question hour

The pros of being exclusive too

I am in the consumer durables business. Is the modern retailer the way to go, or individual branded shops?

Hyderabad

Sainagesh, in the beginning there was the exclusive brand outlet (EBO). And then came the multi-brand outlet. When the MBO made an appearance, brands got lazy and many decided to move their hard-earned business to the MBO. It seemed logical. It seemed easy. In any case, retail was not the competence of the manufacturer and marketer. Retail was becoming a specialty competence owned by the MBO players. And here was the mistake, the big mistake.

Look at LG. If LG stuck on to The EBO model even as it was available at the MBO, it was certainly an intelligent move. EBOs are focused on the single brand offering. EBOs are a manifestation of focus on a single brand as opposed to MBOs, which are all about variety, and consumer choice-led buys. While EBOs are temples of the single brand, MBOs are literally ration shops that offer variety on the shelf. LG looked ahead, and therefore did well.

How does an emerging brand generate publicity and become the biggest brand in that category?

Mumbai

Ambily, “first-mover” advantage is an old adage in marketing. It does not necessarily work in the present. Worse still in the future. Most of the time today, the first mover burns all the money and burns out. It is the second-mover or the later settler brand that is the robust one. If your offering is relevant, original, innovative and exciting you can overtake them all.

As an emerging brand, your product offering is of critical importance. You need to be what the consumer is looking for. You need to be one step ahead of the consumer as well, in terms of relevance and offering. If you are correct on this track, it is time to look at ways and means of achieving brand and product salience. Advertising is of course a way, but don’t ignore every other way that has opened up today.

Apart from mass media advertising, there is the potential of digital media, social media and more. Harness the power of distribution and your distribution team to advantage as well. Remember, your product needs to be available at arm’s reach of desire. Promotion at the point of purchase is critical. At the end of this entire journey, there is nothing like word of mouth. This I do believe is the most valuable piece for you to harvest in your marketing plan.

Are brands shy of acknowledging same-sex relationships in India? When will we come out and look more inclusive?

Mumbai

Shinie, multinationals do not believe in coming out of the closet as yet. Brands have been more adventurous than corporations. The first of these has been from the Tata group. Incidentally, this is the most conservative of all corporations in many ways, but when it comes to showcasing the alternative lifestyle, its brands have stood out. Titan Company and Fastrack, for instance. This watch brand is all about the young and the peppy generation. Recently, Anouk, a brand of ethnicwear, also put out an ad showing a relationship between two women.

Fastrack was the first to really show a couple of girls coming out of the closet, literally and figuratively. This campaign elicited a fair bit of criticism from the middle-aged but got a lot of brownie points from the young and young-at-heart, though.

Corporations are still chary. Some send out invites to events with the ‘partner-invited’ clause rather than the traditional “Mr and Mrs”, but more often than not, it is an unmarried person of the opposite sex who is expected, rather than a partner of the same sex, or for that matter, a partner of the opposite sex who is also married.

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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