The Hindu Business Line : Needed: A conscience for a Lovemark

Kevin Roberts talksof a stage wherebrands run out ofjuice because of manyreasons. They areoverused, they lackmystery, cannotunderstand the newconsumer or have beenstifled by conservatism.

IS there life beyond brands? All our life we were told that brand-building was the sacred quest for the Holy Grail when it came to advertising. So much has been said and written and said about brands that I wonder how so many books are written and read on the subject and so few new brands are built.

Brands are an obsession with ad people. And rightly so. For the hundred reasons in favour of brand-building this is sometimes the raison d'etre for most people in the advertising business.

Having built great brands, or having helped build great brands, ad people can wait to go to whatever Valhalla they would be admitted to. Yet, Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, dares to look at the future beyond brands and comes up with a one-word answer: Lovemarks.

His book, Lovemarks, The Future Beyond Brands, was launched by Shah Rukh Khan at a glittering function held in Mumbai. Kevin Roberts appeared via tape, on a big screen and welcomed guests to the launch. There was music, and dance and appropriate speeches from interesting people and then, with fireworks lighting up the dark skies, King Khan did the honours.

Whatever happens, or does not happen, Saatchi India's CEO Shantakumar has taken a giant step towards establishing his agency as a lovemark for his many clients.

Yoshio Ishizaka, executive vice-president, Toyota, sums it up by saying "... whenever we're stuck we always go back to basics. Because branding, image, or lovemarks are determined by the customers, not us ... that is the essence."

Kevin Roberts has authored a well-written, delightfully produced, eminently readable book. It makes a case for going into an emotional realm that transcends mere brands. A realm where emotion rules, and to quote a neurologist, "the essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action while reason leads to conclusions."

Kevin Roberts talks of a stage where brands run out of juice because of a host of reasons. They are overused, they lack mystery, cannot understand the new consumer or have been smothered by creeping conservatism.

Getting into the rarefied area of emotion, Roberts chooses one immortal, overriding emotion — love. He advocates forming long-term emotional relationships that are more than catchphrases. This, he feels, would help brands grow and evolve with richer and deeper connections in the same way that people can, in their lives. Finally, the emotion that could make this transformation is love. He makes a very strong case for love with respect. As he says with definitive simplicity, "No respect, No love."

This "respect" of his is a big word. It envisages performance, innovation, commitment, and telling the truth at all times. It also includes an attitude that nurtures integrity, accepts responsibility, never pulls back on service and builds up a reputation that deserves trust.

Whew! Now the real impact of what it takes to build a lovemark began to hit me. For a moment I was tempted to dismiss the concept of a lovemark like I have, the concept of the perfect husband. He doesn't exist.

Yet, this cynicism is something I felt I should fight. To me, the `lovemark' as envisaged by Kevin Roberts is an ideal. Something one should cherish and try working towards. How far would someone succeed is anybody's guess, but I suggest one tries.

Yet it is not for the faint at heart. It is also definitely not something that is for the "ad person" alone. Yes, the lovemark is something the customer owns, but the creators are the manufacturer and the marketer and the distributor and the advertising agency and every other person up and down the chain who contributes his mite with commitment and honesty and unstinting service and everything else that makes the customer want to own the `lovemark.'

And the beginning, I believe, is by pulling out that one thing we sometimes forget we have, a conscience. To the managing director or CEO who feels he has something he wants the customer to listen to (not what the customer wants to listen to), to the marketing manager who feels he has to say what the CEO wants to hear, to the advertising agency executive who feels he has to say what the marketing manager wants to hear, this is a fervent plea.

Listen to your conscience. It will tell you what the customer deserves. You might call it respect, or love, or a lovemark. A relationship by any other name would last as long.

(The author heads Canco Advertising.)

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