Launched over two decades ago BigBrandTheory (BBT) is a branding agency that uses business intelligence and creativity to build brands of tomorrow. Backed by research, expertise, and credentials, BBT is a brand transformation studio that provides brand transformation solutions to what it calls future-focused, ambitious organisations, business owners, and entrepreneurs. The agency’s offerings include insights and strategy, branding and innovation, brand experience, brand tech, communication design, product and service design, and impact ascertaining.
Headquartered in Mumbai, BBT has partners across the globe with core expertise in brand transformation, creative thinking with an interdisciplinary approach, rebranding, brand launches, and enhancing customer experiences leveraging strategic abilities, and excellence in execution.
BBT added that it specialises in crafting distinctive brand stories and identities for a global clientele. The agency’s mission has always been to forge iconic brands through powerful storytelling, ensuring they remain relevant and impactful over time. BBT’s portfolio spans projects, from revamping brands to spearheading government initiatives and corporate rebranding efforts.
Medianews4.com caught up with Pravin Shah, Entrepreneur and founder BigBrandTheory.
Six Inches was formed back in 2003. It then become BigBrandTheory in 2017. How has the company evolved in terms of its offerings and solutions?
When running a business, it is important to evaluate and assess your offerings to clients at intervals to drive growth. I have previously spoken of this exercise through ‘red and blue ocean’ theories – “Red ocean is a space where there are too many players and all contesting for the same business and a blue ocean is a space where you look for a new set of customers.”
Thus BBT was created keeping in mind those customers who are driven by the future and looking for business innovation. We help brands elevate their game through distinctive design and strategy enabling them to stay relevant and impactful over time. Simply put we help re-energise brands and accelerate their growth path.
As an entrepreneur what has been your biggest learning?
My learning journey isn’t just for me as an entrepreneur but also for anyone aiming for success in their own pursuits. Here are some key insights I’ve gained: always continue learning, approach things with a beginner’s mindset, and treat every day as if it’s your first.
We operate in a relationship-driven economy, particularly in the B2B sector. When differentiation fades and pricing becomes an issue, clients prioritise and remain loyal to relationships that provide value.
Above all, every leader should recognise that their business is only as strong as their team and partners, making relationship-building one of the most valuable assets for any leader.
For 2024 what are the goals in term of revenue, client roster growth etc?
BBT has consistently achieved a 25% year-over-year growth in revenue in the past 3 years with a focused and curated client base. Our approach remains bespoke and enterprise-focused, ensuring tailored solutions for each client. Looking ahead to 2024-2025, we are already set to serve an impressive roster of clients across government initiatives, technology, manufacturing, D2C, and real estate.
With several exciting projects in the pipeline, we’re enthusiastic about the opportunities ahead and confident that this diverse mix will fuel further growth and establish BBT as a leader in creative branding solutions. Stay tuned—there’s much more to come!
Clients like Kingston Technology have been with you for many years. What would you say is the reason for this?
Kingston Technology was one of our longest relationships in the initial years. The fact that we were their partner for a very long time came from our approach to constantly innovate with ideas for the client. In those years digital was just picking up and we were innovating there as well with unique campaigns and landing pages.
Being a global brand, there were a lot of firsts that came out from India and global counterparts also used those ideas in their local context. Overall, it was a deep engagement and highly value-driven partnership. I am still friends with all of them and we keep exchanging ideas.
What role does nurturing talent in Bigbrandtheory play in building longterm client relationships?
At BBT we foster a supportive and cooperative work environment that promotes candid communication and a willingness to take calculated risks. This enables us to cultivate top talent and inspire them to present their finest concepts and ideas.
Clients love motivated and enthusiastic teams that are always looking for ways to push the creative envelope. Fundamentally, my approach is to allow individuals to be themselves and capitalize on their strengths.
When you empower people, value their contributions, trust them, give them their space, and invest in their growth, they will in turn be super loyal, and dedicated and will consistently exceed client expectations.
I also believe the power of mentorship should not be overlooked as it plays a vital role in building an ecosystem of collaboration, continuous learning, and improvement and increasing employees’ dedication and commitment to the company in question.
What are the key things that the agency bears in mind to successfully execute a brand transformation project?
When BBT tackles a brand transformation project, we prioritise understanding and mapping the brand’s current positioning and identity, as well as the desired perception it seeks. We emphasise strategic approaches to reinvigorate the brand, focusing on authentic and memorable branding that aligns with its vast vision and potential.
To achieve this, we incorporate our proprietary frameworks and approaches, including brand immersions and scalable branding systems. These tools help us comprehensively immerse ourselves in the brand’s world, crafting a system that can effectively communicate its renewed identity across all touchpoints. Ultimately, every brand wants to be associated with a memorable experience, and we are dedicated to creating that through our brand transformation projects.
Could you talk about recent work done that stands out and what the learnings have been?
BBT is a unique strategy and design partner that has undertaken comprehensive brand transformation projects in the year. Some of the work that we are proud of includes delivering a State Brand for Uttarakhand, called House of Himalayas, unveiled by Hon. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Unveiling a mega brand refresh and rebrand strengthening exercise for Trend Micro – A global leader in cybersecurity (b2b) with staggering numbers – 5 Months, 7000+ stakeholders, 65 Countries, and 1000+ creative touchpoints. We are probably the only Indian Design Studio to have delivered a mammoth exercise like this for a global business.
This branding was released in Orlando in early Jan 2023 with 2000+ employees and 5000 online to activate the new brand. We delivered a global brand portal for employees and agency partners globally. BBT was instrumental in helping rebrand Garuda Aerospace – India’s fastest and largest -growing and most renowned Drone start-up valued at $250 Mn today. We have built a branding and communication ecosystem that positions Garuda as the leading human-centric technology company that leverages drones for human progress. We have enabled TATA Chemicals’ Brand Ncourage to discover its uniqueness and steer a rebranding journey.
Separately, we have undertaken an entire rebranding exercise for a lot of East African brands presenting a new brand identity and brand strategy for these companies that are considered digital transformation specialists. The main takeaways included a focus on detail, derived from carefully listening to a brand’s needs and adapting brand strategies accordingly, as well as embracing innovative thinking and nimble agility for driving growth.
You also work with traditional old brands that need to re-energise and re-focus. In order to do that do these brands have to sometimes disrupt themselves let alone disrupt the market?
While ‘disruption’ is usually encouraged and promoted, it should never be disrupting for disruption’s sake. Brands that enjoy a credible reputation know that trends come and go but staying true to one’s core identity and purpose are what make it an evergreen brand. It’s what gets your customers coming back to you and preferring you over your competitors.
This is not to say that one should have their head in the sand and never embrace change. It is rather about evolving with the times while staying true to the core essence of the brand.
Digital and AI have been the big change since you launched. How has the medium helped you become more efficient?
AI serves as a catalyst, empowering and enabling our creative abilities and craftsmanship, allowing us to create impactful branding solutions. If you want your business to stay relevant for the customers of tomorrow, one needs to learn how to harness the power of AI in providing useful insights that will help shape an evolved perspective.
Could you shed light on the rationale behind working with companies on a project basis rather than on a retainer basis?
At BBT, our mission-oriented approach thrives in a framework with clear time constraints, milestones, and goals. While a retainer offers predictable cash flow and revenue, we find project-based work far more stimulating because we prefer agile, short-turnaround projects that ignite our creative thinking.
This enables us to remain flexible and innovative, increasing our body of work and expanding our capabilities while gaining new insights. Additionally, working on a project basis allows us to efficiently allocate resources based on each project’s specific requirements. This results in delivering high-quality results within set timelines and budgets.
In today’s economic landscape, with tighter budgets, our project-based approach ensures that we can take on new work without the limitations imposed by a retainer agreement. This flexibility ultimately benefits both parties by fostering collaboration and building a mutually beneficial partnership founded on trust.
Could you talk about your global expansion plans? Which are the key markets that you focus on?
India remains a vital market for BBT, given the growing number of B2B, D2C, and legacy brands seeking transformation. However, we’re also energized by the global landscape, where interest in India’s creative talent is on the rise. Our next strategic step is to expand into the U.S. market, where we see significant interest in our unique approach to branding.
We’re also excited about the African market, which displays a strong appetite for creative differentiation and innovative branding. By tapping into these regions, we aim to showcase our distinctive brand transformation capabilities and deliver creative solutions that align with the diverse needs of these dynamic markets.
The cultural nuances between India and abroad are different. What are some of the key differences and how important is it to bear that in mind while crafting brand strategies?
At BBT, we partner with and co-create brands that can present their personas impactfully while staying true to their brand purpose. While it’s essential to tailor messaging, visuals, and tone to align with the cultural context to create a successful brand, the nuances of crafting a brand identity essentially remain the same irrespective of country.
All brands need to establish an emotional connection with their target audience, build a credible reputation, and create memorable experiences that they promise and deliver against.
