The thought of writing this blog came when
I went to Shirdi in July 2012, when I reached Shirdi, I saw huge following in
queues dying to meet Sai Baba, Also when I went to Mallikarjun ( one of the Jyotirlinga
of Shiva near Hyderabad), I saw tons of crowd, it made me think people really
follow Gods.
GODS ARE BRANDS, different gods serve different
purpose/needs in people’s lives. I started looking at Gods as brands as under
Shiva
I find him a
very strong brand when it comes to specific needs of a consumer, he is like Amitabh
Bachchan in real world, that stature, persona, connect with people. He is a
national brand, if you observe in
temples, all Gods are given due pampering by flowers, shingar, aarti but when
it comes to Shiva, he stands apart, he is not pampered n the same proportion
yet he stands apart. Shiva brand is
exclusive too, people travel all kinds of mountains to meet him (see locations of
all 12 Jyotirlinga, except Somanth and Vishwanath, he is not easily accessible,
maybe that’s the reason he is respected more.
You will find a
strong sub brand in Nandi who is always connected to main core.
Key attributes of Shiva brand: Exclusivity yet
approachability, non interfering, commands a premium, strength in distribution,
perceived assurance in fulfillment of promise made to him.
Hanuman
As a brand
promise, he is a problem solver, no matter whatever comes; he will find a
solution, so for customers he is most loved. A total solution provider, his
strength lies in go getter attitude, he is friendly, and if you see you will
find him in all temples accompanying almost all Gods like Ganesh, Ram, Shani,
Sherawali mata. He is playful. His major markets are northern and western India.
Key attributes of Hanuman brand: problem solver,
friendly
Ganesh
Though he is
available in all parts of country but his major sales come from Western India (Lord
Shiva divided the territories between Ganesh and Kartikeya (strong brand equity
in south). He is a welcome brand in all Indian houses; he serves two purposes
for consumers
1. He fulfills wishes of people,
2. He is a problem solver
If you see trunk
on side where Ganesh‘s heart is he is the one who fulfills wishes, but if you
see his trunk on his right side, he is a problem solver (Siddivinayak comes
under this category)
Key attributes of Ganesh brand: friendly, no
intrusive, brings smiles
Krishna
A mastermind,
cheerful and a politically correct brand, he is preferred in all parts of
country, his claims are tall that he is everything, he is perceived to play a
role of a brand which guides people, a guiding brand, he suggests only and then
moves on, with huge female brand loyalists, he is not cunning, he doesn’t speak
his promises loud and clear. His strong markets are UP and Gujarat. He makes his consumers think, he installs
questions in their minds and making them powerful.
Key attributes: Experiential brand, politically
correct, adviser, cheerful
Ram
He is the most
spoken brand name in entire country, huge
top of the mind recall, he is known for sacrifices thus perceived to be old
brand. He is generic name, thus not exclusive. One thing that comes to my mind is inspite of huge brand recall, he is
not perceived to be big, a big preferred name. He is a majorly north India
brand.
Key attributes: huge recall, known for sacrifice
The intent is
not to hurt anybody’s sentiments, I just see God as a brand.
Vikas Sachdeva
