Bharat is not the antithesis of India

As marketeers we tend to build silos and slot brands, consumers and even perceptions into the same. So Apple is expensive, Samsung exists across price points, metro youth is English speaking, non metro is vernacular, urban consumers are trendy, rural consumers are poor.....huh what was that again?

Exactly my point. Post liberalisation in the early nineties it made sense to have a bipolar view of India. The haves and the have nots. Rural India and Urban India, government job seekers and private job seekers....Like the famous Bush quote on terrorism "you are either with us or against us"

Even though we have moved on we still try to have bipolar silos but with different contexts and subtexts. So now we don't live in urban or rural areas we live in India or Bharat.

But as I said, we have created these silos thinking these two are bi polar. The reality though is very different.

When I was shifting to Doon, I was given lot of advice by friends, colleagues and well wishers. All of them had slotted Doon to be the antithesis of a Gurgaon or Mumbai. So in their mind Doon did not offer what Mumbai had and Doon offered what maybe rural India had. Not many corporate jobs (partially true), no light life (partially true), people do not understand English (untrue), no facilities for children (totally false), poor infrastructure (not true), not many entertainment facilities (untrue)....

Simple point here. It was interesting to see how these people had slotted India to be. Entertainment meant malls and multiplexes (picnics was seen as a very rural or school kids phenomena). English speaking population. Kids very busy with extra curricular activities like dance, music, sports, work meant well paid corporate jobs, infrastructure meant flyovers and uninterrupted 3G from Airtel or Vodafone. (Yes, Idea was considered as a Bharat brand, more rural!). India seemed to be the antithesis of Bharat.

The reality however is very different. Bharat has moved quickly to adopt India. A new generation is already here which behaves as the Indians in India. But they have not abandoned Bharat. Their roots are firmly entrenched in Bharat but their hopes, ambitions and dreams are very Indian. 

They want to marry a partner of their choice but with the blessing of their parents. Arranged love marriage as these are called. They prefer BSNL or Idea as for them Vodafone or Airtel is more talk and less work (read coverage). They are taking bank loans to do an MBA as an IAS, IFS or IPS job is not their Mount Everest any more. They get Dainik Jagran at home but prefer to receive breaking news from it on their mobiles. They throng the multiplexes for new releases with Popcorns but weekend outings are still Mussorie or Maldevta on bikes.

And they are not connected just with India but also with the world.

They are as comfortable with Salman Khan as they are with Van Diesel. They have downloaded the Hotstar app to watch the Cricket world cup and the IPL but don't waste their broadband data plan on inconsequential matches. They argue passionately if Man United has lost its mojo and are equally vocal about the revival of Indian hockey .

This is not just Doon phenomena. Lucknow, Ahemadabad, Hyderabad, Bhopal...... are all in the same boat.

The sooner we realise that the the bipolar world of marketing jargons is fast becoming irrelevant the more effective our communication to them will be. We as marketeers would be making a grave mistake if we consider Bharat to be opposite of India. It is actually a new continuum with its own idiosyncracies. Till we accept that we won't be tapping it's potential.



 

Paper Boat - An inspired launch

Paper boat. The name itself invokes memories. Of a bygone time. Of a childhood where innocent fun was the order of the day. Of life which was simple and uncomplicated. And of the local drinks available at home or on the streets in the past.

Paper Boat has launched a slew of such drinks, a throwback to the nostalgia of those days. For me this has been the stand out communication of the past few weeks. Stand out because of the following simple reason.

After a really long time I have seen a launch based on complete positioning. The brand promise of memories is reflected in almost all aspects of marketing. The name paper boat is all about memories. Then the product concept of drinks like jal jeera, aam ras, rasam, kala khatta is also so very nostalgic, the packaging clearly amplifies the positioning of memories and of course the communication has stayed true to memories.

This complete marketing package is what has made this launch memorable (pun unintended). It is not often that one gets to see such simple yet focussed marketing launch and I must say hats off to the marketing and the communication team.

I think there is a strong lesson here. Get your fundamentals right. Have a sharp positioning and stay true to it. Integrate it within all elements of your marketing mix. How many times have we seen that because packaging needs a big lead time, we compromise on the pack design and it does not reflect the positioning? Or because the brand name needs to be registered and put on the packaging it has simply no reflection of the positioning? How many times have we seen an overdependence on just communication to see a brand through?

And that is what makes Paper Boat a good case study for an exemplary marketing launch. It has used the various elements of marketing cohesively so that there is no over dependence on one element of marketing mix.

Finally, even the timing of the launch is just right. At the onset of summer. And they have latched on to cricket the opium of the masses. So all seems well.

I did a quick cursory search amongst some college students and first jobbers here in Doon and realised that the product concept appealed to them. It was almost as if this was a "Bharat Product" which India also will accept. Aamras, kala khatta, golgappa pani..... And memories, nostalgic memories had a big appeal.

The question now is, will the brand be successful? I googled the brand and went to their website. It seems to be a new company started by entrepreneurs, some with beverage industry experience. But a fresh, young mind set, and it seems innovative thinking. The critical success factor in this category has always been distribution. I have no clue about their distribution set up but from the website it seems they have gone into a direct delivery ecommerce model. The claim is that they can deliver in about 75 Indian cities. Well that's another first and let's see how it plays out.

The website in itself is also very interesting. I was very impressed with the FAQ section where they have addressed questions about, freshness, artificial flavours (yes they do have some), preservatives (no they have not added any), shelf life (a decent 4-6 months), packaging etc have been answered honestly and upfront. On the whole the website is a good reflection of the brand and I enjoyed surfing it.

The only disappointment was social media. The Facebook page seems to be like any other Facebook page replete with product info, TV ads and comments. It seems that the opportunity to use "memories" on Social Media has not been really exploited.

But then I also realised that the brand has been around for more than a year. And I had not heard about it. It had been present on social media and I hadn't heard about it. It was only when it went on mass media that it has gained traction. Says a lot about the power of mass media in today or the under utilisation of social media. Or maybe it was intentional as the brand was ratching up its infrastructure.

The fact is that after a long time a new brand has created interest. I for one will follow them with interest and hope that they create happy memories for the future.