BY JAGDEEP KAPOOR

All your life you are taught to put things in order. Be orderly. Be neat and tidy. Would you have thought that creating a ‘mess’ would be profitable. Brands are being built on a ‘mess’ platform. Yes, it is true. There is a ’brand’ new trend of ‘MESS SUCCESS’.

Garnier Fructis invites you to ‘unleash your style’. It further asks you ‘WANT A MESSED UP LOOK?’ Spray the Garnier Fructis Style ‘Spritz Gel’ generously onto dry hair. Shake and mess up- hair with your hands. Blow dry with dryer on cool and go ‘WOW’. It truly suggests, to stop being ‘mild’ and go ‘wild’. To further reinforce the ‘messy’ experience, it shows the proper look in an inset photograph and a large ‘improper’ cool look which is vibrant, dynamic and carefree. It surely invites people to get ‘messed up’ and feel good about themselves.

That’s not all. There is a technology which helps you create a ‘mess’. In style, it offers a styling spritz gel that lets you create funky styles with your hair. Its unique fruit micro-wax technology is gentle on your hair and gives you the power to control any style you want with long lasting hold and shine. So create styles with volume, texture and definition with a non-sticky finish. Short hair? or Long hair? It does’nt matter. Just go crazy. Well that’s a ‘messy’, but successful ‘messy’ revolution for you.

‘Mess Success’ is in a truly wild form, which is acceptable to many of the young and trendy 555 million young consumers in India.

In another ‘mess success’ case, there is the invitation to ‘The Chivas Life’. Normally, any meeting is considered successful if it is properly planned and the agenda is circulated in advance. The meeting is then conducted with the agenda and a proper time and process management ensures that the meeting is not ‘messy’, and does not result in chaos. Infact, it is supposed to be fruitful and productive, by following the agenda.

The ‘Carefree’, informed, Chivas Regal invitation, is to experience the ‘Chiva Life’ in a unique location and hence a ‘meeting without an agenda’. A truly liberal, open, and ‘mess success’ offering, allowing you to relax and enjoy this ‘meeting without an agenda’, even if it is not orderly and is ‘messy’.

In fact, it gives a sense of freedom, making you feel ‘at home’ instead of ‘at office’. It is informal, even though ‘messy’ and not official. This sense of openness is desired by people who all their life have to manage things in an orderly fashion. So what if it will create a ‘mess’ but the experience will be laid back and refreshing.

The reason I feel, that this approach, whether of Garnier or Chivas Regal will succeed is because, after all the rules and regulations, orderly and ‘propah’ behaviour, one needs to let oneself free, set oneself free. Therefore, I call this trend as ‘Mess Success’ If handled well, or shall I say if ‘mishandled well’, it could be a good ‘mess success’.

In another case of ‘mess success’, a wonderful display of different points of view between two generations is displayed in the TV Commercial of HSBC Bank. A young fire is delighted with her acquisition of torn jeans and keeps her prized possession on the bed,all the while adoring and admiring it. A ‘mess success’ indeed. Then she goes to freshen up. While she is away, her mother comes along, notices the torn pair of jeans and thinks ‘Oh, What a mess?’ and then takes it to her sewing machine to put it in order.

Well, two different perspectives. But the first one, with the trendy, contemporary, ‘messed’ up, look and outlook, is what is leading to ‘mess success’ in the marketing world today.

In another latest case of a refreshing television communication, from the LIC brand, a small smart child uses a vending machine and inserts a coin. There is one pack of chocolate which comes out promptly. This was expected. What was not expected, happens after that. The LIC Jeevan Tarang Policy now shows the abundant returns it can bring you, through a ‘messy’ throughput of many, many chocolate packs which start coming out of the vending machine creating a ‘mess success’, with the little kid picking and gathering and collecting and putting them in his bag. The LIC jeevan Tarang Policy requires one input and gives a lot of output. This ‘mess’ is welcome to the kid and the prospective customer.

In another case of a celebrity ad for Lenovo Computers, the celebrity who is ‘clean shaven’, returns after a long period, all ‘messed’ up and cannot be recognized by his spouse. Infact, the computer comes to the rescue of this ‘messed up’ individual, with overgrown hair and a long unkempt beard. Well the ‘mess success’ takes place when he is identified by the computer by using ‘his face as the password’ and promptly accepted by his beloved wife. Well, another case of ‘mess success’ for you.

Why is this brand new messy trend catching on in brand building and advertising and communication? And why is this ‘mess’ creating ‘success’?

Well, as per my analysis, there are six factors which are helping this trend to do, well.

Firstly, it cuts the clutter. The straight, orderly, neat, clean look is out and the disorderly mess is ‘in’.

Secondly, it reflects a young, trendy, contemporary personality.

Thirdly, the ‘mess’ whether of the hair of the Garnier model or the unkempt beard of the Lenovo celebrity, brings about memorability, leading to brand recall.

Fourthly, it is unconventional and therefore there is a large amount of interest and ‘Shock’ or ‘Surprise’, as the case may be.

Fifthly, it brings out the rebel in you, leading it being seen as fresh, innovative and makes it new across the other ‘dated’ communication, making everything else ‘outdated’ and this one ‘updated’, even though it is messy. It is the new ‘mess success’.

Sixthly and finally, it could be very cost effective, since with less number of insertions or spots, the advertising could be high impact.

Thus I call this ‘mess success’ and in the new year2007, this ‘mess success’ will be available a lot, in my prediction. No one is going to complain about ‘excess’ of ‘mess success’.

Have a great 2007 brand new marketing year !

The author is Brand Guru Jagdeep Kapoor, Managing Director of the successful Samsika Marketing Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. Tel: 022 28597700/7701 Fax: 28597699 E-mail: jkapoor@samsika.com

Copyright © 2007 All rights reserved with Jagdeep Kapoor, Managing Director, Samsika Marketing Consultants Pvt. Ltd. No Part of this document may be modified, reproduced, stored, deleted or introduced in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means (Electronic, Mechanical, Photocopying, Recording or Otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of the document.