What makes Gandhi India’s greatest brand ever?

We all love certain brands. But the reasons we love them, differ.

Perhaps they reflect our sensibilities. Perhaps they are something we crave. Perhaps they never fail to make us smile.

In essence, a brand is a promise to its customers of what they can expect from it and may include emotional as well as functional benefits.

Simply put, a brand is about trustworthiness; about consistently fulfilling expectations.

Which is why it was interesting that, in the Brand Trust Report 2014, Mahatma Gandhi was voted the ‘Most Trusted Personality in India’ – 66 years after his death. Ranked immediately below him were Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Sachin Tendulkar – all currently active and highly-visible personalities.

What makes Gandhi India’s most trusted brand?

The world’s greatest brands are united by certain attributes:

1. Deep audience understanding
2. Ambitious yet focused goal
3. Superior competitor knowledge
4. Well-defined key values
5. Distinctive brand identity
6. Consistent voice and messaging
7. Ability to pivot and stay relevant

Let us assess Gandhi, the brand, on each of these parameters.

1. Deep audience understanding: For close to 700 years – from the early 13th century to the early 20th century – India had been subjected to a series of invasions (Khilji dynasty, Mongols, Tughlaq dynasty, Mughals, Portuguese, Dutch and finally, the British). This prolonged period of strife and foreign rule had depleted Indians of belief in their own abilities, self-esteem and national pride.

The first thing Gandhi and Kasturba did on their return to India from South Africa in 1915, was to undertake a year-long train journey across India (travelling third-class) from Porbandar in the West to Rangoon in the East, from Rishikesh in the North to Madras in the South. During these journeys, they spoke to Indians about their struggle in South Africa, and the gains made by the Indian community there through sustained, united efforts.

This journey gave Gandhi first-hand understanding of ground realities, helped him create pan-Indian visibility and helped connect with Indians on a personal level. Most importantly, it helped re-instill self-belief, a sense of community and optimism among Indians, that they could replicate in India what Gandhi had helped accomplish in South Africa.

This journey – taken by Gandhi in his very first year back in India – shows us his strategic thinking, and the priority he gave to truly understanding his target audience, before diving headlong into the Indian freedom movement.

2. Ambitious yet focused goal: Gandhi’s journey fired him up to take India – and Indians – back to the days of self-rule. From 1 AD to 1700 AD, India was the world’s largest economy, constituting 35% of the world’s GDP. By the early-1900s, India’s GDP dropped to 8%. A prosperous, peace-loving nation that was the envy of the world, had been reduced to a country forever on the edge, staving off invaders and profiteers.

Gandhi realized this needed to change, fundamentally.

In the early-1920s, he advocated ‘Purna Swaraj’ (‘complete self-rule’) as India’s goal. While different Indian leaders and rulers in different parts of the country had been negotiating and battling the British separately till then, Gandhi gave the nation an ambitious yet focused goal – one distant enough to challenge them, but also, important enough to inspire them to unite in their fight against the British.

‘Purna Swaraj’ was to prove to be the rallying cry that finally made Indians believe in the impossible and finally united all Indians under Gandhi’s leadership.

3. Superior competitor knowledge: Now that the goal was clear, the road map was to be drawn up. Gandhi realized that the British could not be thrown out either through brute force (the unsuccessful rebellion of 1857 was proof of this fact) or sheer cunning (the British were, after all, masters of ‘divide and rule’). Additionally, Gandhi’s years in England (studying law) and in South Africa (fighting British rule there) had given him invaluable, extensive insights into British mindsets, strategies – and importantly, their soft spots.

One of these soft spots was England’s desire to be seen as a civilized, responsible nation – in stark contrast to its conduct in the countries it ruled.

Gandhi's understanding of the landscape, target audience and competition, helped define the key values that India would ultimately adopt in its freedom struggle.

4. Well-defined key values: In the absence of military options, the only solution India had to achieve freedom was trusting in its key values (India’s soft power) recognized the world over – truth and non-violence.

Gandhi realized that letting the world know of England’s atrocities in India was crucial. Across interactions with global political leaders, influencers and journalists, Gandhi spoke about India’s peaceful freedom struggle. Stories of millions of non-violent Indians sustaining their struggle in the face of sheer brute force, struck a chord the world over.

Most importantly, these stories shattered the myth of the British being civilized, morally upright rulers. Gandhi stripped the British rule of moral authority – something that no other country or leader had yet achieved.

What makes this achievement even more impressive is when one considers how easy it is to react violently to brutality, especially when it is sustained. Gandhi was successfully able to educate and sensitize Indians about the need to stay truthful and non-violent, come what may. The credibility that India built through these important yet tough-to-implement values (barring a few stray incidents of violence) ultimately made the continuance of British rule in India non-viable.

5. Distinctive brand identity: Before independence, India was divided by language. Hindi was spoken in large parts of North India but was virtually incomprehensible to much of South India. English had not yet created the pan-Indian footprint that it enjoys today. In the absence of a unifying language, Gandhi chose to use nationally recognized symbols to create a singular identity for the country.

The ‘charkha’ (spinning wheel) was to be the symbol of Indian self-reliance. Khadi, its tangible outcome. It would be incorporated into the Indian flag, unveiled in 1921. Leading global newspapers and publications would often publish photos of Gandhi using a ‘charkha’.

The sustained, strategic use of the ‘charkha’ helped show Indians the promised land (self-reliance) in a simple and relatable manner.

Beyond the ‘charkha’, Gandhi’s three monkeys’ symbol (‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’) further extended the key values of truth and non-violence in its own way. The Dandi March, that ended with Gandhi picking up a fistful of salt in his right palm (one of the most iconic photos of all time) became another symbol of India’s self-reliance.

Each of these symbols sent out a strong message to the British that India was capable of self-rule, and sparked self-belief that through united effort, nothing was impossible.

6. Consistent voice and messaging: If there was one strength of Brand Gandhi that overpowered every other, it was the consistency in his thoughts, words and actions. In his own words, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Not surprisingly, that’s also what makes for a great brand.

Gandhi realized that for a human being – just as for a brand – credibility is built over a lifetime and destroyed in an instant.

One principle – ‘simple living, high thinking’ – united every single choice and action; ultimately making it impossible even for the British to find a chink in his armour that could be exploited to discredit Gandhi and the Indian freedom movement.

Moreover, Gandhi passionately voiced the same key messages – self-rule, truth, non-violence, unity – at every public gathering and to the media, further embedding these values in the Indian psyche. He was cognizant of the value of repeating universal key messages at every opportunity and keeping things simple for a people who were divided by language, caste, religion, education and social status.

7. Ability to pivot and stay relevant: While consistency is important, brands must also display flexibility in adapting to changing circumstances – an aspect about Gandhi that has divided opinion over the years. Gandhi was often mentioned as being stubborn and closed to alternative points of view.

For instance, Gandhi was known to go on a fast whenever there would be an incident of violence. It would take the stoppage of violence, for Gandhi to break his fast. Similarly, certain historians mention that the partition could have been avoided, had he listened to other Congress leaders and not given Jinnah a voice.

Gandhi’s approach, however, must be seen in the context of the times – and the importance he gave to the key values of the freedom movement.

Gandhi realized that with every act of violence by an Indian, Britain gained the upper hand. It was of strategic importance for Indians to avoid violent acts, as far as possible. Gandhi’s fasts, as such, must not be seen as acts of stubbornness, but as a reflection of his deep understanding of the importance of adhering to key values consistently. Similarly, Gandhi’s openness to hearing Jinnah’s point-of-view, can either be seen as his being closed to views of fellow Congressmen, or it can be seen as him believing that a party representing a significant part of the Indian population, deserved to be heard.

Context is crucial, and Gandhi must be given the benefit of doubt – especially considering that no individuals who were privy to discussions and events of that time, are around today to clarify the facts.

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In closing, it is perhaps this openness to interpretation that makes Gandhi such an interesting brand. Sure, he has his detractors, but those who are able to see him for what he essentially was – a human being who (a) did far more than most other human beings do in a lifetime (b) selflessly devoted his life to the nation and (c) came up with unique, customized strategies and solutions to shape India’s freedom movement successfully over three decades – will see the brilliance of Gandhi, the man, the icon, the brand.

After all, who can resist adoring a man who once said, “It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.”

Brands, like people, can err. But the ones that last are those that are humble, resilient and purpose-driven.

Just like Gandhi.