I work in the textile segment. Is it a good idea to invest in a quality mark?

_ Rajesh P. Dahiya, Ahmedabad

Rajesh, a co-operative branding effort is a good one to make. This way, there are more minds that contribute, more minds that think, and more pockets that bleed in the short-term than just a few. Apart from a quality mark, there is a need to focus on building the image of the Indian offering. There is a need to build pride in the Indian offering. One needs to re-establish the India-made mark!

In India, we have bandied around the “Made in India” language for decades. It has done precious little for our image. “Made in India” is often seen to be an inferior statement of macro-intent that has failed. Time to change all this.

Look at Switzerland. The phrase they use is “Swiss-made”! Made in India means made in a geopolitical region that is India. Swiss-made, on the other hand, means made by the proud Swiss! India-made, would, therefore, mean a different thing altogether than Made in India! Let’s think this out!

Kids play a big role in buying decisions. How will this evolve? Are kids going to be involved in advertising executions more and more?

_ Nayan Tiwari, New Delhi

Nayan, kids are a very vital and valuable part of the ecosystem of buying and selling. Kids are a big influence-category today. As the years have gone by, kids are seen to be more and more credible entities in purchase decision-making. Kids are seen to be young, savvy, futuristic and soaking up knowledge.

Kids are not seen to be frivolous in intent anymore. In terms of reading the fine print, kids are that much more savvy and patient than the adults who wield the purse strings. Kids have certainly come of age in advertising and branding. Kids affect categories as diverse as FMCG, auto and durables even. Kids bring a positive feel to the buying process. It is all about positive family vibes. Products and services are no longer oriented to the head of the household alone. They are targeted at the entire family at large. And within a family, the kid in many homes is a centre point entity.

It certainly is also about new-age parenting. The parent today is less parent and more peer. The parent has a down-ageing syndrome on display and the child has an over-ageing syndrome. The twain meet in purchase decision-making behaviour that skews decisions towards the child. This is also about parents wanting to empower children early. It is indeed a part of the training process even when it comes to decision making and taking processes.

While crafting a marketing programme, the marketer needs to remember that the buyer is not one anymore. The buyer is a multiple entity. It is the father, the mother, the child and in some cases, even more entities that play a role. In many homes, the domestic help is an added decision maker on products that he or she uses for the home. Expect more participation and action in this space.

Kids to an extent are the future of the futuristic marketer. Ignoring this segment comes with a peril-factor. Your peril factor

KFC is now offering meals? Just saw this ad. What’s this all about?

_ Rohini Sampath, Hyderabad

Rohini, KFC is clearly expanding its appeal. As it does this, brand KFC is clearly in a positioning dilemma. The key issue at hand is the fact that the brand, after having established its hubs all across the country, is trying hard to deepen custom. The QSR challenge at hand is that it is not enough to have a wide spread of outlets, it is important to deepen customers in the hinterland of the outlet across every age group, every need, every want, every desire and indeed every aspiration.

Data available in the QSR market is very clear that while the snack option of chicken, and vegetable and dessert and coffee and tea and Krushers is all well, people crave more solid options for a more wholesome lunch and dinner as well. KFC, therefore, fills in this gap with its Rice Meal offering. This can extend in the future to chapati, rice, cereal or, for that matter, even with something such as an ‘ aloo paratha ’ or a hot and spicy chicken stuffed ‘ paratha ’ for that matter. KFC, therefore, takes baby steps in this space with its Rice Meal of sorts.

The brand also offers a quick meal positioning. It offers a quick takeaway option as well. It also solves the problem that at lunchtime its outlets are normally full and offer no seating space. Therefore, it offers the option of a self-takeaway-and-eat-on-your parked-bike option with the imagery that is conveyed in its recent advertising.

The execution is slick, humorous and typical to appeal to the target segment of the worker-bee on the go. I like it.

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

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