BITS Pilani, an Institution of Eminence recently announced their foray into business education with BITSoM (BITS School of Management), a global business school based in Mumbai. The new age institution will be offering a residential two-year MBA Programme at par with the leading business schools in the world. Carrying forward the BITS Pilani legacy of excellence, BITSoM will be led by its Chancellor, Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla and an esteemed Governing Council. The business school aims to offer world-class business education blended with new age knowledge that encompasses tech + design + data, and brings together world-renowned faculty, an innovative curriculum and more, to shape the next generation of visionary leaders.
VGC came on board as brand partners to BITSoM, to help develop the brand mandate and launch the business school. Starting with an in-depth strategic exercise, the brand was created in close partnership with the BITSoM, 9Dot9 and Aditya Birla Group teams.
Carrying a celebrated legacy into the future
BITS Pilani has been synonymous with excellence for decades now. VGC's core task was to strategically carry forth aspects of this legacy into a new, future-focused brand without directly linking the two. In order to strategically position the brand, VGC undertook an in-depth research exercise, studied the market, category & competition, and spoke with students, faculty, recruiters, an exam administering body and many more, both in India and abroad. The insights revealed that people preferred a brand that was inspired by heritage, yet modern at the same time. These insights were then used to uniquely position the brand and also to develop BITSoM’s vision & mission.
Leading from the brand positioning, in order to develop the new identity, VGC identified key aspects of the new brand and brought them to life through relevant symbolism within the concept of heraldry (an ancient practice, still in use, where elements of nature that have specific representations, come together to create a unique crest or symbol that collectively becomes an identifying mark for organisations, families or even governments). The symbols taken forward were the Tiger - representative of India, leadership, agility & vision, and the Sun - representative of new beginnings, a fresh approach, the origin & energy. The brand identity collectively represents BITSoM's origins, it's global outlook, future-focus and emphasis on moulding next gen leaders for a new age world. While the initial ask was to create a brand identity for a business school, VGC went a step further and delivered a brand that is entrenched in key insights, new age symbolism and a focus on the future.
Group Mentor, Vice Chairman, Hindalco and Chairman, Business Review Council, Aditya Birla Group, Mr Debu Bhattacharya had this to say about the brand exercise and working with VGC – “As we launch BITSoM, I would like to acknowledge with thanks the wonderful role that VGC has played right from the word go in developing the Brand, the logo, and the creatives! The team has been like our extended arm - available always and responding rapidly and with precision. Wish the organization all the very best.”
The BITSoM Tiger finally roars!
Apart from developing the brand's strategy and designing the brand identity, VGC also created a compelling launch campaign and plan for BITSoM. The campaign went live in the last week of January/first week of February and was designed to stand out from any other communication in the education sector. The launch ads highlight the multiple USPs of the new brand and is aimed at students who are considering doing an MBA in 2021.
“It was an honour to be invited to design the positioning strategy, branding and communications for Bits Pilani’s launch of a new age school of business in Mumbai. Our Design solutions endeavour to combine the legacy of an iconic institution with contemporary accents in keeping with the times.” Said Preeti Vyas, Founder & Chairwoman, VGC.
The brand universe that VGC has created for BITSoM covers the entire brand & communication ecosystem, so that BITSoM can not just survive, but thrive and work towards its goal of becoming a top 10 global business school, based out of India.
