Marketing Tips from Gods of Personal Branding

Source: Sanjay Patel

Most of us start off trying to figure out: “What do I want to do in life?”, only to wonder, once the inevitable mid-life crisis hits “What is the purpose of my life?”

My last post discussed how managers keep switching roles in the drama of life. We move from playing, victim-villain-hero, depending on the situation. In this post, let’s zoom out and look at the ‘life scripts’, ie. the entire lifespan of brands, through examples gleaned from Indic mythological characters. 

Life Scripts - according to this concept, children as young as five years old, can decide how their life will pan out and subconsciously work towards it. While the child may have written the script, their ideation and conditioning is based on their home environment. Much like the fate of brands, whose trajectories are decided by their 'parents' in their early years.                                                            

Now, please don’t get fatalistic about choices you probably made at the age of five and think that it’s written in stone – nothing is (other than maybe stone etchings).

The good news is that life scripts can be re-written. Simply put, old behaviours and conditioning, once identified, can then be changed. 

To put this in a marketing perspective, let’s travel from Ramayan to the battlefields of Mahabharat. Through well-known characters, we will see the difference between life scripts that were fulfilled and those that were re-written. 

Life script fulfilled

Shikhandi’s story - in a past life, princess Amba, prayed to Lord Shiva that she should be the cause of Bhishma’s death for the humiliation he had made her suffer. Thus, reborn a girl - she was raised as a boy by King Drupad. In the battle of Mahabharat, Arjun stood behind Shikhandi and shot arrows at Bhishma, knowing Bhishma wouldn’t attack female-born Shikhandi. Her life mission complete, Shikhandi survives though goes on to lead an unremarkable life. 

Drishtadyumna (Shikhandi’s younger brother, and Draupadi’s twin) story - he was apparently born out of fire, to avenge his father, King Drupad’s humiliating defeat in war caused by Dronacharya. Drishtadyumna finally beheads Dronacharya in the battle of Mahabharat. His life purpose fulfilled, Drishtadyumna later died in the same battle.

Early death, once purpose served - we have now seen an example of a life that ended with its script – Drishtadyumna’s. Shikhandi’s example, on the other hand demonstrates how one’s life could lose ‘meaning’ after fulfilling its script. Life scripts don’t necessarily end with a person’s death. Scripts could even end earlier, causing a mid-life crisis. 

Brands also face similar mid-cycle crises. Some become redundant or obsolete after serving their purpose, like CDs, and hand-held torches. Then there are those which continue to exist with waning fervour, much like life-changing products that lose their novelty – such as mobile phones and refrigerators.

For such brands, trouble lies in being unable to re-write their scripts. The big question, is there a brand after-life while the brand still lives?

Re-scripting Life  

Story of Ganesha - conceived by Parvati to protect her privacy while bathing, Ganesh is beheaded by Shiva who was trying to get past him to enter Parvati’s space. Ganesha’s life purpose served in a single blow – literally!

However, Ganesha, who is brought back to life by Shiva on Parvati’s insistence in a new avatar bestowed with an elephant’s head, lives on to add many fruitful chapters to his life - including writing the entire Mahabharat in a single sitting! 

Krishna’s reinvention - the most well-known character in the Mahabharat, he was actually born to kill his evil maternal uncle Kamsa. He completed this mission by the age of eleven (as per some sources).

However, his ‘original life script’ seems insignificant given his pivotal role in the Mahabharat – especially his existential discourse to Arjun on the battle field. 

Both characters above, are successful examples of amazing brand reinventions, and re-writing one’s life script.

I have put down some marketing lessons we could learn from these gods of brand purpose – 

1.      One script can lead to many related script opportunities – Ganesha went from mother’s security guard, to symbolise wisdom, master of sciences, amongst others. Krishna, in turn went from cowherd casanova, to strategist, to existential authority and more.

Takeaway: Similarly, brands can redefine their purpose by moving into ‘related’ product categories. A new purpose that leverages its existing equity to write a new script. By example, an established antiseptic brand can retain its germ killing properties and extend them to hand soap, bathing bars, hand sanitizer, house cleaner. This way it re-writes its life script beyond the first aid kit. 

2.      Continuous reinvention – every new adventure earned both the gods a new name – usually to immortalise yet another story.

Takeaway: Brands too need to be open to letting go of ‘their idea’ of self-identity, or what consumers think the brand stands for. Visionary marketers leap at new opportunities early, while others play catch-up for perpetuity. By example, inertia to move from camera films to digital cameras cost a company its life. Similarly, a carbonated drinks brand reinvented itself by investing in healthier products by spotting a change in consumer habits early on.

3.      Completely re-write the original script – both Krishna and Ganesh proved their rivals and critics wrong by moving from their ‘original scripts’. They carved their own identities separate from their parents and original purpose. 

Takeway: Brands too can enter new categories, and create brands independent of the mother brand. They may do this through acquisition or launching new brands. An Indian ‘salt to steel’ conglomerate is a great example of re-writing its original brand story.

Conclusion - I hope this journey has helped you identify where your brands are. Product obsolescence aside, most brands can re-write their life scripts. One needs to identify old conditioning and baggage that needs to be shed. Then one can start looking to the future; by entering related categories, or entirely new categories. It is possible to reinvent brands, and for them to enjoy many-after lives even after their original purpose has been fulfilled.