Designing Brand “Nano” – a car for the Indian Consumer: An Ethnoconsumerist Perspective

Although India is making headway into the 21^st century, Indian mythology is reflected in communications in advertising in India, because companies exploit mythological references. One can see this trend particularly with certain branded products as in jewelry and saris. This is also reflected in the whole new animation culture which is bringing back mythological characters. This mythological residue in India seems to be the DNA of Indian life, and it manifests itself in different forms.

To summarize, the design of Nano car gives rise to the following themes within the socio-cultural context of India.

Theme 1. Nano is about the cheapest and affordable car.

Theme 2. It is about the small car.

Theme 3.It is about the Indian Car.

Theme 4. Appropriate to Indian Conditions. (Crowded streets, narrow roads, etc.)

Theme 5: Aspirational car: It is a vehicle for fulfilling aspirations/dreams of owning a car, gaining social status.

Theme 6: Designed for an Indian woman wearing sari getting into and out of the car.

Theme 7: Nationalism and Indian Pride, consumer aspirations

Theme 7: Emotional Design (visceral - appearance, behavioral and reflective).

Theme 8: Euphoria, hope, optimism and mythology

Theme 9. A replacement for a two-wheeler – A family car

Theme 10. The Child metaphor (The divine child - The view of the savior, the delightful, playful and lovable, small and sprightly yet powerful.)

Theme 10: Comfort of the old with the design of the new.

Theme 11. Features of the car. (Cost-effective, using indigenous parts, combining the comfort of the old with the style of the new, and a welcoming product appeal.)

Theme 12. Indian resourcefulness (An entrenched Indian value that is adaptive and transformative with Indian naïveté combined with unfazed personality.)

Theme 13. The Nano Effect (Consists of euphoria as India advances into global landscape, hope/optimism about the future and consumer welfare and well-being, catalyst for change (upward mobility of the masses.)

In conclusion, at the basic level, Nano is an affordable transportation for Indian consumers. Design is no longer merely an organizational or a corporate issue. Nano has become a cultural/national icon. It raises the issue of economic and political power for the state. Nano is also a precursor of cultural transformation and may well become a design model for emerging markets- since the whole world is waiting for their aspirational ghosts to become a reality.

Bhanot, Shweta (2008) "Nano for Tata dealers". The Financial Express. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Nano-dampener-for-Tata-dealers/363718/. Retrieved February 10, 2010

Bijapurkar, Rama (2007), We are like that only: Understanding the Logic of Consumer India, Penguin Publishers.

Bijapurkar, Rama (2008), Winning the Indian Market, John Wiley and Sons.

Cayla, Julian and Giana M. Eckhardt, (2008), “Asian Brands and the Shaping of a Transnational Imagined Community“, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 216-230.

Chacko, Philip., Christabelleo Noronha and Sujata Aggarwal (2010), Small Wonder, Authorized Story of the Making of the Nano Car, Westland Press.

Dahlman, Carl and Anuja Utz (2005), India and the Knowledge Economy, Washington D.C. World Bank Institute.

Ghadially, Rehana (2007), Urban Women in Contemporary India, Sage Publications.

Kasbekar, Asha (2006), Pop Culture: INDIA!, ABC-CLIO Publishers

Kurczewski, Nick (2009), Behind the Wheel: Tata Nano, New York times, June 26, 11-12.

Lorenzen, Mark and Mudambi, Ram (2010) Bangalore vs. Bollywood:

Connectivity and Catch-up in Emerging Market Economies, AIB Insights

Meamber, Laurie and Alladi Venkatesh (2000) “Ethnoconsumerist Methodology for Cultural and Cross-Cultural Consumer Research,” in S. Beckman and R.H.Elliott (eds), Interpretive Consumer Research, Copenhagen University Press, 87-108.

Mukherjee, Rudrangshu (2009), A Century of Trust: The Story of Tata Steel, Penguin Books

NCAER (2005), The Great Indian Middle Class, Business Standard Publications

Norman, Donald (2004) Emotional Design, Basic books.

Patton, Phil (2010), A Tata Nano Takes Manhattan, The New York Times, Feb 11, B1-2.

Sen, Geeti (2003), India: A National Culture?, Sage Publications.

Shurmer-Smith, Pamela (2000), India: Globalization and Change, Arnold Press.

Sparke, Penny (2004), An Introduction to Design Culture 1900 to the Present, Routledge.

Srinivas, Alam (2008), The Indian Consumer, One Billion Myths and One Billion Realities, John Wiley and Sons.

Tata Motors (2008) "Tata Motors - FAQ for the Nano". Tata Motors. http://tatanano.inservices.tatamotors.com/tatamotors/index.php?option=com_whynano&task=faq&Itemid=303

Varma, Pavan K., (2006), Being Indian, Penguin Publishers

Varman, Rohit and Russell Belk (2009), “Nationalism and Ideology in an Anti-Consumption Movement." Journal of Consumer Research, 16 (4), 686-713.

Venkatesh Alladi (1995), "Ethnoconsumerism: A New Paradigm to Study Cultural and Cross-cultural Consumer Behavior," in J.A.Costa and G. Bamossy (eds.) Marketing in a Multicultural World, SAGE Publications, 26-67.