Air India ropes in Futurebrands to redraw its branding strategy: Report

The London-based brand and design consultancy firm, Futurebrands, has been asked by Tata Sons to remake Air India's brand. With this, the airline is aiming to become an "airline of choice across the world", an official was quoted as saying in a report by the Economic Times (ET). 

Futurebrands has earlier worked on rebranding the American Airlines and luxury auto brand Bentley. It has also worked on branding the 2012 London Olympics. 

"No decision has been taken. There will be multiple rounds of discussions based on the consultant's report, cost estimation, and positioning of the new Air India that the group intends...But there is definitely a requirement to refurbish the image in a modern world where it intends to compete with the likes of Emirates and Singapore Airlines," the official quoted above told ET. 

Among the many changes, Air India may create a new mascot moving on from the "Maharajah" as there is a thought it has become outdated. It was created in 1946 by Bobby Kooka, the report added. 

In its branding team, Air India has also hired former MakeMyTrip executive Sunil Suresh as its CMO and Colin Neubromer, who has earlier worked on the branding of Singapore Airlines and Jet Airways. 

In a bid to expand its routes and make them profitable, Singapore Airlines earlier this week announced that Air India will merge with Vistara Airlines and will create a full-service airline by 2024. Soon, it may also include AirAsia India and Air India Express under its ambit. 

"Air India Express is a brand that is currently popular among a certain section of customers, especially flying from South India to the Gulf...As the airline aims to operate in a new geographic area including domestic and international, it is necessary that it has a refurbished brand," an airline official told ET.