Brand expansion: Modi to target India Inc influencers in Mumbai

Targeting ‘India’ is complex, when it comes to media, especially for politicians. The ’easy’ media, for them, is the news channels, as is being proven repeatedly in the case of Narendra Modi. If he utters a word in public, the cameras capture every utterance, broadcasting it to the country (and, sometimes, beyond the country.)

[caption id=“attachment_1141695” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Modi is hoping to reach out to a wider audience now[/caption]

But, as, media expert Vanita Kohli-Khandekar says in the new edition of her book, The Indian Media Business, “the overall viewership of news has stagnated between 7-8 per cent of total TV viewing in the last three years…”

That’s just not enough. Modi, like all politicians needs to reach audiences beyond news television.

That’s why this is interesting:

Modi is looking for new audiences - and for new media segments to focus on him. The image you see above is an extract from an invitation to a keynote speech addressed at an audience comprising advertising and marketing professionals.

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For them, politics and political speeches will matter little - so Modi decides to focus on what matters to them; so he will be speaking on Brand India.

While news channels will, doubtless, carry his speech, Modi, using this device of a non-political, narrowly targeted speech, will get additional attention from the advertising and marketing community and the media that covers advertising and marketing.

Today, for example, there is only one topic of conversation in A&M circles in Mumbai: whether or not you would be present at the Modi event. Influential personalities, including heads of agencies and CEOs and marketing heads of marketing companies, will be there in person, while those who are not invited (or not able to make it) will read all about it in, unusually, advertising trade media.

The device is extendable. Looking at this instance, one could easily imagine Modi speaking, for example, to IT professionals on his vision for the IT industry, to auto manufacturers on his views on the sector, and so on. Each time he does this, Modi will be in conversations of people unused tom talking about him. As importantly, the occasions will give him an opportunity to go beyond Congress-bashing, and present a more ‘visionary’ view of him.

Getting news channels to give him airtime is child’s play for Modi and his think-tank. Getting him to speak to diverse, focused and influential audiences is much harder work - harder work that they are demonstrating that they are willing to put in.