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