Interbrand celebrates 10 Years in India

Marks the milestone by launching ‘Arenas’ – The new Interbrand thinking.

Interbrand, the world’s leading brand consultancy, has completed 10 years in India and has unveiled a special logo unit to mark this occasion. The theme for the year is 'Change Creators,' which reflects Interbrand's belief that while it is good for brands to adapt to change, it is always better to create it.

Talking about business growth, Ashish Mishra, CEO, Interbrand India & South Asia, said “A decade back we began with a very clear purpose. To elevate the Indian brands to match global benchmarks. This was necessary not only to make them better placed for the global markets they wanted to play in, but even more critically, to safeguard their own domestic territories from the influx of global brands in their backyard. To be able to do that, we had to change the leverage of brands and branding from cosmetic to strategic. I am delighted that we have helped accelerate the shift in the way brands are appreciated as a business asset in the Indian market over time.”

Commenting on Interbrand’s India business, Gonzalo Brujó, Global CEO, Interbrand, said: “We have seen such incredible work coming out of India’s office over the last decade. Despite an extremely challenging environment for business across the world (lockdowns, war, supply chain disruptions, etc.), Interbrand India has grown an astounding 4 times while maintaining an excellent reputation as a solid partner for our clients. The last time I visited the country, I claimed India was to enter its own Decade of Possibilities. Currently, with a strong economic performance, businesses driving strategic shifts and technology advancements, I surely can confirm that India is already navigating its Decade of Possibilities.”

Interbrand has been behind some of the most iconic branding work the country has witnessed over the decade, including work done for Jio, Godrej, Britannia, Infosys, Mahindra, Nerolac and Ashok Leyland to name a few. More recently it has added some next generation icons to its list in the new decade – the Swedish origin Truecaller, Hinduja Group’s Switch Mobility – and Hero MotoCorp’s VIDA.

“In most of these instances, we deployed brands as a tool that enables the business and culture-building efforts inside, and experience-building campaigns outside. To that extent, we now guide transformation, restructuring, people, and behaviours with management on one hand and design, communication, digital and offline exercises, with marketing and agency partners, on the other. Majority of these initiatives had traditionally been one-off acts, disjointed even in their success.” Added Ashish Mishra.

To ensure brands are seen as business assets that create business value, the consultancy launched the first edition of its landmark IP ‘Best Indian Brands’ back in 2013. Today, it is the gold-standard for league tables based on brand valuation in the country.

Through the decade, Interbrand has introduced pivotal universal thinking to India including ‘Iconic Moves’ through which it stepped up the traditional concept of Brand Positioning. Iconic Moves are defined as brand moves that exceed customer expectations and disrupt competition. They are by their very nature, rare and a one-of-a-kind action, which arise from unique conditions that lead to precocious decisions. They are not self-serving stunts, but powerful means to an end—conceived and designed to accelerate the business’s progression along its desired trajectory, seeking an alignment (or realignment) between customers, the business, and their interactions.

Today, as it celebrates its milestone year, the world’s premier Consultancy has unveiled a new concept called 'Arenas,' which offers a fresh perspective on conventional ‘categories’ and the competitive landscape, as we know it. In contrast to traditional strategies that define a business' competition as those in the same category offering similar products and services, Interbrand's 'Arena-Thinking' recognizes that competition can come from any category that can address the same customer needs. This approach focusses on human needs – to Play, Move, Connect, Express, Thrive, Dwell (Interbrand’s Arenas)– and explore the competitive battles at the edge of culture, business, and innovation.

Talking about what is in store for Interbrand India, Ashish, said, “We are looking at Increasing our Asia footprint, deploying Arenas as an Iconic Move for partners to create quantum growth in business value and adding specialised verticals. One of the verticals naturally emerging for us on the back of our series of projects including the branding of new teams in the IPL’S Capital’s franchise and rebranding Rajasthan Royals, is ‘Sports Branding.’ This is also a vertical well supported by our global experience including the world’s most talked about rebrand of the recent years, Juventus.”