Brand identity makeover: The last financial year was the best-ever for Tata Technologies. Its consolidated net profit jumped a record 83% in FY22 to Rs 437 crore, while its consolidated income from operations grew 48% to Rs 3,530 crore in FY22 compared with FY21. The highlight of the company’s growth in FY22 was the huge business it generated from outside the Tata group.
Now the company, in which Tata Motors holds a 74.43% stake, has unveiled a new “human” brand identity.
So why fix it if it ain’t broken?
The answer lies in the change in the revenue mix of the company, its clientele and its growth ambition, say observers.
According to the company, which is also preparing for an initial public offering, the new identity will help to establish itself as a purpose-driven youthful brand that new-age customers can connect with. The more-than-three-decade-old company is a product engineering and digital services provider serving sectors such as automotive, industrial heavy machinery and aerospace. Over the past several years, it has been sharpening focus on non-automotive sectors and has tapped new clients to reduce its exposure to the vagaries of the automotive industry. From 12-13%, the firm is expecting the non-automotive share to climb to 15-18% in two-three years, say reports.
Now note how Tata Technologies’ revenue mix has changed over the past few years. The share of captive accounts such as Tata Motors and Jaguar Land Rover fell to 36% in FY22 from 54% in FY20. Of its $473-million revenues, around $365 million came from outside India last year. About six years ago, 75% of the business was dependent on Tata group, particularly JLR and Tata Motors. Evidently, the company has worked hard to improve the non-captive share.
The company says the new identity focuses on “humanising the stakeholders”, understanding their needs and nurturing relationships. Says Santosh Singh, SVP and global head, marketing and business excellence, Tata Technologies, “We had a strong reputation as a traditional automotive engineering brand but people did not see us as an expert in embedded and digital engineering where we were building capabilities. That created a lot of challenges for us when we wanted to hire talent in these newer areas and we struggled to fulfil customer requirements. We want to be seen as the modern face of engineering.”
“A new identity creates a long-term pull from customers, talent, and community,” adds Singh. Samit Sinha, managing partner, Alchemist Brand Consulting, however, begs to differ. “Refreshing or changing the brand identity is not a silver bullet that alters the trajectory of a brand’s performance in the marketplace. For that to happen, the changes need to be fundamental and organisation-wide, beginning with indoctrination and enculturation of its own workforce and eventually an enhanced product and service experience.” Having said that, the new theme will help signal a change within the organisation and create new expectations from all its stakeholders, he adds.
The brand worked with The Frameworks, a UK-based design consultancy firm to develop the new identity with inputs from its own HR and talent acquisition teams. “We requested the agency to review the entire brand strategy and help us define a new platform with bold visual and verbal identity,” says Singh. The brand has invested more than half a million dollars on the exercise so far.