India will celebrate 60 years of independence this year. And in this free India, we have had three generations of free Indians, if we were to take Alvin Tofler’s definition of generation.
These are people who feel it’s cool to be Indian
MG Parameswaran
India will celebrate 60 years of independence this year. And in this free India we call our homeland, we have had three generations of free Indians, if we were to take Alvin Tofler’s definition of ‘generation’ (18 years).
The generation that will have a lot of clout in the marketplace during the coming decade will be those born in the free liberalised India: those who have grown up after the licence, permit raj was dismantled in August 1991. I call these consumers “Post Liberators.”
American demographers called those born after the World War II, “Baby Boomers,” and marketers had to figure out ways of connecting with these consumers, who were attitudinally very different from the generations before them: these Baby Boomers did not experience a war (till Vietnam, hence the violent reaction) , or a depression or era of shortages. Their world view was very different from those of their fathers, whose view of the US and the flag was largely coloured by the one raised on the tiny island of Iwo Jima!
Similarly, the Post Liberators in India have grown up in an era of expanding choices, options and wallets. They have not seen waiting lists, long queues or rampant black market for every thing from jeans to perfumes. How are they different? And what do marketers have to do to connect with them better?
Being Indian is no longer an apology
A decade or two ago, the most common occupation an Indian had in the western world was that of a taxi driver, may be a motel operator. Not any more. The Post Liberators have grown in an era when India and Indians are capturing global centre stage. Indian is today holding senior position in global corporations.
The increased attention that Indian techonocrats are receiving around the world, and the numerous acquisitions that Indian companies are making around the world, not to mention the latest and biggest acquisition by the Tata Steel, are not lost on these minds. Being Indian is cool again.
Phoren is not always better
Foreign goods and services were, till recently, the forbidden fruit. And so, they had acquired mythical qualities. Any foreign product was supposed to be better, be it a car, a bulb or a soap. Not long ago, we got phoren friends to bring us a pair of jeans and more. But the Post Liberators have grown in an era where their phoren cousins came to India to shop! And they have grown up seeing Indian brands like Amul and Indica standing up to foreign brands and winning.
They have seen global brands enter with great fanfare only to disappoint. So, being a product of foreign origin is not a passport to quality in the minds of the Post Liberators. They are also not the members of the swadeshi brigade, they do not chant the ‘be Indian, buy Indian’ mantra. But to them, Indian products are fine as long as they deliver what they promise.
Technospeak is not enough
Not too long ago, marketers used to resort to the ‘PUF’ trick, where they spoke of some techno-mumbo-jumbo to confuse the less-educated consumers. That may not work with the Post Liberators. They are better- informed and a lot more tech-savvy. Computer is not something that they are scared of.
So, technospeak would need to be ‘real’ with results that can be proved. With the growth of computer literacy and the growing use of mobile phones for uses that go beyond just voice calls, the Post Liberators will be able to verify the technospeak of the marketer with just an SMS.
World is my playground
The Post Liberators have grown up in an era, seeing their friends and relatives travelling outside India for work and play. From the days when leaving the country was a ‘sin’ to the days it was seen as a huge ‘bonus’, today travelling abroad is seen as a part of regular life. Marketers need to take cognisance of this, and keep in mind that the Post Liberators see the world as their oyster.
So, will we need to relearn all the old tricks we have perfected over the last three decades? Do we need to start learning a new way of connecting with the Post Liberators?
The answer is an unqualified ‘yes’. Post Liberators are not going to be easy to sell to, and the quicker we learn the new rules of the game, the faster will we be in liberating some of their money towards new products and services.
The author is executive director, FCB-Ulka Advertising
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