Abstract
The convergence of contemporary marketing techniques with ancient Hindu epics is explored in this book. The book provides insightful analysis to marketers seeking novel strategies for success in the current competitive environment. The authors talk about the journey of a brand from its inception to its extinction in one of the most unique fashions—by comparing them to ‘dash avatar’, the 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu. The initial chapters begin with explaining the concepts like stages of the product life cycle from introduction to maturity by comparing it with eternal concepts of Life and Death. It simultaneously draws management lessons by unifying marketing and mythology. The book presents the narrative that despite all the technological advancements, human nature has not changed and the solutions to present-day human problems lie in knowledge of ancient texts and scriptures. It is noteworthy to mention that the subject matter of the book has very little commonalities with the subject matter of the Bhagavad Gita.
Chapter 1, ‘Success in a Fish Scale,’ highlights the importance of the invisible hand of marketing at the beginning of the business. Matsya Murthy, the first avatar of Lord Vishnu, saved the Vedas from demon Hayagreeva and saved King Satyavrat (popularly named as Manu). The advice Matsya Murthy gave Manu to accumulate resources is a lesson for start-up companies looking to expand into new markets and product lines. The authors cited how Google acted as the Matsya for a start-up named Dunzo when it shut down its business operations for two months because of their inability to handle the exponential demand.
Blue ocean strategy has been explained with the caselet of how a well-known company id entered the uncontested markets of branded batter ready-to-cook/eat segment in Bangalore (the city for all start-ups). Red ocean strategy has been explained with the example of DMart portraying the challenges of creating and sustaining a business in the initial stages of product life cycle. The significance of Porter’s five forces model has been highlighted by citing various examples like bargaining power of suppliers (Chik shampoo), threat of substitutes (OTT for normal cable, IPL for movies and Epigamia Greek Yogurt replacing Desi Ghee and Dahi) to name a few.
Chapter 2, ‘ACE in the Tortoise Shell,’ discusses the role played by Kurmavatar (the second avatar of Lord Vishnu) in churning the milk ocean for the amrita (the nectar of immortality) by suggesting devas to join hands with Asuras and thus suggesting working with rivals for a greater good. Zomato and Swiggy were able to reduce the customer acquisition cost and accelerate market awareness in the online food delivery market space by having an unofficial understanding. ITC’s Sunfeast Dark chocolate-filled cookie provides valuable lessons for first movers. Nirma’s Karsanbhai Patel efforts are a captivating read to create market awareness. The success story of PULSE from DS Group highlights the significance of market research in the initial stages of the product life cycle.
Chapter 3, ‘Power of a Boar Tusk’, provides pragmatic and unique insights for the requirement of incredible resources to gain a competitive advantage over entry barriers by explaining the saga of Hiranyaksha and Varaha (the third avatar of Lord Vishnu). The threat to Bhu Devi/Bhumi Devi teaches the readiness required with regards to unforeseen challenges. The success of Fevicol from the house of Pidilite underlines the usage of marketing as a barrier to entry in an engaging way by creating an unbreakable bond with the help of quirky advertisements.
The Flourish
Chapter 4, ‘All in the Name of Mane,’ enlightens the readers about the Narasimha avatar as a transition from animal-based avatars to human-based avatars. The chapter adds novelty by sharing the episode of fighting between Narasimha and Sharabha (an avatar of Lord Shiva) and how Lord Narasimha turned into Gandaberunda. The Narasimha avatar exemplifies the situation of losing the plot while fighting an internal battle to keep a balance between nature and humanity. Hippo offering baked wheat munchies from Parle adds validity to this scenario of losing the plot during the growth stage resulting in an exit from the market.
Chapter 5, ‘Ignoring the Dwarf Umbrella’, marks the arrival of Vamanavatar (the first to don a human form) as a watershed moment in the annals of Hindu Mythology. Marketing myopia (a concept popularized by a professor from Harvard, Theodore Levitt) is explained by how big traditional companies missed the trick of attracting youth to the stock market. Zerodha kept things simple by making the process simple with the help of a sleek UI and low commission rates.
In Chapter 6, ‘Escaping the Angry Axe’, the sixth avatar of Blue Lord (famously known as Lord Vishnu), Parashuram, a Brahmin who was not hesitant to fight, teaches us how to never lose your ground and the same has been compared using the case study of HUL and Marico in Hair Oil category. Marico’s Parachute was not allowing HUL-owned Nihar to grow in a double-digit market share. Despite facing a long-term assault by HUL, Parachute (a cash cow for Marico) with the help of packaging re-design and revived brand campaign, helped Marico not only stand its ground but eventually in acquiring Nihar.
The Prime
Chapter 7, ‘Strength of a Bow,’ highlights the importance of brand equity with the journey of Lord Ram (the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu) from a prince to a warrior. Lord Ram created an aura with his values (unflinching stance) and epitomized himself as ‘Maryada Purshottam’. The partnership between Lord Ram and Monkey King (Vanar Raj) Sugreev highlights the power of co-branding. The authors have chosen the story of Mondelez and McDonald’s with Mondelez providing their Oreo flavoured drinks at McDonald’s outlets. Consolidation between fierce competitors like Intel and AMD and a radical alliance between Airtel and Pepsi is a business lesson for many trying to win the rat race by running alone in today’s world.
Chapter 8, ‘Peacock Feather Musings,’ explains the journey of Lord Krishna (the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu) from Gokul to Vrindavan to Dwarka.
Krishna’s critique of Indra worship and recommendation to worship Govardhana Giri mountain reminds us that, as long as the spirit of traditions is upheld, some issues require unconventional viewpoints in order to be solved.
Building a city in the middle of water was another unconventional move to avoid enemy attacks. The business houses who are planning to design CSR activities can take a cue from Krishna’s help to Sudama that subtle actions of kindness have better influence than charity. A unique comparison is drawn by authors between two avatars Lord Ram and Lord Krishna (both these avatar’s time on earth spanned over two yugas). Lord ram’s relentless attitude is required in the initial stages of maturity phase and Krishna’s temperament is vital to maintain the growth rate in the later part of maturity phase of any brand.
In Project Shakti, HUL did something really conventional by making existing customers as their own ambassadors as Shakti Ammas and Shaktimaans. Bajaj has come a long way from ‘Hamara Bajaj’ to ‘World’s favourite Indian.’ They did something very unconventional by backing out from a popular brand which helped it in becoming a leader. Krishna did something similar by sacrificing Ghatotkach to ensure Pandavas win the war. The strategy of Bajaj to produce customized products according to the needs of African, North American and European Markets finds similarity with Krishna’s style of dealing with so many innumerable situations in an unconventional manner.
The Ebb
Chapter 9, ‘Peepal Tree Worth,’ highlights Lord Buddha’s (the ninth avatar of Lord Vishnu) journey that finding the problem the brand is attempting to solve and attachment towards processes and hierarchies should be avoided to get hurt in the long run. Microsoft lost its purpose for a while when it was fighting different battles (with Samsung and Apple for a share in the smartphone market, with Google on search engine and with Amazon on the cloud computing) on different grounds. The root cause that it was able to find out was its attachment to the Windows operating system. Introducing Azure as a cloud computing option and shielding it from Windows’ shadow helped.
Chapter 10, ‘New Age Destruction,’ teaches us about the significance of the ebb and flow by anticipating Kalki Avtar (the 10th avatar of Lord Vishnu in the times to come). Time, life and death are cyclical in nature. The path that awaits you begins with death; however, the death of a brand is never easy. P&G selling Pringles to Kellogg’s, GSK selling Horlicks to HUL and Hutch selling to Vodafone are a few instances.
Whether to eliminate a brand or continue with it especially when it is faltering is an even more tough decision. Parle brought back the Rol-a-cola when a diehard fan was able to retweet his tweet 10,000 times. Bajaj brought back its iconic brand Chetak in the electric vehicles category; Mahindra brought back Jawa for the love of old and new generations. The subtle reminder that creation and destruction are the fundamental forces of nature and that the circle of life never ends is found in the book’s conclusion.
Conclusion
The case studies and caselet begin with international brands and cover examples from the lives of the common man as well. The book is a complete marketing package citing concepts such as branded house/house of brands, four A’s of rural marketing (acceptability, availability, affordability and awareness), brand identity and brand persona to name a few.
The Shlokas in Sanskrit language at the beginning of each chapter targets the audience who are interested in knowing Indian heritage in addition to students of marketing and management.
The readers are in for several elements of surprise as some of the stories from ancient scriptures are completely unheard of.
The book touches both the epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata; however, at times, there is a feeling of disconnect regarding the linkage between mythology and modern-day marketing. It is difficult to visualize this collaborative concept of combining marketing and mythology since marketing is inclined towards profit orientation and mythology towards learning how to live your life.
It’s a courageous attempt from the authors to distil the wisdom from the mythical stories of Vishnu’s ‘dash avatar’ and apply them to the pragmatic business world with all its marketing dilemmas, that managers often find themselves caught up in. It was a daunting challenge to converge the two entirely different roads to present them as one. The students of marketing have profit at the back of their mind and the mythology subject attracts those who are interested to know more about religion and ancient text. The subject matter appeals to both the beginners as well as the seasoned professionals. The book explores issues that are critical to success in the marketing industry, including leadership, ethics and the pursuit of excellence. We are living in Kali Yuga which has a shortage of wisdom and an excess of intelligence. Therefore, whether or not the authors have successfully blended ancient wisdom with modern marketing practices should be better left to the wisdom of readers.
