The first review gave me a good insight on the way forward for my branding project for EcoServe. My presentation was dominated by my background research on the general category of Environment Conservation. Though it lacked some visual references/iteration for the branding process, I feel the research on the various environment movements, scenarios, issues EcoServe plans to get involved with gave me a lot of clarity on the interconnections between the problem and its environment.
My research started with defining the scope of work to be done by EcoServe: Environmental Audits and Natural Resource Conservation. Branding for an eco initiative took me to Eco Branding or Green branding that sees consumers having faith in the eco-sound practices of companies. EcoServe offering a Service rather than a Product, has to gain this trust through its communications.
The various environment movements made the various MNCs accountable for their practices. And companies responded by Greenwashing their image rather than their practices. British Petroleum earned harsh criticism for spending double the amount on rebranding themselves than what they spent on solar energy. My panel cited a few more examples closer home of companies that covered their practices under the garb of CSR (ITC).
Also reading up on Racheal Carson’s Silent Spring and drawing parallels to the Indian agricultural scenarios, threw some light on how insecticides are marketed withholding key information about their potent side effects. Discussions with my review panel gave me some more idea on the Indian agricultural scene.
Usually the branding process precedes churning out communication for the projects undertaken by the company. But in this case, before we stepped into the branding process, we had a short test run on how our target groups responds to communication seeking their involvement in a eco–project.
EcoServe is joining hands with BNHS for an afforestation project around the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur District in Maharashtra in order to reduce the tiger – human conflict in the area. This was a litmus test to how people respond to communication through a cost effective and fast platform: emails. The mixed responses made us think about the different media that can be employed for communication and how the brand must hold consistent through them all.
This review helped me refocus on the task at hand: Branding for Ecoserve. My initial research swayed a little more towards the issues that the company can deal with and how it needs to sound trustworthy and honest through all the biases and information clutter that exists. But the background research has helped me understand that the identity of the company needs to be very, very flexible as the problems we face are layered. For example: in the Tiger Conservation project we had to understand the problems the adjacent tribal community faced before we could do anything to protect the tiger. For me, the cause and effect cycle has broadened my vision of the brand image EcoServe needs to withhold.
My panel expressed their concerns on the achievability of the targets I set up for this project. They helped me understand that Branding in itself holds the scope of becoming an entire project and that the subsequent communication for eco projects may or may not follow suit with the branding; the communication can be viewed a separate projects. But for me the litmus test of a good branding exercise is when it can move beyond the brand manual and still communicate through the use of consistent visual language, the beliefs of the company. So I wont be focusing as much on the branding and communication of the sub projects of EcoServe like the Tiger Project or the Watershed Development initiative as on building the BRAND EcoServe. But it would be great of I can realize some form of consistent visual language for the brand.
The way forward would be to start visually building the brand. My panel egged me to derive references from ancient symbiotic practices and move beyond the clutter of green vector logos. Also a part of my project is actualizing the brand through Eco sensitive printing. So till my next review the work charted out for me would be to have various iteration sets for the brand and narrow down on a few printing techniques and have at least one set test printed. Its time to move beyond research and actually fleshing out the visual identity of the brand!
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