Lessons from downturns

Is the idea of 'brand' a perception or a thought, how do you define it? And what’s the real difference?

Lucknow

Jyoti, the brand is really not a perception. It is simpler. It is a mere thought. A thought that lives in people’s minds. Perceptions are formed much later. Perceptions are the wings and tails that brands sprout in people’s minds after living there for a while. A brand is a thought that lives in people’s minds. Not necessarily only in a consumer’s mind. Brands live in the minds of all, irrespective of being a consumer or not.

What does an economic downturn teach brands? Have we learnt from the last one?

New Delhi

Rahul, I am not sure if we have learnt from the last one, but economic downturns teach us a lot. The economic downturn is really a slowdown, a correction in the earning, stocking, spending and celebrating mindset of the consumer at large. Brands learn many things from this downturn. Top 10 lessons from my perspective:

It is important to have a strong rural footprint in the country. Rural sales are a good hedge when the chips are down in urban. Redefine value. Don’t get carried away by value that is defined by slick advertising and even slicker retail appeal. Get to the basics and focus on basic brand appeal. Reduce obscene margins that are typically made and taken for granted in categories. Mass consumer appeal is important. Don’t sacrifice width of appeal and use for depth of margins.

Being in contact with consumers is important. Marketers need to get off the pedestal and walk into markets and feel its real-time pulse.

Demand generation is a task that cannot be forgotten and taken for granted. Even older categories of consumer goods and services need to indulge in demand creation games at the ground level. Dependence on above the line advertising needs to be questioned. There is plenty to be done below the line if markets are to be made. God is in the details of branding. Mass branding does not necessarily work. The answer is 1:1 branding formats. Small retail cannot be ignored. It needs to be nurtured if brands have to succeed in India. The point-of-purchase is a point of advertising. A point of branding. A point of selling. A point of market-research. Indeed, it is the point of everything. Activate it. Intermediation in the selling and marketing process needs to be re-visited, to stay relevant, original and innovative.

A new government is going to be in place soon. What are your top three expectations from it?

New Delhi

Ritu, my asks are simple. I want everything the last government did not deliver. Here are my three wishes:

First, jobs! Too many have been lost to date. The textile sector has lost anything between 26 lakh and 40 lakh jobs. One of the key criticisms levelled at the GDP growth numbers of the last three years has been the issue of jobless growth. What we need today are very specific schemes that look at creating jobs.

Second, the issues and policies that will define the Budget and its plan for the year ahead must be nature-inclusive and should be geared towards protecting the environment. Third, privatisation and nationalisation of healthcare and education services. Both are acute needs of a nation to put it on the fast track of growth. Investments in these sectors are critical. And privatisation and nationalisation are the way to go to improve service delivery.

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