Leading with purpose creates wins for consumers, community and country: Hina Nagarajan of Diageo India

'Largest employer in the world is inefficiency': CRED's Kunal Shah at Storyboard18 Global Pioneers Summit

Unheard tales of Maggi’s redemption: How poetry and nostalgia revived an iconic brand

Content creator Raj Shamani’s journey: Prioritizing substance over virality

MIB’s Ashwini Vaishnaw at Storyboard18 DNPA Conclave: Govt working for fair compensation for media houses

Nobody’s Perfect Retro Porsche Ad

In Conversation With Raja Rajamannar, Mastercard

Shahid Kapoor And Varun Ganjoo Speaks On PokerBaazi's Campaign

In conversation with IHCL’s Puneet Chhatwal & GroupM’s Kate Scott-Dawkins

Why are brands including e-sports in their sports marketing itinerary?

Storyboard18 x The English Nut: How to pronounce these 10 brand names

Experts' Take On Reinvention Of Ad Campaigns Through Technology

Experts Speak On Key Emerging Trends In Cannes Lions Entries

Leaders of the future have to be outstanding human beings: Nestle MD

In conversation with VMLY&R’s Hari Ramanathan

Goibibo has onboarded the iconic father-son duo Jayaram and Kalidas as its brand ambassadors, strengthening the brand's localised approach to brand communication and product curation.

The announcement coincides with the launch of the brand’s first digital film starring the duo. The film references a popular scene from ‘Panchatanthiram’ keeping the trope of recreating iconic movie scenes, as previously demonstrated by the brands iconic #Goibebo campaign starring Kareena Kapoor Khan who was onboarded as the brand ambassador last year.

The film leverages cultural cues as much as it does language to build a connection with its audiences in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, delivering a story that aims to resonate with audiences while infusing specific travel contexts with a fresh perspective.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YHD7MvPjmFY?si=xrvGywIBxGkbGz0f" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Raj Rishi Singh, Chief Marketing Officer, Goibibo, said, "In an era where travel preferences evolve rapidly, and no two trips taken are alike, Goibibo recognizes the need for tailored experiences not just in terms of products/services, but also in terms of brand communications. Collaborating with Jayaram and Kalidas was a natural choice, given their remarkable ability to resonate with audiences of all ages. Through humour and relatability, we aspire to empower travellers in the southern states of India to make better travel choices with Goibibo."

The campaign is conceptualized by the agency Mind Your Language!
 
Deepan Ramachandran, Founder and Chief Creative Officer and Pandiyaraj M, Co-founder and Creative Director, Mind Your Language!, shared, "Our collaboration with Goibibo marks a significant milestone, promising an iconic journey that solidifies its standing as a leading travel player. As their South India experts, we're thrilled to introduce the legendary duo from Panchathanthiram, Jayaram and Kalidas, as the perfect travel companions. Through this campaign, we aim to match the energy and fun of national ads, infused with local insights and flavors, ensuring a memorable experience for all."

Goibibo ropes in father-son duo Jayaram and Kalidas as brand ambassadors

Note to readers: Season-2 of our column Marketing Mocktail breaks down and explains the big ideas, new disruptions and old concepts and marketing practices that matter in the modern age.



In the last decade, there has been a proliferation of D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) brands, across diverse categories. There are currently around 600+ D2C brands in India, battling for the consumer’s mind and wallet. 



This has been enabled due to the breakdown of entry barriers- access to distribution (e-commerce), new channels of brand communication (digital media) and availability of capital (VC funding).



While most D2C brands tend to over index on performance marketing at the cost of brand building, the smart ones strike the right balance.

 

The two key questions in building a D2C brand are:



1. Being digital first brands, what should be their brand building model, as compared to legacy brands?



2. The typical target group being Millennial and GenZ consumers, how can they connect with them better than most legacy brands?



Here are some lessons on building a D2C brand that we can learn from the case of BabyChakra.

 

BabyChakra: Building a D2C parenting and baby care brand

 

BabyChakra is a content to commerce parenting and baby care brand, founded in 2015 by Naiyya Saggi. It is a part of the house of brands unicorn, The Good Glamm Group.



It began life as a parenting app and in 2021 introduced a range of clean, green and toxin free baby care products.



It competes with legacy brands like Johnson & Johnson and Himalaya, as well as with other D2C brands like Mama Earth and Chicco.



The brand targets millennial moms and dads who are digital natives and its brand idea is ‘The Joy of Parenting’.



BabyChakra is committed to supporting young parents through their postpartum journey, with education via content, care via products, and trust via co-creation with doctors and moms.



Lesson-1: Cocreate with consumers for innovation and involvement



Right from its inception, co-creation with moms and doctors has been in the DNA of the brand. From products to influencer content, to blogs, to expert sessions and more. 

 

BabyChakra has pioneered the ‘InsiderClub’ for cocreation, which is not influencers, but real moms and doctors who are passionate about participating in the brand.



Some of the product innovations cocreated are- Bamboo Water Wipes with 0 percent Polyester (regular wipes cause rashes due to frequent use), Baby-safe Foaming Hand-wash, Vapor Patch for cold relief (applying ointments and rubs on a baby’s sensitive skin is avoidable), Plant-based Bathing Bar with Skin Identical Complex (ideal for dry skin during winters and eczema breakouts).



All products are baby safe, carefully formulated and do not contain Phenoxyethanol and artificial fragrances.



Lesson-2: Create content for deeper engagement that goes beyond selling



BabyChakra strives to be seen as a trusted friend and expert in a parent’s journey, while having a point of view on narratives that need change. The goal is to have an impact on the ecosystem and the role it plays in a parent’s life.



#LabelPadhoMoms, which is a lexicon of all the harmful hidden ingredients in other baby care products, was a campaign urging every mom to read the label before using something on their child. It educated the audience about label literacy and generated 1.2 million views organically.



#ChangeMakers celebrates a list of wonderful moms who have been awesome despite all the multiple challenges that come with motherhood.



#EqualParent was not just a campaign but a movement to create awareness about dads doing their bit too. The brand had 20,000+ dads participate in the campaign.



#CareHeroes celebrates 100 doctors across India for their selfless work.



Lesson-3: Build and nurture a vibrant brand community for loyalty and advocacy



BabyChakra was the first in India to pioneer ‘mom-influencers’ as a segment through the BabyChakra Creators Club. This has become a popular forum for recognizing and engaging with mom-influencers.

 

#MomsTalk is a platform for well-known celebrity moms to show a side of them like never before. The celebrities get candid about premature deliveries, postpartum depression, the perils of breastfeeding and much more, no holds barred. This has got a 15 million digital organic reach across just 3 events.

 

The #Momstars community engages through expert sessions, on-ground events, personalized experiences on WhatsApp, and informational content on social media. It is India’s largest mom community comprising around 30 million mothers who create authentic content and advocacy through word of mouth. They are the cheerleaders for the brand.



How this has worked for the brand



All the 3-C’s: Cocreation, content and community are seamlessly integrated through a tech-stack comprising trackers, personalized tools, and a community platform that connects people, based on interests and life stages for customized solutions.



Not only has this approach enhanced the qualitative brand affinity for BabyChakra, but it has also had a positive impact on the performance metrics and KPIs.



In terms of the key performance metrics for a D2C brand, as depicted in the graphic below, BabyChakra has shown a significant upswing over the last couple of years.

 

<img src="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/2023/11/D2C.jpg" alt="" width="999" height="727" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17907" />


So, if you are a D2C start-up or an existing D2C brand, focus on the 3-Cs: Cocreation, Content and Community. Make the customer the hero of your story and reap the rewards.

 

The author would like to acknowledge the inputs of Naiyya Saggi- Founder and Spoorthi Kilambi- brand head, at BabyChakra.


Anand Narasimha is a corporate turned academician with over three decades of experience spanning Brand Marketing, Advertising, Consulting, and Teaching. He writes the column Marketing Mocktail for Storyboard18. Views expressed are personal.

Marketing Mocktail: Lessons in building a D2C brand explained

Note to readers: Season-2 of our column Marketing Mocktail breaks down and explains the big ideas, new disruptions and old concepts and marketing practices that matter in the modern age.


Advertisers and ad agencies are constantly evaluating creative work, be it for a one-off ad or a multimedia campaign.


The question always arises, ‘Will it work’? We use our experience, judgement, gutfeel, or pre-testing to answer this, as objectively as possible.



The 7-point checklist for evaluating advertising


Effective advertising at a broad level must be strategically accurate, creatively powerful, and demonstrably effective.



Here’s my 7-point checklist for evaluating advertising:



1. Does the advertising have a unifying brand idea based on a consumer insight?



2. Does it highlight the distinctive brand assets to create brand recognition?



3. Will it get noticed and remembered?



4. Is it simple and single-minded?



5. Does it involve and engage the prospect?



6. Will it make the prospect act?



7. Will it generate positive conversation?



The checklist is media agnostic and helps in making an informed decision on the creative work, prior to going to market.



In retrospect, let’s apply it to evaluate an existing ad campaign- for Snickers.



Snickers: ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry’



From 2007 to 2009, growth for Snickers lagged other global chocolate brands. While the brand was growing marginally, its market share was declining.



Mars International and their agency BBDO were faced with the challenge of growing sales volume and market share globally, by making the brand distinctive and famous in a highly cluttered category.



Since Snickers is a wholesome and filling chocolate bar with caramel and nuts, the strategy was to position it as a ‘hunger reliever’.



1. Does the advertising have a unifying brand idea based on consumer insight?



“If your advertising does not have a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night”, to quote David Ogilvy.



The Snickers campaign was based on a powerful human insight: ‘When you’re hungry, you’re just not yourself. And, when you’re not yourself, you become cranky, weak, or dopey, that are universal symptoms of hunger.



The unifying brand idea based on the insight was, ‘"You’re not you when you’re hungry’. Snickers, the substantial, nut-filled bar known for satisfying hunger, is the perfect antidote- ‘It makes you, you again.’



The idea had legs. It could be amplified across traditional and digital media. It was also enduring and has been running for more than a decade with fresh creative executions. Over time, work has been produced for all Snickers’ key markets using a range of local contexts, celebrities and locally relevant hunger symptoms.



2. Does it highlight the distinctive brand assets to create brand recognition?



Chocolate is an impulse category. At any given purchase moment, a consumer is presented with 10+ brand options. If you want to be the brand that people reach for, you need to be immediately recognizable.



The campaign creatives leveraged the distinctive brand assets or codes to aid brand recognition- the Snickers logo (obviously), the red parallelogram around the logo, the dark chocolate pantone color and the ‘rip and chew’ pack shot.



Once these brand codes were clearly established, Snickers played around with them. Like naming their packs after ‘hunger symptoms’ to gift to your friends who were exhibiting them. Truncating the logo to ‘SNKRS’ when Snickers Mini was launched.



3. Will it get noticed and remembered?



Bill Bernbach said, “If your advertising goes unnoticed, everything else is academic.”



Memories are fragile – people are constantly on the verge of forgetting about your brand. The Snickers campaign cut through the clutter due to its universally relevant and compelling idea and refreshing creative treatment that made the campaign memorable.


The sheer variety of creatives across media and follow-up news coverage was testament to the idea’s populist appeal.



4. Is it simple and single-minded?


Great ideas are always simple ideas. The Snickers campaign was easy to understand and comprehend. The common human truth and the simplicity of communication made it ripe for widespread appeal.


The campaign was sharply focused on a singular message- ‘You’re not yourself when you are hungry and Snickers satisfies hunger to make you, you again’. The same message was constantly reinforced across every touchpoint.



5. Does it involve and engage the prospect?



In the 1960’s Howard Gossage said, People don’t read ads. They read what interests them and sometimes it’s an ad. “



The Snickers advertising created high involvement with the brand. This seemed particularly relevant, given that just about everyone buys chocolate.



In advertising, ‘how you say it’ is as important as ‘what you say’. The creative expression of the idea was rich in emotion and engagement- witty, lighthearted, and relatable with a universal appeal.



To quote Bill Bernbach, “Good advertising does not just circulate information. It penetrates the mind with desire and beliefs.”



6. Will it make the prospect act?



David Ogilvy again, “If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative.”



Growth for Snickers meant attracting new buyers and reminding those who may have taken a break, that it was time to have a Snickers bar again.



The campaign created a desire to consider and buy the brand. In its first full year, global sales of Snickers were up by 15.9% and market share grew in 56 of the 58 markets in which it ran.



7. Will it generate positive conversation?



Generating ‘word-of-mouth’ and ‘word-of-mouse’ is critical for any campaign.



The campaign prompted a groundswell of enthusiasm and generated incremental and unpaid media impressions, with a media value equal to 11.4 times the paid investment.



Beyond that, the advertising worked its way into popular culture appearing in political satire, memes, and tweets.

 

Next time you are evaluating creative work, use the 7-point checklist. Chances are that your advertising will not only work but be celebrated and loved.



Anand Narasimha is a corporate turned academician with over three decades of experience spanning Brand Marketing, Advertising, Consulting, and Teaching. He writes the column Marketing Mocktail for Storyboard18. Views expressed are personal.

Marketing Mocktail: Work that works - Checklist for evaluating advertising explained

Note to readers: Season-2 of our column Marketing Mocktail breaks down and explains the big ideas, new disruptions and old concepts and marketing practices that matter in the modern age.


One of the key decisions a global brand needs to make is what and how much to standardize and what and how much to customize, in the geographies that it is present in.


Product offering and brand messaging


The two most important aspects to consider in this context are: Product offering and brand messaging.


As depicted in the graphic below, there are four approaches that global brands can follow, and these are dependent on the interplay between the category and culture in the markets they serve.


<img src="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/2023/11/MM-new.jpg" alt="" width="883" height="562" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17206" />


Total Standardization - same product, same message


Generally, this approach is followed by brands in the luxury, technology, and automobile categories. They standardize all the elements of their product and messaging across the globe. Consumers aspire to these brands because of their global stature.


Apple markets the same products in terms of design and features (although it outsources the manufacturing to local markets). Its brand communication is also the same with respect to the message, tone, and style.


The luxury car brands like Mercedes Benz, Audi, and BMW also standardize their products and messaging across markets.


Product customization - different product, same message


McDonalds is a classic example. In India (and across markets), they have customized their menu to suit the local palette. The McAloo Tikki Burger is a derivative of the Aloo Tikki. They also don’t use beef and pork. In terms of the brand messaging though, McDonalds uses their global theme ‘I’m lovin’ it.’ with a local twist.


Most global food brands adapt their tastes and flavors within their global formats- Tandoori Chicken/Paneer Pizza from Dominoes or Masala Chai from Starbucks.


Some like Kellogg’s learnt it the hard way. When they introduced Cornflakes in India, it was a disaster because consumers kept adding hot milk (instead of cold milk) and that made the cornflakes soggy. Now, they have even started marketing Indian breakfast staples like Upama and Poha under the Kellogg’s brand.


HSBC’s campaign ‘The world’s local bank’ is an interesting one. The financial products offered by the bank vary, based on the financial regulations of each country. The bank wants to convey that while it provides global access and service standards to its customers, at the same time it is sensitive to local cultures and needs in its customer relationships.


Message customization - same product, different message


Here, brands don’t change the product, but adapt their messaging- the brand proposition and/or the creative expression.


Take the case of Coca Cola. The product is the same all over the world based on its patented formula. The brand message is localized from time to time. For example, when it wanted to increase penetration in the Indian market with a 10 Rupee price point, it was driven by the ‘Thanda Matlab Coca Cola’ campaign featuring Aamir Khan. The global brand campaign ‘Open Happiness’ was adapted to local cultural contexts, like bringing together Indian and Pakistani people.


Google also does India specific campaigns to promote its search engine. These campaigns leverage Indian cultural insights and emotions.


Total customization - different product, different message


Some global brands change both the product and communication for local markets.


Maggi instant noodles that sell around the world are as Indian as it gets. The Indian consumer does not even consider Maggi as a global brand. Its taste and flavors are tailored for India and so is its brand messaging. The masala flavor outsells every other flavor and campaigns like ‘Me and Meri Maggi’ make it one of the most loved brands among Indians.


In India, Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate is having a sweeter taste, compared to its western counterparts, catering to the sweet tooth of Indians and ‘Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye’ is an India specific campaign. Dairy Milk’s strategy is to substitute ‘mithai’ with chocolate, across occasions.


Many India(s)- hyperlocal marketing


India being a diverse, multiethnic, and multicultural country presents an opportunity for even Indian brands to hyper localize their marketing.


Tata Tea, which started the hyper-local campaign strategy in 2019, offers tea with custom blends, packaging, and communication from eight different regions. The company recently launched Tata Tea Premium ‘Street Chais of India’ that has tea flavors inspired by the streets of India. Some of the offerings are Hyderabad Irani Chai, Mumbai Cutting Chai, Kolkata Street Chai, and Cream of Assam.


To quote a company source, “We are in a country which is very culturally and culinary diverse, and food and beverage preferences vary from region to region and district to district. In Tata Tea Premium, one of our strengths has been that we have blends that cater to regional preferences. It is our continued focus to drive the brand through hyper-local campaigns.”


So, how much do you standardize or customize as a brand is a context, culture, and category specific decision.


In most cases, it is about having a ‘Glocal’ perspective- think global, act local.


Anand Narasimha is a corporate turned academician with over three decades of experience spanning Brand Marketing, Advertising, Consulting, and Teaching. He writes the column Marketing Mocktail for Storyboard18. Views expressed are personal.

Marketing Mocktail: Standardize vs. Customize-brand localization explained

Note to readers: Season-2 of our column Marketing Mocktail breaks down and explains the big ideas, new disruptions and old concepts and marketing practices that matter in the modern age.

The concept of ‘value’ is an underlying principle of marketing. Creating, delivering, and capturing value is the prime objective of any brand or business. So, what exactly is value in marketing?

Customer delivered value

Value is the difference between what the customer gets (benefit) and what the customer pays (cost). A brand must deliver a notional profit to the customer. The benefit minus the cost must always be in the positive. 

Here’s the equation:

•Customer Delivered Value = Benefit - Cost

•Benefit = Functional Benefit + Emotional Benefit + Sensorial Benefit

•Cost = Monetary Cost + Time Cost + Effort Cost

Based on this, there are 5-winning value propositions that can work for a brand. These are depicted in the Value Proposition Grid.

Value proposition grid

In this 3x3 grid, ‘more-same-less’ for a brand is with its competitive frame of reference and mapped on benefit and price.

<img src="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/2023/11/Price-chart.jpg" alt="" width="781" height="670" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-16778" />

The 5-winning value propositions are the situations where the customer makes a notional profit. In the 4 other situations the customer makes a loss, hence they are not viable.

Let us examine the 5-winning value propositions in detail with examples.

More for more

These are brands in the luxury and premium categories. They offer more benefits and cost more. This enables them to charge a hefty premium and they operate on smaller volumes but higher margins.

The Apple i-phone is much costlier than other smartphones, but consumers are willing to pay more for the superior user experience, features, design, and brand image. The i-phone has only a 12 percent unit share of the global smartphone market, but a whopping 72% profit share. Its retention rate among existing users is 87 percent.

More for the same

In this case, brands offer more benefits to the consumer for the same price as the competitors.

Take the case of Ikea. Thie Swedish furniture and home accessories maker’s philosophy is to offer ‘Champagne on a beer budget’. Ikea’s products are competitively priced, yet stylish, practical, contemporary, thoughtfully designed, and sustainable. The ‘Do-it-Yourself’ aspect of the brand creates greater consumer involvement. Ikea is a ‘masstige’ brand, aspirational yet affordable.

More for less

This is the holy grail for marketers and very few can pull this off. Offering more for less requires ‘value innovation’. Offering superior benefits on the one hand, while charging less on the other.

Reliance JIO pulled this off. Being a late entrant in the Telecom business, they had to come up with a truly differentiated offering. Jio changed the game from voice to data. On the benefit side it offered faster speed and higher volume of data to subscribers, while on the cost side it made the data packs cheaper and voice totally free. This strategy helped them overtake the established players like Airtel and Vodaphone, within a short span of time.

Same for less

Here a brand offers the same benefits at a lower cost. These brands focus on cost-leadership by playing the high-volume game.
Walmart, the big box retailer, is a classic example. Walmart’s vision is ‘To save people money, so that they can live better’. It provides an unending range of products, with a basic shopping experience, at lower prices than other retailers. For most large FMCG players Walmart is among their biggest marketplaces. For shoppers seeking everyday low prices, Walmart is the go-to destination.

Less for much less

Offering lesser benefits, but at a much lesser cost is also a viable strategy. These brands increase the penetration of a category by expanding the market at the lower end.

Low-cost budget airlines follow this model. Southwest Airlines is a pioneer in this game. It disrupted the market at the lower end, making air travel accessible to a broader audience. It has a clearly defined strategy that leverages short-haul routes, utilizing cheaper airports, operating a single fleet type, smart scheduling, and flying point-to-point. The focus is on on-time performance with low ticket prices. The brand offers a no-frills flying experience, devoid of the bells and whistles of a full-service carrier. It targets cost conscious travelers looking for the best value for their dollar.

Value for competitive advantage


Value provides a competitive advantage to a brand or business. If we map the 5-winning value propositions to the strategy for competitive advantage, here’s what it looks like:


<img src="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/2023/11/New-Microsoft-PowerPoint-Presentation.jpg" alt="" width="957" height="600" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-16902" />

 
The question every brand or business must answer: How are we delivering value to our customers? What is our winning value proposition?

Only then customers will get their monies worth, or as they say in Hindi, ‘Paisa Vasool’.


Anand Narasimha is a corporate turned academician with over three decades of experience spanning Brand Marketing, Advertising, Consulting, and Teaching. He writes the column Marketing Mocktail for Storyboard18. Views expressed are personal.

Marketing Mocktail: Paisa Vasool- the concept of value explained

Note to readers: Season-2 of our column Marketing Mocktail breaks down and explains the big ideas, new disruptions and old concepts and marketing practices that matter in the modern age.


A brand is a perceptual entity that resides in the consumer’s mind. Perception of a brand is shaped by the various stimuli of the brand.


The Gestalt Principle - the whole is more than the sum of its parts


There is a theory in perception called the ‘Gestalt Principle’, created by German psychologists Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler in the 1920s.


The underlying philosophy of Gestalt is that when people perceive an entity, ‘the whole is more than the sum of its parts’. This also applies to how people perceive a brand.


Jeremy Bullmore of JWT said, “A consumer constructs a brand like a bird constructs a nest-from small scraps collected here and there.”


Let us examine the various components that form the total impression of a brand.


As evident in the graphic, there are diverse stimuli and factors impacting the impression of the brand.


Total impression of the brand


<img src="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/2023/10/Salt.jpg" alt="" width="1020" height="720" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-16460" />


A few important aspects to keep in mind are:


· A brand is complex and multi-layered, but since consumers perceive the whole as more than the sum of its parts, the perception gets simplified.

· Some of the factors are in direct control of the marketer, while others are driven by external factors that may not be in control of the marketer.

· The perception is dynamic and never static. It gets reinforced by consistently receiving the same stimuli and it also keeps evolving over time with newer stimuli.

· While there are common set of perceptions that cut across consumers, in addition, each individual forms their own set of perceptions depending on their field of experience and cultural context.



Let’s do it with Nike



Let’s analyze how the total impression of Nike is driven by the various stimuli and factors.



At a product level, Nike in its early days was associated with sports shoes and over time has broadened its association to sportswear and athleisure products.



Nike’s premium pricing has pitched it as a brand that is aspirational.



The user experience of its various offerings, starting with Air Jordan, makes the brand perceived as innovative and cutting edge in its category. Nike introduced products like Hijab and plus sizes to create an image of ‘inclusivity’.



Nike has a rich legacy which is part of marketing and sporting folklore. Engaging stories about the brand have been widely propagated- ‘Shoe Dog’, the book by founder Phil Knight and recently the movie ‘AIR’, about the association with Michael Jordan.



The name Nike stands for the ‘Greek Goddess of Victory’ and implies ‘winning and glory’.



Its distinctive ‘swoosh’ symbol is so well entrenched in the mind, that the brand does not even write its name in the communication. The ‘swoosh’ has become shorthand for the brand.



Nike’s advertising has always been iconic, edgy, and inspirational. It created the fitness culture and is built around the brand idea of ‘Just do it!’



NIKE BY YOU is an online platform that enables consumers to customize their own pair of Nikes.



Endorsements by leading athletes and sportspersons have been a key element of the brand, coupled with sponsorship of local and global sporting events.



The brand generates passionate conversation on social media, often controversial, like the Colin Kaepernick ad. Sometimes, word of mouth can also lead to negative perception and Nike faced a backlash in the late 1990s for its ‘Sweatshop’ scandal. Whichever way, Nike is a highly talked about brand.



The retailing of the brand is omnichannel- covering multiband outlets, exclusive Nike stores and online platforms. Nike’s brand stores are designed to showcase the Nike brand experience to shoppers.



Adidas, Reebok, and Puma are Nike’s key competitors and their image and perception also impact how consumers see Nike.



In terms of partnerships, Apple and Nike introduced Apple Watch Nike+, the ultimate companion for those with a passion for running.



Even though people may wear Nike sneakers and Tees with their jeans to just chill out, the user imagery of Nike is people jogging, running, or playing sports. The brand is strongly associated with fitness, athletics, and sports.



The total impression of Nike in the minds of its consumers is shaped by all these stimuli and yet is more than the sum of these.



Nike’s brand impression aligns with its vision - ‘To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world (if you have a body, you are an athlete).’


Total impression of Nike


<img src="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/2023/10/Nike.jpg" alt="" width="1077" height="645" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-16461" />


Managing your brand is about managing the stimuli that create the total impression of your brand- to drive the dual engine of distinctiveness and differentiation.


Anand Narasimha is a corporate turned academician with over three decades of experience spanning Brand Marketing, Advertising, Consulting, and Teaching. He writes the column Marketing Mocktail for Storyboard18. Views expressed are personal.

Marketing Mocktail: Brand as Gestalt - total impression of a brand explained

Note to readers: Season-2 of our column Marketing Mocktail breaks down and explains the big ideas, new disruptions and old concepts and marketing practices that matter in the modern age.



When you study the lifecycle of brands, you will discover that most of the multiproduct brands began life as a single product. Over time, they expanded their product portfolio into adjacent or new categories to leverage their equity and create growth.

 

For example, Dove began life as a soap (or beauty bar) and stayed with that for a long time until it extended the brand into other personal care products like shampoo, conditioner, face wash, body wash, lotion, hair oil, deodorant and recently into the men’s category and baby care.

 

Today, new D2C brands are straightaway entering the market with a wide portfolio, and they rapidly keep adding new products and categories.

 

The question is, do brands extend their portfolio randomly, or is there a thought process behind it? What is the basis of extending a brand? Is there an underlying theme?

 

Analyzing a wide cross section of brands provides the answer. There are five types of brands based on the theme that they use to extend themselves. This theme becomes the common redline for brand extension.

 

The themes straddle a spectrum from a narrow and focused scope to a broad and diverse one.

 

The theme chosen by a brand depends on its current core and future ambition. Also, over a period the theme may move from a narrow to a broader scope.

 

Let us look at these five types of brands, from narrow to broad, with examples.

 

Product brand



Here the brand does not extend at all and is focused on a single product line.



These brands subscribe to the school of thought that ‘the strength of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope.’

 

Head & Shoulders anti-dandruff shampoo plays only in the shampoo category.

 

Intel is only into chips (while they could have easily expanded into PCs).

 

Heineken is just a beer, and this is the case with almost every alcohol brand which is focused on a particular type of spirit.

 

Formula brand



These brands extend based on a common formulation or ingredient.

 

Parachute coconut oil extended its portfolio to other hair care and styling products as well as body lotion, based on its ‘coconut nourishment’ platform. Every Parachute product contains the goodness of coconut oil.

 

Embedded in Dettol’s range of liquid antiseptic, soap, hand wash, sanitizer, shaving cream and kitchen cleaner is its patented ‘antiseptic formulation’.

 

Know How brand



In this case the extension is driven by a common area of expertise or knowledge.

 

Gillette’s range of offerings are built around its expertise in wet shaving and ‘male grooming’.

 

Himalaya has a diversified portfolio covering personal care, baby care, pharma and nutrition that is created on its knowledge of ‘blending nature with science’.

 

Interest brand



Brands in this bucket cater to an area of human interest.

 

A classic example is Disney, which has designed its offerings for ‘family entertainment’- be it theme parks, resorts, cartoons, movies, music, merchandise and OTT platform.

 

North Face offers a range of adventure apparel, shoes and accessories that are meant for ‘outdoor adventure’. The brand targets climbers, mountaineers, snow sport athletes and endurance athletes to novice explorers in search of adventure.

 

Philosophy brand



A common philosophy or ideology is what these brands extend on. Offerings in their portfolio are unrelated and diverse.

 

Virgin is one such brand where the extension into unrelated categories is held together by the philosophy of ‘charismatic irreverence’. This philosophy makes them a ‘cartel buster’ in every category they enter and is largely driven by the persona of its founder Richard Branson.

 

TATA, the salt to software brand, is bound together by the values of ‘trust, integrity and responsibility’ that people associate the brand with.

 

The strange case of Patanjali



Patanjali makes for an interesting discussion in this context.

 

The brand was introduced with Baba Ramdev as its face, across personal care, food & nutrition, and pharma as a ‘Know How’ brand built on the expertise and knowledge of Ayurveda.

 

However, there was an underlying emotion of ‘Neo-Nationalism (pride of made in India and an anti-MNC sentiment), which the brand exploited as a philosophy.

 

Thereafter, Patanjali made a foray into apparel with jeans under a sub-brand called 'Patanjali Paridhan'. While this had nothing to do with Ayurveda, perhaps it was attempting to ride on the philosophy of ‘Neo-Nationalism’.

 

It did not work! Probably Pantanjali was not able to make the transition from a ‘Know How’ brand to a ‘Philosophy’ brand.

 

Contrast this with Nike, which began as a ‘Product Brand’ with sports shoes and has now evolved into an ‘Interest Brand’ built around ‘sports and fitness’ with its portfolio of athleisure products.

 

So, when you are developing your brand portfolio or expanding it, decide on the theme for holding it together. Be clear on how narrow or broad would you like to play?

 

Anand Narasimha is a corporate turned academician with over three decades of experience spanning Brand Marketing, Advertising, Consulting, and Teaching. He writes the column Marketing Mocktail for Storyboard18. Views expressed are personal.

Marketing Mocktail: Narrow or broad - brand portfolio extension themes explained

Note to readers: Season-2 of our column Marketing Mocktail breaks down and explains the big ideas, new disruptions and old concepts and marketing practices that matter in the modern age.

The pop of a champagne bottle signals celebration. The cacophony of crackers heralds the arrival of Diwali. The ringing of bells connotes prayer. In our lives, sound has meaning and creates moods, feelings and emotions.

Enter sonic branding

In the world of brands too, sound has become a potent weapon for creating greater consumer engagement. Sonic branding is the new mantra and sound is one of the five-senses used to heighten a brand’s sensory experience. Brands have regularly used sound in their advertising, primarily to aid recall using audio mnemonics, signature music and jingles. Titan’s classic soundtrack or Britannia’s ‘Ting-Ting-Tring’ have made us remember these brands with a Pavlovian response.

Now, marketers are looking at sound not as an advertising device alone but building it into a DBA (Distinctive Brand Asset). An asset that not only aids brand recall and recognition, but also becomes shorthand for its persona-to evoke feelings and emotions. You don’t just see a bullet motorcycle on the road, you also hear it. Its distinctive ‘Dug-Dug’ of the engine is embedded into the DNA of the brand.

A study by Veritonic, in the US, shows how sonic brand assets positively impact purchase intent.

<img src="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/2023/10/Image-40.png" alt="" width="895" height="489" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-15848" />


MOGO is the new LOGO

Today, specialized sonic branding agencies have emerged to help design the sonic identity for brands.

One such pioneering agency is Brand Musiq, founded by Rajeev Raja (ex-creative director and an accomplished musician). The company has developed the sonic identity for brands such as Mastercard, HDFC, Zomato, Tata Salt, MG, Raymond and Vistara, among others.

They have coined the term MOGO or 'Musical Logo'- that is the sonic essence of your brand and is embedded in the MOGOSCAPE- which is the sonic palette of your brand. 

To quote the company’s website:

“The quickest way to your customer’s heart is through the ears. The human ear is 20X faster than the eye. Research shows sound has the power to increase customer immersion and engage audiences by up to 86 percent. Couple this with a surge in voice-enabled technology and a worldwide resurgence in audio consumption, and there has never been a better time to move your brand identity from cognition to emotion with sonic branding.”

Brand Musiq has an interesting process to design the sonic identity of brands, called MUSE (Musical Strategy Exercise), that is an amalgamation of Western psychology, Indian classical arts, and modern audio science. They start with using the brand archetypes and ‘Nava Rasas’ to map the brand’s MOGOSCAPE. From there they compose the MOGO and adapt it across different ‘ear-points’ (sonic touchpoints).

Let’s look at some brands, over the years, that have used sound imaginatively to make it a powerful DBA.

Brahma Beer

The Brazilian beer brand created and owns the unique ‘Tssss’ sound of the cap coming off the bottle. Beer drinkers started mouthing ‘Tssss’ to be served a chilled Brahma beer at bars and pubs.

Kellogg’s

This global cereal brand built their Rice Krispies around the magic of Snap-Crackle-Pop’ which was embedded in the product and caught the imagination of kids. The moment the Rice Krispies are added to milk they emit a sequence of sounds that go ‘Snap-Crackle-Pop’- embodied in three brand mascots of the same name.

Kingfisher

Closer home ‘The king of good times’ made its jingle evoke the brand values of fun, enjoyment, and flamboyance. The reggae style ‘Oo-lala-la-ley-o’ transports you onto the beaches of the Caribbean (or Goa) with a chilled beer in hand.

Nokia

The signature ring tone became a calling card for the brand. Out of the 400 million handsets that Nokia sold at that time, almost 20 percent of users retained the default ringtone. That makes it 20 million consumers whose phone always rang with the Nokia ringtone. Assuming an average number of 11 rings per day at nine seconds per ring, it works out to 10 hours per year into 20 million phones! Now that’s a huge amount of unpaid branding.

Intel

How does a chip sound? The semi-conductor giant invested in the ‘wave sound’ or the ‘Intel Bong’ as an intrinsic part of its branding. Every time you hear the wave, you think of the power of the Intel processor.

Netflix

‘Ta-Dum’-two notes do it all for Netflix, with ‘Ta-Dum’ perfectly timed as the logo appears when you open this streaming platform. Even if you're in another room when you hear it, you know it's time to binge watch a new show or dig into a movie.

A powerful and evocative sonic identity can make a brand stand out and create emotional connections in a visually cluttered world.

Imagine if the world was blind, how would people recognize and connect with your brand?

Anand Narasimha is a corporate turned academician with over three decades of experience spanning Brand Marketing, Advertising, Consulting, and Teaching. He writes the column Marketing Mocktail for Storyboard18. Views expressed are personal.

Marketing Mocktail: The sound of brands - sonic branding explained

Note to readers: Season-2 of our column Marketing Mocktail breaks down and explains the big ideas, new disruptions and old concepts and marketing practices that matter in the modern age.

 
What is it that motivates and unites human beings more - supporting a cause or fighting against an idea? History provides us with the answer.

During the French Revolution, the oppressed bourgeois’ united against a common enemy - the feudal and exploitative French monarchy and sent them to the guillotine. Soon after, once the enemy was dead, they were plagued with infighting and rivalry.

The Allied Forces were united against Nazi Germany, symbolized by Adolf Hitler. Both the capitalist and communist blocs came together, to demolish their common enemy. But once the Third Reich fell, the communist and capitalist blocks were polarized, leading to the Cold War.

Visionaries like Mahatma Gandhi (Quit India Movement against British colonialism), Dr. Martin Luther King (Civil Rights Movement against racial discrimination) also succeeded by defining an enemy to fight against.

So, fighting against an enemy generates a more powerful emotional response than just supporting a cause, which tends to be more reason led.

As the saying goes, “Reasons lead to conclusions, emotion leads to action.”


Battle for the consumer’s mind


In the world of brands too, there are stories of brands that have gone beyond product propositions, to define an ‘enemy’ (not the competition, but a belief, convention or behavior in society and culture).

 

These brands have taken a ‘stand’ against their enemy to unite their consumers, through an emotional turbo-charge.



When Steve Jobs launched the Apple Macintosh in 1984, the enemy was: ‘People have to be computer-literate.’ The stand the brand took: ‘Computers have to be people-literate’. This idea has driven the philosophy of Apple ever since.

 

Diesel, an irreverent brand that is counterculture came up with this idea. It took a bold stance in its campaign ‘Be Stupid’, against an over smart society that creates a safe, formula driven world which inhibits risk taking.

 

For Tang, the juice concentrates brand targeted at kids, Ogilvy created a powerful idea, ‘Long Live Kids!’, taking a stand against the enemy-society is pressurizing kids to become grown up too soon and behave like adults.

 

A new battle cry for brands

In a world of growing parity, where product performance is becoming table stakes, brands need to go beyond just talking about themselves, to propagating a larger worldview.


With consumers becoming smarter, cynical and information rich, brands need to evolve from conventional ‘points-of-difference’ (POD) to a ‘point-of-view’ (POV).

 
It’s becoming less about ‘what I do for you’ and more about ‘what I stand for and care about’.

 
The ‘Enemy-Stand-Mantra’ construct

 
Products solve problems in our lives. Brands beat down the enemies that torment us every day.

 
In this context, I have developed the ‘Enemy-Stand-Mantra’ construct: 

·Enemy - a commonly held belief, convention or behavior in society.

·Stand - the brand’s stance against the enemy.

·Mantra - the brand’s defining point-of-view.

Let us look at a few examples.


DOVE

Enemy: Stereotypical beauty standards created by media and society that lower women’s self-esteem.

Stand: Every woman is beautiful in her own way.

Mantra: Real beauty for real women. 
 

TATA TEA

Enemy: Apathy towards social issues.

Stand: It’s time to wake up and act.

Mantra: Jago Rey! (Awaken!).

 
SURF EXCEL

Enemy: Moms’ fear of kids getting their clothes dirty.

Stand: Don’t let dirt be a spoilsport.

Mantra: Daag Acche Hain (Stains are good).


ARIEL

Enemy: Women’s desire that their husbands should participate equally in household chores.

Stand: Why should household chores only be a woman’s burden.

Mantra: Share the load


It is important to note that the ‘Mantras’ of these brands are laddered up from their functionality.

Tata Tea’s functional benefit is ‘Refreshing’, which fits with ‘Awakening’.

Similarly, Dove’s ‘1/4 moisturizing beauty’ seamlessly flows into ‘Real Beauty’.

Surf Excels ladders up from ‘bright, stain free clothes’ to ‘Daag Acche Hain’. And Ariel from ‘super clean, fresh clothes’ to ‘Share the load’.


The war ahead


Applying this construct to your brand requires three key elements:


From product to people: You need to focus more on ‘what people care about’ and less on ‘what your product does’. Horst Rachelbacher, the founder of Aveda has this to say, “My brand is not interested in competing. It is interested in making a contribution.”

 

Developing sharp antennae: You must have an intuitive ability to pick up signals from society and culture. The founder of Diesel, Renzo Rosso says, “My first inspiration is always in the street. Listening to and watching people.”

 

Laddering up your functionality: Your brand’s mantra must be naturally in sync with its functional benefit (not a force fit) and ideally after the functionality is clearly established in the minds of your consumers.

 

So, the next time you think about how to make your brand famous, rich, and loved, try 'branding with the enemy'. It could be half the battle won.

 

Anand Narasimha is a corporate turned academician with over three decades of experience spanning Brand Marketing, Advertising, Consulting, and Teaching. He writes the column Marketing Mocktail for Storyboard18. Views expressed are personal.

Marketing Mocktail: Branding with the enemy- the Enemy-Stand-Mantra construct explained

Note to readers: Season-2 of our column Marketing Mocktail breaks down and explains the big ideas, new disruptions and old concepts and marketing practices that matter in the modern age.


Brand marketers are constantly formulating, executing and tracking strategies for their brands. While the components of a brand strategy are well known, the question is "How effective is your strategy? How do you know it is on the right track?"

 
Here are my four pillars of brand strategy- differentiation, focus, consistency and integration. An effective brand strategy must tick all the four boxes.


Differentiation



Strategy, at its very core, is not about doing the same things better than your competition. It is about doing things differently.

 

Many a time we commit the cardinal sin of crafting a ‘me-too’ strategy, with no, or very marginal difference over competing brands.

 

Harley Davidson positioned its bikes on freedom and adventure against the Japanese bikes which were in the speed and thrill territory. They famously said, “When others zig, we zag.”

 

Reliance JIO, a late entrant in Telecom space, built its offering around data, in a market that was competing on voice.

 

When Volkswagen launched the iconic Beetle, they urged the American car buyer to ‘Think Small’, in a culture where ‘Big was beautiful’ when it came to cars.

 

So, as Jack Trout says, “Differentiate or die.”


Focus



One of the best ideas on strategy was prophesied by Michael Porter when he said, “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.”

 

Strategy is about making a choice, a trade-off between the several options.



If you stand for nothing, you will fall for everything.

 

A brand that tries to be all things to all people, ends up being nothing to no one.

 

When Steve Jobs was asked if Apple should launch a lower priced range of smartphones for emerging markets that are price sensitive, here’s what he said, “We don’t want to compete in the junk market.”


Dig this fact:



A brand of jams with 34 flavors had 60 percent of shoppers browsing it and only three percent purchasing it (five percent conversion).



Another brand of jams with only six flavors had 40 percent of shoppers browsing it and 20 percent purchasing it (50 percent conversion).

 

Next time you are crafting your brand strategy, begin with a list of things that you will not do. Then, what you need to do and focus on will become evident.

 

Consistency



Give your strategy a chance to succeed.



You may keep changing your tactics but be consistent in your strategy.

 

Often, we get bored of our own strategy and keep changing it. Bad idea! Any strategy needs time, patience and perseverance to work.

 

Also, a strategy needs to be backed by adequate resources. You can’t do bungee jumping from four feet.

 

This is best illustrated by an anecdote.

 

When Phillip Morris and Leo Burnett (their agency) were celebrating 10 years of the ‘Marlboro Man’ (Cowboy) campaign, a journalist had this conversation with Mr. Leo Burnett (the agency founder):

 

Journalist: “How many people do you employ in your Chicago office?”

 

Leo: “Well about close to a 100 people.”

 

Journalist (sounding cocky): “Why do you need a 100 people? You’ve been running the same Marlboro campaign for the past 10 years.”

 

Leo: “1 guy created it, the other 99 stop it from changing.”

 

Integration



Make sure everything you do is ‘On-Strategy’.

 

Every piece of your marketing should work cohesively and seamlessly in the same direction. Like an orchestra which always plays in sync and harmony.

 

Integration is like the Yeti, frequently talked about but seldom seen.

 

Let’s come back to Apple.

 

The three tenets of Apple’s positioning are Simplicity, Creativity and Humanity.

 

These are manifested in everything the brand does, across all touch points- products, packaging, brand design, advertising, store experience and customer experience.

 

Nine out of 10 strategies fail, not because of poor formulation but because of poor implementation. Most of the time lack of integration is the culprit.

 

Next time you are formulating your Brand Strategy, give it a strong foundation with the four-pillars.

 

As Roger Martin says, “The two most fundamental strategic choices are where to play and how to win.”

 

Anand Narasimha is a corporate turned academician with over three decades of experience spanning Brand Marketing, Advertising, Consulting, and Teaching. He writes the column Marketing Mocktail for Storyboard18. Views expressed are personal.

MARKETING MOCKTAIL