The wave of corporate rebranding hit India. The year 2005 witnessed a lot of rebranding initiatives taken by major brands such as Hutch, Indian Airlines and Berger Paints. The latest rebranding activity has been taken up by the Reliance group after its demerger. This article analyzes the various rebranding activities taken up by the companies, the reasons and its pitfalls.

On May 28, 2006, Anil Ambani unveiled the new logo of Reliance (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group) called Reliance Apex, (Refer to Exhibit I) the red and blue logo represents more of an A (as for Anil) than an R (As for Reliance). The launch of the new logo along with the signing up of Amitabh Bachchan as the new brand ambassador has been done to give a new corporate identity to the brand, which is contemporary and fresh. The wave of rebranding has hit India, and we have witnessed in major rebranding campaigns such as Hutch, Indian Airlines, Pantaloons and Berger Paints. The Indian companies have realized the need for corporate rebranding as an effective means to stay on track in this dynamic and competitive world.

Wikipedia defines rebranding as "The process by which a product or service developed with one brand or company or product line affiliation is marketed or distributed with a different identity".

The most important word in the definition is identity. Rebranding is aimed to give a new identity to the brand. The process can involve changes ranging from change of the brand logo to change in the entire positioning strategy of the brand. There can be various reasons why a company takes a rebranding initiative:

Corporate Rebranding,major brands,Indian Airlines,Berger Paints,Reliance group,companies,competitive world,rebranding campaigns,rebranding,retail chain,RPG group,FoodWorld brand,collaboration term,standardization,brand identity,corporate logo,brand image,Amitabh Bachchan,important assets,
stakeholders perceptions