The Hindu Business Line : Snacks, sounds and Smart Kitchens

ITC was a newcomer to the snacks segment. From cigarettes to snacks, how would you rate Bingo’s success? What counts in its favour? And what of its competition?

- J. L. Sampath Narayan, Chennai

Sampath, ITC Foods’ Bingo is a success hinged on its edgy-buzzy advertising. The product as such is yet another potato chip and yet another snack with the base of corn and wheat and much else. Its success formula is built on contemporary consumer understanding. The brand has hitched its advertising proposition to the mass of young people in the country we refer to as the demographic dividend. Fifty-four per cent of the population of India is below the age of 25 and 72 per cent below the age of 35. This lot today is an empowered lot. An irreverent lot, even. There has been a tremendous shift in the paradigm of value-for-money in the Indian market in recent years.

Irreverence, shaking up staid old stances, madvertising and edgy-buzzy-stinging creatives has helped build a whole new market for Bingo. Frito-Lay in many ways is a whole generation-and-a-half behind Bingo in its advertising age, tone and tenor. This helped Bingo go the way it has.

I read of sound as a unique brand in itself in a previous column of yours. What is the cutting-edge work in this arena?

- Raghu Pisharody, Mumbai

Raghu, sonic branding is not really a top-down process. It needs to be a bottom-up process. A process that starts at the level of the consumer and his/her psyche. That insight is cutting-edge in itself.

The trend is to delve into sounds that are solid and real. Sounds that a consumer emotes with.

We are currently in the process of a ‘deep-down’ research exercise that takes us to the sound that an embryo hears when in the womb of a mother. The rhythmic heart-beats, the gurgles of the mother’s digestive system and indeed, as many as 21 other sounds that relate to a fluid-state existence which is really the beginning of each one of us.

From here, we create sonic logos that are universal and appeal to all. The techniques are standard aural rhythmic techniques of listening and recording.

Sonic branding done through such a deep-down process, as I call it, helps subconsciously position the brand right. It helps brands really get beneath the skin of the customer. Most tools of branding help your brand get in skin-deep. Sonic branding is a deeper process still.

There are challenges, though. Sonic branding’s basic challenge is arriving at the right device to adopt. This requires investment in research that is basic and subliminal. The process demands psychological understanding of consumer masses and most certainly the rigour and discipline of the practice.

The beauty of sonic branding is that it is language-neutral. Sonic branding is a universal trait-led branding. Language is irrelevant here. Sound is not about language. It is about who we are.

In my research work, I find the efficacy of sonic branding to be up by a multiple of nine on ordinary visual branding, up by a multiple of 6.5 on touch branding, and up by a multiple of 18 on scent branding. This is a good arena to invest in.

Sonic branding is far deeper stuff than we imagine it to be.

Are celebrities endorsing too many brands? And does it work during times of recession such as now?

- Mallika Shetty, Bangalore

Mallika, firstly I do not believe we are in a state of recession as yet. There is some bit of postponement of purchase in the durables category, but nothing much to worry as yet.

Are there too many endorsements floating around? Yes, much too many. Amitabh Bachchan showed the way in this trend. At a point of time he was simultaneously active on as many as 19 brands. It came to a time when one was unable to ascertain whether he was a Nerolac or a Parker or a whatever. Today, we have a similar situation with many stars. Celebrity endorsement is really a golden goose. It is being stifled and killed by overactive and promiscuous endorsers of the cricket and Bollywood kind.

TTK Prestige has stepped into Smart Kitchens. Is there a marketing method here?

- Pankaj Reddy, Bangalore

Pankaj, TTK Prestige has a dominant kitchen-imagery. The ubiquitous Prestige pressure cooker has created, nurtured and monetised this image. The recent move is one that smacks of brand re-invention. Its intention is clear. Morph the company from the pure products route to the services route altogether. Provision of full kitchen-solutions is a service. In this day and age of the busy working woman and man alike in the market, providing such a complete kitchen solution is an intelligent idea to pursue.

It is, however, not the idea alone that is important. Value lies in its implementation. If the implementation is perfect, the brand will flourish by sheer word of mouth. If there is an issue on the implementation side, the brand is likely to flounder. There is, in any case, better value in the services side of businesses rather than in the products side. This is a reality all pure product oriented companies will need to pursue in the future.

The future is about services and not products. Coffee as a product needed to become a cafe to unlock real value. Product Tea has to become a Cha Bar. When you worship God at home, God is a product. When you worship God in a church or a temple, it is a “service”. Service adds value and can monetise brand value with that much more fluency.

(Harish Bijoor is a business strategy specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.askharishbijoor@thehindu.co.in

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