The Hindu Business Line : Pitch for branding with a social cause

IF social communication can benefit from branding exercises, can consumer product branding be based on social messages? How can brand promise and volunteerism create loyalty within the organisation?

These and other current branding issues were discussed on Friday at `Brandwidth 2005,' a conference to discuss how successful brands are built and nurtured. Mr Pranesh Misra, President and COO, LOWE India, illustrated how consumer products can benefit from branding through social communication and not just the other way round. For instance, Lifebuoy's Little Gandhi and Surf's `Save two buckets' have benefited tremendously from public service communication. "With increasing competition and little differentiation in product features, organisations need to explore areas of a higher order and give better value to consumers," he said, adding, "but not all brands have the stature to move into this kind of communication."

Mr Subroto Bagchi, COO, MindTree Consulting, talked of the need for corporate branding driven by top leadership. "Not only should it be able to deliver value, but give it to employees ahead of expectations," he pointed out. He felt that organisations should create value for employees and fulfil the brand promise, which will result in volunteerism and employee loyalty. Other must-haves for corporate branding are customer inclusion, interactivity and consistency.

Mr S. Sivakumar, CEO, Agri-business, ITC Ltd, also threw light on the benefits of co-creation of brands with customers. ITC's e-choupal for instance, started as a supply-chain initiative, but has transformed itself into a platform that offers dignity of choice and informed transaction opportunities to farmers who are its customers, he said.

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