Branding and Retail Trends for 2016

With a new beginning of the year 2016, I-AM India has compiled some emerging trends within the branding and retail sectors that will help businesses build a successful brand and offer a seamless brand experience. Branding is not just a placement of identities or of “logos” in print, online, television, OOH or any other medium. The concept of branding stems from defining the target and mining a definite insight to arrive at a brand core or brand essence. Very often businesses say they want a logo without arriving at a brand core. A brand core, well thought through, will let you define the look, feel, colors, fonts, sound/audio to arrive at an identity. This identity then leads you to arrive at a visual language and tone of voice that is very distinctively recognizable as the face of your brand and by extension – branding of your product or services .

I’m a denim kinda gal, and always have been. Ever since I could remember, I was fascinated with this fabric. My first “adult clothing purchase” when I was 12 was a pair of low rise, glamorous (or so I thought) studded bell bottom jeans from Forever21. They fit like a dream, I could pair them with anything and everything knowing they would always look great, and they could be worn in the summer or the dead of winter in the snow. They were my go to for all occasions, and that’s when I knew denim and I would become very, very good friends in this life. Needless to say my love affair with this timeless, versatile material continued into adulthood. I started collecting jeans like it was my job, then I moved on to denim shorts, jackets, tops, skirts… you get the idea. One whole section in my wardrobe is currently dedicated to denim, and when I don’t know what to wear, I throw on a good pair of jeans and a t-shirt and basically feel womanly and sexy and comfort

Food is an integral part of any good trip; it tells you about the culture, the landscape and traditions of the local people. It’s the ultimate pleasure giver, and there’s nothing quite like the feeling of seeing a waiter walk towards your table, arms full of plates as your stomach grumbles in approval. A good meal in a foreign land is an experience in itself, and for me a huge focal point when I plan holidays. But with so many mediocre restaurants and reviews on major sites pointing you straight to them (since they tend to be in the main touristy areas), how do you find the true gems? The kinds of meals you think about for years after and try to recreate every chance you get. The kind of food that comes to mind at midnight on a random Tuesday when you just want something that hits the spot. Here are my tips for finding some of the best meals you’ll have in your lifetime. 1.Do your research Winging it doesn’t really work when it comes to good restaurants, except

CSR imperatives are mandated for organisations of certain sizes, but leveraging the right CSR activity that builds on what the brand stands for, adds a valuable dimension to an organisation’s brand building effort. Food brands for example could help farmers through pricing, training or any other avenue they see fit. There are brands like TOMS that have built their offering around a social cause. When a consumer purchases a pair of shoes for themselves, TOMS provides a pair of shoes to a child in need. This gesture not only mitigates consumer guilt over an extravagant purchase but also builds on the do good, feel good factor of buying into the brand. This also generates conversations around the brand. These trends we have forecast for India are at a basic level since we foresee these as the first ones to change in the coming year. The higher-order experiences within the above trends will be the next steps in the coming years. Our Brand Communications team believes i

Localising the offering While overall the brand and its experience should be a constant across geographies, one needs to tweak elements of the marketing and service mix to suit the needs of the local market. Building brand affinity can be enhanced by adding an element of comfort and familiarity in the branding and space design in order to connect emotionally with your consumers. Starbucks adds an element of localisation not only in tweaking its product offering to suits local market sensitivities and tastes but also infuses local cultural elements within its retail space enhancing the consumer’s comfort levels while encouraging repeat visits. Our Brand Communications team believes in doing things differently, specialising in below-the-line marketing strategies that get your brand noticed, talked about and remembered through bespoke campaigns – think pop-up stores, guerrilla retail campaigns and unique brand experiences. We focus on building brand communities t