Recall value of a brand is a collective outcome of good visuals, logo, overall aesthetics and last but not the least...punchlines. Some punchlines are so crisp and apt that they become unique identity of a brand:
Maggie - Just 2 mins
-Just 2 mins conveyed a very strong message about Maggie being almost ready to eat breakfast/filler. This was a major breakthrough in times when indian housewives and moms used to spend atleast 15 mins to prepare stuff for kids. Visual (TV Commercials) did a great job by targeting the ad towards kids who need fillers frequently through out the day.


Bajaj - Hamara Bajaj
-This message conveyed the fact that it was "our Bajaj, very much Indian and admired by everyone in a typical Indian middle class family.

Walker - Keep Walking
-Story behind this punchline relates to those, who were not born great/rich ordinary but made it big in their life. It gives a strong "never-say-die" feeling.


Nokia - connecting people
-Connecting People almost became a synonym for Nokia.

Samsung Mobile - Next is what?
-This punchline refers to a series of campaigns rolled out by Samsung, when it was in a phase of "redefining" itself. This was a great launch pad for the advanced series of cell phones that Samsung rolled out subsequently.

Onida - Neighbours Envy, Owners Pride
-Classic example of getting everything right...the character, message, delivery. This punchline had one of the best recalls.

Hero Honda - Desh ki dhadkan
-This emphasized on the fact that this is the bike for every Indian.

HDFC Standard Life - Sir utha ke jiyo
-Excellent connect with working class which has to plan for retirement.

LIC - Jindagi ke saath bhi, jindagi ke baad bhi
-It highlighted the core benefit of availing an insurance policy

Amway - We are hearing

ICICI Bank - Hum hai na
-This punchline emphasized on ICICI's "customer first" and "service oriented" approach.

HP - Computers are personal again

Vimal - Only Vimal
-One of the most memorable punchlines with high recall value

Volswagon - curves are back
-This punchline created a "charm" around the curvy bug...Beetle

Tata Motors- More car per car
-This punchline best highlights the "value" of owning an Indica...you get more value (performance) for the money spent

Amul Butter - Utterly butterly delicious
-It made an impression that Amul is not just butter...its tasty butter

Kingfisher - King of good times
-Can we think of any better line to give us high?

Kelvinator - The coolest one

Videocon - Bring home the leader

LG - Life's Good
-This beautifully conveyed that "anything LG" will add happiness to your life!

Nike - Just do it
-It so very relates to the target segment...the sports people and their attitude of "just doing it"

Coke - Thanda matlab coka cola
-This punchline from one of the coke's TV commercials made Coka Cola a synonym for Thanda. This very strongly penetrated in the psychi of rural indians who would ask for "Thanda" when they meant cold drink.

Airtel - Express Yourself
-It beautifully connects with anybody "truely indian" who find talking as the best way to "express" or "convey".

Raymonds - The complete man
-It relates to the urban indian, who is classy, on the upward move and professional

Citibank - The Citi never sleeps
- It relates to the urban populace which is the core target segment for Citi Bank

CEAT - Born Tough
-It beautifully co relates to the Ceat Logo (Rhino) which "born tough"

McDowells - Cheers to life

BPCL - Pure for sure
-In India where people are concerned about the "purity" of oil they fill their tanks with, this punchline highlights the "core benefit" of "purity"

CNBC - Profit from it
- Its so well addresses the main concern of people watching CNBC - "Profit".

Reliance - Growth is life
- It goes so well with the way Reliance empire was built - by achieving growth "Year After Year"

Videocon - The Indian Multinational

Fevicol - Yeh fevicol ka majboot jod hai, tootega nahia

Ghadi Ditergent -Pehle istemal kare phir vishwas kare

Brands have immense power...at times they become synonymous to product usage, product category, company and so on. This can be attributed to various reasons like:
- The brand has first mover's advantage in the segment
- Excellent brand recall
- Excellent message to audience
- Uniqueness of logo, brand name etc
- Strong association with the core value/offering

Below is the list of few brands that have created an "exclusive" value in their segment:

Bisleri - Bisleri was one of the earliest entrant in "mineral" water segment in India. Today with so many players in the market, people still call any packaged mineral water as "Bisleri".Bisleri has become synonym for mineral water.
Google - For many, even today, "search" means "google". No wonder people say they "googled" about something when mean they "searched"something

Crosin - "Crosin" happens to have ultimate recall when it comes to cold and fever.

Boeing - For many, any flying machine has to be "Boeing".

Jet - Right from fighter planes to commercial ones, Jet is used to indicate speed and power

Xerox - "Xerox" is a company name...today all of us use it interchangeably with "Photocopying".

Volvo - "Volvo" is a company name...today any luxurious a/c bus is referred to as Volvo

JCB - "JCB" is a company...today any earth mover is referred to as JCB

Jeep - "Jeep" is a company...today any robust vehicle in this segment is referred to as Jeep

Asian Paints - This brand creates instant recall when it comes to paints

Fevicol - Fevicol has become synonymous to "glue"

Camle Ink - When its ink, its Camle

Syntex - "Syntex" has become a synonym for water tanks made of plastic

Godrej - When its cupboard, its "Godrej"

Typewriter - "Typewriter" is a company...but any devise in this category is referred to as "Typewriter"

Nescafe - "Nescafe" has become a synonym to instant coffee

Cadbury - Anything chocolate is referred to as "Cadbury"

Readers are most welcome to add to this list....

Storyteller - who said it?

A good script is like a fully loaded gun, but one needs an ace marksman to execute that perfect shot. That's exactly the role played by a Storyteller. Before an audience can correlate with a brand, they first (consciously or unconsciously) try and identify with the storyteller. An ideal storyteller should fulfill the following criteria:

- Wide reach
- Appeal and acceptability by the audience
- A strong brand image

But most importantly she/he must "suit" the brand being endorsed. The risk then would be to have a mis-match between the storyteller and the brand because values and attributes of the storyteller get imposed onto the brand itself. Traditionally we have seen celebrities, sports stars and virtual celebrities (like cartoons) endorsing a brand and it still continues. The audience have become so immune to the onslaught of celebrity endorsements, especially to those ads where a single celebrity endorses inner wear, to resorts to cars to cell phones and everything else under the sun. Because of these one-to-many and many-to-many associations, the advertisement becomes entertainment and the message is lost in the drama.

However, the subtle change that is occurring can be easily caught by the perceptive eye. Focus is shifting from standard "endorsers" to the ones that the everyday man can connect with - take for example the recent Maggie campaign of everyday families narrating their 2-minute Maggie "experiences". This has lot to do with the psyche of the audience as such direct "connects" give the audience a feeling of authenticity and trust.

Story - says it all

Story is the very basis of creation, existence, death and reincarnation of brand / concept. It is the story which makes brand known, creates opinion and affinity. So how is the story told? Advertisements have traditionally been the most preferred / used way of communicating a story to the audience. Advertisements are attractive, appealing, imposing and with a clear message. Marketers used to (and still do) put a lot of emphasis on media like TV, Print, Radio, OOH, POP and what not....the latest addition being online media. TV is an audio visual devise so one can see and hear what a storyteller wants to convey...there have been many such successful ad campaigns which get top of the mind recall. But then it is no more a green pasture...it is over exploited and too cluttered. Don't you prefer to put the TV on silent or at least change channels when an ad appears in between movies or a show? Audience perceives it as a nuisance to a great extent. Print ads have a good visual appeal but no audio component present...and they are less interactive. Radio ads are great in audio effect but lack visuals...and they are also going the TV way...too over exploited and cluttered. Marketers thus are emphasizing more on online by each going day. It is interactive, appealing, measurable and importantly ads can be more targeted in terms of relevance (relevant site / geography or audience). But in a broader view, an ad is an ad...where people look at it from a certain degree of prejudice. So audience have inhibitions while measuring the ingenuity of message / story.

A more subtle and effective way of storytelling is to endorse the brand more indirectly...advertorials come in handy in this regard. A more refined version is PR. And we have the most refined version by means of sponsorships / featuring brands in movies (visual or just a word about brand during interactions between characters).

Audience - That's where it starts and ends

Audience is pivotal to any storyteller (read marketer). That's where the story starts and subsequently ends...though the end of story could be as exciting as audience going ga ga over the product / concept or brand (we have many such campaigns standing testimony to it) or it could be as sad as a tale of a vanquished hero in Shakespeare's novel (we have many marketing disasters to count on).

Knowing audience is the key as today's audience has become smarter and more importantly sought after by many storytellers! So, its not just the effective script that matters, but also when it is said, where it is said and yeah...how it is said! Gone are the days to go out randomly on the streets, on TV or print. These mediums have been over exploited, have become more cluttered and may not be the most preferred ones. Internet and several portable devices have made online media a place of solace for today's audience.

Makes more sense as well, to go online because that's where the audience is in its comfort zone and more receptive to your message!

So, to make your sweetheart hear what you are saying....you have to be "inline" with "online"

Branding - an art of storytelling

Brand...it rules every aspect of our life. And it stays with us from cradle to grave like an honest companion. Right from the day we get up...our toothpaste, soap, shoes, clothes, vehicle, perfume, laptop,mobile phone...you name it and you have one preferred brand for each of these. So what makes us choose X over Y? Because X is superior in quality than Y? Not always...not at least in today's world where technology and features are more or less same. This "superiority" of X over Y lies more in the "mind" of consumer. That's where brand communication comes into play. It is nothing but an art of storytelling.

Marketers have to create a story around their products/services with clear message. Better the art of storytelling better is the impact. So there is audience (consumers), there is story (ads, advertorials, PR, publicity stunts etc), there is a storyteller (characters, celebrities etc) and the medium (traditional ones like TV, Print, Radio, OOH and new ones like Online Media).

And yeah...gone are the days when just one story used to be sufficient...markets have become dynamic, consumers less loyal, products more flexible, competition tougher...so there has to be a new brand story by each new day....