When a person hears the word Punjab,a lot and lot of associations start to generate in one’s mind.

From mustard fields to the 5 rivers,from music to culture,from people to workmanship,from ego to fights,Different pictures get created in the mind.

Like a good brand the meaningful name PUNJAB-Punj Aab-The land of 5 rivers Ravi,Beas,Chenab,Jhelum and Satluj adds to the equity.

Punjab is no more just a state,its an ever growing brand.

When we talk about a brand we think what makes it a brand how is it different from the rest?

So when it comes to Punjab what is special or different about it?

1) People : People rather Punjabis have an unique identity.Easy,Happy go lucky,hardworking people are attributes what we associate them with.

The motto of Punjabis (as we say these days),”Work Hard Party Harder!”

A Punjabi never fears from work,Whether its tilling fields early morning or it is working hard in factory.

Whether it is working in an Engineering company or managing a company,Punjabis are always on the forefront.

A famous line goes for them ,”Punjabiyan Di Shaan Vakhri”

2) Culture : Punjabi Culture is famous worldover,Whether its the Unique Turban or it is the Phulkari(embroidery of flowers on shawls or dupatta).Or it is the famous Patiala Salwar or the Chaadra(similar to a Dhoti).

This culture is the normal way of living.

Immortal Love stories also form part of Punjabi culture like Heer Ranjha,Mirza Sahiba,Sassi Punno etc

3) Music : Punjabi Music is one of the strong reasons that the other qualities of Punjab are coming out.Whole world is dancing to the tunes of Bhangra(and Giddha).The unique style of music is catching attention of the masses.

No new bollywood movie these days get released without a Punjabi song.Initially there was just influences of Punjabi music.But these days Core Punjabi songs are being directly used in the movies directly and people are liking it and swinging on them.Whether it was Mundiyan ton bach ke rahin or it was Jee Karda from Singh is Kinng! Or it is the latest Aahun Aahun from Love AajKal!

Names like Gurdas Mann,Harbhajan Mann,Mika or Malkit Singh are no strangers anymore.

These all points are adding to the brand equity of Punjab.

4) Place : God has given Punjab the gift of land,the fertile soils and the 5 rivers(now just 2.5 are with India).Punjab is the biggest producer of foodgrains for India.

The historical monuments like Harmandar Sahib(The Golden Temple),Jallianwala bagh add to the subtleness of Punjab.

5) Food : Punjabi Cuisini is again a brand in itself. Be it the Tandoori Chicken or the Daal Makhani.All Indians or foreigners relish them equally.How can i forget the very chilled,sweet(or salty),yummy Lassi(The world famous drink in Punjab ).And who can forget Makki Di Roti te sarson da saag(One more brand in itself).Butter Chicken in Ludhiana or Tikke in Amritsar,the list never ends.(The Pic below is making me feel like going back home  right now and ask my mom to prepare it right away)

Makki Di Roti te Sarson da Saag

There are countless Punjabi Dishes that have become a part of daily routine of many across borders.

Even in places like Mumbai and Hyderabad,Punjab theme restaurants have opened.Urban Tadka,Angithi etc are all banking on the Punjab Brand.Even in Places like US and UK the Punjabi food card works.

6) Hospitality : ‘Jee Aayan Nu’ (welcome) is just the start of the Punjabi Hospitality.Punjabis will leave no stone unturned in treating the guest at home.

Punjabi weddings are the perfect examples of that.Big Fat Punjabi Weddings are themselves a brand(Personally i don’t like the concept of spending such hefty amounts for a day but people do so the concept sells)

All the above 6 points in totality contribute to the brand called Punjab.

Punjab has witnessed bad times too. Punjabis on the either side took the worse of Partition in 1947.

Terrorism in Punjab took 10 years out of it and left a normal Punjabi terrified.

But Punjab came out of both and emerged stronger every time.

Punjabiyat is not limited to the boundary of Religion (or a Country) that is why i have not included any religion here because Punjabiyat is an attitude,a way of life,a statement, a brand.

In the end i am leaving you with Gurdas Mann’s famous Punjabi Song about Punjab.People who understand the language enjoy the song and others watch the video for authentic Punjab Beauty.

You can also read Brand Hyderabad if you liked this.

Enjoy the video

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

I went home(Ludhiana) this weekend.While returning back to Delhi at about 1:30 am in the night the bus stopped at a Dhaba (a small resturaunt)at Pipli in Haryana.It was real hot and i felt thirsty.I went to the drinks stall and asked what all were available He said sab hain!I just saw the dew,the mountain dew bottle in the showcase from a little distance.I asked him,”"Thandi hai kya DEW?” He said,” hai 25 rs”

I took out cash from my pocket and gave him the money.I took the bottle and had first sip.I was thirsty so first sip was refreshing but its after taste was not that good.and one more issue was that the bottle was not that hard.It was squeezing in my hands(very unlikely of the PET bottles which are ued by coca cola and pepsico).I just had a look at the bottle closely.I was shocked.It was not Mountain Dew but it was Dadu Dew.Ha ha What a name Dadu Dew.Now why on the first place i couldnt recgonize the difference.Have a look at the label closely.

The original looks something like this.

I didnt have it more.I went to the guy and asked him what the hell is this?.He said ,”yahi milega!!”I said i want my money back he said now the bottle is opened.No chance.Atleast 10 more people standing there realized their own blunder(they too were having the DADU DEW thinking its the mountain DEW) and we all had a laugh.
But what exactly was that ?
According to Kotler(guruji),this is a type of competition which every well known brand faces.Sometimes its good for it,sometimes bad.
According to him,there are 3 types of fake products.
1) Look Alike : kinda clones,brand name,color scheme and packaging resembles the orignal brand.
2) Spell Alike : fakes which are knowingly mis spelt or spelt alike and packaging is copied very nearly.
Our dadu dew falls under this category.
3) Duplicate : Exact replicas,color by color ,word by word.

These are mainly found in rural markets.

All know they are there,but are they really good for the market or the main brand or does it increases the loyality even more?

Arey waah mere brand ki to copy bhi aati hai ?

The Questions that arise from this are :
is such a Fake product ok until it is not toxic or harmful to us?
Is this an interesting Marketing Strategy to follow if you are a small firm to earn quick profits?
Anyways Whatever  it is,Please guys keep your Eyes open until its too late and you have opened the bottle.

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.