Snapdeal unveils new logo and tagline

Online marketplace Snapdeal has undertaken a massive brand identity overhaul, its biggest repositioning since pivoting from a deals site six years ago. Snapdeal offers for new snapdeal is here.

Also part of the design overhaul, which kicked off in March earlier this year, is noted ad-man Prasoon Joshi, chairman, McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific, and music director trio Shankar Ehsaan and Loy. 

Snapdeal, run by Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd, has unveiled a new logo and tagline, Unbox Zindagi (or Unbox Life), as it seeks to position itself differently in the hyper-competitive e-commerce business.

As part of the makeover, Snapdeal’s logo will now be in vermello (a shade of red) instead of the existing blue and red combination.

“Advertising in Indian e-commerce has been very functional till now, mainly focused on winning transactions, just like telecom companies were some time back. We want to break away from it and focus on the growing aspirations of the average Indian consumer,” said Kunal Bahl, co-founder and chief executive at Snapdeal.

"This is actually the beginning to a very long journey. This is not a destination. Being the preferred destination for enabling the achievement of consumer aspirations is something we will have to achieve over an extended period of time through consistent execution at each touch point," Kunal Bahl, chief executive of Snapdeal, told ET. 

With the new tagline, Snapdeal wants to go beyond the narrative of discounts, assurances and basic introductions to online shopping.

“Snapdeal will be the platform that will enable users to unlock their aspirations. That is why we are moving the narrative to the users and to their desire to upgrade to a better life. With this new positioning, we also focus on the next phase of our growth, as we seek to engage with the next 100 million online shoppers from all parts of an increasingly connected India,” Bahl added.

Snapdeal, which is a distant No.3, after Amazon and Flipkart India, will be spending close to Rs.200 crore in advertising and marketing during September and October. The rebranding and the company’s new campaign have both been put together by Prasoon Joshi, chairman Asia Pacific, chief executive and chief creative officer India, McCann Worldgroup.

Snapdeal earlier promoted itself as a deals site, touting deep discounts and the lowest prices. With a funding crunch, the company has been forced to change its strategy. Snapdeal, which didn’t have its own logistics unit until it acquired a stake in Gojavas in 2015, has now created Vulcan Express Pvt. Ltd, an in-house logistics and delivery unit. The company has since sought to focus on its customer service.

In July, Snapdeal had the speediest delivery network among large e-commerce firms, according to a report by RedSeer Consulting Pvt. Ltd, a market research and consulting firm. Snapdeal took just 3.8 days, on an average, to deliver products against 4.9 days for Amazon and 4.5 days for Flipkart.

To be sure, Snapdeal’s sales are significantly lower than those of its two rivals, which also helps it service orders faster.

Snapdeal usually comes up with a new tagline every year just before the festive season kicks in. In 2015, it hired Bollywood actor Aamir Khan to reposition and promote the brand, with the message Dil Ki Deal (a deal that tugs at your heartstrings). In 2014, Snapdeal pushed the message of discounts and savings with Bachaate Raho (keep saving).

The current repositioning comes after eight months of thinking and research, said Bahl. “We wanted no regrets on this whole campaign and, hence, we had the best of people work on it for months before we were ready for the launch.”

"Snapdeal, after all, is a startup, and maybe when the company and the original logo were created, not much thought was given to it. Therefore, if Snapdeal's management is making this change as a result of careful introspection about what it wants to communicate to its customers (and perhaps the current branding is not), this could be a good change," said Rishtee Batra, assistant professor - Marketing at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

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