Big brands, bigger purpose

The Aditya Birla Group, whether with its corporate campaign that retains a connect with the masses or its Birla Sun Life-Yuvraj Singh campaign to inspire un-insured India, has been setting examples for India Inc to follow

The committment to quality and values is not a mere vision statement but a mark of authority that is etched into brands such as those of the Tata and Aditya Birla groups. Both these groups have been a beacon of trust for years and have set standards. Today we are going to take a look at one of the dimensions of the brands to try and decode why they are what they are.

Like all other practices, the Tata group's communication also puts people at the heart of it. Long time back when Tata had come out with the corporate campaign for Tata Steel, it had connected with people on a socially relevant theme, without taking away the relevance of its brand. Tata Chemicals' 'DeshKaNamak' (the salt of the nation) campaign for Tata Salt was based on bringing back values like honesty that have been long forgotten in our country. Over the last two decades, Tata Salt has lived up to its claim, whether in its change in behaviour or business numbers. According to Nielsen Retail Audit, March 2011, each month, more than 50,000 metric-tonne of Tata Salt was sold through over 120,000 retail outlets, reaching 50 million households across the country.

Perhaps one of the most defining campaigns of the last decade was Tata Tea's 'Jaago Re' (a wake-up call). Jaago Re was a cause-based initiative taken by Tata Tea in 2008 with non-profit organisations to create awareness on certain issues around elections plaguing the country. The aim was to awaken the nation to the fact that they tend to hold the government accountable for various mishaps and encouraged them to participate in the functioning of the country's politics by voting. The campaign received numerous accolades and was an extremely successful one. Taking the good work of Tata Tea forward, Tata Capital positioned itself on the platform of 'Doing Right' and putting people above oneself. The brand and its communication propagated the virtue of selflessness -projecting right values, putting people first and preaching what is right. Coming to jewellery, the recent Tanishq campaign from Tata celebrates the second marriage of a woman which has always been frowned upon by our society. It is a progressive attempt by Tata.

Tata's commitment to the nation and the society for all these years, without losing focus of its business, has led to it being one of the most responsible, credible and transparent corporate brands in the world. This is a message to other businesses and brands who are not consumer-facing, to make a social connect, along with the business connect.

Another corporate brand which has set an example for others to follow is the Aditya Birla Group. Whether with its corporate campaign which, in spite of its larger-than-life feel, retains a strong connect with the masses or with its Birla Sun Life-Yuvraj Singh campaign, which aimed to inspire mass India with the personal triumphs, trials and tribulations of Yuvraj, who like a phoenix never accepts defeat and resurrects himself. The biggest triumph for the group came in the form of Idea Cellular.

Idea has always come up with campaigns which have been for a greater cause. In 2007, the brand came up with a campaign 'What an Idea Sirjee', taking up the caste issue plaguing the society. This series included campaigns like 'Use Mobile, Save Paper', 'Walk When You Talk', 'Education for All', 'Democracy' et al.

Idea took up several causes for the society and provided brilliant solutions, without the brand losing relevance.

The world is changing very fast. And in this changing world, unfortunately, values are taking a backseat.

Fortunately for us, there are brands like Tata and Aditya Birla which stand tall and firm like a lighthouse, showing us light amid a sea of doubts, and guiding us towards the right port.

The author is National Creative Director, Leo Burnett