The New Year dawned a while back. But what the hell! Here’s wishing everyone a happy new day! Why? Well, simply because that seems to be the new mantra echoing across. Sample this. Handset major Nokia is attempting to resurrect its dwindling fortunes by celebrating ‘the amazing everyday’. McDonald’s is baiting the bored-with-tiffin working class through its Value McLunch that promises fun everyday.
It may have been heralded few years back by the clarion call of the cult film 3 Idiots with “aal iz well” but today it’s not a stray programme or a movie. It’s an entire new channel on Indian television that brightly and cheerfully announces ‘Life Ok’. What could be the reason behind this new phenomenon of seeking happiness, just like that, every day, as against working towards it as a goal? How come it is suddenly getting delinked from the social and professional success and from material possessions? Well, the obvious answer could lie in the taming of the economic ambition. Thanks to the extended downturn, we seem to be moving into a phase where we feel comfortable with less. Frankly, the society is left with no choice on this count. Since it can’t chase big success anymore, it is reconciling to slowing down and enjoying whatever it has.
The economic recovery from the downturn is, interestingly, linked to a pervasive positive attitude. Recently US President Obama held a news conference in which he declared that negative coverage of the economy is pulling down consumer and business confidence, creating a self-fulfilling recessionary environment. The Davos meet (World Economic Forum) also concluded that there was a need for people having an optimistic outlook overall.
Not too long back, Robert Senior, CEO of the Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon Group, stated that it is the marketer’s “moral obligation” to be optimistic as an antidote to the gloomy economy.
Looking at it from a different perspective, people seem to be a saturation point with the dark shades of gloom. Years have gone by with consumers living under the fear of uncertainty. People want to be positive now, no matter what. The only way of getting out of the depression seems to be consciously choosing optimism as a way of everyday living.
Living positively is also a final life realisation that was romanticised, somewhat ironically, by two terminally ill writers, the authors of two of the landmark books of recent years, The Last Lecture and Tuesdays with Morrie.
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The spiritual maturity being advocated by the enlightened modern gurus resonates with this thought. Swami Sukhabodhananda (the name, interestingly, means realising happiness!), during his sterling session at the Ad Asia seminar held in Delhi last year spoke about experiencing joy in everything you do, even in blinking your eyes. The theme for the seminar wasn’t any different. It was about not getting cagey about uncertainty, but about embracing and celebrating it.
The search for experiencing more is evident not only in the ads or movies we are watching, in the books we are reading, in the events we are attending; it is also evident in the way we are beginning to eat. It is no longer about wolfing down, but about relishing the experience of eating. Food products that allow the true immersion of the senses are emerging as more enjoyable. Whether it is the ritual of wine drinking or savouring the delights of a genuine local cuisine the way it is meant to be savoured, the trend is showing up in the food shows on TV, in food and travel books.
Having said that, the desire to experience more is a deeper trend — the shift is from coasting to nesting, and from running to slowing down, to simply experiencing more.
Looking back, it already feels wasteful to have invested an entire lifetime in juggling so many things at once. Doesn’t it feel silly to have wasted one’s youth in nothing but a competition to achieve material and professional success that matters precious little to the big world outside. The hero of the future will clearly be the individual who took time to be really great at one thing and savouring it.
So would the hurried race of today give way to labours of love, to an age of gardening, DIY and taking courses to master what we really love to do? Aren’t we seeing the revival of rituals tied with slowing down — tea and coffee lounges, manual devices over automatic ones, long walks, and the popularity of the easy and fun sports of the yore like badminton instead of gym workouts?
Optimism is making a comeback, not just in conversations, but also as a way for brands to resonate with recession-weary customers. At Lippincott, one of visionary branding firms from the West, brands are being transformed to represent hope about tomorrow.
The millennials and their favourite consumption brands would be ahead on this hope and optimism curve. Pepsi has always stood for youthful exuberance and its new brand identity campaign reflects that optimism like never before — on the shelf and in advertising. Coke’s precocious adoption of its happiness platform, its ‘liquid and linked’ properties, and its corporate philosophy ‘live positive’ are in ways similar efforts too.
It’s a belief in positivity. We need to see brands as possibilities. Hope lies at the heart of every business as every business involves a risk. Likewise every purchase is done with a hope of expected gratification commensurate to its value. Brands in the future need to have stronger identities, cultures and positions so that customers can see and experience that potential for positive outcomes.
Not surprising that the emerging motivations for brands that touch lives closely seem to be in the area of feeling more alive, living more fully, brightly and happily. Godrej as a master brand echoes the feeling with its persistent advocacy of ‘brighter living’. The recent restage of brand Titan sees another nuance of the same: an optimistic exhortation to ‘live the now’ irrespective of anything. And that casual cool brand of yore, 7Up, now preaches ‘Uptimism’ in its own style.
While no one type of company has a larger claim on optimism, retailers, always one step closer to consumers, provide relatively stronger examples. For years, Walmart’s positioning was ‘Always low prices’ — a rational approach. But the new ‘Save money. Live better’ leverages the much larger emotional reservoir of hope. By saving money at Walmart, shoppers can afford to do other things and buy other stuff, to build a better life. That’s a very different message than just “shop here because you can buy more stuff.”
Another recurring theme is likely to be creating hope about a better future. Not just as a lip service or in the superficial advertising way but in a manner that demonstrates real contribution to the future. Brands with an environmental promise, such as a Toyota Prius can have an easy sell these days. The same logic works while focusing on kids. That’s why
Kraft doesn’t just sell cheese — it sells itself as an emblem of caring parents. Hasn’t Surf Excel been doing that with ‘Dirt is Good’ closer home?
Optimism is just as strong a promise in the corporate world. General Electric’s CEO Jeff Immelt positioned the company as the poster child of the “reset economy” even when the rest of the leading corporations were figuring out what to say post recession. The GE brand stands for the willingness to make tough decisions for a stronger future, which supports its “imagination at work” positioning.
Lessons from history tell us the economy will improve. We are seeing encouraging signs of optimism. A cultural brand vision and strategy provide a path for a hopeful future. And with proper planning, strategy, design and experience, a brand can resonate better with stakeholders in more effective ways, signaling a positive change.
The trend toward optimism is an in-and-out phenomenon really when it comes to the brand world and the real world. Adora Svitak’s TED Talk for a worldview based on this optimistic is worth a watch to get a feel of the same. Indeed TED as a phenomenon is a reflection of the growing belief in how positive influence is possible by sharing Ideas.
It’s really about having less but feeling more — a simple philosophy that perhaps could only have been explained by a Mexican to an American. And this is how it was told.
A group of rich Americans took a vacation to a quaint Mexican island, where the homes were simple thatched huts and life was simple. They were welcoming though, and treated the Americans to the most amazing fish they had ever eaten. “This fish is absolutely brilliant!” Gushed the American, “You could get top dollar for it back in the States.” “Yeah, ok,” replied the local, “But I’m not too interested.” “Tell me my man, how many boats do you have?” “None. I catch the fish at the pier.” “Well, you should get yourself a boat. That way you can catch more fish.” “What then?” “Well, then you sell all the fish and make lots of money.” “Sounds interesting. What next?” “You buy more boats. Then catch more fish. And make lots more money.” “Go on,” said the local with a gleam in his eye. “What then?” “Well then, my man, it gets really interesting. Because you can retire rich!” “Oh ok... And what would I do then?” “Nothing! That’s the best part. You just retire to a beautiful island and laze around and fish all day.” “Well, what do you think I’m doing now?” asked the Mexican. It may not be a bad time to ask a similar question to ourselves too.
The author is chief strategist & head, Water, DDB Mudra Group