In our Backbeat section, Jasneet Bachal, Head of Marketing, Kotak Life Insurance, says that as individuals, we are losing touch with our human side while the expectation of brands is to humanize to build a connect with consumers
BY JASNEET BACHAL
Head of Marketing, Kotak Life Insurance
Humanize the brand…. Just thought of picking up a phrase that I have been repeatedly encountering (in my reads over the last few years) and spending considerable time reflecting on the use or misuse of it in life in general. Sharing excerpts from a conversation ...with myself of course!
It’s early morning and I’m rushing to work, a bumpy Uber ride and a reflective mood – my thoughts are leaning towards believing that as individuals we have or are quickly losing touch with our human side; while the expectation of brands is to humanize to build a connect with the consumers!
The paradox is that living in this age of digital tools that upgrade faster than we can learn to manage them; we are constantly on this onward journey to an unknown destination. Today, most folks have a bestie in their phones or their social handles. Young couples and friends hanging around together are most of the time looking into the phones deprived of any conversation. Is this the new idea of a romantic date or a friendly hangout, I wonder?
Shouting aloud is the question where is the human connect? Are we waiting for the human connect to emerge from the devices… have we stopped valuing the moment we are in and talk to the person next or opposite us? Or are we so busy projecting our lives (read personal brand) that we don’t value company & companionship anymore?
In the same breath I question, are these the same folks really looking for the human touch from Brands? What is the “humanization” that is so oft spoken about?
I dwell further and wonder on how we have been swept with this behavioral change so very swiftly. I am told that the fear of missing out or ‘FOMO’ has overtaken our better selves and we are constantly keeping up with the Joneses! We want all the wins as professionals, all the acknowledgements as students and number of likes, comments & RTs as social creatures. Look around….the emoji’s on our devices cover almost all the emotions we know as a human race….. Just that the emotions have moved online too. I ask is this all that it takes. Or the latest tech fad, the chat-bots that will intelligently interact with you much like a human!
The complexities of living up to the expectations of this ask is high and a bit unreal to me. I am hoping this phase is a demonstration of compulsive behaviour and shall pass with the next tech fad and will not translate to be intrinsic human behaviour. In the meantime, we march on to deliver on the ask of the moment and build to interact with the online consumer by trying to get their attention and interact with them in a humanized fashion.
I take a step forward and examine, am I in touch with my human side? Difficult to answer, I negotiate my thoughts to believe what I want to and pick all the examples from my daily life that make believe so.
Truly, this calls for deeper introspection. The human side has many emotions; how many are we able to express in our projected profiles... what bearing does this have on us, maybe subconsciously, is anybody’s guess. Dual personalities is commonplace, a charming online persona and an angry, insecure offline persona, both coexist. I question, which is the real self?
A friend once told me, I hate everyone equally….such is the connect with fellow humans. I wondered speechlessly of how the world would wrap around this humble soul, when all one see’s is hate. Really, hate equally? Is this the trail that will follow this behavior? I hope not.
A wake up call for us to stay in touch with our human side…
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Jasneet.Bachal@kotak.com
