I IPM

SUBMITTED BY: -

Indraneal Roy

IIPM(PGP-09-11)SS

THE BRAND CALLED AMITABH BACHCHAN

Brand 

A product or service to which human beings attach a bundle of tangible (functional

product and service characteristics) and intangible (emotional and/or symbolic)

meanings that add value. A brand has one strategic purpose and that is to

differentiate itself from competitors.

Brand Personality 

An expression of the fundamental core values and characteristics of a brand

described and experienced as human personality traits, e.g. friendly, intelligent,

innovative etc. It is an expression of the relationship between the consumer and the

brand. Brand image or identity expressed in terms of human characteristics. The

distinguishing and identifiable characteristics that offer consistent, enduring,

predictable messages and perceptions is brand identity. The look and feel of the

brand through the eyes of the consumer is brand image.

Few examples:

• Marlboro is ‘masculine’ while Virginia Slims is ‘feminine’

• IBM is ‘older’ while Apple is ‘younger’

• India Today is ‘old-fashioned’ while Outlook is ‘trendier’

• Coke is ‘conforming’ while Pepsi is ‘irreverent’

Brand Personality, like human personality, is both distinctive and enduring. Both

are built over a period of time. Refers to the outcome of all the consumer’s

experiences with the brand In other words, the brand’s personality is the

weighted average of previous impressions. In consumer’s mind, these

impressions merge to form an overall concept of what to expect from brand.

Brand Personality is eagerly searched by brand strategists and researchers.

Differences in responses by different consumers provide useful insights. For

example, users of a product will perceive a brand different from non-users.

‘Personality traits are what the brand will live and die for’

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Why use brand personality?

Enriches understanding

• Helps gain an in-depth understanding of consumer perceptions of and

attitudes towards the brand

• Can provide more insight than is gained by asking about attribute perceptions

• For ex., Microsoft, IBM etc.,

Contributes to a differentiating identity

• Can differentiate brands especially where brands are similar in product

attributes

• In fact, it can define not only the brand but the product class context and

experience

• Mercedes Vs BMW; Clinic Plus Vs Pantene

Creates brand equity

• Builds long-term brand equity

• Differentiates the brand and makes it distinct from other competitive offerings

• Serves as a powerful relationship device

How to create brand personality?

• Personality of a person is affected by everything associated with him –

friends, neighborhood, activities, clothes etc.,

• So too is a brand personality

Product-related characteristics

• Product-related characteristics can be primary drivers of a brand personality

– Even the product class can affect personality

• Banks, Insurance etc., tend to be Competent, Serious, Masculine, Older and

Upper-class

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• Athletic shoes tend to be Young, Lively, Rugged, Outdoorsy, Adventurous

etc.,

• Product attributes can often affect brand personality

• A ‘light’ beer would largely be classy, sophisticated etc.,

• A high-priced brand will be considered wealthy, stylish and perhaps snobbish!

User imagery

• Can be powerful driver of personality because user is already a person and so

conceptualizing the personality is reduced

• User Imagery can be people who use the brand or those portrayed in

advertising

Sponsorships

• Activities such as events sponsored by the brand will influence its personality

• Pond’s sponsoring Femina’s ‘Miss India’ contest

• Budweiser sponsoring the blimp in American sporting events

Age

• How long a brand has been on the market can affect its personality

• New entrants like Apple, Outlook etc., tend to have younger brand

personalities than IBM, India Today etc.,

Symbol

• A symbol can be a powerful influence on brand personality since it can be

controlled and can have extremely strong associations

• Some examples…

– Apple’s bitten apple

– Nike’s swoosh

– MetLife’s Peanuts character

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How Brand Positioning creates brand equity?

The ways brand personality can create brand equity are summarized by 3

models:

1. The Self-Expression Model

2. The Relationship Basis Model

3. The Functional Benefit Representation Model

The self-expression model

• The basic premise is that for some customers, some brands become vehicles

to express a part of their self-identity

• This self-identity can be their actual identity or an ideal self to which they

might aspire

• Apple is perceived as friendly, unpretentious, irreverent and willing to go

against the grain

– This is because Mac is easy-to-use and also due to its symbol,

advertising, user groups etc.,

– The use of Apple expresses a personal identity of being non-corporate

and creative

How brand helps express personality?

Feelings engendered by brand personality

• There can be a set of feelings and emotions attached to a brand personality,

just as there are to a person

– The use of such brands can cause feelings and emotions to emerge

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• Feelings, when using a Harley-Davidson or Apple would not emerge when

using a Honda or Compaq

The brand as a badge

• A brand could serve as a consumer’s personal statement

• Cars, cosmetics, apparels lend themselves to personality expression because

their use occurs in a social context with relatively high involvement

The brand becomes part of the self

• The ultimate personality expression occurs when a brand becomes an

extension or an integral part of the self

• The executive who wears Allen Solly on a Friday feels semi-casual and

waiting to welcoming the weekend!

• The potential to create this oneness with some people can represent a

significant opportunity for a brand

The relationship basis model

• Some people may never aspire to have a certain personality trait but would

like to have a relationship with one who has that

• A trustworthy, dependable, conservative personality might be seen boring but

sought nevertheless, from banks or financial products

• The concept of a relationship between a brand and a person provides a

different perspective on how brand personality might work

• To see how this model works, consider personality types of people with whom

we have relationships and the nature of those relationships

• Spirited, young, up-to-date, outgoing

Pepsi

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On a weekend evening, it might be enjoyable to have a friend who has

these personality features

• Two elements affect individual’s relationship with a brand

1. Relationship between the brand-as-person and the customer

– Which is analogous to the relationship between two people

2. The brand personality

– The type of person the brand represents

Functional benefit representation model

• The previous two models provide contexts in which brand personality can be

the basis for a brand strategy and a link to the customer

• A brand personality can also play a more indirect role by being a vehicle for

representing and cueing functional benefits and brand attributes

• Marlboro’s personality of a macho, freedom-loving, adventurous person

suggests that the product is strong

• Harley Davidson’s personality of a rugged, macho, I-am-different-kind

suggests that the product is a powerful, liberating vehicle

• When a visual symbol or image exists that can create and cue personality…

…the ability of the personality to reinforce brand attributes will be

greater

• The Energizer rabbit is an upbeat, indefatigable personality who never runs

out of energy

Just as the battery it symbolizes runs longer than others

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• A brand personality that represents a functional benefit or attribute may be

relatively ineffective if it lacks a visual image established in the customer’s

mind

• A country or region of origin can add credibility to an identity

It can generate a strong personality that provides a quality cue and a

key point of differentiation

A brand personality can help a brand in several ways:

– It can provide a vehicle for customers to express their own identity

– A brand personality metaphor helps suggests the kind of relationship

that customer has with brand

– Brand personalities serve to represent and cue functional benefits and

product attributes well

• Importantly, brand personality is often a sustainable point of differentiation

– Sustainable because it is very difficult to copy a personality

A CASE STUDY ON BRAND POSITIONING & BRAND

ARCHITECTURE ENHANCEMENT

Measuring Brand Personality

The appropriate measurement of existing brand personality imagery has been

studied for over twenty years (Plummer 1984-85). Researchers have quite naturally

sought to develop a valid and reliable measurement (survey) instrument of brand

personality that is generalizable enough to be usable across various product

categories and consumer segments, drawing on the extensive literature on human

personality (Digman 1990; McCrae and Costa 1987), but going beyond it where

necessary (Batra, Lehmann and Singh 1993). The measurement instrument used

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most often recently is the one developed by Aaker (1997). In her extensive

development of this instrument, she sought to develop scales “generalizable across

product categories” (Aaker 1997, p. 348), by having 631 respondents rate each of 37

brands on 114 personality traits - with these brands being carefully selected to

represent a broad array of product/service categories, a few brands per category.

She factor analyzed the between-brand variance after averaging the scores of each

brand on each personality trait across multiple respondents. In other words, the data

matrix she factor-analyzed was based on pooled data from 37 brands across

multiple product categories. Using this aggregated category/brand matrix, she found

five factors, labelled Sincerity (sample item: honest), Excitement (daring),

Competence (reliable), Sophistication (upper-class), and Ruggedness (tough); her

scale is described in more detail below.

Two Explanations of Category Influence

It is widely acknowledged that “most of the research papers on brand personality are

now based on Aaker's scale”. Though her scale is not without its critics. It has been

criticized on conceptual grounds, with some critics questioning whether the aspects

being measured truly represent “personality” (Azoulay and Kapferer 2003; Caprara,

Barbaranelli and Guido 2001). Empirically, some others have complained that it does

not replicate well in other countries and consumer samples, especially when it is

used to gauge within-category brand personality differences. Importantly for present

purposes, it has also been pointed out that some brand personality scale items

appear, depending on the category, to pick up functional product category

characteristics rather than brand personality ones. Thus in one study the brands

rated highest on “energetic” were energizer drinks, while the item “sensuous” was

most associated with ice cream brands (Romaniuk and Ehrenberg 2003).

There is, however, another intriguing and important possible substantive explanation

for these “category interaction” results: those entire product categories such as

alcoholic beverages (or sub-categories such as beer or wine), not simply brands

within them, also are perceived to possess a “personality.” This explanation may in

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fact complement the measurement explanation provided above. Levy (1986, p. 216-

217) wrote “a primary source of meaning is the product (category) itself,” pointing out

that within the beverage category liqueurs connote discrimination, while wine

symbolizes snobbism, beer sociability and democracy, soup tradition. Coffee is seen

as stronger and more masculine, tea as weaker and more feminine. Consistent with

his ideas, Domzal and Kernan (1992) found that ads for most beers typically

highlighted friendship and social consumption, while liquor ads stressed solitude,

relaxation, extroverted festivity, as well as status communication. Levy highlighted

how user stereotypes - a common source of brand personality (Keller 1993) - differ

for specific food categories: chunky peanut butter for boys, but smooth peanut butter

for girls; lamb chops and salads for women, steaks for men. Other researchers such

as Lautman (1991) have also noted that consumers appear to have a “schema” for

different categories, clusters of inter-connected emotions, facts and perceptions

stored in memory as a unit. Durgee and Stuart (1987) found that consumers

associate “fun” with the entire ice-cream category. Batra and Homer (2004, p. 321)

report finding potato chips rated more “fun” than expensive cookies, which were

rated as more “sophisticated and classy.”

The Importance of studying Brand Personality across Categories

In this paper, we maintain that entire product, not just brands, possess characteristic

personalities.

Several consequences, which are important to marketing managers, flow from this

thesis. First, market leaders often need to modify an entire category’s personality, to

make its consumption more attractive to a broader target market. Thus in recent

years Coca-Cola sought to make diet Colas more appealing to men by making these

drinks seem less “feminine,” just as beer companies have tried to increase

consumption by women by making them seem less “masculine.” The Milk Board

attempts to portray milk consumption as “adult,” not just for children.

Second, a major avenue for revenue growth in companies today is the extension of

their existing brands into new categories, requiring the systematic study of many

candidate categories on “personality” and “image” dimensions to see which ones

best “fit” and “match” the personality of the brand being extended (Keller 2003b,

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p.602). Many companies also seek to leverage their existing brand assets via

licensing deals to other manufacturers in other categories (such as Caterpillar and

Harley into shoes and boots, both made by Wolverine Footwear); or via co-branding

promotions and arrangements (such as Coach with Lexus, or Harley-Davidson and

Eddie Bauer with Ford trucks). In all these cases, the company that owns the high-

equity brand needs to explore which of many candidate product categories

represents the highest-potential licensing or co-branding opportunities, by studying

the personality characteristics of these categories in depth.

Third, even when the object of study is one particular category, there are many

occasions when a researcher might wish to collect and analyze the personality data

of brands coming from multiple categories. Such data analysis can often offer

substantial strategic insight into the “meanings” of a particular brand, by showing

which brands in other categories are seen by consumers as being similar to it in a

personality sense (see, for example, the correspondence analyses discussed by

Collins 2002). Recently, for instance, an analysis showed that presidential candidate

John Kerry was perceived as similar to Starbucks and Heineken, while George Bush

was seen as similar to brands Dunkin Donuts and Bud Light (Landor Associates

2004). Such cross-category analogies are frequently used as sources of insight into

brand personality (Plummer 1984-5). Brands from multiple categories are also often

compared and ranked on their personality strengths and weaknesses, as is done by

the well-known Young and Rubicam Global Brand Asset Valuator (Agres and

Dubitsky 1996), which collects data on brands from a large number of categories and

analyzes them jointly. And research seeking to create a generalizable brand

personality measurement inventory (such as Aaker 1997) naturally collects and

analyzes personality data on many brands from multiple categories.

In all these cases, any factor analysis of a pooled brand × category data matrix must

partial out the “category personality” from the “brand's personality,” for otherwise it

could confound the two. It could be argued, of course, that most analyses of brand

personality are conducted entirely within one relevant category, and do not need to

utilize data from several product categories. Even here, however, when these single-

category brand personality data are analyzed to assess the differentiation of one

brand from another, and used to help explain differences in brand preference data, it

is important to partial-out those aspects of brand personality which are category-

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generic (“points of parity,” cf. Keller 2003b, p.133), to identify those which are truly

differentiating (“points-of-difference”). It could be argued that the latter ought to be

possibly more predictive of brand preference, if the “category-generic” aspects are

not drivers of final brand choice because they are common to all brands in that

category. It could also be the case, however, that brands which best capture a

category’s mythic “desired” personality might gain in preference, since their brand

personality is now most “relevant” to consumer choice criteria in that category (Batra

and Homer 2004). In either case, it is critical to obtain and understand the “category

personality” context within which the personality of the various brands within it must

be studied.

THE EVERGREEN CELEBRITY

Celeb endorsers may come and go but Amitabh stays. Finding another facet

to his many-sided persona is a challenging task for marketers.

MARKETERS have been leveraging celebrity appeal for a long time. Across

categories, whether in products or services, more and

more brands are banking on the mass appeal of

celebrities. As soon as a new face ascends the

popularity charts, advertisers queue up to have it

splashed all over. Witness the spectacular rise of

Sania Mirza and Irfan Pathan in endorsements in a

matter of a few months. Such is the frenzy that multiple

celebrities are endorsing one brand and super

celebrities are promoting several products. The latter

run the risk of diluting their persona and delivering

diminishing returns for advertisers.

A unique phenomenon

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Usually, celebrities are super achievers at the peak of their professions. For

example, sportspersons get flooded with offers from marketers to endorse various

products when they are at the height of their popularity. This fame is proportional to

the sporting achievements. So is the case with the top film stars. Eminent examples

are Sachin Tendulkar and Shah Rukh Khan. Similarly, the popularity of TV

programmes makes the actors in them quite popular and some of them do endorse

products. Once the sportsperson retires or the actors loses their charm at the box-

office or the TRPs of the TV programmes come down, the endorsements also

dwindle.

Amitabh Bachchan is an exception to this normal life cycle of a celebrity in terms of

endorsements. An actor by profession, his best days at the box-office are well

behind. Yet, his endorsements do not seem to stop. An immensely successful actor

of more than three-and-a-half decades in the Hindi film industry, a failed politician, a

stumbling businessman and anchor of just one TV programme - his is a unique

combination. It is noteworthy that during the first two-and-a-half decades of his acting

career in more than a 100 films, he never endorsed any product. This, at a time

when for nearly two decades he reigned over Bollywood and was called the one-man

Hindi film industry.

His seemingly risky foray into anchoring Kaun Banega Crorepati(KBC) in the year

2000 added several notches to his already phenomenal popularity and catapulted

him into the league of the most expensive endorsers. The way Zanjeer transformed

his acting career, KBC opened the floodgates of endorsements. Marketers found

their single-point attention-grabber in Amitabh Bachchan who could not only

command attention but also lend credibility to their brands.What set him apart from

others and drew a host of marketers to leverage his personality was his popularity

across the length and breadth of India, cutting across the barriers of age, income,

region and language. Long after he gave up shouldering the box-office appeal of

films single-handedly and four years after the last episode of the first round

of KBC was telecast, he still lords it over the popularity charts and endorses a wide

array of products.

Amitabh the Endorser

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Across product categories, Amitabh's persona began to be leveraged by marketers.

Within a span of four years, he has endorsed brands in product categories as

diverse as banking, soft drinks, batteries, paints, chocolates, automobiles, writing

instruments, apparel, diet supplements, personal care and real estate. Contrast this

with his earlier endorsement history - just one in the mid-'90s, a corporate branding

exercise for BPL. Through a campaign developed by Dhar & Hoon, BPL managed to

position itself as an aspirational Indian brand.

The basic premise in getting a celebrity to endorse a product is that the instant

recognition provided by the celebrity cuts through the clutter. Amidst an overload of

advertising, this feature guarantees an advertisement's ability to stand out and

generate awareness. If there is a fit between the personality of the celebrity and the

brand characteristics, top-of-the-mind recall is also ensured. If the endorser enjoys

wide popularity among different geographic and demographic segments, so much

the better.

One of his strengths was his unblemished personality. As an endorser stakes his

reputation and credibility in endorsing products, the cleaner the track record the

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greater the trustworthiness. This aspect was exploited by Cadbury's well. When it

was enveloped in the controversy regarding worm-infested packs of its Dairy Milk

chocolate brand, one of its responses to regain public confidence was to show him

visiting its plants and vouching for the safety of its chocolates in its commercials.

Nerolac Paints was another brand that leveraged his credibility by having him assure

the audience, `Hum keh rahe hain' in its commercials.

When Eveready's storyboard for its torchlight Jeevan Sathi revolved around the

product as a dowry item, Amitabh put his foot down and refused to endorse it.

Respecting his feelings and recognising the advertisement's limitations, Eveready

shelved it. Instances such as this reinforce his credibility and strengthen his brand

value.

As a person with a social conscience, he has also lent his star appeal to public and

social causes such as the polio eradication programme, emancipation of children

and preventing cruelty to animals. The campaigns for Pulse Polio, Unicef and People

for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) featured him prominently to have a big

impact on the audience.

The critical issues

Getting Amitabh, who enjoys a larger-than-life image, to endorse a product is a

costly proposition. His endorsements cost between Rs 5 crore and Rs 12 crore. With

such exorbitantly high endorsement fees, questions are being raised about the

returns on having him as a celebrity. For multinationals with deep pockets such as

Pepsi, having Amitabh as a brand ambassador and renewing the contract may be

affordable. But for others, the temptation to use him as a one-off exercise is strong.

For example, ICICI did not renew its deal with Amitabh after it expired in 2002.

Maruti, which signed both Amitabh and his actor son Abhishek for its Versa, is

conspicuously low-key in its ads for the vehicle of late. Unlike sales promotions,

advertisements take a longer time to have an impact on sales. Top-of-the-mind

brand recall and awareness generation are easier to track, but unless these increase

sales, establishing the ROI on investments in celebrity endorsements may be

difficult.

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Overexposure, however, is the major issue, with Amitabh endorsing too many

products. His face has promoted a slew of products in categories as diverse as

beverages, paints, financial services, garments, automobiles, stationery, food

supplements, personal care, real estate, batteries, televisions, chocolates and

jeweler. Moreover, he has a `guest appearance' in P&G's commercial for its

detergent brand Tide (shot while filming Baghban). Nevertheless, marketers claim to

be happy having him endorse their brands. "Using Amitabh Bachchan as our brand

ambassador has helped in strengthening our brand image and recall within the target

audience," said D. K. Jain, Chairman and President, Luxor Writing Instruments Pvt.

Ltd, the marketer of the Parker brand, in an interview to Brand Speak on

exchange4media.com.

However, the enigma of his personality faces the risk of being unraveled. Exclusivity

can no longer be associated with him. The audience gets confused when the same

celebrity plugs many brands. The endorsement value gets eroded and the brands

end up as just another product among the many endorsed and do not stand apart.

As brand domain expert Harish Bijoor said in a previous issue of Catalyst, "Brands

that use the promiscuous brand endorser who will endorse a car just now, carburetor

oil next and stockings in yet another installment of advertising blitz do not contribute

much to the brand-building process

Marketers at crossroads

Marketers now face a dilemma in exploiting Amitabh’s persona further. A wide range

of emotions such as humor and anger have been exploited from his acting

repertoire. He has been a patronizing, avuncular person; an action hero; an

energizing personality; a jovial character; an advisor; a spokesperson; and a

passionate endorser. The challenge for marketers is - how to stretch such a widely

leveraged personality? How does one ensure that the enormous amounts invested in

this expensive brand ambassador are well-utilized?

As for Amitabh, he soldiers on in his pursuit of creative satisfaction in roles written

specifically for him in Bollywood and attempts to resuscitate his corporate dream in

the avatar of AB Corp. There's no stopping his endorsements, however. He is

expected to sign deals worth Rs 30 crore to Rs 50 crore over the next couple of

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years. Can KBC's proposed second innings herald a follow-on for Amitabh's

endorsement deals? Or will it find few takers with marketers feeling his persona

cannot be extended further for fresh endorsements in advertising?

BRAND AMITABH BACHCHAN – AND ITS LIFE CYCLE

Much like a product life cycle; there is also a brand life cycle – while product life

cycle is an eventuality – determined by two factors

a) Evolving Consumer Lives and

b) Technological Advancement.

Brand lifecycles can be a lot longer, determined by the

Brand’s ability to re-invent itself based on the very two

factors listed above.

We will look at one such Mega brand in the Indian context. The brand is called

Amitabh Bachchan. It has existed for the past 35 years.

Brand Amitabh Bachchan has a 90%+ awareness levels amongst Indians (At least

90% of Indians will know of the brand – kids below 2 and tribal’s excluded), will have

a 70%+ penetration (at least two out of three Indians would have

experienced/consumed the brand across media – TV, print, Internet, films and

books) and there would be at least a 30% repeat consumer base. At least one out of

three Indians would have consumed it more than twice.

I must admit, this is no Nielson data. This is purely based on gut and the best

judgment of this writer.

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Much like any other brand, this brand has had its high and lows, but has managed to

emerge out of every low so far, evolved and expanded itself riding the very two

factors above. At every crossroad, it has managed to re-invent itself and expanded

its product offering to become more relevant to its consumers. It retained the brand

character; fine tuned its attributes to changing times and products, and expanded its

distribution via media choices. It started from Films only to TV to Print to Internet; it’s

now available simultaneously across all forms of media.

 While it started as a film character, the brand had a certain set of core values, that

could be personified on screen – Unconventional good looks, Angry, against the

odds, fire in the belly, espousing Core Indian Values of high relationship quotient

(emotional bonding with relations and friends), Social equilibrium (voice of the

downtrodden), Humble son of the soil. Irrespective of the film – you could almost say

what this character will or will not do.

In short – very strong equity and a well detailed brand character map.

The brand tugged at the hearts of millions of Indians, and was an instant hit – film

after film. It was carefully handled by a few directors and screenplay writers (brand

managers). Until it reached a point where those brand managers were not available

anymore and the brand began to falter. But by this time, the person, who had played

the brand year on year, began to understand himself. Thus, the brand was re-

launched via television. The basic character intact, with a slight makeover, the same

character map as earlier – just with a bit of tinkering to dial up a few values and dial

down some others. For Instance – Core Indian Values (Relationship quotient), Social

equilibrium were dialed up a bit.

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This worked well for the brand; the equity was further strengthened via product

endorsements along similar lines. But after a point in time, it needed another

makeover. And this time it was the Internet in the form of blogs. Creating a sub

community amongst loyal consumers and giving itself a new lease of life.

What has helped immensely is the distribution expansion via the choice of media to

ensure distribution and consumption. It has only expanded with time, reflecting the

changing consumer lifestyle and technological advancement.

CASE STUDY: AMITABH BACHCHAN - REPOSITIONING A

TOMORROW'S BRAND

Introduction

Amitabh Bachchan, the brand manager of Brand AB is in a dilemma. He

understands how important Brand AB is to the industry. He had told an interviewer,

"With the change in the country and the economy and the boom in entertainment, I

felt the need for a professional attitude towards the entertainment industry.

I am no longer an individual but a corporate entity. They have invested money in me

as a brand. They can recover the money through whatever the brand can do: act,

sing, do a concert, endorse a product." The current situation is clearly showing that

Brand AB has now divided itself into two images. Which of these images should

ultimately lead to long-term sustenance and growth of the brand and, thus, helping in

the growth of the industry?

One of the images is that of a father figure, which is a reflection of his core brand

value of a Saviour. Brand AB here is a guide of the people leading them towards the

success, which he had achieved through lot of struggles. And people believe in this

brand because they had seen him succeed starting from a humble background. So

Brand AB symbolizes trust, esteem, respectfulness, and love for people all over

India. This Brand AB has been built through years and has a rock solid foundation.

This image of a father figure induces people to make him play roles he played in

films like Khakee, Black, etc., or turn towards the Brand AB whenever there is a

need to resurrect a bruised image, e.g., Cadbury after worm controversy, Dabur

Chyawanprash to counter flat sales growth, etc. This image of Brand AB gets a

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boost when we speak of Amitabh Bachchan who has already got a Padma Shri

award. People believe, love and respect this image of Brand AB.

Another image of Brand AB, which is becoming prominent in the recent times, is that

of a brand which is acceptable to young generation. The role in 'Kabhi Alvida Naa

Kehna' or the advertisements in which he dances to the tunes of young generation

portrays this image. Now this image of Brand AB may be used due to different

reasons - it may be due to the threat it is feeling from other young brands, to make

itself acceptable to young generation, to stay relevant in recent times.

This is not the image of a father figure, guide to the people. This image makes the

Brand AB an evergreen brand, where in spite of being aged, he is still young at

heart; here Brand AB is more of a friend to the new generation. 

But this image being a stark contrast to the actual image of Brand AB, there can be a

fear of diluting the core brand image or brand value - that of a guide of masses, a

saviour.

Importance of the Brand AB

"Brand Amitabh worth millions of rupees" - this was the heading of news when

Amitabh Bachchan got ill and had an intestinal surgery on November 30, 2005 at

Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai. In fact he was in the headlines of all papers and

television news. One of the main reasons for this, besides his popularity, is that his

illness had put the Bollywood film industry on a crisis. There is a huge commercial

side of the Brand Amitabh - Bollywood was not able to have a sigh of relief till he was

back in action, as a huge Rs. 270 crores was at stake. Brand Amitabh still sells like

hot-cakes in the Bollywood film industry. Chandan Mitra, an eminent journalist and

who also has been nominated to Rajya Sabha, has written an article on him with the

title, "The Only Real Indian Idol".

In 2005, he delivered one super hit (Bunty Aur Babli - Rs. 60 crores), two hits (Black

- Rs. 38 crores and Sarkar - Rs. 40 crores) and two semi-hits (Waqt and Viruddh).

Some of the other hits of Big B in 2005 have also done decent business in certain

quarters. The worth of Brand Amitabh cannot be valued only in terms of money - in

fact his popularity is considered more than any of the famous Khan brands like

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Shahrukh, Salman and Aamir. To analyze the Brand Amitabh, trade analyst Taran

Adarsh has recalled the words of the late director Manmohan Desai: "Amitabh

Bachchan is like a Haley's Comet. A person like him comes once in 76 years. It is

only he who can survive in spite of all odds."

Rise of the Brand AB

On October 11, 1942, the well-known poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji

Bachchan He made his debut in 1969 with the film 'Saat Hindustani'. The film failed

at the box office. The fate was the same for his next few movies like 'Parwaana

(1971)', 'Reshma Aur Shera (1971)', 'Bansi Birju (1972)', 'Sanjog (1972)', 'Namak

Haram (1973)', 'Saudagar (1973)', etc.

But there was a small group of people who noticed his potential and became

unofficial brand managers of Brand Amitabh - which included legendary Indian film

makers like Prakash Mehra, Ramesh Sippy, Manmohan Desai and Yash Chopra,

and the screenplay writing duo Salim-Javed. In fact his first big hit came in 1973 with

Prakash Mehra-directed 'Zanjeer', written by Salim-Javed.

His tall and dark looks gave a new kind of action hero to the people. As it is said, a

brand can become popular only when it has contextual relevance. And the image of

"Angry Young Man" fighting against a corrupt society fitted exactly with the social

and political situation prevalent in the 70s. "

Values of the Brand AB

Brand AB represented a person who has been ill-treated / wronged by the social

system and fighting against the system to get justice. In fact a look at all the hit

movies of AB would show the same brand image. In the film 'Deewar (1975)', his

character turns a Mafia don and smuggler due to injustice done to him in his

childhood. In the films 'Trishul (1978)' and 'Laawaris (1981)' his characters were

abandoned by his father. In the film 'Shakti (1982)', his character is that of a son of a

strict police-officer who does not come to save his kidnapped son. So the brand

managers of AB, as mentioned above, used this theme of neglected by society and

fighting against it to churn out more hits like 'Sholay', 'Do Anjaane', 'Don', and

'Naseeb', etc.

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So when we talk of this Brand AB, the core value based on which the brand was

created and became successful was that of a "Saviour" - he was a saviour of the

neglected masses, by making them fulfilling their aspirations of fighting against a

corrupt society. The other values of the brand - toughness, determination,

trustworthiness - were all in the outer crust of the brand.

Even when we speak of a human brand, the concept of A-R-C (Autonomy,

Relatedness and Competence) explains it perfectly. A brand is popular when it

applies to human motivation and that's what A-R-C theory explains.

Autonomy refers to a person's need to feel that his or her activities are self-chosen.

Associated with the fulfillment of this need is a person's perception that he or she is

free from any pressure and is able to express him or herself as he or she wishes.

Brand AB had that image of self-determination - for the first time it gave the people a

sense of freedom to make own choices and to protest against being oppressed by

the society, express their frustration against the corrupt society without being

pressurized. Relatedness refers to a person's need to feel a sense of closeness with

others - and people felt close to the sufferings of the Brand AB, the image of being

neglected by the society as they themselves were suffering from the same situation.

Competence is about the feelings of effectiveness and achievement in his or her

activities. People loved the success and achievement of Brand AB characters while

fighting against the corruption. They also wanted to do that and loved to see Brand

AB doing the same on-screen.

Fall of the Brand AB

As is the case of product brands, a human brand should also re-invent with time in

order to stay relevant with the changing social and political context, changing

mindset of the people. When we talk of photo-copying today, we say Xerox instead

of photo-copy. Similarly, Brand AB became so large that film-makers still made the

films with that particular brand image of Angry Young Man, instead of re-positioning

the brand. Main problem was social outlook of 80s had changed from that of gloom

to brightness; it had become an era of achievement and achievers. This was due to

the rise of a young Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi - it was an era of hope, life was more

organized, there was an all round development in the society. The image of Brand

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AB as a person fighting against a corrupt society for social justice was totally out of

context.

Then being a close friend of Rajiv Gandhi, he joined politics. Because of his huge

popularity, he won easily from ancestral hometown of Allahabad in 1984. But in

politics, he could not get the guidance of any brand managers, as in case of his film

career. He left politics because of controversies; particularly after Rajiv and he were

implicated in the infamous "Bofors" case along with the U.K. based Hinduja Brothers.

Also the core value of Brand AB - a 'Saviour' of people - got damaged in the process,

as he could not be the same saviour of people in real life; on the other hand, his own

image got corrupted with 'Bofors' controversy. Instead of fighting against corruption,

the Brand AB itself became part of the corruption. 

Another unsuccessful move was to institutionalize himself with Amitabh Bachchan

Corporation Limited (ABCL), hoping to extend the brand over wider areas. But this

effort also failed because it again tried to encash the old image of Brand AB instead

of adding some new value to the brand. It hosted the Miss World Pageant, in

Bangalore, the first of its kind ever in the history of India. The company then came

under debt running into crores of rupees. Some analysts reckon that ABCL lost over

Rs. 7 crores (Rs. 70 million) in organizing the ill-fated Miss World pageant.

ABCL also produced movies like Mani Ratnam's 'Bombay' and Shekhar Kapoor's

'Bandit Queen'. But most of the movies produced under the ABCL banner bombed at

the box office. Even his return to commercial cinema, with films like 'Mrityudata

(1997)', 'Lal Badshah (1999)' and 'Major Saab (1998)' flopped miserably. One off

movie like 'Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan (1998)' was hit mainly because of the

presence of younger co-star like Govinda.

Re-positioning the Brand AB - Rise Again

The Brand AB was recycled with the Indian version of the television show 'Who

Wants to Be a Millionaire' called "Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC)". The show

presented the same Brand AB by re-positioning it. The core value of the brand was

still the same - he was a 'Saviour', previously he was the saviour of the neglected

masses; now he became saviour of people, helping them to achieve and win money.

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The era of achievers cashed in with 'Achiever' attribute of the Brand AB. Brand AB is

an achiever brand in itself - he has achieved fame and has become a superstar,

starting from a mere struggler in the film industry. In KBC, he became a guide to the

people who wanted to be achievers in life by winning money.

KBC presented AB in classy suits and elegant ties or in traditional Indian attires. He

carried both personalities majestically in the show. He spoke brilliantly in both Hindi

and English. One of the reasons for this successful repositioning of the brand is

Amitabh Bachchan's mass appeal in the role as a classy host. His personality, acting

sense, bilingual efficiency (English and Hindi), and magnificent voice gave the

audiences a brilliant TV host.

During its peak time, the Brand AB was differentiated as relevant to the social,

economic and political context. When it lost out on this advantage, the film-makers'

hesitance to depart from the proven formula damaged the brand. 

KBC repositioned the Brand AB from the angry young man fighting against corrupt

society, to that of an achiever who, having journeyed from being an unknown

common individual to most popular film star of Indian society, is willing to guide

people along the path of achievement. Film-makers' responded to this repositioned

Brand AB with films like 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001)', 'Mohabbatein (2000)',

'Khakee (2004)', 'Black (2005)', etc.

Current Scenario - Threats

There are certain changes in today's society and cinema audiences. First of all,

when we talk of Hindi film market of today, there is a substantial rise of the NRI

market. Also there is a huge growth of multiplex audiences, as the number of

multiplexes in India is growing in an exponential manner. Also the audience is

younger. When we talk of the social context, it is the age of young achievers.

Especially due to the growth of software business, more and more young people are

becoming successful and rich at a younger age. These young achievers are also

relaxed and fun-loving in nature. So the brand of Indian film heroes which is

becoming more and more popular today is the Brand Rahul of 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

(1998)', or the Brand Nicki of 'Salaam Namaste (2005)' - young, fun-loving, relaxed

achievers. There are new age heroes who fit this brand image - Sharukh Khan,

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Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan. They can connect to the young audiences more

spontaneously. All these factors can be a threat to the Brand AB.

Change Efforts & Conflicts of the Brand AB

Now the Brand AB is again trying to change, as it is trying to connect to younger

audience. First hint of this change came with the change in packaging of Brand AB in

KBC-2. Amitabh Bachchan appeared in leather jackets and open-necked shirts in

KBC-2; spoke Hinglish, the language of the modern generation. Even the

advertisements in which he appears tries to showcase the younger side of the brand

or the brands endorsed are having a young image in itself. The "Pappu Pass Ho

Gaya" ad of Cadbury, the other brands he endorsed like Pepsi, ICICI or Hajmola,

etc., point to this direction only. Also the character played by the Brand AB in the film

'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)' - "Sexy Sam" is a colorful but old flamboyant

character young at heart; who has aged in years but behaves like a young teenager

flirting with the females.

But while the Brand AB is trying to again reposition or re-reposition itself, there are

certain conflicts, which are becoming prominent. First of all, KBC-2 was not as

successful as its first part. Questions are being raised whether there is necessity to

go for this change. The brand endorsements of AB are also conflicting - on one side

the Brand AB is trying to associate itself with younger brands; on the other hand

certain brands like Parker Pens, Reid & Taylor, etc., that he endorses are more

related and matching to the actual brand image of Brand AB - that of esteem, trust

due to success over a number of years, one who is above the masses. Also this was

the reason the Brand AB was used for the polio endorsement of Government of

India.

The question also being raised is whether today's multiplex audiences go to see

movies like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Mohabbatein, and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna,

etc., for Brand AB or watch young actors like Shahrukh, Hrithik, Abhishek, etc. Also

another point with the Brand AB is the over-use of the brand, just like over-cooking a

food - this may lead to the loss in the mystique of Brand AB. However, AB justified

his huge amount of working to the reason of paying back his debt. He said in an

interview, "There was a sword hanging on my head all the time. I spent many

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sleepless nights. One day, I got up early in the morning and went directly to Yash

Chopraji and told him that I was bankrupt. I had no films. My house and a small

property in New Delhi were attached. Yashji listened coolly, and then offered me a

role in his film 'Mohabattein', after he re-launched ABCL as AB Corp on his 61st

birthday in 2003. "I then started doing commercials, television and films. And I am

happy to say today that I have repaid my entire debt of Rs. 90 crores (Rs. 900

million) and am starting afresh," he added. But still today, after paying back all his

debts, Brand AB is doing the highest number of films and advertisements - the

question is whether this is being done in order to stay relevant to the target

audience, and if it is to see whether it will work? So all these discussions lead us to

the two brand images of AB, which was mentioned at the start.

Questionnaire:

1)Does anybody endorses brands better than Amitabh Bachan?

Does anybody endorses brands better than him?

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2) Which brand does he endorse better?

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3) How is PARKER as a brand?

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4) How is CADBURY as a brand?

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5) How is REID & TAYLOR as a brand?

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6) How is BOROPLUS as a brand?

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.labnol.org/

www.esomar.org

Brand Personality Enhancement- An Experimental Study of

Alternative Strategies – by: Natalia Maehle, Department of

Strategy and Management, Norway

Case Study: Amitabh Bachchan - Repositioning a Tomorrow's

Brand - by Shirshendu Ganguli *

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