Wally Olins, Chairman, Saffron Brand Consultants
The key issue for India, which I feel very strongly about, is that Indian product and services should very largely be seen coming from India. One of the biggest weaknesses that China has (which India does not have) is that although it has a huge manufacturing base, almost all the brands that the Chinese make are not their brands, but are somebody else’s brands. However, the situation in India is different. The best Indian companies in the world – Infosys, Wipro, Tata and a few others – are all known to be Indian. If you associate that brand with the country of origin, it can have a huge beneficial effect.
Wally Olins is Chairman of Saffron Brand Consultants of London, New York, Mumbai and Madrid. He is one of the world’s leading practitioners in corporate identity and branding and has worked for a number of countries on national brand image, including Poland and Portugal.
After Oxford, Olins went into advertising in London. He was sent to India and his first big job was as head of what became Ogilvy and Mather in Mumbai, where he lived for five years. India influenced him hugely. He returned to London and co-founded Wolff Olins of which he was Chairman till 1997.
Olins has advised many of the world’s leading organisations on identity, branding, communication and related matters. These include 3i, Akzo-Nobel, Repsol, Q8, The Portuguese Tourist Board, BT, Prudential, Renault, Volkswagen and Tata, among others. He has acted as advisor to both McKinsey and Bain on branding and marketing.
Olins has written several books, including the seminal work ‘Corporate Identity’. His book, ‘Wally Olins On Brand’, is being published in 20 countries. His latest book, ‘The Brand Handbook’ was published in June 2008.
He was awarded a CBE in 1999. He was nominated for the Prince Philip Designers Prize in 1999 and received the Royal Society of Arts’ Bicentenary Medal in 2000. He was given the D&AD President’s Award in 2003. He was given the Reputation Institute’s first ever Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.
In a freewheeling conversation with exchange4media’s Tasneem Limbdiwala, Olins shares his vast knowledge about branding, design, India emerging as a major brand destination, and a lot more. Q. What is the potential that you see in India to start with a design shop here?
Let me put it this way – had there been no huge potential in India, I wouldn’t have been here. First of all there is a big difference between advertising and design. For instance, for a petroleum company, it’s not the sign or a logo, but the totality of the petrol station.
Another thing that puts India in an advantageous situation is service brands, which are increasingly becoming very important in relation to product brands. All of those operating units where people are involved are service brands. India can be very good at that, which if developed properly, can give India a great advantage in the international arena. And you can only do that if you train your people in a certain way. Branding is internal, it is not external. So, this is a big opportunity that we seek in India.
When Saffron was launched in India, you had desired to work with the banking and insurance sectors, among others. Do you see it going anywhere?
The banking sector is currently facing problems worldwide. So, the best thing that you can do for the banking sector right now is work for an organisation within the financial sector, which does not reflect those troubles. We are currently talking to a major client in the financial sector, which I cannot name at the moment. As far as the pharma sector is concerned, I am very keen to work with pharma companies and we are in discussions with various clients. Again, I cannot mention anything more than that.
Q. What is the potential that you see in India to start with a design shop here?
Another thing that puts India in an advantageous situation is service brands, which are increasingly becoming very important in relation to product brands. All of those operating units where people are involved are service brands. India can be very good at that, which if developed properly, can give India a great advantage in the international arena. And you can only do that if you train your people in a certain way. Branding is internal, it is not external. So, this is a big opportunity that we seek in India.
Q. It’s been 12 months now for Saffron in India. How has the journey been so far? Are there any specific reasons for your current visit to India?
We’ve had some very good jobs in India and we are very confident that Indian business will continue to move ahead very well. Bearing in mind that there is an economic crisis worldwide, I think our position in India is very healthy and good. I am very optimistic about it.
I am here due to, what you can call a reception, where we have been talking to the CEOs and heads of companies of brands and branding. There is a lot of ‘educating’ work to do. People think that a brand is something that you draw on a package, but of course our view is much bigger than that. We have our senior people down here and are discussing various topics. I have also been having discussions through my colleagues here with some top businessmen and large companies. However, I cannot reveal about them at the moment.
Any announcements or developments that we can expect?
You can expect an announcement any moment you feel like it, but I can’t say when there would there be any announcements. It would take some time, but I am very optimistic that in a relatively short period we will be talking about several businesses.
Saffron started its business with two clients – Apollo Tyres and Bajaj. Any new business/clients bagged lately?
Yes, besides Apollo and Bajaj we have added the Leela Hotel Group. There are a few more that we are working on, however, we can’t talk about them. And I think within 2-3 months we will be announcing two or three more businesses.
Q.
I think you have to look at these things from a rather longer term point of view than one year or two years. It is quite evident that the time has come when the balance of economic and cultural power is shifting and will continue to shift from the dominations of the Western economies and cultures, and there will be equal balance between India and China. That has started to happen. Whether it takes two years or 20 years is another matter. It will take time.
The key issue for India, which I feel very strongly about, is that Indian product and services should very largely be seen coming from India. One of the biggest weaknesses that China has (which India does not have) is that although it has a huge manufacturing base, almost all the brands that the Chinese make are not their brands, but are somebody else’s brands. However, the situation in India is different. The best Indian companies in the world – Infosys, Wipro, Tata and a few others – are all known to be Indian.
If you associate that brand with the country of origin, it can have a huge beneficial effect. For example, Mercedes Benz derives its strength from being seen to be German, while Tata is ‘beginning’ to derive strength from being seen to be from India, same goes for Infosys. But as the Indian economy develops further and more Indian products emerge, it is pertinent that Indian companies are seen to underline the country of origin, because that would give added value in the market place. Instead of manufacturing for a third party under someone else’s name, you manufacture under your own name and talk about the country of origin – whether they are medical or pharmaceutical products or beer, like Kingfisher, which is seen as an Indian beer in the UK. So, I feel Indian companies should focus on stressing on the country of origin. And that is not something many other emerging nations are sophisticated enough to understand. Now, the branding process enables the company to project the idea of its own brand and to make a point that it is an Indian product and, therefore, designed within a market place which is extremely demanding and where the competition is very fierce, along with cultural characteristics that are very particular.
Q. When Saffron was launched in India, you had desired to work with the banking and insurance sectors, among others. Do you see it going anywhere?
Q. On the reason for setting up the venture in India, you had mentioned that it was clear that the hegemony that the western markets had enjoyed till now was breaking down. It’s no news to anyone that India and China are moving ahead very quickly. Could you brief us on the current situation.
I think you have to look at these things from a rather longer term point of view than one year or two years. It is quite evident that the time has come when the balance of economic and cultural power is shifting and will continue to shift from the dominations of the Western economies and cultures, and there will be equal balance between India and China. That has started to happen. Whether it takes two years or 20 years is another matter. It will take time.
The key issue for India, which I feel very strongly about, is that Indian product and services should very largely be seen coming from India. One of the biggest weaknesses that China has (which India does not have) is that although it has a huge manufacturing base, almost all the brands that the Chinese make are not their brands, but are somebody else’s brands. However, the situation in India is different. The best Indian companies in the world – Infosys, Wipro, Tata and a few others – are all known to be Indian.
If you associate that brand with the country of origin, it can have a huge beneficial effect. For example, Mercedes Benz derives its strength from being seen to be German, while Tata is ‘beginning’ to derive strength from being seen to be from India, same goes for Infosys. But as the Indian economy develops further and more Indian products emerge, it is pertinent that Indian companies are seen to underline the country of origin, because that would give added value in the market place. Instead of manufacturing for a third party under someone else’s name, you manufacture under your own name and talk about the country of origin – whether they are medical or pharmaceutical products or beer, like Kingfisher, which is seen as an Indian beer in the UK. So, I feel Indian companies should focus on stressing on the country of origin. And that is not something many other emerging nations are sophisticated enough to understand. Now, the branding process enables the company to project the idea of its own brand and to make a point that it is an Indian product and, therefore, designed within a market place which is extremely demanding and where the competition is very fierce, along with cultural characteristics that are very particular.
Q. Nowadays, several ad agencies have started their individual design cells within the agency. What are you views on the same?
If you look at the major communication groups like WPP, Omnicom or Publicis, all of them have branding consultancies. They may have had advertising agencies that produce design, but they have big branding consultancies. If they didn’t need them, they would not have had them.
However, advertising agencies launching design cells happens everywhere. When we started in Spain 30 years ago, it was very difficult for us to get business. Why? Because ad agencies would do everything for the clients. We were then appointed for major petrol retails and our job was about making the petrol station completely different. Making the people within the station behave and perform in a different way, and of course, redesigning. And we did that. No advertising agency could have possibly done that. At most, they would have done the symbol or the logo, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Advertising needs to create ad campaigns. So, I would suggest that they stick to what they know best and let other people do what they know best.
In what ways are corporate social responsibility (CSR) and branding currently colliding?
They don’t collide at all. One of the brands that I can name is Red Cross. The point is that brands are associated with consumerism, but not all brands are about consumerism. They are used by people for all kinds of things. If a charity or an NGO decided to use branding very powerfully, then the brand will be associated to CSR.
