When many companies are jostling for attention in a crowded IPO world, where many are equally worthy – how does a name stand out? And how does it begin to ‘own’ all the positives it has - so that there is an instant ‘buy-in’ without going into detailed financial analysis and promoter history every single time. The answer lies in branding.
A brand is the sum total of what it’s audiences think of the company/ brand. There are multiple audiences for any company.
The Primary Audiences are internal and external and are in direct contact with the brand– their employees and their customers. Their actions directly impact the company on a day-to-day basis. Customers increase the top line, their loyalty and willingness to pay a premium increases the bottom-line . On the other hand, employees deliver the efficient and profitable functioning of a company. They ensure company targets are met and they ensure competitive advantage through their loyalty and dedication.
The Secondary Audiences influencers – and impact the company’s fortunes indirectly. They are Policy Makers, Media, Investors (both shareholders and Financial Institutions) and Industry bodies. (Such as Trade Associations, FICCI, CII).
The Tertiary Audiences are the customer’s customers in case of B2B brands and public-at-large. They do not impact a brand’s fortunes directly but do build a general public opinion about the company. (I have heard a senior govt. official talk about general goodwill and have said that public opinion will not let the TATA brand die if ever it is in dire straits; but a lesser-known brand might never get similar support).
There is one situation however, when the Secondary Audience of the Investor Community becomes as important as their customers and employees. The time when investors can directly influence the fortunes of a company is during an IPO. A successful IPO is when the offered shares are fully subscribed or over-subscribed. Companies are over-subscribed when people believe in a strong growth story for the company. They believe in the future of the company and want to become a part of the growth story..
Often jokingly called as the “junior-most
employee” of
DY Works, Boris a.k.a. Fluffy, has moved on from the organization as on 03/01/14 While he was here
for a year, it is easy to make the mistake of imagining that
he’d been here for
ages – so well loved and “familiar” was he in this
environment.
Boris is always full of energy, and his self proclaimed craziness is
infectious,
making any project with him fun and creating a great work environment.
Wherever he goes, we are
sure, he’ll bring
colour and cheer to the organization.
An identity brings purpose to life. It defines ones existence and shapes the corresponding behavior. A person’s identity is his/her name that is accompanied by the specific characteristics possessed by the person. If we look at brands, there in we see the projection of its identity in form of a visual mark, which is popularly known as LOGO. Logo is a mark that represents the identity and behavior of the brand for which it is created. It’s the start point from where the world of brand personality originates.
Each brand has its own category premises in which it breathes and a core brand essence that acts as a soul. They are living beings in their own way. These brands affect numerous lives. Thus, it should be unique, memorable and relevant to its context. With this the challenge is to adhere to category codes but create differentiation that can lend some unique character to it. This pinch of uniqueness should help it to get registered in the mind of the consumer and also prompt quick recall.
Logo creation is one of the important aspects in design industry. If we think in practical frame then we may put across this statement that the logos are created by integrating visuals/symbols with typography. Wikipedia/popular sources defines logo as a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition. Though it belongs to the design domain, logos have crucial implications on human psychology and business generation.
Let’s look at these examples and see how logos occupy visual memory space and surprise us at various instances.
Examples:
“I am from there. I am from here. I am not there and I am not here. I have two names, which meet and part, and I have two languages. I forget which of them I dream in.” - Mahmoud Darwish
Spirited Away
Nomenclature is a tricky thing. The name lies at the beginning of all deeds and at the end of memory. It is sometimes the burden of infamy or the herald of conquest. Wars have been fought over names. Names are often mired in the quicksand of a person’s identity, or a person’s politics.
In Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, the witch Yubaba enslaves her servants at the bathhouse by stealing their names, and consequently giving them a new name. The simple act of renaming someone in a fantastical universe becomes a metaphor for bondage. Thus, the protagonist’s journey to gain freedom from the spirit world and release her parents from a spell that turned them into pigs, is connected closely with the theft of her name. It is her very identity – the one thing that Yubaba the witch cannot truly take away from her. The name is associated with memory, belief, nostalgia, conviction, and holding on to a different and more familiar reality.
The country's largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), has just kicked off Project Sunlight, simultaneously with Unilever's other markets, to compile the social missions of its many brands. It is an attempt to invite consumers to get involved in doing small things to help their own families, others and the planet. In India, HUL will highlight brands such as Lifebuoy (cleanliness), Dove (improving women's self esteem) and Knorr (work with farmers).
It is a manifestation of how brands are combining CSR with business objectives.
HUL has been scaling up initiatives for social good across brands. Its recent Domex Toilet Academy, for example, has the objective of building 24,000 toilets by 2015 in areas where there is lack of sanitation. The motivation came from the increasing importance its parent Unilever is giving to the cause of social good as espoused in its "Sustainable Living Plan" flagged off three years ago.
Besides specific sustainability targets, managers at HUL were asked to interpret a social purpose in the local context. The lack of basic sanitation afflicts Indians is well-known in a country which accounts for almost 60 per cent of open defecation in the world.
HUL saw an opportunity to plug its brand Domex, a toilet cleaner competing with Harpic from Reckitt Benckiser. Hemant Bakshi, executive director, home & personal care, HUL, says, "We realise the importance of the need for safe and hygienic sanitation practices. We have an important role to play to help make our communities free of open defecation. As a brand, Domex can make toilets free of disease and safe to use."
Under Lifebuoy, the company has been running a large school contact programme to help sensitise children to the need to wash their hands. Experts say, it is a clever marriage of social and business objectives. By targeting children and instilling in them the need to use a soap to wash hands, HUL is playing a good corporate citizen, even as it creates a ready market in the schools and among the parents of the students.
Tanishq and Havells, through their recent ad campaigns, have been questioning so-called taboos. Tanishq's on-going campaign for its bridal collection, where it portrays remarriage of a woman with a child, has been noted as a break-through by pundits on social media (though, a similar trope had appeared in a Femina ad in 2001).
Havells, the electrical components and appliances brand, touched on issues such as inclusivity (a domestic help being asked to join her employer-family for dinner at the table) and women's rights (a husband's decision to adopt his wife's surname) in its summer campaign this year. Vijay Narayananan, vice-president, marketing, Havells, admits the campaign did stir people enough, making them sit up and take notice of the brand. Launched at a time when the clutter is high on television, Narayanan says the campaign induced recall in a low-involvement category such as fans.
Tata Tea's Jaago Re campaign, meanwhile, has evolved into a viable platform for change. Jaago Re's current edition, coinciding with the relaunch of Tata Tea Gold, dwells on how women should not be ignored by politicians since they constitute 49 per cent of the voter base. Harish Bhat, MD, Tata Global Beverages, says, "At a time when the country is gearing up for elections, it made perfect sense to dwell on this aspect."
As corporate social responsibility (CSR) becomes mandatory for Indian companies, the seriousness with which most are approaching it has increased. Gautam Chemburkar, partner, KPMG, says, "From something that was tracked by a small team, CSR has moved up as a key item on the CEO's list. By making it mandatory for companies to disclose what they've done with the two per cent of profits they now have to set aside for CSR activities, companies will track where the money will go, since it will form part of their distributable profits."
According to industry estimates, the likely obligation arising out of the CSR Bill, which comes into force next fiscal, will be $2 billion (or Rs 12,400 crore). This is if the cumulative profit of India Inc will be $100 billion (or Rs 6.2 lakh crore) by then.
Chemburkar says the Indian corporations can't afford to ignore such an amount. "If earlier companies paid lip-service to CSR, restricting their efforts to communities around their factories, today the scope of their operations has increased," Alpana Parida, president, DY Works, a Mumbai-based brand consultant, says.
Beauty major L'Oreal has just announced its commitment to transform the way it does business by 2020, spanning the entire value chain from manufacturing, marketing to business development. L'Oreal, like Unilever, hopes to touch consumer lives with not only sustainable products, but also initiatives that can help make a difference.
Like every other new joinee, I was extremely perturbed before entering DY Works. What will the place be
like? How will the people be? Will I learn new things? How will my experience be? These questions kept playing on my mind, but I was put to ease at the end of my first day itself.
The ambiance was much more relaxed and friendly than I expected. I admired how people had so much to do and yet took the time out to speak to and explain things to a new person. It did not take me long to realize that DY Works was a closely- knit organization, with a management that truly cared for the welfare of everyone. I was amazed at how they had a massage and yoga session during office hours.
I think one of the most fun days at DY Works was when we had to create the letters of ‘DON’T STOP’ in a
three- dimensional, creative and unique way. It was amazing how every team came up with something so brilliant and unique. Another fun day was the day when we celebrated Diwali with the decorations, games, food and bonding. Though there was a lot of work, many such wonderful experiences filled my time here.
My experience here was truly like no other. I had come here to learn and I managed to learn a considerable amount about marketing. Whenever I had too much work that was boring and taxing, there was always a fun assignment in the middle. One such assignment was that of making word maps, which I found really cool. As I put together presentations, I learned some interesting things about the coffee market and the hair care industry. I liked how, there was someone (Ashita) always there whenever I had any questions, concerns, to teach me things, to review my work and in general.
There was a lot of work, but it also came with a considerable amount of learning. The leading FMCG client based team - Ashita, Snehal and Vinay- which seemed like the team that burnt the midnight oil way too often, was great and it was a pleasure working with each one of them. As I said, my experience at DY Works was wonderful and I will definitely miss the people, work and the experience, as I go back to my life as a college student. By Neha Daswani Marketing Intern, DY Works
