One of the biggest financial capitals in Asia came to a standstill. Lacs of people flooded the city just to have the last glimpse of the man they worshiped to the very core. 20000 policemen including rapid action force were deployed to maintain order. Commercial businesses ranging from corporate houses to pan wallahs chose to shut down voluntarily.
It’s not difficult to gauge the might of the person who was the source of this commotion, a person who held the awed emotions of millions. To sections of Maharastra he was a straight forward, spontaneous, large-hearted man, to others he was a Xenophobic Fundamentalist. Some called him a Political Innovator, while for some he was an intimidating, autocratic leader. Such was the charisma of Bal Keshav Thackeray.
From a small satirical cartoonist, to a man of godly stature, Thackeray’s journey is illustrative and a lesson for a student of marketing. To trace his history, we have go back to 1 May 1960, which saw the state of Bombay being divided into two new states of Gujarat and Maharastra, which was the result of a very bitter struggle witnessing the loss of 105 lives.
Even though the state of Maharastra had mostly Marathi speaking people, they soon realized that there was a crisis of unemployment for them as the Gujaratis and Marwaris ran the businesses while the white collar jobs went to the South Indians. During those days Thackeray used to publish satires in his periodical "Marmik" which were aimed at Non-Marathis. It also published a list of employees in various companies, which revealed that most of them were non-Maharastrian.
Thackeray righty targeted the educated unemployed Marathis youths. He made them aware of different issues that stalled their growth like unemployment of youth and loss of self-pride. It appealed to their cognitive senses. Soon he also won the hearts of the embittered unemployed youth through his anti-migrant philosophy which mesmerized them.
He was able to identify that the people of Maharastra were suffering from an identity crisis and he addressed their social as well as self-esteem needs by starting the movement of unifying the Marathi-speaking people. He understood the needs for economical as well as social development of these people.
In 1966, Thackeray formed the political party of “Shiv Sena”. The popularity of Thackeray was increasing amongst the Marathi speaking people, while at a loss was the South Indian community. They were the targets as they were held responsible for taking up the jobs from the educated Marathi youths. The Shiv Sainiks marched ahead with the anti-South slogan of "Pungi Bajao, Lungi Bhagao" as they referred South Indians as "lungiwallahs". Thackeray used a developmental strategy to address the latent demand thus formed the product of "Marathi Manoos" which catered to their needs, hopes and aspirations. He unified the marathis by providing them with an identity, which asked them to respect themselves and ask for their rights proudly. The concept of "Marathi Manoos" was positioned in the mind of the Marathis as a self dependent clan who worked for their own welfare and upliftment.
They have always stood for the cause of “Marathi Manoos” by constantly being a pillar of support for them. They have established good customer relationship by working for them. They claim to have worked for the people of Maharastra by playing central role in rehabilitation of 500000 slum dwellers. They also provided services to their community by cremating older people whose children resided outside the country. This was the calling of the brand “Shiv Sena”.
The Shiv Sena was born at a time the Communist party was already the market leader of the segment, Sena was planning to target, i.e. the disgruntled Marathi mass who were unemployed because of the job offers being snatched away by the migrant South Indians or for that matter the Gujarati section who had remained there after partition of Bombay Presidency. Thus it had lost the opportunity of primus entrant. So it had to meet competition as it entered the market. The value proposition Communists offered these youth were of equality but what Shiv Sena had in store for them was much more than the concept of being at par with others. It offered them identity, a sense of pride and superiority in who they were, “Marathi Manoos”. Building on this extra value proposition, Bal Thackeray had two options. He could compete with the communist party bang on with a frontal attack or it could dilute the brand slowly and steadily and adopt the strategy of flanker attack which was actually done by him.
Bala Saheb Thackeray with his regular satirical cartoons in Marmik and charged oratory was successful in disseminating anti migratory feelings. With the backup of Congress, which had actually fueled the formation of the Sena, it through a series of violent conflicts with the communists was finally able to rule over the labor politics in Mumbai. Within no time Shiv Sena was the market leader with powers unmatched to any of its contemporary competitors.
Shrewd marketer as Bal Thackeray was, identified the need for strategies followed by market leaders. He went on expanding the market for Shiv Sena through geographical expansion when it won the 1995 elections in collaboration with BJP. Bal Thackeray knew that for pan Maharashtra operations it needed to re-positioning and re-orientation of his party being in government. Thus Shiv Sena moved on to the ideology of Hindutva and made controversial moves against Muslims and Pakistan.
The Brand Thackeray created was able to extract customer loyalty and engagement. The emotional connect he had with his followers can be made out from the fact that In 1969 when he was arrested for allegedly organizing protests against the then deputy Prime Minister Morarji Desai, the city was thrown into chaos by rioting activists who were silenced only by a statement from their leader. He was arrested on one other occasion but was quickly granted bail before the situation went out of hand in Mumbai.
The Ferocious tiger as Shiv Sena’s Party symbol represented the true image Bal Thackeray shared with his followers. He was otherwise called Tiger Thackeray by his fans all over. Taglines such as “Hindu Hridaya Samrat” for Thackeray, “Pungi bajao, Lungi Bhagao”, “Marathi Manoos” were in the language the common man could understand and created an indelible mark on the minds and hearts of people. Balasaheb had been a cartoonist and very clearly knew the art of connecting with people through imagery and presenting his thoughts as clearly and effectively as possible. Though some termed his brand as a “brand of hatred” and “vitriolic comments” but what we can learn from him is the fact that he built a brand with a stature that could be loved or loathed but could not be ignored. His ideas always stood out and against the common notion like anti-bihari, anti muslim, admiration of Adolf Hitler etc. The range of varying obituaries and differentiated opinions about him published after his death is a clear indicator of the place and importance he held in Indian Politics though his actions may be confined to just one state.
The astute skills he used for promotion included word of mouth publicity and public relations. Bal Thackeray was one man never short of opinions. Whether it was culture, arts, sports, national politics or any other issue he always had something witty or sarcastic to say. It was his articulation, eloquence and quick-wittiness that moved millions to his side. He based his campaigns on issues centering the middle class Marathi. His other means included rallies and protests sometimes violent, sometimes demonstrative.
Doubts are now being raised about the future of Shiv Sena and the brand value Thackeray created. For Shiv Sena, losing Bal Thackeray is same as Apple losing Steve Jobs. The question is that, with Udhav as the party supremo does the party plan to concentrate on the same target group or should they reposition it with the changing behavior of the current generation? Is it better for them to follow the same strategy and politics of hate or move towards a more liberal and relaxed approach, if yes then is it easy for people to forget the Brand Bal Thackeray has created over years, which is the very base of the party? The answer lies in the times to come...
-Written along with Naveli Singh for the contest “Conquest” by IIM Shillong, 24 Sept’ 2012
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