Branding in Bollywood

 I have been a movie-goer since I was around 10. But I learnt about branding only during my MBA. So this is about looking back at some of the big brands that Bollywood has had over the last five deacdes, with emphasis on the earlier times.

Directors- Vijay Anand directed some of my favourite films- Jewel Thief, Johnny Mera Naam and Teesri Manzil. He was known for a slick script, good picturisation and music in films he made.

Manmohan Desai did potboilers very well, with a mix of all masalas- comedy, action, drama and emotion. He used Amitabh well in Amar, Akbar, Anthony.

Ramesh Sippy made Sholay on a scale only recently matched by Bahubali, RRR and others. This was in 1975, without too many computersied special effects- sound effects were used well. 

K. Asif, likewise, for Mughal-e-Azam. Made on a scale that was unprecedented.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee with his unique style of comedies (Golmaal being a great example), Basu Chatterjee with his own realistic films (Rajnigandha, Chitchor), Shyam Benegal on social issues (Manthan, Ankur)

Actors

Madhubala for versatility- she dominated tragedy (Mughal-e-Azam) and comedy (Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi) with aplomb. Matched by Kishore Kumar - he was serious in some of his home productions.

Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor. Each very different, and projecting a different association- Romance, Tragedy and the plight of the Common Man (done in a Chaplinesque manner).

Rajesh Khanna the romantic hero, Amitabh, the Angry Young Man. Aamir Khan, the perfectionist with a variety of roles

Singers

Shamshad Begum, with a nasal twang, Lata Mangeshkar with an amazing voice and range, Rafi who had a great voice and trained in music, Kishore Kumar who was an untrained or self-trained genius, Asha Bhosle who had the best cabaret songs requiring a come-hither quality, Manna Dey who excelled at classical and light songs (he sang many for Mehmood), 

Personal Branding- Take 2

 Yeah, a slightly different take. You don't have to yell from the rooftop (or anywhere else)- to be a great personal brand. You may be a great cook, for instance. Or an unusual cricket umpire - I met one of only 3 women umpires in India- and so on.

Or you may have an uncanny knack of solving Math problems- most of these types are introverts, in my opinion. A strict teacher you may remember, or a loving one- can both be remembered for long. Or one that gives you very different kinds of exams. I have had all kinds, so I remember a few of both kinds.

A problem-solver, a problem-creator are both remembered. We are not talking likeable brands here, unlike product brands. If the brand is strong (either way), you are likely to remember it, or him/her in this case.

There's a reason Birbal is remembered, or Tenali Raman. May I ask if you have heard of them in stories from your childhood?

Finding Your USP

 A Unique Selling Proposition. Known as USP, for short. Popular in marketing, and now everywhere. We all know it helps differentiate a product or service from others. On-time performance has been a USP for some airlines, luxury for others. But the more important question is, how do you find your USP if you are a brand/product/service or even a person?

If you do find it, you may be able to use it in a sales pitch, or demonstrate it consistently for people to identify it with you. Packaging is an easy and tangible way to do it. At least externally, if your product has a packing option. For an institution, it's tough to find one, but worth trying. Perceptions get built anyway, but you can help them along with your branding, AND performance over time. Air Deccan had Simplifly as a slogan, which expressed its desire to bring a flight within a common man's reach. Just like Maruti when launched, was a 'people's car'. 

As far as professors go, you could be known for your teaching methods, skills, knowledge, student-friendly (or the opposite) behaviour. I remember a professor from IIMB because of the exams he gave us- open book. He would give us ten statements, and ask us to agree or disagree with each, supported by references. One of the toughest exams in pre-internet times, when we had to read books/journals in the library for getting those references.

Brands That Surprise Me

 Either with good product quality, or with service, I mean.

Dabur Red toothpaste. It looks good, tastes good, and I have the same kind of loyalty to it (my wife discovered it, to be fair) that I once had for Colgate. But Colgate was in a monopolistic situation, with not much of competition. Dabur is also a home-grown brand.

Polo. I have grown fond of the mint with a hole since the pandemic began, and I usually have it around me in office and at home. It's comfort food, and doesn't do much harm.

Airtel has improved its service over the years. Now, it's pretty good. Pre-sales and after-sales, particularly. 

Wion, among TV channels that I watch for news, is pretty decent. Also, I am now a regular watcher of some films and serials 3 days a week on TV 5 Monde (Asie), which has no ads, and decent evening content with English subtitles. 

Branded clothes, I was never a great fan of, I care more about fit and comfort, which no brand seems consistent with. So I am a switcher, and stick to a budget.

The deliverers and their back-end have improved a lot. The food deliverers are a deliverance for many during the pandemic times.

Bookstores. I am now a fan of Blossoms and Bookworm, both on Church Street, Bangalore. I recently found a few Nero Wolfe (by Rex Stout) books at Blossoms, so doubly a fan. 

Sayaji at Indore used to be consistently good with food. Barbeque Nation is their brand, though I haven't seen much of that.

Park hotel in Belapur was pretty good with its service, and I spent a lot of time there. The breakfast buffet was very good, better than a lot of others. In Kolkata, I liked the Peerless Inn. The Adamas Hotel in Hanoi was a good international one I stayed at. 

ANA, the Japanese airline, and Sri Lankan were two that surprised me pleasantly. Almost everything about Sri Lanka as a destination, actually. 

Indian Brands

India, in spite of worshipping Coke, Domino's, and Cannes (yes, we can), has some remarkable brands of its own. MNCs have not been able to displace them for years.

AMUL is one such brand. Seemingly ubiquitous, because its butter is everywhere, and so is its milk. It is also a cooperative, and its history therefore is unique.

Fevicol, another brand that uses humour to advertise itself (like Amul), is a great Indian brand in its category (sticking things together)

Symphony air coolers is the top-of-the-mind national brand, known early on for its distinctive design.

Asian Paints, for its decorative paints, remains the leading brand for decades.

IPL, though not exactly unique, is a sports brand with a huge following, and international cricket players want to be a part of it.

Among the recently launched ones, Carvaan, a music player from Saregama, has made waves.

Names and Brands

Parents, beware! Names are brands, and positioning a brand is easier when the name is in sync with what the brand is doing. So, think about what your kid's name will be. India has some great names coming out of our history, mythology, and collective cultures.

Ajatshatru is literally, a person who has no enemies. Loved by all, hated by none. Mamata, notwithstanding a prominent politician who signifies anything but, means love of a kind.

I like the sound of some names (may or may not have anything to do with the people behind it- I am not telling)- Alok, Meghna, Shweta, Neha, Shruti, Bala, Frane, Steve, Saumya, Gopal, Prabhakar, Vikas (who doesn't like development? :) ), anything with a Kaur following it (ha, ha), Srinivas, Pooja, Prarthana (you may have guessed why), Anupama, Roshni, Priya, Anuradha, Manju, Raghavendra, Samrendra, Shahida, Divya, Abhinav, Tanaya, Nikita, ...Ok, I can go on. Leslie, Robin, Shirley, Lauren, Ron, are some that are easy on the tongue, and these were/are some friends too.

The point is just that it is easier on the kids if parents give some thought to what the kids and the public at large may think about the name, or the ease with which they can say it.

Brands I Grew Up With

Dalda- There was a shortage of this cooking oil most of the time.

Binny- Many clothes were made from this cloth brand.
Bata- Shoes invariably had to be Bata. Learnt much later that this was a company started by a Czech immigrant into the West.
Cadbury- the end of desire.
Chiclets- the first chewing gum that we had.

Tata- The trucks and buses we saw were either Tata or Ashok Leyland.
Godrej- They made locks and cupboards. Life's valuable possessions (few then) used to be under their lock and key.
Camlin- Oh, the excitement of a new compass box in school!

Taj Mahal- This was a Udipi restaurant in Hyderabad.
Kamat- and this too.
Modern- Mummy, mummy Modern Bread-an iconic ad.

Philips- Listened to marvelous songs on the Philips radio through the ages..Binaca Geet Mala, Bhoole bisre geet, Aap hi ke geet, Jaymala, Chhayageet, S. Kumar's ka Filmi Muqaddama, and many sponsored programs. Murphy with the iconic Baby ad was another big radio brand.
EC TV/Uptron TV- at home and at IIMB respectively. On the latter, watched in 1983 as India lifted the Prudential World Cup from the West Indies' hands.

Abids- High Street in Hyderabad for shoppers.
Chowpatty- The only one, in Mumbai. Bhel was made famous by it.

Ambassador- Travelling in it was rare, and we felt like royalty when we did travel in it.
Air India- The Maharaja was only aspirational. No air travel for the middle class, was the norm.
Jeans-any brand- The ultimate in cool.

My Brand Names

The business of naming brands/people/things is tricky. You can get it right, and sometimes, horribly wrong. If I could name the following, my favourite names would be-

1. For a West Bengal Political Party- Oh, Calcutta.

2. For Salman Khan's signature shampoo which will compete with Pant-ene - Shirtoff.

3. For the FM Radio Jockeys who like to yak non-stop- Yukyuk.

4. For stock market "experts" who let you sink, as they are unable to predict a downturn- Titanic.

5. For Nitish/Laloo- Do Be'Chare'

6. For Arnab- Go, Swami.

7. El Nino- Kisiki to suno.

8. Google's next product- AtiSunder!

9. Guys who agree to get into Big Boss-  GetaLife

10. People who read blogs- Golden Hearts!

Brand Slogans and More

This is a thoughtful piece. Now that I have provided the disclaimer, let me proceed. I have been thinking about coining slogans or taglines for brands for a long time now. Since the grey cells were numbed by the cold wave (this is different from the Oceanic ones), it took a while. But now, I have a few. If the weather improves, I may have some more. But for now,

Bailley's- We bail you out of thirsty situations

Teacher's - Teaching the world what it wants to learn

Starbucks- Who spends the bucks? You. Who makes them? Your guess.

DKNY- Don't Know us? Not Your type.

Aston Martin- Bonding with the Best.

Wagh Bakri- Stings like the Tiger's tail (Wagh=Tiger).

Kalnirnay (calendar)- Decide Today. Not kal. (Nirnay means decision, Kal is Tomorrow).

Chetan Bhagat (he is a brand)- After me, the deluge.

Raghuram Rajan (also a brand)- Interest cut? Not interested.

Kindle- That warm, fuzzy feeling- without paper in between the words and you.

Airline Brands

Once upon a time, there were these brands of airlines-

Pan Am- an example of a failed American enterprise.
TWA- Another example.
Modiluft- one of the Modis and Lufthansa collaborated on this one.
East West- Came from the Middle East, and went nowhere.
Sahara- later besahara, and sold to Jet, it had a nice tagline, "Emotionally yours" . Its erstwhile promoter is now in jail.
Kingfisher- flashy and stylish while it lasted.
Kingfisher Red- was always in the red.
Jet Konnect- it was 'jettisoned' coz it had lost its connect with passengers.
Paramount- it's of paramount importance to find out what went wrong with it.
Sabena- despite its Arabian-sounding name, it was a Belgian carrier. Hercule Poirot would know.
Indian Airlines- My first flight ever was on this airline, from Dibrugarh to Calcutta (it was still that in 1983). Merged with Air India.



Other airlines I have flown (and did not necessarily cause to stop flying, except a couple) are Indigo, Go, Spicejet, Trujet, Thai, Malaysian, Singapore, Swiss, Eastern (US, domestic), US Air, Delta, Air Asia, Tiger, Air France, Lufthansa. I remember Air France had a good selection of wines.

Brands I Grew Up With

As a user, the first brand I recognised was Philips, most likely. Our radio was Philips, though Murphy was probably around at the time too. The next one that I became aware of was Colgate, which had a dominant market share, followed by Binaca and Forhans.

When I had to wash clothes in the hostel, it was always the blue Rin detergent bar that would be the preferred choice. The restaurant brand was the Hilton (not THAT Hilton) cafe at the corner of Osmania University campus. (there was a branded women's college called Andhra Mahila Sabha pretty close by, and I was aware of that too).

We had a club branded as Yellandu Club in the mining towns we lived in, and I spent a lot of  time playing Badminton or swimming there. Theraja is a great author brand in Electrical engineering, and we worshipped him.

Among the Hyderabadi hotels, Kamat and Taj Mahal were the most frequented for their south Indian meals, followed by Alpha or Garden for their biryanis. The theatre brands were awesome in Hyderabad, with Ramakrishna 70mm being the pick of the lot, till Maheswari and Santosh came in. Royal in Koti was also a good theatre. Sangeet was very good for English movies, with an upmarket crowd.

My first camera was a Pentax, though I learnt photography on a German folding camera my parents had.

Cars- I drove a Datsun, a Ford Granada (huge) and a Subaru while in the U.S., and a Premier Padmini and a Maruti 800 before moving on to an Esteem later (still drive it).

Memorable Ads

Relax..have a Charminar.. my all-time favourite ad line.

Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye..Cadbury.

Nirma jingle- washing powder Nirma.

In a world of varying values, some things stand apart...I think it was Asian Paints in the 80s.

Simpli fly....Deccan Air.

Nothing official about it...Pepsi stole the thunder from Coke with this during a Cricket world cup, where Coke was the official partner.

Neighbour's Envy, Owner's Pride- all time classic. Onida TV.

For the film Sholay.. Greatest Star-cast ever Assembled. Greatest Story Ever Told. I can still remember the posters.

Asian Paints..Naya ghar, ....nayi biwi? badhiya hai...

Thanda matlab Coca Cola.

What I hate are the detergent, dish wash, and all cleaning-material ads. Some toilet soap ads are tolerable, but only because of the women in them.

Dropping Names- Benefits of Branding

What would we do for snobbery if there were no brands? They are a great help at all times. Imagine the following snippets of conversation without the brand names and you will immediately agree with me.

I had this urge for a pastry and went to Black Chariot you know....you could substitute this with coffee and Starbucks or other appropriate options.

When I was at the Taj last week,....

I always fly Lufthansa, they are expensive, but their service is great.

I couldn't resist the latest Paco Rabanne/Armani/Dolce and Gabbana/Prada at the Dubai airport while returning from the Shopping Festival, you know...

When I visited my son/daughter in New York/Sydney/Singapore....

McD is the only place I like for my burgers, yaar.

My Blackberry/ipad is so cool. You should get one, you know.

My dream is to drive a Ferrari (in silent mode- actually, I own a Maruti 800).

I lost my Mont Blanc (pen) the other day...I was so sad, but my dad said he'd buy me another one!

When I was at IIM/IIT/Harvard/MIT/,......

You get the point, don't you?

USPs of Countries-Part 2

Continuing from where I left off...

Cuba- The cigar is a lasting symbol, though the economy went up in smoke a long time ago.

China- Their English is funny or music to the years, depending on how you look at it. But their political aggression is not.

Indonesia- Good 'bad'minton players- a paradox? And lots of earth-shakes.

Australia- People of dubious ancestry who managed to spoil the gentleman's game with rough play- and the virus has caught on.

Sub-saharan Africa...where is that exactly? Except in reports on poverty, nobody talks about it.

South Africa-Mandela is absolutely the most forgiving man who ever lived. Hats off!

Kenya- the most famous giraffes in the world live here.

Brazil- The Samba, Pele and the annual jamboree on the streets make a heady combo.

Bhutan- They measure the Gross Happiness Index. Could they be the most sensible country on earth? Possibly.

Norway, Sweden, Finland- There's light at the end of six months here, so everyone who lives there must be an optimist!

Egypt- Barring Hindi films (older ones), the only place where Mummies get the respect they deserve!

USPs of Countries

In marketing, we used to have differentiation, which morphed into Unique Selling Propositions or USPs as I morphed into middle age. Brands are supposed to have or unique attributes so that consumers would prefer them over competing brands. Similarly, countries (they are also brands) can develop unique intangible attributes, so that consumers (tourists) or people at large view them accordingly.

Here is an attempt to view some countries through the lens of a distant and disinterested observer.

England- The guys love to talk about the weather. They invented cricket, and their neighbours invented Golf. Shakespeare continues to give an inferiority complex to writers.

France- They like to think they invented love. But who wrote the Kamasutra is a relevant question to ask.

Italy- The word mafia owes its origin to somewhere in Italy. Lions ate men in their colosseums.

Switzerland- Their Banking is famous like the pirates were at one time in the Caribbean. Clocks are out of fashion.

Greece- They used to have a civilisation...

USA- The world's most gluttonous people seem to live here- McDonald's, Coke, Pizza Hut are all really big brands. Why?

India- The sadhus in their Rolls Royces are ready to take on the world, and their wrong ideas about us.

Sri Lanka- Ravan once ruled here, but he can't rule anywhere today, even after changing his spelling to Ra.One.

Will be continued...