Management- Ally: 3

The Art of being Invisible


Would you like to be invisible? And if yes, for how long? Hours, days, weeks, months, or for years?? Well, most of us love to be invisible for a short period, especially when you haven’t finished that important project your boss gave last week and he is giving you a blasting.

Or maybe for a few hours to take a peek into the ladies toilet at the office to take a ‘closer’ look at what your female colleagues has inside.

Or maybe for a few days to be in the bedroom of Mallika Sherwat, or maybe Aishwarya Rai…

For past few days I was wondering, if I were to be invisible, how long would be enough for me, and what I need to do during that period… thinking further about it, I realized that I AM INVISIBLE, whenever and wherever it mattered.

School Years:

All that matters during your schooling years is the Report Card. The monthly unit tests, the quarterly, half yearly and the annual examinations. Other things that mattered were the remarks of your teachers, and of course, not to forget - the sports and the dramatics.

If today, I were to go back to my old school, I am sure none of my teachers might remember me, and if they do… it would be because, I ‘knocked’ down the wig of Mr. Philip, our science teacher during a basketball match. Or maybe as the guy who put ‘chewing gum’ in Ms. Cecilia Prasad’s chair.

If you ask me, except for a few classmates who considered me a friend (esp. Manish, Kiran, Rajesh (hope he remembers me), and a few others) others would hardly remember me…

But in school, what mattered were not friends… but reality. And the reality was the report card - a judgment paper. The day I used to get it, I wished I was invisible, I wished I was invisible when I went home to face other reality – the stick or belt, which ever came first in my father’s hand. And trust me – Reality does not bite. IT HURTS.

College Years:

For a student, who spent more time in the college cafeterias, movie halls, and the beach, I was the ideal Invisible to ALL my lecturers and professors. A motley group of friends who helped me in identifying the ‘pleasures’ of college life, and who taught me that college days are not meant for preparing for IITs or Engineering Colleges, but how to open a beer bottle with your teeth and how to blow cigarette smoke rings. I for my teachers I was Roll No. 814 – Absent.

Most importantly, and unknowingly, I was learning in my college years – the art of remaining invisible. Especially, when you had in your group, friends who got into fights for none and every reason. I also learnt how to slip into and from the house without disturbing my parents, and go out for late night drinking binges. I also learnt that you need to be invisible throughout your college days, for if your lecturers come to know about you, then you lose marks at the “Practicals”. You also learn that to pass your final year examinations you need to either have a sharp memory or all of these –

1. Good at signature forgery or know someone good at it
2. Money to be paid to office employees for your attendance register
3. sharp eye – so that you can copy from your neighbor, or copy from ‘slips’
4. and most importantly remain INVISIBLE when you do any or all of the above

Yes, I was Invisible during my college years.

Work Years:

A senior colleague of mine – Suresh, at my first job in The Hindu, told me once – “If you are a tree you might get chopped, and if you are grass you are trampled.” Sums up my idea of being invisible in the organization.

The ancient Chinese Zen Masters talk about invisibility in their own confusing way. Sun Tzu in his book “The Art of War” speaks about – An army is to be seen, and yet remain unseen. They talk about a balance of emptiness and fullness – which I can sum up as to be invisible and visible.

When you are employed in any organization and working away from the corporate office, you are usually invisible. You wish that you do something BIG and great and come to the notice of the top management… but realize the futility, because your immediate boss is there to take the credit. Same were the situations with me… and I remained invisible.

When I got an opportunity to work in the corporate office, I was elated. At last I was getting a chance to be visible. Few months at the corporate office, like the Dilbert character, I wished I was invisible.

The Identity Johari Window:

.

From the window you realize that 50% of the chance you are invisible. And if you are known to others but unknown to yourself (grey area) you are considered a lunatic… so there is 25% chance that you are Visible, the way you want to be seen.

What I realize is that in most of the big organization, the top management work under ‘zero – visibility’. The rely more on the radar senses which they get from their immediate group.

Invisibility, like Management, is neither an art nor science… it is a combination of both. As the shroud of invisibility is slipping away from my body… I realize that everyone is invisible at some point of time in their life. Sometimes you are MADE invisible by others, and sometimes you MAKE yourself invisible. Your visibility is limited to your ‘sphere of influence’… (A subject I might discuss in another MANAGEMENTALLY topic)

Whether you like it or not, invisibility will be a part of your life… maybe for a few minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years. And remember God is invisible.

Management- Ally: 3

The Art of being Invisible


Would you like to be invisible? And if yes, for how long? Hours, days, weeks, months, or for years?? Well, most of us love to be invisible for a short period, especially when you haven’t finished that important project your boss gave last week and he is giving you a blasting.

Or maybe for a few hours to take a peek into the ladies toilet at the office to take a ‘closer’ look at what your female colleagues has inside.

Or maybe for a few days to be in the bedroom of Mallika Sherwat, or maybe Aishwarya Rai…

For past few days I was wondering, if I were to be invisible, how long would be enough for me, and what I need to do during that period… thinking further about it, I realized that I AM INVISIBLE, whenever and wherever it mattered.

School Years:

All that matters during your schooling years is the Report Card. The monthly unit tests, the quarterly, half yearly and the annual examinations. Other things that mattered were the remarks of your teachers, and of course, not to forget - the sports and the dramatics.

If today, I were to go back to my old school, I am sure none of my teachers might remember me, and if they do… it would be because, I ‘knocked’ down the wig of Mr. Philip, our science teacher during a basketball match. Or maybe as the guy who put ‘chewing gum’ in Ms. Cecilia Prasad’s chair.

If you ask me, except for a few classmates who considered me a friend (esp. Manish, Kiran, Rajesh (hope he remembers me), and a few others) others would hardly remember me…

But in school, what mattered were not friends… but reality. And the reality was the report card - a judgment paper. The day I used to get it, I wished I was invisible, I wished I was invisible when I went home to face other reality – the stick or belt, which ever came first in my father’s hand. And trust me – Reality does not bite. IT HURTS.

College Years:

For a student, who spent more time in the college cafeterias, movie halls, and the beach, I was the ideal Invisible to ALL my lecturers and professors. A motley group of friends who helped me in identifying the ‘pleasures’ of college life, and who taught me that college days are not meant for preparing for IITs or Engineering Colleges, but how to open a beer bottle with your teeth and how to blow cigarette smoke rings. I for my teachers I was Roll No. 814 – Absent.

Most importantly, and unknowingly, I was learning in my college years – the art of remaining invisible. Especially, when you had in your group, friends who got into fights for none and every reason. I also learnt how to slip into and from the house without disturbing my parents, and go out for late night drinking binges. I also learnt that you need to be invisible throughout your college days, for if your lecturers come to know about you, then you lose marks at the “Practicals”. You also learn that to pass your final year examinations you need to either have a sharp memory or all of these –

1. Good at signature forgery or know someone good at it
2. Money to be paid to office employees for your attendance register
3. sharp eye – so that you can copy from your neighbor, or copy from ‘slips’
4. and most importantly remain INVISIBLE when you do any or all of the above

Yes, I was Invisible during my college years.

Work Years:

A senior colleague of mine – Suresh, at my first job in The Hindu, told me once – “If you are a tree you might get chopped, and if you are grass you are trampled.” Sums up my idea of being invisible in the organization.

The ancient Chinese Zen Masters talk about invisibility in their own confusing way. Sun Tzu in his book “The Art of War” speaks about – An army is to be seen, and yet remain unseen. They talk about a balance of emptiness and fullness – which I can sum up as to be invisible and visible.

When you are employed in any organization and working away from the corporate office, you are usually invisible. You wish that you do something BIG and great and come to the notice of the top management… but realize the futility, because your immediate boss is there to take the credit. Same were the situations with me… and I remained invisible.

When I got an opportunity to work in the corporate office, I was elated. At last I was getting a chance to be visible. Few months at the corporate office, like the Dilbert character, I wished I was invisible.

The Identity Johari Window:

.

From the window you realize that 50% of the chance you are invisible. And if you are known to others but unknown to yourself (grey area) you are considered a lunatic… so there is 25% chance that you are Visible, the way you want to be seen.

What I realize is that in most of the big organization, the top management work under ‘zero – visibility’. The rely more on the radar senses which they get from their immediate group.

Invisibility, like Management, is neither an art nor science… it is a combination of both. As the shroud of invisibility is slipping away from my body… I realize that everyone is invisible at some point of time in their life. Sometimes you are MADE invisible by others, and sometimes you MAKE yourself invisible. Your visibility is limited to your ‘sphere of influence’… (A subject I might discuss in another MANAGEMENTALLY topic)

Whether you like it or not, invisibility will be a part of your life… maybe for a few minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years. And remember God is invisible.

Management- Ally: 3

The Art of being Invisible


Would you like to be invisible? And if yes, for how long? Hours, days, weeks, months, or for years?? Well, most of us love to be invisible for a short period, especially when you haven’t finished that important project your boss gave last week and he is giving you a blasting.

Or maybe for a few hours to take a peek into the ladies toilet at the office to take a ‘closer’ look at what your female colleagues has inside.

Or maybe for a few days to be in the bedroom of Mallika Sherwat, or maybe Aishwarya Rai…

For past few days I was wondering, if I were to be invisible, how long would be enough for me, and what I need to do during that period… thinking further about it, I realized that I AM INVISIBLE, whenever and wherever it mattered.

School Years:

All that matters during your schooling years is the Report Card. The monthly unit tests, the quarterly, half yearly and the annual examinations. Other things that mattered were the remarks of your teachers, and of course, not to forget - the sports and the dramatics.

If today, I were to go back to my old school, I am sure none of my teachers might remember me, and if they do… it would be because, I ‘knocked’ down the wig of Mr. Philip, our science teacher during a basketball match. Or maybe as the guy who put ‘chewing gum’ in Ms. Cecilia Prasad’s chair.

If you ask me, except for a few classmates who considered me a friend (esp. Manish, Kiran, Rajesh (hope he remembers me), and a few others) others would hardly remember me…

But in school, what mattered were not friends… but reality. And the reality was the report card - a judgment paper. The day I used to get it, I wished I was invisible, I wished I was invisible when I went home to face other reality – the stick or belt, which ever came first in my father’s hand. And trust me – Reality does not bite. IT HURTS.

College Years:

For a student, who spent more time in the college cafeterias, movie halls, and the beach, I was the ideal Invisible to ALL my lecturers and professors. A motley group of friends who helped me in identifying the ‘pleasures’ of college life, and who taught me that college days are not meant for preparing for IITs or Engineering Colleges, but how to open a beer bottle with your teeth and how to blow cigarette smoke rings. I for my teachers I was Roll No. 814 – Absent.

Most importantly, and unknowingly, I was learning in my college years – the art of remaining invisible. Especially, when you had in your group, friends who got into fights for none and every reason. I also learnt how to slip into and from the house without disturbing my parents, and go out for late night drinking binges. I also learnt that you need to be invisible throughout your college days, for if your lecturers come to know about you, then you lose marks at the “Practicals”. You also learn that to pass your final year examinations you need to either have a sharp memory or all of these –

1. Good at signature forgery or know someone good at it
2. Money to be paid to office employees for your attendance register
3. sharp eye – so that you can copy from your neighbor, or copy from ‘slips’
4. and most importantly remain INVISIBLE when you do any or all of the above

Yes, I was Invisible during my college years.

Work Years:

A senior colleague of mine – Suresh, at my first job in The Hindu, told me once – “If you are a tree you might get chopped, and if you are grass you are trampled.” Sums up my idea of being invisible in the organization.

The ancient Chinese Zen Masters talk about invisibility in their own confusing way. Sun Tzu in his book “The Art of War” speaks about – An army is to be seen, and yet remain unseen. They talk about a balance of emptiness and fullness – which I can sum up as to be invisible and visible.

When you are employed in any organization and working away from the corporate office, you are usually invisible. You wish that you do something BIG and great and come to the notice of the top management… but realize the futility, because your immediate boss is there to take the credit. Same were the situations with me… and I remained invisible.

When I got an opportunity to work in the corporate office, I was elated. At last I was getting a chance to be visible. Few months at the corporate office, like the Dilbert character, I wished I was invisible.

The Identity Johari Window:

.

From the window you realize that 50% of the chance you are invisible. And if you are known to others but unknown to yourself (grey area) you are considered a lunatic… so there is 25% chance that you are Visible, the way you want to be seen.

What I realize is that in most of the big organization, the top management work under ‘zero – visibility’. The rely more on the radar senses which they get from their immediate group.

Invisibility, like Management, is neither an art nor science… it is a combination of both. As the shroud of invisibility is slipping away from my body… I realize that everyone is invisible at some point of time in their life. Sometimes you are MADE invisible by others, and sometimes you MAKE yourself invisible. Your visibility is limited to your ‘sphere of influence’… (A subject I might discuss in another MANAGEMENTALLY topic)

Whether you like it or not, invisibility will be a part of your life… maybe for a few minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years. And remember God is invisible.

The relevance of being different

BRANDS and, if one may add, branding, are creating a buzz not only in the market place but in media as well. A far cry from the days when people had difficulty in pronouncing the word, leave alone understanding the concept.
Today, there are seminars on branding, columns in the business press on the subject, and television programmes airing the views of experts, not to forget three credit courses on branding in every management institute in the country. A variety of definitions of branding are doing the rounds — from the exotic to the functional.

So where lies the importance of a brand?

According to Fortune Magazine (in 1977), "In the twenty-first century, branding will ultimately be the only differentiator between companies. Brand equity is now a key asset." This prediction has considerable merit and highlights "equity," which is really what everyone who is concerned with brand management is attempting to maximise all the time. While on the subject, it would be valuable to understand what makes brands successful.

The relevance of being different

Today, brands live in a world of extreme and unprincipled competition. Every category is crowded. Every channel and newspaper is cluttered. The brands that are successful are relevant and therefore, different. Relevant to consumers and different from the competition. The question is how does one differentiate? Sadly, it appears easier to put it up in lofty (and similar sounding) mission statements than to actually practise it.

Think about it. How different is your brand? If you try and answer the question honestly you will find that unless you are one of the fortunate few, it is well nigh impossible to be different from the welter of competing brands in your category.

Think different

Apple, the original Silicon Valley company, is a wonderful example of a company that "think(s) different." The tagline was not a mere advertising slogan but a guiding philosophy. And that is certainly worth remembering.

Brands must have a raison d'etre. And the essence of the brand has to permeate every thought, strategy and action concerning the brand. Apple's guiding principle of "thinking different" results in products that are different — whether it is coloured monitors or iPods. Starbucks makes a difference to the average American's life. And the difference comes from the philosophy. Charles Schultz, the founder, wanted his retail chain to fill a gap in consumer's lives. He realised that the average American had two important places in his life — his home and his place of work. He was confident that his retail outlets could be "the third place" in the average American's life. The rest, as they say, is history. So, the inference is simple for aspiring brand managers and owners. Start right. Get the brand's essence right. And you will see and make a difference, to the one person who really matters — the consumer.

Be different

There are several elements to any brand — name, packaging, identity, shape, touch and feel of it, the colours associated with the brand, its positioning and so on. At the risk of sounding obvious, one must still say that crucial to brand success is a strong product/service. A very significant element of the brand, though, is clearly the name.

Does the name stand out? Clearly an Apple in computers or an Orange in mobile services will stand out. And yet it is important to bear one fact in mind. If the name cues the category (Airtel, for example) that's fine, but if it doesn't, there must be a communication on what the name stands for. There is a cost to this. And yet one would like to believe that it is an investment that we are talking about.

The packaging can be another point of difference. Sadly, packaging does not get the attention it deserves. Advertising can be glamorous, creative and fun. So it gets senior management attention and involvement. Packaging in real life is often enough relegated to junior management. This is probably why packaging revolutions like the sachet, which brands like Velvette (initially) and Chik (later) exploited are relatively few and far between. The packaging of brands such as Absolut Vodka or Harpic comes to mind. Speaking of Absolut, one must mention its advertising appeal, but that would merit an entire column and not a mere passing mention. Related perhaps is the product form. Toblerone, for example. I should be the last person to speak about chocolates (people my age are better off ignoring the entire category) and yet Toblerone's shape makes it different enough to capture my interest and even be a temptation.

Look! It's different

Symbols engage intelligence, imagination, emotion, in a way that no other learning does. The logos of a few brands clearly beat the clutter, because they are different, in styling, look, feel and colour. While no two people seem to agree on their favourite colour, most people are in agreement with the need to give their brands a distinctive identity. Brands like Pizza Hut, Citibank, Shell, Chase and IBM come to mind. Whether it is "Big Blue's" Venetian blinds or Citibank's distinctive colours or Coke's vibrant red, they have one thing in common: they are distinctly different.

Brands try to own colours. Coke tries to own the colour red, Pepsi the colour blue. As the wag said, "Just whisper the word blue and the Coke guy will see red... . And if you whisper the word red, the Pepsi guy will go blue in the face. The Nike swoosh is so distinctive that you don't even need the brand name.

The question, therefore, is how distinctive is your brand's identity?

Think Small

Brands are built by advertising. And what better example can one think of than Volkswagen, the original small car? A German car in post-war America! A midget in a land of giants! Crucial to brand success is advertising that stands out. Not for nothing was the Volkswagen ad voted as the best ad of the last century.

Not far behind is the campaign for Avis, the car rental company that "tried harder because it was No. 2." Very often brands suffer because their positioning is fuzzy, resulting in hazy advertising that leaves consumers cold. Lazy strategies will not deliver. Focus on differences. Be the coolest one if you must, but for God's sake, be something.

So what is your difference? Can you create one if you don't have it naturally? But very often the fault lies not in our brand but in ourselves. We are too easily satisfied with the status quo. We don't rock the boat. We accept mediocrity. We breed more of the same. The future is in creating successful brands. Quickly. And while we have many successful examples behind us they are nothing compared to what lies ahead of us.

The time to be different is now.

Ramanujam Sridhar
(The author is CEO of brand-comm.)

The relevance of being different

BRANDS and, if one may add, branding, are creating a buzz not only in the market place but in media as well. A far cry from the days when people had difficulty in pronouncing the word, leave alone understanding the concept.
Today, there are seminars on branding, columns in the business press on the subject, and television programmes airing the views of experts, not to forget three credit courses on branding in every management institute in the country. A variety of definitions of branding are doing the rounds — from the exotic to the functional.

So where lies the importance of a brand?

According to Fortune Magazine (in 1977), "In the twenty-first century, branding will ultimately be the only differentiator between companies. Brand equity is now a key asset." This prediction has considerable merit and highlights "equity," which is really what everyone who is concerned with brand management is attempting to maximise all the time. While on the subject, it would be valuable to understand what makes brands successful.

The relevance of being different

Today, brands live in a world of extreme and unprincipled competition. Every category is crowded. Every channel and newspaper is cluttered. The brands that are successful are relevant and therefore, different. Relevant to consumers and different from the competition. The question is how does one differentiate? Sadly, it appears easier to put it up in lofty (and similar sounding) mission statements than to actually practise it.

Think about it. How different is your brand? If you try and answer the question honestly you will find that unless you are one of the fortunate few, it is well nigh impossible to be different from the welter of competing brands in your category.

Think different

Apple, the original Silicon Valley company, is a wonderful example of a company that "think(s) different." The tagline was not a mere advertising slogan but a guiding philosophy. And that is certainly worth remembering.

Brands must have a raison d'etre. And the essence of the brand has to permeate every thought, strategy and action concerning the brand. Apple's guiding principle of "thinking different" results in products that are different — whether it is coloured monitors or iPods. Starbucks makes a difference to the average American's life. And the difference comes from the philosophy. Charles Schultz, the founder, wanted his retail chain to fill a gap in consumer's lives. He realised that the average American had two important places in his life — his home and his place of work. He was confident that his retail outlets could be "the third place" in the average American's life. The rest, as they say, is history. So, the inference is simple for aspiring brand managers and owners. Start right. Get the brand's essence right. And you will see and make a difference, to the one person who really matters — the consumer.

Be different

There are several elements to any brand — name, packaging, identity, shape, touch and feel of it, the colours associated with the brand, its positioning and so on. At the risk of sounding obvious, one must still say that crucial to brand success is a strong product/service. A very significant element of the brand, though, is clearly the name.

Does the name stand out? Clearly an Apple in computers or an Orange in mobile services will stand out. And yet it is important to bear one fact in mind. If the name cues the category (Airtel, for example) that's fine, but if it doesn't, there must be a communication on what the name stands for. There is a cost to this. And yet one would like to believe that it is an investment that we are talking about.

The packaging can be another point of difference. Sadly, packaging does not get the attention it deserves. Advertising can be glamorous, creative and fun. So it gets senior management attention and involvement. Packaging in real life is often enough relegated to junior management. This is probably why packaging revolutions like the sachet, which brands like Velvette (initially) and Chik (later) exploited are relatively few and far between. The packaging of brands such as Absolut Vodka or Harpic comes to mind. Speaking of Absolut, one must mention its advertising appeal, but that would merit an entire column and not a mere passing mention. Related perhaps is the product form. Toblerone, for example. I should be the last person to speak about chocolates (people my age are better off ignoring the entire category) and yet Toblerone's shape makes it different enough to capture my interest and even be a temptation.

Look! It's different

Symbols engage intelligence, imagination, emotion, in a way that no other learning does. The logos of a few brands clearly beat the clutter, because they are different, in styling, look, feel and colour. While no two people seem to agree on their favourite colour, most people are in agreement with the need to give their brands a distinctive identity. Brands like Pizza Hut, Citibank, Shell, Chase and IBM come to mind. Whether it is "Big Blue's" Venetian blinds or Citibank's distinctive colours or Coke's vibrant red, they have one thing in common: they are distinctly different.

Brands try to own colours. Coke tries to own the colour red, Pepsi the colour blue. As the wag said, "Just whisper the word blue and the Coke guy will see red... . And if you whisper the word red, the Pepsi guy will go blue in the face. The Nike swoosh is so distinctive that you don't even need the brand name.

The question, therefore, is how distinctive is your brand's identity?

Think Small

Brands are built by advertising. And what better example can one think of than Volkswagen, the original small car? A German car in post-war America! A midget in a land of giants! Crucial to brand success is advertising that stands out. Not for nothing was the Volkswagen ad voted as the best ad of the last century.

Not far behind is the campaign for Avis, the car rental company that "tried harder because it was No. 2." Very often brands suffer because their positioning is fuzzy, resulting in hazy advertising that leaves consumers cold. Lazy strategies will not deliver. Focus on differences. Be the coolest one if you must, but for God's sake, be something.

So what is your difference? Can you create one if you don't have it naturally? But very often the fault lies not in our brand but in ourselves. We are too easily satisfied with the status quo. We don't rock the boat. We accept mediocrity. We breed more of the same. The future is in creating successful brands. Quickly. And while we have many successful examples behind us they are nothing compared to what lies ahead of us.

The time to be different is now.

Ramanujam Sridhar
(The author is CEO of brand-comm.)

The relevance of being different

BRANDS and, if one may add, branding, are creating a buzz not only in the market place but in media as well. A far cry from the days when people had difficulty in pronouncing the word, leave alone understanding the concept.
Today, there are seminars on branding, columns in the business press on the subject, and television programmes airing the views of experts, not to forget three credit courses on branding in every management institute in the country. A variety of definitions of branding are doing the rounds — from the exotic to the functional.

So where lies the importance of a brand?

According to Fortune Magazine (in 1977), "In the twenty-first century, branding will ultimately be the only differentiator between companies. Brand equity is now a key asset." This prediction has considerable merit and highlights "equity," which is really what everyone who is concerned with brand management is attempting to maximise all the time. While on the subject, it would be valuable to understand what makes brands successful.

The relevance of being different

Today, brands live in a world of extreme and unprincipled competition. Every category is crowded. Every channel and newspaper is cluttered. The brands that are successful are relevant and therefore, different. Relevant to consumers and different from the competition. The question is how does one differentiate? Sadly, it appears easier to put it up in lofty (and similar sounding) mission statements than to actually practise it.

Think about it. How different is your brand? If you try and answer the question honestly you will find that unless you are one of the fortunate few, it is well nigh impossible to be different from the welter of competing brands in your category.

Think different

Apple, the original Silicon Valley company, is a wonderful example of a company that "think(s) different." The tagline was not a mere advertising slogan but a guiding philosophy. And that is certainly worth remembering.

Brands must have a raison d'etre. And the essence of the brand has to permeate every thought, strategy and action concerning the brand. Apple's guiding principle of "thinking different" results in products that are different — whether it is coloured monitors or iPods. Starbucks makes a difference to the average American's life. And the difference comes from the philosophy. Charles Schultz, the founder, wanted his retail chain to fill a gap in consumer's lives. He realised that the average American had two important places in his life — his home and his place of work. He was confident that his retail outlets could be "the third place" in the average American's life. The rest, as they say, is history. So, the inference is simple for aspiring brand managers and owners. Start right. Get the brand's essence right. And you will see and make a difference, to the one person who really matters — the consumer.

Be different

There are several elements to any brand — name, packaging, identity, shape, touch and feel of it, the colours associated with the brand, its positioning and so on. At the risk of sounding obvious, one must still say that crucial to brand success is a strong product/service. A very significant element of the brand, though, is clearly the name.

Does the name stand out? Clearly an Apple in computers or an Orange in mobile services will stand out. And yet it is important to bear one fact in mind. If the name cues the category (Airtel, for example) that's fine, but if it doesn't, there must be a communication on what the name stands for. There is a cost to this. And yet one would like to believe that it is an investment that we are talking about.

The packaging can be another point of difference. Sadly, packaging does not get the attention it deserves. Advertising can be glamorous, creative and fun. So it gets senior management attention and involvement. Packaging in real life is often enough relegated to junior management. This is probably why packaging revolutions like the sachet, which brands like Velvette (initially) and Chik (later) exploited are relatively few and far between. The packaging of brands such as Absolut Vodka or Harpic comes to mind. Speaking of Absolut, one must mention its advertising appeal, but that would merit an entire column and not a mere passing mention. Related perhaps is the product form. Toblerone, for example. I should be the last person to speak about chocolates (people my age are better off ignoring the entire category) and yet Toblerone's shape makes it different enough to capture my interest and even be a temptation.

Look! It's different

Symbols engage intelligence, imagination, emotion, in a way that no other learning does. The logos of a few brands clearly beat the clutter, because they are different, in styling, look, feel and colour. While no two people seem to agree on their favourite colour, most people are in agreement with the need to give their brands a distinctive identity. Brands like Pizza Hut, Citibank, Shell, Chase and IBM come to mind. Whether it is "Big Blue's" Venetian blinds or Citibank's distinctive colours or Coke's vibrant red, they have one thing in common: they are distinctly different.

Brands try to own colours. Coke tries to own the colour red, Pepsi the colour blue. As the wag said, "Just whisper the word blue and the Coke guy will see red... . And if you whisper the word red, the Pepsi guy will go blue in the face. The Nike swoosh is so distinctive that you don't even need the brand name.

The question, therefore, is how distinctive is your brand's identity?

Think Small

Brands are built by advertising. And what better example can one think of than Volkswagen, the original small car? A German car in post-war America! A midget in a land of giants! Crucial to brand success is advertising that stands out. Not for nothing was the Volkswagen ad voted as the best ad of the last century.

Not far behind is the campaign for Avis, the car rental company that "tried harder because it was No. 2." Very often brands suffer because their positioning is fuzzy, resulting in hazy advertising that leaves consumers cold. Lazy strategies will not deliver. Focus on differences. Be the coolest one if you must, but for God's sake, be something.

So what is your difference? Can you create one if you don't have it naturally? But very often the fault lies not in our brand but in ourselves. We are too easily satisfied with the status quo. We don't rock the boat. We accept mediocrity. We breed more of the same. The future is in creating successful brands. Quickly. And while we have many successful examples behind us they are nothing compared to what lies ahead of us.

The time to be different is now.

Ramanujam Sridhar
(The author is CEO of brand-comm.)

Management-ALLY :2

Every one dreams of a perfect job. An Utopian dream - where you have a happy job, a great company, good pay, great colleagues, no ‘Work’ and to top it all, a sexy Secretary. Well, I had such a dream. Yeah, that is right – I HAD.

After graduating in Business Administration from a non-discrepant University, where I had spent most of my waking hours in cafeteria and sleeping hours in the library, I passed out with the Utopian dream in my eyes. After the academic introduction to Management and all its glory, I was seeking my place in the Management world.

The rude shocker came soon, no job interviews for 2 months, none wanted a non-discrepant university grad as a Management trainee, it was the abode for the selected few – children of Bigger Gods – the big B-schools. I learnt my first lesson of Management in the real world – Compromise.

Since plan A failed to take off… it was time for plan B – get into the industry as a frontline executive and soon you can prove your worth and rise in the ranks and make it to the selected circle. I narrowed down to Media as my preferred industry. Well, I will attribute media as my career choice to friends I had during my college days… they were working as Journos and Sub-editors, and in their company, I used to get free booze and entry into the happening do’s in the town.. (free passes for Cricket match, Product launches, etc) yeah.. This is the industry I love to work.

Thanks to my network of senior friends I got into Circulation department… There I learnt that all I read in management books were meant to be for that – Read. Few months of early sunrise and late coffees I soon became confused and delirious. My job was simple… ring the bell, greet the person, and sell my newspaper. My time started around 6 AM with a visit to the newsagent (a distributor – in FMCG parlance) and then a visit to some of the residences in his area… to sell the newspaper. Well, talk about a job where you had time to enjoy the sunrise and smell the roses J

All said and done, life in circulation was an unhappy one. It was more of ‘push’ the product than ‘pull’ that used to work. The Newsagents were soon sitting on a pile of ‘unsolds’ that filled up rooms… the print order went up, the unsolds too… the management was unhappy that the sale increase was not good, the newsagents were unhappy that they had a lot of unsolds that will be billed and they will lose their revenue, the customers were unhappy that they were being disturbed in the mornings, and the I was unhappy because I still haven’t got a clue how to become a management trainee, in a corporate house.

After 18 long months in circulation, from delirious I was closer to become a lunatic. Time to move on… I decided that Management trainee was not for me… I found solace in the age old management saying

“If you don’t succeed the first time, try, and try again. Then give up. There is no use being a damn fool about it.”