“Delayed Research, Derailed Organisation (DRDO)”, “6,000 crore wasted, 10-year delay & they want 150,000 crore more”, ” 23 years and the first aircraft hasn’t taken off”, “Will anyone dare audit the DRDO ?”, “Why don’t they line up for DRDO job interviews?”, “Arjun, Main Battle Tanked”.
Headlines like this screaming from the national dailies have suddenly put the DRDO in the limelight, but for all the wrong reasons. The DRDO is being portrayed as a defunct organisation, one that has achieved little success and always fails to deliver products on time. The brand DRDO has taken a severe beating through negative publicity like this. These news items should make us sit up and take notice of the things that are wrong with the organisation, which was envisaged around 50 years ago for self-reliance in defence technology.
“Make India prosperous by establishing a world-class science and technology base…provide our Defence Services the decisive edge by equipping them with internationally competitive systems and solutions… design, develop and lead to production state-of-the-art weapons systems… “
That’s the “vision” and the “mission” the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has proudly spelt out for itself. But has DRDO lived up to its own expectations, let alone those of the armed forces and the nation? Branding has three steps. The first is Awareness (I Know You). Do users know DRDO? The second is Amity (I Like You). Do the armed forces like DRDO? The third is Emotion (I Want You). Do they want DRDO? If the answer to any one of these questions is “no,” then something is seriously wrong with the brand DRDO. It’s high time that DRDO gets up and gets going in the direction of self-improvement and brand building.
What will the brand DRDO stand for?
A brand is the totality of your perceptions—everything you see, hear, read, know, feel, think, etc.—about a product. DRDO should be made a respectable brand that stands for the best quality research and development of state-of-the-art defence products and services. It may have been necessary to make juices and mosquito repellents at some point in time, but it’s time to move on to high-technology areas of strategic importance, e.g., tanks, and missiles. Undertaking more than 400 projects simultaneously means that we are spreading ourselves too thin and losing focus. The future of the brand DRDO lies in unmanned aerial vehicles, advanced radar systems, and sensors.
Building the brand DRDO
Brand building for R&D organisations is an uphill task because there are often no tangible products, the rate of success is quite low, and failures abound. So how should DRDO go about building its brand? The DRDO should follow the principle of “inside-out”. It is a two-pronged strategy consisting of producing the best and selling it hard. The organisation should decide what to develop and then how to best develop it. Building a successful brand is all about delivering the right products or services (what), to the right people (who), and at the right time (when). DRDO should work on the current requirements of the armed forces and also on the future demands that it perceives may come. The promised deliverables should be of the best quality and handed over within the agreed timeframe. Once the best products are ready to be delivered, it’s time to let the world know about your achievements. So DRDO should publicise its achievements in the media, ask satisfied users to vouch for them and market the products in the domestic and international markets.
Brand building from inside
Never promise more than you can perform.
– Publilius Syrus, First-century Roman author.
A brand is a promise. A promise that you make to your users combined with the users’ judgement about how well you deliver on that promise. A successful brand becomes an emotional bond that builds customer loyalty. To be a successful brand, we should keep our promises. DRDO should not promise too much to the users and then fail to deliver, as has been the case in the past. It should be aware of its own limitations and capabilities, and then only it should state what can be delivered. Once a commitment has been made, the team should work hard and ensure that the promised deliverable is handed over on time and with the agreed quality. A brand holds a distinctive position in customers’ minds based on past experiences, associations, and future expectations. So failing even once to keep the promise can severely dent the brand’s image. The first step in this direction has already been taken when the SA to RM, Mr M. Natarajan, for the first time ordered the directors of all 50 of the DRDO laboratories to urgently bring out clear-cut business development plans. He has said that the business plan from each lab would shape the choice of projects consistent with the users’ requirements and in conformity with the aspirations and capabilities of DRDO laboratories.
If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favourable.
– Lucius Annaeus Seneca
DRDO must know what it should develop and for whom. Brands are not static but rather always evolving. They can change according to stakeholder expectations and market conditions, whether you see them coming or not. It is important to manage that evolution, expected or unexpected, rather than simply let it happen. It is time that DRDO changes with the changed scenario. A successful brand not only delivers in the present but also holds promises for the future. So DRDO should also promote itself as an organisation involved in pioneering research in niche areas like nanotechnology, futuristic missile systems, advanced radar systems, etc., which may hold the promise of innovative products in the near future. The greatest opportunities arise when you detect a completely new breed that your customers didn’t even recognise until you offered a solution to them. A major challenge for different organisations is to keep innovating and adapting to change, which itself is changing. At times, the DRDO needs to tell the users what it can deliver, if asked for?
Perform, perform, perform.
Respect grows only out of performance.
Performance at each and every point of interaction.
– Kevin Roberts, author of the book “Love marks”.
The saying “There is no substitute for hard work” holds true in the case of brand building as well. Once you have promised to deliver, you have to use the available resources and manpower to ensure that the promise is kept. Even the best advertising cannot create something that is not there. The project directors should keep the team members motivated, and the work should be challenging and involving. Deadlines can create positive pressure if you have the right processes in place. Once the system or product to be developed is identified and qualitative requirements are established, all team members should try to achieve the results. There should be quality checks and performance evaluations from time to time. For research, collaboration with universities has twin benefits: it lends a helping hand and also builds the reputation of DRDO among academicians. Timely delivery and satisfactory product performance can do wonders for the brand DRDO.
It is crucial to effectively communicate the values of your brand and organisation to your own people, making sure that employees understand these values and thereby leading them to become the best ambassadors of your organisation and its products. At times, the employees of DRDO talk about the organisation from a negative perspective, both among themselves and with outsiders. This severely dents the public image of DRDO. The employees of the organisation should feel love, respect, and attachment for the brand that the organisation represents. This can be achieved by addressing their grievances, keeping them motivated, and ensuring their social welfare.
Communicating the brand DRDO
Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing. -Rollo May
Once the organisation has been made strong from the inside, it is time to tell the world that DRDO has arrived on the scene with a bang. Branding is an effective and compelling means to communicate the benefits and value a product or service can provide to its users. DRDO needs to communicate with users, the media, and the public.
The users should be involved in product development right from the conception stage so that DRDO knows what they want and what DRDO will deliver. Differentiate the product attributes in terms of performance, price, and targeted market segments with respect to similar products. Users, as stakeholders, should be able to clearly understand what DRDO products are and are not. Hold user conferences, telling the users the salient features of DRDO products and stating that these products are comparable to the best in the world and yet cost much less. Brochures and pamphlets about the product can be circulated among potential buyers. In the end, an excellent product will speak for itself.
Effective branding through the media is a must because your organisation’s public image is what the media projects. DRDO should come out of its self-imposed exile from the media. Publications like annual reports, brochures, and articles in newspapers, magazines, and electronic media play a very important role in how others look at the organisation. Getting the media to accept the press releases and attend press conferences is also indispensable. Step up proactive communications and get the positive stories covering the successes of DRDO out there. Get clear, concise, and consistent information to the targeted media before they go looking for it. Personal relationships with the media can also go a long way towards avoiding bad coverage. A dedicated team dealing exclusively with media, as and when required, will go a long way in projecting DRDO in the right way.
Taking DRDO to the Indian public is also important because it is the taxpayers’ money that funds the work of the DRDO. It should be made clear to them that their money is being put to the best use. There are other channels through which DRDO can interact directly with the world without getting the media in between. Research papers in international and national journals by our scientists should help in projecting DRDO in the national and international arenas. Events like seminars and exhibitions, e.g., Aero India and Defence Expo, should see more DRDO participation. Showcasing the products and research undertaken in the form of demos and exhibitions will elicit a positive response from the users as well as the general public, thus garnering publicity through word of mouth.
Brand DRDO should cross national boundaries and go international, just like Indian MNCs and our own sister R&D organisation, ISRO. It can be done through active participation in international defence exhibitions; PR and marketing in third-world countries about the DRDO products; and collaborations with the defence organisations of other countries (an example being Brahmos).
The future is promising
If earnest measures are taken in the right direction, then the day is not far when the DRDO will be held in high regard by the country, in general, and the armed forces, in particular. Also, the brand DRDO will stand for an organisation engaged in the research, design, and development of state-of-the-art weapon systems, platforms, and allied equipment for our forces and rendering a yeoman’s service to the services.