The Great Asian Brands Survey
Published October 14th, 2004 in Branding.The Great Asian Brands Survey: “What makes a great brand? … And why are there so few great Asian brands? How do Asian brands compete with global brands? How do you customise a global brand for the Asian market? All this and more… But if you notice there is only one
Indian Brand in the top 10. Ever wondered why? The question keeps ringing in my mind all the time. Don’t we have great brands in India?
Indian Brand in the top 10. Ever wondered why? The question keeps ringing in my mind all the time. Don’t we have great brands in India?
Probably the answer would be difficult. But I think the answer is difficult to accept both for the Indian corporates and common man - the consumer.
We can attribute a few reasons to it. I am making an attempt to find these reasons out and to REASON them out.
Brand building is an investment. Not an expense: Something which Kotler in the bible that he wrote vehemently argued against. This is probably one of the very few areas where Kotler & the other great brand guru Jean-Noel Kapferer agreed upon. Starting from the biggest of corporates like TATA, Reliance or Infosys to a small and medium enterprise (SME), Brand Building as a concept is still considered an expense and not as an investment. It makes a huge difference. I firmly believe that an organisation like Reliance or Infosys which born comparatively recently unlike the TATAs is an outstanding brand for its sheer size and the expanse of its business operations that has been achieved in a very short period! The day Indian corporates cross this subtle yet thick line between investment and an expense, the Indian corporates are not too far off from building great global brands.
A slightly philosophical thought: Indians are not united! Long gone are the days when Indians were united as a single force. I vaguely remember an online survey conducted just before Y2K in which Hitler secured either as much or a little more than Mahatma Gandhi did. I remember reading a mail from a very patriotic Indian pleading everyone who can get on to the net to
vote for our own Mahatma Gandhi. Apparently it was a nail biting finish for Gandhi to have secured the third place by a feeble margin. The biggest and the grandest ambassador for peace, a brand by himself, could not sustain 50 years after his passing away, just because the community that he worked to stay together just did not! Lobbyists “working” for creating awareness about India Inc. are just not effective and the results are far from the requirement. The gap is too far to be bridged and it would take concerted effort from everyone from the industry to work together to remove such stigma.
vote for our own Mahatma Gandhi. Apparently it was a nail biting finish for Gandhi to have secured the third place by a feeble margin. The biggest and the grandest ambassador for peace, a brand by himself, could not sustain 50 years after his passing away, just because the community that he worked to stay together just did not! Lobbyists “working” for creating awareness about India Inc. are just not effective and the results are far from the requirement. The gap is too far to be bridged and it would take concerted effort from everyone from the industry to work together to remove such stigma.
It requires enormous courage to build a business empire and ever more grit to sustain it. Business houses like Tata’s, Birla’s & Reliance can actually make a concerted effort in ensuring that brand India is a winner. It would only be a wait and watch game till then!”
0 Responses to “The Great Asian Brands Survey”
Please Wait
Leave a Reply