We were at the Park hotel in Bangalore (does anyone remember it used to be called a grand ‘Kensington Palace’ till some years ago?) earlier this week for dinner. I noticed my friend staring at the large abstract painting that covered most of the wall; what do you think this means, he asked finally? Everyone in the group had a view; the finally accepted response was mine – it means someone made a lot of money on this.
Indian by any other name
I thought about this the next day when I found myself discussing corporate brand identities with my client who has just returned to India after many years in the USA. He wondered about the name change of Indian Airlines to Indian; everything else seems the same. I hadn’t thought much about it at the time the change happened – but now reading about it, I am stuck by the naive confidence of the airline and the agency in charge of the rebranding (who perhaps have no choice but to defend their work, for what it is worth) – Rediff, ahem, enlightens us on Why Indian Airlines changed logo, name – “An Indian today is considered as making a difference, and his say is of significant value. That positive image of an Indian is being utilised well with the dropping of the suffix, Airlines,” says Harish Bijoor, brand consultant and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. What was that again? Bijoor goes on, pointing out how the image and name change also involves a change in mindset — from a plodding public sector undertaking to an airline that is ready to take on private airlines.
I am thinking here, if only image change was that simple to achieve, I would have change my name to what? Sharon Stone? Indra Nooyi? years ago. The name has changed but little else, even their website opens to Indian Airlines (notice just how complicated and difficult to remember the url is) – although the page does say – Indian welcomes you – must be the new global Indian who has a say – but it is difficult to say for sure. read this scathing long-ago post by Atanu on the thundering airlines.
The inscrutable logo
Indian is just one of them – the brand logo / name changers. I doubt if any of you has forgotten the much-publicized (and VERY expensive) multi-colored sunflower of Wipro? I have just about stopped shaking convulsively each time I see, but I would be lying if I said that I have finally understood what the logo stands for (yeah, yeah, Azim P’s roots in sunflower oil and all that but rainbow-colored sunflowers?). I only know that, like the abstract painting, someone made a lot of money on this one. If you are interested, here is an explanation on what this logo stands for – straight from the sunflowers’ mouth. In addition to the logo was the startling line, Applying thought – have you ever muttered to yourself – where there was none before… Logo, slogan, brand name – if only rebranding was just about changing these elements…
Then there is Hutch – fantastic branding in general, great advertising from Ogilvy, innovative media activities (unmissable outdoor campaigns) and then the three pink samosas.
And surely, this is not just an Indian phenomenon (heh, heh, did you notice that?) – think about the new Baskin Robbins logo – I agree, the old logo was boring, especially the font, but the new one makes me think of a kid with a bad tummy squirming after eating the ice-cream. So much for hidden design elements. And the much-debated logo for the London Olympics.
On the other hand, it is possible to convey a sense of change (ideally improvement, a positive change in perceived image of the brand) by simply improving service / product quality and advertising – as SBI did with their recent campaign (although I found the tone too defensive initially).
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Earlier posts on this subject : The slow-gun war and Deliver us from the darkness…
Update : Catching up on my blog feeds, I see that Rashmi Bansal has written about Unilever’s new logo. Exactly – so? sums up my thoughts on most rebranding activities I see.
Hey!
I read that piece by Bijoor as well, his comments on the Indian brand change. You have not quoted mroe of what he said further on. He said:”It is important for the airline not to depend on name change for image. it has to achieve more. remember, ground level change is what eh consumer touches and feels, and this is more difficult to achieve”!
Why quote selectively and get away with it?
Pooja
:-)) ‘three pink samosas’! indeed, that was interesting. i always thought they were three birds…
If you take a photocopy (B&W) of the Wipro letter head, it would be as if the ink catridge has leaked. So they found a work around – another version of the logo for B&W prints!
Pooja, I am training to be a journalist on rediff – that is why the trying to get away and so on. that apart, Bijoor has said that in the end, but what he says about the rebranding exercise does not make sense to me anyway…
radhika, I think semiologically (ahem!), the three pink thingies represent hands holding a phone to the ear – try it – little finger and thumb pointing out, other three fingers folded straight perpendicular to the palm – in the shape of a triangle. or samosa. whatever.
Jay, that is interesting. I haven’t seen the b/w logo – will hunt for it. is it avlb online anywhere?