Branding YogaA Harvard Business School Case byRohit Deshpande, Kerry Herman, Annelena Lobb

Analysed by Vishnupriya Aryabhumi

IIT Madras

What is branding

• The process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers' mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme.

• Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers.

What is Yoga?

• A physical, mental and spiritual discipline that originated in ancient India

History of Yoga

• Indus valley archeological relics• Vedas• Mahabharata• Panatanjali’s Astanga Yoga

Types of Yoga

• Hatha Yoga (includes physical postures and breathing exerises)

• Karma Yoga• Bakthi Yoga• Gnana Yoga• Raja YogaEach type focuses on different ideas of yoga

Yoga came to the US

• Began in mid-19th century• Thoreau and Emerson- Indic and Hindu

Literature• Swami Vivekananda (1893) followed by Sara

Bull • Margaret Woodrow Wilson (1940)• Indra Devi (1947)• Richard Hittleman (1940s and 1950s) –Hata

Yoga• The Beatles trip to Maharshi Mahesh Yogi (1968)

-Transcendental Meditation

Popularity in US

• Hatha Yoga and TM became very popular in US

• Maharshi+ Chopra used a holistic approach eliminating the division between mind and body (essentially Hindu or more broadly Asian ideas) – became very popular in US without actually acknowledging the sources of the ideas

Situation of the case

• The main players– Bikram Choudhury– Tara Stiles– The Hindu American Foundation (HAF)

Yoga Teachers

Bikram Choudhury vs Tara Stiles (1/3)

Bikram Choudhury Tara Stiles

Born in

1946, Calcutta, India 1981, Illinios

Before yoga

Student of yoga since he was four years old

Ballet dancer, dancing and commercials

Beginning of US saga

1971- arrived in US, started teaching Yoga

2006- posted promotional yoga videos on youtube through Ford agency

Bikram Choudhury vs Tara Stiles (2/3)

Bikram Choudhury

Tara Stiles

Books 1979- Bikram’s Beginning Yoga Class – his First copyright

2006- Slim Calm Sexy Yoga

Patents or copyrights

26 asanas and 2 breathing exercisesSued other yoga studios on violation of copyrights

None--- YET!

Studio(s)

5000 studios in 220 countries5 million USD revenue per annum

First studio in 2008

Bikram Choudhury vs Tara Stiles (3/3)

Bikram Choudhury

Tara Stiles

Yoga style

Hatha YogaAll about Sanskrit Verbatim

“Cool” YogaZero Verbatim

We see two different paths of two successful yoga teachers

There’s Bikram Choudhury, the founder of Bikram yoga in America, who has aggressively fought to patent his approach to traditional yoga style.

Then there is the former model and ballet dancer Tara Stiles, who isn’t particularly interested in yoga’s roots or rules, but rather in mixing up different styles of yoga to create a beneficial exercise.

Yoga- Present Stats

• 16 million practitioners in US• Meditative to athletic styles• 6$ billion industry• Existence of copyrights and Patents

From a Business perspective

So, What’s the point?

• Huge industry

• It’s all about creating value for a large audience.– Can be achieved using marketing and branding

• You need legal protection for your branding (as Bikram did)

We have seen two successful yoga teachers who have reached out to different target markets in their own style and cashed the market demand

Now the questions and contradictions!

• Is Copyrighting asanas a reasonable move?

• It is a part of India’s traditional knowledge. How can one person have any control over it?

• Isn’t it necessary to acknowledge the “Hindu” roots of yoga?

And finally…• Should Hinduism regain control over

the brand-Yoga?

The religion perspective

This is where HAF comes in!!

“Take back Yoga- Bringing to light Yoga’s Hindu Roots”

Objective of HAF

• The Yoga Journal magazine did not acknowledge the association of yoga with Hinduism.– Associated it with Jainism, Buddhism

and Christianity

• So, the objective of HAF is to make them acknowledge the connection between Hinduism and Yoga

Summarizing the case…

• The case examines the different paths of two successful yoga teachers who have used branding to their advantage in profiting from huge industry of Yoga

• On the other hand, case also voices the arguments of entities that are against commercializing Yoga and bringing in religious aspect

Central Dilemma of the Case

Is everything brandable—and should everything be brandable?

1. Should yoga be branded in connection to Hinduism?

2. Should Yoga be commercialized or not?

3. How to deal with this, business vs religious outlook of Yoga?

1Should yoga be branded in connection to Hinduism?

Argument

• The case clearly states that Yoga has its origins in ancient India

• In 1940, When Margaret Woodrow Wilson, daughter of former President Woodrow Wilson, left the U.S. for an ashram in Pondicherry, India, a clear enough connection between India and Hinduism existed that the U.S. press seized on the idea that the daughter of a U.S. president had decided to “become Hindu.”

The Religious perspective

Argument contd.,

• But now, being Indian is not synonymous to being Hindu

• So it would not be appropriate to say that “Yoga is one of the greatest contributions of Hinduism to mankind”

• In fact, Yoga should be secular and should not be linked to any one particular religion as rightly said by Stiles-“People need Yoga, not another religious leader”

2Should Yoga be commercialized or not?

Argument

• Patents are to discourage intellectual property theft. But this should not be misused. Bikram could have patented his technique of doing yoga in elevated temperatures but is copyrighting the classic asanas ethical even though its legal?

• So India headed the effort to catalogue the traditional knowledge to prevent the “grant of bad patents”. (as in Bikram’s case)

Branding and legal rights should not be misused. Any product should not be commercialized beyond reason.

The Business perspective

3So how to deal with the two outlooks??

Some suggestions…(1/2)

• Balance tradition and Innovation– B.K.S. Iyenger Vs. Bikram Choudhury

• Be authentic– Build an authentic style of Yoga based on

the classic principles, innovating and differentiating the style

• Understand Legality vs ethics of branding yoga– Do NOT forget the essence of yoga in trying

to brand it

Some suggestions…(2/2)

• Refrain from overstatement– Acknowledge the sources of the basis of

your modified/branded style

• Remember what yoga is about–When branding a unique form, consider

whether the practice has ceased being yoga. ( might become aerobics or gymnastics!)

Conclusion…

“The key to reconciling marketing and yogic principles may lie in taking advantage of branding’s beneficent

aspects without going overboard into abusing an emphasis on marketing.”

Conclusion contd.,

• You need legal protection for your branding• Branding yoga has both a positive and a

dark side. It is easy to look to the abuses and forget that branding, like other marketing tools, can serve a useful purpose

• Yes, Yoga is brandable but…be reasonable and ethical about

it

Credits

• http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/branding.html#ixzz3eecZslso

• Branding a Style of Yoga by MICHAEL H. COHEN, J.D., M.B.A.  in the YOGA JOURNAL dated Aug 28, 2007

• thelimetreeyoga.comDisclaimer

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