Reliance BIG TV – Do you like it?

Do you like Reliance Big TV? Well, I do know that Reliance ADAG’s BIG TV has not yet started their DTH services commercially. My question here is not about their service but about the choice of the brand name BIG.

BIG as a brand name:

BIG is the umbrella brand of Reliance Entertainment Ltd., which already has businesses like BIG 92.7 FM – FM Radio, BIG Adda – Social networking site, BIG flicks – Movie rental business, Big Music & Home Entertainment. In addition to that they also have plans to launch TV channels under the brand name BIG. So Anil Ambani not only thinks big, but also prefers to have the brand name BIG for all his new entertainment businesses.

After a bit of googling, I found out the reason behind ADA group choosing the brand name BIG. In an interview to indiantelevision.com Reliance Entertainment Ltd’s President, Rajesh Sawhney said,

“…The choice of the name is predicated on three reasons. Firstly it is simple to understand. Everyone, regardless of language, understands Big. The second reason is it is simple to communicate. A mass brand needs to be understood by everyone. And third, the brand name must give people an understanding of the scale at which we want to bring entertainment to consumers….”

Brand name: Generic or unique:

Well, it’s good to choose a brand name, which is simple and easy to understand, but at the same time brand name should also be unique, right? Again going for a generic brand name like BIG means trademark and copyright protection of that umbrella brand name will not be easy. For this reason, marketing strategist, Seth Godin too stressed the use of generic names as a dangerous strategy in his recent post.

In India itself Pantaloon Retail Ltd. already own the BIG Bazaar brand. In fact Pantaloon opened their first Big Bazaar store even before ADA Group was formed.

By the way BIG is only a relative term. So competitors can offer bigger and better services and make the Reliance’s BIG look small. I personally do not like this use of adjective BIG as an umbrella brand name by the R-ADAG. What about you? Do you like it?

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