The just concluded cricket series against Australia has ensured that the reputation of the Indian captain M. S. Dhoni goes any place but down under. Before the start of the contest, Dhoni’s detractors were gleefully sharpening their knives. But in characteristic style, Captain Cool nonchalantly shrugged off all doubts surrounding both his batting and captaincy at the test level. India’s wicket-keeping skipper once again left his critics stumped for words.
However, in the meteoric rise of India’s most marketable sports star, there lie many inspirational sub-plots for all to reflect on. Especially for those involved in the fine art of branding. For the manner in which Dhoni has forged his own unique identity is unequivocally compelling. In fact, the Dhoni brand can be brought down to a chain of deviations from the norm, in essence a series of ‘not’s. And just as brands are sometimes more strongly defined by things they don’t do, so is the saga of MSD a riveting tale of flying in the face of conventional wisdom only to rise amongst equals, to emerge a true-blue Super King.
Not sourced from where you expect
The Indian cricket team in the past used to be a collection from the usual suspects, ‘suspects’ here connoting centres which inevitably found high representation in the national line-up. Previously, selectors rarely were forced to look beyond the major cities when it came to populating the Indian cricket team. But Dhoni’s inclusion (with due credit to the BCCI’s small-town talent spotting initiative) and subsequent heroics completely transformed the conversation about where cricketing talent lies. Today the components of the Indian team are spread out over a far greater area than they ever used to be. And Indian cricket is much the richer for that change.
Even in the economic world, consumers seem to show strong preference for selecting goods, from certain ‘special’ locations. In many categories, brands carry the weight of perception, of their countries of origin. For instance, beer consumers, internationally, lean towards European or American brands. Consumer electronics buyers used to place Japanese offerings on a higher pedestal. Spiritual brands always seem more credible when they have Oriental foundations. The paradigm seems to be ‘it counts from where you are’. But it is only when an aggressive and inventive player positions its seemingly ‘offbeat’ roots as points of decisive differentiation that trends in the category really begin to change. The case of Fosters brewing a frothy relationship with its clientele based on its very own unabashedly Australian brand of irreverence, is a case in point.
Not competing in crowded categories
All the past Indian cricketing stars were typically either batsmen or bowlers. Indian wicket-keepers were a silent breed, meant to be about as conspicuous as the manufacturing date on a packaged product. But the arrival of Dhoni dramatically changed all of that. A craft which had very few takers previously had found its hero. Being the first popular Indian wicket-keeping icon surely aided Dhoni’s perception curve. Having precious few benchmarks and predecessors to contend against in that zone helped Dhoni forge a truly new interesting story for himself, and for the vast Indian audience.
The branded world is witness to many Red Ocean scenarios, situations wherein there are so many players in a given category, that bloody competition is inevitable. Interestingly though, when companies imaginatively seek clear Blue Ocean-like spaces, new names and ideas come to the fore. This typically involves pioneering the creation of one’s own category or sub-category. The brand credited with creating this niche market usually becomes ubiquitous with that new space. At a time when every airline across America was trying to confront each other on standard service parameters, Southwest soared with its innovative concept of creating a ‘budget airline’. The endeavour of discovering a different slot to make one’s point is always a lucrative strategy in the marketplace or on the cricket pitch.
Not afraid to be unconventional
Dhoni has always had supreme confidence in his own unique batting methods. And that has resulted in him becoming one of the most effective batsmen in recent times, especially in the shorter versions of the game. Prime in his outrageous stroke repertoire is his trademark ‘helicopter shot’, which in its usual rendition represents an assault on the senses of the cricketing traditionalist. But it has left both bowlers and cricketing experts worldwide utterly flummoxed with its devastating effect. And that should be the only thing that matters.
Frequently marketers are bound by the existing model of doing things. A break from the tried and tested seems fraught with failure. Any digression from the traditional copybook methods is frowned upon. This often leads to a ‘paralysis with the present’. New breakthroughs happen in market behaviour – both at the consumer and at the company’s end, primarily when a deviant brand bravely tries to break this conventional mould. When Jeff Bezos founded Amazon, the move was seen as an impudent attempt to incorporate new-age technology in the purchase of something which had always been integral to tradition itself – books. Many felt that customers would not be willing to give up the touch and feel experience of the traditional book store. But like the ‘helicopter shot’, Amazon hit those sceptical opinions straight out of the park.
Not losing one’s bearings
Dhoni has the most test wins for any Indian captain. He is also the only captain ever with World Cup wins in both the 50- and the 20-over versions of the game. His credentials as one of the great leaders are assured. However, beyond the weight of these numbers, what really sets Dhoni apart is his composure on the field. He never seems swayed either by victory or defeat. There is no hype in his manner, even when a significant milestone has been achieved. He also displays immense calm in dealing with his team mates, especially those who are relatively new. The sobriquet ‘Captain Cool’ absolutely fits the man.
In today’s times, brands apparently seem to be communicating with a sense of breathless exaggeration. Their tonality exudes the hyperbolic, with almost no consideration for whether their communication is rooted in some sort of reality. They are shaking off the restrictions of what the category can realistically promise, and are venturing into bold new philosophical territory. That is perhaps all very well, if such a path is being pursued by a select few. But when everyone seems to be singing the same tune, credibility usually takes a beating. Even in a crowded marketplace, there is great merit in being slightly understated. Just like no one construes Dhoni’s calm demeanour as weakness, any brand speaking in a softer and humbler tone is always likely to be given an uninterrupted and respectful hearing.
Eventually the saga of Dhoni is set to provide us with many more breathtaking moments on the cricket pitch. But the idea should also be to usher in his deeds, to resonate in the conference room. When this begins to happen, brand stewards can truly claim, they are surely behind the stumps in guiding their wards to memorable victories in the marketplace.
Vinay Kanchan is a creative thinking trainer and an independent brand consultant.