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| Consumer Feedback |
Concerted Attempt - It was in early 1996 that Wipro contacted Shombit Sengupta, an Indian based in Paris for exploring the possibility of working on Santoor. However, upon seeing the details of the organization, he came up with the need for developing Wipro as a brand. In the very first meeting he proposed Wipro to stand for "Essential to Intelligence", thereby being able to integrate all its products and services. It was a "ray of hope". Excitement built up.
The Breakthrough Consumer Research – A core team, whose mandate was to give a new look to an old brand, selected 11 values for the Brand, 4 positioning statements and 5 logos for the purpose of extensive consumer and customer research. It was one of the largest qualitative researches ever done with 52 extended focus groups and 28 depth interviews in January / February 1997 .The methodology used was that of semiotic (science of symbols and colours). The research spanned the whole of the country, both urban and rural, from housewives to head of IT departments of various organizations. The research attempted to find the "Perceived" value and the "Potential" value of the brand. The objectives were:
- Find awareness and understanding of Wipro and other competitive organizations.
- Find reactions to values, logos and positioning statement in an organizational context and in Wipro's context.
The research was a break through. The consumers univocally supported the Rainbow flower logo and the line Applying Thought. The values which were seen as meshing with Wipro and which could take Wipro into the future could be summarized as Human Values, Value for Money and Innovative Solutions. Integrity was a basic consumer expectation from any large organization and internally "Integrity" was so well seeped into every Wiproite that logic demanded it become the fourth value.
Research Output - Research brought to the fore certain key issues very starkly. Consumers viewed Wipro as an organization, which was
- Small, not so reputed - no saliency
- Not integrated – there was no strong linkage between different businesses
- Not warm nor was easy to do business with
- Not associated with any visual mnemonic
- Not dynamic, seen as a “me-too” organization
This was worrisome. The silver lining was that all these pertained to the lack of communication with the customer. This could be corrected easily . It was clear that the diversity of Wipro gave a fragmented knowledge and value for the brand. A common visual identity was thus needed to convey what Wipro stood for and an Identity needed to be created which would clearly communicate the deliverables of the brand.
The Uncut Diamond - There were positive aspects also. Wipro was seen as a trying company, makers of good products with positive associations. However it was not well known. In fact it was the mythical elephant, which the four blind men were meeting for the first time. To the housewife in Agra it was a maker of Shikakai soaps, to the doctor in Mumbai it was a joint venture with GE, to the IT professional in Bangalore, it was a PC company. To the common man however, when presented with all the products and services of the company, it was an impressive being. The diversification added to the strengths and gave the image of a large company. As one consumer said - "It is an uncut diamond, you just need to cut it and polish it (communicate internal strengths) and you have a great organization".
The solution to the ‘elephant problem’ was simple. Wipro had to be an Umbrella Brand. Wipro was envisaged as a Corporate Brand Name i.e. the company and the brand are the same. This umbrella brand name was an advantage because:
- It helped synergize the strengths of the different business units under a single brand name
- It helped reduce the cost of maintaining multiple brands
- It gave a consistency to the Brand Image and enhanced the same
- It helped in developing sub-brands under the umbrella brand thereby lowering cost of new brand/product launches
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