It’s all about the game silly!

Last week I was visiting Mumbai and dropped in to see my friend, who is much younger than me but who is probably more passionate about cricket than I am. Not surprising since he lives so close to Shivaji park the cradle of Indian cricket. And yet both cricket lovers were taught a new lesson about how the great game that caught us young is not having the same success with today’s urban kids (at least on a sample size of one!) My friend’s young seven year old hogged the TV set watching an obscure football match for the 90 minutes I was there. Tottenham Spurs vs Reading was the game he was subjecting us to. Neither of these teams are Manchester United (which is one of the few teams that I know) but our young friend didn’t care or mind. But I certainly minded as I was not keen on watching football but didn’t have a choice but was more upset because I found that cricket was not running in the kid’s blood. And my friend also mentioned with more than a trace of regret in his voice that the little boy did not watch or play cricket, adore MS Dhoni or even talk about cricket. I remember Rahul Dravid speaking at a TV interview where he said that he expected more Indian cricketers to come from the smaller towns a la Dhoni. Has cricket viewing also shifting to the smaller towns? This is my first worry about cricket viewing today. How good are the television rating points as an indicator of changing trends? Are we still guided by our own predilections for cricket in backing the game and putting our marketing rupees behind it? Are we suffering from generational myopia and believing wrongly that our kids will behave the way we did 40 years ago. I believe marketers need to do serious research on who exactly is watching cricket. Recently Justin Langer discovered an unpleasant truth. When he asked some people in Australia what their favourite series were they said India 2004 and the Ashes 2005. Both series lost by Australia! So tired was the Asussie fan of one sided games. Do we really know our viewer?

In India cricket is not a religion
Ever since I was a kid I have heard this statement that you too must have heard ad nauseam, “Cricket is a religion in India”. “You can’t go wrong with cricket”. “India is a diverse country divided by languages, religion and customs and cricket is one of the common or unifying factors”. I would still go with the appeal part of it. But religion? Let me clarify. The last few months have seen Indian cricket go through the horrors. After a flattering home series triumph against Sri Lanka, India (as they have been known to do) lost their way losing badly in the West Indies. “Our track record overseas usually has not been anything to write home about” is how we consoled ourselves. “Things will look up in the champions trophy” we told each other. After all this was India and we were playing at home. Well it was India but the conditions were not Indian. The pitches were not our usual batting belters. The ball alternately kept low, bounced or seamed. Even as the ICC flew down someone to glue the pitches the Indian team came apart at the seams. We lost to our recent nemesis West Indies and our age old bugbear Australia. When did we last beat Australia? Who knows, who cares? And one consolation to the Indian cricket fan was that we were not alone in not making to the semis as Pakistan and Sri Lanka did not make it too. But there was little to cheer for the advertisers, the sponsors and the television channel Set max. The grounds were by and large empty and people were not even watching the two innings (some of which lasted all of 30 overs) let alone “extra innings”. And it is this that leads me to question the religious beliefs of the Indian cricket fan. The Indian cricket fan (at least the TV audiences that are boasted of) is very selective in his religious preferences. It is not cricket that matters to him as much as Indian cricket. He leaves the ground when Sachin gets out and switches channels when Dhoni gets out. My submission is that he is so conditioned to his favourite breaking records that he is not all that focused on team records or their success rate. One wonders whether he takes the cue from some of our record breaking cricketers. Hence my reservation to place my viewing bets on this fickle watcher. Our cricket fan reminds me of a bhakta who continues to worship his God only till his boons are granted! Some religion! So marketers who are betting on cricket are advised to hedge their bets.

Mandira or the tiger?
The “lady or the tiger” is an interesting marketing conundrum that has floored several brands. In their quest for new customers, marketers forsake their existing customers. Set max started this in the World Cup saying that they would expand audiences for cricket – bring in new viewers by marrying cricket and entertainment. I have one basic issue with this strategy. Test cricket in India was watched by die hards like me. We spent nights outside the Chepauk stadium waiting for the gates to open. Then India won the World Cup in 1983 and the world series of cricket in Australia. What happened? Even housewives started watching cricket and worried when the asking rate in the final overs was more than six. And they continue to watch when India does well. All of us watched the 2003 world cup because India played well because Sachin was almost the victor. Not because of Mandira Bedi though I must confess that I listened to unconfirmed rumours that suggested that as India kept winning, Mandira’s dress was becoming shorter. Sadly India did not win the world cup. It hasn’t since 1983. And I am not sure Set max is winning the ratings war with all the film stars who keep mouthing inanities about cricket. Where is the research that supports this strategy? I am sure Sidhu has outlived his usefulness and as for Mandira I feel sorry for her. After all it is no fun being the champion of team India that refuses to be a champion and her fortitude as she keeps smiling as wicket after wicket keeps falling. I think it is important to remember one thing. The entertainment has to happen at the centre not in the studio. The days of radio commentary meant commentators talked for 6 hours and we listened. We imagined Lillie’s bowling action and Botham’s batting. Today we have stump vision and action replays and we can see what’s happening. We don’t need analysis till we are paralysed. And what greater entertainment can Mandira and co provide that is greater than what Gayle, Sehawag or Gilchrist provide. It is only about cricket and if that doesn’t entertain then there is nothing that any television channel can do whatever its strategy. And all these attempts to build viewership are actually putting off cricket fans and making them switch. And new viewers? Yes they are in Australia getting irritated with Sidhu and clogging the blogs with their vitriolic comments. Yes there is a lot riding on cricket in this country and the game is in the news thanks to Darrel Hair, Shoaib Akthar, Sharad Pawar and Trescothick. Where is your brand in all this? Is it benefiting? Or getting battered like the Indian cricket team.

Cricket’s role in the sun
Cricket will always be important. And the game is not just in between commercials as our marketers would like to believe but the main reason why we watch. Commercials that eat into the first ball and the last ball are hated by viewers. Brands like MRF, LG or Pepsi may have to stay with cricket. They may even do commercials for Saurav Ganguly! As the wag said in his hey days Saurav Ganguly did commercials for Pepsi, today for old times’ sake Pepsi is doing commercials for Saurav. But do you and I have this luxury? When did you do research about how seriously people are watching cricket? Are peoples’ perceptions the same as yours? Are we losing out young audiences? Are they watching the Harlem Globetrotters? Maybe the Ashes will be interesting. Maybe England and Australia well recreate history. It will definitely be cheaper than sponsoring Indian matches. Maybe India will do brilliantly in South Africa. Maybe one billion people will rediscover the religion! And maybe all advertisers, channels and sponsors will be laughing all the way to the bank. And maybe my friend’s seven year old son will actually start watching cricket!

The author is Ramanujam Sridhar, CEO of Brand-comm.

Mr. Software retires from work, not from life

One of the most interesting quotes that I have heard in branding was not made by Philip Kotler, John Philip Jones or David Aaker. It was made by Nandan Nilekani, CEO & MD of Infosys when I interviewed him in connection with my book, “You become a brand not when you talk about yourself but when others talk about you” he said. And I remembered this quote in the context of Mr. N.R. Narayana Murthy stepping down from the Executive Chairmanship of Infosys Technologies Ltd on 21st August, 2006. Because this statement if anything certainly applies to Mr. Narayana Murthy who in my opinion atleast is India’s foremost personal brand in the corporate world. And in this column I would like to share a few things based on my experience and interactions with him. The reason for this is simple. For five years in a row Mr. N.R. Narayana Murthy has been voted as the most admired business leader by management students in this country in brand-comm’s business leadership study. And I believe that people in business and people in India can learn a lot from him as I have, over the years. So here are a few random memories that I shall cherish of my experiences with Mr. Software as I believe that title best represents his achievements.

Confident of the future not futuristic
I first met Mr. Narayana Murthy in 1993 in connection with the Infosys public issue. Mudra, the agency I worked for then, was handling the issue. I remember 6 of us landing up in their small office in Koramangala to make the presentation. (Agencies believe in strength in numbers!). And I remember a few people vacating their chairs to accommodate us. I am reminded of Infosys’ spartan early beginnings whenever I see their mind boggling, world-class structures at Mysore or Bangalore. But back to the advertising. I remember my then colleague, Balki working a futuristic campaign referring to Arthur C. Clark and Isaac Asimov for Infosys. We believed Infosys was a futuristic company. Very rightly the company said it would not talk about the future. I guess they were content with merely creating it! The campaign that came out was matter-of-fact, boring even. Over the years Infosys has metamorphosized to one of India’s most successful companies and one of its most visible as well. But its visibility is a product of public relations not mass media advertising. And leading the public relations strategy has been Mr. Narayana Murthy who has been the face of the company and the software industry as well. And the strategy has been simple. Achieve. Do things first. Do them differently. Do them in a larger scale. And you will be written about. And you will become the foremost brand in your category.

First in business, economy in travel
On another occasion on a later date, I was traveling to Ahmedabad. As I went to my customary 12C seat in economy I was surprised to see Mr. Narayana Murthy peering shortsightedly at a magazine in the business class section. (This is hardly the time to talk about my childhood affinity for the 12C bus route in Madras as it was called then, which has extended to my airline travel by way of seat preference). But back to Ahmedabad and my return trip to Bangalore the next day. Whom should I bump into at security other than Mr. Narayana Murthy. I mentioned to him that I had seen him in the same flight the previous evening. Barely had I finished my sentence before he started saying how the organisers who had invited his wife, Sudha Murthy had bought business class tickets and how despite their protestations it could not be changed at the last moment and how now they were travelling economy and boy was he relieved at the changed scenario! To me it seemed a simple conversation, but to him it was a way of life. One had to fly to save time. But traveling business on a local flight to him seemed wrong. To the point of being an obsession. You can call it a middle class hang–up but I would call it a value, that drives Infosys as well.


Environment is what you make
A lot of us depend on our environment to make a statement. The address we live in, the clubs we are members of, the restaurants we patronise, the schools our children go to are all symbols that we cling to. I remember moving to Delhi (or trying to) in 1993. My predecessor lived in Vasant Vihar, an expensive suburb of New Delhi. The reason for that was simple. He said one’s address matters. Well Mr. Narayana Murthy continues to live in Jayanagar. That isn’t Cuff Parade or Boat Club Road. And I have seen him having iddli vada at Adigas which is hardly as aspirational as having breakfast at Leela’s or the Sheraton Towers. (Probably just that little bit tastier). But then Mr. Narayana Murthy does not need the props that you and I need. You can look for the brand to support you or you can be the brand that supports the environment. Like every youngster today believes that IIM is the only brand that can build his career. Mr. Narayana Murthy however believes in strengthening the IIM brand with the power of his own personality and the strength of his conviction. And this is precisely what he did as Chairman Board of Governors, IIM Ahmedabad. He fought for the IIM’s autonomy on the fee increase issue tooth and nail whilst some others in positions of authority were dithering and sitting on the fence. And I remember that from the IIM ‘B’ alumni association we wrote individual letters to over 40 Directors of the various IIM’s expressing solidarity with their quest for autonomy. We got one solitary reply thanking us. No prizes for guessing that Mr. Narayana Murthy was the only one who wrote back. Mr. Narayana Murthy has always responded to mail immediately. (A trait that Nandan Nilekani has as well). Unlike a host of CEOs and VPs even who never respond to mails, text messages or calls on the mobile. There is a lot that business leaders and aspiring ones can learn from NRN as he is called. But then since many of our leaders know everything that needs to be known on every subject under the sun. I am sure they are not reading this column or following what comes to Mr. Narayana Murthy naturally.

Recognition of achievement
Mr. Narayana Murthy was one of the few business leaders who gave me considerable time by way of a personal interview for my just published book. I remember our slotting an hour and we ended up spending ninety minutes. The interview was interrupted up just once as Mr. Murthy after seeking my excuse went out to say hello to G.R. Vishwanath the stylish cricketer who was visiting on behalf of SBI. Mr. Murthy said he had been present with a host of his IIT Kanpur friends in 1969 when the batsman made his test debut against Bill Lawry’s Australians. Mr. Murthy complimented GRV on his fantastic century in the 2nd innings while Vishwanath smilingly recalled his duck in the first innings. This was absolutely fascinating to me, a new dimension to Mr. Narayana Murthy. Today he is a celebrity several times over, but he took pride in recognizing a hero of 37 years ago, when he was a nobody and actually went out of a meeting to recognise him.

Sum and substance
Mr. Narayana Murthy clearly is a leader with a difference. I can’t think of too many laying down office when they are at the peak of their physical and mental powers. More so when the company has been founded by them. Mr. Narayana Murthy demonstrates the value of being oneself without professing to be something else. Consistency is key to a brand. “Ethical”, “Values”, “Simple”, “Wealth Creator” are the brand associations that he elicits consistently. Today Infosys is recognized as the leader of the second generation of successful Indian companies. Not content with leading his company, he led software as one of its most influential leaders making it the industry of choice to Indian’s brightest and best. He may retire from the company he built but will no doubt continue to be a brand. Without even trying.

The author is Ramanujam Sridhar, CEO of Brand-comm

Cricket. A game of chance?

“Bulls make money, bears make money, pigs gets slaughtered” is the interesting title of a book by Anthony M. Gallea. And anyone who had the wisdom (?) to enter the Indian stock market on May 10, 2006 when the sensex was a mere 12,624 would bear testimony albeit reluctantly to the correctness of the title! (At the time of writing the sensex has gone down a mere 300 points in 60 minutes and is at 10276!) Indian cricket seems to display similar tendencies and is turning out to be a bit of a lottery for sponsors, advertisers, viewers and fans as well. With the World Cup in March / April 2007 less than a year away it is not only the Indian cricket team but advertisers who are contemplating cricket who need to get their thinking right lest they get slaughtered like some of our poor, unsuspecting retail investors.


Can you pick the spin?
The English media is going gaga over Kevin Pietersen and has been quick to brand him the next Vivian Richards. And one of the reasons why there is so much media hype is based on Pietersen’s ability to pick Murali’s spin and spot his “doorsra”. And yet I am amazed at the PR spin around Indian cricketers and the game itself. I was recently foxed at seeing a TV programme in a fairly popular television channel focused on Dhoni’s home town of Ranchi and the celebrity‘s status in that town. If the report was to be believed people were swearing by their local hero and saying what a great credit he was to their town and state and how they would only buy products endorsed by Dhoni! Of course a few days later the news was full of how Gujarat was boycotting products like Titan, Coke and Innova that Aamir Khan was endorsing! Both these seem to be contradictory to whatever one has known or read about celebrities. Someone’s PR machinery is clouding the issue and I think it is important for advertisers not to be carried away by “PR Spin” and media hype and stick to facts about cricket and its efficacy as an interest or advertising opportunity.


Most viewers sleep at night
When Kerry Packer launched his revolutionary brand of Pajama cricket under lights, cricketers like Imran Khan sported T Shirts with the slogan “Big boys play at night”. And yet during the recently concluded India West Indies matches (which were absolutely absorbing) barring a few night owls like me most of India was sleeping. Let me explain. How many of you saw Kaif’s winning hit of Bravo with just a ball to spare at Jamaica live? Which of you saw Yuvaraj’s shattered expression as he was bowled by Bravo at Jamaica live or Sarwan’s winning hit of Sreesanth at St. Kitts. Absolutely enthralling matches played out to miniscule television audiences at 3.45 a.m, Indian Standard Time. And I think this is relevant when we consider that next year’s big ticket event will be the Cricket World Cup. And most of the matches will be played around this time of day (or is it night) barring a few that may be played under lights which could still preclude viewership of the first innings. Yes, cricket is in the news, cricket celebrities make headlines (sometimes like Shane Warne) but if your money is riding on the game and its viewership itself, just step back for a moment.


Ride the excitement
India and Pakistan way back in 1987 were hosting the Reliance World Cup. We were working for a brand of blades called Wilman (the brand has since been taken over by Gillette). It was not a large advertiser and did not have the resources to take spots on the telecast of the matches. They wisely decided to ride the cricket wave without getting caught in the clutter. They created a lot of excitement around the stadium where the crowds were there – held promos, trials and displays. After all every one cannot be a Reliance. And this is the point I want to make. There are many brands with long term interests, commitment and loyalty to the game and its stars. Brands like MRF, LG and Pepsi readily come to mind. These are huge brands, leaders in the markets they operate in with large budgets. Several Indian and international cricketers endorse these brands. Brands like these will continue to back cricket in India or abroad, day or night, whether India wins the world cup or gets knocked out in the preliminaries. But what about the majority of brands who are in various stages of search, wooing or flirting? The answer is obvious. Cricket is vast getting followers of all sizes, shapes and nationalities. But can you fine tune your strategy even if you are staying with cricket? World Cup cricket or football obviously makes sense for companies selling TV sets. (And one wonders how much Pepsi will be drunk in the middle of the night?) But what about shampoos, soaps, invertors, paints, cements, which will feature in the world cup telecast next year? To my mind the obvious, lazy strategy will not work. Even if you want to stay with cricket can you look elsewhere or at the fringes?


The game spreads
The ICC is keen to expand the game and its popularity beyond the traditional centres. Whether that has worked or not, what has certainly happened is that people are watching cricket from other parts of the world. The viewership for the last Ashes series played in England or for that unbelievable one day match between Australia and South Africa played at the Wanderers was phenomenal in India. And the costs? Probably much lower. The Ashes will precede the world cup and the champions trophy will be in India as well. Try not to get caught in the hype. Cricket is here to stay. It is not like real estate as some smart salesman would like us to believe. Keep a budgetary provision for opportunities that may turn up lest you end up like the retail investor who invested on 10th May 2006!

The author is Ramanujam Sridhar, CEO of brand-comm.

Is daddy cool?

The setting is a primary school classroom. The children are all busy listening to their teacher. Outside the class a parent (father) is trying desperately to catch the eye of his child who is equally desperately trying to avoid his eye. The kid’s friends also draw attention to the gesticulating parent and reluctantly the boy comes out of the class. His animated father asks him how to get the cricket score on his mobile and how he can get to R World. The exasperated son looks at his father with barely concealed scorn and tells him “just press the button”, gets him the score and goes back to class. The film ends with the father’s delighted, albeit ill-timed jig at the Indian score and at Dhoni’s six. Two nuns, who are passing by, wonder what’s happening. I like this commercial for a number of reasons not the least of which is my own anxiety to know the cricket score, sometimes when I am in alien lands like Thailand where cricket is nowhere in the scheme of things. But back to school and our commercial.

Execution – only half the story
At the risk of carrying coal to Newcastle, I must repeat that there are two components to any communication. The execution is that which we finally see, love, hate or are indifferent too. It is difficult not to like the Reliance R World commercial. Key to the executional success is a cute kid whose histrionics holds the commercial together. I am sure many of us have noticed the bevy of cute kids that waltz into our living rooms emoting for one brand or the other. This kid is one such. Let’s move on to the other part which is the strategy or ‘what’ is being said: This precedes the ‘how’ that you and I get to see.

The ‘parity economy’ we live in
One of the most abused clichés of our times is the statement that we live in a competitive world with multiple brands in every category. Every product is depressingly similar to its competition and there are so many of them whether it is soaps, shampoos, detergents… You name the category and I would be hard pressed to name the brands within it. So unique selling propositions like ‘bottles washed in steam’ or ‘only toothpaste with clove oil’ are increasingly difficult to come by in this day and age of product parity. The solution is not within the product but within the consumer. However difficult it is we must strive to find a consumer insight that strikes a chord in the viewer’s heart and moves the brand’s sales graph up. This commercial has one such insight. It’s not the ‘R World’ feature. Airtel offers value-added services too as I am sure does Hutch. And I am sure all these brands are powered by a website like Cricinfo. So there is no differentiator there. But the difference is that this commercial strikes a chord through its understanding of its consumers.


Daddy is a technophobe!
Just look around you and you will be amazed at how technologically challenged most consumers are. Nor is it a new phenomenon. In the eighties and nineties, one out of every two middle class Indian households bought a VCR but few among them ever used the ‘record’ switch, perhaps even more infrequently when a program that was scheduled for later had to be recorded in absentia. Even today people seem to be more comfortable ‘forwarding’ e-mails than composing them. People who own the snazziest LCD TV’s do not know how to tune the various channels that are beamed off the cable network. Owners of satellite radio do not know how to feed the password to get it on air and most relevantly many of us have fancy mobile phones with umpteen features that we haven’t the foggiest notion about. I wonder how many people above 40 who have cell phones with camera can actually take a picture and use that visual as wall paper. I for one cant! So what do we do? We enlist the support of our children who thankfully don’t suffer from our technological deficiency. These kids can delete our unnecessary messages, store important numbers, tell us how to activate voice mail and use call waiting facility. And they barely need to be out of their diapers to do all these seemingly mind boggling things.
It is this insight that drives the ‘R World’ commercial.

Insights are pure gold
Phil Dusenberry, the advertising great who was behind some of BBDO’s path breaking campaigns has this to say, “Good research demands brilliant analysis which inspires blazing insights that lead to ground breaking strategies and award winning executions.” Traditionally we have believed in the power of ideas. I am not knocking ideas. They have their use- but insights are long term and far more valuable. GE’s ‘We bring good things to life’ based on a strong insight ran for 24 years. The starting point is research. And research does not mean tons of spreadsheets or mountains of data. It is understanding the consumer, her motivations and problems. It is time spent intelligently at the consumer’s house or at the retail outlet or at the pub if beer is our product. Insights have been discovered before by observant marketers. And will continue to be discovered in future too. If you want to secure your brand’s future have no stone unturned. Just unearth that insight!

The author is Ramanujam Sridhar, CEO of Brand-comm

Back to the future

I recall a famous Tamil film song penned by the immortal lyricist Kannadasan which when translated reads as follows “Feet that stray from the right path don’t reach the destination”. And yet I believe it is possible for people and brands to get back on track with a little introspection. Brands stray when they try to be different for the sake of being different. The desire to be different is pretty common in advertising. And this desire to be different usually means a break from the past. If only the agency were to listen to the “echoes” of the past – a term that the famous advertising person David N. Martin (the founder of the Martin agency) was fond of using – it could build on the framework of the past, rather than creating from scratch.

A.R. Rahman resurfaces for Airtel
Airtel is an amazingly successful brand. It has very visible advertising, with a fairly high share of voice. As mobile services is an extremely competitive (cut throat?) category, there are a number of advertising renditions that happen. And yet one of the most interesting ones for me as a consumer was the one with A.R. Rahman in Hyde Park (was it) playing with an assortment of musicians even as an adoring recording artist listens to the music that is carried through Airtel mobile’s service. Well, I know that I can’t be exactly objective about A.R. Rahman but it was a brilliant track. Airtel had integrated this piece of communication making it a fairly popular ring tone. Every second Airtel user was having this ring tone and enthusiastic guys even used it in their cars as they reversed. I am not sure if Airtel has been using this tune in all their advertising. Some of their schemes like Rs.199/- set in paan shops and barber saloons certainly did not. But I was pleasantly reassured to see the Airtel music shop commercial with a predominance of red (the Airtel logo and colours) and A.R. Rahman’s music track again – in the forefront where it belongs. Their other black and white commercial too which is on air which I shall refer to as the “Berlin Wall” commercial has a strand of this music as it ends.

I will not forget A.R. Rahman
Indians love music. Its one of the great unifiers of this diverse country. Music too provides a great “opportunity to hear” (OTH) if you are not in the same room as the TV set. Airtel’s music track has the potency of being a ‘brand property’ if it isn’t already. Titan has had the same music track for a small matter of 19 years. I remember the commentator David Lloyd asking errant bowlers to write 100 lines – “I will not bowl short to Ricky Ponting”, I am sure bowlers would do well to remember this as well – “I will not bowl on Rahul Dravid’s pads” and Airtel’s agency would do well to memorise this “I will not forget A.R. Rahman”. And I wonder if it is politically correct for me to write about this interesting call I received from Hutch saying that they had an unbeatable offer for Airtel’s privileged customers. This deserves another column so I should desist for the present. Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust, if Airtel doesn’t get you then Hutch must!

“Thanda” returns to a hot country
Summer time is cola time – or at least cool drink time. A couple of years ago Coke had this wonderful “thanda” campaign with Aamir Khan, which was a break from their global advertising position and stance. Their line “Thanda matlab coca cola” warmed my heart at least. It was an attempt to own the word “thanda” which most of India (read Hindi heartland) could relate to. Then Coke lost its way (or so I said in one of my columns in this august newspaper) and said “Sar Utha Ke”. Clearly Coke was throwing out the baby with the bath water in its quest for change. And now Coke is back – if not with a bang – at least with Thanda. The new campaign with Aishwarya Rai is not my favourite – it’s too Delhi University centric, relies too much on Aishwarya’s histrionics (what are they) but is still built on “Thanda”. Coke, you are getting there. But where is Aamir? Probably in Gujarat….

“The king of good times”
Let’s get back to our original concept, music. Kingfisher first launched their Calypso tune when they sponsored the West Indian Cricket team. Arguably the West Indian Cricket team was the worst then. It is getting there even now but Kingfisher had a good thing going with its music track. The calypso beat had people humming when they were not guzzling. I particularly like Kingfisher’s recent shower commercial with Michael Vaughan and Freddie Flintoff. An interesting use of international cricketers while they are touring. (Perhaps the only worthwhile thing Vaughan has done in India on their recent tour is shoot this commercial!). And an interesting replay of the tune. The same “good times” thought is airborne with Kingfisher airlines as well. Yes, music will work. The question is can we see beyond the tips of our noses? Can we recognize the good thing that we own? Sadly we miss the obvious trick when it comes to brands and branding. So, whenever you are stumped to find a solution at present, just look backwards. You just might find your pot of gold. Your brand’s past could well guide your future.

The author is Ramanujam Sridhar, CEO of Brand-comm