact will this episode have on the brand equity of the national carrier and the other airlines that joined hands with it? It’s not the first time they have had to encounter such behaviour, though perhaps not of this magnitude. Brand strategists believe Air India has redeemed its reputation somewhat by standing up to the disorderly MP, but add that much more needs to be done.

Ramanujam Sridhar, Founder CEO, Integrated Brand-Comm, is not sure if the incident will affect the brand. The ban’s revocation is regrettable, but everyone knows Air India is government-owned and it may not come out unfavourably, he says. Harish Bijoor, brand strategy expert and CEO, Harish 

Bijoor Consults, says the incident involving an errant politician does many things from a brand image point of view. For one, the airline “became the first one to really implement a no-fly list, even if it was a short list of one.”

It also sends a message to fliers across all airlines that they cannot behave like lords. Give respect and take respect is the norm that has been reinforced with this incident, he adds.

Raghu Viswanath of Vertebrand believes it does not affect the brand equity of Air India one way or the other.

The only good part was the travel ban, considering that politicians and other VIPs have ridden roughshod over airlines over the years. “Air India, at least, got people to believe it has some spine, and that the civil rights of individuals and businesses are getting more respect under this regime,” he said.

Air India draws frequent criticism for its poor service, and the tendency to delay flights for VIPs. 

However, the airline’s stand in this case has secured widespread support. Air India and the other airlines stood by their employees in the face of unreasonable behaviour, however much the axiom of ‘the customer is always right’ holds sway.

“We have to commend the CEO,” says Brand-Comm’s Sridhar.

The ban’s rollback, if done without a proper enquiry or and an apology, will create “cynicism among employees”, says Bijoor.

Vertebrand’s Viswanath says a single incident cannot improve the image. For sustainable brand equity, Air India must focus on efficiency of service, the quality of its aircraft and hospitality of its staff.

Not so OOH la la!

At eye-level Hoardings in one’s field of vision are more likely to be noticed. 

 

Bengaluru’s citizens recently cried foul over trees being mutilated to make hoardings more visible. But how relevant are these out-of-home (OOH) media today?

Recently, there was an outcry over the alleged poising and pruning of several trees to improve the visibility of hoardings in Bengaluru Environmentalists and concerned citizens gave vent to their shock and anguish over the act on social media. Notices were served to the advertising agency and the owners of the sites, and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike pulled down the allegedly illegal hoardings. 

Even as one awaits all the details, with the Lokayukta seeking reports from the municipal authorities and police officials on the serious allegations, the events turn the spotlight on the relevance of hoardings in today’s digital age. The logic behind this “mutilation” of the trees was reportedly to ensure people saw the hoardings clearly. Now this brings up this question: Is the digital-savvy consumer, who is busy twiddling with some gadget or the other at traffic signals, really looking up at hoardings? 

Static, traditional billboards put up invasively at great heights may not always do the trick. Only really clever messaging will divert the consumer’s attention from her smartphone to look around (and not necessarily up).

In India, the outdoor medium is still under-utilised. Barring better reproduction and superior back lighting, the outdoor medium has not been explored well, says Ramanujam Sridhar, Founder, Integrated Brand-comm, a brand consulting firm. Traditional advertisers have to understand “old ways” won’t work all the time, he adds. 

Ambient advertising, the future

Marketers would do well to explore ambient outdoor advertising through street furniture, bus shelters, bus panels, foot over-bridges and medians. 

The poster campaigns in British and American railways make good use of the outdoor medium. Back home, some of the new-age marketers are discovering ingenious ways with the OOH (out-of-home) medium. Ola audaciously advertised its auto rides in grab handles in a bus, while online brands such as Snapdeal and Big Basket have dabbled with wrapping ads around buses and local trains. Amazon piloted ‘chai carts’ out on the streets to talk to local retailers about e-commerce, over steaming cups of chai, of course. More brands need to think on these lines. 

Preserving a city’s character

Brands may also need to bear in mind that, with citizens’ awareness of civic rights increasing, they may not be impressed with hoardings that mar the city’s skyline.

Vinod Hayagriv, Managing Director of C Krishniah Chetty and Sons, a Bengaluru-based jeweller, advocates that no more than 10 per cent of space should be allocated for hoardings. “Such spaces should be small, beautiful, neatly marked-out areas. Hoardings must be non-intrusive, neat in size and specification, and of high quality.” He also calls for clearly published, transparent and non-negotiable rates.

“At no cost should the beauty and heritage of the city be compromised,” says Hayagriv, whose brand has taken a conscious decision to stop doing hoardings to preserve the city’s character. “We will stop being part of the visual ruination brigade of this city.”

 

Needs professional management

Then there is the issue of illegal hoardings, not just in Bengaluru but in other cities too. Despite the authorities promising to take stringent action against violators time and again, unauthorised hoardings continue to crop up.

With whom does the buck stop in respect of such hoardings? Tree doctor Vijay Nishanth, who has been working overtime to revive three of the 17 trees in Bengaluru whose roots were reportedly sprinkled with acid, believes brands must be responsible and aware. But MG Parameswaran, an advertising industry veteran and Founder, Brand-Building.com, says it is difficult for brands to monitor what goes up where. Nakul Chopra, President, Advertising Agencies Association of India, says it is the job of the local municipal authorities to ensure discipline and compliance.

Unless there is a proper audit of all the hoarding sites in the city and stringent checks and balances are put in place, it is not easy to monitor the industry, which is not the best regulated medium today.

The industry is in complete “chaos” and in dire need of professional management, says Parameswaran. “There is no clarity in ownership of the sites. Different parties are involved and there is a lot of sub-contracting.” 

“Today, the outdoor medium has become a space for unpopular methods … does not have ethics. One agency blames the other or the entire environment,” rues Hayagriv.

Despite the issues associated with the medium, one cannot wish away the outdoor advertising medium, says Parameswaran. It is still a great way for municipal authorities to generate revenues, which can be used to improve the city. But this is not quite the case on ground. “For instance, if a client is paying ₹1 lakh for an outdoor space, only about ₹1,000 goes as government licence fee. Money passes through five hands.”

Obviously, there is a lot of inside-out cleaning to do on many counts! 

(This article was published on April 6, 2017)

The importance of symbols for a brand

Be it political party or a brand, having a unique logo certainly matters, especially in recall value

As I was getting ready to write my weekly column, the news was coming in about how the Election Commission prevented the two warring factions of the AIADMK from using the ‘two leaves’ icon in the forthcoming by-election in Chennai's RK Nagar constituency.

New symbols - a ‘hat’ and an ‘electric pole’ — have been allotted to the two camps (VK Sasikala’s and O Panneerselvam’s) temporarily, even as the EC decides who the real heir to the original symbol is. Speaking of which, the party that has the electric pole claims moral victory as it looks similar to the two leaves!

How critical is the value of a symbol in politics and more importantly, in business? Let’s begin with the former, as it’s upon us here and now, and state upfront that symbols matter a lot in politics.

Symbolic importance

If you look around, you see the ‘rising sun’ painted on more walls in Tamil Nadu than one can imagine. Nationally, we have two other icons that are well recognised - the hand of the Congress and the lotus of the BJP.

Research suggests that people tend to remember shapes and symbols far better than words. It’s not for nothing that they say a picture is worth a thousand words. There is another distressing reality about India that comes into play during the elections. Not everyone can read, and yet, they are voters who can determine the destiny of parties. Irrespective of whether they can read the name of the party or not, they can certainly recall symbols, even as political groups exhort them to vote for their respective symbols, sometimes with incentives that may not be politically correct to write about.

For years, these parties have overtly and subtly reinforced their visual images on millions of Indians, as AIADMK had done with its twin leaves. It alternated as a victory symbol, because everyone, from the leader to millions of followers, kept flaunting the sign in front of television cameras. It will certainly be interesting to examine the impact of the loss of this icon to both the warring factions. And as a result of the confusion-ridden state of its opposition that has probably lost its most potent weapon, perhaps the DMK’s sun may actually rise .

I’m no poll pundit, so let’s wait and watch till April 15. I am sure it’s going to be a monumental task for both the parties to ingrain their newly-assigned symbols in voters’ minds in this short period. 

Have the swoosh

One of the brands I have admired enormously is Nike. The brand that reveres athletes and athletic performance has a widely-recognised swoosh that is so powerful, that the company can get away even without using its name. 

 

Interestingly, it is rumoured that Phil Knight was not completely happy with the symbol when it was first designed. He had paid the creator, a young college student, the princely sum of $35, worked out at a mind-boggling rate of $2 per hour. Of such instances are legends made!

While there are certainly multiple reasons behind the brand’s phenomenal success over the years, there is no denying that the swoosh is one of the most significant. This, coupled with its advertising that has featured striking celebrities, and its tagline of ‘just do it’ which is as much a statement of attitude as it is an exhortation to superior performance. 

The golden arches spell riches

Nike is not the only brand that recognises and values symbols. McDonald’s is another that has used its striking logo to great effect in every corner of the world; the happy-yellow ‘M’ that weary travellers and hungry children recognise instantly. 

The other big advantage of logos is that they keep beckoning consumers into their outlets, serving as a powerful point of sale.

Automotive brands too have used their symbols to flaunt ownership and prestige. Who can ignore the Audi’s four circles that are reminiscent of the Olympics logo; or Toyota’s or Mercedes Benz’s. In brand association tests too, the symbols feature prominently.

Let’s not forget that in today’s crowded world, brands need multiple associations and touch points with their consumers, who are constantly being wooed by several names across categories. Does your brand have something it can be strongly associated with?

Can a model be your brand’s property?

Ad professionals must use unique and recognisable models to make sure their commercials stand out

 

As India braces itself for another blistering summer, I am reminded of a time long ago - over 25 years ago — when a company based in Ahmedabad would feverishly prepare itself for the peak season. It was marketing a famous brand of soft drink concentrate back then, called Rasna, that many middle class Indians grew up and slurped on. 

Although I had nothing to do with those commercials, which were path-breaking, I was one of the several Mudra employees who basked in the glory of our Ahmedabad office’s creative. Crucial to the success of these commercials was a cute, cuddly girl who eyeballed the camera and said “I love you Rasna”! 

The entire India wholeheartedly accepted the adorable little girl and I’m sure many parents wanted their children to be like her. Here is one of the many ads that featured this much-loved child in the late 1980s and 1990s. She had become Rasna’s brand property and was always mentioned when research was done on the brand. 

Fair or Lovely or both?

Another brand that I have always admired (though never used) is Fair & Lovely. It has often caught the attention of activists and young girls who wish to appear fairer than they actually are.

It has been a bestseller for Hindustan Unilever, irrespective of what the detractors of the brand have to say, as the advertising has always appealed to middle-class women. One of the constants of Fair & Lovely advertising in recent times has been Yami Gautam. 

She also featured in a recent Bollywood film. While that may or may not have helped the brand, there is no denying the fact that this model is a constant feature in the brand’s advertising and will surely be recalled by consumers. 

The Airtel girl

Not too long ago, Airtel launched a high decibel campaign for its 4G offering, with a series of commercials. They were on different themes and had multiple creative executions, all of which featured a model who beamed at us from TV screens, newspapers and hoardings all over India.

The model, Sasha Chettri, talks to a variety of people on the features of 4G and its speed; she travels all around the countryside, goes to villages in bullock carts, holidays in the Himalayas and claims that 4G works extremely well, wherever you go. While one can quibble about the veracity of the claims, there is no doubt that the girl’s image is strongly associated with Airtel 4G. 

It was in this context, therefore, that I was a bit bemused when I saw this commercial for Quick Heal, an anti-virus solutions brand, featuring Sasha Chettri! In the ad, she tells a group of youngsters about the various types of viruses their smartphones are vulnerable to. More intriguingly, the setting and the script of the commercial is very similar to that of Airtel.

I have always maintained that our advertising creative executives don’t seem to watch enough of other Indian advertising, which explains the similarity between advertising and scripts across categories, to say nothing about the choice of models. 

Keep your eyes open

The reality is that most advertising professionals seem to have a very poor view of other ads produced in India. Hence, they consider it beneath their dignity to watch advertisements created by others. This places a greater responsibility on clients to ensure that their own advertising stands out and is easily differentiated.

One of the easiest ways to not get lost in the crowd is to use a unique and recognisable model, just as Fair & Lovely, Airtel and Rasna have done. While it is difficult to ensure that models are not used in multiple categories, it is certainly within your power to look for models who are not overused, and try to appropriate them for your own brand.

Yes, small things can make a big difference, if only you put in the hard yards. Are you ready?

Should your brand ride the Women’s Day wave?

Can it beat the clutter or will it be just one of many brands jostling for attention? Choose wisely!

 

India is known for going gaga over a global concept that it speedily assimilates. Cricket is an example that comes readily to mind. A game that has often been described as one played by ‘flannelled fools’ has completely taken over the country’s imagination, as we saw last week in Bengaluru in a test match that had thrills, spills, excitement, controversy and the possibility of a major face-off between two of the most powerful boards in the world. Thankfully, the country quickly moved on to another international concept — International Women’s Day.

Women’s Day is probably more relevant for India than it is for the Western world, which probably treats the female sex as equal while, closer home, after taking the opposite sex for granted for 364 days, people are probably suddenly reminded of their obligations that seem to have been conveniently forgotten thus far.

Brands, too, realising that women are consumers and decision-makers (who dictate whether they flourish or merely exist) usually plan some activities on International Women’s Day, thereby adding to the clutter and the advertising revenues of channels. While there were several, let me focus on the ones that caught my attention.

 

Power of the idea

Star Plus, the popular TV channel with its huge base of women consumers, uses its enormous reach and viewership to extend its Nayi Soch concept to Women’s Day with an interesting, yet simple, commercial featuring the eternal celebrity Aamir Khan, who is shown running a very successful sweet store. When an acquaintance compliments him on his success, he attributes it to his smart children, who have converted the store online. When the admiring friend compliments Aamir on his sons, the proud father points to his two daughters who are responsible for the success and says it is not so much about son or daughter as it is about the power of the idea.

The commercial ends with the camera panning to the shop’s signboard, which proudly reads “Gurdeep Singh and Daughters”. Clearly, a commercial which is against popular sentiment and serves as an eye-opener in a country that blatantly discriminates against women, even at birth. And what better way to drive home the message than through a celebrity. Here’s the commercial that I liked.

The channel has gone further, featuring a series of successful fathers and daughters and the relationship between them, as this one featuring Sashi Sinha (IPG Mediabrands) and his daughter. Clearly, the concept is one that can be extended for it to get wider reach and appreciation.

Let the woman lead her life

Another stereotype we are familiar with is that of the woman who has to do everything for someone else, whether it is her husband, her children or even her in-laws, and has hardly any time for herself. We have seen this in mothers, wives and daughters, haven’t we? It is this consumer insight that Reliance Fresh draws on in its new commercial for Women’s Day.

It features a middle-aged couple and an annoyed husband who is just unable to handle the fact that his fifty-year-old wife is going on a “girls’ gang” trip to Goa for five days. He throws objection after objection to his smiling wife and threatens her that she will call him in two days because she will get into a problem! The wife smilingly laughs away all his objections and even ridicules his poor attempt at ill-health and cheerfully rushes off with her waiting friends, bag and bikini packed, with the closing line ”If I don’t do it at fifty when will I do it?” 

Then there is another disturbing commercial which talks about sex change, a sensitive topic if ever there was one. Here’s the commercial for UrbanClap that will certainly catch your attention.

 

But what should brands do?

Having said all this, what’s the way forward for brands on occasions like these? Here are a few thoughts for your consideration.

Think long and hard whether you actually need to be here or you could use your money elsewhere with less clutter.

Have a calendared, annual plan. Things like this should not be ad hoc.

Does your brand really belong here? And even if it does, can it beat the clutter or will it be just one of several brands jostling for attention?

Can your brand beat the stereotype? How many commercials can we have for long-suffering Sati Savitris?

Can your brand go beyond mere advertising, as Star Plus is doing?

Can you put enough media weight behind this?

Can you focus on men, for instance, in your commercial in an interesting way that will get the attention of all women?

Finally, the old adage is worth remembering. Don’t do something that you can’t do damn well, both in strategy and execution.

Yes, the world is full of opportunities. Sadly, everything comes with a cost. Choose your opportunities carefully and belated wishes for a happy Women’s Day!

I love you but I love my phone more ….

 

Is it enough for ads to play on the obsession with smartphones or should they go the extra mile?

 

Imagine if you had a choice between taking your spouse or your mobile phone to a desert island: which would you choose? Ok, ok you don’t have to answer that. I can, because I am secure in the knowledge that my wife never reads anything I write (even a shopping list) and can tell you that a mobile phone wins hands down.

Have you observed what young people do when they are sitting at a restaurant or even in a park? They keep staring intently at their mobiles instead of looking at each other, for who knows which WhatsApp message might disappear if they looked at it an hour later!

While this malady may seem particularly associated with young people, I think it is a universal problem that cuts across ages. Nowadays we have older people whose day starts with Facebook and not necessarily with Venkatesa Suprabhatam, as it might have done a decade ago. Yes, the mobile has captured our attention, imagination and hearts, hook, line and sinker! It is in this context that Vodafone has done a new piece of communication which says “Look Up”.

 

Look up at your partner

Watch this new video done for Valentine’s Day which is perhaps more interesting for picking on a theme that is universal and which everyone can relate to as it happens all the time in everyone’s lives; and that is about mobile phone usage. It takes a light-hearted look at how obsessed we are with phones so that, even when we are on a date with our loved one, we are peering anxiously at the mobile phone instead of looking lovingly at our partner’s face.

The communication starts at a fancy restaurant, where valets offer to take charge of your mobile phone for the time you are at the restaurant so that you can have undisturbed time and probably even talk (!) to your surprised partner! Unsurprisingly some mobile phone users decline the offer, saying that their boss might call, and so on.

Of course, a few others take up the offer. Obviously they enjoy the meal and, when interviewed later, relate a multitude of favourable experiences, ranging from how interesting their partner is without a mobile phone to how they actually looked at each other and what a fun time they had without the constant distraction of the phone.

While it is clearly a message for Valentine’s Day, there is a deeper message to all of us who seem to have difficulty in looking beyond our mobile screens, on how personal moments and relationships are getting badly hurt, thanks to this wonderful invention. 

As communication goes, it is simple rather than dramatic. Clearly, it does not have the sophisticated execution that earlier Vodafone commercials do but, then, neither does this seem a communication for mass media. 

Rather than get into the execution of the commercial, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the TVC has universal appeal as it is based on the obsession of today’s youth with the mobile phone and it seems perfectly acceptable behaviour; usually, the other person is too busy to notice this as she is peering at her phone too! Insights like this get the following reaction from consumers: “wow, it’s really true. It’s about me. I can relate to this”. This is precisely what the communication gets by way of response from viewers, and that is its biggest success. 

Insights are not new

Mobile services and their use have been a hot topic for years now for advertisers and ad agencies. I’m sure some of you remember the commercial for Airtel on a young person’s obsession with “missed calls”. A youngster’s car gets vandalised in a multiplex and, as the concerned youngsters hang around the car, the owner asks his friend if he has called the police. The young man replies that he has given a missed call to the police and they should soon call him back! This highly successful commercial, which made waves for Airtel, had youngsters look at the Airtel brand more seriously. 

Back to Vodafone

Having discussed insights, let us go back to the original Vodafone communication. While it is interesting, the way to really engage with the consumers and demonstrate to them that Vodafone cares about them is to take the concept online, request people to share their experiences when they are not on the phone, have contests, write blogs, do cartoons and just about anything that can be done to ensure that the concept of “looking up” gathers momentum and steam so that it becomes a mass movement that the brand can eventually claim credit for. 

Otherwise, it might just remain what it is now - an interesting piece of communication from a brand known for its creativity.

Will Virat Kohli be India’s Michael Jordan?

Puma might have bitten off more than it can chew with its latest endorsement

 

Last week witnessed two momentous events in Indian cricket, and neither took place on the field. The first, not necessarily in terms of importance, was when English all-rounder Ben Stokes, who bowled the disastrous last over in the T20 World Cup final, got picked up by Rising Pune Supergiants for a small matter of ₹14.5 crore. 

This paled in comparison to India’s cricket captain and record-breaking batsman Virat Kohli’s deal with Puma, which exceeds ₹100 crore! The eight-year-long contract beats all endorsement deals signed by other sportspersons in India. This is an indication of the growing significance of Virat as a player and a brand ambassador, and the increasing dependence on cricket by brands in India.

However, we must pause to understand why a major global brand like Puma, which has signed the likes of Usain Bolt, agreed to pay this mindboggling amount and royalty on sales to our star.

 

Celebrities, once again

India depends on celebrities for everything, from selling toilet cleaners to luxury cars. Sometimes, it makes me wonder if our marketers and advertising agencies are so bereft of ideas that they cling to well-known personalities the way foreign teams cling to theories about Indian pitches!

Sure, brands like Nike and Pepsi have achieved phenomenal success using this strategy, but I wonder how much other smaller brands introspect before making the same move.

So, let’s talk of the Puma deal. No doubt it is a fantastic brand fit; not only is Virat the most successful Indian captain so far, but he is also a premier batsman in all three formats with almost a fetish for fitness which typifies the brand’s values.

And despite attempts by many brands and marketers to promote other sports and leagues, cricket still rules the roost and consequent marketing money follows it with ease. So, what’s the catch?

 

Cost vs benefit

Marketers often forget that any decision is about costs and benefits. The cost of this deal is already well-documented but let’s not forget that a brand spends more to announce a deal — making new commercials with the celebrity, riding on their popularity through ads, and hoping they continue to break record after record. And what are the benefits?

While there will be a dramatic improvement in brand awareness, it’s still speculation whether celebrity endorsements actually lead to greater interest, desire, and purchase action.

The other doubt I have is whether Virat’s endorsements are within Puma’s control. Celebrities are products at sports management companies, and they look to maximise on the celebrity’s popularity before another hot star hits the firmament. Right now, Virat endorses more than 20 brands; how many of these do you associate with him? And should you associate Puma with Virat just because the brand forked over ₹120 crore?

 

Is admiration enough?

I recently read an interesting piece on ‘the Virat Kohli paradox’, which argues that while he could be the greatest Indian batsman ever, there is more admiration than love for him. I agree with the writer, as this admiration is not similar to the do-or-die sentiment we shared with Sachin Tendulkar or the regard we had for the Rahul Dravids of the world. Virat has placed himself on a pedestal with his passion, commitment and competence, and that makes me wonder whether he has distanced himself from his fans. I hope that’s not the case for Puma’s sake…

 

Bottom-line

It’s easy to sit on the fence and look at both sides. What’s my own take on this deal? I admire it — it shows commitment to a sport, a country and a player. But something tells me that Puma has bitten off more than it can chew.

Mere nostalgia cannot make a brand iconic

The world has moved to a different level of quality; some Indian brands have been left behind.

Last week, I read the news, with a hint of regret, about the Ambassador brand being sold to Peugeot. Mind you, we never owned an Amby, as it was called, but I certainly have fond memories with it. 

Good ol’ days!

Invariably, all long distance trips were made in it, whether it was the holidays we took to Kodaikanal with its hairpin bends, the business trips to Chittoor with my team or the pilgrimages to Tirupati in the company of my late boss. It was dependable, could be repaired anywhere and seat at least six people comfortably, not to mention fitting mountains of luggage that most Indians still continue to carry.

It had literally no competition because the only other car you could own in those days was a Premier Padmini, for which you had to wait for four years! Of course, people less fortunate than you were waiting seven years to get an allotment of Bajaj Chetak and invariably re-branded as fortunate when the allotment happened.

Those whose horoscopes were special sold the Bajaj Chetak seven years later for the same price that they had bought it for and maybe even gifted themselves a HMT watch with the ill-gotten gains!

This was the India that some of us grew up in. A land of scarcity where even a pair of jeans had to be imported and watches smuggled in. And I think it is important to remember this fact, even as we look at some of these old brands with rose tinted glasses.

 

Changing the game

Many brands that had lived and flourished in a protected economy, started facing the heat in 1991, when the country suddenly (and not a moment too soon) opened its doors to international brands. And every foreign brand worth its name came into the country, whether it was American, Japanese, German or Korean!

The Indian consumer, who had been starved of choice and was considering choosing between two car brands, suddenly had a choice of 764! And this choice wasn’t restricted to just automobiles — refrigerators, colour televisions, mobile phones (which came a bit later) television channels, all came flooding into the market.

And the consumer just went bananas! Many brands — like HMT watches that proudly called itself the ‘timekeepers to the nation’, Hamara Bajaj or BPL colour Televisions (which had once been the market leader) — no longer ruled the roost as the consumer looked at smarter, slicker, better advertised international brands.

Ambassador — which is the hero of this piece and had been steadily dropping production, till the numbers dropped to laughable levels — is now on the block, and the price is a measly ₹80 crore!

What happened to all the goodwill, the equity built over the years and customer experiences of families that had used it for years? Why indeed is the ‘iconic’ brand, as some refer to it, being parked in the garage for keeps?

 

Being an icon is not easy

In this context, it must be said that people tend to get emotional about brands and give them iconic status a bit too readily. It’s a bit like calling Shikhar Dhawan great on the basis of a phenomenal debut series. But where is he now?

It’s easy to confuse form with class, and this is precisely what happened with the Amby, which was probably a flat track wonder that could not manage, as foreign brands swung, seamed and reverse swung!

 

World icons

Let us, in the same breath, look at the truly iconic brands the world has seen. These are brands like Volkswagen Beetle, Harley Davidson and Apple, to name just a few. They are in a different league with evangelists who are passionate about these brands and consumers who don’t mind tattooing themselves with the brand’s logo!

The Amby or the Bajaj scooter never really had this sort of appeal. They were the best available at that time and consumers have fond memories of them. But it’s important to remember that mere happy memories do not make a brand iconic.

 

What might have been?

And yet, I have an overriding feeling of regret at what the brand could have become. Brands are like children — they cannot grow on love and fresh air alone. They need nourishment. Brands too need sustenance and advertising support; they need to keep pace with times and technology.

They cannot survive on outdated models and poor quality. The world has moved to a different level of quality and sadly, some of our Indian brands have been left far behind, as their owners were businessmen, not visionaries.

Brands need champions and visionaries to guide and lead them and this is precisely where Amby lost out. Birla’s loss is Peugeot’s gain.

Will they have the courage, the desire and competence to revive it to its former days of glory? I wonder!

How you can improve your brand’s pricing

Here are five things you must do to build an enviable brand

 

When we provide a certain service, how often do we make this statement in frustration: “Why don’t we get the pricing we deserve?” I am sure this concern must have crossed your mind at some stage. I run a communications company, and I know that the inability to get the right price for the services rendered by us irks my team and me. 

In fact, this is perhaps a concern for most other companies who are in the business-to-business space - especially those that are not major brands, or are not as well-known as their competitors. Should we, then, just accept it as poor branding or our karma or fight for our own future? The answer is a no-brainer - we must strive to improve our image and pricing.

So let me share what we have learnt the hard way.

Minimum acceptable price

Be clear what your minimum acceptable price is. Very often, we get greedy and give a fancy quotation for our project or engagement. Let’s say we quote two times the price for a project we know fully well can be done in 1.4 times the cost. It is then that we are head for trouble.

More often than not, the client beats us down to 1.1 times the quoted price, including taxes. So what have we effectively done? We have basically sent out a signal that we are desperate for business and can even go down on our final price by 50 per cent! We are saying there is no sanctity in the initial offer and that we will keep lowering our prices to get the contract.

Is this what a serious brand will do? All too often, senior management gets involved in the deal closer to the finalisation. Ensure that your initial pricing is not way off the mark.

Be prepared to walk away

Very often, we find ourselves saying yes to deals, even though they make no financial sense. At such times, remind yourself that it takes the same level of servicing for a project, irrespective whether you are handling a client on a retainer of ₹50,000 or ₹150,000. You need infrastructure, technology and a team to handle the business. We often don’t take into account these hidden costs and worry only about employee costs.

And what about the opportunity cost? When your resources are locked up in servicing a demanding, low-priced client, you are denying yourself the opportunity to work on a more lucrative assignment. Have the courage to say ‘no’ and yet, not close opportunities to do further business with the same client. Only, on your terms at a later date.

Build competencies

Build competencies within your system. Branding is all about standing for something, and that includes skill-sets. A public relations company that specialises in healthcare has a better chance of delivering a hospital pitch, and a company with experience in education has a better fit with a university.

Carefully work on your competencies and practices so that your team can speak confidently to prospects. Put your team in front of the client, so they can experience what the team brings. This strength will enable you to speak confidently when it comes to price negotiations.

Remember, all of these are about perceived value and the client will not haggle for a few thousand rupees when you are able to demonstrate what you bring to the table by way of experience.

Be a professional service provider

People often think of branding as something magical that transforms their image in the minds of prospective clients and customers. Sadly, it is not. It is just a summation of all the things we do as a professional service provider. It includes the way we answer the phone, the way our people dress, the way we address customer requirements, the manner in which we word the mails, and the professional manner in which our proposals are sent.

Once, a client gave me very good feedback. We had done some outstanding media relations work for this client and got him great media coverage. Yet, the docket in which we presented the coverage to the client was so dull and unattractive that it actually took away the entire impact of the hard work we had put in. 

This is why you must present your achievements professionally.

Keep selling your brand

Somehow, all of us believe that once we are in a relationship, we are home and dry. This is hardly the case. No client is sold for life and it is important that we subtly keep reminding the client of the interesting work we do not only for him/her but for others as well.

Sometimes, we are shy of sharing the excellent work we do for other clients lest they turn around and ask us: “Why aren’t you doing the same for us?” In fact, we should take this as a challenge to do great work for all our clients. Very often, customers have a very limited view of our ability that is restricted by what they have experienced. If that is not adequate, we should endeavour to give the client the best of what we can provide as an agency, even if it means challenging our teams to superior performance.

Building a brand is not rocket science. It is clear strategy and relentless execution, day after day. It will not happen overnight, but work on it patiently and soon enough, others will look up to you as your brand becomes a role model.

Only time will tell

A still from the Titan Raga #MomByChoice advertisement

Titan Raga’s motherhood advertisement is impressive, but it isn’t an out-and-out watch commercial

If my memory serves me right, Titan, the brand, was launched in 1987 when I was a young upwardly mobile advertising executive.

Having been in the ad industry and having worked with HMT watches (a brand that got systematically slaughtered by Titan), I have always watched Titan’s advertising with keen interest and a touch of trepidation in the earlier days, as my brand would usually be at the receiving end.

I have also frequently complimented both Titan and Ogilvy and Mather, who have been partners through this entire period. What a fantastic partnership! Believe me, it is no small achievement, maintaining the consistency in strategy and smartness in execution of the ads. Who can forget Titan’s catalogue style launch advertising, its pioneering of the concept of gifting or the creation of a brand property with its Mozart music track?

https://youtu.be/hRki5hFs4go

It was therefore hardly surprising that I watched Titan Raga’s recent commercial eulogising the mom-to-be with great interest.

Mom: stereotype no more!

Moms tend to be an integral part of our lives and television scripts. They are forever rolling chapattis, picking up or dropping their kids or eternally waiting for uncaring kids who come home at night. You get the picture.

It is precisely this sort of mom that the Titan Raga mom does not wish to be. In case you haven’t watched the commercial that’s been recently launched here’s a quick brief about it.

It’s a tribute to a mom-to-be and there’s a fairly large family and friends gathering to felicitate her. The doting husband gifts her Titan Raga while she gets ready to deliver her acceptance speech. As is the current trend, she speaks in a combination of English and Hindi (I remember us referring to this as Hinglish in the earlier days).

She says her time has come (when she receives the Titan Raga watch as a gift) to be a mom. She goes on talk about how her mom was quite different from other mothers, as she was bindaas, and didn’t spend her life waiting for her kids to come back from school, or she wasn’t someone who followed them around endlessly or even made chapattis for them.

She was busy leading her own life, which meant that she was touring the most exciting places and did the most romantic of things, like getting a PhD at the age of 45!

The mom-to-be reiterates that her mother will always be her role model, as she has taught her that being a mother is not so much about making a sacrifice as it is about making a choice — and it is her time to make the choice now, Titan Raga, et al. Here’s the commercial.

https://youtu.be/TfYyAnJRkh0

Is there a catch?

Let me quickly clarify that I can never be too stern a critic of Titan as I keep flaunting their watches and writing favourably about them. Yet, while it is an interesting commercial, I must add my two cents, being a consumer and a consultant to boot.

The leading light is a touch older than the Katrina Kaifs of the world we have been hitherto seeing. Is the brand subtly accepting that even if it is not getting older, its consumers are? It’s been my considered opinion that the Titan brand has been aging and is probably not as hep as it used to be, though I have no evidence to suggest that Raga suffers from the same malady.

The other concern is that while it is easy to do commercials like these that are a slice of life, the challenge is that they apply equally to any category and are not intrinsic to watches.

Of course, there is a reference to time in the script, but this is not an out-and-out watch commercial, is it? The best commercials are those that intrinsically link the category to advertising and I don’t see evidence of that. I am sure that the ad agency will argue till it is blue in the face about how old fogeys like me don’t understand the young consumer or the category.

Whilst the ads may be interesting and probably award-winning and even make great conversations, they may not be hard working enough. But then, that’s just a point of view and only time will tell if I’m right.

Let me end with a note of congratulations to the client and agency for producing great work for around three decades. May you be a great example to other clients and agencies on how to be partners in progress!

So how’s your own partnership with your ad agency?