There is a simple, yet profound, concept inherent in the business of brand building. It is called ‘brand gestalt'. The word ‘gestalt' refers to a perceived organised whole that is more than the sum of its parts. Brand gestalt is the unified physical, psychological or symbolic configuration or mix of elements, which, when combined and experienced, are greater than the sum of its parts.

The term gestalt was coined by the Austrian psychologist Christian von Ehrenfels (in his essay On Gestalt Qualities in 1890). It is a universal concept. A fundamental principle of gestalt is closure. Our brains do a lot of filling in for us.

In the business of brand building, it is important to appreciate with clarity how this act of “closure” is done in different societies and by different consumers.

In the marketing and advertising world, which is all about connecting with large masses of people in order to effect a change in behaviour, it is vital to understand this from the ground-up, and not only through hand-me-down models borrowed from other, essentially Western, cultures and societies.

INDIAN CONTEXT DIFFERENT

It is not that the Western methods are bad or wrong. They work well, in a context. It is good to know them. It is just that to view the Indian consumer primarily through Western methods or eyes can be misleading and extraordinarily wasteful.

I did an academic check on this. I spoke to a nephew of mine who recently graduated from a leading business school in India with an MBA. I asked him how many Indian cases and examples he had studied over the entire duration of the course. His answer confirmed my worst thoughts. He said “none”, paused a bit at his own answer, and added “may be a few, but in any case not many”.

All case materials and books were mostly from the West. I don't believe this is an isolated situation.

In the real world, this predominance of Western ways of approaching the market and communicating to the Indian consumer is staggering. It comes largely from multinational companies whose managers in India have to follow the ways of the parent company, no matter whether it is appropriate or not.

Traditional marketing theory, and its offspring, advertising, grew out of a manufacturing concept, primarily focused on consumer packaged goods in the West. It benefited from, and contributed to, mass media systems that delivered large audiences.

Inadequate tool

In a country like ours where large-scale marketing and related innovations in the field have been significantly driven by services (like telecom) and automotive and engineered goods (like two-wheelers) in recent years, the Western lens often does not provide an adequate handle on the consumer, leading to sub-optimal efforts in the market.

Our market research methods are mostly borrowed from the West, where the cultural nuances are so vastly different from what we have here.

This has been illustrated in the West itself by academicians who have studied the differences in ways of thinking. John Nesbitt's book The Geography of Thought presents how the Western and Eastern (Chinese and Japanese) minds think so differently. Those who have spent time in different markets have clearly perceived that the way the Indian mind works, and the Indian consumer looks at his world, are at considerable variance from the West.

The investment in advertising in India is well over Rs 25,000 crore annually, and growing. A lot of this investment is made by leading brands, both Indian and multinational, with the intent to capture the hearts and minds of the Indian consumer.

Historically, Western approaches to brand-building place heavy emphasis on advertising and promotion, particularly in mass media.

This has changed in the West, but not as much here. Since branding and brand development is a major element of marketing, in the Indian context, how the principle of brand gestalt works, and how the Indian brain perceives and closes the gap should be a major area of study.

ANOTHER FRAMEWORK

We need frameworks that are indigenously developed to understand the truly multi-dimensional Indian market place, which is perhaps among the most complex in the world.

Take, for example, the recent phenomenon of Anna Hazare. Viewed from a brand lens, this was among the quickest brand development efforts one could have witnessed anywhere in the world. The gestalt of Anna Hazare is clear. Mention his name and people in India would be able to articulate clearly what this brand is all about, even though very few have really seen or experienced him first hand.

Brand Anna Hazare's appeal cuts across age and income groups, geography and language. It has struck a deep emotional chord, and that is precisely what brands desire to do.

Admittedly, this is a unique example that cannot be replicated. For this reason, these are the kinds of Indian examples that need to be studied from a consumer perspective, as they hold the promise of enabling a deeper understanding of the Indian psyche and motivations.

Indigenous R&D

Will India's academics and researchers rise to the task of putting out hypotheses and frameworks more appropriate to this market? I certainly hope so.

Will advertising agencies in India step up and invest in this area?

I am not confident that this will happen, since 13 out of the top 15 ad agencies today are owned and controlled by overseas multinationals, whose primary agenda is to serve the interests of their multinational clients.

The starting point of creating an Indian lens is the realisation of the need for it. The Indian market is a large one and it should undertake its own R&D in marketing and advertising.

India's complex consumer landscape is a rich field for learning. This is an area where original thinking can take place and we can export some new ways of marketing and advertising to the rest of the world.

Confidence in our own ability and feeling comfortable in being who we are will enable us to get going along this path.

(The author is CEO, R K SWAMY HANSA Group & Visiting Faculty, Northwestern University. The views expressed are personal.)

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