Brands
Brands and their digital-first avatars
NEW DELHI: We are the natives of a digital world. Most of the resources that were earlier physical for us have turned into pouches of kilobytes and megabytes; be it our photographs, watches, or music systems. Wrapped in a screen of five inches, a big part of our hobbies, our jobs, and our social communications are now soldered onto motherboards.
Quick to react, the marketing industry shifted a big chunk of their annual spends to digital platforms. In India alone, the digital marketing industry is growing by more than 30 per cent annually. Not just advertising, a lot of brands have been investing in revamping their identities for a digital world.
Last year, the industry noticed a lot of brands, including big names like Mastercard and Doritos, doing away with names in their logos and sticking to just their symbols. The brands argued that simpler logos appeal better to GenZ, who do not prefer over-the-top marketing and a loud brand presence.
This year, brands like Volkswagen, Durex, and Cadbury started another trend, called flattening of their logos. They are getting rid of any 3D elements in their logo design and shifting to bolder, simpler typefaces. Again, the wish is to connect better with a younger audience.
Madison BMB CEO and chief creative officer Raj Nair says: “There has been, particularly in the last five odd years, a multitude of companies going in for a revamp of their logo/identity. These include companies that owe their origins to the online world as well as traditional companies, which primarily conduct their business in the offline world. So you have online natives like Google, Pinterest, Airbnb, Spotify and GoDaddy that have conducted this exercise as well as traditional giants like Cadbury, Durex and Volkswagen that have also undergone a change.”
However, more than appealing to a younger audience, reshaping of logos make a great sense for the mobile-dominated world of today.
DDB Mudra Group NCD Rahul Mathew explains: “Brands have to adapt to the world their consumers live in, and logos are a big part of every brand’s identity. As more and more of brand engagement, research and even purchase are moving from the physical world to the digital one, brands are also evaluating what they can or should carry with them. Their 3D logos are like massive four-poster beds that have looked beautiful where they have been living but are a pain to move.”
He adds: “2D logos are much more flexible. The absence of shadows and gradients makes it easy to use them across platforms and formats. The minimalism also makes digital assets easier on the eye and more recognisable.”
Google was, probably, one of the first brands to react to this need. It came with a revamped identity in the year 2015, bringing down the size of its digital logo from 14,000 bytes to only 305 bytes. Back then, in a blog post, the technology giant had revealed that the move was made to make the logo look good on small screens. According to experts, it also made easy to load on the devices of those living in remote locations, possibly with slow internet speeds.
And, additionally, this restructuring of logos for a digital world can open up a plethora of opportunities for the martech companies.
According to a machine learning engineer, it is easier for machines to identify 2D logos from a low-resolution image as compared to a 3D image, as the number of vectors is lesser in the former, not taking into account other external factors. This might allow martech companies to scan user images from online sources and create a better database for better-targeted marketing.
Havas Group India chairman and chief creative officer Bobby Pawar elaborates: “Flat logos are simpler and generally more easily identifiable. They are easier to reproduce without losing anything across all touchpoints, platforms, and user interfaces. It, therefore, will (help in creating richer databases for marketing).”
Brands and marketers are thinking digital-first these days, thus, creating a vast playfield for martech companies to innovate and come with solutions that can utilise these opportunities. On the other hand, it is equally important for platforms and governments to safeguard user data as the technology is making it easier to access by alien parties. However, whatever may be the individual discourse from here, the world is surely entering into an exciting data-dominated phase of unusual marketing opportunities, which will be a delight to observe.
Brands
Honasa’s Varun Alagh targets next Rs 500 crore brands as profit doubles
Profit doubles as Mamaearth rebounds and new labels race to scale
MUMBAI: Honasa Consumer’s co-founder and chief executive officer Varun Alagh has set his sights on building the company’s next crop of Rs 500 crore brands, as the beauty and personal care firm delivered record revenue and nearly doubled its profit.
The Mamaearth parent reported revenue of Rs 602 crore, up 21.7 per cent year on year, with volume growth of 30 per cent. Ebitda rose to Rs 66 crore at a margin of 10.9 per cent, while profit after tax reached its highest-ever quarterly level.
“We have delivered our highest-ever quarterly revenue and almost doubled our PAT,” Alagh said. “The fundamentals we have rebuilt over the past few quarters are clearly delivering outcomes.”
With Mamaearth back to double-digit growth and The Derma Co sustaining strong momentum, Alagh believes the next wave of brands is ready to step up.
“It’s a race to become the next Rs 500 crore brand,” he said. “Reginald Men, Dr. Sheth’s, BBlunt, even Staze in colour cosmetics, each of them has the right to win in its category.”
Honasa’s portfolio of young brands grew more than 25 per cent during the quarter. The Derma Co, its science-led skincare label, has now achieved double-digit Ebitda margins and continues to gain share in sunscreen and actives-based skincare.
Mamaearth, once the company’s sole growth engine, has returned to the teens in year-on-year growth after a strategic reset.
“We focused on superior formulations, sharper communication and six core categories,” Alagh said. “We are seeing strong share gains, not just growth riding the market.”
Importantly, over 90 per cent of Mamaearth’s growth came from existing distributors and large retail partners, reflecting stronger consumer pull rather than mere expansion of reach.
From a channel perspective, e-commerce grew over 20 per cent, while general trade and modern trade delivered more than 25 per cent growth in secondary sales. Direct distribution now contributes nearly 80 per cent of revenue.
Honasa has also made a calculated entry into men’s skincare with the acquisition of Hyderabad-based Reginald Men. Alagh believes the category is at an inflection point.
“In the last two to three years, we’ve seen searches for ‘sunscreen for men’ and ‘face wash for men’ grow multi-fold,” he said. “Men want multi-benefit products without complicated regimes.”
Beyond category expansion, the acquisition strengthens Honasa’s footprint in South India and broadens its talent base.
The company reiterated its target of expanding Ebitda margins by around 100 basis points annually.
“Our endeavour is to unlock at least 100 basis points every year through a mix of A&P efficiency and overhead leverage,” said chief financial officer Raman Preet Sohi.
While advertising spends in absolute terms have risen, improved effectiveness has driven percentage efficiencies. Gross margins remained broadly stable, with guidance to maintain levels above 70 per cent.
With legacy FMCG giants sharpening their digital play and acquiring new-age brands, Alagh remained unfazed.
“Competition is not new to us,” he said. “We were born in categories where much larger players existed. The real value gets created when you focus on the consumer and where the consumer is moving.”
For Honasa, that focus now extends beyond one hero brand. As Alagh put it, the company is not content with a single success story. It wants a stable of them, each marching towards the Rs 500 crore mark.
