BrandNext?
By Harish Bijoor
In the very beginning, it was the commodity! The commodity that held no individual status whatsoever. The commodity was as generic as it could get. Life was basic. Uncomplicated. Rice was just rice!
And then came the quasi-brand. As consumers evolved and articulated needs and wants which were multi-faceted, the basic staple evolved in its identity. Rice that came from the northern part of the country got categorized differently from the rice that came from the South. In many ways this distinction caused for a polarization of taste, want and need. The quasi-brand was here. North Indian rice that was long-grained and aromatic. South Indian rice that was shorter-grained and less aromatic!
And then came the brand. Basmati Rice! Texmati rice! And what's worse; every Basmati took on a brand name that differentiated one from the other. ‘Kohinoor’ Basmati rice competed with a 'Lal Quilla' Basmati rice! The brand had arrived!
As we swim in a market filled with brands, the key question that floats up amidst all this flotsam of brands is the one that asks "What next?"
Let me postulate a personal theory that guides my every move and every step in the tortuous world of business in general and marketing in particular.
The simple thought: Everything is cyclical! Everything happens in a cycle of want and non-want. Take the habit in foods. In the beginning the market loves good old home-food. There is freshness, there is variety and there is personalization and plenty of ability to custom-make! And guess what? It's made by mom!
As society moves through its paces, home food causes for fatigue. One is looking for an offering that is different and food that has a tang that is distinct in its offering. The brand happens! A McDonald's Big Mac is as big a hit as any offering of a factory made burger can get! This phase goes on for awhile! In most societies, this phase lingers on longer than any! This is indeed a phase that is buoyed up with plenty of money power and all the advertising the category can afford!
A society that grows through this compulsive high-decibel stage of the brand will be poised at the critical point of decision. What next?
The answer lies differently in every competing consumer market at different points in the trajectory of brand-life cycle. As the commodity morphs into a quasi-brand and then into a brand, the key question: how long will this last? What next again?
I do believe the next point in the brand continuum is that in which the appeal of the brand ceases to exist altogether. Brands that are built on the format of the generic, and brands that believe in the traditional formats of “Old Branding” will cease to exist altogether as entities. On the contrary, brands that re-invent themselves and morph into dynamic, intrusive and participative parts of consumer life will flourish.
Brands therefore, to survive, will have to step off the pedestal. Step off the pedestal of mass media television, Press and radio formats. Brands have to assume significance in peoples lives on a 1: 1 format. Direct marketing and 1:1 appeal will need to be built into every brand offering. The paradigm hitherto operated within by brands will need to be broken. Brands need to jump into peoples' lives on 1:1 formats of interaction.
1: 1 is personal and 1:1 is customized appeal delivered personally. The trend surely is towards the de-massification of the brand appeal. Massification is passé! But watch out here! As brands operate on 1:1 formats, the concept of the massified brand itself in question. The brand itself will need to morph into a non-brand mode!
As brands adapt to one-on-one formats, a whole new competence needs to emerge in the realm of brand management. This competence is all about managing brands on non-mega-media formats. It is all about a competence that speaks more of ‘below-the-line’ and less ‘above-the-line’. It is indeed a competence of physical work. A competence that will need to dictate hard physical work in the markets that make brands. Delivery standards can be easily set and delivery efficiencies can be easily tracked in this format! What a far cry from the good old days of easy advertising?!
The super-brands of the future will be made in this format of market approach. The lazy brand that will not attempt this hard task ahead will fade away. The big brands of today that actually make an honest attempt at this route will survive and walk tall into a bright new brand future.
The brands of today will all write a self-fulfilling prophesy all their own. Every script will differ. Some brands will happen with a bang and many will die out in a whimper!
The author is a brand-domain specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. with a presence in Hong Kong,
Email: harishbijoor@hotmail.com
