SPIRITUAL BRANDING ------ “CHALLENGES AHEAD"

 

by

 

Dr.Y. Vinodhini Professor

Hyderabad.

 

Meaning of Spirituality

• Spirituality has become a keyword in brand thinking and consumer’s behaviour.

• ‘Spirituality’ is an important keyword of the next trend in business and lifestyle

In human development, there are four stages (BODY, MIND, SOUL, SPIRIT). Human needs, capital system and brand issues can be placed according to the each stage. Philosophers, psychologists and brand thinkers say that the spiritual stage is the highest level, and the whole view and integration is essential

BRANDING

•  Branding is simply a matter of image.

• The process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers' mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme.

• Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers.

SPIRITUAL BRANDING• Spiritual Branding is about the man/woman, not a

corporation. It consists of the same components of a business Brand with the exception of the focus on the individual and the spiritual impact a person has on himself and the world around him. Success depends upon how well you are realized as a person, your adherence to the spiritual principles of success and whether others/the world benefit from your success. Although Spiritual Branding is focused on the individual, the product being sold (God manifested in you) is for the benefit of the whole.

Most of brands seem to consider both ethical issues and emotional approach nowadays. However, there are three levels of Corporate Social Responsibility. Many CSR programmes by big brands seem to be defensive strategy:

“I will protect myself by helping you”.

Review of literatureElsie Maio (Soul Branding, 1999) and Marc Gob

(Citizen Brand, 2002) state that if a brand cares about ethical responsibility, it can create the deepest emotion and inspirational value with not only consumers but also all stakeholders, which will lead a brand ﾕ s long-term success.

Contd…• Zohar (2004) states the importance of

transformation to the Spiritual Capital from the material and social capital. The Spiritual Capital is wealth that we can live by, wealth that enriches the deeper aspects of our lives. It is wealth we gain through drawing upon our deepest meanings deepest values, most fundamental purposes and highest motivations, and by finding a way to embed these in our lives and work.

Contd.. reviews

• The Benetton’s advertisements is famous of using ethical issues. It is spin CSR: “Something that looks good for public relations purpose.”

Contd…

Gobe (2002) says that; “The spiritual and sensorial have clearly become important parts of our lives when purchasing brands, and the promise associated with any product needs to be relevant to these aspirations.”

Reviews--------Contd

• The third is the deepest level of CSR from a genuine wish to do some good that lies at the heart of a company ﾕ s basic vision (Zohar, 2004). They can be said as truly ethical brands and may be spiritual brands.

Reviews---contd

According to the 4-D Brand Mind Space by Thomas Gad (2001), the Spiritual dimension is to include a wider view on social, ethical or environmental issues.

Yoga

Yoga Became A $27 Billion Industry

-- And Reinvented American

Spirituality

Baba Ramdev Products• the yoga guru today has emerged as one of India’s

more successful brands in the otherwise less penetrated rural markets too as his 150-200 dedicated outlets in 2012 have grown to almost 4,000 now, prompting Ramdev to sell the FMCG range in the open market too.

•From toothbrushes to yoga suits to breakfast cereals, Baba Ramdev has added a spiritual touch in each item up for sale credit goes to his massive customer communities, and may just give FMCG firms a run for their money.

conclusions• Spirituality must enrich the deeper aspects of our

lives.

• Spiritual branding also must state the spirituality is now required to be integrated into capital system, business and organizations.

The science and art of discovering and developing a compelling place in the target customers mind and delivering on its inherent promise delivers a “brand meaning” and gives substance to the “brand building” that increases brand equity.

Conclusions------Contd… Spirituality can be defined as the integral

quality beyond physical, emotional and ethical matters that gives life or vitality to a system. Thus the same may be spread for the global peace wherein all the species of the earth must be directed towards peace and tranquility which will reinforce the values of the human race and in turn generate humanity with values and works.

Quotes on spirituality

• Enlightened leadership is spiritual if we understand spirituality not as some kind of religious dogma or ideology but as the domain of awareness where we experience values like truth, goodness, beauty, love and compassion, and also intuition, creativity, insight and focused attention.

Deepak Chopra

Contd…

• The requirements for our evolution have changed. Survival is no longer sufficient. Our evolution now requires us to develop spiritually - to become emotionally aware and make responsible choices. It requires us to align ourselves with the values of the soul - harmony, cooperation, sharing, and reverence for life. Gary Zukav

Contd….

Contd….

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