Retail Dude

Its about your image, its about your brand, its about your fans and its about your positioning. A Logo of a company depicts lot about it. It is a face of a company which talks to its customer and consumer feels attach to it and to its owner company. And company spends lots of million for the same to promote it and make it a top of the mind recall for particular commodity. So when its done, when a company have a perfect, popular brand logo, then why they changed it. Like Rebook, B.P., Pepsi to name some, even having a good and recognized and honorable logo, they changed it and then again spent some more millions on marketing campaign to make their new logo their new identity.
But the question is why they did that, why they spent a good portion of their bottom line on redesigning a logo which was already on its ace. The reasons can be many depending on what the company trying to achieve. One of the obvious one is “connect with new generation”. Every new generation likes new stuff as they can connect with that really well. It’s the thing which is happening right in front of their eyes which they remember. They don’t even bother about what happened before their birth. At least I never liked History (as a subject ). So for every generation a re-branding should be done. And to give a new look to logo is a best way to do it. Very recent example which I can think of to demonstrate this reason is redesign of “Belk department store”. Other reason which I can think of is, we become habitual to things we see every day and we generally skip those things unintentionally. So until and unless you see any new thing your eyes won’t get attracted to it and thus normally we skip all the big hoarding and marketing done by our old renowned brands. But when they change their logo we tend to look at it, we notice the change and we recall the brand. Some more reasons can be brand imitation, merger or new identity of company itself, or may be if company wants to change their positioning.

Now in the age of social media, companies can opt for a better way to redesign their logo which is contemporary and close to their target audience. They can use social channel to involve their fans and followers to suggest new look they want in their fav brand. This way the process make brand closer to their customer and definitely it’s a plus point for a company. In this consumer driven era this is a right thing to do I guess.
BTW logo of Google on their webpage, is a totally different story and a different approach which I think can only work online.
Readers do share your views on re-branding and new logo for brand. If you have any case study to share, please share it and we can have a discussion on the same.

-Prateek Katiyar

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Marketing today has become synonymous with pushing the brand in people’s face. What many forget is that branding is more about creating an awe for the brand through some unusual marketing ideas. Companies targeting niche always have innovative concepts up their sleeves. The 4^th outlet of Hard Rock Café in a short journey of 3.5 years which started in Mumbai in January, 2006, clearly augurs that the company is cautiously planning to map the length and breadth of the subcontinent by spreading it’s network across the country. The new 7,000-square foot cafe and retail outlet, India’s fourth Hard Rock Café, operated by franchisee India offers guests American fare in a rock ‘n’ roll ambience. HR Café is a name that resounds rock music in all it’s forms. Apart from being a cool place to hangout for the youngsters and enjoy their favorite contemporary rock artists, HR Café also caters to the taste of the old timers by housing a grand collection of greats such as The Doors, The Beatles, Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin and many more. HR’s story is a case study for many. The first lesson is to shift the focus to doing good rather than just sales boosting promotions. When more and more brands are promoting ‘Consumerism’ this organization still has it’s focus on ‘Altruism’.

The strapline, ‘Doing well by doing good’ is appropriate to represent its philanthropic strategy as put by Annie Balliro Sr. Director, Hard Rock Café. For Hard Rock Café, corporate social responsibility isn’t a primary marketing strategy – it’s an extra piece of the puzzle in the global business that helps strengthen the company’s brand. Every Hard Rock Café has what it calls a ‘local ambassadors’ programme, where employees – from waiting staff to marketing managers – choose their own outreach initiatives for their local community.

Another bizarre yet inimitable marketing concept that I came across was the Heart Attack Grill restaurant, which serves Quadruple Bypass Burger, Flatliner Fries and to wash it all down your body there’s Jolt Cola and not to mention No Filter Cigs!!! Jon Basso, owner of Heart Attack Grill Restaurant in Tempe, Arizona, has his own innovative way of doing things. Throwing away the traditional forms of advertising Basso chooses to advertise his joint by means of creating a controversy. I don’t think it’ll come as a surprise to you that he’s created an international fan following for his draconian sounding cuisines. All this without even spending one dollar on advertising.

Last but not the least, a London restaurant chain, which has declared it will not give any customers a bill during February. Instead, the customer pays whatever he or she feels the meal is worth (drinks are not included in the offer). Well, I’m sure the finance Gurus are straight away going to discard the proposal as totally delirious. On the flip side an innovative marketer, such as me, would look at it as a wizard of an idea in an economic downturn. Struggling restaurateurs would not be too comfortable taking a call on this. Maybe, just like HR Café, it is a philanthropic gesture too?
What do you think?

- Vivin Wason

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Hello Readers,

Its been an awfully long time since any post in the blog and due apologies for it. This post is more of a thought, that i was having for a long time now and thus wanted to share with all of you.

India has now proven what a strong economy is all about. Although it has been the last fortress to conquer to all brands across the globe, they still flock to this amazing demography. The varied profiles of the Indian masses have made it even more challenging for hitting the right positioning bucket. Brands are made and brands are eroded in this country. But when i come down to the basic idea of branding and its stages, the last being its ambassador, i wonder does it still work that way?

A simple exercise: Think of a 2 brands (Products, Goods etc) which have in the last 10 years been built routinely built upon from scratch?

In most probability you will come up by sayin “Ipod” (but wasnt it Apple Incs branding that it shouldered), or say Viao (but isnt it a Sony First?). The point i am tryin to make is that do not count brands which are the children of some huge names. Are you left with any? Yes you might get a few in the service  category! (Websites, Restaurants et all)

The most popularly talked about brands and leading examples in classrooms are all brands which are pre millenium. Does it mean, that it is getting increasingly difficult if not impossible to follow the brand building exercise? Or are they very short lived? What about brand icons, associations that we have read about? Do they dont apply anymore.

If i may talk of the Indian Consumer, is it becoming difficult to get that brand loyalty or followers from them? or Is it that the basket of offerings have increased and hence the result?

These questions are more or less inter related and have plagued me for quite some time now. I wanted to know the various points people make to encourage a discussion. The most logical thing that came to my mind was that the consumer today is more aware and therefore has comparisons and benchmarks of their own. They know what quallity and service means to them in their own yard sticks. I do not see any company fulfilling them all at any point to all the segments. Therefore a universally appealing brand is missing. We have more switchers than ever in any context. What people think is branded (having a name tag) is what is craved for. It could be the technology, the product offing or even the latest “in thing” that enthuses its customers. Its not about the association you build these days. That stong presence of a community is certainly missing. Its something that you want to “own” , which in branding terminology is something in you, that wants to be a part of the brand. Aspirations being build onto a personality to create ambassadors of it. Branding expertise is very low in India where manufacturers still think that branding means advertising. Ideally the brand response has been low to the consumer expectations is what comes to me.

This wasnt the case in the past, where the most strongest of brands today in the market have been created with a certain degree of pedigree in their own fields. How was the associations made, which is remote in todays context? I also beleive that the brands in history are the ones where the product arose of a need, which ideally gave them the exclusivity of addressing a need. Most brands today compete with each other of pushing products to people. Lifestyle concepts have risen only in the last decade, which might be another contributing factor of very less brands making its presence felt.Companies that build for the long-term and establish brand equity, rather than brand image, should outride any ups and downs of markets and of customers.

Will it then help build a brand in its true sense?

Cheers

Sudip

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Slumdog not an Underdog.Well, not anymore. Jai Ho Slumdog ki. After all the film made it look like a cakewalk and bagged eight Oscars along with various other globally acclaimed awards. Well, through this post I would like to rather analyze or understand as to what about the film ensured that it lived up to the hype which was built around it. Was it because it was “realistic” or was it “the element of trepidation” which kept you at the edge of your seat or just maybe because it was “Indian” (after all the world’s closely watching the developments happening in this nation each day). Jai Ho.

Well, I’m not too sure of the reason myself but one reason, which I can think of, the movie managed to click with the global audience was because it reflected a common man’s life. An exquisite depiction of simple emotions like love, fear, jealousy, and even hatred was a great way to connect with any audience based anywhere. Jamal Malik was not extraordinary and neither was Latika, but it was the love which the two shared which was extraordinary. Everybody wants to be a ‘rockstar’ as they say, and Slumdog was a blunt illustration of events through the life of an underdog. At times, we are so busy worrying and complaining about our situation, we fail to identify how unusual and wacky our life can be. We do not appreciate the uniqueness of our lives and how a lot of people would be have dropped jaws if you wrote a book about yourself as well.

The one theme that movie revolves around is perceptions. Two brothers muddling through the same circumstances came out as different individuals by making different choices in similar situations. One choosing to give a 500$ note just to find out the whereabouts of the one he loves where as one chasing money till the end of his life (else who could have a wish to die in a pool of money as shown in the film).

Well, though the point which has been sidelined in all this hype is about the person who conceptualized the idea in his book Q & A, Mr. Vikas Swarup.

Being a marketer could not help but look at it from a marketer’s point of view and did explore some insightful learning for global marketers :-

Break the language barrier (the film was made both in Hindi and English so that it could reach out to more nations)

Exploit emotions. The best way you can connect with anyone is through creating positive emotions in that person. A recent article published in livemint explored the idea of advertisers are using crisis to get message across.

Make it realistic. Promise what you can deliver. If Slumdog would have had Rajnikanth the expectations (specially in south) would have been sky high. Which meant that the audience expect a lot from the movie. And, if the positioning of the brand does not go with the delivery, it can turn into a nightmare for any marketers.

Do not spend on charming faces, rather invest in enticing minds. Danny Boyle chose Anil Kapoor above Shahrukh Khan, who definitely might have attracted better business in India but might have not been a value-add for the global audience (because of the limited role in the film).

Whatever you do, there will always be some critics. Well, would not like to name any celebrity here, as I’m one of the lot as well. Though, I would not like to criticize the film but certainly AR Rehman can give better music. I mean “Chhaiya Chhaiya” was way cooler and much more hip than “Jai Ho”. But, all’s well that ends well.

It’s not just Sukhwinder Singh but also Longinus Fernandes (“Jai Ho” Choreographer) you might have missed out in the credits list but a true marketer like Danny did not. And, finally gave the credit for “Jai Ho” to Longinus at the Oscars. Long live Danny. Jai Ho!!!!

- Vivin

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PepsiCo dumped SRK a week ago with its decision of not to renew the decade old contract with him. The possible reason can be that it doesn’t find SRK in sync with its ‘Youngistan’ theme anymore, and they need a Brand Ambassador who is a kind of youth icon. But the company is simultaneously in talks to sponsor SRK-owned KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) for which Coca Cola has already pitched for a two year contract. Pepsi has given a counter offer to KKR outbidding the one given by Coca Cola.

King Khan has already expressed his unhappiness regarding PepsiCo terminating his contract. Apart from King Khan, PepsiCo also kicked Saurav Ganguly of KKR though it has continued association with Ishant Sharma of KKR.

I just want to wait and watch that whether SRK considers PepsiCo’s offer as a business matter or rejects it as a personal matter. But the biggest question that comes in my mind after going through such news is that where is recession?

- Rajeev Damani

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