Spotlight

Building global brands

London, New York, Paris - globally more cities are emerging or have emerged as individual entities. Can a similar strategy be worked out in India to strengthen the brands of our own metro cities, particularly with the Commonwealth Games just around the corner? By Andrea Lopez

If we look through the annals of history, and particularly, the recent years, we will notice that cities that had one been the epicenters of trade and commerce, have grown to develop their own exclusive identities. So much so that today, if one thinks of Australia, the first thought that comes to mind is Sydney. Similarly, with London, Paris and New York. These cities have created and cashed in on their USPs in such a way that they have developed exclusive identities, almost moving out of the shadow of their parent countries. Apart from being an intelligent gimmick to attract more tourists, a city with an established brand, by virtue of being branded, adheres to a certain code that ensures that it remains a brand. This may be in terms of infrastructure, governmental policies or the cultural ethos. But what really goes into branding a city? Is it merely image building for the sake of standing tall?

Prem Subramaniam, principal (business development), Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) is of the opinion that there is a lack of clarity when it comes to branding a city or a destination. "Most people confuse a clever strap line, logo, slogan or campaign with a brand. A destination brand requires a comprehensive strategy that encompasses the destination experience from a visitor and prospective visitor perspective. This cannot be achieved by advertising alone," he says. According to him, a genuine brand is the internalised sum of all impressions received by customers, both current and prospective, resulting in a distinctive positioning in their mind's eye based on perceived emotional and functional benefits. This is true in India's case, where branding of cities is more of an advertising exercise, the essence of the destination being lost somewhere along the way. States like Maharashtra, Gujarat and more recently, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu Kashmir, perhaps learning from the success stories of Kerala and Goa have struck upon the idea of designing innovative logos and strap lines. Such an exercise may create brand recall, but if the props that support the brand cannot be sustained, it will be a weak attempt at image building.

Chewing the 'Big Apple'

A report entitled 'The Branding of Cities' by Julia Winfield Pfefferkorn in 2005, reveals that for a city to be adjudged a brand, it must possess certain criteria. This includes defining characteristics that can be readily identified, in terms of functional as well as non functional qualities, including city appearance, people's experiences of the city, their belief in the city, what the city stands for and the kind of people that inhabit the city. Case studies of cities that have been successfully branded would be those of New York and Paris, wherein the above criteria was met. Berlin too tried the branding exercise, but failed somewhere along the way because of confusing non-distinctive brands, economic problems and a negative history. In the case of New York City, the title 'the big apple' is claimed to have originated somewhere in the 1970s, when jazz artists began using it as slang for a desirable location to perform. The New York Convention and the Visitor's bureau decided it was an innovative strap line that presented the city as a 'cheery' place and New York officially became 'the Big Apple'. At the same time, an effort was made to promote tourism in the state and the 'I Love NY' campaign kicked off. Pfefferkorn, in her report, refers to it as one of the most successful and longest branding campaigns in history. Iconic sites like the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, and Central Park soon came to be the props that held the entire branding strategy together. A well-branded city will withstand the test of time and this can be seen in the case of New York. Post 9/11, the city was shaken, but regained its composure quickly. If brand New York is associated with all things cosmopolitan, Paris, with its cobbled streets and intricate architecture, became the romantic city. And if it bodes well to play on historical associations while branding a city, Rome would be one such instance.

Building brand India

The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone was in Mumbai recently, along with a delegation to discuss how global cities are built. The discourse called 'London and India: Partners in Globalisation, discussed what the two countries could learn from each other in their emergence as powerful cities in the 21st century, and more so what India could learn from London as the most rapidly expanding European city. Interestingly, it was seen that infrastructure, an efficient transport system, social and economic development, and city planning were highest on the list when it came to maintaining a city's position as a world class city. These factors contributed to enhancing the overall image of the destination. This also becomes the base on which cities are built and then subsequently branded. Demographics also play a significant role in the emergence of powerful cities, as it has been seen throughout history that all great cities developed around the sea.

Pual Deighton, chief executive of the London Organising Committee of the 2012 Olympic Games, on his visit to India spoke about London's preparation for the Olympic Games in 2012 and the opportunity it presented to the city to further strengthen its brand. India is due to host the Commonwealth Games in 2010, (only the second city in Asia to do so) and accordingly the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) aim to use the Games in Delhi to promote India as a potential destination for business and investment. Since winning the bid in 2003, outrunning the Canadian port city of Hamilton, a budget of over Rs 5000 crore has been designated to put infrastructure and other support facilities like accommodation and transport in place. This presents the capital with a good opportunity to increase its global visibility and sell 'brand New Delhi to the world'.

Subramaniam is of the opinion that branding a destination is a complex exercise requiring specialist skills. "It requires intensive work and engagement with a diverse multitude of people through a comprehensive research process. Some of our cities have distinctive characteristics and can probably be branded successfully." He cites the case of Kolkatta for instance, where a book written by Dominique Lappiere serves a potential strap line, which could be developed into a brand. "The city has individuals who have learnt to share and care despite extreme conditions of despair. With icons like Mother Theresa on one hand and Satyajit Ray on the other, it represents an amazing cauldron of compassion and creativity amidst incredible chaos."

What's in a name?

A fact about brands is that they are essentially timeless and in order to sustain them, they should be left that way. A classic case in this regard would be the re-christening of Bombay as 'Mumbai'. Ashwini Kakkar, executive vice chairman, Mercury travels says that the mere transition of a name, from Bombay to Mumbai was sufficient to dilute a chunk of brand value. Bombay represented the sum of total of a bygone era, a synthesis of the British civilisation that lingered in the very name 'Bombay'. As much as the association with our colonisers may have been wished away, the ideology of 'Bombay' quickly came to be associated with local trains, the dabbawallahs, Bollywood, a cultural melting pot, and anything that was quick-paced.

However, Subramaniam says, "Mumbai has some characteristics too, such as the home of Bollywood, the epicentre of the madness for cricket, the dabbawallah, an inherent resilience, and so on. The process of branding requires flushing out some of these impressions of the city. However, if there are no visitor experiences, which can enrich the perceptions, the branding remains notional and has no intrinsic value."

Across India, the French, the Dutch, the Portuguese and the British, with their distinctive geographical presence created a cultural melange that became embedded and lent face value to a destination. "We fail too see the cultural aspects of branding. When Bombay became Mumbai, it created dissonance for the visitor. Branding is all about ploughing in the same direction, inevitably the brand that had taken years to form lost its value with the mere changing of a name. With the number of cities increasing globally, it is essential to retain the niche that you have created because soon it will become difficult to brand cities," says Kakkar.

A few years ago, an attempt was made to brand Mumbai along the same lines as New York. Instead of 'the Big Apple', Mumbai became 'the Big Mango'. The title did not last long, however, it did pave way for something different - the widely used and seen 'Aamchi Mumbai' tagline in fact had its offshoots from the 'Big Mango' campaign. The downside is that the campaign couldn't sustain itself. Like any project, it requires participation from all governing bodies, from the ministry of tourism to the mayor's office. One interesting aspect about branding a destination is that of designing the logo and strap line, and the importance of employing the name of the city/location. It strengthens brand recall and recognition.

If India is to take branding seriously, it should not merely be for the sake of image building in the form of paper campaigns. The true essence of a city should be captured to make a branding exercise complete.