MUMBAI: Observing that India has done well to catch up with the rebranding revolution, director of DunningPennyJones, a UK based branding agency, Lisa Dunning pointed out that today the country has come a long way in the exercise.

"In India the brand revolution hit later than it did at some other places, but the country has done well to catch up. Today, you have the likes of Tata, who not only shine as Indian brands, but are collaborating with brands like Starbucks and buying brands like Jaguar," she said.

Addressing a session at the PromanxBDA 2012, Dunning said that television channels are no longer mere vehicles of broadcast communication. They have evolved into brands in their own respect and command their share of loyalty from their audiences.

Shedding light on the tenets of channel rebranding, Dunning said that this is the case with every brand life cycle; television channels may also undertake a rebranding exercise from time to time.

So, why are brands so important? It is because there is no dearth of choice for the viewers with growing competition. Dunning said that even within the genres, choice of viewing is abundant. Also, having a brand serves the most basic purpose - differentiating oneself from their peers and making an indelible impact on the viewers mind and stay in their psyche.

Starting with the most basic question as to 'Why a channel should rebrand?' Dunning said the answer is simple. "In this day and age where there is plethora of channels, rebranding can be done simply to change for survival and to evolve with your audience," she explained.

Rebranding as conveys to the audience that one is in tune with their changing ways and that one is evolving.

Other reasons why channels rebrand include ensuring modernity, conveying a change in content, getting the brand closer to the content on the channel, positioning a new brand, reinforcing existing market and shifting audience appeal.

"Equally important is to know why channels should not go for rebranding. While some channels feel they have enough business and do not need a rebranding exercise, others feel they are far ahead of competition and can take it easy," said Dunning.

Other reasons may include an already established brand identity or that the brands do not want to make major changes. Lastly the channel might be too busy promoting itself to undertake a rebranding exercise.

However, Dunning said that these reasons might not bear fruits if the effort doesn't hold water. Also important is to remember that branding is about brand esteem while promotion is all about eyeballs.

Next obvious question, according to her, was about the length and the cost of the rebranding exercise.

According to Dunning, a rebranding exercise should ideally take place over a period of four months. This gives enough time to plan and execute exercise, maintaining a sense of urgency at the same time. This also gives the team a drive to be on top of their duties. The cost also needs to be in the moderate range for obvious reasons.

A channel must also know when to call for a pitch and when to go in-house. When a channel has the expenses to spare, calling in the professionals is a good idea, she said. An ideal pitch will have no more than three to five agencies. "On the other hand if you have the time and the adequate in house resources but are on a tight budget, avoid calling for a pitch," she explained.

In case a brand decides to hire an agency, there is some data that the agency needs to be given for better understanding. This includes market research, brand values, vision and positioning, audience profile and a competitive SWOT analysis.

During the process of rebranding, it is imperative to have the basic questions answered in clear bold writing. It sets the tone for the exercise and provides crisp guidelines about what is to be done.

"There are some important thing to ask about your brand like who are you? Who needs you? Why should they care? How will they find you? How do you get them to stay? Answering these questions is the basis for a rebranding effort," she said.

Once these questions are answered, all a channel needs to do it get on it. Start with investigating the scenario, the trends in the market and basic research. Set objectives once you have clarified them work on the design, create touch points and work on brand management.

The last aspect of rebranding is to evaluate the campaign. "According to me, a campaign should be evaluated on five parameters - positioning, technical efficiency, aesthetic value, financial efficiency and tactical grounds," she concluded.