Hero No 1 on tricky terrain

Competition can lead to stress; and stress to desperation. Maybe thisexplains the rather sad and sorry spectacle of three leading players ...

Competition can lead to stress; and stress to desperation. Maybe thisexplains the rather sad and sorry spectacle of three leading players in theentertainment and home electrical segment all going crazy at the same time.Kicking off first was LG, the savvy and smart Korean entrant that haspioneered the tactic of bringing in updated products to the Indian market.As an aside, the Koreans, LG and Samsung, certainly turned out to be farsmarter in understanding the Indian market than Japanese players, SONY andPanasonic, who in their arrogance decided that Indians would lap up any oldproduct as long as it carried their label. They discovered their folly inhindsight but in the process dropped out of the race for Number 1.

To get back to LG. Their full page ad was headlined: Number One8230;We thankour customers and trade partners for making us India8217;s single largestbrand8217;. Signing off proudly as: LG Electronics The Digital Leader of theNew Millennium8217;. In small type right at the bottom of the ad, they clarifiedhow they were number one: 8220;In the combined categories of CTVs,Refrigerators, Washing Machines, Air Conditioners, Microwaves and Monitors,under a single brand name as per April 2000 value turnover8217;.

I have a number of problems with this claim: first, the claim is based bothon apples and pears what justification can there be to lump a bunch ofproducts, one of which monitors is not a traditional domestic product.Following this logic, we might in future find LG adding to their list thevalue of the soon-to-be-launched new LG range of consumer products such astoilet soaps and babies8217; nappies. Not quite cricket! As it was played inthe good days, that it. The second reason is that the small explanatorynote is hidden way down the page where few if any readers would find it.Finally, to make such a bombastic Millennium leadership claim based on asingle months figure, April 2000, is just not ethical.

Hurt to the quick, we have our very own home grown Videocon bringing backits pet lion to restate its claim of leadership. In their endeavour, theyrevived their original line, Bring Home The Leader8217;. To make the point theyhave featured some sitting duck deers in the background; I suppose thesubliminal suggestion is that the Videocon Lion can and has devoured allchallengers who dared to enter its domain! Now, I am not sure if this istrue anymore. My perception is that Videocon is no longer perceived as theleader in terms of technology, after-sales service or brand visibility thepizzazz has rubbed off.

Not to be left out, BPL throws in their hat with a rather weird use of theirlogo letters: Brand People Love8217;. Listing eight No. 1s, BPL makes a strongstatement in support of their claim. They also bunch together products incategories outside the conventional scope of consumer durables, but do soquite openly. In fact, they go on to include their No. 1 brand status oncriteria not linked to sales numbers. What adds to their credibility is thetransparency of their list of claims. A pity they resorted to fooling aroundwith BPL not quite what one expected from the people who so skillfullyexhorted us to Believe in Yourself8230; Believe in the Best.

The No. 1 fever seems to be spreading: Compaq offers us The World8217;s No. 1Business PC for just Rs 39,900!8217; Sharp tests our IQ by asking us Do youknow the company that is No. 1 fax supplier in the US? The answer is Sharp8217;.Competition is great, especially for customers. However, false or fuzzy No.1 claims not only confuse buyers but also damage the credibility of thebrands involved. This is a very serious danger for high-ticket brands: If Idon8217;t trust the company would I risk my money on its product? The chancesare Zero.