Baba Ramdev: Yoga Guru 2 Marketing Guru.

From nowhere to everywhere, Brand Baba seems to be pervasive. Yoga has been there in India since time immemorial , it has been synonymous with sadhus( saints) who usually after relinquishing their mundane world in search of God or Nirvana used to keep them healthy, fit, let them channelize their energy and control their inner self toward a single goal. In marketing parlance we can think of it as a product which was restricted to a very small segment of society, had some exclusivity attached to it, expertise of saint in performing it and a luxury which could only be afforded by the disciples of saints. Wasn’t it a niche product. I think so……..

Nobody could have thought of commercializing it, leave aside the thought of popularizing it among the masses . Entrepreneurs are not only risk bearers, organizers and managers of the enterprises but they are also great visionaries who not only anticipate the future needs but also keep a check on the present requirements. I am sure Baba must have worked tirelessly on his mission away from the glare of media, completing all his defined tasks, keeping a check on the preparations and one day he must have decided to appear on the big stage and take the world by storm. Seems to be a meticulously planned launch of  the “ Brand Baba “.

The epithet “ He came , He saw, He conquered “ I suppose rightly describe the arrival of Baba and his infectious popularism among the masses. Suddenly everyone was seen rubbing his/her nails walking by the road side, waiting for a train at the platform, while travelling, while working in an office or for that matter whenever people found themselves free, he was there everywhere in the life of people. Yoga, which used to be considered Generic till now was well known by “ Baba Ramdev Brand of Yoga “. People were looking for a solution to their stressful life, an alternative form of medicine….he as a true entrepreneur anticipated this need before anyone could  and sold his idea of  a complete health to the masses. As a good marketer would do he made himself available for the masses through his “Yoga Shivers”, listened to their problems & tried to solve them, connected with them personally, had a product which was well researched, had variants of products in terms of  different Yoga Aasans for different ailments, meant for different age groups of people based on their ability to perform a particular aasan, had all the medium of advertisement to support his Brand.

His journey didn’t stop with his Brand of Yoga, when big business houses were struggling to launch and operate Branded Medical Stores, he was once again there bang on launching his own Brand of Ayurvedic Medicine Stores ( Patanjali) all over India…Franchising model also included. His name has become synonymous with Yoga and Ayurveda. There might be other before he appeared on scene, there are many in his era also but no one could make an impact like him. His presence was so infectious that people from different walks of life were cashing on his popularity….Filmstars like Shilpa Shetty and Bipasha Basu came with their own version of Yoga CD’s but could not pose a challenge to his leadership, infact they ended up following his footsteps…even the corporate world found a big market for herbal products..the consumers were looking for products which were close to nature. His USP is that he made himself approachable, common man identified with him and he positioned his product as a “ Total Health Solution” unlike the craze generated by the Filmstars to develop bulging biceps, curved body, zero figure which could be defined as a fad bound to fade away without notice. His product promise for a lifelong solution( durability), can be used anywhere anytime( operational convenience), available through different channels based on your convenience( like T.V., Books, Shivers ), his product emphasizes on precaution rather than cure….a feature which make his product standout from the rest of crowd and even if any ailment need to be cured he has the natural therapies and his own brand of ayurvedic medicine to compliment his main product. He has made his brand ambassadors out of his own followers who very religiously vouch for his claims and motivate people who come in contact with them to practice Yoga. He is in his unique way different from other gurus who only give spiritual discourses….he is different in terms of the practicality and objectivity of his product unlike the subjective nature of the discourses delivered by spiritual gurus.He run his trust as a big corporate house generating employment,profit and his initiative has not only pumped a new lease of life to ayurveda but has also indirectly helped people to find out an employment as yoga instructors in schools, colleges an corporate houses. He is ubiquitous, wherever you go you find his hoardings announcing the date of his Shivers, he has not only reached to the interiors of the places but he is also there in the mind of the people enjoying the share of his own, which is a sign of a big brand. People, organizations, institutions involve in any kind of traditional thing in India can take a lesson or two from Baba, that how marketing can help in reviving the traditional form of things that too with a handsome profit and  one need not to be an American or someone from a developed world to market a product and lay a claim on it. There has been lot of  yoga gurus and they are there today also who can challenge him in the art of yoga but there is only one Baba Ramdev the Yoga Guru turned out to be a Great Marketing Guru. And finally look what he is doing, he has taken the responsibility to bring back the black money to the nation and eradicate the corruption from the country. It seem that after achieving the leadership position in his form of business he want to diversify to the business of politics. There is always a risk of diluting your brand if you think of entering into a totally different field and Baba has taken that risk. His Brand seems to be in crisis these days and there is a need of second thought to be given to the diversification. I feel he should have thought of Co-Branding with Anna, this could have made it easy for him to diversify into the business of politics. It’s still not too late , he must think strategically on his move and rethink of launching his brand of movement again with new energy and a new look.

Any advice if needed , I am there to help you Baba. Jai Ho Babaji Ki……………………