The key to brands unlocking India’s demographic dividend lies in the mobile phone

Rohan Cornelio, India 

It is said that the two most common words in a businessman’s lexicon today are India and China.

While these two neighboring countries have entirely opposite ways of functioning, the phenomenal growth in their respective consumption stories has ensured that brands which have a local presence are trying to consolidate their positions. And brands that have not come in yet are still looking for that one opportunity to make their presence felt.

Though brands from all over the world have made a foray into India, a number of them realized that this is a market where one size does not fit all. What works in the west does not work here. Kellogg’s, McDonalds, and KFC are some brands that learnt this the hard way. On the other hand, Micromax, a home grown, low cost mobile phone manufacturer realized the potential of cheap phones for rural markets and jumped to the no. 3 position in a little over two years, selling internet enabled phones for as little as $50.

These $50 mobile phones set the market abuzz with mass demand and revenues so large that they roped in one of Bollywood’s biggest stars as a brand ambassador. Value for money is one criterion that impacts any purchase of an Indian consumer. With time, these phones slowly evolved into full-fledged multimedia handhelds that could give the Koreans, Finns, Canadians and our friends in Cupertino a run for their money, any day.

With over 600 million mobile users in India, roughly one in every two Indians is equipped with a mobile phone. Easy access to mobile phones has led carriers to get into a price war resulting in India having some of the most accessible talk plans in the world. The advent of 3G has only added to an evolved user experience.

But why does mobile empowerment become so important from a consumer engagement position in a country with over 1,850 dailies and over 600 TV channels? Firstly, as brands grew in India, media outlets exploited the opportunity to control editorial mentions in exchange for payment. This has created an immense need for brands to rethink and recreate their communication strategies in the direction of owned content. Secondly, the majority of India’s population is under the age of 30 resulting in an easier understanding and faster rate of technology adoption.

In a country like India where real outcome can be measured by engaging directly with the masses, the mobile phone enables a degree of direct communication between brand and consumer. With rural India forming the bulk of India’s population, Nokia partnered with a number of mobile carriers to provide people in rural areas with access to a suite of applications known as Ovi Life Tools. Targeted at the farmer, these applications provide information directly from brand to consumers on topics such as agriculture, languages (English) and healthcare.  Beyond applications for rural consumers, brands from restaurants and travel companies to movie production houses are developing applications and games to engage and deliver content direct to consumers. Gostana, a Mumbai based burger and salad café started with the intention of turning junk food into a healthy option, even takes orders on Twitter.

While a PC may be more powerful in creating detail and user experience, the ability of the mobile to deliver low cost content on the go will help develop the mobile phone into a platform of choice for brands. Added to this is the ability of consumers to capture and share personal brand experiences real time. This was successfully executed by Research In Motion (disclosure: Edelman India client) with the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) application for BlackBerry smartphones. The BlackBerry, commonly perceived to be the suit’s phone evolved into a device that found its way into the pockets of designer jeans and ladies’ clutches. Phone numbers discarded, BBM pins became the hot topic of discussion at soirees. BBM developed into a platform to share video, photos, music and news on the go even replacing text messages and MMS. A classic example of a brand developing an app that works as a solution for users.

Moore’s law stated that with time, technology would become smaller, cheaper and faster; but what he didn’t realize is that this would result in consumers getting more connected, engaged and empowered with content that transcends boundaries and can be accessed and shared on the go.