Ever since a popular electronics manufacturer of the country launched its products under the ‘Made in Bangladesh’ tagline, the demand for locally manufactured goods has proliferated.
Until this time, the tagline was familiar only in the RMG sector for a much longer period. For our relatively new consumer electronics industry, it was a huge leap forward.
This created hype among similar companies to follow the same resulting in many new names entering the consumer electronics market.
Although a bit late, our electronics manufacturing companies have finally understood the power and value of branding its products with its country of origin.
Moreover the government’s timely ‘Digital Bangladesh’ initiative had encouraged emerging manufacturers to confidently promote its products under the same tagline.
Electronic products with a ‘Made in Bangladesh’ tagline carry a sentimental value for many Bangladeshis living in the country or abroad who are habituated in using popular international brands.
It has already gained popularity among them.
While a simple ‘Made in’ makes a lot of difference, its marketability doubles when products are named with the language of that country.
Naming a product is important as it can draw preferences and choices of consumers.
To ensure product naming success, companies go through long hours of brainstorming and creativity.
Such names must be easier to pronounce and one that can encapsulate a product’s features.
When it comes to understanding what the product is, what can create more impact than naming it with words familiar to consumers from its country of origin?
A brand’s country of origin can be easily identified by the way their name sounds. That is why it is not just a name, but a flag bearer of the country it was made at.
As simple as a product name can stir patriotic sentiments and create a sense of own-ness and satisfaction in local consumers.
It creates individuality that in turn leads to an ascending sales rate.
In Bangladesh, for example, we have been so used to seeing English words as brand names all our life that we may not be able to relate to a Bangla name for any electronic product.
It is understandable since there were no or few companies that actually manufactured, let alone branding their products.
We could not have envisioned a time when electronic goods would be made in our own country.
Flashback
If I looked fifteen years back, most local electronic companies would either act as distributors of already popular foreign brands or ‘assemble’ products made in china.
All they did was simply rebrand products they got made from China at cheap prices.
These were popular as their prices were within the budget range of the majority. Hence, with quality below average, electronic goods under different brand names superfluously reigned our markets for a long time.
But with time, this business trend is gradually coming to an end as consumers of today are more alert and review oriented.
The Bangladeshi electronic market has seen much competition unlike any other time.
Among the few Bangladeshi brands that have emerged as consumer electronics manufacturers, almost all of them have products with international names or no name at all.
Most products are named with its generic code which is a combination of English alphabets and numbers which does not have any appeal.
While it is true that foreign sounding names add glamour to the product and help to attract consumers, this strategy is nothing but utilizing the mindset remnant of the British Raj.
People of the subcontinent still get excited at foreign sounding brands as if they are of superior quality.
They associate a foreign sounding brand to a higher standard.
As nationalism slowly fades into a corner, local brands cash in on the opportunity of pampering its consumers with what they intrinsically want.
Companies firmly believe adding a touch of foreignness to their names would get them wider consumership, both locally and globally.
This strategic trend has increased in recent times as more and more electronic manufacturers are emerging from all corners of the country.
But boasting a ‘Made in Bangladesh’ tagline and releasing products with a foreign name doesn’t quite add up unless it is an actual foreign investment setting up a manufacturing plant in the country.
This is disadvantageous for the economy as people getting comfortable with foreign names for local products would mean they are just compromising until they can afford actual foreign products.
The psychology behind this is that they will move to foreign brands once they get the opportunity or the finance. This is certainly counterproductive.
Bangladesh is no longer just an apparels manufacturer in the global markets.
With its light engineering, electronics and automotive industry gaining considerable traction, ‘Made in Bangladesh’ is emerging to become a sign of excellence.
As Bangladesh is becoming a global hotspot for manufacturing consumer electronics, this is the ultimate opportunity to create our own identity by introducing Deshi names for products.
The author is a barrister at law and associate advocate at Rahman Law Associates and Company
