To be or Not To Be...

It was a quiet moment tonight as K2 and I were walking Jinx...the full moon was shining softly down and K2 in his super high pitch (wonder where he gets that from ;-) ) asked me...Ma, do you know what I want to be when I grow up? I pretend to think for a minute and say Pilot (ask me for the long version sometime)...then silence for a minute and he asks me - what will you be when you growed up? I think for  a moment and say - K2's mom...I get a puzzled stare and then of course with the propensity of a chronic ADD child moves on to another topic...I think it was monsters.

Brand Identity is a complex thing and it is critical to both individuals and businesses to figure oneself out in one case for peace of mind and for the other profitability,survivability and bottomline. This hit me this weekend as I was visiting my  favorite indian joint - Curry Up Now. I was a little under the weather and nothing that a cup of cardamom chai couldn't cure...but I was stuck by how clear CUN's value proposition was - Indian Street Food. The menu was short, consistent and clear, a few new adds every week (I did a little jig everytime it was goat curry, so much for me going vegetarian)...not confusing and in software terms very WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)...love that !!!
What I have been exposed to is companies that don't know if they want to play to consumers or enterprises while others don't know if they want to sell devices or services...they play the field vs. sharpen the focus.

What I learnt in Kotler almost sixteen years back still stays clear in my head in terms of marketing mantras
(A) Come in Under the Radar - The key to brand-building is to have something good that you roll-out in a very intelligent way. Maybe even invisibly for a while because you want to be under the radar screen of competitors.
(B) Know your customer
(C) Own your branding - know what appeals to your customer, the emotional trigger and play to it
(D) Make it an experience

The critical question to ask is - To Be or Not to Be...

So has your Monday been Manic...I seem to be on a Bollywood roll this past week having watched - 7 Khoon Maaf, Rakta Charitra 2, Break ke Baad, I Hate Luv Storys...still to go - Robot (Enthiran - I have the tamil version), the flat (supposed to be a horror film) and Chalo Delhi