Build a strong, tangible brand: The Kingfisher way!

By Samidha Sharma, CNBC-TV18 | 11 Jul 2008

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Soap and cola wars are passé. It is the new services brand that are fighting it out on a new turf: airlines, telecom and retail brands.

When liquor baron Vijay Mallya launched Kingfisher Airlines three years back, not many thought that the quintessential Kingfisher colour and logo would redefine the way domestic airlines fly. Coming in at a time when differentiation in the airlines industry was the only way to make a dent in the existing market share, Kingfisher Airlines tried to make a mark through its superior services. So, from calling passengers guests to hassle free checking facilities and the first ever inflight entertainment in a domestic flight; Kingfisher has been able to render services and market them equally well. 

With annual marketing spends of around Rs 80 crore, the airlines has had it good. The concept of 'King of good times' for the Kingfisher brand has been translated to each of these services offered by the airline from the moment you check in at the airport. A Kingfisher official says that this is what differentiates their brands from any other.

''We have realized that any brand that is without a connect to the consumer is susceptible to the loss of that customer. That is for the simple reason that I get into either a product comparison or a price comparison. We have taken the game away from these two parameters. The product is important and price is important. But above and beyond that it's the x-factor which makes me come back to Kingfisher Airlines,'' said Vikram Malhotra, GM-Marketing Kingfisher Airlines.

But how different is it for a pure place services brand to market itself compared to an FMCG product, which lends itself easily to marketing and advertising with traditional media?

''In a services business, the product or the delivery is intangible. It is something that is intangible and one can't control consistency because it tends to be so dependent on people. So, the real challenge here becomes how do you create the impression of something that is consistent. How do you convince consumers of the services that you are going to get a consistent high quality differentiated experience,'' said Ashish Singh, Partner, Bain & Company India.

Brand experts say that the next frontier in creating power brands in the services sector would take place when the marketing in the HR functions start working closely and employees become brand ambassadors.

''It's all about people and aligning people to the brand proposition. That is why I mention marketing cannot sit comfortably in its silo,'' said Unni Krishnan, MD, Brand Finance.

The key driver for service marketers would now be in creating brand value and differentiation through its people.

''If you look at the Indian economy over the next eight years, India will go from 1 trillion to 2 trillion. The bulk of it will be in consumption and services-led. In India, many people tend to get surprised when they get good service. There were some examples like Kingfisher, which pointed out that you can deliver great services in India. All services have to be about efficiency and energizing. You can have a cheap and cheerful brand. But you cannot have cheap and cheerful service brand. It has to be a little more exciting than the cheap and cheerful. Even in a low-cost carrier, there are many things that need to go into it. For example- you can be a low cost carrier, but if you are inefficient, people will be extremely unhappy,'' said D Shivakumar, VP & MD, Nokia India.

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