| The Air India centaur has moved. The logo, a stylised version of Sagittarius symbolising speed, has tilted upwards. Although a minor change, it could well indicate the direction in which the Indian carrier is headed. |
| Even a new welcome note sporting 'Fly Well' is in place, and these changes mark the beginning of a rejuvenation programme for Air India that, incidentally, is in the process of acquiring a fleet of aircraft in the coming months. |
| Interestingly, a relatively small branding house, DMA "" part of Aliagroup, that specialises in management consultancy and branding services "" has been selected to do the crucial makeover for the Indian carrier over the next 12-18 months. |
| Based in Mumbai, DMA won the Air India account at a global pitch in February 2005, but the final agreement, according to Air India officials, was signed only last fortnight. |
| Confirming this, Jitendra Bhargav, director, corporate communications, Air India says, "We have identified the areas that need upgradation. This comprises the entire gamut of air travel including lounges, check-in counters, buses, boarding passes and even in-flight cutlery. In that sense, there's wide scope for Aliagroup, and it seems to have already got down to doing its job." |
| According to Bhargav, the revamp module would be so subtle as to become noticeable only over a period of time. The design conceptualisation will cover all areas of passenger interface in the booking office and on board the aircraft. |
| This will include aircraft exteriors, cabin interiors including upholstery, curtains, side-wall panels, passenger amenities, meal accompaniments, ticket covers, boarding passes, timetables and even office signages. |
| Sanjeev Malhotra, managing director, Aliagroup, points out that the gradual upgradation programme would unfold only in stages. He points out, "We'll have an association with Air India over the next two years, and our services will apply even to the new fleet of aircraft." |
| While the agency will retain the inherent warmth and Indianness that Air India is so typically associated with, Malhotra hopes to take the brand forward with quiet yet tangible changes. |
| "The idea," he adds, "is to begin with definite changes right from the durban who stands at the office door... to involve people not only at the boardroom level but at grassroots level too." "DMA," adds Malhotra, "will motivate all 15,500 Air India employees to take ownership of the brand and move it further ahead." |
| Incidentally, the seven-year-old Aliagroup is behind the revamping strategies for several brands including Perfect Radiance (Fair & Lovely) Sunfeast, Lakme, Ayush for Hindustan Lever, ITC, Dabur, Tata Indicom and the Taj group of hotels, to name a few. Dabur, for instance, acquired its "heritage tree" logo and a new tagline, "Celebrating life" after brainstorming sessions conducted by DMA. |
| The organisation "" with an average employee age of 25-26 years "" claims to have bagged almost 90 per cent of its business through referrals. While HLL is its biggest client, Malhotra concedes the Air India assignment will be beneficial for the agency. |
| Interestingly, it's not the first time that Air India has approached a branding service agency for a makeover exercise. In the early 1990s, the Indian carrier had hired Landor Associates, a San Francisco-based company, for a makeover at a reported fee of around $1 million. |
| Landor, a veteran of sorts in the business of aviation makeovers at the time, had taken the radical step of wiping out the centaur logo (it was replaced with the rising sun) and had dropped the Maharaja mascot. The company however, received flak from the the flying public and the travel industry at large, following which the exercise was dropped. |
| This time round, both Air India and DMA have been careful enough not to tamper with Air India's mascot for the last 56 years. As a senior AI official affirms, "The Maharaja isn't going anywhere." But the airline hopefully will. |
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