MUMBAI: The recently launched India’s Most Attractive Brands 2018 report ranked brands across categories based on an elaborate model measuring which brands the consumers desire the most. The results were calculated after thorough research that involved TRA interacting with people across the country and seeking their responses over a number of ‘attractive attributes’.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch event, TRA Research CEO N Chandramouli shared some valuable insights into the marketing culture of today as well. He said that many marketers today do not know their customers They have made stark generalisations about who likes what and what has a market where. While they, in many cases, might be successful in increasing the sales, they lose out on carving an identity for the brand. They fail in driving ‘customer loyalty’.

“When it comes to ‘loyalty’, most brands rely on the customer to be loyal. They do not think that a customer has a number of options to choose from; one is spoilt for choices. Thus, the brands will have to adapt and deliver,” said Chandramouli.

He noted that brands today employ a marketing tactic called ‘dynamite advertising’—which is similar to an old fishing technique where fishermen dropped dynamite in the sea to easily catch the dead fish after the explosion. He implied that brands today are creating a lot of noise to boost sales but this form of advertising isn’t helping them in creating a distinct identity.

Chandramouli added, “Brands need to understand that sales and identity are two completely different things. The age of selling is dead. It’s the time to help people in buying. Thus, brands must think ten years ahead and do things that attract the customer. A brand shouldn’t be speaking about itself. In fact, the consumer should be talking about it and making it popular.”

But in an age and time of cut-throat competition and each brand focusing on unique marketing trends; it might become difficult to stand out. To this, Chandramouli said that brands should look into the data and studies and find out its own identity before promoting itself. He also said that brands shouldn’t rely completely on agencies for the creatives but rather be involved in creating their own identities.

It is imperative for brands of today to cut through the noise and come up with ideas that attract consumers. Be it creating campaigns that stand out or contribute to a social cause or sponsor programmes that reach their true target audience; brands will have to act if they want to stay relevant for the longer term.