Gypsy Moth launches rebranding campaigns for Dindigul Thalappakatti

The firm bagged the creative mandate for the F&B brand and will continue to be its creative partner for future marketing exercises.

Mumbai and Bangalore-based marketing and advertising firm, Gypsy Moth LLP, has concluded the rebranding for Dindigul Thalappakatti, a legacy biryani restaurant founded in 1957 in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul district. The firm bagged the creative mandate for the F&B brand and will continue to be its creative partner for future marketing exercises.

Dindigul Thalappakatti has presence in 7 countries and has over 100 outlets in South India alone, making it hard for anyone to miss the sights, sounds and aroma of Dindigul’s most loved dishes by the restaurant’s founder, Mr. Thalappakatti Naidu. Dindigul Thalappakatti aims to be perceived as the go-to brand amongst the young and old, to taste and relish authentic and traditional Dindigul cuisine and other South Indian dishes. To achieve this objective, Gypsy Moth has executed the restaurant’s holistic rebranding through a strategic three-fold methodology.

The first leg of the rebranding exercise required Gypsy Moth to come up with a communication tagline for the brand, that highlighted its unique qualities which have helped it stand the taste of time. These USPs included the mix of hand-ground spices, the authentic cooking process, and the closely guarded traditional cooking methods that have been handed down over generations. The fact that every dish at Dindigul Thalappakatti is served with the same dedication, humility, and love also needed to be highlighted. After over a hundred iterations created, the firm finalised on “secret recipes, served with love” as the brand’s new tagline. It will now appear on all communication and marketing collaterals published by Dindigul Thalappakatti across the globe.

The second leg of the rebranding process was to establish a visual identity for Dindigul Thalappakatti’s authentic dishes. From the legendary biryani to the western and Asian dishes made with an Indian twist, each had to be represented with a touch of tradition and Dindigul’s authenticity. To achieve this, the visuals were split into categories that represented the brand’s pillars of foundation, i.e., legacy, spices & ingredients, cooking process, finished dishes, and the people who savour them. A total of 10 visuals have been created for print media, OOH, and social media, which showcase the true essence of Dindigul Thalappakatti’s cuisine in an aesthetic and traditional manner. From textures of parchment papers to sepia tones inspired by the ruins of Dindigul; from traditional earthen and ceramic ware to banana leaves; from wooden tables to ornate utensils, every aspect of what contributed in making these visuals was part of the brand’s 65-year-old journey and its early origin.

The final leg of the exercise was to create AV commercials that would air in the 3 South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. After extensive research, Gypsy Moth reached the conclusion that while the three states are culturally very different from each other, their preferences for authentic tastes had a lot of similarities. It being essential that the brand was perceived as authentic and traditional, yet a part of everyday lives in all three states, after many iterations, Gypsy Moth went ahead to create three distinct films with varying flavours and characters to depict the brand’s relevance. The commercials have been very well received, garnering millions of views within a few days of its launch, online and offline.

Talking about the project, Priyanka Chugh, co-founder of Gypsy Moth LLP says, “Thalappakatti’s rebranding exercise was a very exciting project for us. From identifying the key differentiators of the brand to giving a fresh visual identity that resonates with a modern consumer and authenticates the traditional essence of the brand was a great learning experience. It makes us very proud to be associated with a brand like Dindigul Thalappakatti.”

Adding on, Sivaprasad Nair, creative director at Gypsy Moth LLP mentions, “This project was very close to our heart as we spent almost a year between devising communication routes and shooting the television commercials. It was imperative that our tagline, our visuals, and our AVs, all say the same thing even if presented in different avatars or through different characters on various platforms. To create and execute that cohesive identity for Dindigul Thalappakatti was a brilliant opportunity for our team and we are quite proud of what has come out.”