Branding Revisited, IPL Style- What the IPL Inspires About the Art of Branding?

Vinay Kanchan, the writer of this article, is a bestselling author, brand storyteller and an innovation catalyst.

Having just completed its twelfth edition, the IPL has been nothing short of a new age cultural phenomenon. In fact, few events over the recent decade or so; have had such an impact on the collective Indian consciousness. Come summer, Indian households huddle by their TV sets in the evening, causing vacation planning setups severe headaches, as they stay mesmerized by an eclectic concoction of sport and showmanship. The three words which make up for the most important query of the night usually are ‘What’s the score?’ From kindling new connections to serving as ice breakers during tense moments in relationships, these three words offer refreshing social succor.

Metaphors from this stage have crept into everyday living. Many young people have a ‘pinch hitting’ mindset on most things. Corporate board rooms resound with animated conversations about their ‘dot balls’ for the quarter underway. Most friendly skirmishes find people seeking the intervention of a ‘third umpire’ to conclusively resolve matters.

Even in terms of rituals accompanying fun activities; mothers are made ‘team owners’ & fathers ‘mentors’ in big matches within housing societies. Everything seems to need ‘cheerleaders’ these days. And just like the last ball of this season’s IPL, everyone loves it when things ‘go down to the wire’-from sport to their favorite blockbuster movies and shows, perhaps even their appraisals (ok, just kidding on the last one).

However, it is pertinent to observe how even deliberated business processes like branding, have begun to sway to the tune of the IPL bugle.

Perhaps, this was always the case, but the IPL has provided an interesting framework to relook at this seminal marketing activity. If not anything else, it infuses a sense of play in things. And that can never be a bad thing.

1-An early AUCTION OF IDEAS

Whilst the IPL teams obsess over which stars to pick to serve their campaign best for the next season, marketers fret over something not entirely dissimilar. Ideas are the stars of marketing strategies, the centerpiece of the branding process. Any well-conceived corporate or marketing program has to begin with, once the challenges have been identified, having the most potent ideas strut their wares in front of a discerning jury. It all starts with a metaphorical ramp walk where exciting new concepts show off their best sides. Often organizations don’t pay enough heed to this process, especially when it comes to generating enough alternatives. Here the intent clearly should be to gun for more options. After all the great Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling had once said, ‘the best way to get a great idea, is to have a lot of good ideas’. That philosophy should apply to branding and marketing endeavors as well, even if the pursuits are not quite as noble.

2-Creating the 20/20 MARKETING PLAN

Previously marketing plans had more of a test match perspective. They were kind of set in stone and took a long term perspective on things. But times have changed faster than MS Dhoni stumping a batsman, who has momentarily meandered out of his crease. With participative and extra demanding consumers, the rise of digital media, the expectation of faster response times plus competition from various sources-within and beyond category confines, brand custodians are simply expected to react and improvise quicker all the time. There has to be a willingness to be flexible to counter all kinds of threats. The new marketing plan has to be a fluid rather than a fixed one. It should be endowed with adaptability. Here is where the early auction of ideas really comes in handy, because it is necessary to have counter measures for many possible kinds of situations. While a broad, overarching positioning and purpose has to be still adhered to, brands must also have the capability of stealing those ‘idea singles’ which topical opportunities provide. The asking run rate is always going to be high and every bit helps. To quote Lewis Carol’s famous words ‘you have to run twice as quickly to stay in the same place’. This is even truer for the wonderland that is the modern day market than most would think.

3-Exploiting POWER PLAYS

Even within shortened time frames, what the IPL points towards is the precedence of some milestones which need to be leveraged over others. These are typically called ‘power plays’. Here, it is in the interest of the batting side to make the most of the fielding restrictions and get off to a flying start. Often though, the bowling unit recognizing this also has some of their top exponents at work here, in the quest of picking up some important wickets. Frequently this phase can be quite decisive. This idea applies to branding campaigns as well. Often it is best, to begin with one’s most potent ideas-whatever their renditions might entail. Paraphrasing age-old wisdom, the market never gives a brand a second chance to make a first impression. Getting into a blitzkrieg mode during the launch is usually a good way to garner attention towards the brand. But this should never be only associated with a high budget, above the line, television commercial launch. Just like bowling units use spinners in the power play or batting sides send out lower order batsmen, brand strategy has always to be biased towards that solution that might prove to be the most effective at the outset. This might mean getting into an offbeat promotion, a shrewdly worked out PR plan, an astutely designed activation exercise, or an interestingly interactive digital campaign. Aristotle had mused ‘well begun is half done’, and that certainly is not Greek and Latin, especially for those in marketing.

4-Making time for STRATEGIC TIMEOUTS

The IPL and today’s marketing world move at a breakneck pace. But that should never mean there is no time to pause and reflect. Perhaps one of the most endearing interventions of the IPL has been the introduction of the strategic timeout (even if that was borrowed from other sports). It worked at so many levels. It showed that even in the arena of muscle, the mind had a pivotal role to play. It exhibited the merit in the act of stopping and reconsidering one’s tactics. It revealed the benefit of a fresh perspective which inevitably emerges after a break is taken. This was reflected in the fact that something dramatic always seems to happen after a strategic timeout. When the mind looks up after a rest, the boundaries seem that much more insight. Even when in the midst of executing one’s marketing and branding strategy, there should always be a contingency built to engage in timeouts. These provide forums for course corrections, and probably introducing new initiatives into the branding mix. Many a time the team gets so much into the execution phase, after the initial cerebral exertion of creating the strategy that things often get into the ‘autopilot’ mode. It sometimes becomes necessary to snap out of this, much like teams in the IPL falling into a rut before the strategic timeout is taken. A time to huddle again, probably close to the halfway stage, is always a good idea. It offers some concrete indications as to whether the strategy embarked on is working, and to what extent. It gives a chance for various team members to clearly communicate; a facet which is sometimes lost in the din of the competitive marketplace (or stadium). It also allows one to consider new googlies the opposition might have thrown up, because cricket and marketing for that matter, never actually exists in isolation.

5-Don’t panic

Jasprit Bumrah wonderfully showed throughout the IPL, especially in the cauldron of the final, at the highest level in sport there is great merit in staying calm. Whatever the odds stacked against them, the team which maintains its composure usually wins. This temperament is not just critical in cricket; it also needs to be developed, individually and collectively in the world of business. The business world tends to be relentlessly high pressure. Tempers rise. Voices are raised. Blood pressure levels trace the arc of an Andre Russell heave into the stands. This rarely helps actually tackling the challenge at hand. If anything, one’s perspective gets severely impaired. Targets and opportunities get missed when the approach begins to get navigated by the wrong emotions. Everything and anything can be fixed, must always be the attitude of the team in charge. In fact, that term-team in charge’ implies a responsibility. A group which keeps it together and executes its plans without fear, often delivers a crushing Yorker at the feet of the opposition. In his wonderful tome The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams mentions the words ‘Don’t panic’ being scrawled on this cover of this seminal book which helps one navigate the entire universe. The same advice equally applies when dealing with problems in the branding world as well, even if sometimes people insist on blowing them up to galactic proportions.

In the end, another season of IPL might have passed us by. But in the cacophony of big shots, stumps flying around and spectacular catches being taken, are some interesting metaphors and ideas that the marketing world can borrow from. They just might help the branding team chalk up their own victories and make that surge up the points table.