Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, is a designer now. She is going to design saris for Tantuja. Will this work? Are there trends in this space where politicians have turned designers?

_ Shilpa Bose, Kolkata

Shilpa, this is interesting. This might be a unique way for Mamata Banerjee to make and leave a ‘brand impact’ in the day-to-day lives of Bengali women at large. In terms of trends, I do know that S. M. Krishna, the former CM of Karnataka and more recently the External Affairs Minister, used to design his own suits and formal wear, but Mamata is unique on this count. She wants to do it for Tantuja.

I do believe it will work. If there is a designer hidden in the heart of the CM of West Bengal, so be it. It will for sure add zing to the Tantuja effort. At the end of the day, a sari is an item of daily use in every common home of Bengal. To that extent it is the ultimate symbol of a common woman. If the imagery of a common man, as embodied by R. K. Laxman is a man in a dhoti , the imagery of a common woman is that of her in the humble cotton sari. In that light, the imagery of the product is just right and is in complete sync with the imagery of Mamata the brand. My only hope is that the sari has nowhere on it the election symbol (in orange, white and green) of the Trinamool Congress. That would be an ‘ouch!’ factor to watch out for. This initiative of Mamata di is in total sync with her “Ma, Mati, Manush” ethos.

On the other hand, Tantuja itself needs to be reinvented. It stews in the imagery of a government-run commercial body. It needs to jump out of that format first. As for the sari, if the price is right, and if the distribution is right, there is just no stopping it. The imagery of Mamata and the humble sari is a perfect fit. Mamata is always imagined in a sari. She is always seen in the common woman's sari. If the new brand can go in sync with that, there is plenty to benefit from. Let's remember this country worships celebrity costumes. We have had Mandira Bedi spaghetti strap blouses, Sadhana blouses, Brinda Karat bindis and more. Here's one more. The Mamata sari.

The rural person is a very value-conscious person. Am I right?

_ Rohit Gopal, Mumbai

Rohit, you sure are right. In fact all of us are, and the rural person is that much more.

Value is an inbuilt trait in an Indian, largely. We are value-conscious beings. The very fact that we have had a tough living situation in our lives, as opposed to those who live in the hyper-developed economies of today, has made us value-conscious. We are therefore frugal, calculating, oriented to recycling what can be recycled and are very, very careful in the way we spend.

Within the fabric of the Indian then, there is the rural person, the rurban and the urban. Between these three segmentations, the rural person is the most value-conscious. The rurban person is a little less conscious and the urban person is the least of the lot. To an extent, value is ingrained in the DNA of the rural Indian.

Value represents a price-quality equation in his/her mind. Every product and every service has a quality and bang-for-the-buck to offer. This bang-for-the-buck is calculated carefully and evaluated at every step of the product decision-making and taking process. The price-quality equation is essentially a weighing scale in the mind of the rural consumer, who puts quality and utility in one pan and money on the other. When the equation works in his favour, he buys. When it does not, he switches off.

Has my favorite Horlicks killed itself by being more than just a malted drink?

_ Mrinmoyee Mukherjee, Kolkata

Mrinmoyee, you just might be right on the issue of brand dilution. I do not, however, believe that Horlicks has killed itself. The brand is alive and kicking. Kicking hard.

The brand's biggest weakness is its becoming too much too fast. Horlicks as a drink is fine. The same thing as a biscuit is fine as well. But please, a noodles? That's going a bit too far. Horlicks is force-stretching its equity. A brand must not become too many things to too many people. In that case, it becomes everything to everybody and remains nothing to anybody. The brand has extended itself a bit much. This is its error.

(Harish Bijoor is a business strategy specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. askharishbijoor@gmail.com )

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