In the office had my usual cup of Nescafe Coffee. After that I was busy working on my HP PC. Had a telephonic conference on my Nortel IP Phone with guys in the US. In the mean time got some disturbing calls from the HSBC Bank Call centres on my Samsung Cellphone. It was lunch time when I shared a bottle of Sprite with my friends.
In the evening I went out with my friends. We were driving around in a Honda City. We did not like the music on the radio, so my friend connected his Apple iPod to his Sony Car Stereo. After the dinner outside, I was back home. Switched on my World Space radio, and finished the day by sending a few important emails using my Sony Vaio Laptop."
What I have written above, is just a daily routine for most of us.
And I am pretty sure that you guys have been able to catch the point that I am trying to make. This is how our lives have become so much influenced with Brands.
And in fact there is so much that I did not cover in that daily routine, but if you think about it, you will realize almost every bit of our lives is associated with one brand or the other.
Just think about it.
But it is a possibility that many would actually miss out an important point reading above. All the Brands that I have mentioned above are not Indian Brands, but they are Brands in India. (or for that matter not Indian Companies, but Companies in India).
Bottom-line:
No more is the Indian Industry synonymous with India-Owned Industry. In the new globalized world of business, Ownership is an extinct issue and that dogmatic approach is long-gone. Ownership is seen as an anachronism in today's world.
Eventually, for the end-consumer, it is the value created that counts. Today we people are not worried about the color of money. And similarly, as long as the company/industry coming to India is creating jobs in India, and is providing value to its customers is taken as an Indian Industry.
With this mentality we are becoming more and more "Brand" conscious. And Brands are becoming more and more important, not just with the higher echelons of our society, but in fact throughout the nation.
I Not At All intend to write a detailed description of Branding, Branding Strategies, Brand Equity Models, or such concepts. Absolutely not.
The motive of mentioning "Brands" in this blog is pretty simple, and two-fold.
1. How important Brands have become to us, and in how many ways they influence our daily lives?
2. To share interesting "Brand Stories".
Also, it is extremely important to understand, the difference between Indian Brands and Brands in India, and in fact, is there actually any difference and what is their relevance in the Globalized world. Adding to that we need to understand, why are there still hardly any Indian Brands being recognized as Global Brands.
This is a very elaborate topic and I intend to take it up sometime later, and not in this post.
I was not surprised when many "Brand Stories" started to fascinate me of late.
I have always held myself close to my favorite brands, for so many years in fact. So now when I have started to learn about what branding is all about, in my Marketing, and Business Policies & Corporate Strategies' classes, it has ignited my mind even more (as would say Mr. APJ Kalam) and really fueled up my interest in the concept.
Thanks to my teachers: Prof. Shastri, and Dr. Sane.
Before going any further, I just wish to write couple of lines each on Brand, Brand Equity and Branding.
There are many definitions on the internet, and the formal ones put by "The American Marketing Association", but being a hardcore Kotler fan, many of the concepts that I will use in my blog actually find their original place in Kotler.
A Brand, simply putting, is a product or service that adds dimensions that differentiate it in some way from other products/services designed to satisfy the same need. Such differences could even be emotional or intangible or just symbolic.
Brand Equity is the added value endowed to products and services, which may get reflected in how consumers think, feel and react w.r.t. the brand, and the price and market-share that the brand commands. Brand Equity is a significant intangible asset.
Branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem. To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects.
There are some very interesting Brand Stories to share. And I am going to share them very soon…
Till then. Cheerio...
