Anuja Mishra on brand trust and social media

we're delighted to have you here in need you definitely win the prize for the most the sharpest suit on the show thank you the compliment now let's get started with this one of your brands one of your Cree brands is is mama I mean that sounds very trustworthy mama is that just just just before we get into things talk to us about something as simple as what's in a name I think a lot in a name you know that's really the first sort of introduction to a person's identity you know when it's a brand I think you know it gives you it opens the window for people to really know or you know to get to sort of understand the brand you know mama are very interesting short history of you know about

the last seven years that it's come into existence it was a brand that started out as a as a baby or care baby category brand and you know largely built on the promise of honesty and natural ingredients and you know toxin free chemical free safe products and therefore I think the name does justice to what the brand's promise was which is mama I note so mama and it's it's I mean it's a it's a great statement isn't it to start off with a brand so big and bold but but you're seven years in yeah and Asia just so here you know when we when we talk to Vera and Deepak about this this trust takes time how do you see trust in the context of a seven-year-old brand I think Jasper for a new and emerging brand what's really

different versus a legacy brand I've had the opportunity to work in a lot of legacy brands as well is that you're building trust and not necessarily inheriting it and I think you know when you are in the business of kind of building a new brand you literally have to almost have the paranoia to do the right things every day because you're building that culture both in the organization and outside of you know getting people to trust your brand and therefore everything that you're doing and that that's true for every other brand right but everything that a brand does is either building or eroding trust bit by bit well and it's interesting actually

isn't it because the the CMOs of these kind of older stage brands will of course argue that time is on their side right but time is not always your friend right and there's plenty of challenger brands that are taking advantage of the fact that people have fallen out of trust with old brands yes so you know we're a we're a house of brands are that particularly caters to the Millennials and one of the things that we know about Millennials is that you know they're they're not looking to just trust you without getting into you know details of what you're putting into the product right what is your promise are you living your promise every day and I think that brings me to the point on transparency as well you know transparency possibly

always proceeds you know trust building and you it's very important that you know right from your promise to what you're kind of declaring on your packaging you know to what you're kind of talking on social media or in your communication is very consistent very transparent and very open and if the consumer has questions you're open to answer those and the Millennials are you know and I think the Gen Z now they're a very different bunch from I think you know the kind of audiences or target groups that we were used to part a decade back they're extremely questioning you know they're you know they would get into details they would do their own research before they build that trust so they wouldn't take anything on face value

yeah and that's been a big shift right particularly in India in the sense that perhaps when we were growing up we would implicitly trust certain names not the case necessarily now and I think that's that's really paving the way for challenger brands you know you've got a plethora of D2C and you know digital first brands that are emerging today but I think you know the the yardstick of trust is not necessarily going down it's possibly only going up because the clutter is a lot more there are multi multiple media there are omni channels that the consumer has you know has the option to choose from and that actually makes the you know the decision process tougher and I think which is where the

consumers you don't need to do a lot of their homework and I think which is where the brands need to aid the consumer with all the information that's relevant all the information that you know will help them to make there is the decision but I think equally all the information that will help the consumers to trust your brand okay and that's and that's sort of to a certain extent and they just seen through the lens of marketing but here's a question where does trust sit in the organization does someone in the organization own trust is it is it syndicated talk to us about that you know just again coming out of the experience of a very young brand I feel it's like I said it's every action you know that's either building or eroding trust from an

organizational lens it's it's literally a personal value that eventually translates into the organization value so every leader every employee or every partner needs to demonstrate you know fulfilling the promise and commitment that they're making and I think it's important you know I use the word paranoia and go but I'll go back to it but it's very important that you know you're extremely conscious of the promises that you're making as an employee or as you know as a marketer or any function for that matter to whoever is your stakeholder and ensuring that you are keeping to it and you know that eventually day by day is is what's translating into the culture let me push back

push back a bit on that nature because because we hear all the time on this show that everything communicates the brand it's every little action of the employees the rest of it but yeah we all of us including myself that have organizations with lots of people know that it's desperately imperfect yeah people come in certain moods so the the propaganda if you like is everything communicates it but it's hard right it's hard it's hard it's not something that will be you know that you can wish away

yeah people know right people know let me again put you on the spot a bit I have 16 year old twin daughters so I'm thinking I'm not your core TG for mummer earth but but my kids kind of are why should they trust mummer earth why should they trust your house of brands in a word I think one is is the access of information to the promises that we're making you know today it's a

it's a brand that's out there it's a digital first brand you know it's a it's a brand that's making claims for which it's also you know providing open access to information for the consumer to to kind of read through to question it's a brand that's interactive you know because when you're a digital first brand there is a lot more interactivity with the consumer and I think you know you know once you kind of buy into the brand that's just the first I think point of interaction the litmus test really is

is is eventually the product right when you actually apply the product on your skin do you still feel as good about your decision to buy into the brand and I I feel we've been a brand that's kind of made up to the commitment and we've been very very honest very vulnerable and very open to consumer suggestions and feedback and I think that's that's what's helped us to build trust with our consumers yeah and and god knows you've enjoyed tremendous success right listed results day I think today

well yes finger fingers crossed final question Anuja so um I mean you you've got many innings is ahead of you but you know you've been with Pepsi you've been with Lays you know you've been with Goderidge when you think back to the young Anuja marketeer what in terms of trust what you wish you'd known then that you know now I think one lesson that you know we could possibly pass on to all the younger marketeers is I think it's okay sometimes to make mistakes but it's very important that you own up to it I think both again you know as a human and as a marketeer you know brands consumers and people are forgiving provided you know you're owning up to the mistake and you have the commitment

we possibly did make a mistake and we'd love to you know we'd love to make amends to it. Anuja I think you've landed us in a fantastic place in the sense that trust is not abstract right it's kind of you're trusted as much in adversity as you are in anything else Anuja you've just been a fantastic guest. Good luck today. Thank you so much. We look forward to seeing you back on Trailblazers.