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| Launching the new Wipro Identity |
The Wipro Personality
The entire process of relaunch essentially carved out a unique brand personality for Wipro. The Wipro Promise of Applying Thought and the four values which govern Wipro, carve out a unique personality for the brand.
Wipro is a trustworthy, humane and successful corporation focused on consumer needs, offering a variety of products, solutions and services that fulfils those needs, keeping in mind the socio economic realities of the country.
Wipro is also a competent, honest and significant business partner and employer, that places a premium on long term, mutually beneficial relationships and offers strong growth opportunities with an inspiring work and business atmosphere.
Internal Communication
A mammoth task by itself as the organization was 8000 people strong, spread across various locations. Till this time only the top management consisting of about 15 people knew the details. Hence, sixty senior managers of Wipro were briefed in February 1998.
In April 1998, started the communication reaching out to all locations starting with Amalner in Maharashtra (where Wipro had started operations). A majority of the people liked the change. As Azim Premji put it "You can either like the identity or dislike the identity but you cannot ignore it. We have done a lot of research and due diligence on the change. We are confident that it will do well. Now only the market and time will tell us whether we made the right decision."
An Identity Manual was created to communicate the new Identity and the Values within the organization. Guidelines for product packaging, stationary, visiting cards, car stickers, and signages internally and externally were developed. Advertising guidelines followed later. This helped create the whole new look and feel of the organization. The suppliers and internal people were trained on the usage of the identity. Signages, visiting cards and stationary wore the new vibrant look.
Advertising
This provided a huge challenge. The issues were what to communicate, who was the target audience, will it increase sales, how will it be measured, does an individual division / product get adequate representation.
After a lot of iterations, it was decided that the values would be communicated. Advertising was to be judged by how well the values moved in the eyes of the customer (and not how sales have improved). An "As Is" research was conducted in December 1997 to establish the baseline. The focus was on the Sec. "A" male segment residing in top 8 metros who formed the bulk of Wipro’s customers.
The advertising showcased how Wipro was human - in terms of understanding the needs of the customer and how it had created Innovative products or services to satisfy the needs. Integrity and Value for Money was to be established as a result of the experience an Individual has with the organization and its member.
Six ads were created showcasing Applying Thought in software, hardware and the consumer and lighting business. The line "We've been thinking of you" was consistent across all the ads. The ticker tape mentioned the diversity and the size of Wipro, which was not well known to all.
The Result
The result is for all to see. Wipro dramatically became a known corporation. Try as one might, it would be wrong to usurp all the credit to the identity or the advertising.
The huge success was a result of a great orchestration of the launch. The identity was very visible as outdoors gave it larger than life image, the Corporate communication put Wipro on the cover of leading magazines, stationery was changed, product packaging was changed and then advertising hit dailies and press slightly later.
But perhaps the greatest impetus came as a result of external change. The software industry was recognized as a future industry and started getting written about leading to huge increases in Wipro Stock prices. Azim Premji was judged as the richest Indian in April 1998. This created great stories as the knowledge economy was getting recognized and also the fact that one does not have to come from the traditional business families to become the richest Indian. It is said that lucks favours the brave. This environmental factor brought Wipro the luck. The new identity got a perfect launch platform.
The brand has been measured on how it has performed on the Values through Qualitative and Quantitative research with customers. Wipro is now strongly associated in the customer’s mind as a warm, caring and trustworthy organization.
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