5 Kinds of Branding in India

Any entity's description of itself is but a part of Branding. Branding is the personality that the consumers, customers, and other stakeholders give to the entity. We can achieve in many ways but I will talk about five of them here. 

Branding through Storytelling

Building a story around the entity, personifying it and giving it a set of defined parameters empathizes the public at large to the brand. 

The Curious Route Followed by TITAN

Today the function of the watch ie finding the time of the day no longer needs a watch. Any mobile phone or laptop or tv can do that. So Titan came up with the story of what time  stands for. It put out content portraying the emotions which connected it with the customers in a rather intimate and powerful way over time. Suddenly the Titan watch no longer represented the function of knowing time but became the mode of expressing emotions like gratitude, respect, choice, unlearning. It stands for time tested honour. Today Titan is not a watch provider but a branded gift expressing emotions and empowerment. 

The Master stroke of Repurposing by Cadbury

Cadbury repurposed the old ad to suit today’s audience showing its connection with the current market. It told a story of the evolution in the social mindset and so the ad became an instant hit. 

Branding  through tapping on a personality

Be it Pathanjali’s Baba Ramdev, or Sathguru of ISHA foundations, the person, their philosophy or way of living has garnered so much support that the followers would consume anything recommended by the “gurus”. 

Cashing upon a addressable market which was created

Baba Ramdev took this personal branding to a new level when he built an FMCG range of products and needless to say, the market size of the followers itself was large enough to make up a viable addressable market. 

Though not in quite the same line Branson of Virgin group also built a personal branding so great that the company closely showcases this personality. The virgin persona is that of energetic, playful and modern, and guess who does that image resonate with?

Branding  with a Disruptive approach towards product utility/Perception 

Though disruptive business brings into our mind a myriad of companies and concepts like Air BnB, or Uber or Netflix, I would here discuss the disruption in branding. 

Surf- Daag Ache Hote hai

It is taking a different or same product into a new level of perception. For eg DAAG AACHE HOTE HAI- a non-judgemental look at the problem- here dirt! Traditionally the cleansers have always portrayed the dirt as an opponent or a foe but here Surf placed it as a small issue to be overcome thus downsizing the problem and upping the solution! 

Brutal Honesty applied for reverse psychology 

A new brand of vodka decided to go all out on being brutally honest. Alcoholic vodka went out of the way to state that the 50% alcohol content is an expensive way to bad health. The bottle has an anatomical illustration with red marks on the body parts which might be ravaged by alcohol consumption. 

Branding based on Pricing 

Lower Price made economic and emotional sense amongst Indian middle class

Of course, Nirma is the first example of how a local brand gave HLL a run for its money. The pricing was the major driver to sell more and  but the new addressable market also started connecting to the brand. The pricing now became the platform of empathy between the two.  Priced at just Rs 3, Nirma connected to the middle and lower segment domestic household who are awry of highly-priced, expensive-looking packs. This gave Nirma a domestic or “ghar ka” branding. Needless to say, Nirma succeeded in the volume game.

 Reliance Jio is another example of the pricing strategy. Jio became the market leader in a jiffy. Adding to this the image of Reliance  catering to the middle class grew. The reach of the brand was such that even Reliance mart benefitted. The Indian middle class is simply humongous and can sustain any volume based strategy!

Localized branding: 

The fact is despite the onslaught of online and e-commerce into the market, nothing can replace the relationship-based business. Eg the business of the nearby Kirana store or doodh wale baiya or even the colony vegetable vendor. 

The unorganized yet lower costing sectors depend on the personal rapport and trust built over years sometimes over generations. Localized brands empathize with the customers on a personal level and form a part of the market. Word of mouth and local networks help their business. The local employment further strengthens the relations. 

Partnering with other local vendors is easy as is any mutually beneficial deals. For Eg, the vegetable vendor always offers the new tenant the number of the local milkman, servant maid etc. However, the disadvantage is scalability. The scalability would require de-localization. The undeniable fact is that a major chunk of the market, especially in the unorganized sector is still thriving on local branding.