Anna Hazare: The Personality Brand’s Appeal Eroding?
Dr. Kisholoy Roy
Assistant Professor-Marketing - Globsyn Business School, Plot XI-11 & 12, Block EP,
Sector V, Salt Lake Electronics Complex, Kolkata - 700091
5/58, Netajinagar, 2nd Floor, Kolkata-700040 Email id: [email protected]
Mobile; 09903185527
“A tale of two fasts: then and now. As the
anti-corruption campaign gathers more steam,
it is Brand Anna that appears to have become
the galvanising force behind the huge
movement, backed by India’s increasingly
assertive middle class. And the branding
appears to be carefully crafted.”1
“Many swear by him, several scoff at him.
Like him or hate him, but he can’t be ignored.
As the anti-corruption stir intensifies, media and
advertising experts say brand ‘Anna’ has
overtaken all the other labels in India in different
walks of life for the moment.”2
On December 27th 2011, Anna Hazare
called off his fast that was scheduled to go on
for three days at Mumbai’s MMRDA grounds.
Many opined that it was principally due to an
extremely low turnout of people at the venue.
While Hazare’s fast at New Delhi’s Ramlila
Maidan witnessed around 30,000-40,000 people
flocking to the venue, the Mumbai venue saw
just 3000-4000 people turning up. The fast was
planned to protest against the government’s
inability to pass an effective Jan Lokpal Bill in
the winter session of the parliament. The general
opinion among the masses was that Hazare’s
charisma that stirred an entire nation into action
regarding the Lokpal Bill had eroded. It was
discussed in the media that Anna went wrong
tactically and lost focus on the big picture that
found majority of the country’s public abandoning
his mission. The allegations against some of
the Team Anna members regarding
misappropriation of funds were felt to be another
reason behind the debacle.
However during the fast at Ramlila Maidan,
Hazare along with his entire team of activists
The
Economic Challenger
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April-June
were found to motivate and mould the
sentiments of a large cross section of the Indian
populace. The great Indian middle class was
found to hail Hazare, a 74 year old social activist
as their savior, as a crusader who had the guts
and caliber to fight for their cause. Many experts
from the world of media and communications
felt that the making of brand Anna was a very
meticulous exercise. According to senior
journalist Bhaskar Roy, “The organizers behind
Hazare’s protest understand the market dynamics
and the role of media today. Hence the need to
build Brand Anna.”3 Madison World chairman and
managing director, Sam Balsara observed, “Brand
Anna will stand for honesty, transparency,
uprightness, speaking up and silent protest. Yes,
Anna is no doubt becoming a brand and Annaism
is becoming a phrase and concept that other
brands will soon want to ride on.”4
BRAND
ANNA:
THE
ESSENTIAL
INGREDIENTS
A brand whether a product, service or
personality is basically a set of mental
associations that the target audience can relate
to and feel positiv HX