Thread by @FinFloww

Bata is defaming its own brand by calling its footwear old-fashioned

And that too in its own advertisements!

But in a world where brands are trying to look fashionable, why’d Bata risk tarnishing its brand image?

THREAD: How Bata’s genius new strategy is a game-changer🧵

Bata is smart enough to communicate its brand identity in the same language that its potential customer speaks.

When we think Bata, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

COMFORT!

Over the years, Bata has become well-established as a footwear brand that’s

— comfortable, affordable, and durable.

But this exact USP of Bata was the one taking it towards its downfall.

Let’s try to understand GenZ for a minute — they don’t care much if something lasts forever or not.

Instead, they are quick to adapt and need something that’s more fashionable & stylish.

Now, while Bata already had a grab over its customers in their late 40s,

it wanted to acquire a younger customer base to stay relevant.

So, they started designing and producing stylish footwear for multiple occasions like parties, meetings, athletics, and casuals to attract the newer audience.

In fact, they also launched sub brands like 9 to 9, for targeting the working millennials.

And they did a pretty decent job.

Now, what do you think happened next? The younger generation accepted it?

Not at all!

Younger people didn’t even enter Bata stores. So, how would they know what Bata has become now?

And that’s when they realised that the problem was never with its product, but it was with its brand perception,

— and this pushed them to smartly defame their own brand.

After years of frustration of trying to capture the youngsters,

Bata finally understood that the problem was actually with its brand positioning and perceived identity.

This phenomenon in psychology is known as PERCEPTUAL FALLACY.

It is the gap between the perception and reality.

Because even though Bata was already making youth-centric footwear, they would never notice it.

They had a perceptual image of Bata being an old and obsolete brand.

And to change that, Bata started narrating the same, false perception with a twist.

Bata was smart with its words and consciously aware of its brand.

While repositioning, they used words like, “Surprisingly Bata”, “It’s got to be Bata”, “Ye Bata Hai?”, etc.

These phrases generated the emotion of shock and acceptance at the same time.

Not only this, Bata also smartly chose the faces for the ad campaign like Sushant Singh Rajput, Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, and Disha Patani.

All this to capture the younger audience with the faces they resonate with.

Now, while Bata was modifying itself and attempting to raise its horizon, they never tried to completely alter themselves, or alienate their core.

While rebranding themselves, they were conscious enough to stick to their core quality of being a comfortable footwear brand.

This narration also helped them keep their original element of comfort, affordability, and durability, intact.

It helped them build a newer consumer base without losing the existing one.

This also a reflection of the fact that they haven’t eliminated any of the existing characteristics of its footwear,

but have just added an extra element of style that’s relevant to the time.

And that’s how Bata smartly repositioned itself through a subtle and audience-specific strategy,

which not only helped them reposition, but also break the false perception around the brand.

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