Branding by the book

Corporate biographies are on rise as companies find them to be sophisticated brand building tools

The dismantling of the licence raj from 1991 onwards provided corporate India with a new-found freedom to grow in any way it chose. Now, well into the 21st century, many corporations and promoters have achieved critical mass. In the process, they have also discovered a new and relatively subtle way to build their brands: by telling their stories. 

As a result, the list of corporations publishing semi-independent accounts has lengthened steadily in the past decade in particular. Riding the trend with some energy has been the Tata group. Tata insider R M Lala penned several in the eighties that have remained