Revamping Brand Identity Through Local Art
- Bhavya Sinha
- Jan 26
- 6 min read
Have you seen those brand who boast about their heritage and stay connected to their roots ? Both service-wise and visually ? They immediately spark a longing in the hearts of those who belong to those lands. Make them feel more connected to the brand by giving them a factor of nostalgia. That is what these the branding aims towards in their brand identity - the memories, the lost connection, the childhood vibes which everyone wants to relive once !
Incorporating these emotions into branding is a trend which cannot be ignored by anyone. If you wish to speak to the customer, speak it in their language. And what better language than the art itself. The power of incorporating local art is an important tool for the brand owners to penetrate the areas where generic branding won’t. And what incentive would a local art enthusiast have to buy if not for the unique way representing his or her culture ?
The Cultural Connection in you Brand Identity
If you portray your brand can absorb culture , then the rate at which it will be absorbed in crowd will be drastically affected. For example , and the biggest one i feel is the brands writing their name in Kannada language in Bangalore. Most names are in Bengali in West Bengal. Think how Google does it ? It changes ‘Google’ logo based on the festival around the corner , or if the country has achieved a milestone ! That is the biggest way one can accommodate any culture into their brand.
The biggest and the most important advantage of this trend is the respect you portray towards the particular region . Mind you , extensive amount of research goes in the background to get to the final branding idea. This isn’t a mindless activity , rather showing how your product/service is good for the region , or how your product can use it ! When someone understands the advert or branding in their language/style/colours , they immediately connect with it. That , my friend , is the advantage of the cultural incorporation.
But how will a brand achieve cultural incorporation ?
Many brands use different , even more than one , to portray cultural inclusion. Take for instance Google’s search page. Does the Google logo remain same or they tweak the logo a little based on the local/regional/national/international celebration ? Yes , they do tweak . The tweaks are so good that they conduct competitions for artists to showcase their talent , hence becoming a big platform for cultural and artistic promotion.
There are other examples for this as well. For instance , every mobile app now has a small red hat on their icon during Christmas , a diya on Diwali and fireworks around New Year’s celebration. The theme of the app also changes , like snowfall animation to promote Christmas. This is the beginning of incorporating culture over a mass level . But what about the regional levels like small towns , suburban areas ? They might have least bit of interest in your brand if you are just thinking about using Diwali , Christmas , etc to promote cultural inclusion .
Let me show you one Lay’s chips packet. Lay’s is a PepsiCo product with flavour variations according to the country and even local regions. Just recently , I released an article of how PepsiCo launched their new logo in Sri Lanka using murals made by local artists. This is exactly the kind of promotion we are talking about , and PepsiCo has executed their campaign of the same. They commissioned artists like Ravihansa Ravi , Hasna Hussain , etc. to create beautiful murals all around the country with PepsiCo branding to attract attention. The murals were strategically placed to catch anyone’s eye (also because they were so brilliant !) and the new logo accompanied them. You can read the article here. So this brings us to our first way - commission local artists for an even deeper branding.
1) Local Artists for Your Brand
Using local artists to promote your brand is a simple yet effective way. The artist who resides locally in the area knows key insights to what people like and dislike , what might catch their eye and what not to do to not hurt their sentiments. The best way to speak any regions language is to know their art , their culture .
Incorporate small elements like either their alphabet or the pattern which makes that region famous - this could be crucial for any fashion brand which is looking to deep dive in any region. Look for the colours or for any food which is the speciality of that region - Lay’s usually does two things 1) include art in their packaging & 2) they play with the flavour of the chips. Hence as a brand designer you should be aware of the local customs , traditions , preferences , etc of the region to start designing your brand variation. This is what the artists, who dwell locally, help with. The art style, maybe an element which matches with your vibe or a modern version of the same can be what they can propose. If the artists is locally famous that helps in promotion via collaboration. Such partnerships benefit the brand showing their openness for new cultures and the respect you hold for it.
2) Visual Storytelling
Has anyone seen the latest PepsiCo CGI in China ? It is a prime example of how PepsiCo has incorporated China’s endangered species of Pandas and the bamboo which is the symbol of prosperity in the Chinese culture. I’ll leave a link for you here. Or how Google just now changed the ‘Google’ to the picture below on India’s Republic Day? See how they explained it here.
The good style of showcasing the regional inclusion in brand is to tell the ‘why’. This question is best answered by a story to share. ‘How your brand reached to this decision of having this specific region to be included in the branding?’ or ‘why did you decide to branch out to this?’. The story will not necessarily show a complete start to finish of the idea. A compelling story might just show one incidence or a text line and voila! You have the answer. The power of storytelling is unmatched. You can cater to your brand’s values or not your target audience and at the same time you can celebrate the local regions culture and tradition.
3) What more can you do?
The best way for you to jump into the local art world of a region is go for art-focussed social media campaigns. There will be numerous gallery openings, art festivals and merchandise materials which will promote your brand through local art. Think about the messaging you want to send across from your brand and how best it can be perceived by the people of that region. Then work on the local colour palette and the patterns or motifs with your logo and the typeface.
Like I mentioned a little while ago, this is best done with the help of local artists or artists who specialise in the local art. Commission murals or installations in your company office and keep the popular local phrases with your brand aesthetic and you are more or less done with it. This all to help you get started with the local inclusion. Once you get the hang of the idea, you get a better understanding of how you can better navigate and what helps your brand grow and what doesn’t.
Measure the Impact
Now when all is done and executed, what one should do is observe. Observe how your brand’s perception has changed and how your social media is working. If the demographic response from that particular region has started spiking, then you are on the right path. Also, look for :
What are the comments saying about your new services and how happy people are?
What did they like he most?
Can you improvise it further?
What is the best course of action to promote and get all of your services accepted?
These are some questions which you should be able to answer after your campaigns and initiatives are in place.
Now time for another unsolicited big-sis advice which I can give is you need be prepared to handle some negative feedbacks. Don’t let them get your spirits down. Take them as a learning and incorporate it in your campaigns or be ready to accept the pointers and think about what went wrong and how can you change it.
Good luck for the next campaign ! Do tell me how it goes !
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