Innovation is Key to drive growth in stagnant FMCG landscape.

Innovation is Key to drive growth in stagnant FMCG landscape.

Established FMCG companies in India are struggling for a double digit growth. Most of them are either in single digit or showing a negative trajectory. Old strategies no longer seem to be working and management is not showing confidence in launching NPDs or value creation through innovation. In this scenario, Brand managers need to go deeper to find out reasons for sluggish consumption.  What is it that compelling consumers to consume less or go for value degradation? Can it be attributed to a weaker/bleak economic outlook or a socio-cultural transition of Indian consumer? Or can we take a bold stance to say that FMCG brands becoming commodity and are no longer able to add value in consumer’s life?

Lack of clarity or reason codes lead to frequent changes in strategy and short term approach which often create more ambiguity in the system. Lower/Middle management starts hitting in dark, leading to frustration and chaos. In most common scenario, frontiers start executing things which comes from top management out of fear. This is the most dangerous situation to be into. Taking my learning’s from Jack Welch’s straight from the Gut, Top management needs to adopt firm & stable approach while dealing with issues. Getting into dialogues with middle/lower management often help in building confidence of frontiers to try new things.

Here I go with my attempt to decode the reason codes for current situation:

T o drive growth, either penetration or consumption needs to be intact. Unfortunately, both seem to have failed as demands are stagnant across SECs. Companies are trying to boost the demand by offering value thru consumer promotions/price offs. But again these are short term and your brand may fall in the price/value trap. Let us look around adjacent categories such as QSR/Fashion/Automobile/Smart Phones/Sports accessories etc. They are growing at a healthy double digit. Brands in this space are able to add value in consumer’s life and are helping them differentiate and make a statement.  While most of the brands in FMCG space are behaving like a commodity and no longer helping consumers to differentiate. You will no longer be able to extract more out of a consumer (Increase consumption) unless you are gratifying his evolved/new needs (Be it a functional or emotional).  Price off /consumer promotion might help you retain a consumer but remember this is not intrinsic to your brand. You are more vulnerable in this case; a new entrant may offer more and can take your consumer away.

The reason for brand switching is no longer the failure of a brand to perform but its inability to cater to the need in a different way. Analyst may say that this is not the right time to launch NPDs or create value through innovation in stagnant market. But, I have a different point of view. New product/innovation will bridge that gap of lack of differentiation and will give consumers enough reason to try/include your brand in his repertoire. The element of differentiation/innovation can be brought in various other ways:

1. It could be a more valid/interesting new RTB (reason to believe) Example: Lifebuoy; silver technology - Purana Gaya Naya Aaya https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcOzf2aKsGc 100% Germs free.
2. It could be through extending Brand proposition into a completely different category; example Dettol Surakha : Saaf dikhane wale Kitchen me bhi germs raha jaten hai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDlDy_tKtvA
3.  It could be in the form making statement and having a point of view; Example Gillette’s  Shave India Movement : Stand up for a women https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4aiso6pvRE
4. Could be in form a gratifying a latent need (India uprising /a stream of nationalism) Example: Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali: Swadeshi/Instilling the whole lot of pride of being an Indian brand and bringing out heritage of Ayurveda in most palatable formats.

Marketing professionals tend get bored/fatigued in stagnancy and ambiguous situations.  HR buzz words; shelf esteemed, fighting attitude, capacity to think Bla Bla... look like more a Jargon/Gyan than anything else in real spirit.  Guiding teams to do new things/Innovation will help them be productive and get going in their learning curve.

Having said so, it is not easy to reinvent the brand proposition and come up with a winning/Innovative solution in crisis situation. It has to be built in to the organisational culture, a culture where people are not rewarded /reprimanded for success /failure but for their intent.

References:

Artiticles

1. http://www.exchange4media.com/digital/indian-qsr-market-likely-to-scale-$4.1-billion-by-2020_64570.html
2. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/hotels-/-restaurants/indias-qsr-market-to-touch-rs-25000-crore-by-2020-assocham/articleshow/49504930.cms
3. http://www.livemint.com/Companies/D6la6rk2jQ77EkOJwemgNO/FB-to-become-a-Rs-38-trillion-industry-by-201617-says-st.html
4. http://www.intelligencenode.com/knowledge/whitepapers/Indian-Fashion-Retail-Report-2016/ (Growth in Indian Fashion retail)
5. http://www.livemint.com/Industry/bulpIdEod7tk9HTftdo9bL/At-764-growth-India-fastest-growing-passenger-car-market.html (Highest growth in Passenger cars in the world)
6.  http://indiainbusiness.nic.in/newdesign/index.php?param=industryservices_landing/329/1 (Passenger Car Growth at 11.1% Year ending March 16)
7.  http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenkusek/2016/07/25/the-death-of-brand-loyalty-cultural-shifts-mean-its-gone-forever/#7e18f384e44d
8. https://hbr.org/2008/06/harvard-business-ideacast-100  : Innovation at P&G

Books:

1. Straight from the Gut :  Jack Welch
2. The Game Changer : AG Lafley & Ram Charan
3.  Our Iceberg is Melting: John Kotter 

An evil aspiration...

"Rajiv Gandhi's killers are being set free, I am saddened by this. I am personally against the death penalty but this is not about my father.. If a prime minister's killers are being released, what kind of justice should the common man expect"  You got this wrong Mr. Rahul. Who cares of Common Man? Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with common man, but an evil aspiration of those who belong to no body, for whom just/unjust has got no meaning as long as it is helping them remain in Power.

People who were found involved in the murder of Prime minister of the country by Supreme Court of India are set free by the Chief Minister of union of India. On what ground someone could do this? Do we have examples around the globe of such nefarious decisions where the murderers of a prime minister/president are given walk over? At least I could not recollect any.

It can be attributed to populist stance to raise Tamil issues to gain sympathy votes. She wants to portray herself as strong Tamil leader who could take stands against centre to gratify Tamil’s sentiment. She did it at the right time, and was expecting huge PR for her heroic act. She was expecting people in Tamilnadu to come forward on road to support and people in rest of India to come on road to protest her. Fortunately, people in TN and outside did not come true to her expectations. Neither congress nor other Political parties gave her enough reasons to play this prank.

In fact, Supreme Court’s decision against release of murders is a tight slap on the face of gratifiers of separatist elements. Personal ambitions cannot be above national interest. People with such evil ambitions are dangerous than the enemy from outside the boundary.

Jai Hind

“NAMO a Brand Manager who can sell comb to a Bald”

I have been closely monitoring quite a few popular Brand Mangers of a Company called “Indian Democracy”. Though most of them have never been to any other Business Gurukuls, their marketing acumen seems to be quite impressive. Some of them have left their corporate and defence counterparts miles behind. If Alive, all the war fare strategists including Sun Tzu, Mao Zedong and Von Clausewitz would have put their hands together to applause them . Amongst all, I am in love with the brightest one who is really a dude! Who operates from its strengths.., Turns obstacles into opportunities.. He is into selling dreams and showering hopes to its core TG.. He is known for acting on time. He speaks what people like to listen.

Operating from Strength: He puts all his strength in digging out a mighty grave for competitors, be it internal or external. Who doesn’t know the treatment given to his predecessors both national and Gujarat Cadres.  80% of his speech is dedicated for bashing up congress. He calls UPA not a dream team but a dirty team, blamed PM of selling poverty to Barack Obama and accused the Congress of using the CBI to fight elections. He is not scared of taking irresponsible steps such  as taking up a demeaning joke of a Pakistan sponsored Youtube channel vedio which claimed that Mr. Nawaz Sharif has called our PM a “Dehati Aurat”. He did not even confirm it with Barkha Dutta who was part of the meeting.

He won’t venture into what is he weak at; He doesn’t use his thundering oratory for the new set of policy goals and a new set of system to challenge the UPA’s Food Security Bill, MNREGA, RTI, foreign Policies, India’s Stand on neighbouring countries. What he thunders about is India will export arms and ammunition to other countries, Will teach lessons to Pakistan and China, Will bring black money, blah..blah.. few! Narender Babu.. lekin Kaise?? Tum kya Bajrang Bali ho? Brother, you have spent 10 years in Opposition condemning the UPA’s corruption and indecisiveness. But where is your alternative decree of governance??  

Believes in Jo Dikhata hai Wo Bikata Hai (Visibility at point of Sales):  He is visible for his speeches, he is discussed for his aggressive (Though arrogant most of the time) stands. He knows what media needs to increase TRPs. He does things which will get noticed. My recent visit to Gujarat; I was on highway, I was Glad that we have roads of European standards. But was Sad when my car got off highway to small towns of Dholka, Kheda and Sidhpur. Roads of small towns of 36Garh, MP and Bihar are better placed than Gujarat.

Champions positioning: He poses to rule a business-friendly government in Gujarat, then why is he not charting out plan which will bring economy on track? Can the Gujarat model become an all-India model? NAMO, holds more than 10 strategically important departments, you may call it army of one. The One Man Dictate may facilitate better government in a particular state. But can it become a role model for a country as diverse as India? The Lokayukta Model in Gujarat, works on “for the Government and by the Government” model. Do we want that model replicated for the rest of India for the sake of change?

Let us do a quick situation analysis which will help us understand the reason of his Devine popularity. It is established fact in the global politics; when things go well, people do not worry about their leadership. They want a cool dude to rule the country and start living with let it go attitude. But when things go wrong people look for the opposite. They want their leaders in control. They like somebody who is not scared of conflict. They start loving anybody who is vocal, loud and give them assurance of things will be alright. Let us also understand, what is he good at? NAMO understood the needs of a society defined by the communication and information revolution. The PM hardly ever takes voters into confidence. But, NAMO seeks out newer audiences and his social media outreach is his strength.

As a consumer, I leave you at your discretion but with a subtle caution to put your rational antenna up before falling in an emotional trap to buy a brand/product which might be seldom of any use.

Jai Hind

Political doomsday? It’s time to react

I was seriously thinking of not taking political subjects to blog on… Lokpal, corruption, fast of some baba... Blah... Blaa…  Now I can’t be inert over the whole political turmoil created by ruling party.  Oh Yes, forgot to mention my faith in current Government. Though, my faith for the party was due to lack of strong alternative. 

Corruption charges with proof, one after another.  The party is getting exposed at all fronts and in almost all geographies.  I can bet, even Mr. Soft can manage better than glorified squad of economists, educationists, lawyers and what not.  In my eyes they are an underestimated Gang of Hastinapur (Ancient Name of Delhi). Ben Ji (Didi) got it right to get off board of a sinking ship, while Mr. Soft is waiting and watching being at fence. It is important to mention that Madam Ji had great expectation from rebellion Nitish. Off late he also, declared that his alliance with BJP is intact. You know it well… how difficult it is to ride on TN Tiger/Tigresses.  

None the less, we had great expectation from media which is yet in its adolescence stage. Media is considered to be 4^th pillar of democracy. Strength of that pillar is in question especially after release of sting operation carried out by domestic steel tycoon on Zee TV Senior Officer Mr. Sudhir Chaudhary.  As per the sting operation Mr. Sudhir is alleged of extracting Rs. 100 Crs. as advertising commitment in exchange of dropping reports on alleged irregular allocations of coal blocks.   

The bigger question today is to trust whom? It is more like picking the least corrupt from the list of corrupted. But the person with least corrupt status is an outcome of lack of opportunity to be the most corrupt. In such scenario Media and apt usage of right to information will play an important role. A fair media which is just not only bothered about TRP and advertisement commitment but brings fair and logical discussion is imperative today. I am scared, if people will get accustomed to live in doomsday. Then, scams, weak law and order situation, widening economic/social gaps will not be subject of discussion. And so, we all will be nurturing an apathetic society.  I wish, am wrong with my interpretations of the subject.

अर्थकारी च विद्या

There is phrase - "when in Rome, do as Romans". We are talking about International standard of education in country where guys from the super schools (Read international curriculum) will have to perform & compete in India with a per capita income of Rs. 56K per annum. Our country is ranked 134th in human development Index (Not to undermine). The challenges will be not only of economics but humanities. We should not follow the system which suits respective countries. We shall emphasise on a system which suits our requirements.

I was under impression that Indian kids are better performing than their counterparts worldwide. I was in myth till I came across a release in TOI, few days back. As per the article, Fifteen-year-old Indians who were put, for the first time, on a global stage stood second to last, only beating Kyrgyzstan when tested on their reading, math and science abilities. India ranked second last among the 73 countries that participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted annually to evaluate education systems worldwide by the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) Secretariat.

Though I do not believe too much in all these survey but it is important to build capabilities and competencies to cope with the challenges which Future India will throw on our Kids. This where so called international system might be less effective..

When I was kid, I was not allowed to play much. My music classes were not appreciated. I got a bicycle when I reached my class 8. I used to curse my parents. Today, I thank my parents including my lovable cha-cha for being so strict to me. Whatever small or big I am, it is due to that treatment. I am not justifying them. But, I have a strong logic for that. My parents were aware of the fact that, they may not be able to support my hobby, which might not earn money to support the family. My family was a system, where education was an investment. They had to follow economics as they had no choice with their limited earning.

Today when I am parent, the challenges are different and so the point of view. We wish to have 360* development of our child. No harm whishing but, sounds more like a management jargon with less scope of practicality. Today I am open to accept the choice of my kid and support her to opt her profession. But still I believe that the core of any form of education or profession still lies in its ability to make the student economically independent.

My grandfather used to tell me this Famous quote from Chankya’s Arthshashtra “Arthkari cha Vidya” (Vidya Wahi hai jo dhan uparjan kar sake)

How Intolent is the tolerent India?

Indians are known for tolerance and non violence. It’s never considered as a weak notion but has been seen as the strongest adjective to describe India. It is land of Caucasian, mideterian, Mongolian and many others.. It is land of Aryans, Dravidians and ethnic tribes. Land of Hindus, Jains, Buddhist, Muslims, Christens and Sikhs. The soil and water has potency to adopt the diversity and nourish all the cultures to co-exist and sometimes mingle. We are known for our strong logical thinking. We have accepted critics and welcome critics with great maturity.

I am an Indian with modern outlook yet very possessive about its culture and heritage. It hurts me when I see we are deviating from the core and trying to redefine the adjectives of our definition. We show anger, frustration and intolerant attitude about pettiest of things. We allowed the mock of the strongest democracy (So called by sheer number but not the quality). We cannot manage an outraged pressure group. The recent Selman Rushdie episode has hit the right of voice/opinion in India. How different we are from China or any other hardliners. Literature has been the strongest weapon for an intellectual, we cannot deprive him of. I was reading TOI today, where, editor has blamed congress for not able to address the issue with great ability. I humbly disagree with you gentlemen. Its not the political party but the people are responsible. If congress act against the sentiment/pseudo protest of a particular group, the other political parties will in cash it. Why can’t all political parties have a consensus in dealing affairs with such stature?

Some of us throw shoes/ink/slap and Few of us pat shoulder of such a timid coward individual who try to act Bhagat Singh and Raj guru. We are not in our senses. Violence and intolerance in any form shall be condemned in civil society. Imagine we all start claiming ourselves as competent authority to punish, deliver justice.. What will be the situation of law and order in the country? Any person of that repute is equally good or bad in some or others perspective. It is not about RG, RD, SP or any ABCD.. If we as a Nobel citizen start supporting these kind of acts, the victim could be anybody. The result could be slapping a rikshawala.. Slapping a person who overtakes u.. Slapping an elderly govt.  babu  for some or other mistakes.. Youth are more vulnerable to follow such aggressive stance.

Being intolerant will not bring accountability in the system. It has to do a lot more with socio-economic equation of a civilized society and practicing moral science which we use to study when we were kids. Before a follower of any religion we all are human. An ethnic tribe of santhal pargana has equal stake in the country.

Dilemma of UP voters

Young Indians are going above of caste, creed and religion. We have seen progressive attitude of voters in state elections of Bihar, MP, TN & WB. But UP has unique problem.. They have to opt best amongst all the worst. Leaders with no vision for its people always lead to anarchy. Till 1960 up was one of the developed states of India. You all know the status of the state today.. We all know that NOIDA/Ghaziabad can fetch revenue for the state which could turn UP around. But who wants to develop UP? I am clueless which coalition will work better.. Let us hope for the best. Here i go with an analysis of paralyzed political scenario of UP:

Voters along with political parties have accepted the fact that results will be chaotic with no clear motion to party X or Y. I could see congress and BJP not in the race to form government but to support either SP or BSP. Congress doesn’t have any strong face in UP for the post of CM and BJP is no different with absence of strong local public figure. SP has to do a lot to shade away its goon typical perception. With projection of Mr. Akhilesh as gen x party is repositioning as a progressive and adoptive party. But still going by its proven theorem of MY factor.. BSP worked for development but in autocratic way, which back fired her. BSP is a clear no for intellectual class.

Outsourced leaders of other state are not helping BJP workers to connect at grass route level. What is working for them is the support of service and business class that too when congress is thrashed at center for Lokpal and black money and scam fiasco. Lack of strong Brahmin leadership will not be able to connect with orthodox Brahmin lobby. Brahmins votes are not going to one particular parties, so the parties are actually not bothered about them..  However, BJP is trying to get anti-incumbency vote against congress desperate move to lure Muslim vote. But lord Ram alone will not help the party. The agenda is done till death.. Riding on intellectual class may not work. This class do not form herd and are always divided on their own individual opinions. I could see BJP could be the biggest loser in UP poll.

BJP and its sophisticated political moves doesn't go down the gut of rural India.. Rather our rural counterpart don want to understand it.. What bothers them is caste, creed, diesel price.. Fertilizer, electricity.. food prices (gone up) an average farmer in rural India is happier than ever. Congress holds master degree of that lingo.. BJP is still an under graduate scholar of rural lingo.. They have yet not learnt from their failure of India shining campaign.. Only ad agency benefited out of the campaign.. RG has taken UP poll on his heart; I rate him as one of the passionate politicians going all out to establish his credential. With all top Brahmin leaders campaigning in UP. Brahmins may shelter to their old and trusted party. At the same time the orthodox clad of the Brahmins may still not come to congress for their pro Muslim moves. I still believe that congress posses political maturity to manage secular equilibrium. Congress will gain in UP election but will not be able to make its CM in states. However my vote goes to congress.

I wish all the best to UP voters.. I wish democracy wins.  

 

 

 

 

 

Fighting my alter ego..

5 months gone not a single post.. Sounds like I have lost interest in blogging. Not sure if it is true. Hard to find any excuse. Was lost in daily chores of life.. So much happened in last 5 months - Scams, anti-corruption movement, politics.. Cricket - CLT, India white wash, England Whitewash.. Anna behind congress & now Congress behind Anna.. Iran threatening America :) China supporting Pak.. India Supporting Vietnaam.. Pak threatening America..:) Gaddafi.. actually many more.

On the eve of Deepawali.. there was no Deep (Diya), only electric lights around. Delhi turned into a War Zone with lots of fire work and bursting sound of heavy duty crackers.. Today was a bit relieved weekday at office and so at home. Half of colleagues are on off, agency closed.. Boss out of office..:) Though not a good reason for intellectual stimulation, perhaps the fire work sound has done the job. We always cherish to celebrate. Any celebration comes at certain cost.. I want to celebrate an anniversary, bought a gift for my wife, I paid the cost. I want to celebrate, burst crackers.. I paid the cost but at the cost of many more...We must remember that humans are not the sole owners of Earth. I also understand establishing equibrilluim is so difficult. But, we should have some limit in place. Many of my dear ones will give me a bad vibe for being so philosophical.. my wife comes first in the list.. But can’t help it. You must appreciate how gentle I am in putting my point forward.

Me the biggest conjus (So called) on the earth bought just one packet of fuljhari (Rs. 50/-) for my kid.. Had hard time convincing her that one is enough :). She has just entered in her 4th year. I am sure it will be even tougher as she grows up her age. The irony is - I was the one who used to go overboard in buying crackers in my childhood.. My father's budget was never enough for me.. I always sheltered to the most reliable source (Mother) to get more.. I don have words to express my gratitude to my parents for fulfilling all my idiotic demands in childhood, just to see me/siblings happy.. Sounds so Hippocratic isn't it? I do not know when this transition took place.. Still fighting my alter ego.. Not sure if it brings more changes in me and my thought process.

From Anna to Baba Ramdev: An emrgence of a new equation in Indian Socio-political environement..

Empowered by democracy Indians are speaking their Mind and they are willing to fix the things up for them. Its no more an India where people ignore obnoxious acts by politicians and beurocrats. Recent state assembly polls are the live example of the same. What is more important to the youth today is basics in place. We are really not bothered about from which social group we belong to? We are also not interested in showering swallowed egos on others basis our caste, creed or language.. Obviously, because we have started conversing a language called "Development".

Its very interesting to understand the change which is taking place in Indian civil society. Its sheer because of increasing expectation from policy makers and escalation of frustration because its hardly met. Anna is not an individual but an attitude of a new India.

Recently launched campaign of Baba Ramdev is even more appraisable. Baba would start a 'satyagraha' against corruption and black money and go on an indefinite fast from June 4, demanding that the government bring back black money stashed in tax havens abroad. His movement seeks the early establishment of a neutral and empowered Jan Lokpal Bill, which has the authority to recover black money and send offenders to prison. As per his statement -"The black money that is deposited in the foreign banks should be declared national property by the government, and no Indian citizen should be allowed to deposit money in foreign banks with illegal methods. If anybody does that, he should be declared an anti-national".

Weather it is practically possible or not is debatable but it has a very sound message to the government and its corrupted aides. Also, the road ahead is bumpy for the people who have their black money in foreign banks. Moreover the people in queue will think 10 times the idea of black money and its deposition outside India. Request all annas, matas, Babas and the entire civil society to keep the good work going..

Jan Lokpal Bill will dilute the authority of other well-functioning institutions…

I am delighted to see the response of people to support the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by Shanti Bhushan, former IPS Kiran Bedi, Justice N. Santosh Hegde, Prashant Bhushan, former chief election commissioner J. M. Lyngdoh in consultation with the leaders of the India against Corruption movement and the civil society. It further promotes citizen’s involvement in policy making process.

Jan Lokpal bill is centripetal to anti-corruption. People frustrated and disgusted with series of scams and day to day policy and system failure have reacted to the bill without doing a systemic check and scope of its practical implementation. Citizens see it as panacea to combat corruption. Before we conclude anything let us look at the features of Lokpal Bill and Jan Lokpal Bill:

Draft Lokpal Bill 2010 (UPA proposed)*	Jan Lokpal Bill (By Public)*
Lokpal will have no power to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public. It can only probe complaints forwarded by LS Speaker or RS Chairman.	Lokpal will have powers to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public.
Lokpal will only be an Advisory Body. Its part is only limited to forwarding its report to the "Competent Authority"	Lokpal will be much more than an Advisory Body. It should be granted powers to initiate Prosecution against anyone found guilty.
Lokpal will not have any police powers. It cannot register FIRs or proceed with criminal investigations	Lokpal will have police powers. To say that it will be able to register FIRs.
CBI and Lokpal will have no connection with each other.	Lokpal and anti corruption wing of CBI will be one Independent body.
Punishment for corruption will be minimum 6 months and maximum up-to 7 years.	The punishment should be minimum 5 years and maximum up-to life imprisonment.

Though Jan Lokpal bill gives more power to the public and Lokpal & Lokayukta, It lacks scope of its implementation and smoothen transition of old policies to the new one. At what level of confidence we can say that the Lokayukta and Lokpal will not be corrupt. Taking power from PMOs, Supreme Court and divesting CBI doesn’t sound a full proof solution of corruption.

As per Jan Lokpal bill - Lokpals and Lokayuktas will be elected by people (By judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process.) Our LS & RS members are also elected through a democratic process which has scope to allow almost every adult citizen of India. What I meant to tell is – if a member or the system elected by the citizens becomes corrupt most often, what guarantee do we have for a completely novice LOKPALS & LOKAYUKTAS? India where one-third of the population is still illiterate, what scope Janlokpal bill has to include them in the process? Corruption is an instinct which is one of the very strong negative attributes of humans. Practicing corruption is highly correlated with society we stay in. Practice of corruption and failure of civil system depends on socio-economic and socio-political equation of the society. Consistent involvement of public in the policy making process, awareness of the social cause, scaling up education system and economic reform will the change the socio-economic and socio-political equation of Indian states and so we will see less corruption in India.

Though I am not against any anti-corruption bills, however I do not accept the both the current form of Lokpal Bills. The first one doesn’t has power but mere a political agenda, wherein the second one is more feel good for public but lacks practicality and will dilute the power and scope of work of a robust and existing public institutions.  Vandemataram...

* Reference: Wikipedia

From Invention to Innovation: A take from “The Game Changer” by A. G. Lafley & Ram Charan.

While we all chant the marketing mantra of “The consumer is King”, it is very difficult to practice it in real life management of Brands. I found the book really relevant for the middle level business/brand managers. It has derived a brilliant equation of how to make inventions an Innovation by practicing the business mantra of “The consumer is king”. 

Consumers expect brands to improve their life. An Innovation shall be centered on the consumers but not the fantasy of a business leader.  Innovation doesn’t mean an invention of a product or service but it mean lot more about serving consumers better. It could be a technology, could be a better supply chain or a brand building exercise may be a slogan, a punch line or could be an interface with consumer. According to Ram Charan, “An innovation is the conversion of a new idea into revenue and profits”. What it means is an Invention which get materialize to add value to the consumer’s life thereby generating revenue for the inventor is an Innovation.

The process of innovation shall start from consumer and end at consumer. According to A.G. Lafley, “We need to understand your consumer at both the rational and emotional levels. This goes well beyond the basic of demographics and psychographics.” We need to do the need gap analysis based on not only the need of consumers but also their aspiration, their dream and how our product can help them achieve their aspirations. It was impressive to know about the P&G’s “Consumer closeness program” where P&G employees live for several days with lower-income families to understand the equation of family income and buying decision making about the brand they choose to buy.

The story of P&G and other company’s such as GE, HP, Apple, DuPont, Honeywell etc. is opens up a new spectrum of thoughts and insight. To become an innovation driven organization one needs to put the innovation friendly structure in place. P&G’s various structures and divisions such as CIF (Corporate innovation fund), Future works, NBD (New business development), EBD (External Business development) and Innovation Hot zones helped them to become an Innovation driven company. The culture of connect and develop which allowed employees at P&G to willingly come up with new idea and become part of the innovation team, helped the company to achieve a sustainable business growth. HP’s IPO (Innovation program office) is chartered to work closely with business units to deliver the breakthrough products. Honeywell disintegrated the process of innovation and made it the job of each business leader but not the exclusive domain of the chief technology officer. Later part of the book talks about the building the culture of Innovation in the organization by virtue of which departments, customers internal and external, collaborate and teamwork across to fuel in the innovation process.

Overall the book has got smooth flow of the Innovation process. The language is simple and easy to grasp. The examples and explanation through various chart and grid has made the job easy for the reader to understand the process. Both the writers A. G. Lafley and Ram Charan have adopted the story telling style of writing which helps readers to stick to the book.

A Brand Manager within you..

As a marketeers we all would agree that brand management is a complex process, a real blend of an art and science. We intend to complicate it further by putting across marketing jargon to prove our worth. If we intervene/question the consumer inside us, it gives the real perspective of brand preference and its subsequent role in our life. If we understand an individual as a product, we realise how much care we do to create our image (Brand image). If we do a careful observation of our day to day activities, we realise it helps to create a self identity (Brand Identity). When we get feedback from others, we realise our perceived value. Believe me this entire process is a set of sub-conscious actions. Putting all behavioural aspects in perspective we get certain attributes which defines our brand personality. These set of attributes are different for different individuals very subjective to external and internal factors. External factors could be Religion, ethnicity, society, political and climatically. Internal factors may be upbringing, physical, mental, Social status, education, economic status, age, profession and gender. It could be many more.

Brands similarly are live and have attributes by virtue of which It carries a personality. Let us look at our expectations out of the self brand management process. We certainly expect to have a positive disposition of others about us. We want to differentiate our self from the mass thereby creating a self identity. A brand necessarily will have an emotional appeal to hook the consumers in. As a brand we hook in to somebody who fits into our scheme of things. We as brand connect to some other brand (individual/product) who share the similar attributes or at least complements each other. This where the role of a brand comes into the picture. Imagine a situation you went to a mall to buy a toothpaste, you had an option of all the best brands to buy. But, you ended up buying the brand X but not the Y. As a human we try to act smart and give rational reason always when asked. But, while doing that we cheat our self. I do not have a syndicated data to support with but out 10 buying at least 7 does not have rational while preferring a brand. What we bought unconsciously is the trust of a brand or at least the brand whose imagery intersect with our self imagery.

The Munni Mystery & Zandu Balm

Its been last five months but the saga of "Munni's Badnami and Zandu's Nam (Fame)" seems to be an endless epic. Being the Brand Manager I was always on double edged sword. Infact clueless. Sales was growing on but scientifically difficult to give credit to Munni, unless we go for an expensive quantitative research. We dropped the idea of research driven by an irrational thought - All is going well so why to go for an imposed intelectual stimulation?   

One thing was very clear that I was not comfortable when people around me were chanting "Munni Chalisa". However, I don hesitate to admit that I was euphoric too, looking at the success of the song and the enourmous media coverage we got for the brand out of this Tactical strategy.

Munni episode was a calculated risk out of promoter's strong understanding of Business cues and much beyond of a Brand Manager's marketing prudence. Though we understand that to facilitate the brand recall with the consumer, we weave in story around the most popular medium of performing arts i.e. cinema. But, it was the first time in the history of brand endorsement a family brand which helps members carrying their responsibilities by relieving pain has gone to Munni for her latake jhatake – a complete fun loving, sporty & seductive route. We were all scared about how consumer will react to it? But it worked. This is what everybody is saying and finally I also started believing. But, the biggest question is – was it enough in the song for a consumer which compels him to buy Zandu balm?? 

My answer is a bitter “NO”. It was a recall booster. It has done its part really well. Other than this tactical strategy we had mainline strategies in place. Our objective was to bring this brand into consideration set of the youth today. To further stop the erosion in the consumer base thereby recruiting new and young consumers to the brand. To execute this strategy we had  plan of actions in place: (A.) Zandu balm associated with IPL (Mumbai Indians – Sachin, Zahir & Harbhajan) the most happening youth festival.  (B.) There were lots of spurious products in the market as the brand pack was so easy to copy. The same age old pack was changed to new Bi –injection plastic bottle which gives it young and dynamic image. (C.) We took three young reliable and performing cricketers (Sehwag, Karthik & Amit Mishra) as brand ambassadors to give Zandu a young, adventurous and active image.    (D.) As a leader in the category we were the first to attack analgesic tablet on premise of “No Side effect” to take share from fastest growing analgesic tablet category. (E.) We launched Rs. 2 pack for trial generation and penetration. Though Zandu balm is very active at wholesale, it further helped us to get indirect distribution.

I would end here by a touchy thought – “The brand war fare is very similar to the battle ground where its entire warriors have to fight and support/complement each other but some get gallantry awards and most become untold stories...”

Diving down the emo-waves...

Inspired by lots of friends in the ocean of blog... I am attempting something to write about. Fluctuating ideas when aligned provokes you to speak about it… But, that’s not easy again. It requires lot of courage & determination. When you integrate all your courage and solidify your determination to start it, elements of marketing waves into your mind… will it be liked by people…? Wot they gona... think about my writing skills…?  My subject is well talked about… nothing new in it… its done till death... Poor me… left with lots of fear and anxiety, opts out for the next time. “Will do it when I get a better subject/idea to write about”.

The recent assembly election of Bihar has touched my heart. Specially looking at congratulation notes from people from almost all the Indian states… It is not because Bihar was the first state who voted for development and better governance but, it gives cues for a prosperous India and Indians getting bored of living under the norms of pressure groups such as caste, creed, regions & language. I may be sounding bit idealistic but this unexpected phenomenon has kindled the hope of “Aam Adami” (common man) to live a dignified life.

The recent scams under congress governance, put me in serious state of inquisitiveness… Is it a good idea to vote for a clear majority to a single party which takes a shape of family managed business/governance? The governance becomes self-sustainable and the system becomes fearless enough to do “Governance for self” but not for the people who voted it.

But again, with exhibition of some sense of responsibility by Indian media which is still in adolescent stage helps Aam Adami to take control measures in system of “Governance for Self”.

Recent campaigns & discussion on socio-eco & Socio-polit issues from almost all the media houses are encouraging and needs applause.

A thought of achieving a slice of what is ideal, gives me enormous energy to believe & do what I have been endeavoring to. The soul of think good and do good gets vitalised.