question hour. ZOFA, sofa and more

ZOFA, sofa and more

Recently, during a brainstorming session with one of my clients for their sofa range, I came up with the name “ZOFA”. The proprietor was not too keen on this as he felt that if he wants to add any other line of products (read furniture) to this brand, he wouldn't be able to, because the name indicates it is a sofa brand. Your take, please?

Kerala

Francy, I think ZOFA is a good name altogether. In many ways, that is the way it is pronounced in many parts of our country. Instead of thinking you are on the back foot on that, use it to advantage.

It is good as it is crisp and quick on the tongue as well. It rhymes with sofa and a four-letter word brand is quick to recall and not easy to forget. It is an optimal size of two syllables that are easy on the tongue. I like it.

On whether ZOFA can be a brand of furniture, I think it can. It is most certainly not restricted to the sofa category, for sure. It can be a nice soft beverage, a range of designer swimwear, and what not.

You come from Kerala, the land that has built strong local brands that have crisp names. Remember Popy umbrella? Another four-letter, two-syllable articulation that is as popular in Kerala as possibly Tang is in the US.

What are the key challenges facing business literature in India, and how can they be overcome?

Kochi

Joy, business literature in India is just about Gen One. By this I mean that this genre is just about evolving. India has just about gotten out of the anecdotal.

We have just about gotten beyond our early fixation with the ‘do it right’ books. The guide to good business practice, and the guide to business which read quite like the ‘How to’ books of yore. The ‘ How to Make Friends and Influence People ’ kind of literature.

Serious business literature is just about being penned. And it is this that needs to be watched and tracked. Most of these are, sadly, still in the minds of people.

It is important for the successful and savvy business people of the day in our country to realise that they have a duty to perform. This duty is to write.

Write good business literature that will enshrine the best for the best. There is a book in NR Narayana Murthy that is not yet written. There is one in KV Kamath. There is one in Kiran Mazumdar Shaw. One in Mohandas Pai. One in Ratan Tata. All these need to come out. We are waiting.

What role does packaging play for a brand?

Ahmedabad

Joshi ji , packaging today performs more than one role. The primary purpose of packaging is keeping quality, transit-worthiness and ability to stand out enough to be distinctive on cluttered shelves.

In reality, packaging has two aspects. One is the graphic and the other is of format. Graphics help take brand visualisations forward, whereas formats help a brand distinguish itself from the rest that appear just the same. The Paper Boat and Yoodley packaging are a case in point, as opposed to bottles, cans and cartons.

While bottles, cartons and cans are the norm, Paper Boat and Yoodley break that norm. Packaging that challenges the status quo and the norm stands out.

Packaging has the ability to turn a cabbage into a cauliflower.

Imagine drinking dark brown-coloured, carbonated, sugared water out of a see-through plastic sachet as opposed to sipping it from a sinuous Coke bottle?

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

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