New Development Bank awards its integrated branding mandate to DY Works

The account was awarded after a global pitch, which included agencies from Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and Italy.

In a first-of-its-kind win for the agency, India's brand strategy and design firm DY Works has won its first global account. The agency has been awarded the integrated branding mandate of the New Development Bank (NDB), a multilateral development bank formed and operated by the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Three branding agencies were invited from each of the BRICS nations for the pitch, which led to a total of 16 participating agencies.

Commenting on the development, Alpana Parida, president, DY Works, says, "This is an orbit-shift win for us. It validates our culture-based, semiotic thinking approach that works across geographies. The mandate to create a brand for a multilateral development bank is challenging and is such that it creates a strong differentiation from others on the landscape which include financial institutions such as the World Bank, the Asia Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund."

According to Parida, the proposed brand strategy for the same helped DY Works win the mandate. "The Board of Directors and senior management from the BRICS countries were involved in the decision-making and it is particularly heartening that our strongest supporters were not just the Indian team, but from other nations as well," says Parida.

She further adds, "The pitch process comprised four rounds. In the final round, DY Works and a leading Chinese agency were shortlisted. It was our research and deep understanding of what differentiated NDB from other international institutions that created an almost unanimous support for our proposal. We were the only agency to get through three rounds without design, but simply on the basis of the brand strategy."

As per the new mandate, the agency will develop strategic brand identity and brand design for the bank. Besides this, the agency will also be responsible for creating a visual language, design of an office environment and brand principles in architecture and environment design, website and online presence.

The Shanghai-headquarted New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states as an alternative to the existing US-dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The bank appointed K V Kamath as its first chairman in July 2015.

DY Works is a brand strategy and design firm in India that creates solutions for businesses. Its client portfolio includes brands such as Dabur, Air India, Rasna, Thums Up, Lehar, Avantha, Sunfeast, Mahindra & Mahindra, L&T, ITC, Kiaro, Marico, Godrej, and PepsiCo.