Page 30 - BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2015

Part1 | Introduction-KeyThemes
Key Themes: Tradition
A DIFFERENT KIND OF MILLENNIAL
In the West, the family launches
children into adulthood and they remain somewhere in the family orbit during adult life. In India, the gravitational pull is much greater. Family occasions are more likely welcomed as times of celebration rather than obligation.
Indian young people are grounded in the historical traditions and values passed down by their parents. Unlike some
of their western peers, Indian young people usually look for meaning in their traditions, not irony.
In other respects, Indian young people could be young people anywhere. They wear the same clothes and listen to similar music. But they’re different from other millennials. Some Indian young people are more westernized; others are more traditional. And most confounding, sometimes the westernized and traditional spirits inhabit the same body.
This dichotomy of appearance and deeper reality is important for brands to understand because what they see – or what they think they see – is not always what they’ll get. What they get is much richer – consumers who are in step with the world on the outside and grounded on the inside.
NUANCED MESSAGES
Brands need multi-level messages that reach both the contemporary and traditional aspect of the individual simultaneously. The newest and shiniest product may appeal to the consumer’s westernized spirit but her more traditional self will seek good value for money.
In the West, holidays often are times
for sales promotions. In India, a sale during a festival is unsatisfying unless it’s communicated in a way that’s relevant to the festival. It can be a costly mistake for brands to uncritically rely on strategies that worked in other country markets. To succeed in India brands must understand and find a way to fit
in this balancing act between tradition and modernity. Approaches vary by brand but they generally fall into one of three categories:
1. INDIVIDUALITY:
Connect the brand with the shift to individualism.
2. TRADITION:
Reinforce tradition at a time when some Indians worry that rising individuality is among the factors eroding people’s connection to tradition.
3. BALANCE:
Take a position in the middle presenting the brand as a resolution to the dilemma.
Tata Tea takes this last approach.
The brand illustrates multi-level communication using the term “awake” and all its implications. It promotes being awake in one’s self, a call for mindfulness that resonates with traditional Indian values. And it uses the term awake to mean being aware of one’s rights.
These meanings are not contradictory, but rather connect both with the private space of individuals and their public responsibility to the collective welfare. They address the whole person in an integrated way, simultaneously communicating to the self that draws strength and comfort from ancient values and the self that lives in the modern world.
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