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Tag: Ganapathy Viswanathan

  • Ganapathy Viswanathan lists reasons why memorable tunes help connect brands

    4 reasons why memorable tunes help connect brands

    By Ganapathy Viswanathan

     

    1. Attention-grabbers:  By creating a unique or refreshing tune you try and catch the consumer’s attention on the first go. Some time you will not have a great commercial but if you have a memorable tune it can still help you connect your brand. Brands like Britannia and Titan have such great tunes that consumer can easily connect with the brand. While tunes play a significant role in enhancing the brand or product but it will work well only when it blends well with the overall communication of the brand.

     

    2. Differentiates the communication: The originality of the tune helps you differentiate your brand. So therefore it is important that the tune is composed keeping in mind the product offerings, values attached, the personality of the brand and of course the target audience. You can differentiate your tune to break the clutter by starting from using different musical instrument and to the way it is sung. Now let’s take an example of Airtel where the ringtone is an important element of the product offering. This was very well leveraged by Airtel using ace Music composer A R Rahman to compose the same. The tune became so popular that it became the ring tone for many Airtel customers and the brand connect was further strengthened.

     

    3. Memorable tunes become a brand property: Many trusted brands like Lifebuoy have created tunes many years back which is still popular. Today it has become a brand property for Lifebuoy. Even without any visuals you just play the tune and people can connect with the brand. Great and memorable tune is what brings in the extra embellishment to any jingle or song. So it is important when tunes are composed they should be thought with a solid vision and as a long term property.

     

    4. Memorable tunes become part of brand identity:  In the past when you think of brand identity the focus was more only on the design, colours and font as the focus was only the print medium. But with the popularity of TV and internet memorable tune with a combination of music, audio and words are composed and then integrated as part of a brand to be its identity for easily connecting the brand. This brand tune is created based on the overall values of the brand and its target audience. Going forward when brands will revisit their brand identity they will also look at the sign off tune for the brand to match the overall look, feel and personality of the brand.

     

    Ganapathy Viswanathan is Vice President Optima Response

     

  • The four factors that will ensure people stick with the corner shop – convenience, cost, choice and customer service

    The Anchor: 4 reasons why FDI in retail will not shake up mom ‘n pop stores

    By Ganapathy Viswanathan

     

    #1 Convenience: The local grocery is located close to one’s residence so that one can go at leisure and buy things during any point of the day. Alternatively the shop will not hesitate to give free home delivery – even if only one item is ordered. Unlike the big retail chain which insists on a minimum amount of order for free home delivery. These little things make a difference.

     

    #2 Cost: Being a long-standing customer he or she always gets the benefit of competitive price. Here there will always be the argument that the big retail shops offer lower prices, but trusted long-term customers of mom-and-pop stores do not always look at only price, they also look at consistency in the quality of products such as cereals and spices.

     

    #3 Choice: Most local grocery stores also offers a wide choice but include local brands which have gained customer loyalty. This is most common in a category like beverages (tea and coffee). Big retail chains are more likely to go by universal tastes as they cater to a larger population.

     

    #4 Customer Care: Customer care has been the emphasis for most giant supermarket stores but the kind of personal touch that small stores give cannot be replaced. The personal equation of the owner is so good that he often knows the likes and dislikes of each family member. He is also likely to know the first name of his customer and hence is able to connect with the customer and establish a bond. This is missing in the big retail stores.

     

    Ganapathy Viswanathan is a senior communications professional based in Mumbai