For most of my childhood I have feared the Police force, and who wouldn’t? Cinema and news reports across the 90’s created a perception that when in trouble approaching the police (let me put it mildly) should be your last resort. Corruption, harassment, inefficiency or unfit police officers these were the traits that were a part of discussions on the subject, for a social media marketer these are your ‘keywords’ or ‘buzz words’ attached to the brand when look at the ‘what people are talking about you’ aspect.
Eventually came work life and luckily for me a large part of my day is devoted to Twitter and other social platforms, here I came across the ‘Mumbai Police Twitter handle’ and scrolling across their time line and following their tweets consistently has changed my perception completely. ‘It isn’t easy to change customer perception that stems from a mind-set developed during your formative years’ is among the most valuable take away from my Consumer Behaviour Class; but with persistent communication to your target audience using the right channels it isn’t impossible, or so I learnt through this Twitter Handle.
They are prompt in their responses, their tweets are witty so I want to read and not scroll away plus drive in a social message, their target audience if I may put it that way is the entire city and hence their feed covers issues that impact all segments of the society. They have broken the barriers that made us as citizens feel that they are unapproachable and have developed the image of being the force that we rightfully should admire and trust.
But it is not as simple as one twitter handle (do follow if you haven’t already – @MumbaiPolice), a quick look at their website (https://mumbaipolice.maharashtra.gov.in/Home.asp) and you get to know that it is neat, informative and has no unnecessary clutter. Their Facebook page (@BrihanMumbaiPolice.co.in) is full of images and this like most social media guru’s advice gives a face to the brand making their customer in this case, citizens feel that the body is not just a name but real people. This very fact makes them approachable, respected and also feared in certain cases and that is exactly the kind of brand image I believe they wish to portray.
In my previous post I spoke about using the right IMC channels to target the right customer (http://marketing360.in/segment-target-and-position-all-the-way/) in the case of the Mumbai Police; every citizen of the city is a potential customer and this is why a set of intelligently curated ad films that were showcased across cinema halls (like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7wObyAqf7U) targeted the masses at large and addressed the issue of women’s safety, helped changing the way women view the Police force.
If I break it up in pure branding terminology, this is a case of Brand Re-positioning done well; Brand repositioning focuses on changing what customers associate with the brand and sometimes competing brands. This usually entails a change in the brand’s promise and its personality. Taglines often change with brand repositioning (to communicate the new promise). And sometimes the identity itself is updated or refreshed to reinforce the change in the brand’s positioning.1
This is exactly what we observed in the case of ‘Mumbai police’, citizens have started associating the brand with reliability, approachability and respect, this identity is modern with a clean website and extremely responsive social channels, ensuring that they reach out to the citizens where they spend most of their time i.e. on their handhelds. This is supported by tapping pockets of audiences in places such as cinema halls and helping change perceptions. A small addition that can be made is by tapping radio channels, because it has mass reach across segments of the society (discount my ignorance, if done already).
I have been exploring for a little for any high quality articles
or weblog posts on this sort of space . Exploring in Yahoo I at last stumbled upon this site.
Reading this information So i’m glad to exhibit that I have an incredibly excellent uncanny feeling
I came upon just what I needed. I so much certainly will make sure to do
not fail to remember this web site and provides it a look regularly.
I have been exploring for a little for any high quality articles
or weblog posts on this sort of space . Exploring in Yahoo I at last stumbled upon this site.
Reading this information So i’m glad to exhibit that I have an incredibly excellent uncanny feeling
I came upon just what I needed. I so much certainly will make sure to do
not fail to remember this web site and provides it a look regularly.