Motwani - Storm the norm: untold stories of 20 brands that did it best: a unique new framework for industry

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK

Disrupting what you do today will be a key capability to win tomorrow. Anisha Motwani has put together a lovely collection of brand stories that storm the norm. The future will belong to leaders and marketers who have the benefit of the experience, wisdom and pointers from this wonderful book. Carry it, read it, annotate it. This book will be the norm!

D. Shivakumar, Chairman and CEO,

PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd

Brands are the most valued and prized possessions in todays world. Creation of brands is both an art and a science; and a treatise like this that analyses how successful brands have been built in Indiaseen through the lens of an experienced and successful marketer like Anisha Motwaniis an invaluable read for anyone who has anything to do with business, branding, marketing, advertising or media.

Sam Balsara,

Chairman, Madison World

Carry this book in your bag and refer to it often if you are looking at storming the norms in your industry. Each story has insights you wont find anywhere else.

Ajay Bijli,

Chairman and Managing Director, PVR Ltd

In todays world everyone seems to be over-promising and under-delivering. Lofty claims, promotions and advertising often mislead people. Anishas book compiles brands that are examples of true excellence. She helps you understand and learn how they did it.

Analjit Singh,

Founder and Chairman, Max India Group

Developing a successful brand is a challenging but significant process. Anisha Motwani has researched and presented twenty successful brands that show us the value and power of innovative brands in India. As a professor of marketing, I know how important such a work can be for the business world. We can all learn from this timely and worthwhile book. Professor Dipak C. Jain, Director, Sasin Graduate Institute of Business

Administration of Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Published in Maven by

Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd 2016

7/16, Ansari Road, Daryaganj

New Delhi 110002

Introduction and edition copyright Anisha Motwani 2016

Storm the Norm concept and methodology copyright Ranjan Malik and

Anisha Motwani 2016

Foreword copyright Santosh Desai 2016

Afterword copyright Ranjan Malik 2016

Copyright of the pieces and photographs vests with the respective brands/companies

Disclaimer: The stories have been authored by the respective brands/companies and the views and opinions expressed in this book are their own and the facts are as reported by them, and the publisher and editor are not in any way liable for the same and take no responsibility for the veracity, accuracy and authenticity of the pieces.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-81-291-3702-9

First impression 2016

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated, without the publishers prior consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published.

To my father, who left imprints of knowledge and wisdom in my life.
Wherever you are, youll always be in my heart.

Success is the consequence of courage, commitment, and competence.
You cannot seek a consequenceit has to be created.

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

That we live in a world of brands is now a statement of fact and not hyperbole. Brands are all around us, and indeed we have begun to look upon almost everything as a brand. In spite of the undeniable fact that we find the idea of a brand so useful in our everyday lives, and that brands have been around for such a long time in this country, we know little about what makes these brands tick, who the people behind these brands are, and what goes into their making and, sometimes, unmaking. Brands are the building blocks of modern business, intangible assets often more valuable than those of the brick-and-mortar variety, ideas that live on even as products and companies that were once their vehicles pass on.

We read the biographies of great men and women, we devour the stories of business empires and create folk heroes out of figures in popular culture. When we do hear about brands, it is either by way of highly structured case studies or by way of anecdote or sketchy journalistic coverage. When business talks about brands, it displays a peculiar knack for taking a highly interesting subject and burying it knee deep in clichs. What suffers is genuine learning, a process that requires data and past experience, filtered through the lens of nuanced analysis. What is needed is a new way of talking about brands and learning from those who have built something powerful and essential out of the raw material of ideas, insight and rigorous practice.

It is time for us to hear the stories behind brands, for building brands is not merely about business. Brand stories are like detective stories of ideasthey involve a deep understanding of some human truths, they slice open implicit cultural impulses, create products and services that make us experience the world in new ways, act in ways clever and wise, bold and inspired, fail in ways stupid and spectacular, communicate in a dazzling array of forms. In short they tell us about themselves, the people behind them and, above all, about ourselves, those who interact with these brands.

Building brands in India presents challenges of many kinds. An ancient culture with its own codes, an unevenly developed market, a bursting-with-aspiration consumer, diverse competitors and a fragmented media landscape, all add up to complexity of a formidable kind. Growing categories and building leadership positions require a combination of many abilities and doing so consistently is a daunting enterprise.

The stories that follow are handpicked accounts of what went into building some of the most powerful and innovative brands in the country. Given that business in India has tended to look Westwards when it comes to case studies involving brands, indeed there is greater familiarity among Indian practitioners with brands like Apple, Microsoft, Nike, Dove and Virgin than with local success stories. This book is a treasure trove of stories about Indian brands that have succeeded in the face of great challenges. Like all good stories, they carry nuggets of wisdom and learning, and, like the truly great stories, they sometimes leave the extraction of this learning to the reader. Covering a diverse range of categories and contexts, they are designed to stimulate thought and promote reflection. The learning lies in stories of both similarity and difference; in some cases readers will find situations that are analogous to the ones they encounter, while in others they will find ideas that help imagine their own context very differently.

Under the able handling of Anisha Motwani, who is both an experienced marketer and an engaged thinker, the book that you are about to read will make it easy to learn from the experience of successful brands; more importantly, it will open new doors in your mind.

Santosh Desai

INTRODUCTION

As human beings, we are born to be curious. We are wired to search for knowledge, ideas and patterns and see how we can use them to better our own world and the world of those around us. As someone passionate about consumer insights and behaviour, I was always intrigued by companies that managed to create strong consumer connections by thinking ahead of their time, by not following the beaten path. As I grew in my career, so did the urge to find out what went on behind the scenes in these organizations. This book is an outcome of harnessing my long journey of curiosity to create a reservoir of success stories that can benefit others who are equally hungry for knowledge.