Earlier, Asian companies were considered back-end workhorses, producing low-cost and low quality products. “But the good part is, this perception is changing,” said Ravi Kant, COO, international business, Titan Industries, at the Indian Society of Advertisers (IAA) seminar on ‘Building Global Brands out of India’.
The speed of change is faster than before, with brands such as LG and Samsung replacing the leaders of yesteryears.Kant said that India too, is realising the benefits of brand building and going global, which is a positive development. He specifically threw light on Titan’s journey from a brand present only in India in 1991, to one that has adapted itself in 31 markets around the world since.Titan primarily used two models for expanding globally: the ‘Honour and Glory’ model for premium markets such as Canada and Europe, and the ‘Building Block’ model in the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa.
“In developed markets, one either used a Swiss watch, or, if settling for second best, then a Japanese brand,” Kant said. “An Indian brand such as Titan was unheard of in those markets.”So Titan entered these markets with a premium positioning straightaway. “And this is something most brands wouldn’t dare to use as an entry strategy,” Kant remarks. A campaign was developed with the tagline, ‘Titan: The new world watch’. The campaign featured one model in each ad (who is of mixed race), with the copy reading, ‘No one country could have made faces so beautiful’. “With such a positioning, Titan had the Swiss worried!” quips Kant. But the campaign didn’t create a humungous stir in these markets due to factors such as emergence of fashion brands (CK, Fossil) and a resultant styling obsolescence. However, investments were made in famous designers, new manufacturing plants, and an increase in ad spends, which is finally showing some positive results in developed markets.
The ‘Building Block’ model on the other hand, targeted developing countries. Here, the concentration was on a strong in-store presence, innovative outdoor visibility, roadshows and usage of relatively less expansive media such as buses. Products were designed specially for various markets. “Here, two brand building mantras worked in our favour: differentiation and focus,” Kant said. For instance, in the Middle East, people were largely used to wearing Gold watches. So, Titan differentiated with a Steel collection, with the positioning, ‘Be Bold, Be Adventurous, Be Steel’. The collection, due to its different take on watches, became an instant hit. Differentiation was also used in terms of media. For example, a bus in Singapore was painted in an innovative manner with Titan’s logo on it. Similarly, in another region, a giant clock was placed at a traffic light. In terms of focus, the ‘3C Focus’ model was applied. “The three Cs are ‘Country, Customer and Competition’,” Kant explained. “We identified which countries we want to target, who our TG is, and studied the competition keenly in these markets.” Kant concluded his talk saying that passion and vision are broadly speaking the two key elements to take a brand to global markets. “The way to build Brand India overseas, is to build our brand overseas,” Kant stated.
© 2006 agencyfaqs!
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