Coal India makes a brand makeover

Last week, the Indian markets were all about coal. However, amidst the hype over the debut of Coal India Ltd (CIL) on domestic bourses, what was mostly overlooked was the brand new logo of the world's largest coal miner.

For CIL, the move undertaken about a month and a half back, was part of a strategy to project its fundamentals in the run-up to the country's largest IPO.

The miners' new herald, as was the old logo, is centred on the iconic 'black diamond' that has come to symbolise CIL, with a legacy that extends back to Project Black Diamond that was initiated in the 1970s as a long-term planning exercise for the nationalised coal sector in India.

What is new, though, are three phrases – Empowering India, Enabling Life and Nurturing Nature - that are wound around in a circle around a sleeker version of the venerable black diamond. CIL, essentially, has added a 'brand line' to their logo.

Explaining the change, CIL Chairman Partha S Bhattacharyya says "These were the three things that stood out, and we decided to make it a formal part of our strategic direction (by incorporating them into the logo). They (phrases) have now become part of our vision statement."

Defining the company's vision in the run-up to the IPO was crucial for CIL, especially since the miners' much-publicised tussle with the Union ministry for environment and forests had raised difficult questions.

The issue over 'go' and 'no-go' areas, as stipulated by the ministry, at one point had threatened to isolate almost 40 per cent of the company's reserves in nine major coal fields.

CIL, on its part, had retorted on the basis that reserves must be made available as coal is the primary source of power-production in the country, and that the miner was contributing 82 per cent of the total coal production

in India. It had also stressed on its track-record of successful environmental mitigation.

From that perspective, the reworked logo pays emphasis on the 'sustainability issue', which had been repeated acknowledged by Bhattacharyya as among the biggest challenges facing the company.

The Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million) pre-IPO campaign managed by Adfactors PR, consisting of print, television and outdoor advertising, pushed the pro-environment agenda further with the new logo being super-imposed on a green background. Green, quite noticeably, was the predominant colour of the entire campaign.

Interestingly, the entire logo revamping process was undertaken in-house, even though the company has four empanelled advertising firms comprising some of the country's best including Ogilvy & Mather, Mudra and Grey.

"We did everything internally, and then got it approved by the board," says a senior official involved in the process.

That the emblem refurbishment has little or no adverse impact on the IPO is discernible, considering the record funds raised. Nevertheless branding experts support the move.

"The logo change is a good strategy by the company. From the perspective of advertisement, it does stand out and communicate the crux well," says Krunal Mehta, Vice-President, Branding & Corporate Communication at Angel Broking.

For Kiran Khalap of Chlorophyll, the inclusion of a brand line is an asset.

"Because most corporate brands have realised that in today's day and age, other stakeholders affect business as much as customers do: employees, environment groups, vendors and partners. Through the brand line, a company announces what it wishes to stand for," Khalap explains.

But clarity has its risks, he adds, as "all organisations must make claims that they can substantiate: they need to walk the talk. Else the same stakeholders will reject the organisation over time."