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Our Bureau

New Delhi , Aug. 18

URGING young marketing professionals to help build `Brand India', Mr Praful Patel, Civil Aviation Minister, today asked young managers to make an effort to understand the Indian ethos, as 60 per cent of India still lives in the villages.

Mr Patel commented that the Indian marketing ethos could not be similar to the West and that the thrust should be on rural India. Mr Patel was delivering the inaugural address at the 5th Marketing Summit, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), here today.

The Minister, while addressing the marketing professionals, asked them to reach out to the target audience. The Indian market was huge, and it offered tremendous opportunity to explore and establish their products, he said. He added that tourism could be one of the major drivers of the Indian economy, citing the example of Dubai and Singapore.

In his address, Mr Sunil Kant Munjal, President, CII, said that in the present context, the need of the hour was to find innovative ways to build brands in India's unique social structure.

Meanwhile, in an insightful discussion today, experts challenged the present marketing trends and said that there is a need to go back to grassroots marketing. Companies with Indian marketing ethos are making a big mark, pointed out Mr Sanjiv Gupta, President & CEO, Coca-Cola India, while speaking at a session on `How much does marketing help in the fight for market share and growth'. He stressed that marketing was all about a common-sense approach and challenged the present marketing paradigm saying that "if you get the insight right, there will be an universal market and not just a rural or urban market". Mr Gupta was referring to the successful Coke campaign Thanda matlab Coca-Cola which became successful in both urban and rural areas. According to Mr Gupta, Coke was behind Pepsi in terms of market share when the campaign was conceived. Coca-Cola has since overtaken Pepsi in terms of market share, he claimed.

However, while it is important for advertising to appeal to both the urban and rural audience, promotions can contribute substantially to the success of a brand as well.

"Promotions make brands feel more tangible as they reduce the space between the brand and the consumer," Mr Prasoon Joshi, National Creative Director and Executive Vice-President, McCann-Erickson India, said. They can do wonders if companies are sure of their brand value. However, companies need to keep finding new ways to promote products as people will always be waiting to replicate the campaign. Also, one needs to ensure that a promotional offer is an extension of the brand value or else it will not work, he added.

Mr Sabbas Joseph, Director, Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt Ltd, said that the strength of the promotion lies in how much and how strongly a brand engages itself with the customer. To engage, you must go to the customer in high-footfall areas, in an eventful manner, and give him the experience of the real thing.

Mr Vikram Bakshi, Managing Director, Connaught Plaza Restaurants (P) Ltd (McDonald's North India), said simplicity draws the consumer and, therefore, it is important to keep the business organisation and the thought process simple. Promotions help when starting a brand for trials and bring freshness and retrials to the product, he said.

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