The Devdas Brands
Abhay Goghari
Experienced storyteller. Bylined author and novelist. Digital content creator with work spanning six regions and 8 niches. Former art director.
“Hamara kal, Hamara aaj, Hamara Bajaj”
“If you want to talk, you don’t have to walk”
“Namaste behno aur bhaiyon, mein aapka dost Ameen Sayani bol raha hun”
These lines took Indian advertising and air waves by storm during the mid-to-late nineties. Well, where are those iconic brands today? RIP, they did not make it past the globalisation line.
They are the Devdas Brands. They chose inertia over adaption and action, even as the others rode the wave of globalisation. Bajaj Chetak, Superphone, Binaca (rechristened as Cibaca) Geet Mala, East-West Airlines (not EastWest Airlines), Premier Padmini car… the list is long and illustrious.
We have chosen Bajaj Chetak, East-West Airlines, and Binaca Geet Mala as case studies.
SWOT and Brand Audit were applied for study and analyses.
SWOT
BRAND AUDIT
Some of the key characteristics of global/globalised brands were found missing in the studied cases.
Value addition – A global brand strives to offer more than the money spent on it - in cash, kind or offers. While Bajaj Chetak never thought of it (there was years-long premium on the product), East-West Airlines was too short-lived, and Binaca Geet Mala lived too long to actualise any such proposition.
Innovation – Again, Bajaj Chetak was too cocky to innovate, and the other two brands never needed to, because of their short and long market tenures.
2-way communication – Global brands listen, as much or more than they talk. They just love consumer and market voices. However, these three brands talked and talked, turning a deaf ear to consumer preferences, market trends, et al.
Marketing – Oh! But where was the need for it? They were doing too well all along – until they suddenly discovered that they were not, after all.
R&D – What??? Weren’t these brands consumers’ darlings for decades? How could Bajaj Chetak convert its 2-seat sitting arrangement into a single seat design? How would a family of 4 fit into it then?
L&D – Wasn’t that for the class rooms?
CONCLUSIONS
Important take-aways that surfaced:
- Complacence is cyanide
- Never underestimate the power of the underdogs – they can bite, and how!
- (While on dogs): Gali ke kutte ab gali mein bhi bhonkte hai (rough English: home-grown competition is here to stay)
- Be better than your nearest competitor; it’s jungle raaj
- If you can’t think 20 years ahead, you are brain-dead (read brand-dead)
- Market is not your sweet sister; it (she) is your mother-in-law
- Market performance is measured with a stop-watch, not anymore with a sand watch
All said and done, these brands have been heroes of their time. So, let’s pay a tribute to their legacies with a tinge of nostalgia. Nobody ever said Devdas was not brand enough in his prime time. It's just that he failed to accept the new realities of life and drowned himself in self-pity.
Amen.
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Friends, we end this article series here. We hope we were able to provide engaging content in the three episodes - Bahubali Brands, Baaghi Brands, and this, Devdas Brands.
Your valuable insights are most welcome, as we plan more engaging articles.
Stay tuned!
Abhay Goghari - Principal author
Dr. Ashutosh Mishra - Leading education marketing & academia management specialist
Ashini J - HR professional and consumer footfall mapping specialist
Experienced storyteller. Bylined author and novelist. Digital content creator with work spanning six regions and 8 niches. Former art director.
8 年Thank you Anirban. It was intentional to keep the article macro and not deep-dive. This was the content policy for the series.
#Purpose Prophet. Scripting business building #Brand stories. When you are truly invested in purpose and let it guide business, outcomes will exceed ambitions.
8 年The 'branding' of the article is great. Devdas brands gets potentials curious for sure. We must understand that Brand as product, content or communication is still not whole or enough. Explore the truth that none of these brands saw a big enduring idea at their core, larger than form (bajaj), medium (geet mala). East-West is a confusion. Purely opportunistic in its inception, circumstantial in demise. The pointers at the end are powerful. Like the sand clock stop watch metaphor.
Helped businesses increase revenue, expand customer base, and establish a strong brand identity. 12+years l 150+ projects.
8 年Admire the Title. Incase of Bajaj, it's like a pivot they have taken from scooters to bikes. A very challenging decision that was taken during that transition was to stop scooters as customers were adopting speed with bikes. Due to which the The Pulsar and others came out from Bajaj.
Copywriter, Creative Director, Group Head..Copywriter...Copywriter...Wow! ▼ Freelancer ▼ Enjoying the adrenaline rush of a rollercoaster ride that's advertising ▼
8 年'Devdas' is a kick in the butt, a wake-up call, to brands (managers) who are reaching for their first suicidal peg :) Many around :)
Copywriter, Creative Director, Group Head..Copywriter...Copywriter...Wow! ▼ Freelancer ▼ Enjoying the adrenaline rush of a rollercoaster ride that's advertising ▼
8 年Perfect...In fact Honda's ads celebrating it's No.1 two wheeler status in India should read "Thank You Bajaj" instead of "Thank You, India" As you rightly mention, Bajaj, with a brand like Chetak in its stable, just threw away the No 1. position in Scooters :)