AdAsia 2011: "Marketers need to straddle the consumer pyramid": Harish Manwani

Soon after author, speaker and business advisor Ram Charan delivered the keynote address at the first session of Day One of AdAsia 2011, held at the Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi, Michael Roth, chairman and chief executive officer, Interpublic Group, and Harish Manwani, chief operating officer, Unilever and chairman, Hindustan Unilever, came up on stage to chat about the 'New World Order', and what companies like Unilever, whose presence dates back to the 19th century, have done to reinvent themselves to compete in the modern era.

After this brief preamble, Roth got right into the discussion, and asked Manwani, "What are some of the global trends we see in marketing, today?"

Manwani reply was in the form of a short video that essentially summed up the following points: Today, marketing needs to become more consumer-centric, and marketers should enhance their level of learning and experimentation, and focus on crafting 'brands for life'. This wisdom reflected on Unilever's 'Sustainable Living' plan.

Once the video ended, Manwani continued, "The first trend is the shift in the economic centre of gravity, and that is towards emerging markets; this change is irreversible." According to him, Asia is going to be the largest consumer block in the next 10-15 years. He cited sustainable living and digitisation as the second and third trends. "The degree of connectivity that people have today will change the way we manage brands," he said.

Roth then posed another related question: "What are the business implications of these trends?" The question fetched a detailed response from Manwani. He highlighted the importance of understanding the lessons one can learn by operating in developing markets, especially India. He opined that marketers need to understand that India is a layered market and that the consumers are not a single homogenous mass. Comprehending the heterogeneity of consumers is the key to cracking different price points. This is what Manwani calls 'straddling the pyramid' -- embracing the different levels of consumers and respecting each one's affordability levels.

Manwani went on to mention another business lesson -- the importance of consumer insights. He supported his statement by quoting an example from the stable of his own company: When shampoo sachets worth Rs 2 did not do well in the market, consumer research showed that Indian consumers preferred spending only Re 1 on a sachet as they saw no value in the conditioning element of the shampoo (the reason for the cost being Rs 2). Consumers usually oiled their hair (thanks to the age old cultural truism that Indians have been taking seriously for generations), and didn't need a conditioning element!

"Accessibility, that is the ability to reach consumers where they are, is important as is sourcing the right talent pool to execute these lessons," said Manwani.

Roth and Manwani then discussed how the power of mobile phones can be used to market brands, and how the advent of digitisation facilitates content creation on part of the consumers. "Moreover, marketing rules are changing. The focus is on 'the shopper', rather than merely on 'the consumer'," said Manwani.

He then spoke about how marketing today must include an element that goes beyond the functional and emotional benefits, namely, the aspect of social relevance. He cited the example of Unilever's effort titled 'Project Shakti', an initiative via which the company empowered 45,000 rural women by giving them knowledge about hygiene/nutrition, and trained them to sell Unilever products.

Advertising campaigns that support his point of socially relevant/socially beneficial marketing, include Surf Excel's 'Save two buckets of water' campaign, Lifebuoy's 'Little Gandhi' campaign, and Dove's ad campaign that stressed on the real beauty and self-esteem of women rather than on superficial benefits.

Lastly, Roth asked, "What markets do you see on the horizon?" After a fleeting mention of the BRIC nations, Manwani stressed on India and China being the key markets. Fifty four per cent of his company's business, he informed, comes from the developing markets. "We are 'The Emerging Markets Company'!" he declared. Africa, too, he pondered is a 'yet-to-be-discovered market', and has tremendous opportunity.