Your Silent Brand Ambassador – And You Don’t Know Him

The other day at the Bangalore Airport, I met an old friend, Ravi Shankar, an IIM-B graduate who was once a brand manager with Hindustan Lever (HLL, now HUL) and is now the CEO of a leading FMCG from Mumbai.

Fortunately, both our flights were late, his by an hour and a half and mine by two.   We spent time at Starbucks at the airport. As we entered, I casually remarked, “What a great brand asset this mascot Siren Mermaid is.” 

He immediately corrected me. “Call it the brand muse”, he said

“What’s that – a brand muse?” my curious and ignorant mind asked him. After all, he had the HLL background and so much to learn from him about branding.    

Said Ravi Shankar,”Traditionally, a muse has been seen as a beautiful woman who inspires a man. This goes back to Greek mythology when several of Zeus’s daughters were seen as goddesses inspiring certain arts and sciences. However, the concept of a woman who inspires a man may not be valid today but a brand muse as in Starbucks definitely is very inspirational and inviting to a customer who wants to have a relaxed time with someone. That’s a strong brand asset of Starbucks.” 

“Wow,” I screamed, and the entire restaurant was looking at me puzzled – “क्या हो गया इसको? पागल हो गया क्या?” That was my excitement on learning something new. I profusely thanked Ravi Shankar for this new phrase in branding and we continued further. 

“Can you tell me something more about brand assets Ravi?”

“Sure Vivek. There are two types of brand assets; tangible and intangible. Remember the Torrent Research Center (TRC) you always boasted of? That’s a tangible brand asset. So also its manufacturing plants at various locations, its corporate office on Ashram Road. On the other hand, its brand names, its corporate brand logo which so prominently stands out on Ashram Road are intangible assets. The logo is a part of Brand Torrent, which is an identifying symbol of Torrent Group of Companies. This logo distinguishes Torrent from other companies.”

“Oh wow! Ravi,” I murmured this time, making sure only he heard. 

“Not just that Vivek. The intellect of those working at the TRC, the people in the F&D, the Brand Team (yahoo, I was about to shout once again, the brand team too, but did not want to break his chain of thoughts) are all part of the intangible assets of Torrent. So also, its patents.”

“Vivek, do you know how much is Brand Coca-Cola worth? In 2022, Brand Coca-Cola was valued at 97.9 billion U.S. dollars! That’s the power of a Brand, the worth of a brand asset. Intangible assets created by the people of an organization. They do not appear on the balance sheet and have no recorded book value. It may never be understood by a finance person.”

I smiled, “That’s the reason Ravi I think a head of finance may not become a successful CEO unless he changes his mindset. Or else, such a CEO may become the spoke in the wheel in the brand building process.” 

He winked and responded, “That’s also the case with many lala’s (owners) of pharma companies who cannot see beyond tomorrow and mistake investment in branding building activity as a cost. They want an immediate ROI as in sales or ‘investing in a doctor and trading for prescriptions. I remember your blog and ‘the Kolaveri-di Vision”.  

“You know a lot of the pharma industry,” I responded, anything more on pharmaceutical brand assets?”

Ravi gave a hearty laugh. “The medical reps and their area managers are the assets contributing to the brand building by creating awareness. These primary brand assets go hand-in-hand brand building.  Your pharma brand managers must never forget that a pharma brand cannot be built without the support of medical reps and field sales managers.”

I was delighted, I was once a medical rep, and even today at heart, I am still medical rep.  

Ravi continued, “The brand assets of pharma may certainly not fall in line with the thinking of the brand management gurus like David Aaker or Jean-Noel Kapferer, but certainly in Bangladesh and India, that’s the reality”. I was pondering over his deep knowledge of an industry with which he was never connected. 

“The first point contact of the brand with the doctors is always through the medical reps – as they communicate the brands message, execute your strategies. And today they have less than 15 to seconds to do that. The way a medical rep communicates matters a lot. Primarily, the medical rep is the true asset contributing to the brand awareness and brand equity”. 

“Yes, the classical brand assets like the brand name, the colors, the fonts, the typography the images, do matter. These primary brand assets must go hand-in-hand in building a solid pharma brand.”

I was dying to ask him one question but didn’t as I do not disrupt his thoughts. I dared to ask him now. “Excuse my curiosity Ravi, how come you have such a deep knowledge of the pharma industry?”

Ravi smiled, “Do you forget Vivek that my Dad was a medical rep in Parke-Davis for 36 years.” He looked at the display board. “I am afraid I have to leave Vivek. My flight will be departing soon. I am so happy we met.”

I was happier because this hour was a brand tutorial class for me. I learned so many things from Ravi – the brand muse, the tangible and the intangible brand assets. And many lala’s (owners) are hurdles in pharma brand building. And my most treasured learning? The medical rep is the most valued pharma brand asset.