MxMIndia

Category: VIKAS MEHTA

  • It can be a strong and powerful tool and is waiting to be exploited, writes Vikas Mehta

    Feedback: the new WOM tool in town

     

    The second instalment of  ‘With Apologies to None at All’, a fortnightly column by Vikas Mehta

     

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaI remember that while growing up all major purchase decisions at home, be it a fridge or a mixer grinder or even a bicycle would heavily depend upon the suggestions and experiences of neighbours, relatives and friends. Not that there was much choice but even if one had to choose between a Hero or an Atlas bicycle the recommendation of someone who had bought and used the brand would matter. I still remember, how my father spoke to at least 6-7 users of Ambassador and Fiat before deciding that a secondhand Fiat will be a good choice for the family of four. That’s the car which introduced me to the world of driving.

     

    But I deviate. The point being that in the days of thrift and limited choices, word-of-mouth really mattered. WOM was the initial marketing tool that was used by customers inadvertently It also played an important role in brand perception. So, if I remember correctly, all our acquaintances were clear that Lambretta was a better scooter, technically and for its reliability too. But its availability was always a problem and Bajaj became the family favourite as it had a better distribution and quicker delivery time, relatively (2-3 years as against Lambretta which was bhagwan bharose).

     

    I have seen WOM evolve with the times. It actually became an important tool even in advertising. Some categories started using consumer testimonials as a strategy to influence consumer behaviour. Actual consumers who had used the brand became its spokesperson and seeing or hearing someone who one could identify with, talking good about the brand became a WOM experience. I think detergents as a category was the first to use consumer testimonials effectively. And Dove mastered it wonderfully. The protagonists in the ad were not glamorous or young or had a model type of smooth talking but were real consumers who seemed just like our everyday friends and acquaintance. Even real life doctors or scientists being used by brands were effectively WOM expert testimonials. The problem started when the brands became greedy and started using models, who were professionals paid to become a consumer or a doctor, who also appeared in other ads as actors, and the effect of consumer/expert testimonials was lost.

     

    With the advent of Direct Marketing and CRM, marketing looked at WOM with a fresh approach.  WOM agencies came into existence, which started amassing consumers who had similar demographics and psychographics and used these consumers as brand evangelists. Events would be organised, gatherings would be held where brands would entertain and educate these groups of consumers, who in turn would spread the good word around. They would also gain some benefits out of this. So, in effect WOM was commercialised. Digital made this not only easy but also more widespread.

     

    But the last three-four years have seen another factor come into play which has recast the role of WOM. And I will use the AIDA model of buying behaviour to demonstrate the same. For decades, the model was linear. Catch attention, gain interest, create desire and close the action through sale. Digital changed this model into a never ending circular, self-perpetuating one with two additions. Search and feedback.

     

    Communication created interest. And thanks to the prevalence of the net, we translate the interest into search. We look for more information. We look for more brands/competition, we look for deals and then we tend to take action. Some may argue that this is not as prevalent in categories like groceries or commodities but I beg to differ. Search is still relevant. May not be for features or differentiation but definitely for bargains and offers. Even for weekly grocery shopping we do have a tendency to check if Big Basket or Jiomart or maybe even Amazon Fresh gives me better discounts or offers. Search is now second mature to us. So much so, that in US Amazon has almost 35% share in Search engines.

     

    And we do not stop after buying. Social media gave us a habit to share our purchases with our circle of friends. So, while we may want to show off our latest phone purchase or a dress or even a good deal, we are quicker on the draw to complain about a problem or a purchase gone bad. The habit of giving a feedback has also arrived. The habit of sharing our purchase and its experience.

     

    Therefore, when ecommerce companies ask explicitly for feedback on our purchases the feedback is provided for. Both good and bad. These are then classified as ratings and are posted on the product listing. Now tell me if this isn’t WOM, what is?

     

    And this is a tool waiting to be exploited. Imagine, you are a new player in the home accessory business. You list on Amazon. You pay to be sponsored on Amazon. Your product quality is good, your delivery is good and your consumer care is excellent. You give discounts to get the first batch of consumers and maybe 5% of these give feedback. Most of it is good, so your rating is close to 5 out of 5. Now, someone who wants to buy a new kitchen rack sees your product, likes the design but is not sure about your brand. He sees your ratings and is impressed. He then checks some of the feedback and sees mostly positive ones. He trusts these. Because these are from buyers. People like him. He may not know them, but they have used the product and are speaking up for it. A positive WOM.

     

    This positive WOM has now got a new customer. And the cycle continues. More positive feedback will get more new buyers. Will also reassure current buyers. The cycle will keep on expanding and a new brand can get success based on positive feedback. But if the feedback is not positive, the cycle will break. New consumers will be hesitant to buy. All because the feedback was negative. And the brand trial and usage may shrink.

     

    With the advent of digital Tripadvisor started customer feedback ratings of hotels, restaurants and other tourism related services. It’s success was illustrated just by the fact that many hotels etc would respond to negative feedback with apologies and promise to make the service better. Today Makemytrip and such sites also use this feedback mechanism.

     

    Feedback is the new avatar of WOM. It can be a strong and powerful tool. Ecommerce companies have realised its potential, travel and tourism companies have too. I think it’s time that brands in other sectors, especially new players, start looking at feedback as a digital WOM that can give them a true differentiation. It’s waiting to be exploited.

     

    Vikas Mehta is a senior business and marketing strategy consultant and educator. He is based in Dehradun. ‘With Apologies to None at All’ will appear every other Tuesday. His views here are personal

     

  • Introducing 'With Apologies to None at All', a new fortnightly column by Vikas Mehta

    Can the tragic death of Cyrus Mistry be a gamechanger in the way we look at driving and safety rules?

     

     

    Introducing ‘With Apologies to None at All’, a new fortnightly column by Vikas Mehta

     

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaI do not believe in coincidences, but last Sunday evening, I had stumbled upon a report by the Ministry of Transport on road accidents in India for the year 2020. As I was glancing through the same, my phone flashed the news of the tragic death of Cyrus Mistry in a road accident, near Mumbai.

     

    The report was for 2020 and it had some chilling statistics. Even though the report boasted of a decline in road accidents by 18% and a decline of almost 13% in number of people killed in road accidents (not to forget that 2020 was the year of lockdown and restricted travel and road commerce), the absolute numbers were mindblowing. More than 3.66 lakhs reported accidents. More than 1.2 lakhs fatal accidents. More than 55% of the accidents happened on national and state highways and, hold your breath, 65% of accidents happened on stretches of straight roads. The report mentions a mix of traffic rules violations, driving without valid driving license and non-use of safety devices as the main reasons for road accidents.

     

    This was startling for me. Does a valid licence holder in India, know more than a non-driving licence holder? What extra or more safety precaution does a valid licence holder is aware of, or takes? My contention is actually the opposite. A valid licence holder thinks that s/he is now the king of the road and has the licence to do anything s/he pleases.

     

    And then came the news that the vehicle of Mr Mistry was over-speeding. That it tried to overtake another vehicle from the wrong side. That the passengers at the back were not wearing seat belts. I am sure that the person driving the vehicle had a valid driving licence. But that person, it seems, was flouting traffic rules and the passengers at the back were not using safety measures. If some of the most distinguished, well-educated people in India were responsible for such oversights then imagine the behaviour of the more common man.

     

    And now ask yourself. How many road safety rules are you aware of? Did you pass an oral test about driving rules when you got your licence? Was there an oral test at all? Were you given any rule book? Do you know the speed limits on the roads you frequently use? Can you understand road signs?

     

    Do you know how to use a traffic circle? When to enter it? Do you know that even when you change lanes you should signal the same? Have you heard of a blind spot which even a side rear view mirror cannot cover? What is the rule for joining the traffic from a side road? Do you know that you cannot stop or park your vehicle near a crossing or a turn or a bend in the road?

     

    These were some of the questions that I faced when I went for my driving tests abroad. In fact, I was not even allowed to take a test till I went through more than 30 driving classes and attended sessions on driving rules. This is after I had been driving in India for more than 12 years. And I was failed five times before I was deemed ready to drive on the roads.

     

    So, do not feel guilty if you do not know the answers to above questions. Because driving licence in India means testing the ability to drive engaging gears. Often you need not even have that capability. Yes, I have heard that things are changing. Automated tests which have no human interference or influence and which lay a strong emphasis on you understanding rules have started in key cities. But let us not forget that currently most of the drivers on road just know the basics of driving from point A to B. Period. The first step in reducing road accidents is in educating the current drivers about the driving and safety rules.

     

    Do not also feel guilty because my practical experience shows that even the traffic police are not well versed in traffic rules. They look at some basic violations like overspeeding, wrong side driving, driving under influence of alcohol, helmets, three to a two wheeler, registration of vehicles and maybe one or two more.

     

    So, in a country where increase in sale of vehicles is a benchmark of economic growth; where the transport ministry is claiming to build 100 kms of roads per day, isn’t it high time that all drivers are given a crash course (pun unintended) in safe driving and driving rules? For, if I am not even aware that what I am doing is wrong, how can I correct it?

     

    No, I am not talking about public service advertisements. Nor am I talking about some government drive of distributing leaflets or sending SMSs. I think that the communication industry along with the transport ministry must work out a comprehensive road rules and road safety education programme targeting all licence holders. Two-wheeler drivers, private vehicle drivers, heavy vehicle drivers, everyone must be sensitised to road rules. Call in all license holders for a programme. It may be voluntary but if the compliance is low then it needs to be enforced. If they do not attend even after three notices, cancel their licence. In the past, we have very successfully carried out literacy and adult literacy programmes. These were done when technological advances and innovations were nowhere at the level of toady. And these had good measure of success. So, why not a road rules and safety communication programme? The economic loss to the country in terms of road accidents is in billions of dollars per year. If a communication drive can reduce that, if it can reduce fatalities, then it’s not such a crazy idea at all.

     

    In a country, where we are willing to debate and maybe enforce some sort of population control measures, isn’t it time to think of a traffic safety and traffic rules education plan at a countrywide level? If we are determined to phase out carbon emission vehicles by 2040 then why can’t we look at increasing road safety, increasing awareness of road rules?

     

    Minister Mr Nitin Gadkari has taken some bold and revolutionary steps in road and surface transport. Is he willing to pick up this gauntlet?

     

    Vikas Mehta is a senior business and marketing strategy consultant and educator. He is based in Dehradun. This column will appear every other Tuesday. His views here are personal

     

     

  • A myopic metro-centric view is more detrimental than even the societal woes, writes Vikas Mehta in his fortnightly column, With apologies to none at all

    Do not berate brand purpose purposelessly

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaThe last two weeks were very purposeful. I was a panel member at a leading institute discussing the importance and genuineness of brand purpose in recent times. Coincidentally, two big brands in India, Stayfree and Dove also released some new work on their brand purpose.

    Both the pieces of work, have been panned by some marketing pundits and marketing gurus. While everyone has a reason and right to do so, I find the arguments put forward illuminating the ignorance of what is actually happening in the country. Most of the critics are metro-based with hardly any connect with the real India, Bharat, as it is called by some. Some of course also presume that every consumer is as marketing savvy and informed as they are. Let’s get into the details.

    First a look at Dove. And before I begin, here is a disclaimer. I was involved with Unilever brands for more than a decade at a global, regional and local level in South Asia, Middle East, North Africa and Far East and this includes Fair & Lovely now known as Glow & Lovely.

    Dove, for many years now, has been talking about body positivity. Very famously, Dove has in the past refrained from using models for its soaps and were using real homemakers, sans glamour and beauty, even in India. So, the body positivity was a natural progression with a scope to use various elements like colour, race, gender, depending upon the market they are in. The current campaign in India is about girls facing beauty issues as parents prepare them for the ‘marriage market”

    The issue that critics have raised is first, not with the brand but with the company Unilever. They have chided Unilever who have profited very well with Fair & Lovely in the same marriage market. And I concede it’s a valid point. It does sound hypocritical. But then if a brand is calling out a practice which another brand in the company stable maybe encouraging, is it wrong or gutsy? Sure, the company must look inwards but should it stop raising issues that are real in the society. The marriage market is still a reality. The focus on the daughter’s marriage is still an issue. Or are they saying that the issue is not important. I found some critics mentioning that. And that highlights a bigger problem. If we think that because our daughters or our friends’ daughters or even our driver or help’s daughter are getting educated and are building a career or niche for themselves, it does not mean that the problem does not exist. I live in a small town in North India and I find the focus on the girl’s marriage still takes centrestage from an early age. Prosperity has meant that more money is being spent on the daughter’s beauty issues. Visits to dermatologists, increase in use of facewash, is a sign of the times. But the issue has not subsided or lessened in its importance.

    And let us not forget that matchmaking, dowry etc have assumed gigantic proportions. When I started working in marketing more than three decades ago, the big society evil was dowry. Most of public service ads focussed on dowry problems. Now we hardly see any such communication or message. That does not mean that dowry problems or dowry as a society evil has lapsed. It’s in fact more monstrous. A cursory glance at vernacular newspapers in the Class 1 town editions reveal a spate of dowry-related death and torture stories on a continuous basis. The marriage market and the problems associated with someone who is not traditionally beautiful (read fair or blemishless skin) having to shell out more in dowry is a stinking reality of our times. Let us not wish it away. I moved to a small town almost a decade ago and not a month goes by when my wife is not reminded about our daughter’s future in the marriage market and what she should do to help her look better. And my daughter follows in amusement what some of her friends are forced to do.

    It’s a bigger hypocrisy that we are trying to attack a purpose which is most relevant just because another brand from the same stable partakes in the marriage market. In fact, I will stick my neck out and claim that Glow & Lovely had stopped partaking in the marriage market even in its earlier avatar of F&L. So that too actually does not hold good. The real issue that Dove has highlighted is the marriage market.

    I see similar issues in the panning of the Stayfree communication. Critics claim that the society has moved on from the “period talk is uncomfortable” issue. We have had movies like the Padman and some brands are showing in their demos red colour of blood, so why are we stuck with the same old issue of male friends and relatives uncomfortable with the talk of blood? I am afraid the critics again have a “big city” view. In metros, the issue of periods may not be uncomfortable anymore but in small towns and villages it is still taboo. Actually, I doubt if it has overcome the society stigma even in big cities. Just before the pandemic, I was attending an awards show in a 5-star hotel in a metro and a gent on our table noticed that a lady on the adjoining table had a stain. He pointed it out to his wife and was immediately admonished for making the observation so loudly and openly in front of men too. She then proceeded to discreetly inform the “victim” and help her cover it up with a stole, She was so embarrassed that she left the show, with a fuming partner in tow.

    The situations in the Stayfree communication are very common and prevalent in small towns. It’s actually quite irresponsible to think that the issue isn’t relevant anymore. Just because we had many anti-dowry communications did not mean that dowry as an evil was vanquished. Or just because our circle of friends and relatives, even in smaller towns have risen above the period issue does not mean that the society has. The brand has actually opened a new window to the same issue. Teach the boys that talking about periods is not taboo. Just like one detergent brand talks about sharing the load by teaching sons the same at a young impressionable age.

    I genuinely think that the metro, western influence phenomena continues to blindside our marketers. We also get overwhelmed by our own rhetoric. Yes, India has done very well. We have taken great strides in pulling up the society and breaking some myths and taboos. But the battle is far from over. A myopic metro-centric view is more detrimental than even the societal woes. Why, the most amusing comment I read was the one in which the marketing person stated that he is not sure that an average Indian user isn’t aware of Unilever, Axe and Glow & Lovely. Did he actually mean that an average Indian user knows that Axe, Glow & Lovely and Dove are all brands belonging to Unilever? Really?

    It tells me all about an average Indian marketer.

     

    Vikas Mehta is a senior business and marketing strategy consultant and educator. He is based in Dehradun. This column will appear every other Tuesday (and sometimes on other days as well). His views here are personal

     

  • it's not necessary to do a feel-good Diwali ad as a force fit, writes Vikas Mehta in his fortnightly 'With apologies to none at al' column

    When the festival videos go marching in….

     

     

    With apologies to none at al

     

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaI am a sucker for feel-good, soppy, emotional videos. A story about a good deed or a sacrifice, or someone lending a helping hand to the deprived or needy, family reunions, going an extra mile to be considerate to other people; all this is guaranteed to make my eyes moist. Nothing wrong in it and I suspect most of us have same feelings and emotions for every act of kindness or goodness.

     

    And this is what we encounter with the festival season upon us in terms of brand videos and messages. As the famous song from Bruce Springstein continues, all brands like to join the festival videos number. What I have described above fairly summarises what all Diwali brand videos try to portray. I guess this is also the time for ad filmmakers to rake in the money. (As also for some over-the-hill Bollywood personalities and some famous TV stars).

     

    With the virus of viral culture, the only expenditure that the brands incur in making of the videos, media is not a concern as social media is supposed to do the job, free, it’s a free for all. So, we, the unsuspecting consumers, are subjected to a barrage of minimum 2-3-minute-long, mushy videos. This is also when I am thankful to whatsapp for their not more than 5 forwards at a time policy. Maybe, some people will get tired and I will not be a part of their forward list. That’s definitely one of my Diwali wish list.

     

    But I am digressing. After watching two-three Diwali videos for this year, I opened my YouTube feed and searched for Diwali videos. Unsurprisingly, some good folks had compiled “Emotional festival ads” which had been released in last few years. After going through the compilation here are my thoughts

    1. I remembered seeing almost all the videos before. Unfortunately barring one or two, I could not remember the brand associated with them.

    2. I think the brand custodians know this. So, most of them have a brand logo in the top right hand or left hand corner throughout the full duration of the video.

    3. Many of the videos have no connect to the brand narrative at all. Mankind Pharma, Oppo (or was it Vivo), Ghadi detergent, Vikram Tea were some of the mushy videos that tried an impressive sign off at the end which was more like a public service message than a brand message. Ghadi detergent ki ek gujarish is Diwali dimag ki mail nikalo (This Diwali remove all wrong impressions from your mind). Or nayi shuruat wali Diwali Vikram chai ke saath (This Diwali new beginings with Vikram tea). Or even Gharwali Diwali from Pepsi.

    4. The Pepsi Diwali video is a classic example of doing a long video for the festival season and in the process forgetting the brand personality. Pepsi is about a rebel, someone who does not follow norms, thinks out of the box, goofy fun. Coke on the other hand is all about family, getting together, fun and frolic with friends. It is also famous in the west for its Christmas time videos, which as a festival rivals our Diwali. Pepsi, actually tried to emulate the same by becoming Coke. Little surprise that no follow up happened in the later years.

    5. It’s all about views and likes. The Pepsi ad has had more than 17 lakh views in the last 6-7 years and I guess the brand custodians are happy about that. But does it help Pepsi as a brand?

     

    The role of a brand as one friend of mine said, is to create an inexplicable preference, an irrational disposition and an unwavering bias towards it. To do this brands need to not just be about rational benefits but create a space in the users heart and mind with strong emotional connect, continuously. The rational and the emotional have to work seamlessly together. I think with Diwali only a very few brand videos pass this test. So, let me stick out my neck and try to talk about what may work for Diwali videos.

     

    One, it’s not necessary for all brands to jump into the Diwali bandwagon. If the festival message suits your personality and more importantly play a role in the festival, then by all means use Diwali. Cadbury’s celebrations and Coke are two very good examples of the same. By all means, use Diwali for a promotion or to try and induce sales but it’s not necessary to do a feel-good Diwali video as a force fit.

     

    Two, if your brand can attach with a good purpose and can make it relevant to your brand then the role of brand gets amplified.  HP did it very well for a few years. They encouraged buying from small traders and wove their computers and printers very well with the story. The rational and emotional connect was perfect. For the last three years, Cadbury’s has been doing something similar but at a different level. More about that in the future. Asian Paints and JK Cement did it too. Asian Paints have taken it to another level in Bengal with its association with the Pujo pandals. The Aamir Khan AU Bank video failed to show the connect to badlav (change), which is what the bank is all about and the change in traditions. It is ironical that the brand which had earlier released ads about how they are changing consumer banking, could not relate the change in tradition to their story of badlav.

     

    Three, Diwali has many rituals. Maybe try and get your brand associated to those rituals. Surf Excel has intermittently associated Rangoli and Daag acche hain. A wonderous connect of a strong emotion of the festival with its rational, removing stain, claim. Asian Paints endeared to the ritual of cleaning and painting our house. Laxmi Puja, Bhai Dooj are more such rituals that can be associated with.

     

    Four, own the ritual. Take it up and celebrate it consistently year after year. Build a moat around that ritual for your brand. Cadbury’s celebration has aced the ritual of gifting sweets. And now they have taken it to another level by actually using technology to make Diwali sweeter for small traders and hawkers across the country. Kuch meetha ho jaye, kuch accha ho jaye (Have some sweets, do some good). Coke has aced the family get together ritual. That’s why these two brands are such relevant brands and can leverage Diwali well.

     

    Dassera and Diwali time is India’s Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving, Super Bowl; all rolled into one. It’s every brand’s final destination. For many brands, yearly sales targets are met or lost in this time-frame. For many new brands this is the time to establish themselves. International brands like Amazon or Vivo try and use this time to weave a more Indian narrative about themselves. But the mistake most brands make is by thinking that an association with the festival is good enough. Personality, relevance to its own purpose, owning a ritual, all play an important role too. Just because you can afford a production and media can be generated free does not mean that the brand adds to the Diwali clutter.

     

    Which videos made the cut this year and which did not? Wait for a fortnight.

     

  • The more brands use technology to bring alive its promise, the stronger will the emotional connect of the brand be, writes Vikas Mehta

    Emotion & Technology can go hand in hand

     

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaDiwali, IPL and World Cup cricket are the times when Indian marketers unveil new campaigns and this year the T20 World Cup coinciding with the Diwali season meant that a deluge of new campaigns could be expected. But now there is also technology into play and this means that the communication is well targeted and not necessarily mass. To this mix, throw in the long videos which advertisers hope will go viral through social media and it becomes more difficult to keep track of such new campaigns.

     

    This is also the time when brands attempt feel-good campaigns. Family bonding, celebrations, helping the needy, are the themes that become norm de rigueur. And many brands flaunt brand purpose at this time. Something which I highlighted in my last post (Festival Videos Article)

     

    It’s definitely a plus for the brands to leave one with a lump in the throat or a tear in the eye with such videos. But a greater impact can be created when brands actually do something which can make a difference in real life. Coke always has an interesting communication around getting together, family values etc. But they would not really do anything to highlight the same. On the other hand, I have seen HP actually do stuff like creating space for local artisans in HP stores to display their talent, bring alive the purpose of helping those who struggled to find space for display (HP Diwali).

     

    Predictably, Coke released an ad which was about not just wishing but meeting people for Diwali. Iss baar gale milke kaho Happy Diwali (say happy Diwali by hugging) was the thought. Watch it here Nice, cute and I thought that was it. So, imagine my surprise when I came across two more versions of the same thought but these used technology to make people actually meet up. Specially locked Coke bottles, which could be ordered using a QR code and unlocked only when the people met, with a code (Watch).

     

    It’s not that Coke has not done something similar in the past. I remember some Open Happiness videos of Coke in various countries where Coke installed phone booths to help migrant workers in the middle east connect back home or the valentine’s day free coke can if one kisses your partner in front of the specially designed vending machine in Europe; this was to me a very good example of taking a festival thought not just as a tagline of an ad but actually making it happen. The most important thing for me was the use of technology.

     

    In marketing and marketing communication, technology was all about either a product improvement or a media innovation. What Coke has achieved is significant as it has transcended the feel-good factor into actually making people experience the feel-good factor. It’s not just preaching about hugging people but enabling them to do so.

     

    And that brings me to the bigger issue. When the first murmurs of brand purpose broke out with the ex-Unilever CEO Paul Polman suggesting brand purpose as mandatory for all Unilever brands, there was lot of hue and cry and pessimism from investors. It exists today also with some pundits asking what could be the brand purpose for Walls Ice cream or Lux Soap. The same argument could be extended to a carbonated sweet drink like Coke. I am not suggesting that Coke has discovered brand purpose but it has shown that using technology any brand can make its promise come alive.  To me that’s as close to brand purpose than anything else.

     

    Till now most of the Diwali or festival ads were woke advertising. But Coke has demonstrated that using technology, one can take the leap to make the emotion come alive. I have no clue how many people actually got the locked Coke bottles and were the bottles easy available. To be honest, I did try to get a locked bottle by scanning the QR code but the message I got was that they have run out of bottles. This could well mean that the locked bottles were a sell out or maybe Coke did a very modest run of the locked bottles. Whatever, this is proof that using technology, brands can make their emotions, if not exactly the purpose, come alive. And that is sure to make the brands more attractive to its potential customers.

     

    Indeed, the brand which has been a pioneer in this field, at least in India has been Cadbury. More than two decades ago the brand came in with a gifting pack called Celebrations. It would be available during Diwali time and with deft and emotional communication the brand took off. Over the last two decades, the brand has become synonymous with gifting and is available through the year. I dare say, today the idea has actually become outdated as every tom dick and harry in confectionary or even Indian namkeens has a gift pack.

     

    Therefore, when Cadbury Celebrations used technology to promote small neighbourhood retailers by using pincodes and geo-location to highlight the name of the retailers in the particular pincode where the ad was played, it was a great breakthrough. This was 2020 when all small local retailers had taken a hit due to pandemic induced lockdowns. The brand reinvented itself by having a strong purpose of helping local retailers and brought its tagline of Kuch meetha ho jaye, kuch achha ho jaye (Have a sweet. Do some good) alive in real terms.

     

    In 2021 the brand went one step further. It used Artificial Intelligence and any retailer, through a website could get its own name endorsed in an ad by Shah Rukh Khan. The ad was then sent by Whatsapp to the retailer who could use it as he desired. And all this happened in almost real time. I helped a neighbourhood retailer in my city to download his personalised ad and he forwarded it to his customers. Many came in just out of curiosity to know how could he get SRK to endorse him.

     

    This year, the brand with QR code on the pack is helping hawkers to put their merchandising on a website and one can find a hawker in the neighbourhood through pincode (Cadbury 2022).

     

    We all talk about technology being an enabler. These examples are showing that in communication too, technology can be an active enabler. For brands which spend money on advertising or brand videos during festival season, the time has come to put the horse before the cart. Be clear on your purpose or on your promise. Decide what will the brand do on ground to make the promise come alive. Then think of the communication. The idea of the activity has to be bigger than the idea of the communication. And tap technology, both for the activity and also for the communication.

     

    The more brands use technology to bring alive its promise, the stronger will the emotional connect of the brand be. I see more such technology induced activities and communication during the festive season in the near future.

     

  • Vikas Mehta writes on how research rigour can help ayurveda get its due

    Ayush needs a cure push and not the prevention perception

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaWith the pandemic many things changed on the health front. Suddenly health and hygiene became a very important part of our lives. In India, with a parallel narrative on health and hygiene existing in the form of ancient methods like yoga, ayurveda, unani (all abbreviated as Ayush), and homeopathy (not strictly Indian but practised widespread), health and hygiene took a very interesting turn.

     

    Whereas the goodness of turmeric and ginger was already part of our modern lifestyle, yoga and ayurveda caught on in a big way. While established companies like Dabur and Baidyanath played it safe by highlighting the benefits of raising body immunity with products like Chyawanprash, Patanjali went headlong and actually claimed to have produced a cure to Corona with Coronil but then beat a hasty retreat to claim that it also is an immunity booster. In fact, currently if you look at the product benefit of Coronil, as listed on Amazon, it says, energy management and for specific uses of product it says, immunity booster

     

    Thisa was also the time that we saw lot of talk on various media including social media on overall wellness and health. Raising body immunity became a catch phrase and anyone related to health started hyping body immunity and how to achieve the same. Green tea, ginger tea, antioxidants, turmeric milk, tulsi drink, immunity bar, were some of the products which became part of the typical middle class family eating habits.

     

    And this was not all, ayurveda doctors and clinics came into big demand. Clinics and private practice mushroomed. Under the guidance of the Ayush ministry, the pandemic saw a growth in ayurveda as a medicinal opportunity. And then there is also a chain of nine ayurveda hospitals and clinics called AyurVAID which has now been acquired by India’s largest chain of hospitals, Apollo Hospitals. Why should an allopathy chain acquire an ayurveda chain of clinics and hospitals? Though that is an intriguing topic, given that allopathy doctors have protested when Ayush doctors were given more powers, including performing minor surgeries, that’s for another day.

     

    The elephant in the room is the viability and the success of traditional concepts like Ayurveda in the post-pandemic era. I don’t have any data on sales of Chyawanprash and many such immunity boosters but I guess their sales must have come down in the past six months or so. To understand why it is difficult to sell concepts like immunity boosters or wellness let’s take the analogy of oral care.

     

    Oral care is largely preventive. Brands like Colgate have to sell a story of prevention, not cure. You do not want cavities and the pain associated with it, start using a toothpaste. You want strong teeth that do not fall away or break, use a toothpaste. Toothpastes are not about cure. They are about prevention. Prevent cavities, prevent teeth from weakening. Prevent gum sensitivity. It’s not that you have toothache and by applying it the ache will go away. It’s the constant use that will prevent any oral problem. And still there is no guarantee that you will not develop cavities or other problems. That’s why in many parts of the world toothpaste penetration is still low. People want cure, not prevention.

     

    That is exactly the issue with alternate treatments. These are not necessary cure. AyurVAID hospitals in the first line describing themselves say “Today’s chronic illnesses require a comprehensive customized and affordable approach to prevention and treatment.” Prevention takes precedence over treatment.

     

    And that is the consumer perception too. The 2015 National Sample Survey says that 90% of Indians prefer allopathy to Ayush. I suspect the reason is simple. Allopathy is about cure. You got pain take x medicine. You have hernia get an operation done. Ayush, on the other hand is about wholistic. Root of the problem. Cure may exist but it will take some time to work. Simply put, the perception is that Allopathy is cure to a problem, Ayush is just prevention. The common man has been attuned to cure. Prevention is not part of the mental make up.

     

    So, when the Pandemic struck and allopathy had no cure, Ayush and its immunity boosters, its turmeric, ginger and tulsi ingredients etc were a great story. People flocked to them as there was no cure. And then came the vaccines. The vaccines were also prevention but armed with research and data, plus government push. In our simplistic minds, a cure to Covid had been found. We no longer needed Ayush. At best, it remained a top up.

     

    For Ayush to succeed it must move into the realm of cure. And to do that it needs to copy a page from the allopathy play book. Get into research and trials in a big way. Publicise the same. And no short-cuts. No sham research. It’s one thing for Baba Ramdev to hit out at allopathy but then by making exaggerated claims without any research backing on ayurveda he is doing a great disservice not just to the practice but also to those who are painstakingly trying to establish that Ayush can be a cure. Flexing his political connections to overturn decisions against Patanjali and its products is actually a sure shot way to create bigger dissonance in the consumer minds.

     

    Ayush also makes tall and sweeping claims. Any pack of Chyawanprash talks about power, mental and physical fitness, agility, increasing resistance and metabolic activity, prevention of infections like cough and cold, effective antioxidant, improving immunity and resistance. The glut of claims make it sound ridiculous and also unbelievable. Chyawanprash may do all that but it needs to focus on its core benefit. And then use science and data to make it come alive. Jack of all trades and master of none can make Ayush a dull and uninterested concept. Not to talk about being non trustworthy.

     

    Almost a decade ago, I had checked into an ayurveda ashram in Kerala for a specific health issue. The founder, an FRCS Doctor and Surgeon, bemoaned the lack of research rigour on ayurveda. He had over decades painstakingly studied Ayurveda and was using his allopathic skills to diagnose the issue and treat it with Ayurveda. He was well aware that Ayurveda was associated with general well being and prevention. He was afraid that ayurveda may just remain a lifestyle generic treatment and may become the preserve of the rich or the foreigners for whom the exoticism of ayurveda is a draw.

     

    Will the taking over of AyurVAID by Apollo Hospitals be the gateway to allopathy playbook that Ayush needs or will it be just another offering of exoticism for the rich and the famous?

     

  • In my opinion, Tatas being a good fit for Bisleri is a very tenuous link, writes Vikas Mehta, in his fortnightly column

    Bisleri and the Chimera of the Tata Group

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaChimera is a fire-breathing female monster with a lion’s head, a goat’s body and a serpent’s tail. A thing which is hoped for but is illusory.

     

    One of the big news of the week was Bisleri being up for sale and for all practical purposes Tata Consumer Product seemed to be the obvious suitor. The reasoning for Tata being the best suitor for Bisleri is the story of Chimera.

     

    I say obvious as the reaction and reasoning of the deal was more from the heart than sound business logic. A leading business daily which actually carried an interview with Ramesh Chauhan, the promoter of the brand (who incidentally, never confirmed the deal but just said that it’s in the works and Tata’s could be the destination for Bisleri), spoke about how the brand has had many suitors in the past but the promoter was holding off as he wanted someone who can nurture and grow the brand and Tata therefore is a natural fit.

     

    Does that mean that other suitors like Reliance Retail, Nestle and Danone which were mentioned, will not nurture and grow the brand? Or it meant that others will acquire the brand to kill it so that their small brands will thrive and grow? Or maybe reading between the lines meant that given the Tata’s reputation to be a business house with a heart of gold and who care about their employees they will translate the same empathy on to the brand?

     

    Frankly, I find this sort of conjecture and reasoning defying all logic. Business is about bottom line, financials, growth, shareholder value and return on investment. Sure, the social side of business is important but at the end of the day a business has to justify its investment in terms of returns. And growing a brand, making it more profitable will be the objective of most businesses.

     

    Both Danone and Nestle have a presence in the premium segment of bottled water. Exactly like Tata Consumer Product which has Himalayan and Tata Copper Plus as premium offerings. So, for any one of them, Bisleri can be a great acquisition with a presence in the economy segment. And the legacy plus the momentum of the brand will ensure that any suitor amongst the three, be it Tata or Danone or Nestle will hit the ground running with this acquisition. More so, as the current management team will continue to oversee the brand in the near future. So, I cannot figure out why only Tata can nurture and grow it. It is obvious that Tatas reputation of being a fair, just company is colouring the assessment of the suitors.

     

    Let’s also look at Reliance Retail. With Jiomart operational in more than 200 cities in India and Reliance Fresh retail presence being equally strong along with the much-touted acquisition of about 800 Future Group stores, RR is a great bet for Bisleri. RR is looking at private labels and has already nurtured Good Life in groceries, Snactac in snacks, Trikaya in fresh farm produce amongst others, while shopping for likes of Campa to add to its inhouse portfolio. Bisleri would seem to be an ideal addition to the same. And RR can make the brand much more visible in its own stores, websites and apps. Private labels give retaliers more margin and a brand like Bisleri would be a huge asset for RR. Why would the company not want to grow and nurture it? Seems its reputation of being sharply business oriented and its absence in the public mind for its charity work or its social side has made it unsuitable.

     

    Tata also has Big Basket and given the success of Fresho and BB Royal, Tatas would also be raring to acquire Bisleri. But BB is a standalone and is not a part of Tata Consumer Products. And Tatas track record in integration has not been too good in the past. The superapp Tata Neu is struggling. The consumer feedback and the app performance has been bumpy. So, the recent track record of Tata is not at all encouraging. Therefore, it seems illogical in assuming that Tata can nurture and grow the brand and others cannot.

     

    It is also not a coincidence that many marketing experts and gurus have suddenly started talking about sustainable packaging format for Bisleri. That is the Tata effect. Tata is a good, kind-hearted, responsible company. So, if it acquires Bisleri it must look at sustainable package. I find it strange, nay amusing, that suddenly with Tata in the news people have started worrying about Bisleri packaging. More than Tata, shouldn’t it be the responsibility of long time players like Nestle and Danone to be made more accountable for finding a sustainable packaging solution for bottled water? And shouldn’t the issue be more specific than just pinning category responsibility? For example, with the government already banning the use of one-time plastic should the marketing community not be asking for bottled water players like Bisleri to stop producing one time use 200 ml bottles? That’s a more practical approach than starting to expect Tata to wave a magic wand once they buy the brand.

     

    Getting back to growing and nurturing, let’s look at the track record of Bisleri. For a brand which has been in the Indian market, with the current promoter for more than five decades, the brand has hardly innovated, remaining more or less a one product brand. It could have for example, entered adjacent categories like fruit juices or health drinks. It therefore sounds downright hypocritical to hear the promoter wanting to sell the brand to a company which is a good fit because it will grow and nurture a brand.

     

    In my opinion, Tatas being a good fit for Bisleri is a very tenuous link. At best it is an attempt to appropriate the halo of the Tata name to raise the brand value of Bisleri so that the promoters can get a better valuation and in a worst case scenario it is desperately hoping that the deal with Tata will go through at the current estimated valuation as the others may not be willing to pay the asking price. The deal may well go through but the chimera that has been raised will obscure the real reason of the deal having gone through.

     

    Vikas Mehta is a Dehradun-based business strategy consultant and educator. He writes on MxMIndia every other Monday. His views here are personal

     

  • …of Fifa World Cup-related communication for Indian consumers. A review by Vikas Mehta

    Agony & Ecstasy…

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaThe Fifa World Cup is now reaching its crescendo. My social media feed is full of comments on football and I can see lot of angst as the traditional superpowers like Germany, Spain, Netherlands and Brazil have been eliminated. Teams like Morocco or Croatia do not have the same universal appeal and at best are seen as outsiders. But football fans in India have one more angst. The patchy and glitchy coverage of the event in India on the Jio Cinema OTT channel.

     

    I am surprised at the criticism as I was watching the matches on the Sports18 TV channel and the coverage seemed pretty good. But what really got me puzzled was why were most of the people I know, watching the matches on the OTT channel and why not on the traditional DTH channel?

     

    Subscribing for a month or even a quarter was very cheap and no connectivity or downloading speed issues to tackle. Turns out from my limited friend circle that not many knew about the TV option and the addiction to OTT is so great that many have actually given up on DTH TV. The reality had hit home.

     

    Now that I am travelling, I too have started watching the matches on OTT, mobile screen. And to me all seems fine. The glitches about buffering etc have not affected me even though I am in the interiors of Tamil Nadu with some Mandous-related weather issues.

     

    My biggest disappointment with the Football World Cup, as indeed it was with the T20 World Cup is the lack of interesting World Cup-related commercials. On a global scale, Nike, Coke, Pepsi have launched some interesting commercials. Pepsi has brilliantly used its global stars like Messi Ronaldinho, Pogba etc and weaved in the lingo and feel of the Gen Z with slang like nutmugged etc. It also has a flashes of irreverence, chutzpah and of course football. Living upto the expectations of what Pepsi calls “Generation Thirsty”, the ad is about being thirsty for more. The commercial has got a strong backlash too as it seems to have adopted a lot of Moroccan locales and cultural icons which could be interpreted as Qatari. But I guess with the Moroccans having knocked out Spain and now Portugal and having advanced to the semi finals, this anomaly will be overlooked. Watch the Pepsi World cup ad.

     

    Expectedly, Coke, which is the official sponsor of World Cup, has come out with a simple yet strong film which stays true to Coke’s global sign-off of ‘Believing is Magic’. Depicting a young girl swept away in a carnivalesque celebration of football, the film stays true to the brand personality of Coke. Watch it here: Coke World Cup

     

    But Coke has been breaking new grounds of late and it tries to go beyond just advertising. I was therefore not surprised to come across a whole digital campaign which captures a wide range of fans’ devotion for their beloved teams. The ads show the outlandish promises many fans would make if their team could win the World Cup; from getting a tattoo, to shaving their head, to running to work every day—while inviting viewers to share their own promises for possible inclusion in Coca-Cola packaging, digital content or outdoor creative. And Coke is also issuing NFT’s associated with this world cup. Digital Memories that will be for the buyers to own. Watch this: Coke World Cup promise

     

    The piece de resistance for me was definitely the Nike Multiverse campaign. It has a simple global insight of fans’, in this case two scientists in a lab, debating the greatness of their favourite player, across different eras. And then the whole campaign turns into a science induced multiverse universe where players Mbappe and Ronalidinho (he seems to be getting into an advertising renaissance), are zapped into a multiverse universe to have them play against each other. Soon other employees at the lab weigh in with their favourites, present and past, like the Brazilian Ronaldo, Ronaldo CR7, Alex Morgan, Kevin De Bryun, Virgil Van Dijik etc and the film gets into some crazy football shots with a nice touch of technology. Nike has again outdone itself. Watch the ad. World Cup Nike

     

    All this makes me wonder why brands like Coke or Pepsi who have a strong presence in India and who splurge a lot on advertising, not show any world cup related ad. Coke is a global sponsor of the World Cup and yet it has no presence in either the TV or the OTT telecast. I understand the winter months low soft drink consumption issue but seriously, the world cup is a brand building exercise, not just an increase in sales time. The winters in Europe are much more severe. I also believe that initiatives like the outlandish promises, will work very well in India. Just yesterday I saw a post from a Bengali friend, who, while moaning the exit of Brazil was also depressed that he will have to go non vegetarian till the end of the world cup. Some outlandish promise or wager, is my guess. So why total silence by the brand during world cup football is beyond my comprehension.

     

    I did see a Pepsi ad on TV during the matches but it was a rerun of an old “more fizz” ad featuring the more older Salman Khan. Nothing to do with football.

     

    Byju’s has hired Messi as a brand ambassador for its social cause of education for all. Hyundai is one of the official sponsor of the world cup. Visa is another global sponsor. And Amul is the regional sponsor (whatever that means) of Argentina and Portugal teams. So, let’s look what these brands, who have a strong presence in India, are doing around the world cup in India.

     

    Byju’s had an ad which I saw a month or so ago which announced the partnership with Messi along with Byju’s being an official sponsor of the world cup. A very forgettable and predictable piece of ad which featured some stock footage of Messi and a few supers announcing from India to the world (whatever that means, again) and Byju’s sponsorship. Shoddy, poor quality and unimaginative. There is a separate long video which uses Messi to talk about the importance of choosing the right coach not just in football but in education too. Interestingly done but it’s a long video which is expected to go viral and not being telecast during the matches. Byju’s Messi Ad

     

    Amul has gone the same tacky route. Some stock shots of players of each team with a milk splash effect added on. Mind you, these are still shots, not even video footage. There is a bit of a generic milk benefit lyrics added on which rhyme with the name of the team. Sample this. Go go Portugal. Doodh se mile bal. Tasty har pal. Daud aur uchal. Or this one. Amul Khana peena tasty aur proteina. Cheer Argentina. Some really corny stuff with absolutely no production values. It has an interesting thought in its tagline of being the original energy drink. But it has been relegated to just a tagline. Amul had a budget for sponsoring the teams. Amul has a budget for buying media time. But Amul kept hardly any production budget. Go figure. Amul Argentina Regional sponsor

     

    The auto brand, Hyundai, has followed a global diktat. They are using a global film which is very high on tech with a message of “Beyond Mobility”. The ad is more manufacturer speak rather than consumer benefit or language. Leaves one cold. Watch here. Hyundai beyond mobility

     

    And Visa is re-unning some old ads which showcase the advantage over paying cash by using Visa cards. Tap to pay with Visa. A network that’s fast, secure and convenient. Seriously? In a world dominated by UPI payment that’s Visa’s competitive advantage? Watch here. Visa India

     

    Definitely the World Cup ads in India are a huge disappointment. Rather, these are a case of missed opportunity. The brands have missed out on a chance to use the world cup in a creative and engaging way. The plethora of similar looking automobile ads or RBI ads or Mutual Funds sahi hai ads featuring cricketers and film stars are just using world cup as another event where the brands are throwing good money but not creating any impact. It’s just an item ticked off. And that’s really a pity.

     

    P.S: Ok, I now understand the furore about the Jio Cinema glitches during live telecast. While writing this, I am watching the Morocco vs Portugal match and at half-time for two-three minutes there was nothing happening. Just some shots of the stadiums and some graphics. No commentary, no explanation. And then after 2-3 minutes the match centre came on with a half time report. Very shoddy and unprofessional indeed.

     

  • They are neither urban or rural and have carved out their own niche. Companies and brands need to understand them better, writes Vikas Mehta

    The Rise & Rise of Tier 2-3 Youngsters

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaIt’s not news when we talk about people like Dhoni, Bumrah, Lovelina Borgohain, Chanu Mirabai or even Vijay Shekhar Sharma who have made a name for themselves in sports or business. Towns like Kota which have churned out toppers for IIT entrance exams, actors and artists like Nawazuddin Siddiqui or Anurag Kashyap have already propelled small towns of India into the limelight. But, today, these towns are in the forefront of delivering much more than just sporadic gifted individuals. They are now changing the socio-economic structure of Bharat while contributing to a deluge of talent to corporate world too. And don’t forget these youngsters are also tomorrow’s consumers.

     

    What it underlines is the importance of Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns of India. While we understand Urban (read metro) India and talk about Rural India, there is a huge chunk of these towns which, like a sandwich, have imbibed the good and the bad of both Urban and Rural India. The fact that I have been living in one such town for the past nine-odd years has helped me understand this small town phenomenon better.

     

    Traditionally, Dehradun was a town with hardly any industry, some government and public sector undertakings and a decent tourism sector. Over the years, it also acquired the reputation of being a good education hub, in school education and training institutions of national importance and of late also in graduation and postgraduation.

     

    Till a decade ago, to earn a living, one had to be either a government employee in public sectors like ONGC, Survey of India, Forest Research Institute, or be associated with the likes of IMA, Indian Institute of Petroleum, or be self-employed. And getting a public sector job was the biggest dream of the youth. It promised a lifetime of employment, good perks and better retirement perks too.

     

    Since the above jobs were limited, self-employment played an important role in the commerce of Dehradun. People were self-employed in tourism, in retail, or as serviced employees in government or quasi-government employees in organisations like the ONGC or the educational institutes or the IMAs and the FRIs. And many of these self-employed carved interesting niches. They had bookshops which became a melting pot of the intellegentia, or food outlets like bakeries and restaurants that became a must for the tourists. With educational institutes abounding, hostels, tiffin service, small eateries, sprung up aplenty.

     

    But the abundance of educational institutes also changed the job scene. Many of the self-employed used to pass on their business to their children, who till not too long ago, were pretty content in accepting this. But now with education at their doorstep, they started thinking differently. And this has happened across socio-economic classes. A help in the household would earlier be content if her daughter took up similar jobs. Or a taxi-driver’s son would take up the same job from his father. A small-time kirana shopowner would let his son take over his shop and a restaurant-owner would pass on the restaurant to his progeny and his employees would pass on their jobs to their children.

     

    The arrival of education, across all levels, has changed the game. Ask a homemaker and she will complain how it is not easy to find household help. Ask a retailer and s/he will bemoan the fact that the son does not want to run the shop. Ask a small-time plumber and s/he will tell you with pride that his son is doing engineering. Ask a tailor and s/he will be proud to say that his daughter wants to pursue fashion designing. Ask a teacher in a school and s/he will wax eloquently about the daughter doing a computer course.

     

    Here, I will give the example of my parent’s household help. Thirty years ago, when my parents shifted to Dehradun after retirement, they had a household help whose husband was a daily wage-earner labourer and who had three sons and one daughter. Her initial outlook in life was that the sons will get into being labourers as soon as they hit the teens and the daughter will be married off and would continue her tradition. But then with my parents’ encouragement, she sent all her children to a local small-time private school with my parents funding part of the education and also tutoring them. Today, one son is a front-desk manager in a four-star hotel in Bhopal after doing a two-year course in Dehradun from a hotel management institute. Another one is a cashier with a retail chain having done a diploma in cost accountancy, the third one has started his own repair shop after getting a technical degree from a private college and the daughter has done under graduation before she was married off in an arranged marriage to an engineer in another town, where she takes some private tuition for primary government schoolchildren.

     

    That to me is the difference in education, even in a small town of Bharat. In another Bharat, without education this would never have happened.

     

    The arrival of education has shifted the benchmarks. Small towns offer all types of education. Dehradun has engineering colleges, management institutes, pharmacy courses, fashion design institutes, airhostess training institutes, institutes teaching various dances, institutes churning out trained actors, institutes offering retail courses, architecture courses, English-speaking courses, courses training you for a BPO job and of course institutes who train you to get admission into all these institutes. I am not even talking about the normal graduate courses and the ITIs, which are a given. And of course, for primary education Dehradun has more than 300 private non aided schools.

     

    Many of these institutes are charting their own unique courses. They are offering dual specialisations, credit-based trimester system, industry oriented certifications like SAP or NIIT Swift or even Art of Living. Many flaunt the number of patents their students have registered or the inventions that have merited international recognition.

     

    And I am sure this phenomenon is being replicated in Raipur, Ranchi, Kochi, Guwahati, Sangli, Mangalore etc. May not be at the same scale, but definitely across the spectrum. Dehradun has a classified weekly newspaper. It is a big hit with edition each week running into 30-40 pages. I see ads for everything in it. Last week, it had almost 10 pages of ads for educational institutes and teachers and other administrative posts. The interesting thing was that the ads were not just for Dehradun or its surroundings but for places as far as Jaipur, Bhopal, Varanasi…..And tell me how many metro cities even have such an amazing, classified only, newspaper?

     

    Yes, education has changed a lot. But the leveller has been technology. The 4G revolution has inspired the Bharat youngster in more ways than one. And I am not even getting into online education and different online specialisations available. First, is the exposure to the world. My daughter finds about a college in London to pursue her interest because an Instagram friend spoke about it. A beauty parlour owner’s son being a part of Arsenal Football club fan discovered his passion for football coaching.

     

    Second, is the confidence level. Mediums like Reels have not only given the youngsters a medium to express themselves but also realise that they are no less than the so-called slick city bred.

     

    Thirdly, it is also changing the cultural identity of the youngsters. It’s not uncommon to see teenaged girls in Dehradun wearing short skirts, hair tied back in a bun, speaking English, walking out of air hostess training institute. Nor is it uncommon to see young men in suits whizzing around on scooters, bending down to touch the feet of elders. Over the last two months, Doon Times has carried enough articles about international DJs and Bollywood stars performing at college festivals. And this evening on Christmas Day sitting at a small café, watching confident youngsters strutting around while talking in Hinglish, I realised that this could well have been the scene in a Gurugram or Mumbai café.

     

    Finally, the combination of all of the above is making the smalltown youngsters more risk-ready. They are not afraid of doing unconventional things. Exposure, confidence and comfort in finding one’s own identity is making the youngster willing to explore, look at new career paths and be ready to be an entrepreneur too. This is breaking many barriers. And talking to the youth today, it is clear they are ambitious. They still are keen for a job in public sector undertaking. But they are not averse to the private sector. They want a job that will expose them to the world. They want to move to a bigger city and also abroad. And those who have the independent streak, it’s not about opening a small restaurant or having his own taxi. It’s about having a chain of restaurants or a fleet of taxis. For a teenage girl, marriage, though still important, is no longer a driving force. She wants to have some education so that she too can contribute to the household. And she is not limiting her ambition to just be a teacher.

     

    My wife and I walked into a showroom of a global brand in a prestigious mall in Dehradun. We were discussing, in English, the merits of a T-shirt which seemed to be priced on the higher side. To my shock, which later turned into genuine surprise, the sales girl politely intervened and explained the premium on the T-shirt. I asked her about her good English and she explained to me that she had done her PGDBM from an institute in Dehradun itself and had joined the MNC as a trainee. Her first six months would be on shop floor for her to understand the consumer and the market dynamics.

     

    I was intrigued. Here was a small-town girl from Bharat. She was comfortable in conversing in English, with strangers, in a shop. She had no qualms or stigma associated being a sales girl, that too after doing a PGDBM! She had broken family barriers, social taboos and wanted to be a part of the world. And her school was called St Kabeer. Figure out if it’s Saint or Sant Kabeer. I spent five minutes quizzing her and I realised that the youth of Bharat has arrived. Not only is she confident and articulate but she is also contemporary. Not modern, but contemporary.

     

    She is with the times. Mind you she is not a rebel and neither has she given up on tradition. She had mehndi on her hands and the one holiday she never misses is Raksha Bandha. She would not admit that she has a boyfriend, but had some good male friends. She will marry a bit late after she is sure of her job or career. She will not mind a proposal that her parents get but she needs to accept the person too. And she was not interested in just a job but a career.

     

    What is surprising was not that she was ready to speak to an unknown male (of course my wife’s presence helped) but that she was willing to speak on some subjects which I thought were sensitive.

     

    The tough and determined rural life has had a very positive impact on such people. Their struggles have strengthened them. But the underbelly of the Urban India has also gotten to them. Drugs consumption is seen as a part of a lifestyle. Most of the youngsters I spoke to, don’t smoke and consider smoking as harmful but drugs were not a taboo. Social drinking seems to be on the rise. Two-hour hotel rooms are mushrooming in every locality at ridiculously low prices. Some private medical clinics talk about unwanted pregnancies being on the rise. But there is no real data to analyse this properly.

     

    The bottomline is very clear. Tier 2-3 towns youngsters are neither urban or rural but they have carved out their own niche. Companies and brands need to understand them better.

     

  • When many of the wants became needs, writes Vikas Mehta

    Pandemic: Not the driver of change but the change accelerator

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

    Vikas MehtaBy Vikas Mehta

     

    With the turn of the year, there was a splurge of articles on trends, what awaits us in 2023 and of course life post-pandemic. Trends were being captured and changes were being highlighted. A lot of debate on how life has changed for good and bad post-pandemic.

    So, I reflected on these changes, tried to relate it to my own life and read some researched articles.

    My conclusions however differ than the most. I don’t think there was much change. What though did happen was that a lot of change that had already started, accelerated. Let me explain with a few trends that are being hailed as change due to the pandemic.

     

    Digital payment: From Wallets to UPI: The UPI phenomena picked up immediately after demonetisation. Wallets, which was what was the first new age Digital Payment method, quickly gave way to UPI. While it grew as it eschewed the perennial problem of cash exchanges including small change, the pandemic accelerated it considerably. Let’s also not forget that UPI payment needs bank accounts and the opening of millions of jandhan accounts enabled even a streetcart hawker to open an account and get a UPI link. And while we talk about the role of jandhan accounts let’s not forget to give due credit to the 4G revolution and the availability of cheaper smart phones in promoting UPI payment. The timing of pandemic was the catalyst which got all these elements together and UPI payments have since ballooned exponentially reaching 782 crore transactions estimated at Rs 12.82 lakh crore in December 2022.

     

    Online shopping: From novelty to necessity: The miracle of shopping from home had entered our lives more than a decade ago. And the convenience of card payments followed by UPI made online shopping catch on and also achieve penetration in smaller towns. What the pandemic did was to make it a habit. So, when it was not safe to be in a shop or any crowded place online delivery became a preferred mode of shopping. And even the neighbourhood kirana caught on to it. No, every kirana store did not rush to put up a website but they used WhatsApp to communicate availability of the merchandising and whatever offers and promotions were on. These kirana shops facilitated delivery by getting a hired help or even the regular staff, whose workload had decreased due to less footfalls, to do home delivery. So, the concept of online shopping became more acceptable, and more user friendly. But let’s not ignore that there was a huge class of consumers like the government employees who did not suffer a salary cut or loss of employment and whose savings during the pandemic went up as their spending avenues like travel or shopping during holidays got curtailed. As a result, this type of consumer not only picked up the nuances of online shopping but embraced both, the technology and the offers that came along with it. The boom was therefore accelerated. And let’s be sure it has also slowed down. The same consumers are now rushing offline to experience the rush of shopping.

     

    WFH: From Work to Personal Life. Video conferencing and apps like Zoom were not just in place but they were being used by corporates pre pandemic. The pandemic made them verbs. Zoom, Meet, Facetime etc crossed the threshold of corporate world and became household names. Birthdays, anniversaries, even prayer meetings went online. Housewife groups, student groups, educational institutes, understood to use video conferencing as a mean to not just work from home but to also socialize, do part time work and peddle their interests into small business. Again, here the timing was important. Broadband connections were already being rolled out giving faster internet speeds and affordable prices, which the whole family could use. Suddenly everyone, not just working professionals realized that one need not spend time travelling to work or even to meet someone socially. The need to safeguard their health made an individual realise that what was considered non-negotiable like travelling to work, physical meeting with customers had an alternative. And this available also gave the individuals to indulge in new habits.

     

    Reels: From a passive receiver to an active creator. Software combined with smartphones and apps like Tik Tok had already whetted the appetite of the youngster to indulge in expressing themselves through videos. The pandemic gave the youngsters time to explore various technologies and software. The allure of fame and instant recognition added to it. Extra time in hand allowed the youngsters to indulge in their creative language and it also helped ignite a deeper connect with technology. Technology moved from an exclusive domain to a more generic domain. It also fuelled more liberal arts interest in areas like film making, music and liberal arts. Tik Tok had already shown the way. Pandemic fueled it to much greater heights

     

    OTT: Primetime slots to personal primetimes. Time in hand, coupled with more savings, enabled consumer segments like government employees, software engineers etc buying OTT subscriptions. Anyways, movie theatres were shut. TV serials had stopped production so new episodes were not available. These consumers spread their net wide by dipping into the old inventory of OTT channels. Plus, they also started looking at other language programmes which had subtitles. And then, they started taking more than one subscription. As a result the OTT channels which already had good inventory took off. It was not just films or serials it also applied to old sports footage of cricket and international football. It was a win0win situation for both the consumers and the channels. As the consumers opened their wallets the channels started investing in new films or programmes. Pandemic was the rocket fuel for the OTT channels.

     

    Education: From home tutions to online tutions: Forget the role of edutech companies, private tutions, which seem to be a staple for every middle class Indian child were not only a financial burden but also meant parents having to spend time picking up and dropping their children for tutions. So, when online tutions was tried out by some enterprising teachers, the trend caught on. Even now, I hear of one to one online tutions which involves student getting slots at an unearthly hour of 5:30 am or 6 am. But that is manageable as it involves no travel or getting ready.

     

    Tourism: From global to local. Local tourism, a trend that had started around a few years back blossomed during the pandemic. Many youngsters in small towns and even metros had started exploring and then organising local tours which featured forgotten heritage, architecture, natural spots and local cuisine. When the lockdown relaxations started, long distance tourism was still a no go but these local tours picked up. Coupled with the fact that these were mostly walking, and gave an opportunity to get away from the confines of homes, I have seen these flourish and thrive almost everywhere.

     

    Social Media: From gossip to extra income. While social media has fueled enough gossip, innuendos and fake news it has also been used to whet the appetite of work from home housewives or youngsters who channeled their hobbies like cooking or knitting or even worked for social commerce sites like Meesho to earn an extra buck. Even now I come across some students who use Instagram or whatsapp to make some money baking cakes and goodies during festival season. Again, the pandemic enabled these people to use the time available to monetise their hobbies. 

    On a personal level, I saw and experienced some of these explosions. Before the pandemic I would be using Zoom for some business meetings, so as a family we were happy with 4G data plans or using wifi hot spots. But with both me and my spouse working online and my daughter into online schooling, an unlimited data plan backed by higher speeds for video consumption meant that we opted for two broadband plans with the second one as a backup. Online shopping for even daily needs like milk and bread became a habit. My bank statement transactions doubled and tripled due to the increased use of UPI. DTH connection was pruned down to some sports and news channels and Netflix, Sony LIV, Disney Hotstar, Amazon Prime became staple entertainment medium. Zoom became the default verb for any family gathering across countries and continents.

    And when the pandemic struck my mother-in-law in Mumbai, we did tripartite online medical consultation twice daily. The chemist near her house would be sent a list of medicines and nutrients by WhatsApp, his delivery person would place it at the doorstep and we would make UPI payments. Fruits and groceries followed a similar pattern. Even for her food, a tiffin person in her neighbourhood was employed. And finally, a healthcare worker was contacted who physically moved in to tend to her.

    The point to be noted is that many of the abovementioned habits were accelerated due to the pandemic. One would have tried them and adapted them at one’s own pace but the pandemic did not allow the luxury to do so. The pandemic put into perspective the difference between needs and wants and many of the wants became needs. This led to immediate change in habits and trends, instead of a gradual acceptance. And that has made all the difference.

     

  • The Indian consumer is not just price conscious but value conscious too, writes Vikas Mehta

    Are you barking up the right tree?

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaIndians want free programming. Indians will not pay more for data. Indians buy the cheapest option.

    Jio succeeded because it gave free data for more than six months. Netflix is not doing well because it is not cheap.

    Sometimes, I am amused at such cliches which are used to define success or hide failures. Sure, price is important. Definitely, everyone loves free. But it would be imprudent to define failure or success due to such unidimensional thinking. And, no, Indians are not some out of the world consumers who live by a different paradigm.

    There are two factors here. One is the definition of value and the second is the role of other marketing factors which accentuate the free or cheap story.

    Let’s look at some examples. Netflix which became a household name globally worked on a simple premise. Great programming which is ad-free. The OTT channel invested a huge amount of money into producing independent programme content and dished it out on the back of subscription fees. It was lapped up globally and even in India its numbers initially were impressive. But then after it had reaped the low hanging fruit of urban, English-speaking affluent Indians, it stuttered and spluttered. The reason trotted out was its premiumness. Its subscription cost was Rs 799 per month. Compare that to Amazon Prime which then was Rs 999 a year and Hotstar which was around the same. Netflix was almost 10 times more expensive. To woo the Indian audience, the channel put out a Rs 199 a month mobile phone offer and then reduced that to Rs 149. Other rates were also slashed by around 20-60%. It seems, that barely moved the needle and Netflix subscription in India languishes at around 6 mllion subscribers.

    So, the above statements about Indians and cheap or free etc.

    But that’s barking up the wrong tree. Let’s look at the Netflix product. It has very little programming in Indian languages and the subtitles option relevant for India are only in Hindi and English. According to the 2011 census 46% of Indians claim Hindi to be the first language and 11% claim English to be the same. So, even if we ignore that some percentage of such Hindi speakers may not be comfortable reading Hindi, this means that more than 55% of Indians have a problem with Netflix as a product. And mind you, subtitles is always a compromised product. The bare minimum that Netflix needs to do in India is start dishing out subtitles in at least six-seven more languages.

    This brings me to the second point. There is not much value to pay for a channel whose product to a big majority of Indians is not suitable. Specially, when compared to local competition like Hotstar or Amazon Prime or Sony Liv. Because these, offer something extra too. Some sports like cricket or football or free online delivery which Amazon Prime offers. And of course a deluge of Indian language programmes.

    Indian consumer is not just price conscious but value conscious too.

    What about Jio, you say. Of course, Jio gave free services for about 9 months after launch. But do not forget, it had a great product. Not only was it 4G but Jio was giving it out in spades. Till Jio came on the tariff of all telecom service providers was call centric. So many calls, so many SMSs and a miniscule amount of data per month. A typical post-paid plan which cost around Rs 400 per month would give 2-3 GB a month data. Jio turned it around on its head. It’s launch plan for Rs 149 for 28 days included 1.5 GB a day data and unlimited free calls and SMSs. The price was down by 80% and data had increased by almost 20 times. Was that cheap or was it more value?

    Now let’s look at a category like soaps. This is a category where brand loyalty is tested quite often. And enough brands are available which cover not just all price segments but also all imaginable features and benefits. In the plethora of these brands Godrej No.1 was launched with a high TFM Grade 1 claim. Not an easy differentiation to express but they did a decent job. And they did not stop at that. They discovered a new pricing. Actually, pricing in the garb of an offer. Buy 3 get 1 free. And then they made only these packs available. Value? Yes. Indians love more value for the same price.

    But India is not a large pack market. Sachets have revolutionised the Indian market. So, by making only buy 3-get-1 free packs available was Godrej barking up the wrong tree?

    Actually, it was a classic case of right product with the right pricing, right promotion and also right retail push. Retail push because the retailer now had the opportunity to pocket more money. India being a single unit market, the retailer would break open the pack of four and sell each pack individually. Even if he sold it at a lower price than the MRP he was actually selling one extra pack, the whole value of which was his earning. Not just the margin but actually the selling price. And this was being done by the retailer. So, he was not just happy but would actually push the brand, citing TFM, grade1 soap. And currently I see the brand being sold in large packs only. Sometimes even pack of 8 or 9. It’s not being targeted just at the consumer but at the retailer. It’s value for the retailer too.

    Value and price is fast evolving into a challenge for the brands. Traditional discounts are being traded with value. When one is dealing with aspirational products like say 5-star hotels, it hurts them if they have to offer big discounts during off season or when occupancy is low. If an average room costs Rs 25,000 per night and occupancy is low then the standard way of looking at the situation is to cut prices. For a hotel, at midnight the value of an unoccupied room becomes zero. Their thinking is that instead of zero even if I can get Rs 10,000 then it’s a bargain. Therefore late night deals and sites like booking.com give massive discounts to very late bookings. But Hotels now are changing the game. They are trying to attract a different target, those who aspire to stay at 5-star or want the comfort of a great room but till now cannot afford it. The concept being used is less value for less price. So, the room is available at Rs 15,000 or even Rs 12,000 but the resident cannot use the gym and the swimming pool and of course, no free breakfast. Suddenly, a whole new market opens up for the hotel.

    We Indians are famous for jugaad. But the above sort of thinking where value is redefined, where product is redefined and where new rules are explored is what is redefining jugaad and making  marketing more exciting today. The question that every marketer needs to ask themselves today is “Are we barking up the right tree?”

     

  • Vikas Mehta writes on his recent trips from Delhi to Dehradun by road and rail

    Upclose with Urban Bharat

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

     

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaI call my column with apologies to none. But this time, I begin with an apology. This column is actually a mish mash of many things. State of the economy, inflation, urban Bharat consumer, children as consumers… you get the picture.

     

    What prompted me to write this blog was two trips that I have made in the past 2-3 weeks, between Dehradun and Delhi & back. By road in a bus and by train.

     

    I have always believed that marketers must travel by train to understand the Indian consumer and this could not have been more true than in the recent trips of mine. I travelled in a Volvo, in Shatabdi and in Jan Shatabdi too. So, let’s dive in.

     

    While travelling in the comfort of a Volvo which does Delhi to Dehradun, a distance of around 250 kms in 4-4:30 hours non-stop, thanks to expressways and toll roads, I entered into a conversation with an economics student who was in his final year.  He had bought some packaged namkeen and was pretty sore about the price increase of these in the past year. Being a economics student he was throwing around the word inflation like free popcorn. I couldn’t stop myself from asking him the reason for inflation. He immediately threw demand supply curve at me saying how supply has been constrained due to lockdown and shortage of raw materials and oil due to the Russia Ukraine war.

     

    But, India has actually benefited by the war in terms of crude oil prices. We are buying record quantity from Russia almost about 10% of our need, compared to less than 1% pre war. That’s why fuel prices in India have remained constant for almost a year now. I countered.

     

    That left him stumped. Like a typical Indian student who understood his theory, the practical aspect of his understanding was not upto the mark.

     

    And what about the demand, I asked him. After all those lock downs and production sector taking a hit, rise in unemployment in sectors like tourism and hospitality, now also in IT, how has the demand increased, I enquired.

     

    By now, he was totally confused. But to give credit to him, he wanted to know. I patiently explained to him how subsidies and dole outs that governments all over the world, including India, gave out, left people with unexpected money which they could not spend, then. So, when the pandemic subsided all that money created an unprecedented demand which the lockdown induced supply constraints, specially in China, could not meet upto. In India it was not just the food subsidies that was given to almost 80 crore people, which still continues to be given, but also sectors like government employees, who had no pay cuts, IT, who did brisk business and more, that were laden with money, which then resulted into a booming demand. Imagine, even a daily wage earner, if he was spending 2000 rupees a month on food, he was now spending only about 20% of that. Rest, even he splurged in his own little way.

     

    And this point was proven in my Jan Shatabdi train trip. I was sitting in the ordinary chair car (ok, I confess. I did want AC but it was not available), and a family of four travelling from Ghaziabad to Meerut was buying popcorn, chips, peanut packs with abandon. I got into conversation with them. The man was not too keen to talk about what he does but suffice to say that he had no fixed job and the family was recipient of government food largesse. And he was not alone. From what I could see, the IRCTC vendors were making hay. Except tea and soft drinks, almost nothing was available for less than Rs 50, yet the vendors were selling like crazy. I spoke to a vendor during the journey and he said that the revenue from selling packaged food has definitely gone up from pre Covid days. Inspite of price hike, everyone was buying more according to him.

     

    I spoke to the family at length. The wife seemed very upset with food prices. Edible oil, masalas, dals, flour, milk, bread, even vegetables she argued were getting more expensive. Hearing her rant two three more people joined in. They were all sailing in the same boat and were very thankful for the subsidised ration they were getting. It was very clear why the government is reluctant to roll back the subsidies. Specially now, with inflation at its peak and elections due in 9 state assemblies.

     

    But how can they afford to buy packaged food like chips etc was my natural query. It’s part of the household budget, I was informed. I refused to accept or believe it. But they were adamant. 3-4 chip packets (local, cheaper ones) a week, Kurkure or namkeen bhujiya, or cheeselings etc was part of buying pattern. And it was children that drove it. Pester power at play. The children in turn were under peer pressure. It was a buying behaviour cycle which seem to have burdened the lower income strata too.

     

    I asked questions about health and insurance too. The belief was simple. If all these packaged goods were unhealthy, they would have been banned. Why are Americans also eating them if these are unhealthy, chirped a father with a toddler in his arms. Everyone nodded sagely and I quickly moved onto the question of medical costs and insurance.

     

    All prefer to go to government hospitals as they are cheap, even if it meant having to take a day off from work as these places are crowded. More crowded than before, I was told, as private doctors have raised their fees by more than 50-60%. And they had no insurance because they saw it as one, a regular payment which they were not sure of and two, a waste of money if nothing happened to them. I was relieved when one disputed the second point saying it was not a waste but safety as chances of ill fate was high (exact words translated into English). But he too was worried if he can afford to pay regularly as required.

     

    This was a very different view than what I encountered while talking to a “businessman” in Shatabdi. He had bought not just LIC policy but had also bought a family health policy from his LIC agent for United India Mediclaim. 5 lakhs for a family of four he told me proudly. “We were lucky that Covid did not impact my family” he said. “But I have seen what happened to some families and I have learnt a lesson.” This guy was from NCR region and I could see the Urban India and Urban Bharat divide here.

     

    On all the trips I was not surprised at seeing kids, from four years and above, engrossed with games on mobiles. The parents were not bothered and in fact were relieved that the children were not being a nuisance. Unfortunately, it looked like that snack food and mobile phones had taken up child rearing duties even in the lower strata household. Almost all children had realised that tantrum and pester power could get them either the mobile phone or their favourite snack.

     

    But what was definitely a revelation to me was the smartphone ownership. The wife’s smart phone was usually shared by the children. Even on the journeys all children using the mobiles were using the mother’s smart phone. The father was busy with his own. Gender discrimination?

     

    The economics student had been very bullish about the stock market. And he had mentioned to me that he will be investing in the Adani Enterprises FPO. Unfortunately, that conversation was more than two weeks ago. And a lot has changed in the two weeks. Maybe, I need another road/train trip to understand what’s the Urban Bharat take on all this Adani vs Hindenburg issue. The Urban India take we see on social media. So, anyone game to join me?