Mamata Banerjee's victory in West Bengal elections becomes case study in brand positioning and packaging
KOLKATA: If Mamata Banerjee was a brand, her core team its marketers, and voters of West Bengal its consumers, the entire package - from positioning to performance - would make for a striking case study in marketing journals.
It's a brand that has seen its ups and downs, right from the day - January 1, 1998 - when the then 43-year-old firebrand broke away from the Congress to launch the Trinamool Congress. A couple of weeks ago, Brand Mamata hit a high when citizens of West Bengal bought her carefully-crafted proposition and paved the way for her appointment as West Bengal's newest chief minister.
To use an analogy from the world of fast-moving consumer goods, the street-fighting competitor who previously could never enter the main stream had succeeded in unseating the long-standing leader-in this case the communists who were deeply entrenched in the state for 34 years but whose shelf life was near over.
It's a heady marketing mix that saw the party using many of the traditional Ps of marketing-product, people, placement. The product lent itself to another P that might have eventually tilted the scale in Mamata's favour: Packaging.
That's in sharp contrast to J Jayalalithaa's winning strategy in Tamil Nadu: She relied heavily on the Ps of price and promotion by promising freebies like fans and laptops to voters.
"Much like a seasoned marketer, Mamata packaged herself and her state successfully," says brand expert Harish Bijoor. Brand Mamata had many avatars and she positioned herself according to the demands of the electoral market.
A few years ago, she resembled a bit player battling to stay relevant. "Like a struggling FMCG brand, Mamata first used the plank of rebellion during the Singur and Nandigram crises to garner eyeballs. Closer to elections, she successfully repackaged herself as an underdog and a saviour of a regressive Bengal," the CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.
Packaging, however, work only up to a point. After that, consumers need to see a value proposition in the brand if they are to believe in it. Celebrity quizmaster Derek O' Brien says, "If Mamata Banerjee is considered as a brand, the core value would be her struggle to meet people's aspirations."
O'Brien, who joined team Trinamool in 2004, provided Mamata's campaign with a credible voice that people could empathise with. Others like theatre personality Bratya Basu and artist Shuvaprasanna lent added power to that voice.
O'Brien says that one major reason for Mamata' success has been her unwavering focus of her value proposition over the years. "Be it Chota Angaria or Nanoor, Nandigram or Singur, the core value of the brand-struggle for existence-has remained intact. Over time she managed to convince more and more people and that eventually led to her victory at the elections," he says.
Strains of Obama's presidential campaign of 2008 can be found in Mamata's communication to voters: Both focused on change.
Shibaji Panja, who crafted the promotional campaign, says, "The core communication revolved around two most popular brands of Bengal - poriborton (change) and Ma, Maati, Manush (Mother, Motherland and the People)." Compare that to Obama's campaign slogan "Change we can believe in".
Doctor suspended after altercation with Mamata
NDTV Correspondent, Updated: May 27, 2011 15:07 IST
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Kolkata: A surprise visit by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to a government hospital on Thursday has resulted in the hospital director being suspended.
There was a sharp exchange between Mamata, who handles the health portfolio, and the hospital director during the visit after the director objected to the media presence with Mamata.
Director S P Gorai has been suspended for non-cooperation and indecent behaviour.
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Story first published: May 27, 2011 15:04 IST
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Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/doctor-suspended-after-altercation-with-mamata-108559?cp Politics News
Mamata lives like 'aam aadmi' in 1st week as CM
Kolkata: After being sworn in as the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has completed seven days in office on Friday, a week in which she has literally taken the city of Kolkata by storm.
In her first week as the Chief Minister, Mamata walked, scolded, and even gave a lesson or two on how to man traffic. Refusing VIP security, Mamata Banerjee took her role of an aam Chief Minister a little too seriously leaving the police gasping for breath.
She waited in traffic like any other person and to keep her people on their toes she even made surprise visits, like some hospitals she visited unannounced on her way to the writers' buildings .
But for the people of Kolkata who have so far been used to wailing sirens and police convoys, Mamata Banerjee's unassuming black Santro and her people connect has impressed quite a few.
She was once known as a mercurial leader with erratic ways. But as the Chief Minister, she is now using that as an advantage. With her unusual methods, she sure does know how to keep the cameras rolling.
Home ministry worried over Mamata security
Hospital director suspended after Mamata visit
PTIWest Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during her sudden visit to a city hospital in Kolkata on Thursday. Had 'complained' of crowding during her surprise inspection
The Director of the State-run Bangur Institute of Neurology, S. P. Gorai, was suspended on Thursday evening in the wake of an unscheduled visit there earlier in the day by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who is also in charge of the Health Department.
Mr. Gorai had complained about crowding in the institute's compounds during her unannounced visit there in the morning. Enthusiastic onlookers had rushed into the institute's premises. Some surged toward her as she got off her vehicle and had to be held back by her security staff as she made her way through the compounds. There was considerable excitement among a section of the staff too.
CM annoyed
The Chief Minister was annoyed at Mr. Gorai for his alleged non-cooperation while on her visit to the institute.
Questioning whether he was put into any difficulty because of her visit, Ms. Banerjee asked: "What is your problem?"
The Chief Minister visited the emergency ward and other departments of the institute and spoke to a section of the staff as well as patients, inquiring into their problems. She was there for a short while. Ms. Banerjee was on her way to Writers' Buildings, the State Secretariat, when she decided to drop by at the institute. This was her second visit to a State hospital after taking over as Chief Minister. She had made a similar unscheduled visit to SSKM hospital on Tuesday.
Later the Chief Minister held a meeting with the principals and superintendents of five State-run medical college and hospitals in the city.
Keywords: Mamata Banerjee government, hospital visit
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Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/doctor-suspended-after-altercation-with-mamata-108559?cp
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/doctor-suspended-after-altercation-with-mamata-108559?cp Legal complications stop Mamata govt from making Singur agreement public BS Reporter / Kolkata May 27, 2011, 0:57 IST
A day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the agreement signed between Tata Motors and the Left Front government for the Nano project in Singur could be put in the public domain as early as today, commerce and industry minister Partha Chatterjee today hinted the process might get delayed because of legal complications.
"There are some legal complications which we hope will be sorted out soon. We have discussed all related issues to the agreement with our officials. We have collected all the papers and will show all these to our Chief Minister," Partha Chatterjee said after a meeting with West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) officials here.
The state government is also taking opinion of its legal department on this. "I have seen the papers. I am consulting with all the concerned departments including the legal department," he said.
Incidentally, an application under Right to Information (RTI) had been filed in 2008 to make the agreement public. After the Left Front-led West Bengal government made a part of it public, Tata Motors had challenged it and moved Calcutta High Court, which gave an interim injunction and directed Chief Information Commissioner, the appellate authority under the RTI Act, to hear the case. However, there had been no further ruling on this.
When asked whether HC ruling was a hindrance for the government to make the agreement public, Chatterjee said, "We are taking all matters into account. Tata is not the only party involved in this, about 54 vendors were also involved. Though some of them were involved only in paper not in reality. So, we won't be doing anything that creates further complications."
Though the Chief Minster had said on Wednesday that all documents related to the agreement would be made public in a day or two, her cabinet colleague and Commerce and Industry minister Partha Chatterjee refused to give any deadline for this.
"I am very hopeful. I can not say anything else. I was just asked by our Chief Minister to examine the papers. I am doing that and need some more time for that," he said.
The demand to make it public was a long standing one, from the Trinamool Congress, when in the opposition. Banerjee yesterday said, it was our commitment to make this agreement public.
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There was a sharp exchange between Mamata, who handles the health portfolio, and the hospital director during the visit after the director objected to the media presence with Mamata.
Director S P Gorai has been suspended for non-cooperation and indecent behaviour.
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- Silda massacre: West Bengal government orders probe into CPM role
- Can Mamata Banerjee's ministers deliver?
- Tatas are welcome in Singur, but minus 400 acres: Mamata Banerjee
- Coming soon: A documentary on Mamata Banerjee's life
- Mamata Banerjee resigns, Mukul Roy to be new Railway Minister
-
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/doctor-suspended-after-altercation-with-mamata-108559?cpRead more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/doctor-suspended-after-altercation-with-mamata-108559?cpPolitics News
Mamata lives like 'aam aadmi' in 1st week as CM
Kolkata: After being sworn in as the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has completed seven days in office on Friday, a week in which she has literally taken the city of Kolkata by storm.
In her first week as the Chief Minister, Mamata walked, scolded, and even gave a lesson or two on how to man traffic. Refusing VIP security, Mamata Banerjee took her role of an aam Chief Minister a little too seriously leaving the police gasping for breath.
She waited in traffic like any other person and to keep her people on their toes she even made surprise visits, like some hospitals she visited unannounced on her way to the writers' buildings .
But for the people of Kolkata who have so far been used to wailing sirens and police convoys, Mamata Banerjee's unassuming black Santro and her people connect has impressed quite a few.
She was once known as a mercurial leader with erratic ways. But as the Chief Minister, she is now using that as an advantage. With her unusual methods, she sure does know how to keep the cameras rolling.
Home ministry worried over Mamata security
Hospital director suspended after Mamata visit
PTIWest Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during her sudden visit to a city hospital in Kolkata on Thursday.Had 'complained' of crowding during her surprise inspection
The Director of the State-run Bangur Institute of Neurology, S. P. Gorai, was suspended on Thursday evening in the wake of an unscheduled visit there earlier in the day by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who is also in charge of the Health Department.
Mr. Gorai had complained about crowding in the institute's compounds during her unannounced visit there in the morning. Enthusiastic onlookers had rushed into the institute's premises. Some surged toward her as she got off her vehicle and had to be held back by her security staff as she made her way through the compounds. There was considerable excitement among a section of the staff too.
CM annoyed
The Chief Minister was annoyed at Mr. Gorai for his alleged non-cooperation while on her visit to the institute.
Questioning whether he was put into any difficulty because of her visit, Ms. Banerjee asked: "What is your problem?"
The Chief Minister visited the emergency ward and other departments of the institute and spoke to a section of the staff as well as patients, inquiring into their problems. She was there for a short while. Ms. Banerjee was on her way to Writers' Buildings, the State Secretariat, when she decided to drop by at the institute. This was her second visit to a State hospital after taking over as Chief Minister. She had made a similar unscheduled visit to SSKM hospital on Tuesday.
Later the Chief Minister held a meeting with the principals and superintendents of five State-run medical college and hospitals in the city.
Keywords: Mamata Banerjee government, hospital visit
NEWS
APIn this courtroom sketch, David Headley, is shown in a federal court. File PhotoNo longer proud of Mumbai attacks: Headley
When asked by Defence Attorney Patrick W Belgan if he was still proud of the Mumbai attacks that killed more than 160 people including American nationals, Headley said, "No". »CIA to search Osama's Abbottabad compound
A CIA forensic experts' team will fly to Pakistan to search the compound where al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed and the American spy agency will use sophisticated equipment to search... »Epicentre of terror is in our western neighbourhood: Chidambaram
"It is a truism to say that India lives in perhaps the most difficult neighbourhood in the world. The global epicentre of terrorism is in our immediate western neighbourhood," the Union Home Minister said. »Bhopal victims oppose Union Carbide plant demolition
Opposing the proposed demolition of the defunct Union Carbide Plant in Bhopal, organisations representing victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy have dubbed it as an attempt to "weaken&rdqu...»Sibal reposes trust in IITs and IIMs
Seeking to give his Ministry's opinion on Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh's statement that has snowballed into a major controversy, the Union HRD Minister said 25 per cent of the IIT faculty was from the institution itself. »NATIONAL
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Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/doctor-suspended-after-altercation-with-mamata-108559?cp
| Legal complications stop Mamata govt from making Singur agreement public |
| BS Reporter / Kolkata May 27, 2011, 0:57 IST |
A day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the agreement signed between Tata Motors and the Left Front government for the Nano project in Singur could be put in the public domain as early as today, commerce and industry minister Partha Chatterjee today hinted the process might get delayed because of legal complications.
"There are some legal complications which we hope will be sorted out soon. We have discussed all related issues to the agreement with our officials. We have collected all the papers and will show all these to our Chief Minister," Partha Chatterjee said after a meeting with West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) officials here.
Incidentally, an application under Right to Information (RTI) had been filed in 2008 to make the agreement public. After the Left Front-led West Bengal government made a part of it public, Tata Motors had challenged it and moved Calcutta High Court, which gave an interim injunction and directed Chief Information Commissioner, the appellate authority under the RTI Act, to hear the case. However, there had been no further ruling on this.
When asked whether HC ruling was a hindrance for the government to make the agreement public, Chatterjee said, "We are taking all matters into account. Tata is not the only party involved in this, about 54 vendors were also involved. Though some of them were involved only in paper not in reality. So, we won't be doing anything that creates further complications."
Though the Chief Minster had said on Wednesday that all documents related to the agreement would be made public in a day or two, her cabinet colleague and Commerce and Industry minister Partha Chatterjee refused to give any deadline for this.
"I am very hopeful. I can not say anything else. I was just asked by our Chief Minister to examine the papers. I am doing that and need some more time for that," he said.
The demand to make it public was a long standing one, from the Trinamool Congress, when in the opposition. Banerjee yesterday said, it was our commitment to make this agreement public.
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