By XYZ
In this age, most of us get attracted to the products of the Diors, the Louis Vuittons, the Tommy Hilfigers, the Ralph Laurens and others of that class, and try to own as many as we can. However, it is often at the helpless discomfort of those who must, at such times, be cursing themselves for bringing us into this world where we see, read and dream about the BMWs, the Porsches and the Aston Martins. Poor parents. How poor must they feel at such times for not being able to provide us with most of the things on ?our desired list?.
But, how many of us have ever paused our longings for these expensive branded products and given a serious thought to how these brands were built and the toil and perseverance of those behind creating them.
The distinction between the ordinary and the unique
I am sure that the individuals who went on to create big brands were not unthinking, mindless consumers themselves, but were the ones who knew the power of branding and the value that brands bring with them. They understood the difference between ?the ordinaries? and ?those with distinctive and differentiating qualities?. Having understood this difference, these intelligent, innovative people set out to create their own brands and then reaped and enjoyed the financial, material and social power that their brands brought to them.
A brand is nothing but a ?distinctive feature? – a feature that distinguishes a person or thing from others, meant to satisfy the same need. Brands can be built around products, services, people and even animals! Remember Paul, the Octopus, became internationally famous for having acquired the expertise for correctly predicting the winner of each of the Germany national football team?s matches in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Its ?uniqueness? lay in the correct prediction of the winning team using its feeding behaviour.?Other animals have attempted but failed to predict the outcome of football matches. Is it not remarkable that one animal has been more successful than the others (including humans)?
An extra edge
Look at all the big names around you, be it an Amitabh Bachchan or an Angelina Jolie or a Chanda Kochhar or an Indira Nooyi. Why do you think they command a premium in their respective fields? It is because they have developed their very own individual brands by acquiring that X-tra edge that others in the same fields and with even better academic qualifications have failed to. They took those extra steps which make people think of them when they think of their field. They brought value to the movie-producers and the organisations they
were attached to.
Hence, whatever field you choose for yourself,?try to develop in your own unique and original way, which sets you apart from the others. And if you plan to set up a small business or factory – even better! Innovate, design, develop and create something unique. Take a cue from Baba Ramdev, how he successfully built the brand ?Patanjali? which is giving sleepless nights to the FMCG giants whose market shares have fallen. This swadeshi brand is expected to generate a revenue of Rs. 5000 Cr in FY 16.
Finally, here’s a quote by Tom Peters (Fast Company, 1997) about the importance of branding: “Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we?happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We?are CEOs of our own companies:?Me Inc.?To be in business today, our most?important job is to be head marketer for the brand called?You.”
Featured Image Source:?Jeffrey on Visualhunt.com / CC BY ??
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