It should be similar to what Land Rover did in Europe
I feel there is a reason why brands are relaunched every few years. It becomes difficult for a brand to change itself as quietly as the world changes, hence, they are relaunched to stay relevant with the times. The reason why the Indian National Congress was launched way back during the 19th century, was primarily to espouse the cause of India’s independence. But, today India has moved on. The way of life in the country is different, but the Congress continues to hold on to an old illustrious past – a past which a majority of Indians (which comprises 60% youth) don’t really care about.
Today, the issues affecting life in India are changing every 10 years. Therefore, Congress has no choice but to relaunch itself in order to remain relevant. Doing so dramatically is the need of the hour. Moreover, a half-hearted, unplanned approach wouldn’t work. I know they are trying to go about the changes and re-organising the party, but it’s too slow to be noticed by people.
If I were the one spearheading the rebranding, I would have latched onto what Anna Hazare was doing, instead of opposing it. I would have projected that we were willing to help pass the Lokpal Bill in every way possible. In one shot, they would have revamped themselves and the masses would have noticed and appreciated that sharp and dramatic change.
The kind of re-launch I am talking about needs to be characteristic in nature. It needn’t be a re-launch in terms of just posturing. It should be similar to what SUV maker Land Rover did in Europe. It knew that off-road vehicles were no more being actually used off road by automobile enthusiasts. SUVs had become more of a style statement rather than a mode of vehicles to cruse around off-road African jungles. So it went for a complete and dramatic overhaul in order to appeal to the new European consumers. The new product carried forward the solidity of its history but with looks that were more relevant in the current scenario.
Today, I feel corruption is a bigger issue than terrorism or even an attack on the nation, for it affects the life of the masses on a daily basis. An attack, say from China, might leave us weak but we will eventually get over it after some days or months. In fact, in contemporary times, you don’t want to occupy another nation, unless of course you are America! And terrorism is not necessarily pervasive across the nation. On the other hand, corruption is. It touches our lives everyday, right from getting a ration card to even a train ticket.
Therefore, I don’t understand why politicians are not accepting Anna Hazare? It only helps their cause of getting closer to voters and gaining the trust of people. What the Congress Party needs is to be seen as someone serious about being the party of the future. Someone who is genuinely in the business of politics with a motto of sincerely and efficiently running the country.
Congress needs to re-brand itself as well, in order to signal the change. Like they once changed to “Congress I” they need to call themselves something new , “Congress Plus”, for all I care. They are a solid party. Others don’t have the wherewithal or even the experience to run a large country like India. I think the way they have managed a coalition government for so long couldn’t have been pulled off by others.
Congress has to stop ‘just saying’ and ‘actually start acting’. The overuse of words often renders them irrelevant. Take the example of “transparency” and “poverty” – two words so oft used by politicians that the former is reducing, and the latter only growing. Stop saying we’re doing it. Do it and deliver results. Establish that we will not take any leader with criminal antecedents, even if it means losing. People will notice that.
For any good relaunch, we need to first re-energise the product. And for that, they first need to change internally and intrinsically, have regular core party meetings, punish leaders who are not delivering and measure performance. Don’t just prepare manifestos for the sake of it. Ensure your leaders deliver on them, and those who don’t, take them to task. This is what can make Congress the party of the future, which could have the wherewithal to take the country forward.
I know such steps wouldn’t guarantee a victory in today’s Indian political set-up, where muscle power (both physical and monetary) work at the grass root level. But then who is responsible for that? Isn’t it the political parties themselves? It’s they who stop the enforcement of laws that would act against criminalisation of politics, and debar criminals from elections. If Congress takes the cudgels of both internal and external good governance, it might miss some trees, but at least the woods will be calling for it louder and clearer!
I feel there is a reason why brands are relaunched every few years. It becomes difficult for a brand to change itself as quietly as the world changes, hence, they are relaunched to stay relevant with the times. The reason why the Indian National Congress was launched way back during the 19th century, was primarily to espouse the cause of India’s independence. But, today India has moved on. The way of life in the country is different, but the Congress continues to hold on to an old illustrious past – a past which a majority of Indians (which comprises 60% youth) don’t really care about.
Today, the issues affecting life in India are changing every 10 years. Therefore, Congress has no choice but to relaunch itself in order to remain relevant. Doing so dramatically is the need of the hour. Moreover, a half-hearted, unplanned approach wouldn’t work. I know they are trying to go about the changes and re-organising the party, but it’s too slow to be noticed by people.
If I were the one spearheading the rebranding, I would have latched onto what Anna Hazare was doing, instead of opposing it. I would have projected that we were willing to help pass the Lokpal Bill in every way possible. In one shot, they would have revamped themselves and the masses would have noticed and appreciated that sharp and dramatic change.
The kind of re-launch I am talking about needs to be characteristic in nature. It needn’t be a re-launch in terms of just posturing. It should be similar to what SUV maker Land Rover did in Europe. It knew that off-road vehicles were no more being actually used off road by automobile enthusiasts. SUVs had become more of a style statement rather than a mode of vehicles to cruse around off-road African jungles. So it went for a complete and dramatic overhaul in order to appeal to the new European consumers. The new product carried forward the solidity of its history but with looks that were more relevant in the current scenario.
Today, I feel corruption is a bigger issue than terrorism or even an attack on the nation, for it affects the life of the masses on a daily basis. An attack, say from China, might leave us weak but we will eventually get over it after some days or months. In fact, in contemporary times, you don’t want to occupy another nation, unless of course you are America! And terrorism is not necessarily pervasive across the nation. On the other hand, corruption is. It touches our lives everyday, right from getting a ration card to even a train ticket.
Therefore, I don’t understand why politicians are not accepting Anna Hazare? It only helps their cause of getting closer to voters and gaining the trust of people. What the Congress Party needs is to be seen as someone serious about being the party of the future. Someone who is genuinely in the business of politics with a motto of sincerely and efficiently running the country.
Congress needs to re-brand itself as well, in order to signal the change. Like they once changed to “Congress I” they need to call themselves something new , “Congress Plus”, for all I care. They are a solid party. Others don’t have the wherewithal or even the experience to run a large country like India. I think the way they have managed a coalition government for so long couldn’t have been pulled off by others.
Congress has to stop ‘just saying’ and ‘actually start acting’. The overuse of words often renders them irrelevant. Take the example of “transparency” and “poverty” – two words so oft used by politicians that the former is reducing, and the latter only growing. Stop saying we’re doing it. Do it and deliver results. Establish that we will not take any leader with criminal antecedents, even if it means losing. People will notice that.
For any good relaunch, we need to first re-energise the product. And for that, they first need to change internally and intrinsically, have regular core party meetings, punish leaders who are not delivering and measure performance. Don’t just prepare manifestos for the sake of it. Ensure your leaders deliver on them, and those who don’t, take them to task. This is what can make Congress the party of the future, which could have the wherewithal to take the country forward.
I know such steps wouldn’t guarantee a victory in today’s Indian political set-up, where muscle power (both physical and monetary) work at the grass root level. But then who is responsible for that? Isn’t it the political parties themselves? It’s they who stop the enforcement of laws that would act against criminalisation of politics, and debar criminals from elections. If Congress takes the cudgels of both internal and external good governance, it might miss some trees, but at least the woods will be calling for it louder and clearer!
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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