“Every consumer today has become a maverick Raj Kapoor!” exclaimed A.D., the owner of an ethnic lifestyle Indian brand. I looked at him bemusedly wondering whether he had lost his marbles because of the May heat. “No, seriously, you see that jiving young Romeo in front of us. Look carefully. He is wearing Calvin Klein jeans, has on a pair of Aviator sunglasses, is grooving to music on his iPod. He is wearing a crumpled `150 T-shirt from Sarojini market, is wearing some fluorescent Chinese flip flops and is eating chana chor garam from the roadside hawker. Can’t you almost hear Mera joota hai Japani, yae patloon Englishtani, sar pe lal topi Russi phir bhi... He has driven me round the bend as I am unable to figure out who the real consumer is? How do I slot him? How do I predict and forecast his fashion likes and dislikes?”
The predicament of A.D. is not uncommon, because the customer is not unlike a Rubik cube — hard to figure out, yet unfortunately here to stay. So the harried marketeer is completely flummoxed.
Well, a not-so-new algorithm that has gained gigantic proportions in today’s times, across the globe, is what I call CMC — the common man’s communication. In the lonely concrete jungles that most of us exist, moving on conveyer belts of being super employees and super moms and super everything else, there is virtually no time for human connect. So the techie marketeers created a virtual world, which is non threatening and undemanding. In this wonderland all the Alice’s and Peter Pan’s write soliloquy blogs and tweets but are no longer ready to live lonely ever after.
What started as lone fights for sister Jessica Lal and son Nitish Katara, young school boy Rouvanjit Rawla and Riznawur Rehman served as the ignition to a concrete jungle fire, where people connected into human torches in the surreal and real world. Strangers from all walks of life lit a candle in support and suddenly the lonely world was not so lonely any longer as there ran a common thread that bonded humans.
The phenomena was not unique to the home ground, because whether it was the Jasmine revolution in Tunisia, Asma Mahfouz’s video blog or Google’s Wael Ghonim, the spark was well and truly lit and spreading fast whether in Egypt or anywhere that lonely selves but collective masses had found a cause to shout, ‘Gadaffi no more!’
This, comrades, is a New Age looking glass that the voyeur marketeer can effectively use to unravel the ever changing consumer riddle. Phases in this restless punter’s life are ephemeral and transient — one moment he is partying away into the dawn to celebrate the euphoria of a World Cup win; the next moment he solemnly dons his khadi, chappals and jhola to go and fast against corruption with Anna Hazare at Jantar Mantar and then he is all set with Band Baaja Baraat (a la NDTV) to go balle balle at the Kate and William wedding. Thus the answer to the question Kya chal rahe hai? is not difficult to decipher. It solely depends on the brand maestro: what music he wants to play, based on the aam raga (common man’s song).
Amul butter has, since its inception, made the most successful use of this tool. So whether it is Dhoniya iski muthi mein or No maafi for Gaddafi or Hazare khwahishein aisi to the latest Do you love Amul? — it has always been in perfect unison with the CMC. There are others like Idea, which build a persona around an innovative yet unifying idea so whether it is unified identities — no religious divide or “Walk while you talk” or “Save the trees,” the idea is to get you to exclaim, “What an idea Sirji!” Thus, the brand is also on the constant hunt for ideas that unite. Another theme that never fails to unite Indians of any age is cricket. As a popular liquor brand proclaims “Divided by teams united by…” Thus the lessons are pretty simple and straightforward. Mr Marketeer — you do not need to be an erudite scholar or researcher, however nor can you sit complacently on yesterday’s strategy. The consumer whom you divided with my music (I- pod) and mera ghar (Asian Paints) by creating narcissistic islands, is lonely and lost and is decisively and surely changing tracks as he arranges Meet Ups — whether to ideate or meditate.
This now-you-see-me now-you-don’t consumer has trustingly handed you the key to his cryptic world through the CMC pasted on his real or virtual walls.
So, grahak ki nabaz pakadne mushkil nahi but yaad rahe, this consumer is vulnerable and needs to be handled with care.
The writer is Professor, Marketing, International Management Institute (IMI) New Delhi