Our Latest Works

Maggi, Nestle India’s single-largest revenue earner, was banned in June 2015 for six months across India on allegations that it contained chemicals beyond prescribed limits.

The company had to recall 38,000 tonnes of Maggi noodles from millions of retail shelves and destroy them. The ban was relaxed in November 2015.

The controversy has been the biggest faced by the listed Indian arm of the world’s biggest packaged foods maker — Nestle, with Maggi losing over Rs 1,000 crore in sales and a serious dent to its brand image.

Maggi had returned to store shelves by November ’15 after multiple clearances from government-certified laboratories, and also returned to the leadership position with re-conquering market share of 60% in 2017. Source.

Rising to market leader position in a short span of time after series of such brand devastating incidents is something that other companies wouldn’t be dared to think about if it ain’t for Maggi.

I never thought we would have a recovery as fast as we had. For a brand that was critically declared dead in June 2015, coming to under 60% of the market share is a big deal. — Nestle India, Chairman & MD, Suresh Narayanan. Source: business today

Though several measures have been taken by the company to bring the brand back to life, to gain back the same level of trust & love is definitely a rare possibility. But Maggi seems to have achieved this. The mystical force behind Maggie to stage a such an epic comeback lies in the secret — how it is branded — the emotional branding principles that were used in the making of this legendary brand. Let us uncover those in detail.

Building Strong Tagline tapping on the problem statements:

A tagline is a three to seven word phrase that accompanies your logo. It expresses your company’s most important benefits and/or what you want your customers to remember about working with you. Think of it as the words you want to linger in your target customers mind about you and what you have to offer.

Early Indian consumer market was unused to fast foods & was very reluctant to welcome a change in their food habits. Nestle had to promote noodles as a concept before it could promote Maggi as a brand. They used strong taglines which tapped on the problem statements to address this.

• 2 mins noodles — Convenience.
• Taste Bhi Health Bhi — Health.
• 2-minute mein Khushiyan (Happiness in 2 minutes) — Fun & Happiness.

It was devised as a two-pronged strategy to attract mothers on the ‘health & convenience’ plank and lure kids on the ‘fun’ plank.

Strong Visual Identity:

When it comes to branding, your visual identity plays a huge part in creating a great impression whether it be the first one or an everlasting one.

Maggie has been doing this so efficiently that they managed to check all the boxes in visual branding. Be it creative packaging, colour selection, logo consistency — they are spot on.

• Colour selection — red & yellow — bright, attractive — scientifically known to induce hunger in human beings.
• Logo consistency — literally remained unchanged since its origin — with such a consistent logo & colour elements, every age group will be able to relate to the brand over a period of time, evoking nostalgia. Here’s a great piece on — Why Nostalgia Marketing Works So Well With Millennials.
• Packaging — creative & establishing a personal connection — Maggi ran a campaign “Meri Maggi — 2 minute mein Khushiyan” — Where in they featured short personal stories from customers on its wrapper and marketed it country-wide, making an emotional bridge. At times, their packaging also consisted of various tools of sales promotion like colour pencils, sketchbooks & fun toys which worked wonders especially in enhancing the brand reach among students & kids.

Word of mouth marketing strategy ticks all the right boxes for startup companies on a tight marketing budget. Two indisputable aspects of word of mouth marketing — reliability and effectiveness — helped businesses to thrive in the past. Its evolution into customer reviews to fit into the digital world in the era of e-commerce makes it relevant and indispensable. The powerful impact of customer reviews  on online businesses has made it a force to be reckoned with.

92% of respondents reported that a positive recommendation from a friend, family member, or someone they trust is the biggest influence on whether they buy a product or service.” 
― Paul M. Rand, President/CEO of Zocalo Group.

According to a top investment bank, in 2016, 60 million people in India shopped online, but that number is expected to increase tenfold by 2026. With the availability of a plethora of reasonably priced internet plans, online shopping is set to become predominant. It is one thing to sell your product to the customer in person and it is another to do it online where it is impossible to sweet-talk customers into purchasing your products or services.

“If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful.”
– Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon.

Amazon.com carries more than 400 million products; Flipkart.com carries more than 80 million products. Let that sink in for a minute. With more and more people getting online with each passing day, getting used to shopping online, how do you plan on selling your products online or even choosing the best e-commerce platform for it? The answer to the above questions lies in understanding the power of customer reviews, the inner workings of your chosen e-commerce platform, and the importance of having an independent website for your business.

Why are customer reviews important for online businesses?

Online or offline, discerning customers are hard to impress. Even in the past, prospective customers actively listened to their friends and family for customer reviews before they decided to purchase products or services.

“A customer talking about their experience with you is worth ten times that which you write or say about yourself”
      ― David J. Greer, Wind In Your Sails.

The decision-making process, when buying something online is heavily shaped by customer reviews. In order to boost your business online, it’s imperative to understand the vitality of customer experience and customer satisfaction that is readily available on display for prospective customers when they shop online.

How to build trust online?

To win customers online, you need to win their trust from the get-go. When a customer is looking to buy a product online, the first thing they eye on is the customer reviews section. Positive customer reviews wield the kind of power that viral marketing campaigns do. But at the end of the day, viral campaigns can only help so much as creating brand awareness, whereas positive customer reviews are what galvanizes people into buying a product or service.

“People trust people more than they trust institutions”
―Joe Chernov, CMO – InsightSquared.

More often than not, customers take to the platform of their purchase and social media to voice their opinions, especially the negative ones. So, what happens when a customer is thwarted by a bunch of negative customer reviews posted by other customers of their chosen brand?

How do e-commerce platforms work?

Well, this is where an e-commerce’s complex yet robust product recommendation algorithm comes into play. Almost all e-commerce platforms display an array of recommended products to help customers reach a definitive decision, making sales happen by creating what economists would call a spillover effect.

These providers also bundle a bunch of products that are frequently bought by other customers / similar products viewed by them to boost cross-selling. THAT. That’s the sweet spot every startup company wants to be in; one way to get your voice heard in a crowded marketplace that’s bombarded with new products every single day. That spot is expensive — e-commerce platforms are actively looking for opportunities to monetize by including an array of sponsored products along with the above mentioned sections — and not guaranteed. Even if you manage to grab a spot for your product, without positive customer reviews, you cannot fuel sales.

What should you do?

If you are a nascent company selling products, you are tasked with the responsibility of choosing a step in the right direction. Here are a few key points to assist you in the process of setting your online store.

• Choose a seller platform that’s data-driven
• Fill in the description box with appropriate keywords
• Post high-quality photos of your product.
• Be accurate with technical details
• Respond to customer queries consistently

If things are done right on a data-driven e-commerce platform, algorithms will love you.

So, you’ve set up your store on an e-commerce website. Business is picking up. Customer reviews start to come in. All is good. You sell some more. Wait, is that it? Yes! — only if you’re a happy go lucky seller. But to be able to vault past your fierce business rivals, you will need the edge that only an independent website can give you.

It only takes seconds for someone to decide if you’re trustworthy and competent, and research shows that first impressions are very difficult to change. The same is true when it comes to brands.

When we are exposed to a brand for the very first time, We are asking ourselves, Subconsciously, Three main questions

• Can I trust this brand?
• Is this brand capable of meeting my expectations?
• How is this different/better than others?

The magic potion that answers these questions without even being asked directly is what called ‘Branding’. Yes!! Branding is all about creating trust, meeting expectations & making it distinct or better. Branding is what that provides your business, a great first impression & is also a campaign that delivers long-term results.

Now, How the heck to brand.

Four pillars to establish a strong brand identity in the contemporary world.

Visual Brand Identity.

First things first. Visual identity is made up of the visible images associated with your brand. They are the elements that guide customers to perceive your brand visually in their memory.

Basic Elements of VBI:

• Logo
• Colors
• Typography
• Physical Marketing Materials (Brochure, Business card, Banners, Posters, Flyers, Stickers..)
• Online Marketing Materials (Social media posts, Mailer Design, Videos, Presentations..)
• Digital Signage
• Store Environment & Atmosphere.

These should be designed with utmost attention to details, wherein factors like colour psychology, target audience research should be put to use. One grave mistake that small businesses tend to make is to compromise quality on these visual brand elements therein failing at the very first level of building brand trust and credibility.

Don’t be penny wise pound foolish on this matter. Hire professionals in building your brand identity, there are a really impressive number of brand agencies like us out there who put their caffeine-infused blood & sweat to bring out the best results possible.

Brand Story.

Messages delivered as stories can be 22x more memorable than facts. But we all seem to fall into the trap of throwing out facts and figures which end up falling on deaf ears. Thereby failing miserably to create a memory or impression which is the very essence of brand marketing.

Stories can be told through quality content and impressive visuals. Your story can be educational, emotional, entertaining or even inspiring one. Try including the Reason you have started, What drives you every day, What you strive to be & Values you stand for.

‘People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe’ — Simon Sinek.

Brand Voice.

Brand voice is not about hiring a person to yell at passersby to get them into your store, but in case if you employ one, What does he gonna say, Does he gonna whisper, ‘Hey Ladies & Gentlemen, Welcome to our store’ or does he gonna rapt, ‘Yov boys & girls, hasta la vista’. Determining that is much similar to determining your brand voice.

The personality of your brand is determined by the words you use and the sentences you write. It may be in your print materials, commercials, websites or for that matter wherever it’s possible. This is known as brand voice.

Brand voice is a crucial part of your business identity. It keeps you distinct from your competitors. It’s usually referred to emulate your target audience and match their speaking style so that an instant connection is established.

Online Presence.

Have your own interesting website and be present on relevant social media channels. If you are selling a product be present on Amazon. If you are a retail/restaurant be there on Instagram which people are using to see photos of the place they gonna visit beforehand. If you provide professional services like us, LinkedIn is mandatory. When your business model relies heavily on you yourself i.e a writer, blogger, influencer type then Twitter or Facebook would be the right match.

And being present is not posting kitten gifs once a week/month, be f*&#** present for real. Post useful & relevant content for your target audience, Consistency is the key. Try to be different than better. That’s how you win the game online.

If done right, the level of brand awareness one could create in the digital — marketplace is utterly unimaginable unlike in the past where the internet hasn’t evolved, especially for the businesses.

If your product quality is good and if you are taking these four pillars of branding seriously and putting the efforts required, then Your Brand Means Business.

Hi folks! We have planned weekly giveaways of designer posters, icon sets, mobile/desktop wallpapers, tees and more.

Amidst all busy schedule & clients work, we put part of our time and effort in creating these giveaway designs & materials. You might wonder why we are doing this, the answer is simple… because why not, why not spread the goodness of design, why not bend some rules, why not embed value into everyone’s life through design, this is the least we can do for being in the creative industry. You can call it “giving back to the community”, only our community being little large, it consists of you, me and all who have a taste for design. You know what’s in it for us, Creative freedom & Satisfaction. Not every work is meant to monetised. Not every design we do is to feed our stomach, sometimes we design to feed our soul.

“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”
– Mother Teresa

This is what keeps us alive and this is what keeps us open to experimentation, learning & growth.

More giveaways are on the way..so stay tuned.! Do let us know in the comments your thoughts & suggestions.