Ad big-wig David Ogilvy once said, “The consumer is not a moron; She’s your wife”. On those lines, Mr. Rahul Kapuria’s objectives at Brandmakerr stand with clarity as the design of brand building at Brandmakerr is to connect emotionally with customers as brands need to look beyond traditional advertising, and that is why they offer event and partnership opportunities to place brand in the hearts and minds of consumers. Mr. Kapuria is the Founder Director of Brandmakerr- a company that creates brand through effective and innovative branding initiatives. The company came into existence back in November 2010, and has grown from strength to strength ever since then. Brandmakerr is a brand solutions company aligned with specialist agencies/consultants/design houses to cover the entire gamut from brand building to development. Prior to creating his brainchild ‘Brandmakerr’, Mr. Kapuria has had past experiences with Magnasound as Vice-President where he undertook some pioneering steps of launching several albums by artists who are now renowned. After four years at Magnasound, Mr. Kapuria was General Manager with electronic majors – Kenstar. His next stint was hands on experience in the field of marketing and media interface in business operations where he worked as Chief Marketing Officer for Indusind Media & Communications Ltd. for two years. His repertoire grew even more with another year at Serve & Volley Outdoor Advertising as Country Head. Mr. Kapuria’s diverse category experience includes HVAC, Appliances, Consumer durables, Telecom, Office Automation, Music, Broadcast, OOH, Digital Signage, Broadband, Celebrity Endorsement and Media & Entertainment He also served as vice-president of Collage Sports Management, a company which manages the endorsements of cricketers such as Amit Mishra, Virender Sehwag and Ishant Sharma. Mr. Kapuria comes across as assertive, outgoing, disciplined, suave and someone with an extensive business acumen. He can be referred as an ‘epitome’ in the world of Media & Marketing and his bunch of accomplishments is a matter of tremendous pride and glory for every IIPMite from past and present. He happens to embrace more victories in time to come….
Q. Kindly brief our readers about your career journey.
A. After passing out I started with Voltas as a trainee and then Area Sales Manager. My first exposure to profit centre management. Came by leading a team of sales, service and commercial team, I had a chance to work with great leaders like Mr. JC Chopra, Mr. R C Sarin among others.
Q. Did you have an in-built interest in media and market communication? How did Brandmakerr happen?
A. I was a sales guy, profit centre manager. My first exposure was as VP for a music company Magnasound where I launched Daler Mehndi, Sonu Nigam, Remo, among others. Subsequently at Hindujas I was CMO. But from the clients side I was involved with was creative and media agencies.
Q. What are the keys towards seamless B2B client relationship?
A. Honesty, knowledge, mutual benefits, and passion for their client’s businesses.
Q. According to you, how can a company maintain a ‘brand recall’ (in B2B context)?
A. In B2B, brand building is a little more complicated. Advertising, website, brochures, trade show booth, etc. should be integrated to deliver a consistent image for your product or service. But unless the customer or prospect is getting the same image from every touch point in your organization, the image may become confused, or worse evolve into a negative. For this reason, branding in the B2B market has to come from the inside.
in b2b, brand building is complicated.The marketing tools should be integrated to deliver results
Q. What were the challenges that came across when you were setting up Brandmakerr? How did you overhaul them?
A. The challenge is to evolve Brandmakerr in a model which is valuable to the brand. The whole concept of Brandmakerr is new. There’s no other company like it. We are still evolving and have entered new domains like Retail Design, Mall Leasing in a specialized way.
Digital is a challenge; traditionally the CMOs go to media agencies. The awareness in terms of Digital Creativity is relatively less. Our partner Addikt is a top notch Digital Company in the world. Similarly the understanding of Branding vs Advertising is not understood to that extent.
Q. As an entrepreneur, what views do you hold about Corporate Social Responsibility?
A. The problem with corporate social responsibility (CSR) is that nobody is very clear about what exactly it encompasses. The Indian government has been trying to make it mandatory for companies to spend at least 2% of net profits on CSR. Facing strong criticism, it gave up the effort in mid-July and made the spending voluntary. But the debate continues.
It is not necessarily the quantum of funds spent that matters, it is how you spend it. “CSR is a journey and not a destination.”
Q. How can organisation achieve streamlined internal communication which is consistent?
A. Effective internal communication can keep employees engaged in business and help retain key talent, provide consistent value to customers and deliver superior financial performance to shareholders. Tell people what they need to know. Employees should be encouraged to rethink and foster creativity. A firm communication plan should be there on intranet, wikis, and even blogs not to mention emails. Listening plays a critical role.
Q. What ways do you suggest that a company can build a strong brand resonance for their brand?
A. First step is to establish identity. Second is meaning to a brand in terms of performance and imagery. BMW works hard on brand performance. Then it is consumer response to a brand which involves brand judgement and brand feelings. The final is consumer relationship where brand resonance comes in.
Resonance is characterized by the intensity of the psychological bond that customers have with the brand and their level of engagement with the brand. The challenge for the brand manager and strategist is to develop the bond and increase the number of interactions (repeat purchases of a product or service) through the development of marketing programmes that fully satisfy all the customers’ needs, provides them with a sense of community built around the brand and even empowers them to act as brand champions.
Along with Apple, Harley-Davidson is a brand that succeeds in creating a strong and lasting bond with its customers. The motorcycle manufacturer’s primary vehicle for achieving this is the global Harley Owners Group, known affectionately as HOG, which organises regular events for its more than 600,000 members. Executives from the company often join these rides, which can number up to 25,000 riders, which successfully reinforce the brand’s message of freedom, individualism, self-expression, etc as well as building the sense of community that the brand creates. Harley-Davidson customers are famously loyal with over 45 per cent of owners having previously owned one of the brand’s distinctive motorcycles.
SOCIAL MEDIA WIL MOVE FROM ONE-OFF INITIATIVE TO BE AN IMPORTANT TOOL IN MARKET COMMUNICATIONS
Q. Your views on the style of leadership that is needed for a person to be a successful entrepreneur.
A. It depends but one must be hands on and have people with different skill sets to make an effective team. Delegation, lateral thoughts, enthusiasm and young team make a difference.
Q. What are the essential ways to mould social media in the marketing interface for better business results?
A. The emergence of Internet-based social media has started a new kind of conversation among consumers and companies, challenging traditional ideas about marketing and brand management while creating new opportunities and scope for organizations.
The exponential growth of social media, from blogs, Facebook and Twitter to Linked In and YouTube, offers organizations the chance to join a conversation with millions of customers around the globe every day. But as social media creates new opportunity, it also demands a shift in thinking about marketing and the measures of success.
Social media is the new hybrid element of the promotion mix. In bound marketing programmes are very important which are often neglected. Social media can start conversations or build brand recognition, but the results are much more difficult to predict or measure. Social media is rapidly becoming a new force in organizations around the world, allowing them to reach out to and understand consumers as never before. In many companies, it will move from a “one-off initiative” to be an important, integrated tool in marketing and communications strategies.
A company, with supermarkets as well as food and beverage manufacturing operations, focuses social media efforts around Facebook. Some pages focus on the company; others, built by customers, discuss specific products. The company is building a site where consumers receive information about new products and vote pro or con on the product ideas. A moderating system also is used to screen blogs. “Sometimes, you find little jewels of insight. It can also be a warning system if anything is growing into an uproar,” says the vice president of corporate development. Speed is important too.
A major health and benefits firm is offering online interactive conferences and sets up “fence posts” on LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook. “Our strategy is not about a bunch of hits in the short term, but in developing a relationship with the younger generations, who know social media and will someday be the boss,” The company found that the social media is a “huge driver” of traffic to their corporate website.
Q. Reflecting back on your IIPM days, what was your prime learning? Any special memories that you cherish and would like to share.
A. Yes, the focus on Macro and Micro Economics- Its effect on the country and the economy reflecting into the corporate world. Secondly, the course content and the faculty, especially Dr MK Chaudhuri makes IIPM most memorable.
Q. How do you maintain parity between work and life? Share some details about your family
A. Family, my wife and daughter are important, I am not a work-a-holic and a fitness and nutrition freak. I and my wife work out .My wife’s a great singer so we socialize .Yes we love movies and the music system at my house. I have a beautiful apartment in Mumbai in Lokhandwala tastefully done . Love driving and doing 220 kmph on my BMW
Well, CULT wishes that Mr. Kapuria’s business also keeps zooming at similar speed, like his BMW.
