Shashi Tharoor – the accidental brand manager of brand India?

Shashi Tharoor’s talk at TED India on why a nation’s true influence is to be judged by it’s ‘soft power’ reminded me of an extremely interesting theory I heard about from a colleague,Dave McCaughan.

The theory is that a nation’s soft power is key to it’s export effectiveness when it comes to consumer goods.Consumers overseas lap up a nation’s products when it’s soft power(culture) has reached foreign shores and occupies much mind space.

Dave is an Aussie and he often tells us of his life as a youngster in the 70s in Australia when his dad drove a Chevy or a Ford and like all Aussies thought highly of all things American.The 1970′s was also the time when the biggest cultural imports in the lives of Aussie kids like Dave were karate and a cult Japanese TV show called Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot.And sure enough when Dave grows up he buys a Honda or a Toyota because to him Japan and all things Japanese seem credible especially when it comes to technology.In the late 90′s and early 2000′s,South Korean soft power began to make it’s presence felt abroad and movies like Old Boy,singers like Rain had gained popularity in the West.Before you knew it Korean chaebols like LG,Samsung & Hyundai gained impressive acceptance first in the U.S and then across the rest of the world.

I could not help but go back to my own childhood and teenage years to recollect cultural influences that made me think the world of all products Western…Enid Blyton and her various characters, Archies & Superman comics, Hollywood, sitcoms like Friends, international sporting events like Wimbledon and French Open and later on European soccer leagues.

While Tharoor in his talk at TED India didn’t make any reference to the commercial success that soft power could precipitate, his examples of Indian properties that could strengthen it’s soft power-Bollywood,Ayurveda,Yoga, Indian cuisine not only underline his intuitive understanding of what could gain acceptance abroad but are also a pointer to the Goverment of India as to what they should protect and promote.What is also heartening is that these very elements are beginning to occupy cultural mindspace in the Western world.A.R Rehman and Jai Ho garnered huge public attention around the Oscars last year, Bikram Yoga – a yoga style developed by Bikram Choudhary is well known for his Hollywood clientèle as is Deepak Chopra.Ayurveda also has many takers abroad with it being an added attraction for tourists to Kerala.Basmati rice and chicken tikka masala in the UK are also doing their bit to enhance image of India abroad and hopefully in a few years to come – that of Indian products.

While these phenomena often evolve on their own,the need of the hour is for the Govt. of India to promote these potential icons of Indian culture abroad, and to accelerate the change in India’s image from a land of fakirs and cows to one which produces high-quality entertainment,soothing spirituality and delicious dishes.Ironically the man who has pointed out the pervasive aspect of soft power in his TED Talk also happens to be the Minister of State for External Affairs. Coincidence?