The Hindu Business Line : `Brands belong only to people and customers'

TOP LINE-UP: Mr Vijay Jacob Parrakkal, Vice-President, Brand David Communications, Mr. K. Hari Prakash, GM, Concorde Motors (India), Mr Mahesh Dyaram, Director & CTO, NEXGE Technologies, and Mr G. Ramachandran, financial consultant, at a meet in Chennai.

Chennai , Oct. 16

It was a meeting of great young minds and the setting was picture perfect. It was the annual two-day extravaganza `Daksha - 2006' organised by the SSN School of Management & Computer Applications.

A panel discussion on `Can Indian brands compete and survive against global competition' was the highlight of this festival. Setting the ball rolling, the master debater Mr G. Ramachandran said, "Brands are with us for over 160 years. Brands do not actually belong to companies. Brands belong to people and brands belong to customers."

Mr Vijay David Parakkal, Vice-President and General Manager, Brand David Communication, said, "The trick in brand building is `relevance'. If it is relevant then it will sell in the market. ... . for example, our breakfast needs to be hot and spicy. But, Kellog's tried to change the way we breakfast. But it failed. Another instance is Coca-Cola and Thums Up. Coke tried to kill Thums Up to push up Coca-Cola, but it always came up and now it is the market leader. Therefore, stay relevant to the customers. If Indian brands are relevant then they can succeed."

Globalisation is the key. Take, for instance, HSBC. It has globalised itself and that helped it establish in the Indian market. Association with regional requirements, whether it is India or any other country, is important for brands to succeed. Brands are personality. People should associate with the brand. Brands that customers associate with are the ones that survive. If Indian brands associate with consumers then they will succeed, said Mr Mahesh Dyaram, Director & Chief Technology Officer, NEXGE Technologies.

Mr K. Hari Prakash, General Manager, Concorde Motors (India) Ltd, said, "Foreign brands have found it slightly difficult to market in India. Our Sania Mirza, Sachin and our IT guys have created `brand India' outside. Brands or companies survive if they have competitive advantage. It could be because of technological advantage or cost advantage or distribution equity."

More Stories on : Brands | Events | Tamil Nadu

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Britannia NZ to sell products under `Milkman'

Pearl Global plans foray into domestic retailing

Mammootty is South Indian Bank brand ambassador

Want to buy PC? Now's the time

Contest for BSNL, MTNL subscribers

Longines opens exclusive store in Chennai

Provogue India ties up with Liberty Intl

`Brands belong only to people and customers'

Tata Motors launches car in Ghana