Why Amazon talks about its India connect in latest print ad?

As the slogans of Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-sufficient India) and Vocal for Local gain momentum throughout the country, e-commerce giant Amazon India too has joined the bandwagon with a recent front-page ad in The Economic Times. “Lakhs of Indian sellers, artisans and delivery partners are together in this journey of delivering smiles to homes across the country,” the copy reads.

It is to be noted that recently while releasing the 3rd edition of its annual e-commerce, Amazon Chief Jeff Bezos said the e-commerce giant will export Make in India products worth $10 billion by 2025. “We are going to use Amazon's global footprint to export $10 billion Make in India goods by 2025,” Bezos said in a statement.

Officials from the company have also spoken about how it remains committed to its pledge of digitizing 10 million MSMEs, enabling 1 million incremental jobs and driving $10 billion in e-commerce exports from India by 2025.

Brand strategist Ambi M G Parameswaran contends that it’s good the ad lives up to the ‘Made in India’ claim and that adds the authenticity factor to it. “I think Amazon is attempting to say that their platform helps Indian merchants and manufacturers reach consumers directly. This is in fact true. Even today it is the big companies that have the ability to distribute products through the complex and perplexing Indian retail trade. Amazon has levelled the playing field. Look at the large number of small enterprises who are able to sell to thousands of consumers across India on the Amazon platform. So I think they can legitimately claim that they are helping Indian companies prosper. I also know that they have special channels to sell Indian products abroad. In fact, they have an Ayurvedic sub-section in their Amazon.com website in the US, which is being used by Indian Ayurvedic brands,” he noted.

Moreover, e-commerce major Flipkart, too, has inked a pact with the Textiles Ministry to provide weavers a marketplace to showcase their products. Manufacturers will be provided with analytical data to help them acquire a customer base, and accordingly scale up supply.

According to Jagdeep Kapoor, Chairman and Managing Director, Samsika, with the Atmanirbhar sentiments riding high, the Amazon campaign is poised to connect positively with the Indian sellers and consumers. “Amazon is trying to touch the hearts and minds of Indians with the phrase ‘Made by India Made for India’. ‘Your trusted store for new beginnings’ and ‘delivering smiles to homes’ are all very endearing and appeal to Indian families. The ‘emotional promotional’ campaign will work amazingly.”

Sharing another facet was Samit Sinha, Managing Partner, Alchemist Brand Consulting, who observes that the piece of communication is perhaps aimed more towards the government and policy makers and policy influencers. “This is an attempt by Amazon to show solidarity with the nationalistic ‘aatmanirbharta’ sentiment espoused by the PM and present itself as a corporate citizen with India’s interests at heart.”

Furthermore, online marketplace ShopClues.com has also launched a campaign wherein it will showcase merchandise from India’s iconic markets, such as the ethnic weaves of Surat, silver jewellery from Jaipur, electronic goods from Nehru Place in Delhi, textiles from Tirupur and chikankari from Lucknow across various states.

Meanwhile, N Chandramouli, CEO, TRA, has a different take on the ad. “A report suggests that more than 70% of the goods sold on these eCommerce platforms are Chinese. More than riding the ‘Made in India’ wave, the Amazon ad attempts to counter their China-goods label by piggybacking on ‘Made in India’. There is definitely a subtle anti-China products sentiment in India currently, and though these platforms have said they would display the ‘Country of Origin’, it does not seem to be implemented yet. In fact, if anything, these apps make it quite difficult for a buyer to know the country of origin. The tagline of the ad ‘Made by India, Made for India’ is misleading as it suggests that all their products are such, and it is a clear stance to whitewash their brand using the India tag,” he opines.

Interestingly, as most companies around the globe look inwards Indian brands are too going for ads that talk about the local connection, all seeming to have brought a resurgence of patriotic advertising.