Brands
Deepti Sampat has transitioned to Air India following Vistara merger
MUMBAI: Deepti Sampat has officially transitioned to the role of vice president marketing at Air India, following the merger of Vistara and Air India. Her shift to Air India took place in November, but because this was not reported earlier, we are posting it now.
Having spent over five years at Vistara as VP-marketing, , Sampat reflects on her journey, expressing gratitude to her colleagues and the customers who supported the airline, helping build it into a strong brand within Indian aviation. She earlier has had stints with Oberoi group, tripadvisor, Expedia, Talent Edge, and finally Vistara. In various roles.
Sampat’s rich educational background includes an MBA in marketing from the Indian Institute of Planning and Management, and a certificate in business strategy from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Her career trajectory spans multiple senior marketing roles, showcasing her expertise in driving brand strategy and customer experience in highly competitive markets.
Her tenure at Vistara was marked by numerous accolades.As she embarks on this new chapter at Air India, Sampat aims to leverage her extensive experience to enhance marketing initiatives and further elevate the airline’s service standards in the Indian aviation sector.
This new appointment emphasises Air India’s commitment to strengthening its brand identity while integrating the values and services of Vistara into its operations.
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.
