DMA Trailblazer Series with WION |S1E4 | Building Trust and Transparency in Business

Music Hello and a very warm welcome to Trailblazers, a joint DMA Asia We On initiative. Now, Friedrich Nietzsche said, I wasn't so much upset that you lied to me. I was upset that I could never trust you again. And on this episode of Trailblazers, we're joined by an extraordinarily experienced panel to discuss the key concepts of trust and transparency across a range of household brands. And joining me today is Deepak, veteran marketeer, currently heading up marketing for Bridgestone, ex of the PNG parish and an absolute icon of delivering brand promises across a range of offers. We're also joined by Virat, CMO in India of Hyundai Motors, the Korean automotive, Behemoth, ex of the Renault and Tata parishes.

Also, Bayan Nujer, hot shop marketeer, heading up marketing for Hanasa with the iconic brand Mummer Earth and many others, winner of multiple prizes, including a recent Trailblazer award. Sartak from Tata Housing, again a veteran of the industry, worked his way up through the ranks, uniquely qualified to tell us about how the customer promise gets delivered, soup to nuts. And finally, Suryadeep from Comviva, one of the world's great enablers of technology, a veteran of multiple tech businesses, IBM, HCL and many more. A very, very warm welcome to our Trailblazers. Now, to get us underway, I'm going to invite Deepak from Bridgestone to come and talk about trust and transparency. Deepak, do you trust me? That's a very tricky question.

I think I hardly know you. So whatever I know of you, I do have some degree of trust, but I think I need to know you much more to be able to trust you. But also it depends on the context. So in today's context, I do trust you. Well, yes, you sort of have to start an interview by trusting. But it's an interesting way to start it, isn't it? Because there's something very human about trust, isn't there? And can you, as a philosophical point, Deepak, what starts as a very human value, can you even really translate it into a corporate environment? Excellent, excellent point and excellent question. I think corporate environment or brands, to me, have to be inspired by human relationships.

Your current business, Deepak, Bridgestone, has got the time on its side, right? It's a 150-year-old business. It's in all kinds of, best known for tires, perhaps, but it's in mobility solutions. It's in golf balls. It's in earthquake solutions. How do you imbue all of these product areas, Deepak, with this humanness? How do you create that human transaction? Okay, so when we look at our category, the core category is tires. And we say that tires carry lives. And we take this thought quite seriously at our corporation. In fact, if you would see that when you're in a vehicle, the only thing in the vehicle that touches the road is the tire.

So we have a huge responsibility in terms of, I mean, maintaining the trust with our customers and making sure they are safe, right? And hence, in our culture, we focus a lot on safety and then performance. And our promise of performance and quality has to be met. I mean, that's a given. I mean, you made the point that it's a given. And in terms of creating trust around this safety critical item, is it such a given that you don't actually market it? I think safety is just one aspect. You don't buy a tire if it's safe only. You will not buy it if it's not safe. So ensuring that the core need of safety is met, to be able to build a more differentiated brand and to deliver on other things. Like when you drive, you want a driving pleasure.

You want comfort. You want a longer lasting tire so that it's a great value. Talk to us a bit about how you regain trust in an organization like Bridgestone when something goes wrong. So I think you've touched on a very, very important critical aspects of brand building and brand trust. And in a category like us, something going wrong could be fatal also. So depending upon what has gone wrong, our way to handle that would also differ. Thankfully, I haven't been through a situation where I've had to have a critical issue like loss of human life or anything like that. And maybe thanks to the quality of products we have, that hasn't happened. Deepak, thank you so much for your insights.

We must get you back on the show again to get to the bottom of this. Thank you so much. My pleasure. A huge welcome to Virat, CMO of Hyundai India. Welcome to Trailblazers, Virat. Thank you, Jasper. Thank you, Vion, for inviting me. How do you think about transparency in Hyundai or other brands you've worked with, Virat? So, Jasper, good to be specific about transparency. Trust is actually a very, very, very large topic. And I think transparency is just one of the pillars that tries to build in trust for any organization. I would think that being over-transparent is also not a bad thing, especially in a category like cars, which is a high-involvement category.

And somebody who invests in a category like cars, even a brand like Hyundai, will not only be a customer, but his or her entire family will be a consumer in a lot of different. And it will be resulting in a lot of different experiences. So, by over-transparent, I mean that, A, you should give out all the relevant specifications on a product, but also for people who want to research more, who want to compare more. There is no harm in the company coming forward and giving more information for somebody who is a little bit more of a discerning buyer or a discerning owner. You know, automotive businesses, like many businesses, are very spec-driven. You know, it's the nature of the beast, Virat.

But how do you ally values and all the things in an organization to the point before where people really mean it with the spec? How do you create that sort of yin and yang? So, it is always a feature-benefit relationship. The feature is the engineering side of the product. The benefit is what the consumer will drive out of it. I'll give you an example. In India, now, we have the largest vehicle park of connected cars in the country, which is more than 400,000 cars on road. Our latest cars offer about 60 blue link features, which is the connected part of the car. Now, that is just, I would say, the engineering side of it or the technical side of it. Since very recently, we are sending our consumers monthly a vehicle health report.

Now, that tells you, is your airbag system okay? Is your parking brake working fine? Is your engine dynamics working okay? It just gives you an okay, okay, okay, okay scorecard to tell the consumer that we are not only giving you the tech, we are also giving you the benefit of that tech. Oh, I see. It's like a personal health app, but it's for your car. It's for the car. And you will not believe it. We are all marketers. We do things like email marketing. The open rate on something like this is really, really good. People are concerned to know that if you've got a product which is that innovative and technologically advanced in your garage, how is it doing sitting there?

So, these kinds of, again, transparent, proactive communications for the brand really gives us repeat purchase. You work for Renault. You work for Tars. You work for Hyundai. Why would I trust one more than the other? So, it's a consumer journey. Obviously, we know from awareness to purchase. When you start getting into buying a mobility option, you will obviously start from I will do shared mobility or I will do own mobility. When you get into own mobility, you will go psychographically, demographically, what you want to buy. Suppose you land on a segment or a body type. Then, from our point of view, a consumer looks at at least three different brands or three different, I would say, product brands. It comes down to budget. It comes down to specs.

It comes down to ownership experience, word of mouth. And ultimately, a lot of it is under the umbrella of trust. Jasper owns a car. Virat owns a car. Jasper liked it. Virat didn't like it. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But when the car reaches the household, then you start to get in loyalty. You start to get in advocacy. It's not the customer or the buyer who makes the decision. It's the children. It's the spouses. It's the relatives. And a lot of these decisions are what not to buy rather than what to buy. You're a very experienced marketeer. But was it easier when you started, Virat, in the kind of pre-digital age to create trust, in a way? I would say it is not easier, to be very frank.

Because in the non-digital age, you have also got restrictions on means of communication. Means of communication were slow and far apart. In the digital age, if the company has the right mindset, you can communicate faster, you can communicate complete, and you can communicate convenience to the consumer. So I believe, as marketeers, the screens are smaller and the screens are many. But I think it is more convenient and I think it is more clear for the consumer on what we want to communicate. You know, trust is a composite of many things, right? A big composite. It's not a single thing. It's a composite of the product, the experience, the promise, the heritage. Can I call up somebody in the brand and talk about a problem that I have?

And an over-delivery on whatever we promised. So transparency, I think, is just one of the tools to achieve trust in today's environment. Well said, Virat. I'm thinking of getting a new car. I might just get a Hyundai based on… Now we're talking business. Now we're talking. Thank you so much, Virat. We're delighted to have you here, Anuj. You definitely win the prize for the most… The sharpest suit on the show. I'll take the compliment. Now let's get started with this. One of your brands, one of your Cree brands is Mama Earth. I mean, that sounds very trustworthy. Mama Earth. Is that… Just before we get into things, talk to us about something as simple as what's in a name. I think a lot's 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, you know, to get to sort of understand the brand. You know, Mama Earth has a 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 baby 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 Earth. So, Mama Earth. 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, and I've had the opportunity to work on 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. We're a house of brands that particularly caters to the millennials. And one of the things that we know about millennials is that, you know, 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 precedes, you know, trust building. 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 a decade back. They're extremely questioning. 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. Well, 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 Mama Earth. But my kids kind of are.

Why should they trust Mama Earth? Why should they trust your house of brands, in a word? I think one is the access of information to the promises that we're making. You know, today it's a brand that's out there. It's a digital first brand. The litmus test really 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 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. I mean, you've got many innings 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? I think one lesson that, you know, we could possibly pass on to all the younger marketers 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 marketer, you know, brands, consumers, and people are forgiving, provided, you know, you're owning up to the mistake. And you have the commitment, you know, to kind of change the mistake or, you know, kind of alter the, you know, the results. Anuja, you've just been a fantastic guest. Seeing you back on Trailblazers. And now I'm joined by a man who has literally worked his way up from one end of the business to the other.

So he's in a very interesting position to talk about trust and his well-known brand, Tata Housing. You've really got to trust a guy that sells you a house, right? Oh, definitely, yes. And how do you think about that? Do you start with that premise or are you more like Virat in terms of it all boils down to spec? Definitely that aspect. I will definitely say that specs are important. But again, well, one of the good things with us is because we are Tata's. So obviously there's a big legacy what we have. And there's inbuilt trust, I can say, from the consumer's aspect also. And how, I mean, you know, you are at the helm of a division of one of India's most famous, most trusted businesses.

But sort of cutting to the chase, Sartec, what's the secret of Tata and trust? Is it just time? Is it values? What's going on under the bonnet? Definitely, I think it's the values which is right over there. And if I can even say, like, from Tata Realty's perspective, it's like we have five core values. If you'll ask me, it's like we say that, okay, let's build. So build is the values what we actually really stand for. Be responsible. So we are really responsible on whatever actions we do towards the consumers also. It's giving back to the society in some manner. Unite to lead. So as an organization, we really look forward in terms of having our customers together and how we can take them forward along with us. Inspired trust.

Again, it has to be trust and transparency in whatever act we do. Then I is inspired trust, what I've said. L, lead with excellence. Again, excellence is something which is very, very important for us. So whatever aspects, whether it is housing, whether it is, I would say, commercial real estate, it has to be par excellence of whatever product we are delivering, and then delighting the customers, which is the D. So if you'll see, it sits right into the core of whatever we do. Why do I trust one more than the other? I interviewed Mr. Hirandani the other day. He had a story about why I should trust him more. Why should I trust you more? So again, one of the aspects about this business is very micro-market-centric.

So when I say micro-market-centric, obviously, if Jamie is an individual, he wants to buy something in Gurgaon, he might not find a Hirandani over there. So it is, okay, what options do I have? Probably you might say, I've got a Tata, I've got a DLF, I've got an M3M. Now you have to make a choice amongst these three brands. So there, actually, you look into the product, you look into that, okay, what's each of them are offering, and then definitely the commitment. The deliveries which have not happened on time, and people really are looking forward to those developers who can actually do the deliveries on time, who are really standing tall on the commitment. So I think these are the very important aspects for any individual to really go and invest,

because people are actually investing their fortunes. It's like your life savings, you're investing into housing. So you know that, okay, I should get it on time. And that is where I think Tata really stands tall. What about when it goes wrong, Sartak? How do you stop yourself being complacent? I think that is what we are there for. Day in and day out, we just have to really ensure that, okay, we don't fall in terms of the commitments that we are actually making to our consumers. That is where we have to actually ensure each of our actions, each of our deliveries also. Because we also know that it is much easier to go at the top, but it is most difficult to really command your position at the top for a longer time.

After I've completed my Hyundai purchase, I'll be hoping to park it outside. We should go for a Tata housing home first and then the Hyundai. I'm thinking for BHK. Yeah, because homes are for generations. Done. Thank you so much, Sartak, for being on Trailblazers. Now I'm going to invite Surya Deeb to come and join Trailblazers. Surya Deeb, welcome to Trailblazers. Pleasure to be here. I was listening to the conversations and I was really going through some of the amazing things that everybody had to share. It really kind of helped me brood through some of these concepts that everybody was talking through. Well, that's a fabulous endorsement of Trailblazers. We do have a very wise and experienced panel.

But Surya Deeb, I'm going to start you off where we started with Anuja in what's in a name. Okay? Mama Earth, you know, milk of human kindness. Comviva. Talk to us about Comviva and this name because it doesn't, this is a very superficial way of starting, it doesn't conjure, what does it conjure up? Is there something in a name? Yeah, so we stand for, Com stands for communication and Vivat stands for vivation. We stand for communication and we stand for communication. And what we essentially stand for is how we are activating lives, how we are enriching life through communication. And I think that's what the name really communicates. I mean, you've been with ACL, you've been with IBM, you're a veteran of this world.

How do you humanize tech to create trust? Great question. You know, we are pretty much into a B2B domain, which means that we work with enterprises, we work with companies, be it telecom, others. Now, when you really work as partners, you are trying to really run systems, which are at the very central of some of these companies. And when companies really engage with you, they want to work with partners whom they can really trust, right, whom they can really rely on. I was interested in Anuja's point, which is quite right in terms of, you know, own up. It's not good all the time. But if you take the 2,500 people you've got, how do you inculcate a culture where people do own up, who feel safe enough to do so?

Yeah, so a lot of this actually is driven right from the top, right? How does your leadership behave? Because as a company, I think the leaders really show the way, right? So, you know, at the end of it, the whole starting point is whether you practice that internally in your communication, whether your leaders exhibit that internally. And I think that's the starting point. When you meet customers, how do some of the senior people react? What do they stand for? And I think that trickles down. And you all have a pretty young demographic. Are you finding the millennials, centennials are better able to kind of stick up for themselves and call out the people with, you know, values they don't respect? I would believe so.

I see a lot of confidence in the new generation, and I see them calling out. Digital media, social media has given them channels. Everybody has a handle now. So they're calling people out, which is great. And I see that confidence around. People are having that confidence that, you know, they can pretty much call out a CEO on a social media handle, which is great. It's a great place to finish up, Suryodip. We have hardly scratched the surface of trust and transparency, which is sort of appropriate, because these are not things as such that can be attained. You can only improve. You can only get better. And the starting point, I think, we've taken from this show is a human one and the individual. Build personal integrity,

and then the compound effects of that across an organisation will help with trust and transparency. And we live in an exciting age, because customers now are challenging. They're demanding. They're looking for transparency. So let's hope for a golden era when it comes to trust and transparency. I'm Jasper Reid. You've been watching Trailblazers, a joint TMA Asia, and We on Initiative.