“The central problem of brand-building is getting a complex organization to execute a simple idea” – Marty Neumier

As long as I can remember, the Aditya Birla Group has been synonymous with great iconic brands that people from any age group, social background and gender can identify with. Many of these brands hold some of my fondest memories growing up. I’ve already associated the vibrancy and visual delight the brand’s imagery brings about in a city. Being from Kolkata, Pantaloons with its signature Green adorns some of the most famous streets with its trademark multi-storey showrooms. The Vodafone Red can be seen almost everywhere from the small kirana stores giving 10-rupee recharges to their own Vodafone stores. The Yellow of Ultratech Cement is immediately recognisable amidst the several infinite bill boards. Indeed, the Group’s own logo, the sun with the prism and crisscrossing sunbeams is one of the most recognisable symbols in Indian Business today.

Over the course of my life, much like a ship sailing across the water, I faced adversity. Overcoming adversity is what made me grow up, mature and be ready for future adversities. In Class 12, I sat for my boards after recovering from a bout of measles less than 2 weeks before my first practical exam. In college, away from home, I truly learnt how fast you have to grow up when you balance your classes as well as running a household. Your clothes aren’t going to wash themselves anymore and neither are those dishes. This evolution is a definite lesson in humility and greatly teaches you empathy, two underrated traits that we don’t appreciate until it’s too late. University sent me to the United Kingdom, the further I’ve been away from my hometown in 21 years. Yet brands over there like Ralph Lauren, Forever 21 and Ted Baker always reminded me of the shops I used to visit with my sister and mother.

Coming back home for Diwali 2014 and I was greeted with my traditional presents from Pantaloons. I spent my second pay check on Fred Perry shoes at The Collective since it was the newest shopping hotspot in town. My work life brought with its own set of challenges whether it was dealing with clients, your own senior management or just completing your task sheets for the day. However, this was also the time when I became the biggest fan of Louis Philippe clothes. I started my first job and the demand for shirts was created. Their Luxure collection is absolutely stunning and I was happy enough to own two which I always saved for the most important of meetings and the days the promotions were announced. Finally getting to MDI, Gurgaon. The rigours of many months of hard work, clearing the CAT exam, and getting through the essays, group discussion and interviews. However, the silver lining is getting to wear an Armani Collezioni Suit for those interviews. Leaving the clothes aside, I remember my longest association with brand ABG is through my mobile phone. It’s been 15 years with Vodafone (Hutch, back then). That number has been through it all, from my most intimate moments to receiving the best and worse news. It’s travelled the world and seen as much as I have. I believe that the greatest challenge is always the next one and we learn to overcome them with time. The night is darkest before dawn, and much like our lives, the sun will shine one day.

To conclude, I would just like to say that the Aditya Birla Group has and will be a big part of who I am. Their iconic brands, sensory stimulating campaigns and massive industry presence makes them a truly global powerhouse. It is indeed a privilege to be a small part as a consumer of their fantastic growth story.

ZeeshanQ

Aditya Birla Group – Building Brands The Sustainable Way - Zeeshan Quader, MDI Gurgaon