Alia Bhatt- a one you just cannot ignore

'There's no such thing as bad publicity' –a statement often associated with Phineas T. Barnum, a 19th century American showman and circus owner. Apparently, Barnum was a self-publicist and never missed an opportunity to present his opinion to the public- no matter in what context. Apart from being a man of showbiz in the 1800’s, his approach was bang on the money; self- promotions and publicity are a crucial part of being a public figure. Unless people talk about you, know you and have the craving to know more in person; you are possibly just another person. In his own words- Without promotion something terrible happens... Nothing!!!

Today, most people who wish to be in the public domain hire public image managers in a quest to ensure their public face is maintained. Considering there are lot more options in media which can spread a word at the speed of sound, there are moments where someone can goof up big time. In the last one year, there have been two instances after which the involved individuals might have got them to think, ‘why the hell did I go there in the first place?’ Interestingly, both invoked a similar kind of reaction on social media. The real distinction has been how the matters have been handled post the debacle and what it has done to these two individuals.

The first one was of course- Rahul Gandhi and possibly his career interview with Arnab Goswami. Sure a lot of politicians make blunders when they talk; but this was epic in the sense that his handling of the media post the interview was atrocious and laughable. Needless to say, while the Modi wave was on the rise, a lot of jokes on Rahul Gandhi started floating around. A parallel example was that of Alia Bhatt when on the celebrity talk show ‘Koffee with Karan’, her lack of knowledge about India’s President (like many others) was exposed in a grand manner. What followed was her crowning as the Indian version of the blonde with a strong line-up of jokes.

The similarities in both cases: both were actually trying to establish themselves in the public eye and their image in the meantime was gone for a toss. While Rahul had all kinds of childish jokes dedicated to himself, Alia jokes were going across the board. Jokes which at one point were like an exclusive monopoly of the surds were being recycled for Alia. In fact I believe at some point, her PR agency came in a planted some more jokes just to keep the excitement and name flashing on social media.

Indians have been harsh with anyone who had an issue with their public image. In the past, the moment anyone got involved in controversies, people and brands choose to distance themselves from the person involved to manage the rub-off. This makes the post debacle response of the involved both interesting and crucial. This was possibly the stark difference in these two cases.

Rahul and the Congress went into denial. They did almost nothing to change the public perception with any other public appearances aimed to control the damage. If empowerment, women’s representation and youth were his points laid down to the world, nothing was done to being meaning to the words by some on ground actions to the people who most mattered in his campaign. While they attempted to downplay the matter or wait for it to die out- Rahul lost his presence in the national politics. He can be an equivalent to Sarah Palin in some ways.

Conversely, the Bhatt camp did nothing to hide the fact that general knowledge was not the strong point of Alia. Interestingly; in the month following the incident, she played a student in India’s most respected educational institutions, a Stockholm syndrome driven lover and a very typical North Indian. While social media was taking her persona for a toss- she actually allied with a popular youth based internet channel to let people know that she is working on herself to overcome her flaws. As a matter of fact, I recently found that her youth connect is so powerful that she is the face for a range of products from Garnier, Hero Pleasure and Philips in recent times. In all the above ads, she projects a smarter and opinion leading act.

If you ask me, I am yet to watch any of her films and the idea of her being a far refreshing act in terms of glamour compared to her half sibling Pooja Bhatt came in only after I saw what a disaster Pooja was (30 mins of Phir teri kahani yaad aayee was all it required). I also know that she is someone who possibly never been to a college to take up studies seriously and might be the low ranker amidst her contemporaries as far as educational qualifications might go. But one thing is for sure- every single person who has ever read a newspaper or is exposed to some form of social media today knows who she is. Would she get all the films and endorsements she has in her bag even then? May be. But one thing is for sure- the kind of recall she has today is second to none.

A line of conclusion- like her or hate her for all she does, she is someone who we cannot stop hearing about. She is plastered all across youth channels with her ads and endorsements and for all I have read; her acting has also been appreciated. She is many ways is now an established brand; something we just cannot ignore. 

The KISS that works...

Advertising and Marketing Communication often is expected to do wonders like we see in fairy tales. It is like the true loves kiss that breaks the evil spell and changes the life for the prince or princess or ogre in a way only imagined. It works much the same way with brands and their consumers. Brands are constantly in the search for those loyal customers who swear by their name and will never defect to competition no matter what. For consumers, from the wide variety of options at hand, is the basic need for the brand to serve its purpose as well as satisfy the need for association at a social level.

Like people, brands have personalities and much alike is also the fact that the less layered and complicated the brand personality; people tend to adapt to it faster are more closely associated. This is the reason why when we plan for the branding or communication for any brand, the governing fact has to be KISS (Keep It Short n Simple). The simplicity is a key here since layers not only distort the message but increase the number of time something has to be conveyed before the right meaning comes through. Shortness- well it is possible at times and most brands do manage to talk about their personality through a phrase and in around 3 words or less.

The basic purpose of branding was to differentiate one from another and somehow each time we talk about branding opportunities or brand manuals; it somehow seems dominated by visual aids.  I will not deny that the moment I think branding, my mind starts working on use of shapes, fonts, colours and trying to figure out a unique arrangement for talking about the brands persona. One possible reason I see is that an organisation needs to have an identity to start with business and the logo becomes the first point of establishing this. Another that shapes and colours are usually easy to identify. But once the brand has reached a level where it looks to hold a unique place in the minds of its consumers, other aspects like catch word phrases or audio mnemonics make more impact.

One problem I see with visual identities is the overcrowding of the space leaving very little scope for anything innovative. Indian or multinational large corporate groups seem to have sided with blue as a colour of choice. GE, Philips, Samsung, AT&T, Infosys, Tata, Ashok Leyland are just a few examples. Close on the heels is red. Coca Cola, 3M, Honeywell, Cannon, Virgin, ESPN, LG, Mahindra are just some who make this space. Not to mention how many use a combination of Red and Blue. So unless you have a yellow like DHL or the brown of UPS; the colour palette is running out fast. For symbols, the ‘H’ can be for Honda or Hyundai; the ‘T’ can be Toyota or Tata. The call is to make a breakthrough at some level.

If we look globally, most companies have picked up on catch phrases. The simplicity being that use of small words can have multiple meanings and endless possibilities to apply across the domain.  For instance Nike- They use the swoosh and ‘N’ as the identity on the shoes, but what the brand will today stand for is - ‘Just do it’. So what would be ‘Impossible is nothing’- the biggest competitor with the 3 stripes or 3 petal flower, Adidas. So why do brands so successful in their visual look for words as a part of its identity? I feel these simple words add in value. As much it works for brands abroad, it works in India as well. Things like ‘Utterly, butterly, delicious’, ‘Fill it, shut it, forget it’, ‘Taste the thunder’, all have a unique association in our minds.

Another sense which has been successful in terms of brand association is sound. Each time we switch on or turn off a Windows based PC, we hear a sound which we are so familiar with. We know what PC has an Intel inside it even on a radio ad. Nokia sound in a unique way; so does Samsung. It works so well that major phone networks in India like Airtel, !dea, DoCoMo all have a unique mnemonic sound to identify itself. Even Britannia and the corporate house like Reliance ADAG have an audio identity.

I guess these are a few brands where I felt it was just small and simple ways where brands have done things to just stand apart and make their presence felt. I’m sure there are many more- but then again; what works in my opinion is the simplicity in messaging to represent the brand in the most unique of ways and cut down the clutter. And more often than not the KISS works.