NaMo: transformation from flagship

to parent brand
Medha Kulkarni, Leena B. Dam and Bharat Pawar

n March 2022, Morning Consult Political Intelligence, USA based global leader Medha Kulkarni is based at

I approval tracker mentioned Mr Narendra Modi (called NaMo[1]) India’s then Prime
Minister as the world’s most popular leader with approval rating of 77% (Modi
the Deogiri Institute of
Engineering and
Management Studies,
dominates, 2022). Modi’s political journey transitioned from being a karyakarta (worker) of
Aurangabad, India.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to Chief Minister (CM) of Gujarat to Prime Ministry of India. Leena B. Dam is based at
Modi’s demeanour, oratory skills and connect at the grassroots, had enabled him to carve a the Balaji Institute of
personal niche. NaMo became a brand in himself. The overshadowing of flagship brand Management and HRD, Sri
from its parent brand had huge significance in the business world. With 2024 general Balaji University, Pune,
elections about one year ahead, NaMo was preparing for another triumph. Would all steps India. Bharat Pawar is
taken in the past to position himself as a cult brand, fortify to his victory in 2024 general based at the Deogiri
elections? Will the same social media endorsement pay off in 2024? Will the existing brand Institute of Engineering and
Management Studies,
loyalty strategies reap benefits to “NaMo”? What could the business brands emulate from
Aurangabad, India.
NaMo to market and position themselves? Could political success be transpired to business
success?

Narendra Modi to “NaMo”

Narendra Modi was born on 17 September 1950, in Vadnagar, Gujarat, India (D’Souza,
2022). His family ran a small tea shop for a living. To contribute to the family earnings, he
strived to balance education and personal time. His family could manage only two square
meals per day. While still in college, he also worked with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS) as a “pracharak” (promoter). At an early age of 17, he left home and spent the next
two years travelling throughout India. Modi later received training at the RSS camp in
Nagpur (PMINDIA, 2023). He was assigned control of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi
Parishad’s student branch. Senior politicians were impressed with his work. He was chosen
to serve as BJP’s regional organizer in Gujarat. Modi held the position of Gujarat’s CM for
more than 12 years (2001–2014). It made him the longest-serving CM of the state of Gujarat.
Under his stewardship, progressive and innovative strategies were carried out, that put the
state in higher order of a developmental state (Pandya, 2017).

Winning of general elections (positioning of regional brand to national brand)

A brand represented a name, sign, term, symbol, design or mix of them. They associated to Disclaimer. This case is written
distinguish a seller’s goods or services and set them apart from rivals. Correspondingly, in solely for educational purposes
and is not intended to represent
Indian politics, the world witnessed a person becoming a brand in itself. NaMo took successful or unsuccessful
12 years to position himself from a regional player into national player. managerial decision-making.
The authors may have dis-
guised names; financial and
A series of events such as Vibrant Gujarat and Annual Krishi Mahotsav (Table 1) aided in other recognizable information
diverting attention from his early political career to economic transformation in Gujarat. to protect confidentiality.

DOI 10.1108/EEMCS-11-2022-0419 VOL. 13 NO. 2 2023, pp. 1-31, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2045-0621 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j PAGE 1
 Table 1 Prominent initiatives of “Gujarat model”
Agriculture Industries Services

The Annual Krishi Mahotsav Vibrant Gujarat Summits Shala Praveshotsav and Kanya Kelavani Drive
Soil Health Cards Land acquisition policy Garib Kalyan Melas
Kaushalya Vardhan Kendras Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana
Source: Collected by authors

Positioning of a brand as forerunner of economic growth and portraying “Gujarat Model” as

a role model for the whole nation made him qualified to lead BJP’s Lok Sabha campaign in
2014 (Pande, 2014a).
NaMo became a brand for BJP on account of a couple of events that carved for him a
strong foothold in national politics. In 2008, Tata Motors had to shift its plant due to issues
related to land acquisition of farmers. Having observed the scenario, Narendra Modi
provided incentives along with land to Tata Motors almost overnight in Gujarat (Jaffrelot,
2019). The national news helped NaMo to establish himself as a master guardian and
promoter of industry and development. NaMo undertook rigorous efforts to spread the
brand image outside the Gujarat state. His counterpart CMs, of other Indian states,
especially Bihar and Tamil Nadu (Nitish Kumar and J. Jayalalithaa), were unable to grow
beyond their home states. Relatively, NaMo could reach the majority of the populace
outside of Gujarat state by participating in more than 5,000 events and 470 political rallies
across the nation (Pande, 2014b).
However, turning NaMo from a regional brand to a national brand was not an easy task.
Nonetheless, he overcame challenges smoothly and gracefully. When Modi was projected
as a prime ministerial candidate from the BJP party, he was a challenger brand and not a
flagship brand nor a market leader. Pitching Modi was not easy, as more than external
alliances outside the party, Modi was opposed by internal senior party members – L.K.
Advani, Yashwant Sinha, Jaswant Singh, Uma Bharti, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Varun
Gandhi. In addition, at 64 years of age, NaMo had to influence first-time voters as prime
target audience. The 2014 general elections had almost 150 million first-time voters. Making
a brand appeal to these young voters by a senior citizen was a gruelling task (Pande,
2014c). Language too was a critical barrier while connecting to the audience. He was fluent
only in Hindi and Gujrati. He rarely chose English as medium of communication. Facing all
odds, “the historic mandate was received from people of India on 26th May 2014. Narendra
Modi took oath as the Prime Minister. NaMo was portrayed as a pivotal, dynamic, and
development-oriented leader. He emerged as a ray of hope for billions of Indians. His
oratory skills and emphasis on development efforts for bringing a qualitative transformation
in the lives of the poor made him a very popular leader across the length and breadth of
India” (PMINDIA, 2023).

Contribution of NaMo towards party (BJP) growth

NaMo’s leadership played key role in BJP’s march towards single largest party in general
elections from 2014 to 2023. In 2014, BJP-led alliances formed government in seven states.
BJP controlled 18 Indian states out of which it was the single party to rule 12 states while the
remaining 6 states as coalition government (Raghuvanshi, 2022). Having nationwide
mandate, by 2015 BJP became the largest political party in the world with 180 million
members (BJP becomes, 2015). BJP members were spread across 70% of India’s
geographical area and nearly 60% of its population (PM Modi’s major, 2022). BJP became
the first party to have 100 members (BJP’s strength in Rajya Sabha was only 55 in 2014) in
Rajya Sabha and set new victories in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Goa,
Manipur and Tripura. BJP’s vote share increased beyond 30% in 2014 and 2019, which

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meant that one in three Indians who cast ballots chose the party (In 10 charts, 2022a). BJP
had near-monopoly on political funding. Political parties in India obtained anonymous
donations of more than INR 10,000 crore through Electoral Bonds of which BJP received
over two-thirds (The BJP’s near-monopoly, 2022). Exponential growth in donations was a
tacit indication of NaMo’s leadership (Donations to BJP, 2015). With NaMo at its political
front, BJP transformed from a largely “Brahmin-Baniya” party to one that gave greater
representation to marginal communities (Khosla, 2022). A significant number of Other
Backward Class members, Dalit leaders, as well as tribal leaders, made up the BJP party’s
expanded social base. Party growth and performance increased in all spheres due to
NaMo’s perseverance in leading people. In the words of scholar C. Raja Mohan, “there was
little expectation that a provincial leader like Modi . . . would make a big difference to Indian
diplomacy” (Mohan, 2015).

Brand building regime

BJP created a team of professionals from media industry to create the brand NaMo.
Prominent corporate leaders – Prateek Bharadwaj, Aneesh Jaisingh and Alok Ranjan
(McCann Worldgroup), Sanjay Nayak and Vishal Sharma (TAG) and Prasoon Joshi
(Chairperson of Central Board of Film Certification) were deployed for the task (Dasgupta,
2014). NaMo brand images such as Brahamchari (bachelor/celibate), Sevak (servant of
nation) and Chaaiwala (commonest man) were flaunted on media sites to instil a sense
of tireless determination towards noble goals. Gradually, NaMo became the public face of
BJP. With the party’s support and publicity system, NaMo blossomed as a flagship brand of
the parent brand BJP (Goyal, 2019).
The BJP party used the same brand image to generate consensus among general public
on the government’s decision including “demonetization” (8 November 2016) and
introduction of Goods and Services Tax or GST (1 July 2017). The decision received mixed
response from public. As a result of backfire, the brand fell prey to controversies. The brand
also faced criticism due to “Rafale”[2] deal as opposition parties undesirably campaigned it
as Suit boot ki Sarkar. However, the prevailing negativity was smoothly neutralized by the
surgical strike[3] (Venkataramakrishnan, 2019). During 2019 general elections, NaMo came
to limelight as a worldwide flagship brand of BJP. In 2021, the NaMo reached brand value
of Rs 327 crore as Forbes India evaluated it and announced Narendra Modi as the most
influential online brand in India and among the top 100 online influencers (With brand,
2021). TIME magazine enlisted him as the “100 Most Influential” global personalities. A
prominent reason for his popularity was his direct appeal and dialogue with the younger
masses (PM Modi, 2020a).
Reaching out to young people directly and starting a dialogue about new media were the
main goals (PM Modi, 2020 b). NaMo continued to set new trends even after turning 71. His
promotion of yoga, introduction of new laws, appearance in top-most reality shows such as
Man vs. Wild and even image makeover with full grown white beard added to the charisma
around NaMo (Table 2). Irrespective of whether the brand was loved or hated by people, it
kept impacting the viewers with “Mitron” (friends) sermons. Modi had a sense of style that
was deeply ingrained in the Indian culture. His customized outfit choices: signature kurta,
Modi jackets and bandi, conferred him as the unanimous ambassador for India around the
world (Laxmi, 2015).

Positioning India in the global map

NaMo brand was mentioned with accomplishments and achievements for India in
international polity and business relations. The success of flagship schemes was
extraordinary (Table 3).

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 Table 2 Activities used to boost brand image at various levels
Sr. no. Activity Timeline Description

1 Google Hangouts session with 2012 A first Indian politician to use Google + to engage with common
Ajay Devgan that was also citizens wherein, Actor Ajay Devgan anchored the Modi who was
broadcast on YouTube then CM of Gujrat State
2 Mann ki Baat 2014 – continuing Indian radio show where Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks to the
public about numerous topics and concepts of national importance
3 NaMo App 2015 A mobile application which gives information on Shri Narendra
Modi’s daily activities. It offers the chance to get emails and
messages from PM Narendra Modi personally
4 NaMo TV 2019 Real-time coverage of PM Narendra Modi’s exciting election
campaigns, which was being aired free of cost by DTH operators
such as Tata Sky, Videocon and Dish TV. It was owned by BJP and
PM Narendra Modi and was a part of NaMo App
5 Web Series: 2019, 2020 This series, which is based on Kishore Makwana’s book “Common
Modi: Journey of a Common Man’s PM- Narendra Modi,” follows the career of Chaiwala Narendra
Man (Season 1 and 2) Damodardas Modi, who joins the RSS and later ascends to the
position of Gujarat’s Chief Minister
The second season of the show follows Narendra Damodaran
Modi’s rise through the political ranks to become Gujarat’s Chief
Minister and ultimately India’s Prime Minister
6 Biopic: “PM Narendra Modi” 2019 The biopic “PM Narendra Modi” tells Modi’s story from his humble
origins through his tenure as chief minister and, ultimately, his
election as prime minister of India
7 Man vs Wild 2019 An exclusive episode of the environmental survival show Man vs.
Wild featured Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Bear Grylls-hosted
programme documented PM’s trek through Uttarakhand’s Jim
Corbett National Park. PM Narendra Modi was an explorer in a
never-before-seen form
8 Non-political Interview with 2019 Actor Akshay Kumar has released a 1-hour long interview with PM
Akshay Kumar Narendra Modi. The interview was completely non-political and
focuses on Narendra Modi’s life as Prime Minister
Source: Collected by authors from various reports

India’s perception around the world changed due to Modi’s “India First” foreign policy. PM
Modi received adulation from world leaders for his foreign policy that is centred on the
people and characterized by independence (PM Modi’s foreign, 2022). PM Modi’s visit to
Israel and Palestine demonstrated that India could deal with peers and competitors. On that
account, India emerged as a strong power. NaMo’s visits to over 60 countries to strengthen
strategic partnerships with the USA, France, Japan and UAE along with enhancing bilateral
relations cemented India’s position in the global parlance (Chaturvedi, 2023a).
In the new millennia, global economy needed a powerhouse, and India showcased the
required attributes. Global manufacturers were looking beyond China and it was an
opportunity well seized by NaMo. Morgan Stanley reported that India contributed to 20% of
worldwide growth over the past decade, positioning it among the three countries that had
the ability to generate yearly production growth exceeding $400bn (Schultz & Beniwal,
2023). The fact can be realized when compared with situation before NaMo brand emerged
to lead the nation. Before 2014, India imported 92% of mobile phones. As a result of a
robust domestic manufacturing policy, India produced 97% of its mobile phones
domestically in 2022. Furthermore, over 70,000 crore worth of mobile phones and
components were exported (Modi govt spending, 2022a).
During the pandemic times, India had made significant progress in developing home-grown
COVID-19 vaccine (Covaxin and Covishield) in India itself (Modi govt spending, 2022b).
Developing and producing vaccine in-house became a milestone for India. Having seen the
enduring quality of the vaccine, other countries demanded the vaccines. India went a step

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 Table 3 Success of flagship schemes of NaMo
Name of the scheme Year of starting Achievement through the scheme

Make in India 2014 India is now the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world and
the fifth-largest auto manufacturer
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan 2014 With the construction of more than 110 million toilets nationwide, India has
eliminated open defecation
Digital India 2015 With over 700 million users, India now boasts the second-largest internet
user population in the world
Skill India 2015 Numerous industries and sectors have trained more than 10 million people
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana 2014 More than 43 billion bank accounts have been established, and direct
welfare transfers totalling more than Rs 1.5tn have been made
Ayushman Bharat 2018 Over 50 crore people now have access to free medical care, making this the
largest health insurance programme in the world
Ujjwala Yojana 2016 Households below the poverty line have received more than 8 crore LPG
connections
Sagarmala 2015 For the benefit of the maritime industry, India’s port capacity has expanded
by more than 700 million tonnes, and more than Rs 1 lakh crore in investment
has been received. In India, Sagarmala encourages port-led development
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Campaign 2015 The effort attempts to decrease the child sex ratio and give girls more
educational authority. By 2021, the number of females per 1,000 boys in the
districts where the initiative was executed had increased from 918 to 934
Satat Bharat – Sanatan Bharat 2021 The programme intends to introduce younger generations to traditional
Indian knowledge systems and values, such as yoga, Ayurveda and other
age-old practises
Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan 2020 The programme aims to give rural residents and migrant workers who were
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic employment options. Over 1.6 crore
households had received employment through the programme as of March
2021
New Education Policy 2020 The goal of the policy is to revamp India’s educational system and make it
more inclusive and all-encompassing. The establishment of a 5 + 3+3 + 4
curricular and pedagogical structure, the emphasis on vocational education,
and multilingualism are a few of the policy’s standout features
Source: Collected by authors from various sources

ahead by distributing free vaccines to neighbouring countries. Vaccine diplomacy was a

reflection of India’s commitment to global health and solidarity in times of crisis. World
leaders, including the World Health Organization (WHO) thanked India for its “continued
support” in the global fight against the pandemic and acknowledged the nation as the
“world’s pharmacy(Singh, 2021).

NaMo’s impact on general public

Narendra Modi as a leader consistently enjoyed strong support from general public across
India. According to MOTN study, even during the difficult COVID-19 pandemic, 58% of
respondents were happy with the performance of the Modi administration. 63% responded
that NaMo’s own performance was exceptional or good (MOTN survey, 2022). In addition,
93.5% of Indians perceived Modi administration handled the COVID-19 outbreak well. That
resulted in consistently high approval ratings for NaMo when compared to other leaders
(Over 93% Trust, 2020).
In NaMo’s second term, majority of Indians felt that Modi government exceeded the
expectations of general public. A survey conducted (2020–2022) found two to three Indians
believed that Modi Government 2.0 met their expectations (2 in 3 Indians, 2022a). In 2022,
67% of Indians believed that the Modi government met or exceeded their expectations.
Modi government’s overall performance was evaluated based on factors such as improving
India’s global image, reducing terrorism and tax harassment, developing COVID-19
vaccines, and easing the process of doing business (2 in 3 Indians, 2022b).

VOL. 13 NO. 2 2023 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j PAGE 5

 About 8 in 10 Indians (81%) had favourable view about NaMo. 57% expressed favourable
opinion. NaMo was accepted by people of all ages, genders, educational backgrounds and
socio-economic levels (Stokes, 2020).
For the second term of BJP-led government, i.e. 2019 onwards, 71.9% of Indians mentioned
that they would vote for Narendra Modi as PM in future too. It indicated strong public
mandate (Mega Times Group Poll, 2018). Confidence and nationalism in Modi’s India was
overwhelming as 90% respondents strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement “India
is a better country than most other countries”. This number was relatively large, in absolute
terms, against a country like the USA (only 70% of respondents strongly or somewhat
agreed that the USA, was a better country than most) (Clary et al., 2022). The facts
indicated that NaMo emerged as India’s most popular Prime Minister ever. NaMo was not
only popular leader among his contemporaries but also held in high esteem by general
public even amongst his predecessors dating back to times when India gained
independence. About 26% respondents accepted that Modi was their most favoured prime
minister in Indian history (Verma & Vatsa, 2022).

NaMo and the loyalty quotient

NaMo successfully gained trust and confidence from the general public to the extent that he
became a common man’s Prime Minister (Narendra Modi, 2015a). He repeatedly
proclaimed himself as Pradhan Sevak or prime servant instead of Prime Minister. His
humble background – son of a tea-seller – always helped him in understanding the
challenges of common man which made him as Hope of A Common Man (Narendra Modi,
2015b).
NaMo was a blend of nationalism and development. He used nationalist language and
addressed demands and aspirations of Hindu religion and believers. He implemented a
range of welfare programmes. Skilful blend of development and nationalism helped in
setting up clear contrast between his supporters (the nationalists) and his opponents (the
anti-nationals) (Biswas, 2019a). He also presented himself as the protector of the nation on
all fronts (land, air and outer space), harsh on terrorism in contrast to the opposition
(Biswas, 2019b).

Countering opposition
Using the NaMo brand, the BJP government began activities that created an image of
development-oriented brand. Opposition parties claimed that the government lacked in
policymaking. In this context, it was visible that prominent initiatives of the Modi government
were either taken from Gujarat model, UPA government or BJP party’s previous agenda
(Table 4). Opposition also remarked that the prominent initiatives normally used for brand
promotion of Modi government were just a rename of the existing schemes of UPA
government. Schemes such as Make in India, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana, Skill India,
Swachh Bharat Mission, Digital India, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana and Jan Dhan
Yojana originated during UPA government. Those schemes were extensively used for
positioning of NaMo as a development brand (Daga & Mohanty, 2017). NaMo continued
progressive activities by giving silent response to opposition claims.

NaMo brand at global level

During the second term of BJP-led government since 2019, brand NaMo started to blossom
at the global level. In the first 100 days, NaMo’s political stature received more legitimacy
(Jha & Majumdar, 2019). A report by SEMrush (digital marketing platform) mentioned Modi
had the second-largest fan following on social media among world leaders. With 110.9
million followers in May 2019, Modi stood second after Barack Obama, with 182.7 million

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 Table 4 Prominent schemes renamed/repackaged by BJP
Sr. no. Original scheme name New scheme name Year

1 Direct Benefit Transfer for liquefied petroleum gas PAHAL (DBTL) 2013
2 Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan Swachh Bharat Mission 2013
3 National Urban Livelihood Mission Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-NULM 2013
4 Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship Scheme (PPP model) Prime Minister Fellowship Scheme 2012
5 National Optical Fibre Network BharatNet 2011
6 National Manufacturing Policy Make in India 2011
7 Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana Pradhan Mantri Matritva Vandana Yojana 2010
8 Free LPG connection to BPL Families Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna 2010
9 Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana 2010
10 Swavalamban Yojana Atal Pension Yojana 2010
11 National Skill Development Program Skill India 2010
12 Rajiv Awas Yojana Sardar Patel National Mission for Urban Housing 2009
13 Jan Aushadhi Scheme Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana 2008
14 Jan Aushadhi Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) 2008
15 National Girl Child Day programs Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana 2008
16 National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility Soil Health Card 2008
17 Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Program Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana 2007
18 Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana 2007
19 Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and other programs Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana 2007
20 National eGovernance Plan Digital India 2006
21 National Maritime Development Programme Sagarmala 2005
22 National Rural Livelihood Mission (Ajeevika) Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Yojana 2005
23 Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana 2005
24 Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission AMRUT 2005
25 Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account Jan Dhan Yojana 2005
26 Development of Heritage Areas (Sub-Mission under JNNURM) HRIDAY 2005
27 Neem coated Urea Growth claims 2004
28 New Deal for Rural India (mandate of UPA) Gram Uday se Bharat Uday 2004
29 Universal immunisation Programme Mission Indradhanush 1985
30 Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna 1985
31 Indira Awaas Yojana Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana 1985
32 Services under ICDS National Nutrition Mission (POSHAN Abhiyan) 1975
Source: Indian National Congress Website

followers. Narendra Modi overtook the then USA president Donald Trump who had 96
million followers globally (with 59.8 million followers on twitter) (Narendra Modi second,
2019). Modi who was once denied visa to USA for nearly a decade for his alleged handling
of religious riots in 2002 in Gujarat, was given grand welcome in the city of New York as an
immensely popular leader. He was also considered to be the capable strategic partner for
USA for balancing the might of a rising China (Narendra Modi’s, 2014). Even presidential
elections in USA witnessed the NaMo impact. The “Howdy, Modi” rally in Houston, TX, was
an indication of Modi’s implicit support for the American president’s re-election in 2020
(Venkataramakrishnan, 2019). His bear-hug moments with heads of state of the USA, Japan
and Australia led the BBC to call him the most physically demonstrative Indian leader in
years (Global Brand, 2015). On the similar grounds, the pinstripe monogrammed suit
entered the Guinness World Records as “the most expensive suit sold at auction” (Modi’s
monogrammed, 2016). Moreover, being a global brand, NaMo was highlighted in the
campaigns instead of BJP. Brand NaMo and its popularity had surpassed the existing
loyalty gained by the parent brand, i.e. BJP (Subrahmaniam, 2019). Even international
media equated “Government of India” as “Modi Government”.

Promotional strategies of NaMo brand

Media enabled brand NaMo to reach every nook and corner of India and the world. A well-
researched, extensively planned and comprehensive media mix promoted NaMo brand

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 through radio broadcasts, television, print, hoarding and bus panel commercials as well as
posters, rallies and public speeches. Messages and medium selected for the campaign
were perfectly tailored to suite the understanding capacity of common people in India.
Media-dark rural villages (approximately 30,000) in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh
witnessed incredible reach with NaMo’s promotional strategies. Large number of vehicles
with LED screens installed on them was sent out to interior places. Those displays featured
party advertisements, speeches by Modi and the BJP platform (Joshi & Gupte, 2014).

Use of social media

Brand NaMo pioneered in India, the use of social media meticulously since 2014. Use of
social media was considered to be most suitable to his communication style which was
traditionally practiced “centralized, one-way messaging” (Pal, Chandra, & Vydiswaran,
2016). Social media was effectively used by NaMo both before and after elections (Sen
et al., 2019). A dedicated social media war room with a budget of INR 3.5 million was set up
to monitor the nationwide digital campaign operations. To facilitate the communication
networks, Digital India programme connected more youth to include them in the world’s
second greatest democracy. The use of digital media increased as a result of those efforts.
It was matched by a commensurate rise in internet, cell phone and affordable mobile data
packs (Dani, 2022). In general elections of 2014, nearly 814 million of 125 crore populace
were added to the voters list as first-time voters. To reach out to those masses, all the
channels of digital media were used (Dhaval, 2023). Special attention was given to social
media to feel the public pulse and infuse brand positivity. Famous advertising gurus like
Prasoon Joshi, Piyush Pandey and Sam Balsara crafted catchy slogans (Table 5), and
campaigns went viral. Those campaigns had threefold effect. Firstly, it highlighted the
opponents’ lacunas; secondly, it engaged targeted masses; and thirdly, influenced them
with existing developments that were carried out in India. No political party ever had used
the power of social media as used by brand NaMo. Social media had the power to produce
positive public relations in media about the brand. Concurrent views were captured by
Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, who authored Modi’s biography.

Excerpts from the biography

Social media is great to stir up controversies, giving people a sense of participation. But once
these comments on social media are picked up and magnified on TV and newspapers, they
become discussion points.

People know Modi is a great doer, but ask them what has he done, and they may not be able to
answer. This is a bullet point driven campaign where Modi is discussed and debated in 140
characters. (Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay – Author of Modi’s biography)

Table 5 Prominent campaigns by NaMo

Sr. no. Campaigns (2014) Campaigns (2019)

1 Paanch crore Gujarati “Phir ek baar Modi sarkar”

2 Time for Change, Time for Modi “Main bhi Chowkidar”
3 Ab ki Baar Modi Sarkaar “Aatankvaad par kada prahar, phir ek baar modi Sarkar”
4 Achhe dinn aane wale hain “Aaega to Modi hi”
5 Saugandh iss mitti ki
6 IPL TV ads
7 Modiji aa rahe hain
Source: Collected by authors

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Use of Twitter as masterstroke
User base of social media in India had a spread of Facebook (410 million), Instagram (210
million) and Twitter (17.5 million) (Statistia, 2021). Brand NaMo focused on Twitter for
promotion which had less than 10% user base (Table 7) as compared to Facebook and
Instagram for two specific reasons. Firstly, micro-blogging format of Twitter had “second
order” effect which helped in creating political personas and gauge offline election
campaigns. Twitter had power to frame agenda for the traditional/offline media. Instead of
addressing a press conference, NaMo evidently used Twitter to make prominent
announcements. Those then became news for traditional media. That made Twitter more
“political” than other social media platforms. Secondly, Twitter contributed meaningfully to
create a brand image of the persona. “NaMo” used Twitter to practice “centralized, one-way
messaging”, thereby shunning the mainstream and traditional media (Sinha & Subir, 2017).
By using Twitter as an interactive social media platform, brand NaMo stimulated its brand
power not only in general election of 2014 but also of 2019 (Pal & Panda, 2019).
“Chowkidar” (watchman) campaign was a milestone in 2019 general elections. Twitter was
used to run online and offline campaigns along with huge involvement of followers. In 2018,
Rahul Gandhi (member of opposition party) raised slogans against Modi as “Chowkidar
Chor Hai” (watchman was a thief). It meant that the Prime Minister betrayed the trust of
Indians (Rampal, 2019a). Those comments were made in the backdrop of how Narendra
Modi asked Indians to make him “chowkidar” and not Prime Minister of the nation. NaMo
encountered as well as conquered that word war with the use of Twitter. After the elections
were announced, Modi tweeted, “Main Bhi Chowkidar” (I was also a watchman). That tweet
earned more than 1.5 million likes and approximately 55,000 retweets (Rampal, 2019b).
Modi prefixed the word “Chowkidar” to his Twitter profile. His followers (approximately 20
lakh people) temporarily prefixed “Chowkidar” to their Twitter handle. Soon, the campaign
spread like wildfire and was followed by large numbers on social media. Campaign
“#MainBhiChowkidar” got 15 lakh mentions followed by “#Chowkidar Phir Se” with about 3
lakh mentions in comparison to the “#Chowkidar Chor Hai” (opposition led campaign) which
hardly received 1.63 lakh mentions”. It was Twitter which helped the brand to kick start the
campaign right before the election and made it a huge success (Rampal, 2019c).

Mann ki baat
“Mann ki Baat”[4], a popular radio talk programme, was an innovation introduced by Modi
government. This unique communication initiative captured disconnected country areas.
The programme was widely available in India, as it broadcasted on All India Radio. Use of
“Mann ki Baat” was also suitable to Modi’s stylistic communication (one way, centralized) in
which mainstream media was not involved (Saxena, 2016). First broadcast of the
programme was on 3 October 2014 (immediately after Modi joined as Prime Minister). Ever
since, “Mann ki Baat” remained a platform to publicize government initiatives and updated
government’s position on various issues, especially those outside the metropolitan areas
(What is mann ki baat?, 2023). As a strategy to popularize “Mann ki Baat”, Modi asked
people to share their thoughts on issues and themes for forthcoming episodes. That worked
wonders, and the programme received umpteen comments, ideas and themes (Table 6).

“NaMo” flagship or parent

Brand building of “NaMo” shared similarities with how a fast-moving consumer good
(FMCG) brand also evolved. NaMo followed marketing strategies of FMCG brands and
positioned himself as the biggest brand in Indian politics (Kumar, 2019). In FMCG space, at
times flagship brands became parent brand. NaMo resembled with how Coca-Cola
became a household name with ad campaign “Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola” (Cool means
Coca-Cola). Drawing parallels, India political landscape was dominated by NaMo. In any

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 Table 6 Prominent themes and facts about Maan Ki Baat programme
Prominent issues addressed Prominent initiatives publicized
in Maan Ki Baat through Maan Ki Baat Noteworthy facts about Maan Ki Baat

Land Acquisition Bill
Demonetisation
Goods and Services tax (GST)
Minimum support prices on crops
Uri attack in 2016
Source: Collated by authors
Swachch Bharat Abhiyan,
International Yoga Day,
India’s progressive Mars
Mission
Jan Dhan Yojana and Mudra
loans
Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao,
Women Empowerment
Atmanirbhar Bharat
A big number of individuals (66.7%) listened to and found
value in the first broadcast, which was a terrific success
The Direct to Home (DTH) service Freedish from
Doordarshan distributed feeds of the 20-min programme to
private radio and television
US President Barack Obama co-hosted the programme on
January 27, 2015, the day following Republic Day
As 10-s commercial slots brought in AIR Rs 200,000, the
show has grown to be a significant source of income.
Compared to other AIR programming, including the live
commentary of the India-Pakistan World Cup match, which
is often rated at Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000, the show attracts
substantially higher advertising prices
To reach a wider audience, Mann ki Baat has been provided
in regional dialects from 2017

Table 7 Twitter followers of NaMo

Year Twitter followers

Jul-14 5,297,772
Feb-15 10,142,929
Feb-16 18,000,346
Feb-17 27,221,318
Feb-18 40,434,913
Feb-19 45,843,267
Oct-19 50,000,000
Oct-21 72,000,000
Jan-22 74,200,000
Source: Twitter

election, candidate of BJP was also Modi. NaMo’s larger-than-life image and his strong
nationalist-Hindutva communication style made him more significant than the BJP
(Subrahmaniam, 2019).

Linkage of brand ‘‘NaMo’’ with business brands

Effective use of media mix was a pertinent factor that made NaMo a household name. Not
only NaMo but also 97% of Fortune 500 companies relied on social media to advertise their
initiatives and maintain favourable relations with stakeholders (Porteous, 2021). Several
brands were successful due to the effective use of social media.

Nike
Nike was much more than just a sportswear for all, which made it as one of the most
followed consumer brands online. Nike had over 300 social media accounts with an
enormous following of 93.3 million on Instagram, 7.95 million on Twitter, 33.3 million on
Facebook, and high levels of interaction to create reach and positive sentiment around the
brand. By leveraging the social media to cut through the noise and reach its audience, Nike
became the world’s biggest brand, worth of nearly $16bn (Cole, 2018). Nike highlighted the

PAGE 10 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j VOL. 13 NO. 2 2023

individuals who built the brand and directed its attention to the athletes and teams rather
than the product alone. Storytelling had proven to be successful marketing strategy for
Nike. It communicated its core values through its posts via storytelling (Nagpal, 2021).

Nestle Maggi
In June 2015, Maggi (Nestle India’s flagship brand and major revenue generator) faced a
six-month ban across India due to claims that it contained excessive levels of monosodium
glutamate (Mitra, 2017). The brand recalled 38,000 tons of Maggi noodles from numerous
retail stores and destroyed them. That crisis made Nestle India lose Rs 1,000 crore in sales
and dipped its brand image (Maggi - the name, 2018). After losing 80% market share
instantly, along with consumer trust, re-launching strategy was the blatant technique. Nestle
spent approximately INR 525.21 crore (6.7% of its sales) on promoting the product with a
view to reposition itself. Nestle started using social media to interact with its consumers
(Chowdhury, 2019). The brand used diversified digital media mix to re-launch the product
including Facebook and multiple Twitter accounts. The company responded to all
comments on social media. A section was added on their home page for providing regular
updates to customers.
The comeback of Maggi was celebrated with flash sale on Snapdeal. 60,000 Maggi
Welcome Kits were sold in 5 min. Flash Sale was started on Twitter with hashtag
#DILKIDEALWITHMAGGI. It was followed by various online competitions. Consumers were
asked to share their favourite moments and feelings about Maggi’s comeback. Enthusiastic
participation reflected strong brand persona. The brand leveraged social media platforms
such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to update and reassure customers, managed the
crisis and limited further damage. As a result, the brand regained a market share of 57% by
the third quarter of 2016, reclaiming much of its lost reputation (Kumari, 2021).

Spotify
Spotify was a technology startup that emerged in 2008. It disrupted the music industry by
offering an online music streaming service and enabled users to share playlists with others.
What set Spotify apart was not only its product but also its marketing approach on social
media (Bostrom & Byrne, 2013). Spotify witnessed a phenomenal increase in its paid user
base from 18 million in 2015 to 188 million worldwide in 2022 (Bhargava, 2022a). Spotify,
which had gained 8.4 million followers on Instagram and 6.2 million followers on Twitter, had
established itself as a prominent streaming service by using social listening, social media
analytics and social media insights to stay current. Spotify leveraged social media and
listened to core market participants and responded to them. They had targeted the different
segments of the market such as youngsters and humour lovers with numerous regional
Instagram accounts that had more than 8.5 million followers. Spotify worked with a variety of
influencers and executed influencer campaigns. To stay ahead with social listening, the
company provided prompt customer service across platforms and used machine learning
to personalize content (Bhargava, 2022b).

Way forward
NaMo continued as one of the most powerful and resilient political brands in India as well as
in world politics. In brand life cycle, every brand experienced peak and trough. NaMo
brand was no exception.
Repercussions from the Hindenburg report and significant loss of market value of Adani
Group reached into the political sphere and led to renewed scrutiny on NaMo’s alleged
close ties with Gautam Adani (Bala, 2023). As a result of an increase in authoritarian tactics
like Article 370, anti-Citizenship Amendment Act demonstrations, the long border dispute

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 with China and farmer protests, NaMo got more frequently compared in the international
media to authoritarian leaders in Russia, Brazil, Hungary and Turkey. “In its first endeavour
in last three decades India’s status declined from ‘Free’ to ‘Partly Free’ due to the multi-layer
pattern where in government had presided over rising violence and discriminatory policies
affecting minorities and pursued a crackdown on expressions of dissent by academicians,
civil society groups, media, and protesters” (Asim, 2021).
By capturing the imagination of the masses and classes with a charismatic personality and
Keywords: challenging traditional ideas of diversity, plurality and secularism in India. NaMo got a
Marketing, Marketing mix, second term in 2019. Using similar tactics, could brand NaMo be in power in 2024 and set
Brand management
new records of brand loyalty in Indian political history?

Notes
1. NaMo is an abbreviation of Narendra Modi. Also it is a reverential Hindu salutation to the Gods.
2. The Rafale deal controversy was a political dispute in India over the Defense Ministry of India’s
acquisition of 36 Rafale multi-role fighter aircraft from France’s Dassault Aviation for an estimated
price of e7.87bn (58,891 Crore). The Indian MMRCA competition, a multi-billion-dollar contract to
provide 126 multi-role combat aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) with a technology transfer, was
where the deal first started.
3. Uri strikes and Balakot were retaliation to Pulwama terrorist attacks.
4. Indian radio show where Prime Minister Narendra Modi communicated to the public about
numerous topics and concepts of national importance. “Mann Ki Baat” loosely translated to English
means “talk from the heart”.

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Corresponding author
Leena B. Dam can be contacted at: leenadam@gmail.com

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