The A to B of branding

Vodafone has paved exit for the pug, quite rightly so because it would have meant extra burden in maintaining additional brand amongst its own in several countries. This recent demolition of “Hutch” brand and rise of “Tata” brand intrigued me to put on my thinking cap on the Branding industry and how does it work.

A “Brand” is collection of images, a product showers. The image could be of trust, integrity, responsibility, luxury and host of other emotions. I am going to illustrate the most popular brands and their journey to the top.

The opening slot will invariably be grabbed by “Google”. Goolge run to the top slot in close to no time has made him undisputed leader in branding. The brand Google stands for Innovation. Lately they have managed to dig inroads into the social responsibility by opting for solar electrification of their campus. No doubt these factors make Google the most coveted brand by the tech geeks. None of its competitors had ever thought of the hidden potential in web search but Google has transformed, or rather replace the word “search” in the dictionary. “Search the web” is slowly getting transformed to “Google the web”.

In India close second to the brand Google will be “Airtel”. The Brand spells Trust and leadership. Poor connectivity in technology by some of its rival brands have given it an unintentional edge but it will be wrong to take credit out of Sunil Mittal cap, Telecom Czar the the first one to launch the mobile service when it rested expensively in hallowed countries of the west. Few could afford then a single call. Though the Brand “Airtel” has taken a backseat in the minds of telecom king but it still leads the Branding Brandwagon in India.

Amongst the big commodities Brand how can we forget our own Big B as a magnanimous Brand. Even after sixty years on earth when a warrior is expected to retire from his proressional life, Big B has risen to endorse “Life after sixty”. His second innings had a sour beginning but we all know every Brand needs time to position itself in the market. Lets see if SRK does enough justice to his Brand in his new stint……..