Nick Foley, President, Southeast Asia & Pacific, Landor Associates
Brand aesthetics and the financial impact cannot live in isolation, what you will see is more focus on the brand being able to financially justify themselves. Design of the brand is the best way for it to truly distinguish itself, as long as the design of the brand is representative of the experience consumers expect to have with it.

Brand aesthetics and the financial impact cannot live in isolation, what you will see is more focus on the brand being able to financially justify themselves. Design of the brand is the best way for it to truly distinguish itself, as long as the design of the brand is representative of the experience consumers expect to have with it.Nick Foley is President, Southeast Asia and Pacific, and Managing Director of Landor’s Singapore office. He is responsible for expanding new business in the area. Foley has a keen interest in brand innovation and repositioning mature brands for future success. A highly experienced and knowledgeable marketer, Foley has worked on a number of well-known brands throughout his career at Landor. He has been instrumental in the repositioning of Australian Wool Innovation, has worked on the new identity for the City of Melbourne, and has been involved with the vibrant makeover of Isis, the creation of the award-winning Yummy Tummy Koalas brand, and the inspiring identity for Abbott’s Village Bakery.
In conversation with exchange4media’s Priyanka Mehra, Foley emphasises on the importance of design in the brand mix, optimising design in the brand mix, his expectations from the India market, FedEx case study and more…
Q. What are some of the factors to be kept in mind when it comes to optimising design in the brand mix?
Brands are like people, we choose to interact with people because we associate with their values, beliefs and attributes. The biggest risk in repositioning is the consumer’s familiarity with the brand changes, at which point they would choose not to have a relationship with that brand any more.
I would caution against radically changing a large brand because we are speaking about the equity and philosophy that goes it. You only drastically change if there is a distinct commercial consumer benefit; design should be used to drive the brand familiarity and relevance without making a drastic change.
CMOs need to be careful that they don’t rely too overtly on market research, which though useful, shouldn’t dictate what you do. CMOs should have a very good belief on the higher order, which is the brand essence that really propels the brand.
Q. The CMO today has donned the role of a quasi-financial officer and has to ensure RoI. Is design as part of the brand mix taking a beating in this process of making every penny count?
When brands don’t have meaning and an emotional connect with the consumer, that is when they are driven by price and commoditised. Then the CMO is the first to get a call from the CFO, because margins on that brand are declining, which means relevancy and differentiation have been lost.
Brand aesthetics and the financial impact cannot live in isolation, what you will see is more focus on the brand being able to financially justify themselves. Design of the brand is the best way for it to truly distinguish itself, as long as the design of the brand is representative of the experience consumers expect to have with it.
Q. Do you think enough risk taking and experimentation is happening at present?
Q. Where do you see design as a discipline In India, compared to the global scenario?
Indian designs are very unique. Mahindra is an example of how we have worked with the company to evolve design and make it more globally palatable. You take brands with a local appeal and tailor them to the global market.
India strikes me as the most entrepreneurial, with the greatest propensity to learn, which will have an impact on design. It is also a function of youth, who have cutting edge ideas; the entire world wants to engage with India now.
Q. Could you share a global case study where design aesthetics have helped a brand evolve?
Q. Do you foresee a lot of growth for this discipline in India five years from now?
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