Brand Narendra Modi – You Can Hate Him Or Love Him But You Cannot Ignore Him

Brand Narendra Modi, you may like him or hate him, but you cannot deny that Narendra Modi, the current Prime Minister of India, has become one of the strongest brands in the world.

Narendra Modi is a man with a humble beginning, born in Vadnagar, Gujarat, India. He became Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001, and Prime Minister of India in 2014.

This is not about his politics but his brand and the 5 things that make him one.

Charismatic

There is no doubt that to build a personal brand, a person needs to command attention. Especially in India to stand out in a crowd of a billion one needs to have a personality worth noting. Narendra Modi is known for his oratory skills. It may be he or his speech writers, but he is known to say the right thing in front of the right crowd.

There have been instances where he did goof up but such instances are easily covered up owing to a strong public relation that Narendra Modi manages via Bhartiya Janata Party(Indian Political Party) workers and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh the parent body of BJP.

When you are trying to build a brand there has to be a unique selling point of your being that attracts the right kind of people. You do not need to impress everyone, but the ones you do should believe in your vision.

Narendra Modi sells the vision of superpower India, and in a country of 1.4 billion patriotic Indians, this vision is easy to sell.

Strong Storytelling Capability

A brand is only as strong as the stories it tells. A story is the shortest distance between two people. If you tell the right story to the right crowd it is bound to trigger an emotional response and build a connection.

Modi often talks about his humble beginnings, his struggle, and his sacrifices for the country. These stories are woven around his personal and professional life. The interviews he gives are very carefully crafted to help the audience see how the only thing he cares about is the country.

If you talk to any Indian fan of Brand Narendra Modi you will hear them talk about how he works 18+ hours daily for the country and has not taken a leave in the last 20 years of his public life.

These stories are not restricted just to interviews of the Prime Minister, there are movies and digital comics released which provide an account of all achievements of Narendra Modi.

Marketing Skills

No brand is a brand unless it has gone through the stages of developing a Brand Identity, creating Brand Awareness, Brand recollection, and Brand Experience. The marketing power that makes this a reality for him that supports Narendra Modi today is second to none.

The public persona of Narendra Modi is very carefully crafted, ensuring the mainstream media takes the Brand Narendra Modi to every corner of the country.

Every single product or service made available by the current BJP government ensures that the imagery around it has the brand impression.

This was at its peak during the times of COVID-19 when even the COVID-19 vaccination certificates that were issued had a photo of Narendra Modi on it.

A Huge Following

No brand is a brand without having Super Fans. In the case of Modi, there is no lack of them, there are people who are crazy about the Brand Narendra Modi. In India they are often called Modi Bhakt, Bhakt in Hindi means a devotee, and these Superfans are that in its true sense.

It’s not just now, even when Narendra Modi was Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat he had fans across Gujarat. I had some friends from Gujarat who used to swear by him. I am not sure it was similar PR machinery within the state, but his fans existed even back then. The Gujarat Riots of 2002 which could have shaken the brand of a Chief Minister did the opposite by consolidating his fan base. It could very well be considered the event that boosted Narendra Modi to the national level. What the famous Ratha Yatra did for Lal Krishna Advani in the early 90s, is what the Gujarat Riot did for Narendra Modi.

For any brand to be of value it needs to have Super Fans, once you have converted your followers to fans, and fans into Super Fans, you get a community who do all the PR work for you for free.

Curated Authenticity

One of the most important aspects of a brand is the Authenticity it portrays. This authenticity leads to the conversion of followers from fans to super fans. Now generally when you are starting the only way to be consistent is by being true to yourself and those around you.

Being authentic is the simplest way to ensure that whatever you say in public is consistent. In the age of the internet, your point of view from years back can return to haunt you in case you were fake. Nothing that you say stays hidden forever.

This has been witnessed in the case of Brand Narendra Modi too. Many of his promises from 2014 are yet to be fulfilled, and he has even gone back on many of his promises. This is a strict no-no in the case of building a brand. This is where curated authenticity comes into the picture.

If you have the right strategy and people around you, you can ensure that narratives that question a person’s authenticity never get highlighted. Even If such thoughts ever come to light you can choose to ignore them outright and let your PR machinery do the work.

Narendra Modi has been known to be someone who has not had a single press conference in the 10 years of his tenure. The press conferences are supposed to be on-the-spot questions, by avoiding these he easily dodges such bullets. Well-crafted interviews with specific news organizations have replaced the Press Conferences. These interviews have the questions and answers pre-determined to ensure Modi can be shown in a good light and not caught off guard.

To further highlight his authenticity there are many photographs of him going about his personal life, like meeting his mother, praying, etc which are often circulated on Social Media to create a greater connection with his followers.

Being authentic is essential for a brand, but with time and enough clout you can curate and be selective on what aspects of your life you want to highlight in public. This curated authenticity can be a superpower that a brand can wield.

Conclusion

The Brand Narendra Modi is one of the biggest Personal Brands that have come up in India since possibly Indira Gandhi, and dare I say Mahatma Gandhi in India.

At this point, there is a book about him that you can read Narendra Modi: A Political Biography,[affiliate link] this book is from pre-2014 so it may not be diluted by the grandiose of his brand as of today. Or you can wait for about 10 years when the euphoria around his brand has settled and some people can genuinely write about his work without being branded as anti-national.

In any scenario, Narendra Modi is a force to be reckoned with. With Indian elections going on this is a test of his brand again. By June first week, we would know the result of elections which may determine the future of this brand.

The above points are 101 of personal branding that can help in figuring out how to promote and develop your brand.

Do let me know in the comments what you think about it.