There is a new brand Rahul Gandhi around. Am I right, or am I just imagining all this?

New Delhi

Jayanthi, yes, for sure, in the last several months, we see a brand new Rahul Gandhi. We see him making the right noise with the right decibel level. However, I do believe this change has come a bit late. I wish this had happened much earlier.

Rahul is looking that much more confident, that much more decisive, and that much less of a reluctant leader. However, spontaneity is not yet there in his brand persona. Not yet. We need to see a lot of that in the weeks to come if Rahul is to mature as a political leader of significance who is going to compete in the 2019 political stakes. As of now, however, his persona remains that of a back-room player who is content in making someone else the King. If that is the mandate at hand, then Rahul’s persona fits in well. If, however, the mandate is for Rahul to be pitted as the PM candidate for 2019, there needs to be change. Lots of change. Radical change, even.

There are Indian brands and then there are foreign brands. Do Indians emote with Indian brands at all?

Hyderabad

Jayesh, consumers emote with brands that deliver. Never mind whether they are Indian brands or have an origin overseas.

In India, we are going through a cyclical process. In the beginning, Indian brands dominate, and then in come the global brands and eventually will return the Indian brands.

I see this trend ahead. As of today, I categorise competition in the Indian marketing space as three kinds. At one end we have the MNC with its global offerings. A Colgate and a P&G are classic examples. At another end we have the Indian MNC. An ITC is a good example. And the third end is just about being occupied by the ‘Baba’ company of Indian origin. Patanjali Ayurved is an example.

Indian marketing is, therefore, a tri-partite play today. Colgate, the MNC, offers a global tooth-paste, Dabur, the Indian MNC, offers its own toothpaste, and now Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali offers its own ‘Dant Kanti’ toothpaste. To an extent, this tripartite play is an interesting one to watch. Consumer-appreciation of Indian brands will be led by cases such as that of Patanjali and its myriad offerings. We live in interesting marketing times in India. Remember, Baba Ramdev has cobbled together a ₹3,000-plus-crore empire as of date. And look around, Parle has started advertising that it is a “Make In India” brand since the 1930s. We need to smell the coffee with all that the biscuit is saying.

The more I am on social networking sites, the more am I flooded with advertising. Is this a conscious plan of the sites?

Raipur

Yes, sir, yes, sir, expect a bagful of advertising in the future if you sign up on social networking sites.

It is irritating, for sure. Advertising that is dished out as promoted tweets on Twitter are a pain. The fact remains that nothing is personal anymore. Every social networking site will mine information, correlate information, distribute information and finally serve advertising that is native advertising at its best. This is the price the hapless consumer pays for enjoying the fruits of social networking convenience, ostensibly free of cost. The cost really is privacy. You pay with your privacy in e-space. Get ready for it.

Harish Bijoor is a brand strategy expert and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. Mail your queries to cat.a.lyst@thehindu.co.in

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