The Parable of Branding – Part 3 – Why Branding?

A small firm today might think that there is no need of Branding for them and might spend more on client acquisition by rolling out offers/ discounts etc. in the short run than investing wisely in Brand Building for the longer haul. But what these firms need to realize is the fact that even the hugely successful organizations run by groups like Tata, Reliance, Bharti, Adani, Hero etc., are popular Indian Brands (with global presence) today because they consistently invested a lot in their Branding Efforts, to be in a position of leadership across industries.

Let’s think of it in this manner – If I were a small fish which needed to survive in an ocean full of sharks, then I need to atleast don the attire of a shark to preserve my identity. Analogy being drawn here is that the Perception that needs to be created by a capable, expert and competent but comparatively smaller looking organism like fish, should be that of a magnified creature like shark. And to do that, while the fish will keep working daily on its existence, simultaneously it needs to invest in creating that attire. And if, in some time, the surroundings start perceiving the fish as though it were a shark, then not only will the existence of the fish prolong but the quality of its existence will also improve.

To elaborate further, we can also refer to the Indian startup ecosystem. Indian Government has been encouraging the homegrown manufacturing companies and service providers, through several Campaigns (and policy initiatives) over
the last few years, the most recent one being “Atma Nirbhar Bharat”. Now, even though the opportunity is there for more businesses to flourish, there would be a handful of companies – existing and upcoming, which would ultimately be able to make the cut and earn a share in the overall business pie available.

The candid reason being that even though every business would try to come up with an innovative product or service, plethora of benefits to pitch, unique pricing models to lure buyers and the best sales force to sell, they might still not be able to strike the right chord with their audience.

This is where the Power of Branding can differentiate a business and empower it to sell its story to its audience first before anything else. If you glance upon the existing (as well as emerging) successful Brands like Paytm, Ola, Oyo, Zomato, Byju’s etc. then you will notice that from their early existence to the day they started getting recognition in their respective industries, was the fact that they consistently kept building their Brand, bit by bit, by living up to their ethos and consistently reflecting the same through their numerous touch-points designed for customer interaction. The guiding principle being that Branding has to be a strategic convergence of the Business Identity, Positioning & Communication through all the key customer touch-points – online as well as offline.

The “Vocal for Local” message by our Prime Minister has already given impetus to the demand for Indian products and services. To leverage on this, the pressing need of the hour for every business is to be “Prominently Visible” through a multitude of touch points – online and offline – as a single, clear and consistent Brand entity, to its nation-wide audience.

Toggle Interactive, with its expertise and experience of working on Brand Identity Creation/ Revamp, Brand Positioning/ Re-Positioning and Brand Communication across Traditional & Digital Media, for a wide array of clients, considers Branding as a succinct form of all the differently narrated stories by the Founders, Employees and Stakeholders of a business, to present a Single Compelling Story for all Faces of the business, which when consistently marketed to the target audience, carves a Lasting Impression – in the form of Brand – in their hearts and minds.