East is East and West is West-1

East is East and West is West: Unveiling Contrasts

India is a complex country to make sense of. Even for many Indians. And, if one has to make sense of the consumers from different parts of India, it becomes even more challenging. 

We all know how linguistically, culturally, and socially diverse India is, and the same multicolored flavor mirrors the diversity that makes up consumers from different parts of the country too. What is acceptable in Kochi may be anathema in Kashmir. Even the same State sibling cities, Chennai and Coimbatore, with the same predominant language, a mere 400 kilometers away, have characteristics so distinct that it would surprise most.

Among the challenges that Marketing Decision Makers (MDMs) face is the difficulty to customize their brand communication to regional nuances. It not only takes enormously more effort than a one-campaign-fits-all, but it also costs a lot more. But even if the money and effort were put in, it is still not easy, because the marketing team will have to take difficult brand decisions for geographies that they are not fully aware of. 

Not only does a failed brand campaign miss its own organization’s targets, but such a campaign may have a more drastic impact by alienating the very consumers the brand was seeking to align with. Campaigns are usually measured on a ‘how-well-did-the-campaign-work’ scale, but there is a strong argument favoring campaigns be measured on a plus and minus scale, lest the campaign has left the brand with a lower perception than before. 

It is important that marketing decisions succeed, since failed decisions destroy the potential and the confidence of the brand, not to mention consumers. Market research is one method that helps MDMs make better decisions about their brands, especially in geographies they are not familiar with. However, it would be far more relevant to know how the local Marketing Decision Makers are making decisions. And, if it were taken from several of them, the collective view would be very near the true representation of the consumer of that city/zone. 

TRA’s Marketing Decision Index (MDI) is an attempt to bring such information to the hands of every Marketing Decision Maker. A global first, TRA’s MDI is a quarterly report that culls brand decisions of 800+ MDMs across 16 cities. The report gives nuances and details of their decisions at a city level. Think of it like the MDI is a group of peer advisors that you have at your disposal or similar to asking a local for directions in a strange city.

Read the report free at www.MarketingDecisionIndex.com. A premium version is also available, with the city and zone levels analyzed in detail. East is East and West is West, said Rudyard Kipling in his famous poem, now it is time for the two to meet. 

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Shopping Basket
Scroll to Top