Article in The Brand Wagon, The Financial Express, April 8, 2008
Of the Solar Plexus and Fire in the Belly: the Desire to Influence and the Drive for Power Is Driving the Indian Consumer Today
Of the Solar Plexus and Fire in the Belly: the Desire to Influence and the Drive for Power Is Driving the Indian Consumer Today
Chakra Watch 3: Survival, Pleasure, Power, Love, Creative Expression, Transcendence, Spirituality – these are the seven basic life themes, based on the seven major chakras in the human body, that drive all human behaviour.
Easily the most dominant mood of the day, India today is enjoying a heady sense of a possibility of dominating others, and a growing realisation of its superiority. Emerging from the power-deprived scenario of its pre-independence days, armed with a large young population, India discovers opportunism, materialism and a high degree of ambition. Developing and putting to use its agile, active and resilient mind, India is learning showmanship and projection of leadership skills. After years of believing in destiny, Indians are beginning to believe that there is scope to shape one’s own destiny. Brand India seen through Manipura, the solar plexus or Third Chakra Payoffs is a true reflection of what the country makes Indians feel today.
Centered in the solar plexus – the seat of power, ego, authority, self control and discipline, Manipura or Power Chakra brands reflect and/or enhance courage, self-esteem, persistence, leadership, good will and right actions, and aim to compensate for a lack of self-confidence and empowerment.
Power Chakra people are said to be clear principled, have control over their thoughts, have unending positive energy, are goal oriented, and have a great desire to influence others. They have typically attained a certain degree of safety and security in their life. They can be diplomatic, active or passive as the situation demands. Sentiments like "there is no place for pity" and "life is a race" are strong Power Chakra sentiments. Absence of power, on the other hand could lead to a lack of control over circumstances, an inability to assert, dependence on others’ acknowledgement, and an inability to congratulate oneself… "I don’t think I’ve achieved anything much".
The Power and the Glory, a Brand Chakras ™ study on the global Indian(young Indians interacting with the world daily as part of their work, who have lived abroad and returned) revealed a combination of Power Chakra, Creative Expression Chakra (throat) and Transcendence Chakra (third eye). Some typical power statements went like these: "I need personal professional growth because people should know me like they know Mukesh Ambani." "My work symbolizes my influence over others, I can see that my opinion counts and that I make a difference here" "My work reflects my highly competitive spirit, but often I'm competing with my own benchmarks..." "Power. You have people beneath you… people whom you can control…who will listen to what you say… I enjoy power… that is it."
Driven by positive self image, and high confidence in their own skills and talent, the young global Indian shows a pronounced eagerness to seize the initiative in any situation; a restless urge to be proactive in shaping his own destiny; a gleeful realization that the "Indian" badge is a significant advantage on the world stage and an impatience to encash this to the maximum; and an inclination to acquire larger than life status through career and money. In fact, a clear desire to play God, if not today, some day soon.
In a different way, the small town and lower SEC desire to become IAS officers and police officers that focus group discussions often throw up, is a clear indication of their search for power, as they see these professionals as symbols of great local power and influence. The police officer as hero is a dominant theme in tamil cinema, and news reports say that the IAS cadre is indeed attracting more candidates from small towns than the metros.
On the home front, the Brand Chakras ™ study Mother India showed that the seat of mother’s love too was moving to the solar plexus. Mothers showed a high degree of ambition on the social and materialistic planes. There is clearly heightened eagerness, laced with impatience, to be able to ride the crest of the "mother’s pride" emotion. They are today willing to assume responsibility for children seizing the opportunities in life, and are pushing their own limits as individuals in order to play an enabling role in children’s lives. Probably this explains why we tend to see more mothers behind the winning young idols in reality shows, than fathers.
Key brand payoffs that appeal to and arise out of Manipura people and their needs include payoffs like: reflects my clear principles, makes me look at life with a lot of courage, helps me achieve my goals, symbolizes or helps me build my influence over others, helps me to be decisive and clear, reflects my sense of ruthless ambition, helps me to be in control, helps me feel good about my achievements, and reflects my highly competitive spirit.
Examples would include apparel brands and accessories that reek of high corporate status, car brands that talk of horse power, corporate wars, political battles, the matriarch of many hindi movies including the foster mother in Jodha Akbar, and of course Tulsi and Parvathy – arriving after 18 years in an Arjuna-like chariot, or attacking the villains with Durga-like trisuls.
But the best example would be the business and news media brands of today, wanting to not just report news but actually create news, shape and lead public opinion if not policy itself.
Easily the most dominant mood of the day, India today is enjoying a heady sense of a possibility of dominating others, and a growing realisation of its superiority. Emerging from the power-deprived scenario of its pre-independence days, armed with a large young population, India discovers opportunism, materialism and a high degree of ambition. Developing and putting to use its agile, active and resilient mind, India is learning showmanship and projection of leadership skills. After years of believing in destiny, Indians are beginning to believe that there is scope to shape one’s own destiny. Brand India seen through Manipura, the solar plexus or Third Chakra Payoffs is a true reflection of what the country makes Indians feel today.
Centered in the solar plexus – the seat of power, ego, authority, self control and discipline, Manipura or Power Chakra brands reflect and/or enhance courage, self-esteem, persistence, leadership, good will and right actions, and aim to compensate for a lack of self-confidence and empowerment.
Power Chakra people are said to be clear principled, have control over their thoughts, have unending positive energy, are goal oriented, and have a great desire to influence others. They have typically attained a certain degree of safety and security in their life. They can be diplomatic, active or passive as the situation demands. Sentiments like "there is no place for pity" and "life is a race" are strong Power Chakra sentiments. Absence of power, on the other hand could lead to a lack of control over circumstances, an inability to assert, dependence on others’ acknowledgement, and an inability to congratulate oneself… "I don’t think I’ve achieved anything much".
The Power and the Glory, a Brand Chakras ™ study on the global Indian(young Indians interacting with the world daily as part of their work, who have lived abroad and returned) revealed a combination of Power Chakra, Creative Expression Chakra (throat) and Transcendence Chakra (third eye). Some typical power statements went like these: "I need personal professional growth because people should know me like they know Mukesh Ambani." "My work symbolizes my influence over others, I can see that my opinion counts and that I make a difference here" "My work reflects my highly competitive spirit, but often I'm competing with my own benchmarks..." "Power. You have people beneath you… people whom you can control…who will listen to what you say… I enjoy power… that is it."
Driven by positive self image, and high confidence in their own skills and talent, the young global Indian shows a pronounced eagerness to seize the initiative in any situation; a restless urge to be proactive in shaping his own destiny; a gleeful realization that the "Indian" badge is a significant advantage on the world stage and an impatience to encash this to the maximum; and an inclination to acquire larger than life status through career and money. In fact, a clear desire to play God, if not today, some day soon.
In a different way, the small town and lower SEC desire to become IAS officers and police officers that focus group discussions often throw up, is a clear indication of their search for power, as they see these professionals as symbols of great local power and influence. The police officer as hero is a dominant theme in tamil cinema, and news reports say that the IAS cadre is indeed attracting more candidates from small towns than the metros.
On the home front, the Brand Chakras ™ study Mother India showed that the seat of mother’s love too was moving to the solar plexus. Mothers showed a high degree of ambition on the social and materialistic planes. There is clearly heightened eagerness, laced with impatience, to be able to ride the crest of the "mother’s pride" emotion. They are today willing to assume responsibility for children seizing the opportunities in life, and are pushing their own limits as individuals in order to play an enabling role in children’s lives. Probably this explains why we tend to see more mothers behind the winning young idols in reality shows, than fathers.
Key brand payoffs that appeal to and arise out of Manipura people and their needs include payoffs like: reflects my clear principles, makes me look at life with a lot of courage, helps me achieve my goals, symbolizes or helps me build my influence over others, helps me to be decisive and clear, reflects my sense of ruthless ambition, helps me to be in control, helps me feel good about my achievements, and reflects my highly competitive spirit.
Examples would include apparel brands and accessories that reek of high corporate status, car brands that talk of horse power, corporate wars, political battles, the matriarch of many hindi movies including the foster mother in Jodha Akbar, and of course Tulsi and Parvathy – arriving after 18 years in an Arjuna-like chariot, or attacking the villains with Durga-like trisuls.
But the best example would be the business and news media brands of today, wanting to not just report news but actually create news, shape and lead public opinion if not policy itself.
