Rebranding Poonawala Housing Finance to Grihum Housing Finance

Brand Strategy + Naming & Identity Design + Brand Launch + Digital Assets + Environmental + Communication

The background

The Texas Based Private Equity Firm, TPG acquired a majority stake in Poonawala Housing finance, necessitating a complete identity change. The leadership team continues but the vision is broader, bigger and mightier. The new identity needs to reflect this vision of fulfilling the emergent housing needs of India beyond its top cities and also the peripheries of its metropolises. The prevalent dynamics of housing loans for low-income or unorganised income categories throws immense challenges from the perspective of creating a cohesive brand narrative.

The big challenge

While there are numerous large organisations operating in the market, the role of the brand is rather minimal. It’s a people to people connect working the dynamics of the category and its often led by third party operators. The brands are rarely able to shape the first set of brand experiences or dominate the ‘pull’ aspect. Given the more inclusive growth curve of India, the category is expected to grow phenomenally and a larger brand narrative play established at this stage will go a long way in establishing a lasting differentiation. The big challenge is to move the category lens being a lender to a service provider and garner a deep human connect in the process.

What we did

The most important milestone in the journey of Grihum’s creation was the insightful understanding of what our customers go through. Our qualitative research was replete with the odyssey of their ordeal. We understood that these righteous, proud people have to be looked differently by the entire category. They don’t need to be scrutinised and deserve the same service approach that the middle-class in cities experience while availing of a loan.

The strategic commitment to be ‘One’

Our brand approach fundamentally got built in with the commitment that we will always resonate and be one with our customers through their journey. It’s the fulcrum of our brand and we have taken care to ensure that this core idea is embedded in every aspect of the brand. From naming to identity expressions, language and graphics…every aspect is aligned to this core thrust of the brand. This idea is oneness in shaping the future of the brand.

Naming and identity design

The name Grihum is the coming together of Griha and Hum. Griha is home across multiple regions in India and is understood in southern, western and northern and most eastern states of the country. Hum as an expression of being one with the customer is a simple, relatable thought.

Griha + Hum = Grihum

Coming together of Griha and Hum is a powerful, relatable brand expression that touches both the external audience and the internal stakeholders, specially the field force.

Griha + Hum. The simple brand name has business, culture and technology impact in shaping the future of the brand.

The identity design

The idea of coming together in the journey of helping create a home is represented through classical and universal symbolism coming together in one holistic expression. The design approach is a as simple as the naming. It’s a truly Bharat brand and the design sensibilities capture that essence in its stark universal

Jo apne parivaar ki har ummed ko nibhaate hain Apni pehchan apne dum pe banate hain

Brand Expressions: Digital

Web content and design – the overall approach is fluidic and experiential keeping in focus the laddering of information. The design and content flow is designed to address multiple stakeholders and is designed to address the first level of action needs in the category. The flow benchmarks and leverages the learning curve within the category. The imagery is approachable, yet distinctive.

Launch and social media

The whole launch and identity transition approach is managed well with a clockwork precision of communication release across multiple channels, both external and internal. The launch strategy and communication pieces were fine tuned to meet the laid objectives for each communication group viz Industry captains, banks, channel partners, internal stakeholders, network of branches and public at large.

Ek Hum Grihum: Brand Anthem and core expression

The brand expression comes alive in its anthem of ‘Ek hum. Grihum.’. This is one powerful, emotive connect that is charging up the entire organisation. Today, Grihum is taking strides as a purpose driven organisation and ‘ek hum Grihum’ is poised to play a key role as a unifying force throughout the journey. It gives shape and expression to the purpose of the brand.

The anthem is currently been recorded in over 18 regional languages, with the families of the employees and even their children singing the anthem.