India Brand Summit gets under way

Can you market a product in a male-dominated category to women? This was among the several questions debated upon on the first day of the India Brand Summit being held in Mumbai.

The speakers, consisting of CEOs and senior marketing and advertising professionals, spoke on topics ranging from whether Brand India was cool to the relevance of interactive communication in evolving market conditions.

Harsh Mariwala, CMD, Marico Industries, set the ball rolling. He touched upon the key challenges facing marketers and what brands must do to remain relevant.

He said the biggest reason for the slump in the FMCG industry a few years back was lack of innovation.

"Innovation need not be something as pathbreaking as the I-pod, but even small innovations in day-to-day aspects of business can make a tremendous impact."

He listed innovations in pricing and packaging and even product innovations that could increase consumer connect with the brand and boost sales.

Mariwala added that the biggest challenge today was to create global brands in non-IT service sectors. The India advantage had to be leveraged in specific categories like medical services and tractors to create global brands.

However, while debating on the India brand, speakers like Lalita Gupte, joint managing director, ICICI Bank, opined that the issue could not be addressed in a single way. That was because of the diversity that the country showed even while consuming services like financial services.

Nita Kapoor, senior vice-president, marketing, Godfrey Philips India, brought out an interesting aspect of marketing to women.

She said, "The way men are getting in touch with their feminine side, women are getting in touch with their masculinity."

Hence, there was potential in marketing traditionally male-dominated categories like alcohol, cigarettes, bikes, or even sports utility vehicles to women.

The same brand could be made relevant for them by tweaking it in a minor way, she said, warning that a product meant only for women might find few takers.