The Hindu Business Line : A smarter way to build your brand?

It's the small things that count. And brands will do well to learn that these will earn them goodwill, and will spread by word of mouth, which is much cheaper and smarter than conventional advertising.

"The obvious strategy is a lazy strategy."

AMUL built its brand with a smart combination of location, topicality, wit and advertising medium.

I grew up in an environment where Carnatic was king. Carnatic music ruled the air (waves), spawned music festivals, had people humming and created a whole new vocabulary. Although I was largely ignorant of the rich traditions of this genre of music, I was reasonably clued in to some of the interesting expressions that were a fallout.

One such was the expression Thengai moodi kutcheri. While craving the indulgence of the non-Tamilian reader, let me quickly explain that this meant a performance where the artist was paid a pittance - often a solitary coconut - for his travails. I am usually reminded of this when I go to speak at functions as I get meaningless and sad mementos for my efforts. Simply because I have difficulty in saying `no' and partly because my colleagues believe I am underemployed.

As a consequence, I find myself speaking to an audience of five including the video operator! A meeting in which the vote of thanks is proposed before I start speaking as the proposer has a prior engagement! Or a meeting in which the person who was introducing me kept referring to my 2 M education! I was as foxed as you are now but soon realised that he was reading "IIM" in my bio-data in this innovative manner! And yet, I recently spoke at a meeting that was different and inspired me to write this column.

It's the thought that counts

I recently was invited by Motorola to speak at its technology seminar. I leave it to you to decide as to who was being more courageous (or is the right word foolhardy) - the company which invited me to speak, or me for landing up to speak on the subject. Well, I shared the podium with a few eminent technologists and gave a (slightly) different point of view. At the end of the session and the vote of thanks which, too, thankfully was at the end, they gave each one of the four speakers a Motorola Slim L6 phone. I was floored by this gesture, reared as I have been on a tradition of thengai moodi kutcheris and thankless organisers.

Two things happened. The company brand went up in my estimation. And whenever anyone notices or compliments me on my mobile phone, I faithfully reproduce the experience.

Ultimately, branding is in the small things that companies do. Things that you do not expect. Things that you will talk about to others, which leads me to the second thought. Motorola has got a `word-of-mouth' advocate for its brand who talks about it in client meetings, cocktail parties, future thengai moodi kutcheris (thereby gently giving hints to organisers) in columns like these, and on my Web site as well.

Yes, word of mouth is an amazing medium that companies are just now beginning to understand, much less harness. While there is a fair amount of uncertainty about its usage, there is no uncertainty about the fact that it is cheaper and a whole lot smarter than traditional methods of promotion.

There is now evidence backed by research to say that word of mouth is the most important reason why brands are chosen. There is also research to suggest that it is far more effective than advertising in several categories. And yet the smarter way is not the easier way for people like us who continue to think conventionally.

Is there a better way?

Sadly enough, many of us are trained to think conventionally from childhood. We are told to eat in a particular manner, study in a particular manner and work in a particular manner. Consequently, we end up in different companies, marketing different products but are unable to think differently. As a result, even our golf handicaps are similar!

And yet, consider this: Ikea, the well-known furniture maker, stuck innovative handwritten appointment ads in the mirrors of upmarket restaurants in Sweden, a far cheaper option than conventional appointment ads or classified ads. A cheaper option with better results.

Remember this. The obvious strategy is a lazy strategy. And if you can think of it, you can assume your competitor can too. And remember this too. The obvious strategy is bound to be expensive too. It is an obvious strategy to sign on an Indian cricketer for your brand. It might work. But it will probably cost you an arm and a leg.

When Timex signed on Brett Lee, they signed on a charismatic, guitar-playing, Australian fast bowler who made female hearts miss a beat even as he was unsettling batsmen from opposing teams. And yet, he must have cost a lot less than Indian cricket stars. A smart strategy.

The little moppet shows the way

Amul is another brand that has bucked the spending trend. It has used hoardings in select centres, used topical messages, been cheeky and made its way to the Guinness book of records for being the longest running advertising campaign. Mind you, hoardings are a relatively less expensive medium. The cleverness of the advertising more than compensates the (planned) lack of spend.

Other brands, for instance, use a medium like the radio which is making a great resurgence. Some other brands, for instance, are realising that while it is probably exciting for brands to go "national" in India, it is not something that you should rush into regardless of your own standing or without proper consideration of the costs and benefits. Today, more and more Indian brands such as Ghadi detergent, Anchor and Gold Winner have demonstrated the power of being regional, focused and successful. Brands need to evolve a strategy that is uniquely relevant to themselves. Try not to follow the herd. The road less travelled has its hazards, but there may be a pot of gold just around the corner.

Create a climate for innovation

Somehow, many companies stop with including the word `innovation' in their mission statements, and hardly let it be their guiding philosophy. Or they wait for divine intervention either from their ad agency or their CEO.

Innovation has to be a way of life in everything a company does and include everyone in the organisation. And the job of the CEO is to create an environment where innovation is practised, recognised and rewarded. And what better area than brand management to practise innovation?

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