Youth is ‘in'. Just ask MTV, Channel V, Pepsi and now Coke.

The reality however is that youth are more than a primary market for goods and services.  They are tremendous influencers for other family purchases. And significantly enough - a major future market for a range of products and services. It is a ‘no-brainer' to suggest that young people are changing. Dramatically. And differently from country to country and culture to culture.

The ‘icon' of the 80's shrinks in popularity.

Levi Strauss. One of the greatest American brands is suddenly in trouble. We, the Woodstock generation, yearned to own one Levi's jeans in our wardrobe. We eyed the visitors from abroad who flaunted their Levi's with envy barely conceived.

But what has happened today?  Levi's is closing plants and laying-off thousands of employees. Since today's youth have moved on to trendier offerings like Old Navy, The Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, MUDD, etc... And sadly enough Levi's is being considered ‘stodgy' by today's western youth. Unthinkable? But true. "The only one I know who wears Levi's is my dad." says a 16 year-old derisively, reminding me of what Quentin Crisp, a British author and a film critic said way back in 1908. "The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another."

Arguably Indian youth do not have the same iconoclastic views about their parents and life in general. But what seems fairly clear is that parental approval notwithstanding; they will not align themselves with a ‘stodgy' brand.

How current is your brand?

Many of us have grown up with brands. The most precious gift I received in 1968 for passing my school exams was a ‘HMT' Sona priced at Rs. 110/. My son (thankfully) passed his 10th exams. But I am sure he wouldn't be caught dead wearing a HMT watch. So many powerful brands of yore have lost their lustre over the years. They have failed to spot the changes in the market and among consumers. And even more importantly, failed to upgrade their brand's image and make it contemporary. I am sure many of you recall dominant brands of your childhood, which are struggling now more than ever, against the onslaught of ‘trendier' brands and attractive foreign labels.

The challenge of being "with it"

In the Indian context, we have had several brands that have been dominant for many years. Brands like Phillips, Godrej and Bajaj are those that we are familiar with. We as customers have patronised these brands and derived a fair amount of satisfaction from using them. Many of our houses have these brands. Our children who are now in their youth have grown up with these brands.

But in the near future when they fork out their own personal cash to buy one of these products like a TV or a music system, which brand would they buy? The ones their parents bought or a newer, trendier (possible multinational) offering. I suspect the latter, unless the brands in question get intimate with today's youth.

The solution is not merely producing ‘youthful' advertising. Levi's did that, but it hasn't helped. Sometime back they ran a new advertising campaign called "what's rue" featuring teens wearing jeans in ways that fit their personal style. For instance, in one print ad, a dreadlock sporting youth wears dark, baggy Levi's while standing on a sidewalk with a sign that reads ‘conformity breeds mediocrity.'

The trick is to understand what kids (I use the word loosely here) want. If they want super, wide-bottom slacks or cargo pants with large pockets on the thighs, give it to them. Then, you are not seen as "daddy's generation" but today's.

Every Sunday morning I diligently watch a program called ‘Rangoli' and whenever a black & white film song appears, my son turns to me and says, "your favourite song, Daddy." Sad but true; it only has to be black and white to be daddy's favourite. Is your brand "black & white" in a world of kaleidoscopic colours?

A company on the fast track

Here's an example of one Indian brand, that  has kept with the times. Titan was launched in 1989. (Coincidentally, the year of my 5th wedding anniversary.) My gift? A Titan. 1992 - my 10th wedding anniversary.  My gift? A Titan amongst other things. 1997 - my 15th wedding anniversary. My gift?  A Titan.

You might, I suspect ask for more variety in life but consistency has its virtues. Titan, in 1987, was aimed at young, upwardly mobile executives. We bought into their concept of gifting and the ownership of multiple watches. Today, many of us own multiple watches (presumably Titan). But what about our children, our nephews and our friends in the age group of 16-25? To them, Titan means a solid, reliable, high quality brand. Could it also mean fuddy-duddy?

And the reality is that today's emerging customer is younger, trendier and guided more by his peers than his parents in brand choice. And this is where ‘Fast Track' comes in. The images are ‘cool' whether it is a mint, a cologne or a girl in a bikini and it's reinforced by a line which says ‘Cool watches from Titan." I believe that strategically it's a major departure - a conscious decision to move away from what Titan originally stood for and focus on current trends. The brand properties continue, the signature tune is cheekily whistled and behind it all is the reassurance of the Titan name. The purist might question the validity of a multi-brand strategy. But that argument can only be resolved at the market place.

I suspect it will be resolved in Titan's favour. Let me also reiterate that advertising is only one (important) part of the brand story. The product offering too is young. And strangely enough, Citizen has shot itself in the foot in India with a chunky product range that belongs to my father's time.

Yes, the youth in India are a mass niche and to quote from a recent seminar, "They (youth) have never wound a watch, dialed a telephone or plonked the keys of a manual typewriter. But they think nothing of formatting a floppy disc, downloading music off the internet....Yes, we need to get into their heads and see how they think.

And more importantly, we need to think about our own brands. How appealing are they to today's youth?  

Ramanujam Sridhar is CEO Brand-comm, which offers public relations advertising and brand consulting   Feedback can be mailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it \n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it "

Issue BG84 Mar 08

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Comments (2)

	1. 08-07-2008 11:49
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	2. 26-06-2008 16:28
	Others following too The recent brand reviving strategy by another famous older brand "Bata" is very similar to the Tital story. From a point few years back, when only the grandparents were visiting Bata stores, a fresh infusion of fashion and stock has given a new life lease to Bata. http://lifeislikethatrasika.blogspot.com/ Registered Report

Rasika Gokhale

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