MUMBAI: When an organisation, often termed globally as ‘a challenger’, ‘provocative’, or ‘millennial whisperer’, expands to be present across multiple screens reaching millions of new viewers in new geographies, there’s always a dilemma between living up to the years and years of brand legacy or forming a new identity that the local community can trust. On one side is the brand DNA and on the other are the cultural nuances of a country like India.
As this proverb puts it in the best way, "Every two miles the water changes, every four miles the speech.”
In such a scenario, the biggest challenge for any global entity, especially in the content and media landscape, is to understand diversity, not only in the context of geographical boundaries or topographical differences but in terms of culture, food habits, customs, beliefs, attire, scripts, and more.
High mobile penetration and connectivity in the country have provided us with avenues that unify communication in a way that transcends most of the aforesaid barriers. A young girl in a remote town has access to not only entertainment at her fingertips but also more time at hand to be influenced or inspired.
This represents a great canvas to do business but also a high sense of responsibility when it comes to creating and distributing content. Hence, for those looking at the country from the outside, India cannot just be an opportunity game of exceptional audience numbers or percentages; it has to be a learning process to help brands navigate and set up a business away from home.
Investment in research and local talent acquisition are two important factors that need to be emphasized on while drawing business models and go-to-market strategies for India. No one understands India like Indians and no amount of time invested is enough in understanding the nuances that make us truly who we are.
While establishing VICE in the country, the team deliberately invested time in hiring the best talent to form local content and research functions even before a business development team was put in place. This allowed the brand to develop its own indigenous tonality while keeping the global brand DNA intact. Furthermore, widespread on-ground primary research allowed the local teams to educate the global counterparts about the market and what makes it unique in terms of regional variations, etiquette and languages.
It is an exciting time for India with a new wave of audiences coming online for the first time. These users will experience content and entertainment in way that they haven't imagined yet. To play a significant role in creating a brand that represents the voice of the youth of India, and help bring their stories and creativity to the rest of the world, we have to believe in the importance of staying authentic.
Operating in India demands organizations to remain true to their core ethos. For VICE, it means content taking center-stage with a strong youth focus. And above all, full transparency while communicating with our audience.
In today’s dynamic times, companies have to create what the audience wants and not get influenced by what is working in some of the more developed parts of the world. We have to believe that we are building a culture that is unique and that will have an impact on how the parent brand does business in other parts of the world.
The author is CEOat Vice India. The views expressed here are her own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.
