The Supremacy of Brands
Brands as powerhouses of consumer wants cameinto their own in Pakistan in the eighties. Theseventies saw the consolidation of the advertisingagency as the client’s advertising communicationspartner. The launch of PTV in the sixties was a gamechanger – in the same order of impact magnitude as theinternet would have in the nineties – with clients and theiragencies scrambling to promote their products and serviceson this new and exciting medium. In those days, agencieshandled the entire gamut of their clients’ marketingrequirements – concept creation, copy and script writing,media placement, film and production.
By the late seventies, as the effects of a nascentglobalisation began to reach Pakistan, a transformation ofthe agency-client relationship began to take place, drivenby the notion of branding – the need to establish productdifferentiation in the consumer mind. Good productsbecame ‘brands’ that spoke to consumer needs andaspirations. Successful branding meant creating a distinctemotional and long-lasting bond. Buying a product was nolonger just a utilitarian act; it was a statement of aspiration.To create this distinction, clients divided their brandportfolios among different agencies, with no one agencyhandling the entirety of the portfolio.
Understanding consumers became the key to brandsuccess. Part of it lay in reaching consumers through everyavailable medium, giving Marshall McLuhan’s expression“the medium is the message” the credence it deserved.Every medium was exploited to its fullest potential, and theconsumer journey and experience became the lynchpin ofevery marketing strategy.
Then the internet connected the world in a way until thenunimaginable. Consumers were exposed in real-time towhatever was going on worldwide. New products, new trends,new lifestyles – everything was there to behold and aspireto. Advertising became frenetic, leaving clutter everywherewhile creating incipient fatigue among consumers who weretired of being exposed to relentless promotional messaging.Suddenly, brands had to do a lot more than deliver aspirations.Consumers started to ask for something extra from theirbrands. Quality and superiority were not enough; brands had totake a position and have a purpose.
In the battle for supremacy, multinational brands led theway in Pakistan. They brought in media buying houses andintroduced the skills and tools essential for effective placementin a fragmenting media environment. Their affiliates introducednew tools, systems and learnings.
The more interesting stories are the national brands –Candyland, EBM, Engro, National Foods, Lucky Group, Shanand Tapal, to name just a handful. Brands that absorbedbest practices in terms of their products, professionalism andethical practices. Today, these brands shine as examples ofwhat national brands can achieve. Along the way, some worthybrands have lost their market pre-eminence – Capri, Tibet –while others vanished in the fray. This said, for the most part,brands in Pakistan have demonstrated extraordinary resilience.They have not only met the challenges of changing consumerexpectations; they have weathered the multiple economicstorms the country has faced, especially in the last five years.
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