Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Industry / Spotlight | A humdrum ride
BackBack

Spotlight | A humdrum ride

Spotlight | A humdrum ride

Ordinary: Sainath Saraban.Premium

Ordinary: Sainath Saraban.

Reviewer: Sainath Saraban

Ordinary: Sainath Saraban.

Campaign

The new brand campaign for Hero MotoCorp Ltd by Law and Kenneth focuses on seemingly ordinary Indians who try to achieve the extraordinary. The campaign, featuring A.R. Rahman, seems to suggest the group’s new brand identity mirrors the face of new India.

What did you think of the new brand campaign?

Falling short: The music is not a patch on A.R Rahman’s earlier work.

For a brand which has relied on multiple celebrity endorsers, does it make sense to go with just one for this campaign?

In this case Rahman is not a celebrity who is seamlessly woven into the communication. We are being informed that the song has been composed by him by showing him in a few shots. Airtel used Rahman pretty well, as the celebrity in their launch, and there he organically created the song using the environment, the phone and his spontaneous instinct as a composer. In the Hero film, he merely appears in a few shots, singing a couple of lines. That doesn’t make him the endorser of the campaign. The faces you see in the film are of ordinary people “trying" to be extraordinary in their own way.

What must a brand keep in mind while revamping its identity?

When you’re as huge as the Hero group, you need to make a leadership statement. If Honda is not part of the name any more, Hero must understand what the implications of that are in the minds of the consumers and just work towards wiping out any sense of doubt or “what next?" by making a supremacy statement. People will believe you. After all, you have delivered world-class products over the years consistently. In my opinion, they should be two things. Be proud. Be Indian.

Which brand, to your mind, has done a good job of seamlessly changing its brand identity?

Hutch to Vodafone was awesome. Overnight, the Hutch brand name was replaced not just in press and TV, but in every point of contact a consumer would have with the brand. One night he went to sleep a Hutch customer. He woke up the next morning a Vodafone user. That was brilliant. What I got from that was complete reassurance, pride and belonging from a brand I use each day of my life—didn’t feel like a shift at all.

As told to Gouri Shah.

gouri.s@livemint.com

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Industry News, Banking News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 19 Aug 2011, 09:34 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App