The New Brand Mantra

Welcome to the Phygital age!

Brand Building as we know it has changed.

People at the Apex

Irrespective of their erstwhile diktat, superbrands today are heading towards identifying their consumers' needs very early and evolving with their needs as they grow. Every 2-3 years today is a generation shift which in turn is leading to tectonic shifts in terms of consumer preferences, identification with the value system of a brand, and their own self-perceptions and aspirations.

Brand anchors priority for capex

In the post-privatization era, we used to find only 2 or 3 brands on the shelves in retail stores.

Today there are over 500 brands in each category and further, there are subcategories and niches. This is because brands have understood that the way to have lifetime value with their customers is to segment every aspect of the brand’s values and behaviour around the preferences and nuances of this customer. With this niche segmentation coming into play, brands are also introducing new products that journey with the same customer segment. They are creating products that cater to the same segment because the people who invest in the brand now, are the same people who will do so 10 years from now.

This niche segmentation combined with changes in per capita income, disposable income and a mindset shift from security-based to experiential-based has proven to benefit the brands of India. The rapid growth we see in the brand universe in India will be different from anything seen before and in turn, will be a unique story in the world of customer experience design.

Paradigm shift to Phygital

When it comes to customer experience brands today are functioning in a phygital world - partly physical, partly digital. Our people to people and environmental interactions today - whether in the comfort of our own home, at work or in social settings - are largely built around grabbing our attention span, but this encompasses only 50% of our time spent. The rest 50% of our time is spent living on a screen, either for personal use or for work. 

This has opened up various new touchpoints for brands to leverage. Each touchpoint gives brands a slot where the consumer is in a certain mindset and this gives them the opportunity to put through one of the core values of the brand. All of these touchpoints are to be taken into consideration and brands must innovate with these touchpoints through customer experience design. This is how they are unlocking lifetime value. They are connecting brand value systems with the persona of the customers at the opportune time.