Denizen by...... Levis????

While walking around a mall saw a lot of marketing collateral announcing the launch of the Denizen brand with a youth icon Bollywood actor as its brand ambassador (seems like it’s the defacto norm these days).

 From the collateral and communication Denizen comes across as just another apparel brand with a generic youth focus, till I heard a radio jingle that caught my attention to the fact that it was a sub-brand launched by Levis!!  Just like the Signature brand a few years ago, positioned as an affordable alternative for the youth to drive growth and market share.  

Seems like brand Denizen’s focus and idea will be about fit and affordability (very functional and basic differentiators) at least that's what the ads communicate. It is banking big time on leveraging the equity of the brand - Levis to gain attention and traction.How very uninspiring and unimaginative is that? The very fact that the Levis suffix is being beaten aloud just reinforces my belief that the marketers are not very sure of the brand concept with Denizen and are in some way hoping that the Levis association will attract the youth.   

Will this strategy that was tried earlier and failed work again for Levis? Only time will tell but my gut tells me it will not. Hope Levis India has got its research and brand strategy right. It has the potential of diluting Levis’s brand equity.

The way I look at it, the brand Levis in a sense is the gold standard when it comes to premium Jeans/denim wear for India’s aspiration driven and brand conscious youth. It’s the original denim brand with a powerful story that lends authenticity. 

 As a brand conscious and aware undergraduate, I always looked forward to being able to afford my first pair. Nothing else could substitute it. The very fact that I could not afford it added to its appeal and longed for the day I’d own one or be gifted one.  I am pretty sure it still evokes the same emotional appeal from today’s youth. So why would one want to be seen in what is considered a poorer and functional child of the gold standard? Would it evoke the same aspirations and premium feel that a pair of Levis would? 

Fastrack

It’s one Indian retail brand that I admire for its focus and brand communication effort. It has so far successfully stuck to extending its product line from watches to other product lines that resonate with its core TG, the college going youth who aspires for a brand that screams out hip, international, and is in sync with the fast and active urban lifestyle of today. 

The idea of getting into eye wear and the timing of it was brilliant and the communication was right on target  because there wasn’t any national or international brand of repute that offered affordable yet stylish eyewear targeting the middle class college going youth, who was keen on exhibiting a young, stylish, and international side of him.  Most eyewear brands and watch brands that focussed on the TG were international brands such as Swatch and Ray Ban which were out of reach of the pocket money dependent middle class teenager.

I just hope they continue with their focus without over extending their product lines or over stretching their communication theme or over doing their discount sales.

Black and white with shades of grey – Newsprint, Brand Opportunity

While the Times of India remains the most circulated English daily paper in India, it is essentially a tabloid and contains more pages dedicated to advertisements and glamour than to news, objective analysis and opinion. Most other major newspapers seem to be gravitating to the TOI formula. I don’t think such a strategy will increase circulation as the leader strongly holds the relevant mind-space for such an offering.

I am sick and tired of looking at front pages of newspapers that headline tweets made by Bollywood stars or starlets to promote their latest releases, courting controversy as a PR stunt, or which local socialite celebrated his or her birthday and who ate what or wore what,.... copy filled with spelling mistakes and typos, or full page cover ads for brands that papers have financial interests in.

It’s very frustrating to have the media acting as the judge, jury and executioner on sensitive issues without a sense of fair-play or pulling their sleeves up and getting their research and home work right or investigating issues as journos should (with a sense of responsibility).

In a country with an English readership base as large as ours and growing as the aspiration to learn English makes further inroads into the rural Indian hinterland , there’s tremendous opportunity for a large player to position itself as an alternative that is focussed at the segment that seeks  a NEWS paper, that at its core addresses the need for objective news and opinion, factually correct and responsible investigative journalism, and presents both sides of the story, ultimately allowing the reader to make his or her own judgement and aids in objectively shaping the minds and attitudes of its readers on issues that deserve to be on the front page and in the editorial columns.

 Such a positioning exercise or opportunity would definitely have to be backed by a competent and passionate team of editors and journalists who are yearning to align themselves with such a brand idea. What say?

Worth the wait!

Was strolling around Mantri Mall one busy weekday evening and this experiential marketing kiosk got my attention.There's an insight in it somewhere I guess.

People were lining up unmindful of having to wait at least of 10 minutes to get a chance to experience 3D on TV, whereas waiting in a line at a super market or ticketing counter for more than 5 minutes gets them impatient and irritated.

Boy is that good for any brand? I sure would say so... As a brand manager I would give an arm, if folks would take ten minutes off their busy weekday evenings to check out my latest product.

30 second spots to drive in awareness, and 10 mins of experiential could land you a customer or convert! Not bad at all is it?

Guess people are always on the look out to experience something new and if its worth it, they will give you their time without any hesitation.

Services Brading - It's all about the experience and moments

A decade or  more ago while still in college, debit cards had just appeared on the scene and were making inroads into the urban  banking space in India. I wanted to be an early adaptor (B'lore and New York were the first cities that the Debit card was being trialled out in) and try out the whole Any time money aspect of Banking.

The promise of not having to wait long lines at banks, deal with unfriendly clerks,specific timings, was good enough for me.I got myself a citibank card  and put it the princely savings of Rs.500 into it.  If I recall correctly a few years later apart from citi the only other bank that was aggressively expanding its ATM network across B'lore was Corporation Bank. It had its ATMs at  key locations across the city and I decided getting a debit card from Corpn Bank would be a good idea.

However the thought of transacting with a 'PSU' bank and aspects such as indifferent officers, unfriendly attitudes,never ending procedures,etc  did give me second thoughts. In any case I decided to to give it a shot. As I walked in, the place it didn't actually feel like a PSU bank! There was a positive buzz, the staff were courteous, attentive, and for the most part they all had smiles on their faces as they interacted with colleagues or customers alike. Was I in the right place? Was this a PSU bank. The procedure was hassle free, the service experience was unexpectedly great and I was happy. Here was a brand that actually functioning like a Pvt. Sector Bank.

A few days back, I walked into the same Branch after five years (my second or third visit ever) and was eager to see if the environment was still the same as it was in those days. The staff had changed, so had the interiors and the equipment, but what had not changed was the friendly attitude and efficient  service.

A lady customer was being attended to like she was a relative or close friend, there was friendly banter and smiles, another clerk happily asked me if I needed any assistance and willingly obliged with a smile when I told her my pass book needs to be updated. It was all done in a matter of two minutes and a very pleasant two minutes I must say.I headed back with a positive impression and told myself that I need to bank more often with this Bank and Branch!!

It was such a sea change from UCO bank that I regularly bank with where the staff are indifferent and seem to be functioning in a different era. 

The management and staff at Corporation Bank definitely deserve appreciation for doing the simple things so well, for ensuring a positive and customer focussed service environment is established and is consistently delivered upon, which sets the Band apart from the rest who only tend to refer to friendly service in their ads.

Corp Identity Design - DY Uppar

A major government contractor of turnkey irrigation projects. The shade of Blue and the waves signify their interest and expertise in Irrigation and water related projects such as dams and canals. The symmetrical wave like pattern is symbolic of dams as well as canals that they build and it is integrated into a  U form shield. The three discs on top stand for the three values that guide the organisation in its operations. The identity was designed keeping in mind the fact that the logo mark would have to appear on not just their corporate stationery but also on their construction machinery and equipment.

Corporate Identity Design - Aditya Builders and developers

When a website's down, can you still be positively memorable?

How often do you come across a site that has something so memorable, quirky and endearing to say, about it being down? Not to often I guess...most times all one gets is a the "requested URL cannot be retrieved"or "our site is down or being upgraded and we will be back soon". How annoying and boring...


Came across one that made me smile and created a positive association and got me to blog about it. Here it is...

Rajni Brand Phenomena - a mass brand and a peoples icon

Photos of a theatre where Rajni's latest film was released. The congregation of fans on Sunday held up traffic on a busy road for an hour or so celebrating the release, by bursting crackers, offering pooja and garlanding  his larger than life size cut outs. Happens only in India