Missing the wood for the trees
Has Incredible India missed
the global brand bus?
Anand Narasimha
Recently, in my Global Brand Strategy class, I was
sharing the Interbrand rankings of the ‘Top 100
Global Brands 2011’. Some of my students raised an
important and interesting question, “Why was there
not a single Indian brand in the list?” (After all, we are
there nowadays on most other global lists). This got me
thinking and raised more questions than answers.
Infosys or Wipro from creating brands like SAP or
Oracle? I am sure each one can add their own entries
to this waiting list of lost opportunities. This begs the
question, why are Indian corporations suffering from
global branding myopia? Do they lack the hunger and
the appetite to build brands globally, even when the
opportunities are right under their nose?
Starting trouble
The speed breakers
The Interbrand list is populated with the usual suspects
from the US, Europe and Japan, but not surprisingly,
there are also brands from Korea and Taiwan. The
impressive India growth story and predictions of India
emerging as an economic superpower in the near
future seem incomplete, without Indian brands having
a significant play in the global arena. One may argue
that India has given the world Yoga, Chicken Tikka
Masala, Software, BPO Services, Bollywood, but these
are ‘generics’. Brands such as Titan Watches, did dabble
in going global, but possibly not with the conviction
and consistency that was necessary to succeed.
Where are the made in India global brands? Are we
content being the world’s back-office?
On the waiting list
We’ve had our opportunities to get on the bus, but
somehow missed them. Here are some that come to
mind. Those who could have been-there-done-that:
Indian Herbal and Ayurvedic brands had the potential
to be the next Body Shop. We could have done to Goan
Fenny what the Mexicans did to Tequila. There was no
reason why India Kings from ITC could not have been
the ‘Indian Marlboro’. Why can’t the TATA Nano become
as iconic as the Volkswagen Beetle? What’s stopping
Protagonists may argue that India liberalized itself from
the Hindu rate of growth and the mindset of ‘Brahminical’
restraint, only in the early 90’s and that it’s early days for
creating global Indian brands. This does not hold water,
if we look at the exponential and disruptive growth in
several sectors like telecom, automobiles, ITES to name a
few. India and several developing BRIC economies have
short circuited conventional rates of market evolution and
growth. So, why not follow the same pace in creating and
building global brands. After all, many Indian business
houses have built strong Indian brands in the domestic
market, in a relatively short span of time.
The answer perhaps lies in the mental DNA, more than
anything else (and please let us not pass the buck on to the
Government of India, for a change).
We certainly have the knowledge and the skills, but do
we have the attitude and vision? Do Indian businesses
focus too much on the short term, to have the patience
and perseverance required for nurturing a global brand?
Are we still suffering from a post-colonial hangover, where
we shy away from taking on the best in the world? And
underestimating our own capabilities and national pride?
David Ogilvy had famously said, “Anyone can make a
product, but it takes patience, perseverance, vision and
genius to create a brand.”