Of New Corporate Body And Soul

Rock idols, glamorous film divas and sports stars have always had image managers. But even crusty old companies are now becoming self-conscious and stepping straight out of image factories to woo customers. This latest image management fad goes beyond big adspends and astute media planning.

Says US-based corporate communications consultant, Mary Lynn Coyle, Image management is an asset. In the global supermart, there is not much that differentiates products. It is the feelings that a product evokes, that does it.

Auto major Nissans model, Infiniti, evidently evokes the right feelings, and epitomises the success of image management. At its launch, the Japanese car faced the daunting task of storming a German bastion the international luxury car market.

 

We recommended that Nissan celebrate its Japanese heritage rather than obscure it, since Americans were desperately trying to emulate the Japanese attention to detail and quality. The name Infiniti itself has an oriental aura, recalls Clive Chajet, chairman, Lippincott & Margulies, Nissans image consultant. Thanks to intelligent positioning, innovative advertising and a distinct logo, Infiniti became the first Japanese car to carve a niche for itself in the crowded luxury car segment.

Closer home, the changed business environment has ensured that image management is the new buzzword in corporate strategy. In FMCGs, there is hardly any physical product differentiation. A customer is buying the image. Take Pepsi. From nothing official about it to wear your freedom, it has been successful in creating a distinct anti-establishment image for itself to appeal to the young people. says Dr Ajit Prasad, academic advisor, Centre for Image Management Studies (CIMS), Noida.

Quite clearly, a company which wishes to stay afloat in the global fishbowl must ensure that it gets across its message and that this message fits in with its corporate image. As Chajet avers, Companies have an image, whether or not they like it. They are what people think they are. With more and more Indian companies echoing this belief and jumping onto the image bandwagon, communications personnel are the new kids on the corporate block.

CEOs are becoming increasingly aware that they cannot survive without our help. It is coming to a situation where business communicators have direct contact with the chairman, says Bishwajit Mukherjee, general manager, communications, GEC Alsthom India.

Mukherjee points out that communications is not just about interfacing with the customers and shareholders: Wherever communications support is required within the company, I am there. Agrees Deepak Dhawan, executive director, strategic planning, Eicher Consultancy Services, A company cannot be schizophrenic about its image. There should be no gaps between the image projected to the outside world, and the image inside the company. After all, internal shareholders are equally important.

When it comes to creating a corporate identity within the company, distributing in-house magazines and New Year diaries are obviously passe. At Reebok India which is hardselling a fitness culture in the country all new recruits have to clear a fitness test, and there is a session of work-outs every evening.

In the same spirit of fostering a corporate image, GEC Alsthom India is holding a series of regional workshops in the country to involve its employees in the preparation of the companys vision plan. Says Mukherjee, A rough vision statement prepared by the chairman is put out before the employees right down the line and then, they are encouraged to add value to it.

Mukherjee points out that image management and corporate communications are not entirely new concepts in India. Owing to a diverse mix of press, lobby groups, consumer fora and competitors in the country, there was always a perceptible need to cultivate a good image. But the entry of multinationals has certainly given communication activities a much stronger focus, he adds.

Communication activities have certainly become upmarket, with perception emerging as a conscious tool of corporate strategy. As Javed Yunus, senior deputy director, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) says, Corporate communications personnel have to be in the know of the business. They cannot afford to be wishy-washy.

Image management is a serious issue at ONGC, which is in the high-risk business of oil exploration. Industry observers laud the public sector giants success at crisis management during the 1982 blow out at Bombay High. Every day crores of rupees from the public exchequer were being literally reduced to ashes. ONGC took care to keep the country informed about the steps that were being taken to combat the crisis. Contrast this with Union Carbide they did nothing to refurbish their image after the Bhopal gas leak, opines Dr Prasad.

There is nothing quite like the image of a good corporate citizen to endear companies to customers. Back in the 80s, the Tatas set the ball rolling with their popular sign-off We Also Make Steel. And ONGC has successfully disarmed its most vociferous critics by being the only company to set up an institute dealing with environmental management at Goa.

And now, the most unlikely outfit has been bitten by the image bug. Recently, CIMS conducted a survey to evaluate the image of none other than the Delhi Police. Not surprisingly, the Capitals police force was not flattered by the findings of the survey. The result: a series of press ads and a flurry of innovative schemes like the neighbourhood watch which gave security tips to local residents.

Whether the Delhi Police has succeeded in boosting its sagging image is debatable. But to be heard over the commercial din of the 90s, more and more Indian companies are now murmuring With You, For You, Always.