Branding and Brand INDIA…

What is a brand? Out of the numerous ways one defines the term brand, it could be said that a brand is a product, service, or concept that is publicly distinguished from other products, services, or concepts so that it can be easily communicated and usually marketed. A brand name is the name of a distinctive product, service, or concept.

Branding is the process of creating and disseminating the brand name. Brands are built over a period of time and are not built overnight. Many times it so happens that a company is identified as a brand owing to the products which it sells or the intangible attributes which get associated with its products.

David Ogilvy, the famous advertising copywriter, and ad agency founder defined brand in the following way-

“The intangible sum of a product’s attributes: its name, packaging, and price, its history, its reputation, and the way it’s advertised. “… How true!

It so happens that many times it is the intangibles that get registered about a company that lends an image to it and thus go a long way in establishing it as a brand. A glowing example of a brand that stands out is TATA, which stands for integrity and trust.

This stems out from the quality and trustworthy service that the company has offered through its various SBU’s such as steel, chemicals, and others motors that have established it an ‘Unshakeable brand’.

Somewhere in the process of brand-building also comes in the idea of Experience Curve though it might not relate to it directly. A brand as mentioned takes time to register in the minds of the consumers and society, which largely also depends on the life span of the product.

To explain it further, any cola drink would imply a coke or a Pepsi, even though it might not be that. This goes to show that a brand appeals to the psyche of the consumer. You as a consumer can relate to it or associate it with yourself.

Let’s say, you like the best product around in digital, then perhaps you would prefer a Samsung product. In this regard, a Brand Ambassador would be one a company would like to associate the brand with, perhaps finding sync with the intangible product attributes and the individual endorsing the product.

So imagine if we looked at India as a brand, how would it be perceived or how is it perceived? Thinking hypothetically, if one has to plot India on a BCG matrix as a brand where would it lie..?

With the way India is progressing, some would say India might already be a star while others would say that India might lie between the question mark and the Star stage. The question mark is a stage where a product is unsure whether it will be accepted and become a success while the star stage is where the product has a huge potential and a similar market to explore and cater to.

Brand India is yet to be established, untapped potential. Gone are the days when India was looked upon as a haven for snakes and charms. It has shed that image and has surged as a powerhouse, a nation that has to be looked up to.

The booming economy, a spree of mergers (examples of which is TATA Corus acquisition), and acquisitions, 20-20 world champions have put India on the global map. But is that all? Are such developments a representation of India?

Can one bask in the glory of isolated events when even today a major portion of rural India lives in darkness and is bereft of access to medical facilities and medical insurance?

So, what according to you would make India as a nation a better brand? Write in your comments.