Brands
Vodafone & WhatsApp take local language initiative
MUMBAI: One of the leading telecom operators is looking to promote and educate customers about the local language features and has rolled out an animated step-by-step approach to handhold customers.
Vodafone India, one of India’s leading telecommunications service providers, together with WhatsApp is happy to educate millions of users to use the app in local India languages. Vodafone is one of the first operators to start such an initiative and aims to empower its consumers to connect with each other in a language of their preference.
Today, WhatsApp is available in more than 50 different languages around the world. The app currently has over 200 million monthly active users in India, using 10 Indian languages.
To drive the adoption of the newly introduced local language feature on WhatsApp, Vodafone has built customized pages in various Indian languages (Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil among others). The interface on the page is built with an animated step-by-step approach displaying the option of changing to different Indian languages while chatting. This makes setting up the local language option for WhatsApp on Vodafone a simple matter of a few clicks. Updating status, chatting or even sharing messages in the language of the customer’s choice is possible. With a simple click, consumers can even install WhatsApp.
Vodafone India chief commercial officer Sandeep Kataria said, “We see it as a big step towards empowering the next one billion internet users. It is also in keeping with our philosophy of connecting for good. We believe that local language support is a clear area of focus for us, and we see this campaign with WhatsApp as a step in the right direction.”
“Together with Vodafone, we want to make communication more accessible and convenient in India,” says WhatsApp vice president Neeraj Arora. “People can easily use WhatsApp in the Indian language of their choice to connect with friends and family anytime and anywhere. Language choice is an important feature for our users and we are happy to stand together with Vodafone on this education initiative that makes messaging on WhatsApp an even better experience.”
Brands
Godrej clarifies ‘GI’ identifier after logo similarity debate
Says GI is not a logo, will not replace Godrej signature across products.
MUMBAI: In a branding storm where shapes did the talking, Godrej is now spelling things out. Godrej Industries Group (GIG) has issued a clarification on its newly introduced ‘GI’ identifier, addressing questions around its purpose and design following a wave of online criticism. At the centre of the debate were two concerns: whether the new mark replaces the long-standing Godrej logo, and whether its geometric design mirrors other corporate identities.
The company has drawn a clear line. The Godrej signature logo, it said, remains unchanged and continues to be the sole logo across all consumer-facing products and services. The ‘GI’ mark, by contrast, is not a logo but a corporate group identifier intended for use alongside the Godrej signature or company name, and aimed at stakeholders such as investors, media and talent rather than consumers.
The need for such a distinction stems from the 2024 restructuring of the broader Godrej Group into two separate business entities. With both continuing to operate under the same Godrej name and signature, the identifier is positioned as a way to differentiate the Godrej Industries Group at a corporate level.
The rollout, however, triggered a broader conversation on design originality. Critics pointed to similarities between the GI mark’s geometric composition and logos used by companies globally, raising questions about distinctiveness.
Responding to this, GIG said its intellectual property and legal review found that such overlaps are common in minimalist, geometry-led design systems. Basic forms such as circles and rectangles appear across dozens of brand identities worldwide, the company noted.
It added that the identifier emerged from an extensive design process and was chosen for its simplicity, allowing it to sit alongside the Godrej signature without competing visually. While acknowledging that elemental shapes may appear less distinctive in isolation, the group emphasised that the mark is part of a broader identity system that includes a custom typeface, sonic branding and other proprietary elements.
Following legal and ethical assessments, the company said it found no impediment to using the identifier, reiterating that the GI mark is a corporate tool not a consumer-facing symbol.
In short, the logo isn’t changing but the conversation around it certainly has.
