Although we are in the Business of creating & revamping brands, over the years several brands have also influenced us, inculcated new habits & at times brought a change in the societal mindset.
This was the discussion during this Monday Morning Meet at Elephant. Brands; be it product, service, behavior or conversations Influence & Infuse habits, perceptions & attitude among people. The social change brought by Delhi Metro making residents conscious of cleanliness, infusing a sense of pride in travelling  & becoming disciplined in how the public transport is perceived, used & kept is one such example. The Influence of Blackberry in providing both convenience & being connected on the move was also discussed & how it has helped entrepreneurs & executives to stay in control of their businesses anytime making business a 24 hour affair and completely changing the definitions of “connected”. Examples of Royal Enfield & Flickr were discussed in terms of how they have enabled people to express their hobbies & at the same time provided a platform to connect with people having similar interests. Based on the principles of Seth Godin's Tribe, both of these brands have also managed to create a community of followers & have given them a reason to explore & express. One of the examples that was  Amul & how the brand has influenced consumption of dairy based products of Urban Indians. Apart from the above mentioned, examples of Levis Jeans influencing the way one started dressing in the eighties, online banking portals changing how we bank & hypermarts changing the way we shop were also discussed. Tata Sky changing the way we watch television with democracy of information is another significant example for a service brand that changed habits.
What was reiterated through these discussions was that brands have the power to Influence, Integrate new habits and also bring social change. It is Important for marketers to visualize the changes they want to bring about so that it gets integrated in the thought process. And we believe this process can be enhanced by using design thinking tools.