How to sell Aadhar
Seema Sindhu / New Delhi May 06, 2010,
The UID project has got a new name and logo, but the difficult part starts now
The ambitious Unique Identification (UID) number project has got a new identity and logo – something that brand experts have endorsed wholeheartedly. While the project has been renamed Aadhar, the new logo has the halo of the Sun on the imprint of a thumb.
Experts say this was required as a name like UID just couldn’t be of any appeal to a majority of its target audience – the marginalised people who will get a foolproof identity to claim various social sector scheme incentives.
Kiran Khalap, co-founder, Chlorophyll, who is part of the five-member media advisory for the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), says, “We wanted a complex metrix of all the elements of UID in a simple name. Aadhaar encompasses all — its attribute, benefits and idea.”
Ranjan Bargotra, President, Crayons, agrees. “Aadhaar is so simple and indicative of the utility of the product. The new name will give the authorities a great creative platform to advertise it,” he says
Bargotra cites one of his very successful projects with the Delhi government. A few years ago, under the police-public partnership programme, Crayons was given a project aimed at connecting with the children of schools in slums to educate them about being responsible, fearless citizens and report their neigbourhood crime to the police. The agency executed the programme under the name “Nidar” (fearless). Bargotra says the name prompted a huge response from children. “After all, who doesn’t want to become a nidar?” he asks.
Harish Bijoor, brand-strategy specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc, too says, “The one big meaning of Aadhar is the word “depend” and possibly “support”. To that extent, the name packs a lot of punch considering the UID project’s objective.
But now that the rebanding is over, the bigger task is how to sell the concept, considering the diversity challenges in India.
Bijoor says that the brand needs to be led visually and not through script. The brand needs visual mnemonics that are strong and easily identifiable. The current logo with the finger-print and sun holds good potential here. In addition to this, it is important to create a very powerful sound mnemonic for the brand —something that will identify the brand the moment the sound mnemonic is played. Take Doordarshan for instance. The moment the sound mnemonic plays, everyone understands.
A majority of the population in rural India emotes with the visual and the audio much more than written words. It is therefore important to invest in visual and audio mnemonics that are relevant, original and innovative.
Brand experts say allowing a villager – Dhaneshwar Ram – to unveil the brand name and logo was a great marketing innovation. “When Ram talked about the difficulties he faced in establishing his identity in his village in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, even to procure a certificate of residency, there was instant empathy, which a project like this requires” says the head of an advertising agency.
UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani says the project will be marketed through media, advertisements, word of mouth, village posters etc. The UIDAI has studied other mass public change initiatives like polio awareness etc, to understand what has worked, he adds.
Brand experts say the trick also lies in using different branding strategies to appeal to diverse groups of people. The methods that work for young urban professionals, for example, would be lost on the rural poor.
Why this Blog ? News articles in the Wide World of Web, quite often disappear with time, when they are relocated as archives with a different url. Archives in this blog serve as a library for those who are interested in doing Research on Aadhaar Related Topics. Articles are published with details of original publication date and the url.
In 2009, I became extremely concerned with the concept of Unique Identity for various reasons. Connected with many like minded highly educated people who were all concerned.
On 18th May 2010, I started this Blog to capture anything and everything I came across on the topic. This blog with its million hits is a testament to my concerns about loss of privacy and fear of the ID being misused and possible Criminal activities it could lead to.
In 2017 the Supreme Court of India gave its verdict after one of the longest hearings on any issue. I did my bit and appealed to the Supreme Court Judges too through an On Line Petition.
In 2019 the Aadhaar Legislation has been revised and passed by the two houses of the Parliament of India making it Legal. I am no Legal Eagle so my Opinion carries no weight except with people opposed to the very concept.
In 2019, this Blog now just captures on a Daily Basis list of Articles Published on anything to do with Aadhaar as obtained from Daily Google Searches and nothing more. Cannot burn the midnight candle any longer.
"In Matters of Conscience, the Law of Majority has no place"- Mahatma Gandhi
Ram Krishnaswamy
Sydney, Australia.
Aadhaar
The UIDAI has taken two successive governments in India and the entire world for a ride. It identifies nothing. It is not unique. The entire UID data has never been verified and audited. The UID cannot be used for governance, financial databases or anything. It’s use is the biggest threat to national security since independence. – Anupam Saraph 2018
When I opposed Aadhaar in 2010 , I was called a BJP stooge. In 2016 I am still opposing Aadhaar for the same reasons and I am told I am a Congress die hard. No one wants to see why I oppose Aadhaar as it is too difficult. Plus Aadhaar is FREE so why not get one ? Ram Krishnaswamy
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.-Mahatma Gandhi
In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.Mahatma Gandhi
“The invasion of privacy is of no consequence because privacy is not a fundamental right and has no meaning under Article 21. The right to privacy is not a guaranteed under the constitution, because privacy is not a fundamental right.” Article 21 of the Indian constitution refers to the right to life and liberty -Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi
“There is merit in the complaints. You are unwittingly allowing snooping, harassment and commercial exploitation. The information about an individual obtained by the UIDAI while issuing an Aadhaar card shall not be used for any other purpose, save as above, except as may be directed by a court for the purpose of criminal investigation.”-A three judge bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar said in an interim order.
Legal scholar Usha Ramanathan describes UID as an inverse of sunshine laws like the Right to Information. While the RTI makes the state transparent to the citizen, the UID does the inverse: it makes the citizen transparent to the state, she says.
Good idea gone bad
I have written earlier that UID/Aadhaar was a poorly designed, unreliable and expensive solution to the really good idea of providing national identification for over a billion Indians. My petition contends that UID in its current form violates the right to privacy of a citizen, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. This is because sensitive biometric and demographic information of citizens are with enrolment agencies, registrars and sub-registrars who have no legal liability for any misuse of this data. This petition has opened up the larger discussion on privacy rights for Indians. The current Article 21 interpretation by the Supreme Court was done decades ago, before the advent of internet and today’s technology and all the new privacy challenges that have arisen as a consequence.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP Rajya Sabha
“What is Aadhaar? There is enormous confusion. That Aadhaar will identify people who are entitled for subsidy. No. Aadhaar doesn’t determine who is eligible and who isn’t,” Jairam Ramesh
But Aadhaar has been mythologised during the previous government by its creators into some technology super force that will transform governance in a miraculous manner. I even read an article recently that compared Aadhaar to some revolution and quoted a 1930s historian, Will Durant.Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha MP
“I know you will say that it is not mandatory. But, it is compulsorily mandatorily voluntary,” Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Saba April 2017.
August 24, 2017: The nine-judge Constitution Bench rules that right to privacy is “intrinsic to life and liberty”and is inherently protected under the various fundamental freedoms enshrined under Part III of the Indian Constitution
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World; indeed it's the only thing that ever has"
“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” -Edward Snowden
In the Supreme Court, Meenakshi Arora, one of the senior counsel in the case, compared it to living under a general, perpetual, nation-wide criminal warrant.
Had never thought of it that way, but living in the Aadhaar universe is like living in a prison. All of us are treated like criminals with barely any rights or recourse and gatekeepers have absolute power on you and your life.
Announcing the launch of the # BreakAadhaarChainscampaign, culminating with events in multiple cities on 12th Jan. This is the last opportunity to make your voice heard before the Supreme Court hearings start on 17th Jan 2018. In collaboration with @no2uidand@rozi_roti.
UIDAI's security seems to be founded on four time tested pillars of security idiocy
1) Denial
2) Issue fiats and point finger
3) Shoot messenger
4) Bury head in sand.
God Save India
