It’s important to balance legacy & future: Prasoon Joshi on Air India rebranding

Air India, with its recent brand revamp, is looking at a future or a window of great possibilities, said Prasoon Joshi, Chairman McCann WorldGroup Asia and CEO & CCO McCann Worldgroup India.

Speaking to exchange4media about the brand refresh, Joshi said the revamp came at a time when there is new hope in the country. “You look at the youth, the startups… the whole energy of India now is to look into the future. Right now, there is a whole new belief and self-assuredness in the country,” he shared.

The Tata Group-promoted airline assigned its advertising and marketing communications mandate to McCann Worldgroup India after a multi-agency pitch in June this year. The agency was mandated to develop a new brand platform and a range of multichannel marketing communication for the airline. Joshi led the pitch. The agency then crafted the ad film to support the brand revamp.

During the unveiling of the new brand identity on Thursday, N Chandrasekaran – Chairman, Tata Sons and Air India, in his speech mentioned how the brand is looking forward to deploying the best of AI, more than any other airline. Joshi seconds that and shared that going forward, digital will indeed play a very important role in the brand communication for Air India. He highlighted that in today’s era, communication has to be more about informing and inspiring people. “And in this journey of informing and inspiring people, digital will play a key role,” he added. 

He also clarified, “But apart from communication, the chairman was also referring to how the brand Air India as a whole would function.”

When it all started

The agency, since the beginning, was very passionate about associating with Air India. Joshi mentioned that the legacy and nostalgia that Air India brought with itself was a key driver of this passion. “As an advertising professional, I was very excited to contribute to this,” he said.

Joshi comes with years of expertise being a storyteller and he feels that within Air India, there lies a great story to tell. “There’s a story of legacy, there’s a story of transformation which makes it all the more great,” he shared.

The association between Air India and McCann Worldgroup seems to fit just right. “Air India has been, for years, deeply rooted in the Indian consumers' hearts. McCann Worldgroup as an agency takes pride in its understanding of India,” Joshi mentioned, as he explained how McCann is more of a deeply local agency with a global brand name.

He feels that this level of understanding of the country and the ability to be able to figure out where India is headed played an important role in this partnership.

The need to evolve

Joshi feels that a brand resides in the minds of the consumer. “It is a narrative and needs to keep evolving. A great brand is always co-created with the consumer, a brand cannot work in isolation,” he said.

Air India’s CEO & MD Campbell Wilson had mentioned in a press release that the brand is in the midst of a total transformation to reimagine the role of India’s flagship airline. In a constantly transforming world, what’s more important than transforming oneself to remain in sync with the consumers, he had said.

Joshi feels the same. The need for brands to remain in sync with consumers is what will get them going, he opined.

However, along with keeping up with the transformational journey, Joshi cautioned that one needs to be able to maintain a balance between legacy and the future – two words that are core to Air India today.

If you were to ask whether there’s anything called a perfect time to evolve, then there’s nothing called a calculated time, it’s more like an instinctive time, said Joshi.

Flying with the new Air India

The plans, post this revamp, Joshi shared, is to take cognizance of the reality; what people’s expectations and experiences are. “We no longer live in a world where there is just one-way communication. Gone are the days, when we used to release the ad, people used to watch it but there would be no way to know what they felt about it,” he said.

“Today is a time where brands instantly get to know about it and it helps only when they take cognizance of the reality,” he added.

To surmise, Joshi advised that when a brand chooses to undergo such revamps, it should always ensure that it has a grip on the pulse of the consumer. The growth is a constant process, he mentioned.

“Airline especially is something which is constantly experienced by people and is also something that connects people. For instance, Air India connects India to the world and world to India. So, if you have the pulse of the people, I am sure you will reach where you should,” he concluded.