Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Brand Mantra


New Year is a time to celebrate the success of past and hopes for future. This New Year has been truly special for me as I got to know a significant fact of life, "We must try to be skillful than being successful", which means that success is a function of skills. This comes from the biggest Bollywood hit of 2009, "3 Idiots".

Well, we all know such things but human character is such that they know a lot of things, but they still need to be reminded. In times of recession when jobs and pay scales are being cut, I think a fact link the one mentioned above can be a breath of respite and a motivating factor for recession hit people.

My motto of starting this blog post with a note on the movie is not to talk about recession, but to initiate a conversation on the power of a brand in recessionary times.

Brand is the most powerful thing on earth, which could make human beings do what the band intends to. Brands are not just material things, but celebrities are brands as well. Brands are associated with an innate element of trust and integrity, which differentiate them from products and commodities.

When we talk about the success of 3 Idiots, it is not just the brand value of the actor that is credited with the success of the movie. However, the box office statistics for the movie are just amazing. The movie earned more than 75 crore rupees in the first week of its release.

Well, generally people are reluctant to go to multiplexes without the review of a movie, but when it comes to an Aamir Khan's movie, people are just not concerned with review as they trust the potential of the brand "Aamir Khan". Aamir has always identified with the common man and has sensitively addressed their issues. He has performed better than customer expectations earlier and the trust element on the actor is ever lasting. Consumers know that they are not just gonna be satisfied as the actor is a master in delighting the consumers.

There are other renowned actors in the industry, but Aamir Kahn is the among the very few who is regarded as a "Perfectionist". This is the reason that his "one great movie every year" concept earn him more money that "2 idiotic movies every quarter" funda.

Every brand has a special and differentiating element, which may also be referred to as brand association. However, the element of customer delight is common among all brands. When consumers spare their hard earned money, they want the best return on their investments and that is when the quality assurance of a brand comes into play.

Brands are powerful, but it is extremely challenging to build a brand. The foundation of a brand lies in a good product with sustainable quality over years.

Hats off to the brand AAmir!!!