At the Mumbai leg of the BW Businessworld Marketing Whitebook 2016-17 launch, Sanjiv Mehta, MD & CEO, Hindustan Unilever & EVP, Unilever South Asia offered advice to a new generation of business leaders and marketing professionals on the role that brands should play not only in a consumer's life but also for the society at large.
Produced in association with Nielsen, and presented by TIMES NETWORK, the BW Businessworld Marketing Whitebook is now in its 12th year. The theme of the book this year is 'Game Changers of Marketing'.
At the launch event that was attended by over 250 of the most influential marketing decision makers of the country, Mehta cited various transformations in the world from climate challenges to the advent of technology to highlight the speed and intensity of change. "This pace of change is unprecedented. We had taken decades to move from telegram to radio to television but the present day speed is exponential. The computing power that was once with the likes of NASA is now in our palm in the form of smartphones. And this pace is only going to get more dramatic," Mehta said.
DISRUPT OR DIEFrom Kodak moments to the Nokia experience, he reminded that brands that did not disrupt in time, were unable to survive despite the leadership they once commanded in their individual sectors. "At some level, the change is a threat. But I would say that these are also amazing opportunities for businesses. There is no doubt that this technological revolution is a harbinger of the age of opportunity but it is important for us to understand as business leaders that technology should not only touch the premium strata but also the bottom. Only then, we would be able to address the problems confronting us and create an equitable and inclusive society," Mr Mehta stated.
Various businesses are responding to change in their own ways. The average lifespan of a Fortune 500 country is today less than 20 years. The key to survive, as Mr Mehta advises, is to continually reinvent. "If you don't, you will get fossilised," he said.
LEADERSHIP THAT ENDURESCiting the Unilever example, he advised that irrespective the change in technology, a company should never lose sight of purpose and how it manifests. He said, "Unilever started in the 19th century. The company's philosophy since then is deeply rooted in purpose. For us, sustainability is not CSR (corporate social responsibility) but the way we conduct our business."
Over time, Unilever has created high goals and benchmarks for itself in creating jobs and livelihoods and constantly giving back to society and environment. Hindustan Unilever Foundation that works exclusively in conserving water is a case in point. Reminding that unless society prospers, businesses will not, he explained how a corporate's role goes beyond just profits and the short term. "A business of quarterly P&L can lose out on long term objectives and gains," Mehta said, adding, "Purpose and values are timeless" and "Purpose Leads, Profits follow".
While brands truly grounded in purpose and value is one of his advices, the second is to embrace the important trait of speed and agility. "In today's world, you have to respond in very quick time. Speed and agility are critical for modern day leaders and for organisations," Mehta remarked.
BE DISTINCTIVEFor nearly as long as memory serves, Hindustan Unilever has been the largest consumer goods company in the country. A key requirement to achieve and sustain the status is the ability to build distinctive capabilities that are hard to replicate. A corporate that fails in doing this, will find it difficult to sustain leadership.
The moving from mass marketing to massive customisation or exploring new ways of engagement that move from classical routes to bringing brands to life in different ways reiterates the power of technology The industry has seen brands evolve as content creators, and Hindustan Unilever has led the way in India with some of its initiatives on that front.
Mehta reiterated that it is important to apply technology not only at the top but all the way to the bottom of the pyramid. HUL's initiatives such as Shakti have reinvented business models and create livelihood opportunities for women and for people in India's hinterland whereas Hamara Shop is using technology to make the grocer more competitive.
COLLABORATE, EXPERIMENTFinally, one of the most important takeaways from Mehta's Keynote address was the need for partnership. "Gone are the days of integration across businesses. Today it is through collaboration. Corporates need to create a whole new ecosystem to be able to bring out the best that will ultimately help people," he said. Some Unilever examples in this direction are Unilever Foundry that works with startups and young entrepreneurs, and joint initiatives such as CHIFSS that is targeted at food safety.
Much of what HUL does leaves a lesson to be learnt for many companies. One lesson from Mr Mehta that professionals and entrepreneurs can take away at a more personal level was to push one's capability. "If you don't take risk, how will you have fun or how will you know what it is that you can truly achieve," Mehta concluded.
