Saturday, August 03, 2013
Of Gold and Garments
Gold and the
Man
By Harish Bijoor
Q: Gold ornaments are basically worn and flaunted by women. Why then
this overt focus on the male brand ambassador by jewellery brands in India?
-Rohini Pillai, Tiruvannthapuram.
A: Rohini, though gold has always largely been about women, we need to
remember that in most cases in traditional gold buying families, the decision
maker for gold in terms of funding the buy is the man. He who funds, therefore
wears the pants! Sad and
chauvinistic, but true.
Gold players have remembered this. In the south, male actors are a
rage. Male actors command prices in south cinema that is a multiple of 10 to 20
versus women actors. Men therefore rule the roost in more ways than one, when
it comes to the south and gold buys.
I do believe male stars add to the aura and help create awareness for the brands in question. The aura of the actor rubs off on the brand. This helps.
I do believe male stars add to the aura and help create awareness for the brands in question. The aura of the actor rubs off on the brand. This helps.
Further, television continues to be lead medium when it comes to
reaching out to women. Print is read by less women than television is watched. The
male star therefore rules on television for jewellery brands.
Q: How is the current retail
franchise environment? Do garment brands
find big takers in this space?
-KK Morarka, New Delhi.
A: Morarka-saab, most certainly yes. The market is ready, and more importantly willing. Niche players in apparel and footwear will be welcomed. Brand offerings that will stand apart and somewhere between the offerings of a mass retailer such as Walmart at the bottom end, and a Louis Vuitton kind at the top end, will succeed in creating the differentiation a fashion oriented market craves for.
But remember, nothing comes with ease in India. Marketers need to exhibit brand and retail savvy. Add to that patience, and you have a winning formula in this space.'
With FDI, the market opens up to variety. Much needed variety. FDI will open up different price segments on offer as well. Every price segment will have an international dog tag to carry and flaunt.
I do believe we will take off in this space. Our development will be slow in this space, but solid. Quite unlike the Chinese model of fast but dissipated!
Q: For a B2B enterprise, is social
media a good tool to tinker with?
-Ravi Bhoopati, Hyderabad
A: Ravi, it is. Don’t just tinker with it as well, do more.
Social media is space that is occupied by one and all today. The
population you find in social media has three avatars. One is a B2B avatar and
the other is a B2C avatar and the third dimension is the C2C dimension.
The first dimension is when you as an employee within an organization is doing business with another company. The second is when you as a company are interacting with your customers, and the third is where you as a consumer are interacting with another consumer.
Social media space is filled with these three types of people. What is important to understand is that each one of us wears different hats at different times. We flip these hats seamlessly as well, from B2B to B2C to C2C and vice versa. Therefore, for a B2B enterprise social media campaigns are always good. They appeal to one and all.
B2B enterprises can deliver the business story seamlessly on social media, without the daunting walls of physical organizations and what they represent as behemoths in B2B space. An IOC talking to an ONGC can be that much more softer and seamless in social media space. Further, social media space is un-intrusive to the extent that it works at its own pace and its consumption is voluntary and not forced.
A B2B campaign that speaks level and 1:1 works best in this space. A campaign that softens the stance of the Business giant. A campaign that offers a window to the heart of the business, instead of a door to the commercial bank of the enterprise.
Remember however to keep some things in mind. Be careful that you talk 1:1. Don't talk top-down. Be soft. Be human. Be real.
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Harish Bijoor is a business strategy specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.
Harish Bijoor is a business strategy specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.
Email: harishbijoor@hotmail.com
Labels: B2B, garments, Gold, India, marketing
# posted by Harish Bijoor @ 12:18 AM 
