Brandisease is here!

Brandisease is here!


By Harish Bijoor




In the beginning there was the commodity. Everything all about us was the base commodity. Rice, Lentil, Sugar, Coffee, Tea, Steel, Plastic and a host of items that were basic. They served purpose. They fulfilled the basic need. Want was a different thing altogether though!

And then there was the quasi-brand! The commodity morphing into brand status, but not yet there. This was really the transition stage. In many cases it was the creation of an altogether new category that catered to the wants of consumers. Tired consumers who had been through the base level of the commodity wanted more. This was the articulation of their individual “wants”! A phase where just plain old rice wouldn’t do. The consumer craved for differentiation. The product category was vast enough to offer this differentiation. There were a hundred types of rice. The quasi-brand happened. In came “Ponni rice”! In came “Nellore Fine” and in came “Basmati”, to be followed by “Texmati” as well!

The quasi-brand in many ways is not a brand at all. It is but a point of differentiation in the commodity hierarchy. A wee peg higher in the commodity band spectrum, but a wee peg lower in the brand band. This is cusp status. But the quasi-brand is something you just can’t ignore. Many brand-thinkers do…..at their own peril!

And then comes the brand. The entity we know so well. The brand as an entity that I define simplistically. “The brand is a thought! A thought that resides in the head of a consumer!” A thought that excites. A thought that creates much of the passion that moves a consumer into the orbit of the brand.

The brand is therefore the first of the entity in the Commodity-Brand hierarchy that caters to the “aspiration” of the consumer at large. Something that satisfies and something that calms desire. An entity that tames aspiration.

Consumers by definition have needs, wants and desires. While the commodity caters to “needs”, the quasi-brand serves “wants” and the brand tames “desires”!

The consumer articulates more than all this though. The consumer who is truly sitting right at the top of Maslowe’s hierarchy of needs is in a state of self-actualization. When you sit at this peak, your brand needs are many pegs higher than those that sit at the sundry other ladders of the pyramid. While the ones in the “Food, clothing, shelter” sector crave for the commodity at large, those in the segments higher look keenly at the quasi-brand. Those that sit even higher up are the early adopters of brands. Folks who are pretty keen on brands in every sector of their lives.

The brand in many ways is a disease. A disease that spreads slowly. At the onset of ‘brandisease’ adoption of brands happens in categories that are higher end. The first brands to be adopted will be in the categories that cost a lot and in categories that are high-end manufacturing oriented. The car you buy and the refrigerator that will stock the stale food in your house will always be a brand! Brands signify reliability and acute differentiation in these categories. Brands are therefore expensive buys in the very beginning.

As ‘Brandisease’ spreads, it spreads its tentacles to categories that are less expensive. 'Brandisease' is therefore a top-down spread. After satiating brand need at the top-end category, the consumer understands the significance of value in brand-buys. The price-quality equation at play, convenience, reliability, image, status appeal and all the sundry other attributes of a brand-buy spread to other categories as well. This is a cascade!

The next expensive shirt you buy will be a brand. The daily wear work-wear shirts will still be tailored outfits. The eveningwear category will be the first brand of rag you will buy. Not to worry though. This will spread to the office-wear category as well, and move on to casual wear of every kind, and right into the terrain of the nightdress you will wear to bed! Doesn’t matter if it is only your wife of 13 years that will see you in it! The brand has arrived!

'Brandisease' will keep spreading. From outerwear which is seen by one and all, to innerwear which will be seen by few….hopefully! The top will be an “Allen Solly”, the trouser a “Pantaloon” and the brassiere a “Vanity Fair” and the panty a “Feelings”! 'Brandisease' has surely spread! And how!

The brand is therefore a disease. A disease that affects every consumer in the market. It starts small, but engulfs one and all in its stretch. Nascent brand markets will learn from the advanced markets that have had this disease rampant on their shores for many generations now. Nascent brand markets such as India would do well to learn what to do and what not to do as this disease spreads in the vast hinterland that is India.

The brand is a compelling entity. The key is to manage it with sensitivity. Important to stay sensitive to what must be done and what must not. Let’s not go overboard. At this point to time, this is still a benign disease. Let’s keep it that way.

The day the brand is considered to be a lesion in the mind of a consumer and a canker to be cured, the day of the disease at spread is over! Managing this balance of keeping the disease benign and away from malignancy is the collective responsibility of all the brand-folks who evangelize the disease in more ways than one!
The author is a brand-domain specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.
Email: harishbijoor@hotmail.com