It was his first guest lecture in front of students in an upmarket business school. He was expected to speak on marketing. He was nervous but excited. The students showed mixed emotions on their faces

‘Good Morning, Guys! Let me begin by reading your minds.’

He paused. The students looked puzzled.

‘You are right now thinking about a couple of things. You are wondering what I shall tell you that you do not know or cannot find online. Two, you may be thinking, how long before this session is over.’

The students gave a small laugh. He went on.

‘So, what do you want me to speak on?’ He was not sure he had made the right offer.

The students were hesitant. They did not know him well enough to suggest a topic. There were murmurs and then a girl from the front benches blurted out, ‘You said it. We can find out online all that you may be teaching us. So… what do you think you can teach us?’

He thought for a while and smiled at her. ‘Let’s then do a marketing exercise. You tell me what you have learned and if there is a name for that exercise.’ ‘Fair deal?’

The students suddenly looked interested.

‘Well, take a sheet of paper and write the names of the Smartest Boy and the Smartest Girl in this class. Just their names and nothing else. It’s a vote. Do not discuss your choices amongst yourselves.’

The students looked amused but got down on the job. Most exchanged glances and smiles and scribbled on the sheets.

‘Give your sheet to the peon’. The peon collected the sheets and handed them to him.

He called a girl and a boy from the class. He asked them to count the sheets and write the scores on the whiteboard. The students were super – amused and at this point, no one cared about the marketing lesson that was behind the exercise.

Everyone was keen to know who won the Smartest Boy and the Smartest Girl poll.

Finally, from 65 students, 2 names emerged; Rakesh with 43 votes and Snigdha with 57 votes. Clear winners. He waited for the cheering and excitement to die down.  Rakesh and Snigdha, of course, were over the moon.

‘Now is the time for the actual exercise’. With great difficulty, he could make the class focus again.

‘Guys let’s look at Rakesh’s case. Tell me why do you feel that Rakesh is the Smartest chap in the class? Tell me everything that he does differently that makes him the smartest boy.’

‘And please raise your hand, stand up and, tell at least one of his qualities to the class.’ Slowly, people got up one by one and started listing Rakesh’s qualities. The boy and the girl began writing on the whiteboard.

• Intelligent, smartly dressed, athlete, behaves well with all, Teachers love him, punctual… almost everyone gave the same common response.

Rakesh was grinning ear to ear; he never heard these many good adjectives about himself in his lifetime.

He picked 3 most commonly mentioned qualities.

• Smartly dressed, Intelligent, behaves well with all.

Now it was the turn of Snigdha.

• Friendly personality, good-looking, intelligent, knowledgeable, outgoing, and helpful.

The whiteboard was a riot of wonderful adjectives. He again picked the 3 most frequently mentioned qualities.

• Outgoing, Helpful, Well-dressed

‘Now, the next part of the exercise. Tell me, why do most of you think that Rakesh is Smartly dressed, Intelligent and Well-behaved.’

‘That’s simple. He is always very particular about the way he dresses.’ The response was almost immediate.

‘And intelligence? Can you see his intelligence?’ He persisted.

‘He does not cram before exams like many of us, yet he always scores high marks. Also, he is the first to answer any teacher’s question during the lectures.’ This response was also immediate.

‘Ok. I want you to remember these reasons for Rakesh.’ ‘Now, let us talk about Snigdha.’ The crowd did not understand where this was going, but happily played along.

‘She is always making friends, even with strangers.’ ‘She does not keep any opinion to herself and has a clear-cut view on all matters.’ The class was clear about why they called Snigdha, ‘Outgoing.’

‘And why ‘helpful’? He saw that the class was enjoying the exercise.

‘She comes from a political family, and she uses all her contacts to help everyone even if the person is a stranger.’ Everyone nodded.

He decided that it was time now to conclude his exercise.

‘OK class, now let us go to the next step.’ The Class became very attentive

‘Let me do a recap. Remember, I have not told you about any marketing concept so far. That, you shall have to, at the end.’ He went on.

‘First, I asked you to name the smartest girl and the smartest boy in the class. The names of Rakesh and Snigdha came up from the majority of you.’ ‘I’m sure there are many smart people here, yet you chose to name only 2 people.’

‘Remember, I next asked what unique things about them makes them the smartest in the class? You mentioned several qualities and simultaneously mentioned that they displayed these qualities frequently. Do you all agree?’ Everyone nodded.

‘Let us now take the game to brands. Give me the names of some popular brands.’ The class went into thinking mode.

‘Tata Tea’, said one of them.

‘Fevicol’, said another.

‘iPhone’, one more name came up.

‘Great choices!’ He said. ‘Now let us analyze these brands. Tell me, how many brands of tea do we have in India?

‘Hundreds’, the class said in unison.

‘Is Fevicol the best adhesive that is there in India?’ He probed the class.

‘No, not really. There are several better adhesives.’ Someone commented, and everyone agreed.

‘Which brand of smartphone sells the most in India?’ ‘Samsung.’ There was a prompt reply.

‘Wonderful!’ ‘Now let us answer a few questions again. From amongst hundreds of brands of tea, you remember Tata Tea. Is it the best tea that we have?’ ‘Tell me why you remember the brand?’

The class fell silent.

‘Because it stands for social awakening. The message ‘Jago India’ and all the ads with the same message is very catchy and relevant.’ The students replied

‘Fair enough, now tell me about Fevicol and why you remember it?’

The class began to understand where this was leading to.

‘Fevicol ads! The message, ‘Fevicol ka Mazboot Jod, Tutega Nahi’, built into very funny ads that are very relevant to our lives. They have been doing this for years.’

‘Great, Tell me now about iPhone. What makes you remember it apart from other brands of smartphone?’

This response was even faster, ‘Great quality, upmarket image and pricey!’ Everyone agreed.

‘Wonderful!’ he was very pleased.

‘Are there common things about each of these brands that help you remember these brands?’ he probed. ‘Let me tell you.’

He went on. ‘First, a different approach. Tata Tea and Fevicol give a different socially relevant message that strongly registers in your mind unlike any other brands. iPhone gives you quality and an imagery of a premium brand that no other brand gives.’ ‘Agreed?’

‘Yes, agreed.’ The class replied

‘Second, consistency in whatever they do to drive their differential approach. I am sure that you would have never seen an inexpensive iPhone nor would you have seen an ad for Tata Tea or Fevicol with any other message. Have you?’ The class shook their heads

‘Also, they periodically put out their messages through multiple ways.’

‘Third, they remain in the news through some or the other activities so that you clearly notice. Tata Tea frequently holds early morning marathons, Fevicol provides ideas by which parents stick to their children in crowds in mega-gatherings like Kumbh Mela, and iPhone introduces a new version every year with mega–visibility events across the world. Do you remember any other brands in these categories that do it?’

‘No, other brands don’t.’ The class replied.

‘Now, recall how you picked Rakesh and Snigdha. They unknowingly ‘market’ themselves just like brands do. Their qualities aren’t just good, they’re frequently visible and consistently perceived.’

The Class instantly connected and agreed.

‘Your turn now to tell me, what’s the marketing concept we’ve been talking about?’

‘Brand Positioning!’ a girl from the first row excitedly responded. It echoed across the classroom

‘Absolutely and on dot.’ He nodded, pleased.

His allotted time was ending. ‘So here are the lessons on Brand Positioning from the exercise that you did.’

‘One, brand positioning is a battle that every brand fights to acquire a unique space in your mind. If the space is not unique, the battle is lost.’

‘Two, brand positioning is not a ‘one – day’ or a ‘one – event’ affair. Brands indulge in it for years to become a success.’

‘Three, brand positioning works when the brand is frequently visible, consistently visible and relevant to users’ lives.

‘Fourth, brand positioning is just the first part of the marketing game. However, it never guarantees sales success unless all the remaining elements of the marketing mix are followed.’

As students scribbled notes, he closed with a final thought.

So, next time you see a brand in action, ask yourself—are they a Rakesh or a Snigdha in their category?’

The class gave an overwhelming response, ‘Yes sir!’