Omnicom Group’s global brand consultancy completes 10 years in the country. In an interview, Gonzalo Brujó, global CEO, Interbrand, and Ashish Mishra, CEO, Interbrand India & South Asia, tell Akanksha Nagar how the agency is looking to integrate technology and research and highlights the changing role of brand consultancies amid a looming global financial crisis.
Excerpts:
How has the role of brand consultancies evolved with the evolution of technology? Does it require a new definition amid the looming global financial crisis?
Brujó: Over the last 50 years, the role of brands has evolved – from driving differentiation in an age of abundance to creating relevance in an age of turbulence, with consumer expectations changing quickly. With the evolution of brands comes the evolution of brand consultancies and branding, which becomes ‘brand thinking’. That is, a continuous brand management activity that seeks, above all, a new way of solving business challenges and opportunities, driving relevance and growth; a practice that puts the consumer and her experience at the forefront. Brand strategy is no longer the responsibility of a marketing department, but is integrated into business strategy and reaffirms its leading role in steering committees.
Interbrand is stepping up its presence in India. What are the key steps in that direction?
Brujó: In the last three years, the agency has seen a twofold annual increase in growth globally. In terms of our own transformation, we want to innovate as much as possible on solutions for our clients. One critical step for us is the ‘tiger strategy’, which is specific to Asia Pacific and consists of an aggressive plan to try to grow beyond traditional western markets. This year, our office in India will bring new and different solutions in terms of digital assets for our clients. Companies have the ability to change the world, and acts of leadership are going to be important in terms of ethics and integrity.
Mishra: We are looking at bringing the global best practices and partnerships in India as it is one of the few markets with an ambition of aggressive growth. We are keen on ushering in global practices around ethics and ESG (environmental, social, and governance). Climate change is a key area of focus and two of our recent branding partnerships involved the creation of brands that would be front runners in the journey towards zero emission – Vida, the mobility brand from Hero MotoCorp, and Switch, the EV brand from Hinduja Group. The agency also plans to integrate technology and research in the space of branding in India.
In an age of abundant choice and speed of innovation, customers’ expectations are moving faster than businesses. What is your advice to a brand to succeed in such a market?
Brujó: I would recommend that companies put themselves in the shoes of the client and dedicate most of their time to look at things from their perspective. Dedication to their clients is the only way to be agile, and fast and to improve their experience and relationship with the brand. Today, we are facing extreme turbulence and volatility in organisations that show the strength of brand leadership.
The agency releases a brand valuation report annually. Given the changes in in the world of branding, have you felt a need to change your valuation methodology?
Brujó: Our methodology depends on how the world is evolving. In this decade of possibility, brands that aspire to true leadership must not only deliver exceptional experiences for their customers but are increasingly expected to act with integrity, doing the right thing for people and the planet. This is why last year Interbrand integrated the role and impact of a brand’s environmental, societal and governance activities into its Brand Strength framework, one of the fundamental pillars of our brand valuation methodology, for the measurement of the strength and value of a brand.
What are your key plans for the Indian market in 2023?
Brujó: Growth is the priority for Interbrand India as we are a market with relative insulation from global headwinds and we also have to live up to the expectations emerging out of our fifth largest economic status. We are also looking at global partnerships and regional expansions, while adding to our talent pool.
Mishra: We began our India office in 2013 with five people and one client – Godrej. Going forward, we plan to shift focus to include branding in its new avatar – where brands will be encouraged to demonstrate new acts of leadership which include changes around ethics and ESG. India will play a key role in Asia Pacific and this would involve the creation of a talent hub and senior roles to plan and accelerate growth in the region.