Aapo Bovellan is an incredibly busy man. After all, it cannot be easy to be at the helm of the advertising and marketing business of one of the biggest telecom brands in the world. As director of brand and marketing, Nokia, he is responsible for the look, feel and tone of Nokia?s global advertising, as well as Nokia?s brand identity. In his own words, his job is to ?make Nokia?s brand and advertising simpler, more fun and more iconic, removing barriers between our product and its people, our consumers.?
Bovellan recently attended Kyoorius Designyatra 2012 in Goa, a platform which brings together people from advertising, branding, marketing and design background from all over the world. In an interview with FE?s Payal Khandelwal, Bovellan talks about the challenges Nokia faces in the Indian market and his own journey at Nokia. Edited excerpts:
What is the most exciting and the most challenging part of your job at Nokia?
Managing a global brand identity is like working on an incredible puzzle. On one hand, you have to create an inspired, cutting-edge, differentiated identity that really sets your brand apart from the competition. On the other, you have to create an identity system so simple and intuitive that it can be consistently delivered by all the marketeers, agency creatives and partners working with a global brand. Managing the balance of these two is the trickiest bit of my life.
Among the various Nokia products that you have worked on, which product is your personal favourite?
The launch film we created for Nokia Lumia 920 is the one project that I have loved most. We fell in love with the product at first sight, both with the interface and hardware. Everything is so well-crafted, so snappy and solid. It?s a great manifestation of our brand.
Over the last few years, Nokia has faced some tough competition from other players in various markets including India. Is your job now tougher than ever in this truly dynamic market?
I find that branding in today?s market is not only more challenging but also more inspiring than ever. You have to be at the top of your game all the time. Just being okay doesn?t fly, everything has to be exceptionally well-branded.
Are there any unique challenges that you have faced in the Indian market?
In terms of branding, India is an incredibly diverse market. India has a huge range of regional cultures and languages. Our brand can talk in a recognisable way to the entire market? whether they read Devanagari, Bengali, Kannada, Gujarati or any of the other local scripts.
How has been your personal journey at Nokia till now?
Working with Nokia?s brand is truly a once in a lifetime experience. It?s an incredible global experience, to take a brand so universally loved and evolve it for the future.