Modinomics - Business Today

11/29/2014
Case study: The strategy and tactics behind the creation of Brand Modi - Business Today
THE INDIA TODAY GROUP
India Today
Aaj Tak
Headlines Today
BIZ WRAP MARKETS

SENSEX
255.08
Business Today
INDUSTRY
28693.99
NIFTY
8588.25
0.90%
94.05
1.11%
US$
Rs
62.24
.
GOLD
-157
Men's Health
Wonder Woman
Cosmopolitan
Oye! 104.8FM
Travel Plus
Bag it Today
BLOGS VIDEOS INSIGHT PHOTOS B-SCHOOL DEBATE

Rs
26140
.
-0.6%
MORE
Why IPO exits are most

sought-after by PE funds
Type Stock Name

Mutual Funds Lookup
Type Commodity
Home Business Today Case Study June 8, 2014 Story
Search
Just the Right Image
After Kotak deal, more bank

takeovers on cards
This case study looks at the strategy and tactics behind the creation of Brand Modi.
Shamni Pande
Peter Docker on how simple

thoughts, speech convince
people
Delhi Edition:June 8, 2014
Focus on consumer needs

is key to success: Ram
Charan
RELAT ED
Team Narendra Modi readies itself
to fix Indian economy
CAG trashes SEZ Policy for

making a fast buck
TOP NEWS MUST READ

Narendra Modi Photo: Reuters
Executive Summary: Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narendra Modi's election

juggernaut in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls is an example of howto prepare and
successfully implement a marketing and branding campaign. Irrespective of your
faith, ideology and voting decision, there has been no escaping Modi. His image and
in-your-face messaging have overshadowed all other brands - even that of his own
party. This case study looks at the strategy and tactics behind the creation of Brand
Modi.
Pitching a specific leader as a driver of change and to mobilise voters' support is
hardly a new political strategy. After all, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had
projected L.K. Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee its prime ministerial candidates in
the past (remember the Ab ki baari Atal Bihari slogan in 1996?). The Congress
party's projection of Indira Gandhi as the country's tallest leader with its 'Indira lao
desh bachao' tagline in the 1970s is another such example. But the personal rhetoric
had been tied, and sometimes made subservient, to the political parties to which
these leaders belonged. With his landslide win in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections,
Narendra Modi has rewritten the rules of the game and redefined Indian
politics. Brand Modi has not only captured popular imagination but also trumped
Brand BJP. How did it happen?
David Aaker, American marketing guru and author of several books on branding,
http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/case-study-strategy-tactics-behind-creation-of-brand-narendra-modi/1/206321.html
PSU banks to get autonomy in

appointment of auditors
Easier gold import norms to boost
market confidence: WGC
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala buys 1.4% stake
in SpiceJet
IMF lauds WTO decisions on TFA, food
security
Coca-Cola to set up Rs 1,000-cr plant in
Karnataka
MORE
TECH TRACKER
Microsoft to acquire email app

Acompli?
India tablet market clocks
strongest growth in Q3
1/11
11/29/2014
wrote in an April 2012 blog post that every person has a brand that affects how the
person is perceived and whether he or she is liked and respected. This brand, he
says, can be actively managed with discipline and consistency over time, or it can be
allowed to drift. Modi and his marketing team showed oodles of both once he was
anointed the BJP's prime ministerial candidate on September 13 last year. In fact,
they had been at it from much before.
European Parliament
resolution suggests
Google break-up
MORE
INSIGHT
Top-most priority of MHRD

should be student and
school assessments
Abhishek Bhattacharya
'There shouldn't be a
conflict between religion
and science'
Charmy Harikrishnan
Sustaining CASA, asset quality remains

priority: ICICI MD
Anand Adhikari
Digital transformation is not

(only) about the mobile app
Sameer Arora
MORE
Modi's transformation over the past year from a regional, right-wing politician to a
decisive leader with a clear development agenda, the one best suited to take India
forward is nothing short of extraordinary. Senior BJP leaders Piyush Goyal and Ajay
Singh handled the overall media strategy, and a task force was constituted to handle
Modi's campaign in Varanasi. Advertising legends such as Ogilvy & Mather's Piyush
Pandey, McCann Worldgroup's Prasoon Joshi and Sam Balsara of Madison World
lent their skills at various levels. Advertising agency Soho Square, part of the WPP
Group, handled television, radio and print campaigns with catchy slogans such as
"Ab ki Baar Modi Sarkar".
DON'T MISS
"The archetype he offers is of a strong, all-knowing father figure who is

unwavering," says Santosh Desai, who heads Future Brands, the brand consultancy
2/11
11/29/2014
arm of Future Group. To create the father figure, Modi's team invoked tales of
childhood, in books and comics. Invariably, and understandably, they were tales of
heroism involving a precocious Bal Narendra (Modi as a child). What else would
you call a story about a child swimming across a crocodile-infested lake to plant a
flag on a memorial? The child, when he came of age, walked away from his family to
devote himself to public cause, lending what brand consultant Harish Bijoor calls
"bachelor blandness" to his story.
From Gujarat to India
Modi's team faced three main challenges when it set out to project him as the
country's next prime minister. One, the three-time Gujarat chief minister was a
regional brand trying to go national. Two, the 63-year-old was seeking to connect
with the youth considering that this year's election had almost 150 million first-time
voters. Modi, who rarely chooses to speak in English, was trying also to connect
with the urban, middle-class audience that is becoming more politically conscious.
Finally, and most importantly, he carried the taint of the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in
Gujarat.
Trend tracker: Business Today lists

India's top 500 companies of 2014
PHOTOS VIDEOS
The one event that, perhaps, helped Modi the most in making a mark on the
national scene was the shifting in 2008 of Tata Motors' factory for the Nano minicar
from West Bengal to Gujarat. Farmers in West Bengal, backed by firebrand
politician Mamata Banerjee, now the state's chief minister, had been protesting land
acquisition for the plant by Tata Motors. Modi provided the company land and other
incentives almost overnight. In the process, he also established himself as a
champion for industry and development.
MindRush 2014
gives insight into
India Inc's future
Leadership is about
creating simplicity,
says Peter Docker
PM Modi has made

a very good start,
says management
guru Ram Charan
MORE
Know more about
the presence and
scale of Senco Gold
Know more about

Dodla Dairy and its
future plans
Laurus Labs CEO

talks about the 4
'P's of sucess
Sridhar Samu, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Hyderabad's Indian School of

Business (ISB), says it's not easy for most product brands to go from regional to
national. He says the dilution of the only other national brand, the Congress, and a
MORE
3/11
11/29/2014
common underlying need for change also helped Modi. "If a brand can tap into a
common underlying need and connect it to benefits, then it could go national. We
see how both Haldiram's and Saravanaa Bhavan have managed this. They targeted
the underlying need for tasty snacks and south Indian food," he says.
Full Coverage: Lok Sabha Elections 2014
According to Y.L.R Moorthi, Professor of Marketing at the Indian Institute of
Management, Bangalore, there is a difference between a regional brand going
national and a politician going national. He says Modi was known outside Gujarat
even before he decided to move beyond the state, just as Nitish Kumar and J.
Jayalalithaa, chief ministers of Bihar and Tamil Nadu, respectively, are known. But
these regional leaders didn't venture out of their home states in the recent elections.
Modi did. And he did it at a massive scale - he attended more than 5,000 events and
470 political rallies across the length and breadth of the country.
Striking a Chord
On February 6, 2013, more than six months before he was named as the BJP's
choice for the prime minister's post, Modi addressed students at Delhi's Shri Ram
College of Commerce. He talked about Gujarat's model of development. He spoke
passionately about the need for speed in government decision-making and about
the need to improve skills of the youth to accelerate economic growth. That speech
won him many young admirers. One of them is the second-year student Sulabh
Newatia, who says he decided to cast his vote for the BJP after listening to Modi's
speech. "I see him as a visionary who can take the nation forward," says the 19-yearold from Kolkata.
Modi, an excellent orator, has delivered scores of similar speeches since then. He
highlighted slowing economic growth, high inflation and lack of new jobs - issues
which immediately resonate with young and urban voters - while blaming the
Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government for the problems. After the
elections were announced, his marketing team bombarded voters with print,
television and radio advertisements with the same themes. It reached voters
through text messages and Modi's recorded voice seeking votes for himself. It also
tapped into social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter - Modi
has about four million Twitter followers - to magnify the impact of the advertising
and branding campaign.
The impact of this relentless campaigning has been felt across different age groups,
geographies and sections of society, says political analyst Manisha Priyam. "I have
even heard young children, far removed from such debate, mentioning the word
'NaMo'," she says, referring to a sobriquet for Narendra Modi. The carefully crafted
moniker also appeals to the traditional Hindus - the BJP's main vote bank - because
of its religious connotation, as the Sanskrit word Namo is used as a salutation
reserved for the Hindu gods.
Modi's efforts to connect with the youth and urban
voters were helped in no small measure by his probusiness persona. Business leaders from industry doyen
Ratan Tata to billionaire brothers Mukesh and Anil
Ambani have praised Modi and his administration in
Gujarat. This has allowed Modi to build his brand as a
4/11
11/29/2014
progressive leader who has the ability to deliver

economic results - the single biggest leitmotif of this
campaign that has allowed it to cut through caste bias
among other things. "The Congress is not lacking in
spending power or ability to get marketing brains to
campaign for it. But the biggest push for Modi has come
from the overt push and advocacy of corporate leaders,"
says independent political observer and media veteran
Paranjoy Guha Thakurta. "It is a truism that marketing
cannot sell a bad product. Irrespective of the money you
spend on marketing, if what you are selling fails to strike
a chord in the minds of a large section of the electorate,
all efforts to market Modi would be in vain."
Shaking Off the Stigma
The biggest challenge Brand Modi faced was diverting
public attention away from the 2002 communal riots in
Gujarat that claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people,
mostly Muslims. Initially, Modi's supporters in BJP
attempted to engage in public debate and highlight the
clean chit given by courts to wash off the stigma. Then,
they changed tack. They toned down the Hindutva
rheotoric and focused instead on Modi's more recent
past and his development record in Gujarat. "He knows
that people want a better life and he offers Hindutva
with the right dilution," says Desai of Future Brands.
Marketing gurus cite the examples of Cadbury, PepsiCo
and Coca-Cola that battled problems relating to brandtaint. Cadbury had fought its way out of a controversy
related to worms in its chocolates while the two
beverages giants faced allegations of pesticides in their
colas. "The best way for a tainted brand to overcome a challenge is to not talk too
much, but to acknowledge it happened, and then move on," says Samu, the ISB
professor. "The more one talks about, the more the memory for that event gets
activated among the target market, and they remember it more. The BJP and Modi
did not talk about it. Or if they did, they kept it to a minimum," he adds.
IIM-Bangalore's Moorthi says the weakness of the Congress leadership also helped
boost Brand Modi. "When the brands in the domain appear worse, the contending
brand might shine by comparison. In Modi's case, he was helped by the tightlipped
nature of the Congress leadership and their indifferent performance in the second
stint," he says.
While most companies routinely apologize for problems detected in their products,
Modi stopped short of doing so. "He did give an account of reflections on the event
[the riots]. He seemed to say that he was pained about the event but didn't say
sorry," says Moorthi. Veteran adman Prahlad Kakkar concurs. "It does not matter if
he [Modi] is wrong. He will never publicly admit that," observes Kakkar, who has
been associated with several political campaigns, including that of Indira Gandhi.
"But he will, at the same time, take corrective measures to navigate out of it, without
ever saying so."
5/11
11/29/2014
The Ideal Model

Not so long so, the words that could have been used to describe Modi were
authoritarian, megalomaniac and communal. The way the creators of Brand Modi
dealt with the third taint was by not dealing with it. "What more was there to say
[about the post-Godhra riots)? There have been various panels instituted to probe
into the matter," says a BJP leader.
Instead, they focused on building Modi's image as self-made, strong, efficient,
inspiring, and incorruptible. "He [Modi] created an impression of being a sincere,
credible and committed leader. He convinced people that he could improve their
lot," says social scientist Ramadhar Singh, Distinguished Professor, IIM-Bangalore.
This is the leitmotif the marketing arsenal of the BJP worked to amplify. "No media
can help create that kind of consistency," adds Kakkar, the veteran adman.
Tweets about "#newgovt"
Automatically, as if by derivation, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance
began to look more and more indecisive and corrupt. "Today, India attributes
weakness and failure to Congress," says adman and lobbyist Suhel Seth. "Modi
stands for good governance."
All stories about Modi's life in the public domain have consistently fed into this new
image. And although questions remain about Modi's ability to perform at the
national level and his Gujarat model of governance, his personal branding and
marketing strategy seems to have worked and voters across the country appear to
believe his claims. "Even if you cut out 40 per cent of what is untrue about Modi's
promise of growth...the rest is very real," says Guwahati's Chiranjib Hazarika, 24,
who is looking to start a career in banking. "Development is his only agenda and
people are following him."
Modi's message has attracted even those disinterested in politics. "I have never
been very politically conscious. But it is frustrating to see our economy slide back
from the progress it made. So, I stepped out to vote, for the first time, for Modi,"
says Shankar Narayanan, 28, who works for a multinational information
technology company in Chennai. "Modi has a proven track record of governance
and growth."
Cut to 40-year-old Manoj Rana, who runs a small guest house in Shillong, and you
have the answer to the most central ingredient of Modi's branding: "We are not
interested in politics. We want change. Modi can deliver that change. People are
sensible, they are not carried away by mere talk," he says. That indeed is the bottom
line of any brand's success story. It bears out that Modi's brand is by him, for him
and from him. The BJP machinery has served as mere coaches for the branding-led
engine of Modi.
BRAND MODI MUST MEET ITS PROMISE OF
GOOD GOVERNANCE
The national branding of Narendra Modi was born out of
compulsion. Opponents had successfully branded the BJP
as communal and checked its rise under the uninspiring
old leadership. The BJP needed to redefine Indian politics
along dimensions of good governance and development
6/11
11/29/2014
that suited it better.

The party was the first to recognise and adapt to the
fundamental shift in the composition and aspirations of
voters. It seized the opportunity to project a new face to
address voters' aspirations. Thus was born brand Modi. A
humble origin, extraordinary achievements through sheer
hard work and dedication, and a corruption-free image
made Modi an apt mascot to challenge the status quo. The
The branding of Modi branding of Modi and a presidential-style campaign was a
and a
brilliant response to redefine Indian politics.
presidentialstyle
campaign was a
brilliant response to
redefine politics:
Siddharth Shekhar
Singh, Associate
Professor of
Marketing and
Director of the Fellow
Programme in
Management, Indian
School of Business
The branding of Modi was a well-crafted strategy of the

RSS and the BJP. The campaign attracted many
newcomers. It was the first election campaign in India to
use social media and information technology heavily and
first to listen to the voters and respond in real time.
Brands require huge investment to build, and continuous

nurturing to sustain value. Not only can brand Modi
sustain the BJP in power for a long time, it can also help the RSS reposition
itself. However, before that can happen, the promise of brand Modi - good
governance and economic development - must be realised. Further, many
voters are uncomfortable with the communal agenda of some of his supporters.
Modi has to show what true secularism is and why it is different from pseudosecularism. If he succeeds in these three areas, he would change Indian politics
forever and make the BJP the natural party to govern - the main objective for
building brand Modi.
Siddharth Shekhar Singh, Associate Professor of Marketing and
Director of the Fellow Programme in Management, Indian School of Business
MODI IS A BRAND WHO KNOWS HE IS IN THIS
FOR THE LONG RUN
It is not uncommon in the world of marketing for a brand
to become not only bigger than its creator but also to
revitalise and rejuvenate it back. What iMac and iPod did to
Apple Inc is what Narendra Modi has done to the BJP.
Prior to Modi, the BJP brand was on the brink of
He [Modi] is a very
irrelevance for what it stood for. Its Hindutva identity
strident, tenacious,
resonated deeply with the partition generation but its effect
and in-your-face
avatar of a brand:
had weakened for the successive generations.
Prathap Suthan,
Demographically, India is one of the youngest nations with
Managing Partner
and Chief Creative
more than 65 per cent of people below 35 years. Modi's
Officer, Bang In The
ability to become bigger than the BJP lies in his ability to
Middle
listen to murmurs and whispers of this India, tapping into
their simmering anger and hopelessness.
Modi created an identity that resonated with far more people and deeper than
7/11
11/29/2014
that of the BJP. Like brands make sense at surface and deeper levels, Modi's
discourse on economic development and prosperity intersected at the surface
level of consciousness. The Gujarat model threw in words like governance,
roads, electricity, women's safety, peace, industry and education, supported by
statistics. This satisfied the questioning mind that hankers for reason.
But reason is often the alibi for non-reason. Modi's ability to become taller than
his party lies in his symbolism. He tapped into despair, hopelessness and
sinking feelings, and arrived on the scene taking on the symbolism of the outlaw
and the ruler combined. He is perceived as an icon of disruption and rebellion
against the way things are done. It is this counter-cultural streak that appeals to
youth who desire change. And his traits like being organised, proactive, and
confident, and in command of things, subtly connect with the ruler archetype.
Prathap Suthan, Managing Partner and Chief Creative Officer, Bang In The
Middle
MODI DID TO BJP WHAT iMAC, iPOD DID TO
APPLE
It is not uncommon in the world of marketing for a brand
to become not only bigger than its creator but also to
revitalise and rejuvenate it back. What iMac and iPod did to
Apple Inc is what Narendra Modi has done to the BJP.
Prior to Modi, the BJP brand was on the brink of
irrelevance for what it stood for. Its Hindutva identity
Prior to Modi, the
resonated deeply with the partition generation but its effect
BJP brand was on
the brink of
had weakened for the successive generations.
irrelevance for what it
Demographically, India is one of the youngest nations with
stood for: Harsh V.
more than 65 per cent of people below 35 years. Modi's
Verma Associate
Professor, Faculty of ability to become bigger than the BJP lies in his ability to
Management Studies,
listen to murmurs and whispers of this India, tapping into
University of Delhi
their simmering anger and hopelessness.
Modi created an identity that resonated with far more people and deeper than
that of the BJP. Like brands make sense at surface and deeper levels, Modi's
discourse on economic development and prosperity intersected at the surface
level of consciousness. The Gujarat model threw in words like governance,
roads, electricity, women's safety, peace, industry and education, supported by
statistics. This satisfied the questioning mind that hankers for reason.
But reason is often the alibi for non-reason. Modi's ability to become taller than
his party lies in his symbolism. He tapped into despair, hopelessness and
sinking feelings, and arrived on the scene taking on the symbolism of the outlaw
and the ruler combined. He is perceived as an icon of disruption and rebellion
against the way things are done. It is this counter-cultural streak that appeals to
youth who desire change. And his traits like being organised, proactive, and
confident, and in command of things, subtly connect with the ruler archetype.
Harsh V. Verma, Associate Professor, Faculty of Management Studies,
University of Delhi
8/11
11/29/2014
With inputs from Arunima Mishra and Anilesh S. Mahajan
Like
933
Share
933
MAIL
Share
PRINT
98
Tags: Narendra Modi | Lok Sabha Polls | India Elections | General Elections | Elections 2014 |
Brand Modi | Brand Modi Marketing
Previous Story
Next Story
How Horlicks has avoided getting

dated
How Kurkure held on to its share in

snack market
YOU MAY LIKE
Sponsored Links by Taboola
This Woman Is the Most Stylish

Athlete Right Now
Warren Buffett Indicator

Signals Collapse in Stock Market
T h e Cu t
New sm a x
7 Exercises That Will Help

Change Your Body
W om a n it ely
All About the Dubai Tram

Sou qa lm a l.com
Ever wanted to feel like a City

Trader and make huge payouts
in quick time?
V 8 Opt ion s
9/11
11/29/2014
Foodie guide: Hong Kongs best

eats in one day
Lifest y le A sia
FROM THE WEB
Promoted Links
FROM INDIA TODAY GROUP
See How Off-Duty Models Spend Saturday

Night (T h e Cu t )
12 IIT Kanpur students bag Rs 1 cr

package
Warren Buffett Indicator Signals Collapse

in Stock Market (New sm a x )
How Accenture India keeps employees

engaged and happy : Best Employers
2012-13
Snoring Damages Your Quality Of Sleep.

There Is A Solution For Y
(My Sn or in g Solu t ion )
10 Ways Men Flirt That Women Don't

Notice (W om a n it ely )
All About the Dubai Tram (Sou qa lm a l.com )
Flipkart offers Moto G at Rs 2,000

discount
5 value stocks going cheap
Best smartphones you can buy for about
Rs 15,000
by Taboola
Post your comments
Sign in w ith LinkedIn
POST COMMENTS
BIZ WRAP MARKETS MONEY INDUSTRY TECH BLOGS OPINION VIDEOS PHOTOS B-SCHOOL DEBATE
10/11
11/29/2014
Publications: India Today | India Today - Hindi | Business Today | Cosmopolitan | Men's Health | Wonder Woman | Money Today | Prevention | Reader's Digest | Good Housekeeping |
Travel Plus | Golf Digest India | Design Today | Time | Harvard Business Review | Gadgets & Gizmos Television: Aaj Tak | Headlines Today Radio: Oye! 104.8FM Education: Vasant
Valley | Online Courses | U Learn Today | India Today Education Online Shopping: Bag It Today | India Today Diaries Events: Agenda Aajtak | India Today Conclave | India Today
Woman's Summit | India Today Youth Summit | State Of The States Conclave | India Today Education Summit Music: Music Today Printing: Thomson Press Welfare: Care Today
Classifieds: B2B Marketplace Useful Links : Partners | Press Releases Syndications: India Today Images
ABOUT US
CONTACT US
ADVERTISE WITH US
SUBSCRIPTION
WE CARE
PRIVACY POLICY
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Copyright 2014 Living Media India Limited. For reprint rights: Syndications Today.
11/11

Modinomics - Business Today

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Originaltitel

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Modinomics - Business Today

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

11/29/2014

THE INDIA TODAY GROUP

BIZ WRAP MARKETS

BLOGS VIDEOS INSIGHT PHOTOS B-SCHOOL DEBATE

Why IPO exits are most

Type Stock Name

Home Business Today Case Study June 8, 2014 Story

Just the Right Image

After Kotak deal, more bank

Peter Docker on how simple

Delhi Edition:June 8, 2014

Focus on consumer needs

CAG trashes SEZ Policy for

TOP NEWS MUST READ

Executive Summary: Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narendra Modi's election

PSU banks to get autonomy in

Microsoft to acquire email app

Top-most priority of MHRD

Sustaining CASA, asset quality remains

Digital transformation is not

"The archetype he offers is of a strong, all-knowing father figure who is

Trend tracker: Business Today lists

PM Modi has made

Know more about

Laurus Labs CEO

Sridhar Samu, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Hyderabad's Indian School of

progressive leader who has the ability to deliver

The Ideal Model

that suited it better.

The branding of Modi was a well-crafted strategy of the

Brands require huge investment to build, and continuous

With inputs from Arunima Mishra and Anilesh S. Mahajan

How Horlicks has avoided getting

How Kurkure held on to its share in

YOU MAY LIKE

Sponsored Links by Taboola

This Woman Is the Most Stylish

Warren Buffett Indicator

7 Exercises That Will Help

All About the Dubai Tram

Ever wanted to feel like a City

Foodie guide: Hong Kongs best

FROM THE WEB

See How Off-Duty Models Spend Saturday

12 IIT Kanpur students bag Rs 1 cr

Warren Buffett Indicator Signals Collapse

How Accenture India keeps employees

Snoring Damages Your Quality Of Sleep.

10 Ways Men Flirt That Women Don't

Flipkart offers Moto G at Rs 2,000

Post your comments

Sign in w ith LinkedIn

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen