The door bell rang and Rahul wondered who it could be. Before he could guess, a familiar voice called out:
"Rahooooool... Are you there?"

It was Rahul's dad. Rahul jumped out of his chair and rushed to the door. As he opened it, he saw his dad juggling his office suitcase with a quite a few polythene gift bags with a familiar logo shaped in the form of an aircraft imprinted on each one of them. Rahul's heart sank. Nevertheless, he offered his help in offloading.

It was Diwali season. Rahul's dad worked for Fly Heaven Company, a leading aerospace company. This time of the year, the company had a tradition of doling out gifts as tokens of its appreciation for commitment from its employees.

Having witnessed the day for years, Rahul could literally predict the future course of this difficult day like a soothsayer.

Rahul: (Here comes the same old sweets from the Chandrakala.)

Rahul’s dad: "Check this out!!! The delicious Chandrakala ladoos! Rahoooool, want to try some??"

The sweet box had the Fly Heaven logo's sticker. Rahul's dad dexterously opened the sweet box, cuddled up Rahul in his arms and shoved one ladoo down Rahul's throat. Then he dug into the box again and repeated the exercise with his own throat. While he was at it, Rahul escaped and rushed to fetch some water and gulped down enough to negate the nausea.

Rahul: (Here comes something for the kitchen.)

Last time it was the frying pan. With the logo engraved on the metal, Rahul secretly called it "the flying pan".

Rahul’s dad: "Too bad your mom is not at home, she would have loved to see this new crockery set. Rahoooool, just get a pair of scissors, lets unlock the beauty!!!”

Rahul obliged. Though he was hardly interested, Rahul volunteered to dissect the box. Finally, he pulled out a pair of cup and saucer. As per tradition, they had their exquisite bodies blobbed with the ugly logo.

Rahul: (Here comes something for himself. Every even numbered year Dad gets the dullest colored suiting material and every odd numbered year Dad gets a museum-befitting wristwatch.)

This was the odd year.

Rahul’s dad: "Rahul, I forgot to show you what I got for myself from office!"

Enthusiastically, he pulled up his cuffs, "My new wristwatch! Well, I promise I will just use it for a few days and then switch to my old one. After all, in a few years when you would grow up, you would want to use it, right??"

Rahul: (No thanks dad.)

It was the most dreaded moment for Rahul now.

Rahul’s dad: "And son, last but not the least... This one is for you… the coolest cap on earth!!"

He caught hold of his son's head and with one butcher-like stroke; the cap was pressed down Rahul's head. As his dad loosen his grip, Rahul ran towards the mirror only to realize that, as always, the cap met the single most crucial factor for rejection, the logo.

Rahul was fed up with bearing the guilt of hiding his frustration with the Fly Heaven logo. He would find it cheap to wear them among his friends because the logo gave away its freebie status. Yet, he didn’t want to break his dad's heart so he contemplated a few possible excuses.

After a while, with the cap in his hand, he returned to his dad and apologetically said:
"It doesn’t fit me, dad. Thanks anyways."

Life fast-forwards 15 years.

Rahul is a grown-up now and has just started working for a software firm in the digital printing industry called Print Magic. He is just three months into the job when Diwali arrives. The HR of Print Magic has just broadcast through an email that the company, on a celebratory note, would like to recognize the efforts of its employees and send them surprise gifts very shortly.

Rahul and his friends at work have been discussing about the Diwali gifts since the email arrived. Suddenly, they see the office attendants carrying gift boxes and distributing them from cubicle to cubicle. As they approach Rahul's cube, his heart starts pacing. After all it’s his first gift at work. He is just wondering what the goodie-box contains.

After exchanging the Diwali wishes and grabbing his box, Rahul immediately rushes to open it. He tears open the gift wraps and digs into the box.

A SWEATSHIRT! He is elated. He cannot wait and straightaway gets into it.

There is more in the box. He digs in again, and pulls out a small unlabelled box. Hurriedly, he opens it.

A WRISTWATCH! He immediately removes his Rolex and throws it on his table, and anxiously puts on this one.

Already on top of the world, Rahul turns the gift box upside down and shakes it to unravel whatever is left undiscovered so far. Suddenly, a black color cloth falls out of it. Pushing the empty box on the side, Rahul picks up the cloth piece to identify what it was.

A CAP! With a deft motion of his hand, he pushes the cap on his head and rushes to the mirror in the men's room.

On his way, he meets his friends, all clad in the same sweatshirts. They all exchange beaming smiles and occasional "high fives". The overwhelming feeling of being a part of the Print Magic organization clouds his emotions.

He enters the men's room, and looks at himself in the mirror. Quite inadvertently, he holds the visor of his cap and jerks to adjust it on his head. Then he doffed it to look at the familiar design on its face.

It’s the company logo! A feeling of déjà-vu runs through his spine.

He immediately looks at his sweatshirt. It has the same logo on the right chest of the sweatshirt. He pulls his cuffs, and looks at the wrist watch. The dial too has the same logo!

Rahul laughs out aloud and then gets into a deeply pensive mood.

Why does Rahul differentiate so drastically between the Fly Heaven logo and Print Magic logo?
Both the logos represent their respective companies. In all probability, an aerospace company is much bigger in all respects than a digital print company- in terms of technology, expertise, thrill or revenues. What could be the reason then?

There is an elusive link between brand and people. This link is association. Rahul’s dad never realized the fact that Rahul did not associate with the brand as much as he himself did. Rahul could never feel the pride of wearing Fly Heaven, the way he felt for Print Magic.

This is a common mistake companies make when they have a good product in the market but fail to find a connection with the psyche of the consumers. They may have got everything right with the creation of the product, but when so many competitive products are already in the market, the companies need to do something more to differentiate their products.

They need to prevent their products from becoming commodities. They need to appeal to the hearts of the prospective consumers by finding some subtle links to their psychology. It could be to do with consumers cherished past, their social standing or their culture; something that gives the consumer the sense of belonging that equals Rahul’s towards Print Magic.

The consumer should be made to feel that every purchase of the product is not just a value for money (Recollect Rahul’s “freebie” notion), but is well earned and consciously chosen over others.

Only when the company is able to create a brand which lets the consumer feel proud about wearing or using it, it can truly maximize on its product portfolio and thus sell effectively.

Dated: Oct, 2009

PS: Fly Heaven and Print Magic are fictitious companies.