MAM
Changing the branding game
MUMBAI: Britain based brand consultancy Wolff Olins has released a report titled ‘Game Changers’ that talks about the five behaviours that are changing the future of the business.
Conducted across 500 people and 14 countries, the study examines today’s high-growth businesses and tries to understand what sets them apart. It also explores how some companies like Tata, Unilever, Hero, Adani, Ashok Leyland, Google, Skype, General Electronics, Microsoft and Tata Docomo are changing the way the game is played and thereby shaping the future of business.
The Game Changers report talk about how five laws of branding have been morphed to cater to the contemporary paradigm based on five new realities based on the consumer-brand relationship.
While according to the old methods of branding ‘the mission of branding is to defend a positioning’, the new law states that a brand needs to ‘define its purpose beyond profit.’ This new definition is based on the reality that there is a shift in attidues from businesses being ‘corporate citadels’ to becoming ‘corporate citizens’. The Edelman Good Purpose study conducted in 2010 also revealed that 86 per cent global citizens gave equal importance to the business interests of a company and it contribution to the society.
Similarly, the role of branding in persuasion is also changing. While earlier branding was meant to persuade people to buy the product/service, the present day TG has transformed into a creator from his role as a consumer. According to the Game Changers study, 25 per cent of leaders believe that the the company’s usefulness is more important than the growth factor while 40 per cent believe in offering consumers flexibility and personalization options in order to be more useful to them.
In other words, the thrust has shifted from making people want things to making things people want. Thus, from a persuasion tool, the focus is now on making the brand a useful platform where people can come and do things and interact.
The third guideline of branding that is now seen as obsolete is ‘the essence of branding Is consistency.’ The new reality is that brands are now changing from steady state to constant revolution. The study also states that the developing markets are more adventurous when it comes to experimentation. Thirty four per cent Asian market leaders are confident that experimenting with the brand will result in growth.
Take for example Google. The search engine’s homepage is in a state of flux as the ‘Google doodle’ changes from time to time to commemorate events, remember people and celebrate occasions. A similar thing is observed in case of retail as a tweak in the store design or the brand communication is sure to grab eyeballs and initiate conversations about the brand. The new law, thus, states, ‘use your brand to constantly innovate.’
The fourth postulate of branding that has evolved through time deals with ownership. The old concept of ownership of brand stated that branding is about asserting ownership. The new age branding mantra, however, reads, ‘share your brand and be boundayless.’
This shift can be attributed to the fact that brands are increasingly adopting the constellation model of organization from the corporate model. Be it Amazon or the Android technology, these companies are made of clusters of small to medium sized entrepreneurs who are also users and the combined efforts of these entities make the brand strong. The survey states that highly networked enterprises have 50 per cent more chances of gaining market share as opposed to their less networked competitors and also report higher profit margins.
Lastly, the idea of controlling the brand is becoming disregarded with speed. The evolved notion with regards to control of the brand is that creativity is more important than strategy. Fifty four per cent of CEOs said that creating new business models is a priority in their company’s innovation portfolios. This model is already followed by the likes of microblogging site Twitter and Lego. In case of the former, many features on the site have been developed by users. Hence, the new law with regards to controlling the brand is to use it to inspire new ways to be value creative.
In summary, the old concept of using a brand for positioning, persuasion, consistency, ownership and control is now being replaced by making it purposeful, useful, experimental, boundaryless and value-creative. In other words, many terms related to branding will see a sea change. For example has been has become could be, differentiation is being replaced by relevance, positioning has taken a back seat and the role a brand plays in the society has take center stage and cost is secondary and value is important.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
