Consequently, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech concerning the nation’s path to self-reliance, consumer companies have started advertising and running marketing campaigns connected with mentioning the importance of buying products manufactured domestically in India. Modi in his address to the nation made on May 12 has urged Indians to be ‘vocal about local’ as part of his speech. It did not take much long for the Indian consumer companies to take up the message from the prime minister in pressing the message as part of their marketing campaigns.
India’s biggest consumer goods companies such as ITC, Parle Products, Amul, Dabur, Bisleri, Godrej, Marico and Voltas have already started marketing campaigns and sale pitches and advertising based on the ‘vocal about local’ message.
Following Indian local roots
“We are highlighting Indian roots and have started promoting ads with this message on digital media and TV, particularly news channels,” said Dabur CEO Mohit Malhotra. The Indian brand Dabur’s key products are Vatika shampoo and Dabur Red toothpaste which compete in the market with products from multinational consumer companies such as Colgate Palmolive and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. “Made in India will be a key factor likely to influence purchase decision and the vocal for local campaign has the potential of harnessing India’s traditional knowledge like ayurveda,” the Dabur CEO also added.
Will Indian Consumer Cos get a competitive edge?
While Indian brands are using this opportunity to strategize their moves to get a lead in the market, the real question is how Indian consumers will react? The multinational consumer companies have long been operating in India that both their products and brands have become ‘Indianised’, now there is no clear distinction between Indian brands and multinational owned brands, and they have been successful in creating an emotional bond with the brand in the minds of the customers. “Most consumers are not aware of brand ownership, except for a few like Patanjali which have been built on Indian-ness,” says, Brand specialist and social commentator Santosh Desai. He added that the theme ‘vocal about local’ may not have a great impact on consumer preferences.
Does ‘local’ mean only products made by Indian Cos?
It was later clarified on the day after the PMs speech, by Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) that ‘local’ does not mean only products made by Indian companies, but also those manufactured in the country by multinational companies. It will be looked upon in the coming days on any impact on consumers’ preferences because of the campaigns pressed around the dream of ‘self-reliant nation’.
