Ambi Parameswaran, For God’s Sake: An Adman on the Business of Religion

Abstract

India is a land of many religions including Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Sikhism. Western scholars, in the past, have found religiosity as one of the most important cultural forces and influences on consumer behaviour. Although there is some research done in the western world on the role of spirituality and religiosity in influencing the consumer behaviour, the mainstream marketing academics and the practitioners have neglected the role of this dimension in consumers’ decision-making process. In the Indian context, this book by Dr. Ambi Parameswaran is one of the first steps to explore this important aspect of Indian consumer behaviour. Religiosity is defined as a belief in the existence of God, and a commitment to comply with the rules of the religion. This book wonderfully explains some of the facets, how the Indians are influenced, most of the times unconsciously, with their religious beliefs, while making their consumption-related decisions. One of the examples of the role of religiosity and spirituality in influencing consumer’s decision-making process is the rise of Baba Ramdev’s, Patanjali Ayurveda and Divya Pharmacy, whose product ranges from Ayurveda medicines to FMCG products such as soaps and toothpastes. The firm, although in the initial years of its operations, is giving tough competition to MNCs, such as Hindustan Unilever and Colgate-Palmolive and has reported total sales of Rs. 455 Crore during the fiscal year 2011–12 and expects it to quadruple to Rs. 2000 Crore in the near future. The experts accredit this success to ‘‘Spiritual Marketing’’, which unconsciously satisfies the spiritual needs of the consumer. In the context of young Indian fast food consumers, researchers have found that their ethical beliefs are not impacted by any of three predictors (importance of money, intrinsic religiosity, and spiritual well-being). Instead, they found that it depends on the interaction of importance of money, intrinsic religiosity, and how spiritual well-being affects consumer ethics. These results in the Indian study are not only counterintuitive but also depart from the results of consumers in western individualistic society. In light of the example mentioned above and the findings of Indian research, this book is a crucial resource to understand in detail the role of Indian consumer’s religious beliefs on their consumption pattern and practises. Dr. Parameswaran brings with himself an immense experience of running campaigns for numerous firms with the leading advertising agency Draft FCB Ulka, and this book is an outcome of his experience in launching products and services, which many a times were different from the usual ones. The book is divided in 24 short chapters. In chapter 3, while discussing the role of weddings in Indian marketplace, S. Agarwal (&) Indian Institute of Management Ranchi, 5th Floor, Suchana Bhawan, Audrey House Campus, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India e-mail: sharad.agarwal12fpm@iimranchi.ac.in