If one had to give a name to this age, it would have to be ‘The Age of Change’. Whether it is technology or communication or society at large, rapid change is the one constant of the times. So it is inevitable that there are new demands on brand builders - how do you manage the brand and retain its core, while everything around it is in a state of flux?

To take an example, look at Brand ‘Madhuri Dixit’. It was only yesterday when her million-dollar smile lit up the screen; but suddenly (much as it breaks my heart to say so), she seems passe in the company of the Prietys and the Karienas. And while changes in technology or communication change the medium, changes in culture affect the message itself. What are then, the ways in which brands can leverage cultural change? Let us first consider the following scenario to define what we mean by culture.

If you were to see a TV commercial for say, Annapurna atta, featuring an Indian woman wearing a kimono, it would probably appear culturally incongruous. On the other hand, the same Indian woman wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt would not seem inappropriate, even if it is a saree that may be the ‘expected’ attire. Because, today we believe that a pair of jeans is a perfectly acceptable style of dress in metropolitan India

Nonetheless, a TV commercial for Annapurna atta, featuring an Indian woman wearing jeans and a T-shirt would hardly qualify as an example of a brand leveraging cultural change. This is because, I believe, that in this case, what the character is wearing merely serves to contextualise the brand story. At this level it may reflect a contemporary cultural context, but to leverage the cultural aspect, it must relate in some central way to the brand values, personality or essence.
There is one more level at which brands sometimes draw from the wellspring of cultural change. This is at the level of incorporating some aspect of the changing cultural mileau in the execution of communication. Take for example the use of the phrase, “I don’t care!” by the young girl in the Lifebuoy Gold commercial a few years ago. It clearly reflected the ‘carefree, happy-go-lucky, what-me-worry’ attitude of teenagers in the late 90s. But the connect in terms of the attitude of youngsters was not central to the brand.

These observations are not meant as criticism of these commercials. Rather, they serve to set up the difference between using aspects of cultural change as executional, elements compared to using them more powerfully to leverage the brand.

For a brand to leverage change, it must make the changing beliefs, attitudes, relationships, roles, etc., an intrinsic part of the brand construct. Consider the following examples.

For a brand to leverage change, it must make the changing beliefs, attitudes, relationships, roles, etc., an intrinsic part of the brand construct

Archie’s: Champion for change.
If there is one dimension of cultural change, which is more evident than others, it is the openness in the relationship between young men and women, and their willingness to express it. The evidence is all around us: in the crowds of bodies jostling in the pub or discotheque, in the lovers holding hands and walking along the beach, in the story-lines of new feature films and music videos.
Archie’s has made its support of this new openness, an intrinsic part of its brand beliefs. When one thinks of St. Valentine’s Day, it is the Archie’s name among brands that comes to mind first. Other makers of greeting cards too, produce cards for the occasion. But Archie’s has designed cohesive marketing programmes around it, and leveraged a social change. Archie’s is more than a reflection of a cultural change - it is its champion.

Sweekar: Housekeeper to Home Manager In the last few years, the Indian housewife has changed - and changed to an astonishing degree (much like the increase in the share of services in India’s economy). There has been a complete sea change in the life and role of the urban Indian woman.

She not only looks after the house and the kitchen, but also the ‘HR’ of her children’s school-work and their extra-curricular activities, the ‘Repairs & Maintenance’ of the plumbing that needs fixing and the CD-player that needs to be replaced, and the ‘Finance’ of managing the household budget. She manages every aspect of her family’s life, and she learnt to manage CRM on a ’24/7' basis long before the Internet! She has emerged from being a ‘housekeeper’ to becoming a Home Manager. Sweekar Refined Sunflower oil has based its relaunch strategy on this change, and built the concept of the Home Manager into the very basic brand identity (see picture of Sweekar pack face: “Aaap ke haat mumkin har baat”). Sweekar salutes the Home Manager and that she is capable of taking up any challenge.

The brands considered so far have committed themselves to aspects of cultural change. There are others who have not yet committed themselves, but have leveraged change in specific pieces of communication. Let us consider a couple of these brands.

Fair & Lovely: Gender equality
The brand has for many years been the leading brand of fairness cream. The effect of the use of the brand, in terms of delivering noticeable fairness, has most often been shown in communication, in the reaction of others, who notice the difference.
The search for a fairer skin is not new among women. But beyond wanting to look attractive, there are changes in the self-perception and desires of the young Indian woman (think of her as the younger sister of the Home Manager we just met). She wants to go beyond looks and marriage as her ultimate goal, to being independent and financially self-reliant. In no way inferior to the son, who her parental generation considered the “ghar ka chirag”
Fair & Lovely’s new commercial portrays an interesting dimensionalisation of this change. The daughter of the house is already running the house; yet her father laments, “if only we had a son”. The unthinking remark strengthens the girls resolve to do better, and she does so - with a little help from Fair & Lovely. The father calling her “beta”, at the end of the commercial is a reaffirmation of her emancipation. We shall have to wait and see whether this new view becomes an intrinsic part of the Fair & Lovely brand or not.

Ariel: Beds are for more than bed-sheets!
It is interesting to consider a case of detergent advertising - if only because it is almost considered the bastion of stereotypical FMCG advertising! But here is a case of a brand reflecting and attempting to leverage cultural change. Followers of TV commercials will recall the commercial featuring the husband who spills ‘mehndi’ on the bed-sheet, as he attempts to apply mehndi to his wife’s palm. The enraged wife of course has a saviour in Ariel, which successfully removes the stains. The product demonstration is fairly commonplace, but what I find interesting is what happens later: The husband, now sure that Ariel can remove stains, deliberately puts mehndi on the wife’s kurta, and innocently suggests that she’ll have to take it off - “for washing, only, of course”.
To me there are two key elements, which reflect change, in this commercial. One, the fact that there is actually an interesting story in a detergent commercial - which I take as a realisation on the part of this brand’s custodians, that washing power is not the most important truth of the universe. And two, the suggestion (Bless the creators of the commercial), that there is more to life than clean sheets!
I have chosen two examples of brands, which have looked at cultural and social change, and committed themselves to leveraging the change. I have also looked at two examples of initiatives by brands where the long-term direction is not clear, and will unfold. Both underline the need to look at ways to leverage cultural change.
I will now return to the question I posed at the beginning of this discussion: How do you manage a brand and retain its core, while everything around it is in a state of flux? It seems to me that there are only these guidelines to consider:

• No one (brand) is immune from the forces of change.
• In ‘The Age of Change’, changing is not an option, it is a mandatory
• If you don’t take advantage of it, a competitor will
• Leveraging change is the only propellant into the future
• If change is inevitable, what are you doing to leverage it?

In the world of music, there is one brand, which has continually reinvented itself and remained relevant and meaningful: Madonna

Since I began with an example from the world of entertainment, let me end with one from the same industry. In the world of music, change is far more rapid and loyalty is far more fickle than in FMCG or any other sector. In this world there is one brand, which has continually reinvented itself and remained relevant and meaningful: Madonna.
As we try to guide and nurture our brands through the changing market-landscape, let us remember to ask ourselves - is my brand a Madonna?.