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Rina Chandran

Positioning guru Jack Trout speaking at AdAsia on Friday.

Jaipur, Nov. 14

TO break the rules you first have to know the rules — and Indians don't really break rules, we just follow them excessively or distort them, and actually make a mockery of them.

That was the takeout on the final day of AdAsia 2003, as the suits gave way to the creative guys in T-shirts and sandals.

Positioning guru Jack Trout started the day with the caveat that knowing the rules before breaking them — and breaking the right rules — is important. With the profusion of brands in the marketplace — over 180 brands of dog food and 134 brands of cough/cold medications in the US alone — brands need to go beyond just a meaningless slogan to win the battle, Mr Trout said.

What firms need is differentiation, but many of them don't understand how important it is, and those who do often don't know how to do it, he added. "You have to demonstrate the difference in every aspect of the communication, and use the differentiation to set up a benefit for the customer," Mr Trout said.

`Gods' that have failed to do this include General Motors, Xerox and AT&T, he added. "While doing this, you also can't ignore your competition, because if you make a mistake, your competitors will quickly get your business, and you don't get it back."

What Asian firms also need to do is pay more attention to middle-aged and older people, as there is great potential in these markets, according to Mr Hidehiko Sekizawa, Executive Director, Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Learning. While firms tend to focus on young people, India alone has 77 million older people, and 8 per cent of its population is over the age of 60 years, he added.

"India, along with China and Japan, is a superpower of ageing," Mr Sekizawa said. "So it is time we equate the four stages of Bhramacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa with marketing targets, and pursue research on spiritual as well as material desires," he added.

The Indian market has been changing rapidly, but change has taken place along the axis of tradition, and we have developed a sophisticated mechanism to handle change, said Mr Santosh Desai, President, McCann Erickson India. We tend not to reject anything, but are open to anything, and accord a place to every influence, he added.

This is perhaps reflected in our advertising, as well, which is being recognised and awarded internationally — we have won as many as 10 Cannes Lions in the last 18 months, said Mr Piyush Pandey, President & National Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather Advertising.

"There is a rawness and simplicity to our advertising that comes from a new way of looking at our culture — perhaps even laughing at it, and that is seen as refreshing and appealing internationally," he added.

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