When Brand Happened to be a Synonym for Product Category

When I was 9 years old, I used to come across a small cottage in my locality where I always found some people reading something during the morning hours and also in the evening hours. One day I, impatiently, asked my brother, “whose house is this? And why do some people always gather here?" He said, "This is not anyone's house. This is a library managed by the municipal corporation, where people come to read “Samaj." I understood what he said, though you must be curious to know what Samaj is. It is a very popular Oriya newspaper which gained so much popularity at a point of time that it became a synonym for Oriya newspaper. Means people in that library used to read 10 to 12 newspapers including Samaj.

When i was 10 years old, once my mother gave me 2 rupees and asked me to bring surf powder from a nearby general store. I went with the money, and asked the shopkeeper to give me surf powder. He took the two coins from me, but instead of surf, he packed some amount of Nirma washing powder and gave it to me. I was hesitant to ask for a clarification. So I came back to my mother, and gave her the packet. She found the Nirma powder when she opened the packet. I thought she would blast at me as I got the wrong brand. But on the contrary, she said, "now, you can go to play. I will start washing your clothes." But I had to tell her the truth. I said, "mother, actually the shopkeeper gave me Nirma powder instead of surf powder." she said, "you don't know?! Every washing powder is called surf powder."

Similarly, there were many other products which gained so much popularity that they became synonyms for their respective product categories. For example, Xerox stood for all photocopy machines, Hero Honda for bikes, Nirma for detergent cakes, Bajaj for scooters. But that was long time (nearly two decades) back. Now-a-days, we hardly find any brand surpassing all the rest of the brands of a product category in popularity in such a drastic way that it can stand for the whole category. Means, now every low cost car is not 'Nano' for us, every mobile phone is not 'Nokia', and every toothpaste is not 'Colgate'.

Maybe this is because of the extensive marketing measures taken by every single product, covering all the possible mediums - print, outdoor, TV, radio, internet, mobile phone. none of the brands leaves any stone unturned to make it to the top, trying to reach every single potential customer. Good for them, but bad for us (consumers). Now, we have to pay much more than the actual production cost for every product. And end of the day, it is our pockets which are lightened to meet the cost of the extensive promotional measures they take to introduce us with the benefits of the products.

Are you buying a dream and not a product?

Recently I came across a new and strange way of marketing (at least for me). Let me first describe how it takes place. One person buys a product from a given list and becomes a member of the chain. He makes two members, each of them has to buy one product out of the standard list of options. And then, the process goes on. The first mentioned member will get an amount as soon as his subordinates make two members each.

What is more interesting is the way you are introduced to the process. A friend of yours or someone who knows you properly or someone who just came to know you recently asks you to attend a seminar. You are promised that the seminar is going to be quite educative. Now, who won’t be interested to get free education? The greed of getting education free of cost takes you to the seminar hall. And shockingly, what you see is a handsome, powerful speaker who is there to tell you how you can be a millionaire within a few years. He will give you all the examples of rich people, convince you that this is not a member-making scheme from which everyone runs away. The effective leader introduces you to the process while giving you examples of people who have already been benefited by the scheme and proving how other people who are not a member are living a worse life than those who are members.

What is even more interesting is that your friend who took you there was instructed that he would not reveal the entire thing before you. Maybe it was feared that he wouldn’t be able to leave a mark as effective as the experienced speaker could. Though your friend has cheated on you and violated your citizen rights by not informing you about where you were guided towards, he will try his best to convince you that he is your well-wisher and that he wants to see you as a rich man, without any sign of repentance on his face.

Anyway, the only thing that remains in your mind is that one can be a rich person within a few years by being a member of the scheme. And, you buy a product to become a member. And advertise the product to two more customers whom they term as members and even employees. If you think that the product is something as small as a pen or pencil, you are totally wrong. It will be something like a vacuum cleaner or washing machine costing you as much as thousands of rupees. But, anything to become a millionaire in few years is always welcome!

What is missing here, in the whole description, is the significance of the product. I am not saying that the product will be of low quality. But, did you need that now? Did you have any plan to buy that now? Even if it’s a big NO, you had to buy THAT. By the word “THAT” I didn’t mean the product, but ‘a dream to become rich’. Yes, you buy a dream to become rich, at the same time, you buy an accountability to lie to your friends that you will buy dreams for them too. By the way, just imagine, how smart you have to be to convince your friend that you want him to become successful when you think, he is a step of the ladder to your success.

The point here is to avoid being consumers unconsciously. If we want to buy something, we will buy it on the merit of the product complemented by the intensity of the necessity. And finally, what they say on TV, Jaago Grahak Jaago (consumers, be alert)!