Incorporating culture in communication
Post 1991, India became a buyer's market. Being a country of varied traditions and cultures, players create could only create brand recall and image amongst the clutter of products and here by reaching out to the cultural emotions of the audience.
FROM THE early days of civilisation till today's modern world, the mankind has evolved from a nomad inventing wheels to a sophisticated chauffeur-driven businessman. As the evolution gradually happened, it kept forming a lifestyle which might have taken many forms till it reached its modern avatar.
This lifestyle can also be described as culture. If we try to define what culture is, it can be called a way of life of a group of people, based on the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, attitudes, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, spatial relations and material objects. People acquire and accept it and pass it from one generation to another via communication.
As humanity kept evolving, so did the means of communication. From symbols and wall paintings to TV, Newspaper, SMS to Poking on social networking websites. Today, if we look around, everything can be read as a cultural text - friends, society, television, advertising, books, photos etc. Therefore, one can also consider different forms of communication as a culture script.
The importance of communication in the present time is incomparable. With globalisation reaching heights, understanding of culture has become even more significant for conducting successful International business in different countries with different culture. It is a simple logic that unless we connect to someone, we cannot create a trust factor.
Therefore, it becomes very important for a communicator, especially in media, to connect with the culture in order to connect with its target. In the case of advertising, it is essential to read the culture before designing an ad.
Post 1991 liberalisation, India became a buyer's market. Being a country of varied traditions and cultures, it became imperative for players create a brand recall and image amongst the clutter of products and media channels by reaching out to the cultural emotions of their consumer.
Multinational brands like Cadbury realised the cultural importance of sweets in India either on festivals or general occasions and they brought out Dairy Milk with the “Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye” campaign which clicked with its Indian Audience. Over the last seven to eight years, Cadbury has emerged as a good gift proposition for occasions and enabled people to come closer because of such positioning.
Any drink that is cool to consume especially in summers had been referred to as Thanda in India. Even when guests come home, they are asked whether they would prefer something Thanda. This is where Coke picked its point of success by connecting with this culture of Thanda in Northern India with the campaign Thanda Matlab Coca Cola. With this, Coke no more targeted just its regular youth audience for a product like soft drink. In fact, it stormed into the rural India market too. Actor Aamir Khan, who endorsed the brand took new roles every time depicting different cultures, from a Punjabi farmer saying 'Yaara Da Tashan' or the long haired Bengali Babu or even the Nepali guide.
With such developments, regional advertising became a feasible way for big brands to connect with varied audiences. TV ads like 'Nakka Mukka' by Times Of India to create its brand identity along with a strong in Chennai won lots of accolades. The fact that the people of Chennai are considered to be strongly attached to their city culture and native lifestyle is what TOI managed to grasp and convey through the same.
Similar successful campaigning of products, especially through print or electronic media, lately has proved that communicating is just not about providing 'Gyan', but also about the style that connects with the target audience. Thus, with rise in clutter, it is only with a cultural touch that a brand would be able to create a space for itself in the customer's mind.
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.How do we see the trends in the Print Ads....especially the ones like Loreal or Shoppers Stop ...where the ad makers go for a Global feel than a Cultural Drill !!
Also ads like UCB which infact attack cultural aspects and generate a global positioning for themselves !!
i do not subscribe to what ur opinion on UCB ads is coz they neither promote unity or peace ...they have been levied with heavy fines for their ads infact they are the inventors of negative advertising !! for the premium brands like Loreal ...i understand that STP part but my contention is not STP .....but rather their relevance HUL uses Dove in the same Segment as Loreal for SEC A and B but still they have customized patterns ....and in case of Shoppers Stop the Segment stands at ...SEC A, B & C ...so i don't think that makes too much sense ...infact i asked this question to CEO shoppers stop directly (Mr. Govind Shrikhande)....:) and his reply said that it rests not on S of STP ..but carving a niche !!
Every Ad is created keeping its target audience and their consumption Pattern in mind. For Example, Lorea'l is a premium product, and it has maintained its brand image for the same. Roping in some culture traits is generally done when you want to reach people who relate to that culture which might noy have been the requirement of brands like Lorea'l or Shoppers Stop .
UCB Ads have been more socially Responsible and have promoted Unity and Peace. Also For Instance, if you notice UCB ad where people of black origin and white origin are shown together attacks the culture of 'Racism' in the world today. It all depends upon the understanding of the broad horizon of the definition of Culture
.Very nice take on culture and media. Business houses sure have done a lot of research for bringing such ads and campaigns.
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