How BJP made NaMo a Strong Brand-FMCG Concepts

16 May 2014 at 06:01 PM

After witnessing the never ending discussions over Modi Wave, I thought it best to analyze it using
some classroom concepts we learnt in MBA. So is, Narendra Modi a strong Brand? (My heart goes
to my Brand Management fellows :P). If yes, what made him so?

1. Concept: Our FMCG Guru taught us that a Strong Concept should have three elements: 1)
Accepted Consumer Belief 2) Benefit which solves the problem, and 3) Reason to believe the
Benefit. And he drilled it into our heads time and again, that it should be written in the Consumer's
language.

ACB(drawn from Consumer insights for UPA government): I am fed up of corruption and bad
governance of the UPA governement
Benefit: Narendra Modi will end corruption and provide good governance(and development)
Reason to Believe: Narendra Modi's model of governance and development in Gujarat

Concept testing was done on the grassroot level by BJP, RSS, VHP and Baba Ramdev(why to leave
him behind :P)

2. Product: A winning product is one which has a superior performance, regularly beats competition
in product tests, is continuously upgraded and stays in tune with changing consumer needs.

Enter NaMo, who has performed consistently well as a CM in Gujarat, Beaten the Congress black
and blue in Elections(3 Assemblies, 2 Lok Sabhas, Multiple Municipal elections), upgraded himself
by being Social Media savvy and understanding the public anger against Pappu's party (look at his
twitter followers) and catered to changing consumer needs (ppl wanted roads-he gave roads, they
wanted electricity-he gave electricity, people wanted industrialization-he opened the shop for
Industrialists, people wanted Amitabh Bachchan-he made him the Brand ambassador of Gujarat
Tourism :P).

Product testing done by Gujarat voters and Indian citizens(through WOM and Media)

3. Value for Money: The Brand provides higher unit of satisfaction for every rupee spent, than its
competitors.

When the person in opposition is Rahul Gandhi, pital bhi sona lagta hai :P. So, you don't need to
study FMCG to know which brand provided more value for the Indian voter. In addition, NaMo got
the Value for money status from Concept testing, Product Testing etc.(the 60 saal vs 5 saal debate)
:P

4. Brand Equity: A strong brand should have both Strategic and Executional Brand Equity. Strategic
Brand equity can be Benefit based(remmeber the Freshness soap example?), reason
based(Goodness of Kesar-Fairever) or Brand Character based.

Brand Name: NaMo
Brand Character: Honest, Corruption Free, Robust, Strong, Pro-Development, Durable, No-
nonsense, Charismatic, Rags to Riches, Common man connect, Chaiwala, Firebrand
Brand sentiment: Fanatically positive
Executional Equity: Abki baar, Modi Sarkaar

How was it created: Superior Advertising (Radio ads of Mehngai and Bhrashtacar, TV ads- Bina
captain ki team ki hogi haar, abki baar modi sarkaar, Outdoor Ads, Print Ads, Mobile Ads, Internet
Ads, Delhi Metro Ads, ATM Ads, Guerilla Ads), Superior Brand PR(Larger than life image of Modi-
Road Shows, Supermansque+Batmanesque+Shaktimaneque speed of Election rallies, glorifying
Gujarat model, attacking UPA's kushashan, managing Media interviews(When have you seen Arnab
Goswami and Rajat Sharma being so meek in taking interviews :P)

5. Strong In Store Presence: Ensuring that the brand is available in the maximim no.of stores with
impactful visibility: Capturing the first moment of truth.

BJP had to ensure that Brand Modi reaches every nook and corner of the nation, and every house
and heart in the country. For the same, it deployed ground force of N number of
Sanghs(RSS>VHP>BSS>SSSSS...) which would even put the Indian army to shame. They roamed
in scorching sun, broke bread with the farmers, labourers etc., empathised with their sorry state and
encouraged them to 'Vote for Modi Sarkaar'. The first moment of truth was hence captured long
befoe a voter puched his vote on the EVM.

6. Trial: So how did BJP induce trial of the NaMo brand? Through positive Word of Mouth(are wo to
boht ache hain, bhai), strong Corporate backing(look at the rate of industrial growth-pata hai you get
land for projects very easily), Shaming the current government(Pappu ko kitna try karoge? 60 saal
vs 5 saal) etc.etc.

So, in a nutshell, kudos to BJP's Marketing team for creating Brand Modi, and giving India a new age
PM. Hail Marketing! :-D