TDC Live Takeover hosted a session with Anthony Lopez, Founder and Chief Creative Director, Lopez Design and Amarendra Sahu, CEO and Founder of Nestaway. The theme of the session was Rethinking Branding and Communication Design. Here are some excerpts from the conversation between Lopez and Sahu, who converted from a doubter to a complete believer in branding.
AL: Why rebrand Nestaway when your business was not so bad?
AS: I was initially skeptical, as I perceived branding just as clickbaits. In the digital era, a firm’s identity often gets reduced to just pictures, videos and content. We don’t get to know an organisation’s true values. But I also believe ‘Design can do magic’ and I am fond of well-designed products. With Lopez Design, there was a chance of creating an authentic brand and telling a persuasive story at NestAway.
AL: How did your skepticism and perception about branding change after your interaction with Lopez Design?
AS: It is imperative for a business to find their soul. This is truly an out-of-body experience and I now truly believe in the process. My earlier notion of having a cute logo, colors and some advertisements thrown in was a colloquial understanding based on my MBA background. This project evolved well beyond that. The program has added a layered and nuanced meaning to the brand. It helped us communicate who we are, what we care about, and what can be clearly expected from us and well — what we won’t do!
AL: How is integration of design an important tool in everything Nestaway does, and how did you get all the stakeholders aligned?
AS: Design is like philosophy. Like good habits makes one a better individual long term, but can you measure what it gets you? The importance of authenticity in brand expression is ultimate for its standing out of the crowd in the market. This creates a solid differentiating factor for times to come. With an omnipresent and flexible identity, the pain of promoting a brand through stock images gets diminished. That gives us a distinctive financial advantage.
Even if the merits of design are arguable - some believe more and others believe less — you have to believe in what you are doing. In a team, if one fears the other fears, but if there is one brave person everyone roots for him.
AL: What about the business value of design? Nestaway has invested reasonable amounts of resources – what is the quantifiable value branding has added to the business?
AS: It’s phenomenal to have a young Indian brand connecting with its audience effortlessly on various subjects from World Cup, same-sex marriage and memes. This is absolutely priceless for me. Quantifiably, the communications have reached over 107 million people. If you put a price tag on each view as 1 dollar, I’ve saved 107 million dollars for buying eyeballs.
The new brand Identity for Nestaway is so flexible that people carry it effortlessly and love to express themselves through the brand. Its sheer power of good design has driven consumers to the brand merchandise with a wonderful sense of belonging.
See the full case at our website http://lopezdesign.com/project/nestaway
Watch the full video @TDC
Edited by Sujatha Shankar Kumar
Further reads:
Behavior change for life not life-style