Not a long ago, Cadbury a timeless chocolate manufacturer was in trouble as there were reports of insects and germs in their chocolates and then there was a TV commercial featuring Amitabh Bachchan, where he says that now I can sleep peacefully as he rests assured that Cadburys is taking care of the food quality and the TVC also showed a video of Amitabh in their factory, testing the products. Boom! Soon the sales went up again and most of us were back to stores picking the sugary Chocolates again.
This is the power of Brand and let’s say in this case this was also the power of Brand-Amitabh Bachchan, who else do we think could have pulled off something like this, it is indeed very difficult to think of an alternate name.
Thus, we thought there is a lot to learn from him on Branding, here the 5 things we can learn from Amitabh Bachchan on Branding:
1. Challenge the Status Quo
Depending on your age or your movie preferences, you might be an Amitabh Bachchan fan from his movies in the 1970s or even if you were not a fan, his presence was hard to ignore. There was something very disrupting about the roles he essayed, they were very different from the roles other actors were portraying then. Commonly known as the angry young man, he often played a small-town man who was angry with the system and was ready to fight it. He challenged the rich and mighty and that resonated with the audience like never before.
As a brand challenging the Status Quo is difficult and risky but the rewards and there to be seen.
2. Have a Unique Voice
The actors who were contemporary of Amitabh Bachchan were mainly soft-spoken, loverboys and had a smooth and affectionate voice. Amitabh Bachchan had a distinct heavy voice, in fact, he was rejected from All India Radio for having an uncommon voice. However, the audience loved it as it was something that they had never heard of and instantly fell in love.
Similarly, people love the brands that have a distinct voice and stand for something that resonates with them.
3. Performance and Quality Matters
His disruptive roles and distinct heavy voice were accompanied by some really strong roles that he performed on screen. His acting was top class and gave full effort, people were immersed in the complete experience he offered – Great Performance and Distinct Features.
Brands also need to ensure that it is not just the videos and advertisements that make a brand great, it has to be accompanied by consistent and great service or products. Performance and Quality Matters.
4. Don’t Get Stuck in Time
Amitabh changed with time when he realised that playing the lead actor was not suiting his age, he completely changed his look and went for the bearded look and essayed the role of a father, army man or a super-rich with the utmost ease. He also moved from movies to TV serials with Kaun Banega Crorepati, that made him a household name once again.
Brands need to understand that they can’t be stuck in one image forever, they need to evolve and disrupt the status quo of the current times and evolve.
5.Treat Crisis as an Opportunity
Every crisis brought the best in Amitabh Bachchan, time and again. He got injured while shooting and connected with the audience beautifully post his recovery, then he had a lean patch in movies and relaunched himself on TV as an anchor to change the TV shows forever.
Every now and then Brands also go through a crisis with situations that are often beyond their control. How they respond is what matters, COVID crisis right now turned a boon for some companies who adjusted to it.
Read More: Are you using the right Content and Graphics in your Business Communication?
