Retail Plus
Chennai
What’s that brand?
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How hooked are Chennai’s teens to a brand? How important is it to their self-image and perception among peers? We take a look…
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First impressions are ‘hit or miss’ in a teen society where most things are judged by appearances alone. Second chances are a rare phenomenon. Teens walk a tightrope between being seen as totally ‘with it’ and not quite ‘trying too hard’. It’s an image building exercise that needs some excellent props and unsuspecting parents with deep pockets. The art of presenting oneself is a creative process which determines the progress of the teen into a man or woman of substance. Most often these trying times require the support of global brands of apparel, footwear, cosmetics, sportswear and other accessories in shaping the prolific careers of the future doctor, entrepreneur, wealth manager, celebrity chef… what have you!
Brands stare back at you from newsprint and magazines, talking directly to you via your television sets, and till recently, distracting law abiding motorists from larger than life hoardings on the streets of Chennai. And when sports icons and style divas have succumbed to it, teens can’t be far behind.
Chennai teens responded with a pragmatism that was refreshing. Unfazed by the brand blitz, a self-assured Rohini Chatterjee, aged 19 says, “Brands set you apart but branded clothing alone can’t impress everyone. It’s the way you wear what you wear. You can wear stuff from Cotton Street and still be totally cool. You have to experiment with different styles for different occasions.”
Celebrity endorsement has made brands a ’must-have’. But Suchandra Deb, journalist in the making disagrees, “I don’t wear brands because a celeb endorses it. It’s my own personal style that tells me what to wear. Moreover I don’t believe Kareena Kapoor uses Sunsilk or Lux or whatever it is she endorses.”
So advertisers beware, you are not fooling the young ’thinking’ Indian, the celeb route needs a rethink.
Most male teens have a delayed foray into fashion as compared to the females. Ashwin, an 18-year-old Vis Comm student believes in the simple and the unfussy, “I love my jeans and it has to be Levis. All you sometimes need is that one pair of ‘goes with everything’ jeans and some cool tees and you’re set."
He brings up an image of a minimal clutter wardrobe, a detachment from materialism and an uncanny resemblance to the ’Enlightened One’. Trance-like he continues, “And leather Red Tape shoes for the evening, slip-ons for the casual coffee hangout, Nike’s… an absolute must, black patent leather shoes for formal dos.” Help! An ‘Enlightened One’ with a shoe fetish!
Brand loyalty is also most remarkable in the one precious accessory a teen won’t be caught without - the mobile phone, that natural extension of oneself - the messenger of joy, sorrow, gossip, squabbles and a million other fleeting moods.
“Nokia is the best,” say a whole group of teens in unison, “Its features are super cool and it lasts forever.”
“It’s indestructible!” vouches Prashanth, “I once threw it at a friend, it hit him and hit the ground, broke into a three neat parts. Just had to assemble it back together. It was as good as new.”
Why would one test the resilience of a Nokia by assaulting a friend? “He was two floors below and I didn’t have his new number.”
Ah! One forgets, Nokia…..Connecting people… in more ways than they ever imagined!
SUNITA SURESH
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