“Godrej isn’t the steel almirah your grandmother had years ago; we are part and parcel of the modern day fabric,” says Shireesh Joshi, COO, Strategic Marketing Group at Godrej. Joshi feels the Indian market is in an exciting phase and talks about keeping a heritage brand relevant and dynamic, building brand equity and leveraging the digital forum
Q] From a global standpoint, what is the kind of potential the Indian market holds?
The Indian market is getting more competitive around improvements and more fragmented as people get more individualistic. Rural marketing is picking up pace. It is actually a very fertile and energetic market right now, presenting an opportunity and a challenge at the same time. There is a lot of to do and get right first; if you don’t, somebody else will. Right now, it is all about how you focus, so that you get more than your share.
Q] What are the significant trends that this market shows?
There are more choices, people get far more personalized, there are a lot more avenues of spending. There is fragmentation in communication because there are more channels coming up, and so how you reach consumers becomes that much more complex. The broader trend is towards a much more fragmented marketplace where specific needs of different segments are much stronger and varied. The challenge for marketers is to evolve a programme where they can reach a large-scale footprint while still being able to cater to those individual needs. This is an over-arching symbol of today’s times.
Q] Can you share the growth chart of the Godrej Group at this point?
Some categories, especially the consumer category, have had healthy growth and they will stay healthy. In the B2B space, it depends on the industry. In a few sectors, there may be challenges. As the company is doing well, there is a demand for B2B services also. From a global perspective, India is one of the better places without doubt and it is great to be here and participating. Our international footprints are in markets like Indonesia and Africa, which are also on the rise. So I think we are in the right markets at the right time.
Q] In an extremely competitive environment, how does brand Godrej strengthen brand recall?
By doing things right and doing them consistently. You cannot invent brand equity in people’s minds; it has to be created by effort and action over a period of time. Businesses branded with the Godrej lineage have to be ahead in terms of understanding consumer needs, providing the right products and services. Consumers today are not only looking for functionality; they need to love the stuff they are using and want to talk about it; it must appeal to both halves of the brain as it is an extension of the consumers themselves. The products must represent themselves in this fashion.
Q] How does the brand maintain the balance between consistently evolving and also keeping this heritage brand relevant to current audiences?
Durability is something that is very close to Godrej’s core. Day in and day out, you will see our manufacturing and engineering people making choices in terms of the quality of material, metal, etc., to ensure durability, which is why the brand is where it is today. A new brand today cannot come and claim such durability, especially not compared to a brand that has a proven track record over decades.
We are also equally conscious about this. The day we lose this, it will take 30-40 years to win it back. So, one part of it is maintaining the values that the brand has always stood for and never losing them. Second is to take into account new requirements and needs and build them into design, be it furniture or appliances - all should reflect today’s day and age. Gone is the time when you would make fresh food every day - the volume you need to store today has increased. So we are buying a lot more frozen and pre-prepared products; therefore, sizes of these categories have increased and they have become more prominent and must integrate well. In segments like home décor and furniture, consumers are now looking for designs and expressions of themselves as brands need to keep pace with changing times. New segments are emerging. The real opportunity is to stay ahead of emerging segments and creating answers for those segments and being seen as having those answers.
Q] What role does the digital medium play in the brand’s strategy to reach its youth target audience?
Youth and digital marketing are the overlapping circles of a Venn diagram, but neither completely defines the other. Youth isn’t all digital marketing and digital marketing isn’t all youth only, but it is a Venn diagram with a significant overlapping circle. Youth today are growing up in an environment where a lot more is possible than earlier. As for choices in their social life, their parents are better off than the previous generation, so affordability has gone up. So as a social audience, a consumption audience they are vastly different then earlier. There is also a very dynamic element of social consciousness among the youth, so brands that take liberties with society will not be forgiven by them. Part of the benefit of the growing economy is that people can make positive choices also. It is not that you have a limited budget and limited choices and you will put up with whatever is available. It is not the old trend that you have some money that you will spend on cool stuff - it is a much more multidimensional audience. So reflecting an understanding of this will be critical for success. Youth are great users of digital technology, but it is only not them; mobile technology first went to the middle class working male. Only later did it start trickling over to the youth. So in terms of quality of device, maybe the A-list upper class youth is on par, but on a broad scale, it is much older masculine audiences that are participating. It is a very different fertile engagement opportunity; brands that have understood this have benefited.
Q] How does brand Godrej address the youth?
In some cases, it is with our products such as hair colour products, convenience foods, etc., consumed by the youth. If we take a broader view of youth and include people in their earlier twenties, we have a lot more. As people enter their own first homes after marriage or otherwise, we reach out to them with our range of appliances, and a wide range of products with today’s sensibilities. We are aware that today’s youth are likely to compare products at not only a domestic but also global level. For working and succeeding with the youth from a product services standpoint, we ensure that we are looking at a very different set of benchmarks. We communicate with them in an authentic manner. We have created properties both from a branding standpoint and broader social engagement - Godrej ‘Live out your dreams’ was a programme for people with dreams and passion and Godrej helps fulfill them. That creates a relationship with brand Godrej to enable them to do all those things. Godrej isn’t the steel almirah your grandmother had years ago, it is all of this. We are part and parcel of modern day fabric so we don’t have to say we are also right for you. People should see this seamlessly as part of their lives.
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