Driving a brand in the Sri Lankan economy

Rohantha Athukorala

If I take an example outside the submissions of the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards of 2009, one of the best that come to my mind is Axe - the globally acclaimed male perfume.

The brands give the opportunity to connect with real life, real fantasies and real feelings of a 18-year old boy. The core of the brand is `successful seduction’ and it connects with a target that likes to talk and fantasize about it, but are not very good at it in real life.

While the targeted customer would like to be seen as self -confident and in control, they are actually insecure and quite grateful when a girl makes the first move so they don’t have to face the fear of rejection. Whether they are in Bangkok, Colombo or Boston I feel that a typical young boy is socially and sexually diffident.

Axe works because it is a rite of passage: from feeling like boys to feeling like young men, Axe helps reinforce masculinity and makes them believe they can seduce women.

In doing so Axe becomes distinctive in the eyes of the consumer and makes it personal to the brand. This is a best practice that needs to be emulated by Sri Lankan companies operating in the country.

TOM and Loyalty

The second learning that comes out SLIM Brand Excellence Awards of 2009 is that a brand must aggressively drive top of the mind awareness and trial in the market place.

The brands that achieved this and products that delivered the brand promise were able to secure a loyal consumer base even though a competitor has one of the most savvy and sexy advertising campaigns. Once again an example outside the submissions of the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards of 2009 Nike.

Its famous press ad headline “There is no finish line” encapsulates the brand’s DNA and propels top of the mind awareness and recall. Nike symbolizes an unreachable destination in pursuit of physical fitness and wellness.

The idea is both inspirational to a universal audience seeking personal betterment. Overtime, this theme has never been changed, only its expression has. Renewing and refreshing the expression to ensure continuing relevance is a challenging journey but another good practice that Sri Lankan brands must practice.

Right Connection

If I take a local example once again outside the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards of 2009 a best case in point is Surf. The brand is all about Champion Mother and yesterday’s mom believed that old fashion mothers have dirty kids; modern parenting is all about good mothers who allow their kids to get dirty.

My ethos is that ensuring that you make the right connection with the right consumer at the right place and at the right time is a critical component of keeping the idea compelling and contemporary - another best practice for Sri Lankan brands to emulate.

New media

In the recent past new media is gaining in currency because of their potential to engage consumers.

It’s all about touch points is my view- the variety of ways in which you can connect your brand with your consumers.

In today’s environment whether it’s via mainline media, the internet or out-of-home initiatives like point of sale material you need a combination of vehicles and tactics for multi-dimential salience and relevance.

Going back to the brand Nike it also targets its consumers with outdoor vinyls where joggers can interact with them, in gyms where fitness freaks work out. At dance studios and in active wear sections of shopping malls.

On the other hand, Surf provides a new contact point for mothers with contests for kids at schools, announcing the contests in print and TV, so that the brand experience takes place at two points- at school and at home.

The contest encourages mothers and teachers to unleash the child’s potential by allowing them to explore and experience the mesmerizing but messy world of colours and crayons.

Axe, hosts the longest dance party in the world in some countries and the result is an event rich in emotional content that creates a continuum of experience for the consumer.

So while the old idea was to give a brand some class and exclusivity, the new way is to give it some buzz and experience - another best practice for Sri Lankan brands!

Conclusion

I have tried to capture the essence of the learning’s from the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards of 2009 in relation to the economy that keeps swinging like a pendulum in Sri Lanka.

Though macro economists will not have the insights to brand building, the fact is that in a country like Sri Lanka, unless we maintain the vibrancy between macro economic policies and private sector brand building initiatives we can never make Sri Lanka’s economy insulated to the global economic downturns in the years to come.