There’s Dalit branding. But is there a Dalit market?

Dalit branding has taking off, and how. As a marker of identity. As a means of cocking a snook at the world. As a move to build commerce around a shared experience. Not only is it leveraging Dalit icons like Ambedkar and Valmiki, it also comes in shades ranging from rage in Rajinikath’s ‘Kaala’, to T-shirts dripping with attitude.

Creating invisibility is one of the most potent ways of exercising privilege. However, today, the Dalit voice finds an echo not just in political assertiveness and in role models like millionaires from the community, but also in popular culture, literature, and yes, in brands. It can be seen in T-shirts, cuisine, unpolished grains, tea mugs, Chamar Studio’s handbags, backpacks, wallets and belts, handcrafted from recycled rubber tyres. The last, incidentally, came up as a survival tactic when the 2015 beef ban hit the tanneries and leather craftsmen in Maharashtra. From being an artistic endeavour or activism merchandising, many of these projects have come to be created around a business model.

So what’s next? Let’s look at this nascent buzz through the lens of context. The fact is when you market your identity, you become a market as well. Using aspects of identity to appeal to its champions (both Dalit and non-Dalit), with subversion and often irreverence, is one thing. But can Dalits themselves represent a viable segment to market to?

There does seem to be a strong demographic and psychographic case for this. We are looking at one in five Indians, who are not yet specifically ‘catered to’ by any brand. The good news is, that in today’s India the basis for any such consumer-brand relationship would have to be affinity and aspiration, not stereotyping and exploitation.

Is it time to bring out the tools of ethnography, and apply them to consumer research and brand creation in this case, just as it is widely practised in, say, Hispanic marketing?

#DalitBranding #EthnographicBranding #Ethnography #ContextLedCommunication

(Rajeev Shukla is Co-founder & Managing Partner of Resonance Consulting, a branding and communication firm offering services that include Insight Mining, Brand Strategy, Identity & Design, Communication, Employer Branding & Employee Engagement, CSR Advisory. )