Promodome Communications is one of the companies handling Narendra Modi's brand campaign for the ongoing polls. Rajshekhar Malaviya, the company's CEO, tells Aditi Phadnis that Modi was already creating a persona of a man who can deliver and that he communicated this effectively through the social media.
You have been among those who contributed to create Brand Modi. How is a brand created and what were the elements that went into creating this one?
Brand strategy rests on a tripod of consumer, product and brand. Based on the strengths of these three in relation to the market, the brand personality usually is a reflection of the strongest of the three, while the other two add to the lead character. So, many years ago, Femina used a consumer insight and said - For the woman of substance, while Sony's principal plank for years was - It's a Sony. And Maruti's plank is product led, fuel economy. In the case of Narendra Modi, there was increasing voter (consumer) disenchantment with the Congress, there was efficient governance from Modi (product) as against inefficiencies of the Centre, and, endorsed by the Bharartiya Janata Party or BJP (brand), a party that seemed to be governing better in the states, was being seen as a solution. To the efficiency of the product, circumstances added an X-factor - more people began to see the 2002 riot accusation as an unfair attack, especially when the Congress and other opponents were being blatantly communal in the garb of being secular. As a personality brand, he was like the "Angry Young Man of the 70s".
There were a lot of downsides to this - baggage, as it were. The 2002 riots is one; the perception that he is dictatorial is another. How did you tackle that?
Indians love their dictators, so that was the lesser of the issues (Remember Mrs Gandhi?). The baggage of the riots was tackled through a combination of stout legal defence, and a potent social media strategy. With charges being rejected by courts one after another, social media became the primary channel of communication. Many people who were Modi haters or Modi baiters around 2002, became Modi fans over a period of time as the facts came out. And they went out to influence others to their point of view - through social media, and other conventional means, including one-on-one communication.
I imagine that when you were working on the brand, you closed your eyes and thought: this is the leader India wants and this is the leader Modi wants to be. He may have had his own ideas. You created a persona accordingly. What were the elements of the persona you wanted; and the one he wanted?
Modi was already creating a persona of a man who delivers workable solutions through novelty of thought, and his lab was Gujarat. More important, he was communicating it well, and that was the most critical step that was taken by the team creating Brand Modi, especially since the 2007 Assembly elections. From 2009, the nation started pining for a "man" who would deliver. Anna Hazare's movement created the slot, and Modi ensured he fitted well. Plus, he communicated this through the social media, effectively, and his public appearances.
Modi is a decisive figure. But there are a lot of people who feel uncomfortable with him and his politics, they would have wanted someone more liberal, more flexible...
Indians love people with charisma and courageous assertiveness. Thus, while the intellectual community was attempting to communicate this rigid persona, people on the streets were lapping it up as he was "delivering", or "seemed to deliver better than most other people."
Clones of Modi are popping up all over the place. How can you protect the purity of your brand?
Every brand runs that risk. The established, strong brand stays firm by doing two things. One, retaining and asserting its core appeal, repeatedly,and two, refreshing itself all the time. An assertion of this core is in the current BJP campaign, where the two principal components are - Modi sarkar, and, the delivery of the message in an engaging and entertaining manner, signifying a clean break from the past. The result: people see Modi as not only the change, but a decisive transformation.
Tell us a bit about your company. What are the other campaigns it has taken up? Did you approach the Gujarat chief minister or did he approach you?
Promodome Communications is a 14-year old agency, having handled clients such as Bata, Maruti, Intel, and launched Micromax and Westing House in India. Promodome's principal strength is its 360-degree thinking and execution capability. No, we didn't approach the Gujarat chief minister. I had personal experience of handling political campaigns for the Akalis (three campaigns) and National Conference (2008 Assembly elections), and we approached Delhi BJP last year for the Assembly elections. We handled the Assembly campaign, delivered on creative, media and below-the-line communications, and subsequently became part of the larger national team.
Modi has leveraged social and digital media like few other leaders. The issue of attaining critical mass is crucial in using social media - without that you're just another anonymous entity on the web. So you have to create the equivalent of a "hawa" on social media. How did you do that?
The decision to use social media couldn't have been easy for the team that took that call. One, it was a new medium, and had only a small segment of Indians on board initially. Two, it was seen as an elitist medium. Three, contrary to common perception, it's more of a street media than any other because of the immediacy of response it can deliver.
Thus, a group of dedicated volunteers was essential to the task, and it has fared fantastically by ensuring a lot of converts in a small amount of time. Today, Facebook and Twitter are teeming with people who come on board only to spread the message further. Hence, what began as a small set of people in Ahmedabad and the information technology cell at Ashoka Road, Delhi (headed by Arvind Gupta), has become a formidable army. The group has been able to successfully counter the anti-Modi industry, led by NGOs and people such as Teesta Setalvad, and build up the "Gujarat model of development" as the model to be emulated. Or, trashed.
