The strategy and tactics behind the creation of Brand Modi
Pitching a specific leader as a driver of change and to mobilise voters' support is hardly a new political strategy. After all, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had projected L.K. Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee its prime ministerial candidates in the past (remember the Ab ki baari Atal Bihari slogan in 1996?). The Congress party's projection of Indira Gandhi as the country's tallest leader with its 'Indira lao desh bachao' tagline in the 1970s is another such example. But the personal rhetoric had been tied, and sometimes made subservient, to the political parties to which these leaders belonged. With his landslide win in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi has rewritten the rules of the game and redefined Indian politics. Brand Modi has not only captured popular imagination but also trumped Brand BJP. How did it happen?
David Aaker, American marketing guru and author of several books on branding, wrote in an April 2012 blog post that every person has a brand that affects how the person is perceived and whether he or she is liked and respected. This brand, he says, can be actively managed with discipline and consistency over time, or it can be allowed to drift. Modi and his marketing team showed oodles of both once he was anointed the BJP's prime ministerial candidate on September 13 last year. In fact, they had been at it from much before.
Modi's transformation over the past year from a regional, right-wing politician to a decisive leader with a clear development agenda, the one best suited to take India forward is nothing short of extraordinary. Senior BJP leaders Piyush Goyal and Ajay Singh handled the overall media strategy, and a task force was constituted to handle Modi's campaign in Varanasi . Advertising legends such as Ogilvy & Mather's Piyush Pandey, McCann Worldgroup's Prasoon Joshi and Sam Balsara of Madison World lent their skills at various levels. Advertising agency Soho Square, part of the WPP Group, handled television, radio and print
David Aaker, American marketing guru and author of several books on branding, wrote in an April 2012 blog post that every person has a brand that affects how the person is perceived and whether he or she is liked and respected. This brand, he says, can be actively managed with discipline and consistency over time, or it can be allowed to drift. Modi and his marketing team showed oodles of both once he was anointed the BJP's prime ministerial candidate on September 13 last year. In fact, they had been at it from much before.
Modi's transformation over the past year from a regional, right-wing politician to a decisive leader with a clear development agenda, the one best suited to take India forward is nothing short of extraordinary. Senior BJP leaders Piyush Goyal and Ajay Singh handled the overall media strategy, and a task force was constituted to handle Modi's campaign in Varanasi . Advertising legends such as Ogilvy & Mather's Piyush Pandey, McCann Worldgroup's Prasoon Joshi and Sam Balsara of Madison World lent their skills at various levels. Advertising agency Soho Square, part of the WPP Group, handled television, radio and print