This article is written for the special supplement, The Times of India, Bangalore is bringing out on the occasion of CII Brand Summit 2010 on 19th and 20th February, 2010. 

How many times we have read such a headline? I have personally lost count. Every time someone launches a book on marketing or on branding, we hear such praises and phrases. Today, I am going to talk about what is happening around us and how it is impacting us without using heavy jargons. We are calling it the ‘Disruption.’ Change, if I may be allowed to make it simpler.  But, let me stick to ‘Disruption’ for the time being.

Whenever we hear a word ‘Disruption’ – somehow it leads to a negative feeling. After all, as humans we are averse to change and disruption by nature disturbs the normal rhythm of life and forces you the change the course. Now, let’s look at this word from a marketer’s perspective and it becomes even more dreaded! Who wants some tiny David to come and disturb Goliath’s party?

But, let’s understand it very closely. Our elders have said that the only thing constant is a change and one must adapt to whatever comes our way. Look at the world around us, you will find disruptions everywhere. Many a times, we marketers do not understand the real meaning of word ‘Disruption’ and hit the panic button unnecessarily. Disruption in marketing is created, and to the best of my knowledge it is created in a controlled environment and for the benefit of the marketer. The companies create these disruptions to gain market share and increase their bottom lines. Let’s look at recent disruptions created by some of the Indian companies and how it forced other marketers to follow the suit or change their existing strategy.  In my personal opinion, nowadays the most disruptive marketers are coming from the house of Tatas. Look at the disruptions caused by Tata Nano, Tata DoCoMo, Tata Sky and Tata Swach and you will have no option but to agree with me.

I am writing this article on occasion of CII Brand Summit 2010, which is focused on Marketing Disruption and how to create brands in the era of discontinuity. While, reading this you may be wondering who is this person and where does he come from? This is another kind of a disruption, where in you are reading an article by some unknown marketer and not by many other well known marketers, who can write much better than me. May be we are trying to prove a point here by creating a small disruption in your expectation! Okay, let me go back to the main topic of discussion and explain why we have selected such a topic for the summit. I am sure you will agree with me that the ‘Brand’ is the most abused word today in a corporate lexicon. Everybody wants and claims to be a brand expert. The real understanding of brand is lost somewhere in so many experts. We talk about consumers, but seldom have any of us really wanted to be consumer managers? How many of us really want to understand what consumer really wants and offer her the same. I have seen many of us create products first and then find consumers later! No wonder, we see so many products on the shelves today and disappear the next.

Marketers who think from the consumers’ viewpoint create the disruption in the marketplace and taste the success. Consumer today is spoiled for choices. She has access to the information like never before. Gone are the days, when brands enjoyed unparalleled loyalties and charged premium from the consumers. Disruptive technologies are allowing even smaller and newer companies to create many superior products at much cheaper costs and at much faster pace and offer it to the consumers. Similar disruptive technologies are making it possible for consumer to have access to information about such product and even to buy them. You can order anything you want from anywhere across the globe and it will be delivered to you in real time. Innovation is what it takes to create a disruption today. Mind you, innovation is different from invention but sometimes it is difficult to innovate than to invent!

I was looking at the recent advertisement created by Google for the super bowl and was speechless for few moments. Such a simple but attention grabbing creation. I think it can only happen with a company like Google, which exists to make life simpler for its consumers. I am yet to see such creativity from an Indian company or an agency. At CII Brand Summit, we have called upon some very exiting people to share their global experience with us about the disruptions they have created or witnessed and I am sure you will find those stories much more interesting than this one. I hope to see you there and we will surely discuss more about disruption and its impact on our lives as marketers.