Mktg - India;Top 10 Brand Refresh

UBI: Banking on change

UBI has invested Rs 75 crore in the makeover exercise, with close to Rs 3 crore going into doing up the logo.

“The Union Bank makeover involves integrated transition in processes, systems, employee orientation as well as customer experience,” says Ashish Mishra, chief strategist, Water, the design unit of Mudra Group, which has designed the new UBI logo. “Some of it is still underway. There will be a sequel to the pre-launch research that will track the new brand experience using the same set of parameters.”

Shoppers’ Stop: Act smart

On surface, there seemed very little to worry about. Shoppers’ Stop recorded a net profit of Rs 6.97 crore in 2007. The retail turnover was Rs 1,207 crore, up 34%. The K Raheja Group-promoted 17-year-old chain had 1.3 million sq ft of retail space across 24 stores in 11 cities.

Yet the Rahejas wanted “something” more. So in May this year, the chain junked its old logo for a new one.

India Post: Poised for a flight

Facing serious threat from e-mail services, two big consultants—Ogilvy & Mather and McKinsey—were roped in to give India Post a new identity and a restructuring plan. The new logo, in bright red and yellow hues, mimics the shape of a bird about to take a flight. The tagline: “Giving Wings to Your Dreams.”

For starters, 52 post offices (out of 1.5 lakh) will sport the new insignia under what has been dubbed as Project Arrow. The service enhancement includes express parcel, sale of gold coins, express money order service, Speed Post call centres and a slew of international services. “The new identity will unfold higher level of customer services,” promises Jyotiraditya Scindia, minister of state for communications and IT, in a press statement.

MetLife: Mange more

From “Have you met life today?”, MetLife India Insurance moved to a new brand promise, “Peace of Mind. Guaranteed.” The company says the new position is based on the understanding that the key driver for people buying life insurance is the need to feel secure—both for themselves and their families.

Godrej: Growing young

In April, this year, the Rs 9,000-crore Godrej Group did something it has never done before: changed its brand identity. Chairman of the Godrej Group Adi B Godrej, unveiled the group’s colourful new logo before a jam-packed audience and declared, “With our new initiatives, we are targeting a growth of 25-30% annually.”

Thus shedding its “frumpy old lady” image in favour of the “young and contemporary” personified by Tanya Dubash, the 111-year-old Godrej Group is now dressed in bright colours—green, blue and ruby—a far cry from the staid look it donned since it was founded at Lalbaug, central Mumbai, in 1897. The new brand proposition is “Brighter Living”.

Vimal: You only live twice

Vimal, in a new avatar, is determined to regain some of the old ground it lost during the intervening years. The new Vimal comes with a new wardrobe, a new target audience and a new communication strategy. (Lamha lamha badal rahe hain hum/Ek naye andaaz mein badh rahe hain hum… goes the jingle.)

The revamped wardrobe packs in three new sub-brands—Vimal Red, Vimal White and Vimal Black—straddling different price points. The “Only Vimal” tagline is still in place, albeit with a new one in tango, “Dressing up New India.”

Sunsilk: Gang of girls

HUL’s haircare brand Sunsilk put on a new look. With a new tagline, “Life Can’t Wait,” and with inputs from JWT and brand consultancy JAM, Sunsilk’s visual identity became more contemporary. To take its online presence to the next level, Sunsilk rebranded its website, sunsilkgangofgirls, and started radio ads for the same. It roped in actor Priyanka Chopra as ambassador and followed it with a huge media campaign.

Fastrack: On the right track

What do you do if you are an accessory brand catering to the youth and have to keep on reinventing to fly off the racks?

You launch a design every quarter, kill the look that isn’t working, and get Bollywood hunk John Abraham on board. That’s what Titan Group’s Rs 176 crore brand Fastrack did in May 2005. Post relaunch, the turnover for the watches and the sunglass category climbed dramatically to stand at Rs 175.66 crore in 2007-08.

CEAT: Roll out plan

Over the years, CEAT has slid from No 1 to No 4 position in the saturated Rs 19,000 crore Indian tyre market. In a belated bid to reclaim some of the lost glory, the RPG Group promoted, Rs 2,134 crore-tyre manufacturer decided to change its logo.

Will this gamble pay? Difficult to say. Tyres are a low-engagement product. And despite tyre manufacturers’ recent attempts at improving their retail presence in the passenger car segment, there are other roadblocks.

Vodafone: Painting the town red

Soon after acquiring the much-loved Hutch brand, global major Essar Vodafone came out with a high-octane mass media campaign with the tag line “Change is good.” Blowing up an estimated budget of Rs 320 crore, Vodafone simultaneously unleashed a new logo and a new pug named Spikey to replace Hutch’s Chika. The agency however remains the same: O & M India. The old tagline—“Wherever you go, our network will follow”—stays put.