CULTURAL MISHMASH AND SINOCCENT GENERATION

Indian youth is an interesting mishmash of global and local culture, someone who’s being nurtured under the shadow of a culture in transition. The sooner the marketers realise this, the better

Sholay, one of the most iconic brands in Indian cinema, will soon be launched in 3D. The proposal to incorporate an item number featuring the flavour of the day was shot down promptly as was killed the idea to trim its length (162 minutes) for the contemporary audience. Why? Because such brands need no remodelling. In fact, one of the charges levied against the epic Indian television series Mahabharat launched by Balaji Telefilms was that it flopped because it tried to modernise the story. When Star Group premiered Devon Ke Dev... Mahadev on Life OK it tasted runaway success, even among youth. Shiva is being projected in the serial as a cool dude (excuse the expression) whose story offers simple parallels to modern life. Son-in-law versus father-in-law, conflicts with wife, problems with son for an alpha male. He is the heroic outsider to the society (like a Superman) who rescues it in times of peril. Like today’s youth, he personifies rebellion, with matted hair, on drugs, and is a brilliant dancer. Yet he is imbued with contemporary values like treating his wife as equal. He warns Ganga, while she is descending to earth, that people will exploit her precipitating water wars and environmental problems. Again, a modern twist to an epochal tail. So, while Lord Rama is too perfect and divine for today’s youth to emulate, Lord Krishna’s stories have a complicated narrative he being simultaneously a lover (of Radha and gopis) and a master strategist (to Pandavas). The simple takeaway is that although the cultural values are still deeply ingrained, they are in transition.

For the goldfish generation (a goldfish has a very short attention span) short-term relationships are proliferating while long-term commitments are being postponed, yet surely not shunned altogether. Live-ins and premarital conjugal relations are no longer big deals even in small towns. In a survey done in 40 small cities by makers of the recent Bollywood film Shuddh Desi Romance, 50% respondents believed that an adult virgin girl is too old fashioned. Yet 55% wanted a virgin wife notwithstanding the fact that 51% would not mind premarital sex. So even if 80% parents paint live-ins with a stroke of immorality, 52% youngsters would not mind trying a hand at it in small towns. For they believe that live-ins are more democratic whereas marriages are afflicted with the malaise of domestic violence. Yet they accept marriages as a long-term institution, are caste oriented, very religious, and still believe in traditional norms and values, such as patriarchy. Indian youth is an interesting mishmash of global and local culture, someone who’s being nurtured under the shadow of a culture in transition.

After the unexpectedly huge success of Mahadev, the television serial, among youngsters Star channel got emboldened to launch Mahabharat. But it consciously decided to refrain from modernising it beyond some cosmetic twists. Instead it opted to use technology to appeal to the ‘tradition bound’ society. It has constructed Mahabharat museums in major malls to showcase select weaponry, jewellery, finery used in the serial. In some colleges it provides virtual wardrobes allowing youngsters to dress up like the characters in the serial and upload these images on social networks.

Indian youth supports modernisation (a combination of westernisation, secularisation, and industrialisation) so long as the traditional value system is not affected negatively. He welcomes McDonald’s in India but rejects the westernised system of course by course meal, retaining his preference for a Thali. He wishes to break free yet wants to remain anchored to his heritage. So live-ins also mostly culminate into a marriage. Indipop sells well. There exists a deep-seated core culture; away from it, however, is a spectrum of variation. Instant noodles, pizzas, or momos gain currency as long as they are offered as occasional indulgence but not part of the main menu.

Veronica of Cocktail, the Bollywood movie, was rather unsure about settling down in a relationship. Saif, a great flirt, eventually opts for her more traditional friend for marriage. And surely you noticed that Saif had the prerogative to make the choice – Betty or Veronica. Similarly, Bunny in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani has a flawed character, is commitment phobic, but in the end unites with Deepika. While we are reflexively trained to keep the opposite sex at arm’s length, now the modern dance forms – which extend invitation to get close and stimulate passion – are also being practised. Close coupling is not so much frowned upon. Shava Shava is giving way to steamy Salsa, crossing social barriers. No doubt the salwar kameezes are being replaced by evening gowns, hip huggers and heels. But marriages still have to be solemnised in bridel lehngas and traditional jewellery! 

In July this year Thrill, a mobile dating app, debuted in India based on two simple premises. One, that youngsters here are not looking for immediate marriages and are searching for friendship and intimacy across their screens (mobiles). And, two, while these youngsters are a lot more comfortable with the idea of dating they feel the need to be extra careful. And soon Thrill felt the need to customise features according to typical Indian demands, such as providing match making (between potential dating partners) based on their horoscopes compatibility! In Kerala where earlier marriages used to be a spartan affair, now the consumerist culture has set deep; marriages have become very lavish, as it was always in North. And yet, ironically, there is an accompanying growing obsession with the performance of rituals with utmost purity. So there is an increasing demand for both a wedding planner as well as priests to chant vedic mantras.

Navratras in North are no more about having traditional fare including Kuttu atta puris, saltless potato chips, or vrat wale aaloos. Instead food chains, including five-star restaurants, offer rösti potato and spinach ragout, Spanish patatas, bravas, French cottage cheese crepes, calzone pizza, and cheese risotto. But ingredients have to be buckwheat, pumpkin and other veggies, and of course saindha namak! Contemporary twist to traditionality.

The dusky beauty, Nina Davuluri, the Miss America 2013, stands no chance of winning the Miss India contest unless she lightens her skin a fair bit, since in India, if comparison with the last 10 winners are any guidance, beauty is all about being fair. What’s more? Now for even men ‘fair is handsome.’ Black is hardly beautiful. So a whitening underarm cream, and, horror of horrors, a fairness cream for even the most intimate feminine anatomy is being pedaled by intrepid marketers.

Culture has to be perceived as a dynamic succession of overlapping ideologies rather than being a static unity. It is a flow, having three stages – residual, dominant, and emergent. Juxtaposing these labels onto various market segments explains their true behaviour. The liberalisation generation stands for an emergent culture, but with an amalgamating effect of residual and dominant culture. So, you may listen to pop music and sink your teeth into junk western food, but you can’t lose Indian touch. Honey Singh will any day outscore Justin Bieber, and pizzas will have Indian toppings. No doubt, the external appearance and duties of an Indian woman may have changed, but she still has to be a homemaker.

Marketers, are you listening carefully? Sinoccents, the generation Yers, may not be a confused lot; surely, however, they are being pulled by opposing culture forces in different directions. Titan Industry has to hawk both the Fastrack and the Raga range of watches. Double Tree of Hilton chain has to customize pizzas in its Italian restaurant according to religious sensibilities of fast observing youngsters during Navratras. An Audi has to come with a remote controlled music system since the owner likes to be driven around by his driver in a feudalistic society. Evolution, as against revolution, rules the market.

CULTURAL MISHMASH AND SINOCCENT GENERATION

BRANDS THAT DELIVER

Position yourself at a unique but relevant point in the customer’s mind map; else your brand will merely resemble a blip, hanging like an albatross around the marketer’s neck

Zara arrived in India in 2009. By 2012-13 it was making Rs.45 crore per store, the highest among all the retailers. It of course follows the same formula in India as in the rest of the world: offer affordable, copycat versions of the latest fashion and make them available to the shoppers in double quick time. A true USP does help, though sometimes quirkiness itself may work too. At Ka Tron restaurant in Thailand customers are treated to the bizarre sight of loading cooked chickens into a catapult and firing them across a stage where they are caught on a spike by a waiter riding a unicycle. Cabbage & Condoms, another one at Bangkok, serves noodles alongside sexual health and family planning advice. Once the customer has paid he gets the change back with a complimentary condom.

The idea is simple. The marketer seeks to provide a unique experience either by offering something the target customer has not partaken earlier, or by enacting an unusual performance, or by even a quirky – bordering on bizzare – but eye catching mock up. Else you adapt. The mother of all romance books (Mills and Boon) has decided to go desi, even vernacular, with titles like ‘Punar Milan’ and ‘Raaste Pyar Ke’. The new titles are customised for Indian readers to cater to their psyche. And in India since romance cannot be separated from Bollywood, Lootera film characters are being featured on the cover of a special edition besides being part of two stories. Virtually all international luxury suiting brands offer made-to-measure option since readymades don’t necessarily fit the pot-bellied Indians.

In case you still haven’t caught the drift what we are trying to spot light it is: how a brand can deliver value through market differentiation.

A brand acts like a clutch for the customer in the sea of myriad offerings. As competitive claims assail his senses the buyer uses a complicated decision making process to assess the alternatives available before finally voting for one. More clearly the brands are associated with a particular set of attributes – in terms of deliverable credible benefits – the quicker becomes his search process. Instead of having to compare every variable about one product with other competitive offers, he uses his personal Gestalt of each rivaling brand to compare them. The challenge for the marketer, therefore, is to use the tools of branding at his disposal to ensure that the most superior bundle of benefits – from customer’s perspective – is embedded in his brand (see figure 1). For that the seller must position the brand in the customer’s mind in a distinctive slot – far removed from rival brands to stand apart yet be close enough to meaningful benefits to provide unmatched value. And as we mentioned earlier this benefit package need not necessarily be served on a functional platform; rather it can come alive through an unusual performance or quirky experience. And of course, since customer is not merely benefit seeker but a value hunter, the benefit package must be delivered at an appropriate price point. Through this process the marketer must create expectations of particular level of value from his brand- and exceed these expectations. The road to customer value lies, therefore, in positioning the brand uniquely on the customer’s mindmap.



How do you then add value through positioning? Well, this can be accomplished by following the process outlined in the figure 2.

Thus one way is to extend existing value dimensions. Among other things this can be done through more authentic delivery of attributes and benefits. Priyanka Chopra is getting into the skin of the Olympian boxer Mary Kom’s character by living with her and learning boxing. Deepika Padukone delivers her lines in heavy duty South Indian accent in Chennai Express. Then there was immortal characterisation of Amitabh Bachchan as a progeria ridden child in Paa. The characters acquire appropriate physique, wardrobe, hairstyle, and the accent. Earlier masala movies always customised their characters according to the star essaying the role. But now Farhan Akhtar, for his screen avatar of Milkha Singh, trained extensively on race tracks, underwent high altitude training, developed the same body structure, stance, and running style as that of the athlete. He worked out to acquire a ripped body with less than 5% body fat. Kai Po Che, Chashme Baddoor, Jolly LLB, Ashiqui 2, all small budget films did well at the box office due to quality content. Lootera characters being 1950s vintage wear clothes that were fashioned after rummaging through old Calcuttan zamindar families’ albums, portraits, or ever the actual costumes of those times. To give the clothes naturally aged and home washed look they were repeatedly washed at a dhobi ghaat (and not in a laundry) but not ironed so as to give them a naturally crumpled look.

Alternatively, you can create new value dimensions. Instead of simple love stories now cinema goers prefer romance laced with other undercurrents. Lootera is positioned as a crime thriller, while Shudh Desi Romance tries to understand how modern lifestyle is seeping into the simplistic small town set up and violating time-tested values like love, trust, and commitment. Old hits are being remixed with new sounds and English lyrics so as to suit the younger audience since a major utility of a Bollywood song nowadays is to serve well as a track for dance floor. Since the movies are getting real, more and more gray characters, appearing as anti heroes, are able to connect better with the audience who is looking for something unique, something different. Manoj Bajpai in Gangs of Wasseypur, the average looking Dhanush in Raanjhanaa, Akshaya Kumar as an unassuming trickster, wearing spectacles, moustache, and oiled hair in Special 26 all break away from stereotypes, yet have been embraced by the audience. You have to connect well with the customers. In Punjab now Heer wears Swaroski studded bangles while Ranjha sports a Rolex. Mika drives an Orange hued Hummer and Honey Singh expounds virtues of a Gucci handbag, simultaneously zipping in a Bugati announcing his preference for a desi over a gori girl. Sharry Maan waeves in Armani in his songs. All these songs extol the aspirational Punjabi lifestyle which itself seeks to imitate Western way of living. What if a Pajero is driven in the fields ideally suited for tractor! Desi beats do the trick for firangi brands.

And yet you have to bow to the customer’s sensitivities and sensibilities. In Chennai Express Deepika is playing a traditional Tamil girl. But she is being criticised for using a Malyali and not Tamil accent. Being born in Copenhagen and bred in Bengaluru setting apart the two twangs in spoken Hindi must be tough of course for Deepika. Anyway in Rohit Shetty’s films detailing is hardly cared for; so an accent coach might not be available perhaps on the sets. But the audience is unforgiving; brand authenticity cannot be allowed to be compromised.

So remember unique must be relevant too. Poor Emraan Hashmi is not allowed to shift to artsy and edgy cinema (Ek Thi Daayan, Shanghai, Ghanchakkar – all flops) since his fans like and expect him to be the lovable bad boy who sings Aatif Aslam songs preferably in Vishesh Films productions. Dharmendra (Yamla Pagla Deewana 2) forgot that film stars need to reinvent themselves with advancing age – like Brand Bachchan has done by doing solid character roles among a young star cast (Mohabatein, Kabhi Khushi, Kaante, Baghban).

Success mantra therefore remains: position yourself at a unique but relevant point in the customer’s mind map; else your brand will merely resemble a blip, hanging like an albatross around the marketer’s neck (Agent Vinod, Matroo, et al). Brands are for making moolah, not just for winning accolades, after all!

BRANDS THAT DELIVER

MASLOW AS MESSIAH FOR MARKETERS

BRAND ANNA WAS DEFINITELY A COMPELLING IDEA AND PROMISED TO FILL A NEED GAP – ROOTING OUT CORRUPTION

To those familiar with the craft of managing successful brands it came as perhaps a surprise that Anna Hazare found no place in India Today’s 2013 compilation of the most powerful people in India, even though the social activist had topped the list for 2012. A careful analysis would throw up many factors that could be responsible for this. In the first place, those who promoted the brand (media, corporates, et al) and crafted a halo around him had their own agenda which did not match the philosophy of brand Anna.

Incidentally, before brand Anna was catapulted into the national market he had very limited regional aspirations confined to the constituency of Maharashtra. Yet, suddenly he was elevated as a pan-India brand with mass appeal. While his commitment to the cause cannot be doubted, one needs to admit that he exhibited individual situational appeal. The brand could gain mindspace of the target audience, even if for a while, because the need gap did exist; the moment was opportune, providing an apt backdrop to the launch of the brand. The need – sounding a bugle against corruption and steering a movement against it – was manifested in national frustration, particularly among the middle class, the most eager consumer. In its desperation to pin responsibilities on to someone for his globally induced economic miseries aam aadmi was willing to trust the unbelievable promise from the brand Anna: A Jan Lokpal will make all the corruption go away (as if by a magic wand), and this would mean an end to his miseries.

The Anna campaign was never a long term movement; it was perhaps not meant to be. Those who fanned the fire included media personalities on one hand whose limited agenda was to get a TRP booster shot for their channels and the corporate bigwigs providing advertising support on the other – not withstanding the fact that many of them were themselves embroiled in various issues, or was it precisely because of this reason – who too wanted a limited jugalbandi. So it was not very long before some of those who had responded to brand Anna’s call shifted away. The Hazare sales pitch was predicated on the target audience’s weakness for seeking magic potions for a terminal disease, something that had proved to be the undoing of even a wise man like Steve Jobs.

To be sure the energy and frustration that sustained brand Anna and all that was linked with him has not disappeared, but the sober thinking of the high involvement purchase kind has returned; the customer is no more an impulsive buyer and wants more mettle behind the strategy that promoted brand Anna.

In the beginning, brand Anna worked because it was perceived to be a solution based offering. Indeed, building brands and communicating with the public at large needs this singular trait most of all. He was and is still very largely seen as a simple, honest, old, frail man who owns nothing and has only asked for public support. He was fire, light, hope. Most importantly he was “me”. He inspired the target audience.

Moreover, the brand focussed on a single issue – corruption. If a brand hypes ten good things about itself, the target buyer remembers none. But if it talks about only one thing that satisfies people’s need, it is etched in buyer’s memory. Of course, this was also ensured, at least partly due to influence on public emotions and mass hysteria, through media support. In the first half of August 2011, the Jan Lokpal Bill hogged 77% coverage on the top 10 TV news shows. In the beginning, Anna built a good team by taking in people whose skills complemented what he required. The brand was imbued with passion and purpose. It even used social media networks very effectively to reach out to the younger generation. And the brand was authentic.

The brand managers for Anna also used Gandhi – our national sacred symbol for all things puritanical – to market his movement. The strategy is somewhat akin to the one used to market Bollywood sequels, wherein an initial successful brand (say, Golmaal) is used as a springboard to attain success for the subsequent launch. At the same time, although he tried to rebuild and reenergize the Gandhi brand, while building and strengthening himself, the Indian civil society overall could not perhaps reason out his thoughts and word, nor were they devoid of a feeling of animosity towards those who would not subscribe to their cause or disagree with their perspectives. His campaign managers started calling his campaign as the second freedom movement. It built a large amount of expectation around the movement, something his followers might have been hugely disappointed in when the Jan Lokpal did not actually fructify.

This is a classic case study of branding where a purpose instead of a proposition was sought to be marketed. The campaign was enormously successful too, since it was based on a larger cause, a purpose that was both current and real; it promised attainment of an immediate milestone – the Jan Lokpal; it was woven around distinct symbols, role models, and rituals; it was an integrated campaign, online and on ground; and it chose media as the target audience too. And yet, the brand seems to have faded into oblivion because the campaign was made around an unsustainable model, a fact that was revealed before the target audience not before long. The cause is not to be doubted, but the fact is that the Indian civil society is not alien to rising up one day to fight for a cause and sleeping the next; one big reason for the whole movement slowing down in speed.

Three things make a great brand: a compelling idea, a need gap, and convincing communication about brand’s capabilities to bridge the gap. Anna was and definitely remains a compelling idea as projected by the media. He represents something – angst and anger against corruption and economic misery – that the whole of India was and is up in arms against. With no resources and nothing to lose, he remains an antihero. And he promises along with Arvind Kejriwal to fill a need gap – rooting out corruption. He was supposed to be an enabler. But this is where perhaps Arvind Kejriwal, with his eyes on mastering the system – by taking part in elections – is gaining mileage and brownie points.

From brand promise to brand action, from what a brand says to what it actually does (because it has the capability), Anna Hazare gave a call for action. Alas, he failed to convert his promise into action not because of anything else but because the time duration in which the change was promised was too less, something the team could not manage. The brand failed to deliver what it promised. As a brand, Anna was packaged to perfection. As a sustainable movement, perhaps it will be the Aam Aadmi Party that will achieve much more.

MASLOW AS MESSIAH FOR MARKETERS

BHAJI WITH BAK CHOY AND BATHUA

INDIAN MARKET IS HIGHLY COMPLEX, VARIED, YET ENTICING. NURTURING FOOD BRANDS HERE IS EVEN MORE TAXING THAN REARING A CRANKY BABY

Recently UK based pizzeria Metro Pizza landed in Mumbai with its trademark meter-long pizza. The menu retains similarities to that of its principal counterparts, yet some items have been added on to suit the Indian palate and product mix. When Lavazza entered India in 2007 it decided to reflect its Italian origin by drawing inspiration from all things Italian, including art, culture, fashion, etc. To establish a unique identity it decided to go beyond merely retailing food and coffee. But, at Starbucks in India each store takes inspiration from local culture. The chain has retained certain Starbucks iconic offerings like chocolate muffins and cakes, but has introduced other food items that would please the local palate. Since the brand counts India among the top five global markets, it is willing to make locally relevant innovations in product and processes. In fact, the latest store at Delhi showcases examples of Indian craft of weaving and sports handicrafts made by local artistes.

So there are no universal guideposts for food chains. But are there any rules to break? Let’s examine if we become wiser by reading what follows now as ‘A morons’s guide to hospitality marketing 1.0’.

The first poser, should you, a foreign brand, enter India? This is a clear no brainer. India is the biggest consumption market in the world. Urban Indians spend 11% of their income on eating out. Nuclear households, rising affluence, more and more working women, food shows on TV and social media, increasing international travel, a very large young population – all these factors have ensured that by 2015 the Indian restaurant industry is likely to become Rs.62,500 crore plus, up from Rs.43,000 crore currently. If Indian restaurants industry hits the same percentage of GDP as in US, then this figure would be a stupendous Rs.1,80,000 crore. The untapped potential is really mouthwatering. Average bill per person in a quick service restaurant (QSR) ranges between Rs.70 and Rs.300, while for casual/ fine dining it is between Rs.750 and Rs.3,000. QSR business returns 15-25% margin while the other segment enriches the owner at 20%-40%. One dampener, however: High rentals.

Second, have you studied your market in terms of its occupants and their profile? It must be realised that nearly 45-48% of Indian population is vegetarian. More importantly, the remaining population too is non-vegetarian only occasionally. Hardcore carnivores are very few in India. Prudently, therefore, Yauatcha, a London based Cantonese cuisine chain included vegetarian dishes in its menu at Bandra- Kurla complex, Mumbai, since the area is a hub of the business community, dominated by Jains and Marwaris. Hakkasan did the same, using not even onion, garlic, or root vegetables. In Gujarat, which has majority population being vegetarian, KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, McDonald’s, and Subway have some pure vegetarian outlets with special Jain counters. Not only this, regional variations in taste abound. While Satrbucks offers ‘Mutton Seekh in Roomali Roti’ in Delhi, it sells ‘Elaichi Mawa Croissant’ in Mumbai. Even celebrity fine dining spaces succumb to the dictates of local taste buds. Le Cirque at Leela Delhi, bowing to Indian predilection, offers both French and Italian dishes. Starbucks also hawks tea at its outlets. Due to dominance of youngsters all the coffee chains are positioning themselves as a ‘fun place to be at’, a hangout spot. And since most Indians like to munch with their beverages, Dunkin’ Donuts has positioned itself as a food café, the sweet spot between routine cafes and QSRs. Besides, it offers salty donuts in India. Costa Coffee too uses brighter colours and lights, tailoring to Indian preferences in its properties, along with a lot many ‘coolers’ on its menu due to tropical Indian climes. While the usual European style is maintained, alterations have been made in terms of tastes. All Domino’s outlets have ‘dine in’ facility now, which bring in nearly half the total cash.

Third, so should you be stubbornly authentic, adapt, or Indianise completely? The simple answer would be: While you stick to your expertise, you also need to strike a fine balance adapting to local taste and flavour. Rara Avis, a single cuisine restaurant, offers authentic home-cooked rustic French food having (like original) even rabbit and escargot on the menu. So does Chez Mariannick at Banglore. But Rara Avis offers 18 vegetarian options too, absent in the original menu. Sufiserves authentic Persian cuisine but with some north Indian dishes to appeal to a larger customer base. When Bagels Café opened its doors in 2008 it decided to serve bagels in authentic European style, but was soon forced to include options like ‘paneer tikka’ and ‘masala omlette’ variants. So you can only hope that gradually the customer will move to the ‘original stuff;’ but initially she will not be very adventurous. Remember, food consumption is dictated by cultural norms too which are rather inflexible.

Fourth, what should you adopt – hands off approach or personalisation? Now, since the chefs themselves are redefining the concepts and restaurants (at least at fine dining properties), many of them are hired not merely for their cuisine based skills but also for their marketing acumen. They are expected to design and innovate menus, come out of the kitchen and sell their food to the customer, explaining their signature dishes. At Kunafa, Delhi, Naseer Barakat, the proprietor, personally acquaints customers with the many varieties of confections available. In 2002, lebua offered even a limousine pick up for the customer from his home to the hotel.

Fifth, local sourcing, or global? Worldwide all luxury hotels are following the localisation mantra. At Intercontinental, a brand manager brings in local culture by hiring 10-15 designers who prepare alternatives. Feedbacks then are taken from local partners, and then only the final nod. Not so necessarily when it comes to sourcing talent, or ingredients, though. Quality issue then is the guidepost. So Kunafa imports ‘halwais,’ celebrity chefs are hired from abroad on fancy salaries, and ingredients may be partly/fully imported if not available locally or do not meet quality standards. While QSRs, which have to be necessarily cost conscious, increasingly work towards indigenisation, speciality restaurants in star properties offering international cuisine often import heavily.

Finally, the process of delivery. Mc- Donald’s keeps track of the products it sources from 40 different suppliers across India. Tracing the movement of 8,500- 9,000 buns, 3,000-3,500 kgs of tomatoes, 2,000 kgs of iceberg lettuce, and 5,500 slices of cheese constantly (on a daily basis) ensures consistency in taste of food and observance of international levels of safety standards. Each burger undergoes 40 separate tests throughout the chain. Similarly, many expat chefs while procuring locally, personally visit markets to buy vegetables. Another important fact is that in India, a QSR is expected to serve fast, but the customer is likely to hang around. So, turnover is likely to be relatively lower. And people prefer combos because they are akin to ‘thali style’, besides sounding ‘economical’.

In short, Indian market is exceedingly complex, varied, yet enticing. Nurturing the food brands here is even more taxing than rearing a cranky baby. Neither initial setbacks nor early endorsements of a brand should be read as a thumbs up sign from the market. Most importantly, constant innovation and adapting to local needs sure will help. For instance, Pullman, a luxury hotel in Gurgaon from Accor Group, gets its crockery from Auroville in South India just to cement French connections. Even Hyatt at Delhi has a full floor for Japanese where electric controls are at relatively lower heights keeping in mind the shorter heights of the Japanese.

There are some cardinal rules that must be followed, but others can be reinterpreted. reed.

BHAJI WITH BAK CHOY AND BATHUA

HAVE YOU LOST YOUR SCRIPT?

The U.S. coffee chain Starbucks opened its 7th store in the country on 6th February this year. It said that the brand counted India among the top five global Starbucks market in time to come. For this it was willing to make investments in aggressive expansion and locally relevant innovations (in its products and processes). Thus the store at Delhi showcased examples of Indian craft of weaving and sported handicrafts made by local artists. For its menu also the company has kept the Indian palette in mind; it includes items like Murg Makhni pie and mutton seekh roll, besides also offering Tata Tazo Tea ,a rarity at Starbucks worldwide. Will it do well? Well, sure it can provided the marketer does not try to sell frame as painting. In which case the warrior may not emerge the winner; the devil will devour the hindmost.

Way back in 1999 use of Barista brand name, an Italian word for a cafe, in India was rather an adventurous christening. Barista had opened its first outlet at Basant Lok, Vasant Vihar, one of the most happening places for test marketing youth hang outs. Barista, meaning brewmastersomeone who prepares and serves coffee-was chosen since all smart evolved coffee lovers are expected to know that Italy is the cradle of coffee. The brand wanted to recreate an authentic Italian coffee experience. Indeed, it wanted to present them a true blue coffee culture evoking a feeling, mood, and ambience symbolizing ‘brio’ (energy) reflecting ‘verismo’ (truth) adding to a matchless ‘virtuoso’ (a mastery touch) performance befitting a real cognoscenti.

Barista had a simple and focused vision of “offering consumers a never before experience while they sipped coffee of the highest intangible quality in an ambience powered by innovation and designed to offer heightened experience levels at every turn as they go along….experience that is not stagnant or likely to erode with time but ever rejuvenated and enriched by creativity, imagination taste, and style.” To deliver this experience the brand opted for serving limited but diverse and exotic range of coffee, food, music, games, decor, indeed the overall ambience of an authentic coffee bar. By year 2010 (they began in early 2000) Barista wanted to become top of the line global player with a minimum of a thousand outlets in India.

Café Coffee Day was dismissed as a competitor for ‘the highly experiential and premium’ brand. Barista wanted to position itself within the competitive arc of starred restaurants, snazzy upmarket coffee and other outlets, cine-multiplexes, malls, and plazas-any place inhabited by cool, sophisticated, and young at heart people doing time out.

Barista’s USP then was being customer driven, connecting with two specific moods that would largely colour the drinker as he steps inside, relaxation and recharge. The experience inside was expected to serve the customer well, additionally because the coffee served was hundred percent ARABICA served through Italian coffee machines. Porcelence (no styrofoam cups, please) was the serveware since it retains the heat, flavour, and aroma of coffee, as no other material does. The brew masters were trained to decipher and connect with their customer’s preference and choices. Little wonder, in absence of effective competition, the brand recorded a healthy 25% annual increase in footfalls, that too through only word of mouth publicity and viral marketing. Not a paisa spent on mainline advertising.

Further, sound of Barista (the customized music tracks played during different times of the day in sync with the mood and sensibilities of different set of customers), loyalty programs, special games, diverse food items in league with the season and customers preferences, and then some more wowing techniques went a long way to deliver the real, true blue Barista experience.

Barista had been mighty successful in introducing a defining coffee culture, in a warm and friendly ambience. It opened out a ‘whole new world of coffee drinking experience by offering Capuccino, Latte, Caramel, Mocha, you name it, alongwith fusion meals, so as to transform a commodity into a culture by creating value that refreshed the body while stimulating the entire being and enriching the soul.’

Alas, the experiment started floundering after a very promising start even though the experience was still nothing to complain about. Some where the brand lost its script. So what went wrong? Well, we hardly have the space here to unfold the subsequent chain of events. Suffice to say nurturing the brand is more taxing than rearing a baby. Starbucks needs to keep this in mind; it should not take early endorsement of a brand by a limited set of coffee afficianados as being a sign of thumbs up by the entire market.

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P.S: We at Theory i are of firm conviction that management cases don’t admit of one single ideal solution. Depending on the context multiple-and equally potent-approaches may be perfectly justified. Hence your magazine does not append ‘solutions’ to these cases.

HAVE YOU LOST YOUR SCRIPT?

MASLOW AS MESSIAH FOR MARKETERS

BRANDS THAT ALLOW FOR EXPRESSION OF AESTHETIC AND COGNITIVE NEEDS ARE INCREASINGLY BEING INCLUDED IN THE CONSUMPTION BASKET

Notwithstanding the recent outburst and censure against Honey Singh’s songs, since 2006 he has been consistently delivering one hit after another. So what sells? His songs catered to the archetype of Jathood, celebrated Jathood and gun culture. One of his songs says: “I have blood in my eyes today, I have to kill some body.” He uses swear words which occupy the lexicon of Gen Z and Y, since that is how you become cool dude. His songs enforce a particular idea of masculinity. And of course his songs commodify women, an accepted norm in India, howsoever much it might be abhorred as a value.

In fact, where is the sober dress for soulful music? All music genres have their own particular brand image, projected by artists themselves as a part of the total recital package. So rock & pop artists’ attire would be wild & vibrant, flouting established norms. Even Carnatic musicians have now become display conscious, since the ethos of the society from which they derive their psychic cues are changing. Kanchipuram silk, dazzling danglers of diamonds and other accoutrements are on full display, in sharp contrast to austere and sober dress of the singer in days gone into hibernation.

The difference between a brand and a commodity can be summed up as ‘added value’, tangible or intangible. But ‘added value’ can be created only when the marketers understand the psychological makeup of consumer that tells them much more about consumer’s actual motive to consume than demographics and other mechanical methods of classification do.

All material possessions carry social meaning. Goods have a double role; they provide subsistence on one hand and create lines of social relationships on the other. Physical properties of goods can never explain their demand. A modern brand secures an emotional involvement rather than only meeting a functional need. Earlier a QSR meant availability of food with minimum fuss, now it means fast serve but not necessarily fast consumption. Look at CCD or McDonalds ads.

Brands now aim at three things. First, they attain success by satisfying more than one (relevant) goal. Obvious examples are mobiles and tablets. Failures of course are available in the shape of e-readers, standalone cameras, etc. Second, they enable buyers to cope with role conflict. Allen Solly has succeeded through ‘Friday Dressing’ concept. ULIP plans are picked up because they act as tools of insurance and investments together. Third, they sometime focus on satisfying neglected goals. Royal Enfield has attained success because there is a niche segment opting for individuality and freedom. SUVs are huge sellouts in India since they introduce an element of adventure into mundane task of driving, and that too economically.

People actually live in a double environment, the personal inner world of feeling, emotion, and thoughts as well as the outer world of people, places, and possessions. So rational, conscious motivation are important but so are the mental vision of the brands that the customers create of the brands in question and the feelings that they associate with that image. It is important that the marketer understands clearly as to why people choose to behave in a certain way. Needs, simply put, are felt state of deprivation. There are physiological needs, psychological needs, and learned needs (due to socialisation process). Physiological (hunger, sex), cognitive (affection, social), emotional (security, stability) and environmental (success, prestige) are the four distinct type of stimuli that arouse needs. Needs and their arousal owe their birth and sustenance in part to consumer psyche which is really a very complex phenomenon.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs addresses the issue of motivational needs. Each manager worth his salt knows about them. However, we propose a two-pronged modification here. One, that in a collectivist culture like India we must question the definition and even existence of the need called self actualisation. As a personally directed need it is perhaps replaced by a socially directed one reflecting a desire to enhance one’s image and position through contribution to society. Here in India personal level of needs (emphasis on achieving independence, autonomy, and freedom – characteristics of western culture) is conspicuous by its absence, though gradually taking roots. The highest level of satisfaction is not derived from actions directed at the self but from the reactions of others to the consumer. Therefore personally directed self actualisation need has to be replaced by social needs. The social needs of belonging and prestige can be broken down into three levels: affiliation, admiration, and status.

Affiliation is the acceptance of an individual as a member of a group. In the family this acceptance is automatic but in most other groups certain qualifications must be met to gain membership. Once affiliation has been attained the individual will desire the admiration of those in the group. This is the higher level need and requires effort. An admiration can be earned through acts that demand the respect of others. Finally, the individual would want the status arising from the esteem of society at large. Fulfillment of this need requires the regard of outsiders (to the group), whereas fulfillment of the admiration need occurs on a more intimate level. The status level most closely resembles the western need for prestige and manifests itself in conspicuous consumption.

The second modification that we propose is to large the list of these needs by including two more, aesthetic and cognitive. Aesthetic (beauty and balance) needs are becoming more conspicuous among new generation. These sit above the existing needs. Besides the modern SEC A, B, C youth, with enough moolah in his purse and a large credit limit, wishes to lead a liberated life, even if on EMIs. He has the need to acquire knowledge (read self awareness). Therefore brands that allow for expression of aesthetic and cognitive needs are increasingly being included in the consumption basket. As an illustration we have taken Wellness industry to provide the new framework (figure 1 and 2).

So now you know why in the aftermath of December 16 tragic event, nobody wanted to listen to Main Hun Balatkari from Yo Yo Honey Singh; psychologically disturbed nation has put the whole popular culture of which music is an integral part under scrutiny. Precisely for this reason the misogynist context in advertisement is being objected against, as for example in the commercial of a phone brand that shows cricketer Virat Kohli tricking an unknown girl into sharing her number with him. However, if you permit me, this is transitory reaction. The society at large thinks nothing of such songs or ads where it comes to actual consumption behaviour. Value system does not necessarily govern our consumerist psyche.

MASLOW AS MESSIAH FOR MARKETERS

DO YOU HAVE MUSCLES FOR MICROMARKETING?

ORGANISATIONS WHICH APPLY ANALYTICS TO DATA FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE ARE 2.2 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO SUBSTANTIALLY OUTPERFORM THEIR INDUSTRY PEERS

Bharti Airtel handles around 8 billion calls daily generating humongous amount of data. Based on this it has divided its customers into nearly 100,000 segments to whom it offers customised products based on their usage pattern. Right now it is working to provide at least three services to each customer, to improve stickiness, working on the insight that customers for multiple services tend to stay on longer than single service users. Further, due to call drops it was facing the problem of churn. At nearly 40% it was a huge number. When it analysed the data it found that a customer was most likely to switch to another service provider if six or more calls dropped in a day. So a software was developed that offers customers free SMSes after the sixth call drop.

British Airways (BA) cabin crew and ground staff are now provided iPads to store, transmit, and use real time info about who is on board, their needs and expectations, preferences, and even any issue that they might have had at the airport. It realised that the premium class flyers feel delighted if they are addressed by their name. So the crew now does exactly that thanks to transmission of real time data through the handheld iPad. While other airlines can at best have current data on their passengers, BA would have the complete service history of them which it uses to draw patterns. Welcome to the world of analytics and its latest incarnation Big Data.

Analytics involves sourcing data from internal and external channels (media, blogs, image, and video sites, even sensors, and CCTVs), organise this data, generate insights, make predictions and finally produce recommendations for action. Big Data goes even beyond. It refers to a collection of information, too large and complex to be processed using traditional software tools. This processed information in turn helps the company identify untapped revenue potential, generate insights to cut costs and boost profit. For example, McDonald’s is able to understand where to locate its stores, how to layout these stores, which items to keep in each store and which items to bunch together to generate bundled sales. Shopper’s Stop got the insight that Gujaratis’ purchases are closely linked to upswings on the bourses since they would spend their gains from the stock market on purchases in the retail. Shopper’s Stop realised 25% incremental sales from them. During Eid it searched through its database of 2.6 million First Citizen loyalty card holder and singled out Muslim buyers. Then through targeted promotional programmes it earned Rs.1 crore additional revenue. Jet Airways is able to accurately calculate, track, and report aircraft emissions, so as to optimise its fuel usage for each flight. Little wonder then that an IDC Report tells us that organisations which apply analytics to data for competitive advantage are 2.2 times more likely to substantially outperform their industry peers. Companies adept at analytics enjoy 1.6 times more revenue growth, 2 times more profit growth, and 2.5 times more stock appreciation than their peers.

According to India Retail Report (2013), private consumption in India increased from Rs.44,11,115 crore (2011) to Rs.51,26,131 crore (2012). Between 2010-2015 the estimated CAGR is likely to be 18.8% for retail sales. Consequently the share of modern retail will move up from 6.6% to 10.2%. While the total retail is likely to grow at 16% annually, modern retail will hit a figure of nearly 27%, a big jump from Rs.2,23,572 crore to Rs.4,87,423 crore during 2012- 2015. But then this will invite a lot of competition too, since the entry is easy. Who will then breast the tape first on the finishing line and who will be disqualified in the preheat rounds itself? Well, inter alia, that would depend on how customised your programme could be to suit individual customer needs, and how tightly you run your ship. Increasingly, the segment size is likely to be a single customer at a time. You need to process zettabytes of data (1 Zettabyte = 1,099,511,627,776 Gigabytes). Hence, the marketer will need the support of several matrices (Table 1).

Simply defined a metric is a measuring system that quantifies a trend, dynamic, or characteristic. Marketers need to understand their addressable markets quantitatively as well as qualitatively. They must measure new opportunities and the investments needed to realise them. They must quantify the value of products, customers, and distribution channels all under various pricing and promotional scenarios (Table 2).

Put together these matrices are designed to measure how well the firm is doing with its customers as a whole and wherein lies the scope for enhancing profitability of operations.

A word of caution, however. Reams of data (or zettabytes of it, if you so wish to call them) are of no consequence unless they generate real insights. In Philippines diesel and petrol have similar price differential as in India. An automobile company was about to make the blunder of targeting the Filipino market with India made diesel cars. However, before the disaster could have struck it, it found out that the natives there were not too fond of diesel engines; 86% prefer to buy petrol driven cars. Reason: Since distances are not long, a diesel engine does not offer overall economy. Similarly, in the early to mid nineties, many Indian companies betted on CRM software. But most such initiatives flopped because these were not implemented in sync with the company’s processes and decision making norms. Tesco, which will soon retail in India, has Clubcard loyalty programme under which it offers highly customised coupons; hardly any two mailings have the same coupon. An Indian apparel major has divided its customers into over 200 micro clusters, each based on distinct behaviour. The retailer configures the segment properties and engagement content and then makes the right offer to the right product at the right time.

Remember, as always, technology is a mere enabler; it is the human ingenuity that counts.

DO YOU HAVE MUSCLES FOR MICROMARKETING?

POWER PLAY

“Hello, is that Mr. Srivastava?” asked the lady’s voice on the other end of the telephone. “Mr. Chopra will speak to you.” A pause and an interminable hold for 2 full minutes before Mr. Chopra decided to address me. This tiresome telephonic power play is common enough. Important people don’t dial numbers (or press the keys on the mobile, for that matter), and the lesser mortals are required to wait to be spoken to.

What was different about this call last Friday was that this gentleman was not even important to me. He wanted to invite me to address a gathering of senior managers at a workshop he was organizing. Even if there was a half a percent chance that I would have accepted his invitation, after this brief encounter I declined.

Later that day I went out to meet the chief executive of a Gurgaon based company where I had a prefixed appointment for 3:15 PM (his secretary had sternly warned me not to be late for the meeting). I turned up at the office at 3:10 and announced myself at the reception. I was asked to wait, which I did. And then waited some more. After an interval long enough for the CEO to perhaps have had a con-call, written a couple of mails, made a phone call, and gone to the rest room, he made his appearance looking neither apologetic nor hurried. He too was playing “I am more important than you,” and once again I seemed to be holding the losing hand.

For the rest of the week I decided to consciously look for power games being played by people. Academic in me having got activated I realized that rules of the game broadly fall into two categories: Those which people use to make them feel big, and those which they deploy to make others feel small. For your benefit, dear reader, I outline them below.

First, listen only callously. Actually try to monopolize all the opportunity to talk; don’t allow the other person to speak, especially when he is narrating events from his own life. It is fine to ask inane question: “How’s your family?” But the moment an answer is forthcoming start looking over his shoulder or peer into the screen of your ultrabook which may at that moment might actually be displaying the picture of Snoopy, your pet dog. Second rule is about e-mails. Actually there are three sub rules here. Get other people to send your e-mails for you. Do not reply to anything except ofcourse those messages which if unattended may put your job at stake. And, finally, if you do choose to respond, don’t bother checking whether your response addresses the issues raised in the other person’s mail. Third, your alter ego, the latest Blackberry handset. Always keep it on and use it often to interrupt conversations by taking calls and read e-mails. This will establish how hardpressed for time you are; without multitasking you could not have accomplished what all you already have. Fourth, your office. While a corner office with sleek leather bound furniture and your pictures with P.Chidambaram and U.S. Ambassador would be nice, there is a lot you can do with something less too. In a smaller cubbyhole put the visitor at a disadvantage by seating him on that squidgy sofa that is hard to get in and get out. Actually, even if you have no office at all, make sure that your junior answers your phone and starts off: “K. K. Srivastava’s office.” As regards your mobile number, ideally don’t hand out your number even if someone asks for it. Or if you receive a call on your number choose to ignore it. Finally, while talking, choose one of three options. Talk almost in whispers so that the other person has to strain to hear. Or, talk incredibly loudly so that people have to listen whether they wish to or not. Finally (perhaps most appropriately), talk aggressively slowly so that you waste the listener’s time and leave him with an uncomfortable feeling that you think he is too daft to understand normal speech.

I am sure you have not taken the above advice seriously unless you have already built a comfortable nest-egg and wish to retire early! Actually, there is a different, more advanced version of the game too that you must learn about. I recently met the Director, H.R. – a Japanese - of a multinational consumer durables company. When I reached the reception area the gentleman promptly came to receive me and escorted me into his office. On conclusion of the meeting he came out yet again upto the foyer to see me off. While for Japanese this is a part of their cultural fabric, if an Indian high up does this, you can be sure that he is playing, even if subconsciously, a top level game called, “Let’s pretend I am not more important than you.” If you play this well, the world is your oyster. Be warned, however. To be a master of this game, you really have to be dead important already. Else, for example, if I start playing this game, being the editor of a niche magazine, I will sound rather phoney.

There exist definitely superior ways to establish your power. For example, achieve excellence in your chosen field (like Tendulkar or Aamir Khan), create high value (like Naresh Trehan and Yash Raj films), convert potential into possible (like E. Sreedharan and Capt. Gopinath), make human service part of your mission (like Dr. Devi Shetty and late Dr. Kurien), and invent future (like Bill Gates and Mahatma Gandhi) Power is equated with success in all walks of life. If Salman can give five hits in a row, Sachin can decimate the other nation’s team single handedly, and Sonia Gandhi can decide the path that Indian polity and economy should tread, you could be anointed with success too. Only that what works for one does not necessarily work for the other. The ‘real’ you may cringe at the prospect of adapting to the stereotype that you may have originally decided to don to climb the ladders of success. So why should you emulate? The essential thing is to know oneself fully well – the strengths and the weaknesses – to fly high in the cut and thrust world of today. Zero in on your strengths and never wear chinks in your armour on your sleeves. Even if you are street -wise, assertive and blunt, remember it also pays to be sensitive and diplomatic. And before everything else, harbor ambition. Then chart out a plan of action and execute it to taste power and success.

Ambition is essential. Else, how will you become a high flier? But there is one proviso-your ambition should not be of the personal, self centered, conceited type that pays no heed to others’ wellbeing. Acceptable ambition is one where you have awareness of your own good qualities and therefore know that you can do a high-level job well. This should be followed by taking an inventory of your strengths and consciously playing to them – utilize them to the full. You should know equally well what your weaknesses are and try to remedy them, avoid situations which crucially expose these weaknesses, and attempt to get ‘cover’ (Say by asking someone for advice) in situations where you are weak.

This shall be the real power play!

It is for you to choose how you opt to succeed at success, by conning others or by fawning them with your inherent power.

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P.S: This issue carries 7 case studies covering a wide palette. 4 of them are long ones which would need multiple readings to arrive at resolution of issues raised therein. Rest 3 are shorter caselets which can be deployed to provoke an immediate discussion among the participants in a workshop/class/ brainstorming session. We at Theory i are of firm conviction that management cases don’t admit of one single ideal solution; depending on the context multiple – and equally potent – approaches may be perfectly justified. Hence your magazine does not append ‘solutions’ to these cases.

POWER PLAY

BRAND SALMAN, ENDEARING AND ENDURING

WHILE ON SCREEN HE IS A MACHO MAN, OFF SCREEN HE IS APPROACHABLE. THE TWO TRAITS IN TANDEM WORK WONDERS FOR BRAND SALMAN

Initially the melodrama and colours of Parsi theatre on one hand and Indian mythology on the other inspired the making of Hindi cinema. So hero would always be virtuous, villain loathsome, and women hapless victims of circumstances. But now we have Chulbul Pandey, the corrupt cop (Dabangg), slacker (Vicky Donor), buffoons (Golmaal), rule bending cop (Singham), thieves (Dhoom), all finding acceptance. Rom-com (Band Baaja Baraat), juicy scandals (No One Killed Jessica), dark underbellies of Indian society (Love Sex aur Dhokha), or the bawdy comedies (Singh is Kinng) are all formulae for success. The new breed of filmmakers don’t want to push fake stories about nonexistent perfect (heroes) or totally flawed (villain). The hero may be crass and corrupt, mom swigs rum, while the heroine is feisty. The value system is changing, so are films, which mirror them.

In poverty-stricken India of 1950s and 1960s the hero belonged to masses, conformist and virtuous. In 1970s he started taking on the establishment, expressed his resentment (Deewar), and even flirted with law (Sholay). However, he still retained the heart of gold, never turning baddy out of choice. 1980s presented before us superheroes, raunchy songs, and, what film critics prefer to call, decadent cinema. First whiff of liberalisation of 1990s, and behind the glitter and glamour of metro multiplexes it was presumed that the old cinema of lower working class was to be replaced by YRF’s glamorous realism’ depicting modernising India. Hindi cinema started projecting values and aspirations of emerging middle class, including NRIs who had become affluent in US and UK but were unable to snip away the umbilical cord joining them with traditional Indian family values. Lavish lifestyles of the yuppies and puppies became de rigueur (HAHK, DDLJ). But these films could connect with only niche middle class. The common man, still visiting single screens, found it phoney. He wanted to see one of their own – the mofussil town man – as hero. Hero who wears unfashionable clothes, swears and utters profanities, and exhibits inyour- face machismo. He is the real Mc- Coy-Robinhood, Rambo, Shahenshah, Singham – who stands up and fights against all odds and emerges victorious. When he is ‘one of them’ these masses begin to believe that anyone can cope any challenge. So the eighties formula of loud action and melodrama is back even if film critics criticise that era. The hero has to have a macho physique, attitude, and personality. That is why when Salman was shooting for Bodyguard at Patiala his gym equipments arrived in two truckloads, which he used to workout daily for five hours, besides doing 2,000 plus abdominal crunches and a 5-6 km run everyday in between the shoot. All this to execute the mandatory shirtless scene in the climax of the film Bodyguard.

To be sure this kind of cinema exists alongwith the small budget out-of-thebox films likes Gangs of Wasseypur, Paan Singh Tomar, and Vicky Donor, multiplexes ensure that ‘modern’ films like Dil Chahta Hai or Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara too do reasonably well. All these genre cohabit because there is a clear audience divide. The small films with unusual premises are fit for multiplex audience. Their makers may be from metros or mofussil towns, but they come sans hypocricy. Biggies, riding mindless formula, however endear themselves to the masses. Many of these movies are actually rehashes of south blockbusters, trademarked by loud dialogues, raw action, suggestive dances. They provide a good escape from the daily drudgeries of life.

The alpha male caricature has always mesmerised the working class audience. Their hero should live his life on his own terms. He is imperfect, mercurial, but large hearted, friend’s ally but enemy’s foe. They don’t want their hero to be cute. They would much rather prefer someone whose dialogues are laden with a thick regional accent, who grooves on folk beats, mouths expletives, gulps down desi booze, flaunts his chiselled body, and can bash up a dozen baddies alone. Let the suave male protagonist who lived in a mansion, may be abroad, spoke fluent English, wearing designer clothes be someone else’s idea of a hero!

MACHO, NOT THE METROSEXUAL

That’s why while Aamir scores high on talent & technique, SRK has charisma & unbridled energy, only Salman has five hits in a row – Wanted (2009), Dabangg (2010), Ready (2011), Bodyguard (2011), and now Ek Tha Tiger (2012) – the last one having already grossed Rs.194 crore in mere three weeks of its release. Only he is everyone’s hero, who is there to entertain, not to build his reputation or charisma. Today, when nine out of ten films fail to extend beyond the first week, mostly because these film producers are not cued in to viewers’ preferences, which anyway are ever in flux, and when the number of available weekends for releas- ing a film is diminishing (thanks to IPL), giving five hits in a row is no mean task.

It was actually Salman who reminded us that the ‘alternative’ (to multiplex variety) was still desired. Salman co-starred with Govinda in Partner, a movie that presented the viewer the worldview of the lower middle class. In his last few hits a new star persona has evolved which is closely linked to his off screen image. His muscular shaven physique remains central to the male working class ideal of the body. He dresses in Indian style with earrings, bracelets, bright clothes, patchwork designs, lives in same building in a one bed room apartment with his parents; this is where he grew up. Although a Muslim, he participates in the Ganesh festival.

His star persona embodies many of the values of the lower middle class, such as devotion to his family and his generosity towards his friends and people who work with him. He is seen as more emotional than rational, not intellectual, who expresses himself in painting. He tweets in Hindi or broken English. Unlike Aamir, who becomes the character, Salman always remains the star, bringing his own mannerism to the role.

Chulbul Pandey of Dabangg is a flawed hero, like Salman in real life, with a heart of gold and an irreverent sense of humour. The film clicked because it became difficult to distinguish where the real life superstar began and the character dominating the reel ended. Salman is both endearing (to masses) and enduring (five hits in a row), the twin qualities that help differentiate a star who inhabits his time from the one who lives beyond. In fact, there’s an interesting mobile sms which is doing rounds: “Hollywood has Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Ironman, while we have Salman.”

BEING HUMAN PAYS TOO!

While being alpha male has worked for him, Salman should really be called an alpha beta male. Because he runs Being Human campaign, focusing on providing education and healthcare to poor. At any point of time 30-40 people are standing outside his home waiting for some kind of help. Money or assurance is regularly doled out from Salman to them. This makes him noble, likeable, and wanted. While on screen he is a macho man, off screen he is approachable. The two traits in tandem work wonders for brand Salman. That is how he scores over even, say, Rajesh Khanna and SRK, the pure lover boys of their time, or Bachchan Senior and Aamir, the social crusaders. He does both, but without a great deal of fuss.

So will the good times last forever? Well, soon we will have Dabangg-2 to find out. For now, we can say that he has hit upon formula number one for delivering hits. According to Kaveri Bamzai of Today Group: One, his movies have catchy songs with easy recall. Two, he wears affordable clothes in his movies, something any tailor can copy. Three, he adorns cool, inexpensive accessories like the heart shaped glasses of Dabangg. Four, in each movie he makes a dramatic entry in the first frame, say by kicking open a door. Five, Khan always rescues a girl in peril. But only he can be the sex object, not the leading lady. Six, he does not disappoint his fans who love to see his bare 42 -inch chest. Seven, his dance steps are very easy to copy, like the biceps dance of Bodyguard. Eight, he cracks silly jokes (I am not a fool, you think I am in a nursery school) which invite laughter from his fans. Nine, his onscreen names – Lovely Singh, Prem – reflect his professional transition. And, Ten, with a deadly squint he sizes up his opponent first and then delivers a deadly dialogue, of the Mujhpe ek ehsaan… type (in Bodyguard).

Salman has reached a state of adoration among his fans where they happily ignore the routine requirement of the film – story, character, coherence, craft. He dwarfs everything. So much so that even if Salman, the secret agent of Ek Tha Tiger, forsakes India for Katrina, his Pakistani lady love, in the film released on Independence Day, people still love him. Besides he has ascended a pedestal whereby, like Rajinikant, his fans watch his movie simply because Bhai appears in it. So if Amitabh Bachchan can endure, through reinvention, without doubt Salman can too. He sure can teach a course in self branding at Harvard.

BRAND SALMAN, ENDEARING AND ENDURING

THE OLD FOX WITH ITS NEW TRICKS

ALTHOUGH THE INDIAN SOCIETY, ECONOMY, AND PSYCHE IS CHANGING, THERE EXISTS A CONTINUUM. AND THAT’S WHAT MARKETERS NEED TO KEEP IN MIND IF THEY WANT TO TASTE SUCCESS IN ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST CONSUMER MARKETS

In the recently released movie Cocktail Deepika Padukone plays Veronica (remember Archie Comics?): glamorous, sexy, yet feminine and stunning at all times. For her, the dress mantra is: the skimpier, the sexier. All the time, she shows off one or the other part of her body to her advantage. Her hair is of an auburn/coffee shade and is puffed up with a volumizer. Her body is always glowing with a bronzer. As a fashion trendsetter she mixes & matches patterns, adorns adventurous silhouettes and chooses unusual designs & labels. All accoutrements – from her hair clips to handbags to shoes – make a style statement by standing out in colour and design.

And then we have Diana Penty a.k.a Meera, much like Betty from Archie. She has an easy, simple & earthy fashion personality. Her hair is of a darker shade of brown. She wears little makeup, goes for anti-fits, androgynous or functional clothing, and dresses more for comfort than getting noticed. So no bright colours, prints, or form-filling silhouettes.

Aki Narula, the costume designer, went and bought a phiran from a salesman – which he was himself wearing – for the rockstar Ranbir Kapoor. Jordan’s intricately styled and unusual wardrobe reflects the character’s journey and the various phases he goes through.

I quote these facts to emphasise that the Indian audience is veering towards realism. Conviction about the character in the film comes in part from the clothes and accessories s(he) wears/adorns. The costumes are fundamental in allowing us to make decisions about the character. And this is mandatory for storytelling.

Big budgets demand careful scrutiny of changing profile of consumer, and then devise and execute a marketing strategy accordingly. Since July 1, 2012 Channel [V] is no longer a music channel, even if earlier it was airing about three hours of Bollywood music. Why this about-turn? Well, India is the world’s second fastest growing mobile market. Indians aged 15-24 spend an average of 13.6 hours on the net, a lot of that on music videos. Digital music in fact grew by 24% in 2011 while physical form fell by 19%. Hence the channel wants to reposition itself as a youth general entertainment channel. Even MTV is concentrating on building original programing in the form of MTV Coke Studio, MTV Roadies, etc. to engage the viewers. As a matter of fact a youth channel can remain relevant only if it is present across all platforms that youth engage with.

The Indian youth is getting fitter and is demanding slim, super slim, and skinny fits to accentuate narrow waistlines, broad shoulders, and well toned bodies. So Raymonds has launched slim fits and super slims. Now these two account for 60-75% of the overall business. Whereas at Allen Solly, earlier sizes 40 and 42 were lifted off the racks most often, now 70- 80% sale comes from the 39 and 40 sizes. The Indian male is getting health conscious, pays enough attention to grooming, and is no longer speed shopping. He is eager to receive information about styling, fabrics, and colours to create customised look for himself.

Wedding frills too are undergoing changes in colour and scale. So the demand for professional wedding planners is rising by the day. While the rich are going in for concept and destination weddings, the middle class is assigning the management of the event to specialised professionals. Men and women both are willing to go under the knife for cosmetic reasons. So the short-stay medical centres dealing in less complicated surgeries and needing a patient stay for less than 24 hours have started mushrooming even in Tier-2 towns. Earlier ‘extra’ coaching was for ‘weak’ students; now a whopping 78% parents believe that it is unavoidable to ensure that their child stays ahead. 60% of primary school children and up to 83% of those in high schools now receive private tutoring.

Since Indian cinema audience is becoming more accommodating to alternative opinions and views that it may not agree with, movies from Maqbool to the Dirty Picture have attained box office success. The women in them are real with their sense of individuality, greed, determination, ambition, and sexuality. Mother India and her league have had a serious makeover therefore. The halter blouse has replaced the white saree. The pout queen does not bat an eyelid before indulging in abusive verbal diarrhoea. Younger filmmakers are discovering new formulae for success. An ‘A’ certification is welcome, even if not actively sought. The song in a movie may be sung by housewives (O Womaniya in Gangs of Wasseypur); it need not be melody driven. Lyrics may be in bol-chal ki bhasha so that people can relate to them.

Then at times a marketer wishes to change the consumer behaviour in favour of his brand. It is another matter whether he succeeds or not. For instance, Kara Skin Wipes face a tough challenge since these are trying to force a change of habit so deeply embedded in Indian psyche. Besides, the brand is seeking to promote a ‘use and throw’ product which again is culturally not acceptable to the Indian consumer. That too at a price of Rs.30-35 for a box of 10 wipes when much cheaper options are available.

Nevertheless, the Indian consumer is changing. And this is prompting marketers to change their spots too! But wait a minute! The more things change, the more they remain the same! Marketers need to tune their antennae for discriminating between right and wrong signals. Savita Bhabhi, the porn toon character on the Net, was forced to go into oblivion. Yet Sunny Leone’s porn background is of no concern to the Indian audience. The colour of her skin, her accent, & her passport stand in her defence. And why not? In India, gods are fair skinned while demons are dark. What’s more? There is even a cream available to whiten a woman’s private parts. Bollywood junior artistes now are foreign ‘Goris’.

Talking about Indian cinema, neither the audience nor the cinema has evolved; it has merely got segmented: On one hand, it is made for the metro multiplexes, Net, and DVD consumers; on the other, single screen audience is still alive and kicking. For a brief while, the working class male vanished in the late nineties in the face of glamorous realism of the Yash Raj films kind. Then came Chulbul Pandey and Lovely Singh (and now Rowdy Rathore) to remind us that a large chunk of consumption of Hindi cinema comes from lower middle class for whom Salman’s muscular bare chest represents body ideal. Salman dresses in Indian style with earrings, bracelet, bright clothes, lives in the same building as his parents, and thereby his star persona embodies many of the values that have endured over time for the Indian lower middle class. Movies like Agneepath are still about maa ka pyaar, behan ki izzat, and bete ka badla. Katrina reminds the audience of raunchy eighties’ style dancing. The dialogue-baazi of Singham will never be over the top for this audience.

L’Oreal realised, as did Amway, that in India there is big masstige segment. So L’Oreal has decided to offer a lower priced hair care range, including sachets for its shampoos. Elle from France recently launched women-wear at Indian prices. While usually, facilities at a typical international budget hotel are at best of the basic level, in India, Holiday Inn Express, Premier Inn or Formula I all provide multi-cuisine, including regional cuisine, restaurants in their properties, dustbins in the rooms, as also full length mirror for the convenience of saree draping women. So what is the takeaway?

The Indian society, economy, and psyche are changing. But there exists a continuum. At the same time, deep-seated values, beliefs, and habits are hard to change. So a marketer has to understand that the Indian market is an aggregation of many diverse sub markets. Some evolving, some transiting at a fast clip, while some are already globalised.

THE OLD FOX WITH ITS NEW TRICKS

NOT SORRY FOR INTERRUPTION!

AS ADVERTISING EXCEEDS THE PROGRAMMING CONTENT ON TV, VIEWERS SUFFER IN TERMS OF DURATION, CLUTTERED SCREEN, AND EVEN DEAFENING AUDIO LEVELS. IS THERE A WAY OUT FOR THEM?

So how do you buy Desh Ka Namak? Well, the loose salt (a commodity) is converted into a quasi brand (purity factor), later a full fledged brand (Tata Iodized Salt), and finally a super brand (Desh Ka Namak). While a commodity has 100% functional value and zero percent emotional pull ( for instance, a toothpick), a quasi brand offers some distinctive feature and appeal at least (e.g. Suguna eggs without odour). To become a brand by itself it should have an unparalleled advantage (Amul Milk with no milk powder added). Finally, a super brand is typically 100% emotions and zero percent unique functional value (a Harley-Davidson). The aim of every marketer is to morph his offer gradually from an undifferentiated (at least in the perception of the buyer) product into a superbrand, when he suspends his critical mental faculties for comparing alternatives on functional grounds. TV advertising helps in this since it takes a brand through a six – as process wherein the brand seeks (initial & sustained) attention, awareness (recognition and recall), assimilation (comprehension of claim of the advertiser), acceptance (liking and preference towards the offer), action (purchase), and adsorption (voluntary recall in future).

For records, the overall advertising pie is growing at a rather modest pace in India. During 2011 as against expected 17% growth in media ad revenues, the industry could manage only 8% taking the size to only Rs.25,594 crore. The outlook for 2012 is also modest, and is expected to hit only Rs.28,013 crore.

Pit this fact against another one. Running a Hindi GEC costs approximately Rs.2 crore a day or nearly Rs.750 crore a year. News channels and regional channels can be run with average spending of Rs.250 crore per year. But then they have so much less viewership too. By 2011 India had 623 operational channels, as against 552 in 2010. 50% of viewership, however, rests with Hindi channels while another 10% viewers patronise English channels. Out of these 163 are pay channels accounting for a lion’s share of Rs.11,600 crore worth of commercials revenue. At 146 million households the Indian TV distribution market is already the third largest in the world, with pay TV penetration at 80%. This last mile of distributors belongs to a very fragmented industry with nearly 6,000 players who, ironically, however, enjoy local monopoly clout. They are very cash rich since they pocket 80% of Rs.21,630 crore subscription fee paid by the viewers.

So the TV channels’ revenue model has come apart as these cable operators and distributors create an artificial bandwidth shortage so that they can carry channels as per their own whims, demanding usurious monopoly rent (carriage fee) from the broadcasters. Resultantly, between 2007 and 2011, dependence on advertising by pay TV channels reduced merely from 76% to 72%. In an attempt to balance the books thus the channels are resorting to more and more advertising, volumewise. In 2007 itself TV ads exceeded 60,000. These are growing at a CAGR of nearly 50-60%. But the subscription rate has been capped at Rs.5.30 p.m. for DTH digital TV. The cable TV Network Rules, 1994 say that maximum 12 minutes (20%) of every 1 hour of airtime should be used for commercials. But during 2008-2011, on some channels during prime time (7PM to 11PM), advertising even exceeded (60% of total time) the programming content. Five of the six news channels under scrutiny had used 18 minutes (30%) for commercials. The viewers naturally suffered in terms of duration, frequency, cluttered screen, and even deafening audio levels.

In a controversial proposal recently TRAI has suggested that duration be restricted to only 6 minutes per hour, more so because the proposed digitisation of television broadcast will certainly mean higher subscription revenue for the channels.

Obviously, the industry thinks it has a very strong case against the proposed move. It says that, first, restriction on ad air time will create acute shortage of inventory; ad rates consequently will go up considerably. This will also mean that only the big boys will be able to afford them. Second, if ad rates cannot be raised to make good the revenue dip for TV channels, low cost programming will have to be produced; this in turn will tell upon quality (no KBCs). The cost of producing some of the most watched shows is as high as Rs.1.5 crore per episode. But this ironically will reduce TVRs and therefore advertising revenue further. Third, these ads may shift to other media (online/ print/cinema) which may not be perfect replacement for TV; in any case, then those media will be accused of carrying excessive advertising. Besides, TV is perhaps more suited for rural audience than online or print media. Fourth, according to TV channels, self regulations are the best. Also, it is suggested, let the audience decide whether a channel carries excessive advertising.

On the flip side supporters of such code have an iron cast case too. They point out that firstly many developed nations have such hourly caps, viz. Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, Philippines, UK etc. Besides, in actual practice the TRAI regulations might not become suffocating anytime soon. Except for the leading broadcasters in each genre (GEC, Sports, News, etc) the rest are nowhere close to the 20% cap. In India 66% of the revenue for TV channels is from subscription while 34% comes from ads. But for major broadcasters this gets reversed to 35:65. TRAI wants that for these channels 70% revenue should come from commercials against current 36%. Secondly, in other countries, UK for example where such regulations are already in place, TV commercials have not extinguished. Third, as regards self regulation it has seldom worked in India. Any self regulation requires high degree of accountability, responsibility, and discipline. But, for example, in print media where such regulations are in place they are observed only in their breach. Besides, while in the print media you can ignore an ad, on TV you can only switch channels and there you face ‘road-blocking’ tactic by the advertiser; escape is virtually impossible. So is there no way out of the impasse?

Well, one way is to decrease above the line (ATL) advertising and increase activations (BTL – below the line). Unlike mainstream intrusive advertising content branding requires either buying of the content or creation of the content by the advertiser himself. It is less intrusive and therefore less offending too. In film placement, social media, Internet, activities on the ground (Coke Studio) all can be deployed for these purposes. This kind of advertising ‘message’ will enhance mass media ad recall. Besides, creating an independent property gets lot more respect as against sponsorships. Airtel realised this by releasing short films on YouTube (for Har Friend campaign).

Ingenuity is what is required to increase effectiveness of promotional messages, and not making more noise and irritate the audience.

NOT SORRY FOR INTERRUPTION!

‘LUST-HAVES’ FOR THE LOVE-STRUCK

THE LIFESTYLE OF THE NEW PACK REFLECTS A CHANGE. BUT ARE MARKETERS READY TO MEET THEIR NEWER NEEDS AND WANTS?

When you set sight on a potential companion, your brain releases a potion of chemicals which activates the brain’s pleasure centre. For long-term bonding this must further be followed by two more compounds, oxytocin and vasopressin. Lust, on the other hand, works on testosterone and oestrogen for men and women respectively. Apparently, the mind of the ‘millennium generation’ is irrigated more by the latter than the former. Love and lust are now interchangeable. But are marketers ready to factor in the new norm and cultural orientation?

The recent trends reveal quite some statistic. In a phase of transition, the 18- 25 age group remains quite confused on issues like falling in love, getting hitched, or rolling in hay. 55% respondents in a recent survey declared premarital sex to be no big issue. Yet, 62% wanted their future spouse to be chaste. For 41%, a ‘pragmatic’ youth family background (and possibly, family’s nod) is very important. And 51% had already savoured sex before they turned 25. No debate between having raging hormones vs. being financially correct.

Google Trends shows that the search volume index for the word ‘porn’ has doubled in India in the past two years. Seven Indian cities are among the top ten in the world on porn search. Apparently, nearly 50% students discuss porn everyday. The lifestyle of the new brat pack reflects the change. They date with a gusto with even tier-2 towns having campuses strewn with embracing couples. Discotheques in Mumbai, Delhi, Noida and even Chandigarh throb through the night. Nearly half the lot dates regularly. But they don’t have time for the attendant niceties.

In a poll commissioned by Debenhams, Marilyn Monroe beat Kim Kardashian, Kelly Brook, and Christina Hendricks in winning the crown for having the best beach body of all times, since most women voted for a fuller body so as to show it off in a figure hugging bikini and win the men over. The clothing company has already successfully launched the range based on the analytics collected in the poll.

In another international survey, a majority of the young women (18-25) commented that they would opt for large frontal assets than high IQ; a third were willing to swap intelligence for more ample assets, while a quarter felt bigger busts would make them feel happier. Nearly 60% respondents believed that men would be more interested in them if they were well endowed. Naturally, in your face women’s sexuality is ubiquitous – on ramps, big screen, idiot box, videos,even on the street.

Now, there are emergency contraceptive pills being advertised on mainstream TV channels, which are actually used as morning after regular contraceptives. Condoms have started giving tough competition to roses on Valentine’s Day in terms of sales. This February 14, one online portal revealed that it had sold over a lakh of condoms; incidentally it had hoped to sell nearly 20,000. Exciting Lives, a shopping portal, offered glow in the dark intimate wear and lingerie made of feather during this Valentine. Animal Planet presented a special programme titled ‘Love in the Wild’ capturing scenes of tenderness from the jungle.

Sex is no longer under wraps. The body has become a temple and a seat of power. Cosmetics, surgery, health foods and supplements, gymming – everything is tried. Beauty has become a big business today, with huge time and money being spent in parlours.

With earlier social mores and norms fading away, a bold & beautiful lifestyle – glamorous girls, handsome guys with multiple credit cards, fast bikes/cars, high flying society – inspires the urban middle and upper class youth. The gender divide is crumbling. The interaction has added dates to a teenager’s schedule and in many cases ushered in multiple relationships in life.

In essence, the mores and norms that the culture of yesterday embraced are changing – internationally faster, but the change in India too cannot be ignored by marketers. It is time that Indian marketers started creating positioning concepts that become iconic not just on the levity factor (on which Indian ads even currently qualify quite easily) but also the lust factor.

‘LUST-HAVES’ FOR THE LOVE-STRUCK

THE ENIGMATIC INDIAN (MALE) CONSUMER

THERE IS NO SINGLE PSYCHOGRAPHIC PROFILE THAT CAN CLAIM TO REPRESENT THE WHOLE INDIAN MARKET

David Buss, an evolutionary psychologist at the Michigan University, concludes in his study, ‘Tactics for Promoting Sexual Encounters’ that men prefer the direct approach. But women find men with a subtler approach sexier. So lines like ‘I really love you’, or ‘I care about you deeply’ might work better, he mentions, than flatfoot statements conveying the need for physical relations. Aggressive tactics shown in most Hollywood movies, he again suggests, are unlikely to help.

Perhaps. Or, on second thoughts, perhaps not so in India.

A MARKETER’S PARADISE

1991 was certainly a watershed year in the annals of Indian economy. The nation took the first diffident step towards freeing the economy from the clutches of socialism. Unconnected, but as if on cue, KamaSutra condoms were launched the same year focussing not on planning the family but for enhanced pleasure. The year divided the market into BC and AC eras – before consumerism and after consumerism. Post 1991, social austerity did not anymore remain a virtue.

Now, we have ‘First World’ hospitals, shopping complexes, resorts, schools, spas and condominiums in ‘Third World’ India. You can buy any car here. India belongs to the so-called Internet and Global Village. The similarly titled technical revolution seems to have been ushered in. Men spend hours and small fortunes in salons and spas. Seafood sampler with pickled beetroot chutney or corn pea cake served with tomato compote is what you get to cleanse and rejuvenate your body. Chefs are on a health mission, serving to the wellheeled a detox diet. Age – both on the lower and ageing side – is no bar to visit parlours and gyms. Everyone is fighting age with cosmetics, surgery, potions and lotions, and protein shakes; each one is reinventing himself.

Money has acquired a sensuous quality. Greed is good; actually it is God. Epicureanism abounds. According to a media report, the three food habits we are likely to see in 2012 will be home cooking based on exotic ingredients, consumption of ethical food which has to be tasty as well, and visits to the celeb restaurants like Le Cirque and Hakkasan. Instant Nirvana, new age spirituality, fad diets all are new rage along with the reining alternative therapies like Reiki or Feng Shui. Such are the things that excite consumption saturated Gen Xers and Yers.

To have physical relations is no longer under wraps – at least not as it was before. The age of innocence metamorphoses into adulthood sooner now. Live-ins are more de rigueur than same sex relationships – which also seem to be catching on quite fast. An aspirational society is offloading traditions.

On the plus side, of course, there is a new kindling of the can-do mentality in a nation dictated by Kismet and the sense of fatalism. Young India is proud of the country and things Indian. Optimism and the ‘feel good’ factor are getting stronger. The future is even brighter for marketers too.

An IDBI Capital study suggests that the middle class population will grow up to 583 million by 2025 (up from 50 million in 2005) with a significantly increased average real household disposable income. 70% of the household money will be spent on discretionary purchases. The working age population will go up from 65% (2005) to 68% (2030) with more than 39% of the people being below 25 years and 87% below 60. The numbers are truly staggering as far as future potential consumption in concerned.

Well, actually what I wish to highlight is this fact: As Buss simplifies things (read the research at the start), even if sacrificing the intergroup differences, so do the above remarks about the emerging consuming class. But oversimplification is fraught with risk.

THEY COME IN ALL SHAPES AND MINDSETS

While a marketer prefers a single prototype, since it makes his job of communicating and selling a single product easier, stereotyping is always laden with dangerous overtones. Not every male is using caviar creams or undergoing laser treatment for hair removal. Nor for that matter have sarees been abandoned or red wine become the preferred drink for the fairer sex. No doubt, the androgynous sartorial style popularised in Dil Chahta Hai has its loyalists. But the muscle rippling dresses of Salman Bhai have a great degree of acceptance too. There is no single psychographic profile that can claim to represent the whole market. Broadly speaking, Indian males fall in four categories, Conformists, Hedonists, the Janus Faced, and The Evolving Ideal.

A Conformist is driven by traditional values, loves his family, and is shorn of ostentation. He likes value for money brands, and is unlikely to ‘dress up’. He finds debt as an abhorring burden. So sell him the mass marketed brands which reach out to him with images celebrating the man in control (over situation or woman in his life). Platina, Peter England or economy in Gillette shaving gel are likely to succeed with this tribe.

A Hedonist, the second type, belongs to the ‘I, me, myself’ genre. He is driven by status and status symbols. Unlike conformists he is a risk taker and pleasure seeker. Situated in metros and tier-1 towns he is perhaps single. He equates best in the class with the concept of value. Dandy looks are very important to him; in fact he is obsessed with his appearance. Credit card is something he frequently swipes. He aspires for a Harley Davidson, but sell him at least a Pulsar, an Allen Solly andthe brands of the ilk on premiumness and hitech imagery.

We also have the Janus Faced consumer who is constantly striving to project a politically and socially correct image. He is always conscious of others’ opinion about him (a Blackberry 9900 or Apple i4S) and conducts himself accordingly. For him success equates both money and recognition. He is paradoxically individualistic and yet approval seeker. Therefore he is unlikely to breach social norms. Ads built around loss of face or social ostracism are likely to be on spot for this category. It is for these people that Maruti is introducing its SUV which is actually a cross between a car and a true blood 4x4 off- roader, since he wants to set himself apart and get noticed but not very radically. So, truly innovative category creators are not for him.

Finally we have the Mr. Male of the future – The Evolving Man. He believes in tending to his kids (Nivea Man) and the family. He shares the household work with the wife, gives her the morning cup of tea first thing when she wakes up (now, which ad was this!). He is neither overly conformist nor a rebel against all things traditional. Young, professionally educated, he has a progressive outlook.

Purchases are decided and made jointly. He rarely buys on impulse and plans a lot. Naturally he is game for household gadgets, family oriented consumption items, and, when single, productivity enhancing devices. He is driven by quality and buys rationally. He truly epitomizes the Raymond’s complete man. He would like to drive a diesel sedan which is neither too flashy nor too dowdy.

LAST WORDS

Having said it all, however a word of caution. Instead of segregating the Indian males and then targeting the specific groups, a better strategy would be to find synergies between different groups. For example, both the traditionalists and the evolving are family oriented, while both the hedonists and Janus faced are selfseekers. Develop your products and communication strategies accordingly.

THE ENIGMATIC INDIAN (MALE) CONSUMER