Branding Yoga

1. BRANDING
YOGA

2. Show-Stopping Questions
Is everything
brandable?
Should
everything be
brandable?

3. So The Question Becomes
Should
Yoga Be
Branded?

4. Two Different Schools Of Thought
Bikram Choudhury,
the founder of Bikram
Yoga in America, who
has aggressively
fought to patent his
approach to
traditional yoga style.
Tara Stiles, who isn’t
particularly interested
in yoga’s roots or
styles, but rather on
mixing up different
styles to create a
beneficial exercise.

5. The Bikram Approach
Began
studyin
g Yoga
as a 4
year
old.
Arrives in
America in
1971 and
opens first
studio in
Los
Angeles to
teach
Authors
Bikram’s
Beginning
Yoga
Class and
trademark
s his
company
name
Begins
offering
intensiv
e
courses
for
teacher
s
Decides to
patent his
90 minute
class.
By 2011,
there are
some
5000
Bikram
Studios
worldwide

6. What Was The X Factor?
 Bikram gained an edge by
starting out early in the
United States and
understanding it’s market
potential.
 He understood the
importance of the Bikram
brand- he made clear the
difference was.
 His story taught that you
needed legal protection for
your branding.

7. The Stiles Approach
Studies
ballet in
college.
Brief
modelling
stint with
Ford.
Uses
Facebook
and
Blogging
to promote
yoga.
Opens
up her
own
studio
and
gets
hired by
Deepak
Chopra
Launches a
book called
Slim Calm
Sexy Yoga
Collaborat
es with
Deepak
Chopra to
launch
iPad App

8. What Was The X Factor?
 Received huge
endorsement in the form of
Deepak Chopra.
 Appealed to a much
younger demographic
form.
 Her success could be
attributed to the fact that
she wasn’t very regimented
in the form of yoga

9. Adding Value

10. Hindu American Foundation
 The organization launched an
awareness campaign called “Take
Back Yoga – Bringing to Light
Yoga’s Hindu Roots”.
 The goal was not to convert Yoga
devotees to Hinduism, according to
the organizers but rather to have
them acknowledge the connection.
 But the other side argued by saying
that the aim should be to reach out
to a broader audience by using
branding and marketing.

11. Aman Mehta
Thapar University, Patiala
mehtaaman15@gmail.com
08437924582
THANK
YOU!

12. “Created by Aman Mehta, Thapar
University, Patiala, during an
internship under Dr. Sameer Mathur,
IIM Lucknow.
www.iiminternship.com”