Marketing with a side of Vada Pav

What's life without a Vada Pav?

Meet the humble Vada Pav - simple on the outside but dynamite of flavor on the inside.

If you think about it, a Vada Pav and a brand have A LOT in common.

First, we'll start with dissecting this delicious miracle of a snack. You've got the Vada (the fried potato vada or the fritter in the middle packed with spices and a mashed potato mix), Pav (the soft, butter-glazed, perfectly toasted bun), and last, but not the least, the liquid gold equivalent we call the chutney (mostly, it's two chutneys that are used in this dish - one sweet (made of tamarind and jaggery) and a savory one made of mint leaves).

Picture this as YOUR brand - whether you own a product/service or are just focusing on building the brand that is YOU. Your brand, from the public's POV, is like the Pav that holds all our spice-filled goodness together - soft, simple, and yet, unaware of the explosion of flavor that awaits them.

Before I began to explore my interests in marketing, I just thought of marketing as a blanket term for promoting something without even considering the many factors that go into it - thus forming THE brand, which is what consumers would know your offerings from. This was very much akin to my first time trying a Vada Pav - assuming it to be as simple as the bread on the outside.

Now we make our way to the much coveted Pav. Sure, there's a brand out there that piques your interest at the grocery store or earns that extra click from you on Amazon, but do you know what goes into the process that led you to reach out to that one item on the shelf or click on the 'add to cart' button in a jiffy? In comes the core of your brand's marketing efforts, or as I'd like to call it, the soul of the humble Vada Pav which translates to all the social media posts, Search Engine Optimization interventions, community-building efforts, PR, and much much more! Without this, you just end up with a slice of plain bread - not quite the after-taste you're looking for, right?

Often, we don't take a moment to just think of all the work that goes behind building a presence for one's brand. Right from curating catchy CTA-driven content that we consume on Instagram/Facebook every day, analyzing every relevant keyword to get a step closer to your target audiences to walking through a field of opportunities to find that one right forum for coverage, building and engaging a community that evangelizes and beyond - there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes on the marketing end. Just like you're out there looking to find the perfect shade of golden crust while frying your vada, there's a lot of precision that comes into play while leveraging these mediums of exposure. Pausing your marketing efforts too early can leave you with an undercooked brand story and leaving it in the oil for too long might just oversaturate your audiences and burn out all that you've been working towards.

Wait…there's more to a Vada Pav than the two solids mentioned above. We now get to the part that elevates this culinary rendezvous - the masala that takes you from a 1-100 before you know it. What's a good vada without good spices and aromatics? In our game, we also refer to these as the brand guidelines. When you look at something or someone memorable, what is it do you immediately connect them with? You'd immediately match these to their traits, personality, the way they appear, speak, etc. Having your tone of voice, representative brand colors, a logo that best reflects your brand, etc are some of THE most important pillars to building your identity amongst the masses. This is what helps you stand out and also embody the stories you tell, and the values you stand by as a brand.

For instance, when you think of a brand like Coca-Cola, the first thing that pops up in your mind could be that shiny red can, the Coke Studio episodes you must've heard, or even the advertisements that best reflect the never-back-down sort of youthful energy and passion this brand represents.

The same goes for you, build a brand story so relevant and catchy that it doesn't budge from your audiences' minds.

Now, at the end, we arrive at the finishing touch of this Vada Pav. You've got all your SEO work sorted out and you've curated all the CTA-driven content you need, but is a CTA all that you need to focus on? Here's a secret sauce (well, quite literally - THE sauce) you can spread onto your Vada Pav. Along with all the CTA-driven content you do, working on things that can add value to your followers/audiences can take your game to a whole new level. In today's world, audiences are well-read and are always on the lookout for content that adds value to them and helps them essentially learn. This is the chutney that just makes your brand as flavorful and memorable, just like it does to your Vada Pav. For instance: if you're someone in the healthy food space, don’t just post about your products and their benefits, take some time to share a couple of recipes that your users can try out. No matter what space you're into, if you're out there equipping your audiences with content that forces them to think and also teaches them a thing or two, then you've got a brand that's adding value!

There you have it! Not only have you been to the inner workings of a brand, but you've also hopefully been tempted to indulge in a good 'ol Vada Pav!

Hopefully, this dose of Vada Pav left you saying, 'Vada Wow!' (get it? Like, that one reel that said - what a wow! I guess you guys aren't free from my subpar poor jokes either).