Work

Our client, BCMS Developers Pvt. Ltd. had the expertise and vision to build premier Luxury wooden cottages in lower Himalayan belt of Uttrakhand. No Formulae was engaged as the strategic brand partners in the project.
The offering here were 14 fully furnished luxury cottages, built by a Canadian builder with all imported materials. The architecture and material was identical to what is used in North-American homes. Such an offering was something which was completely new to our target market.

Research

After understanding the requirement of the client and our scope of engagement in the project we set forth with our research phase to learn more about the market in which the client was operating. The research encompassed the consumer’s lifestyle and expectations, the offering in detail and the associated elements like the place in which the houses were being built, the environment, real estate sector and the current economic recession. The research work was carried out using different research techniques.

Persona mapping followed this where we got insights into our customer’s aspirations and expectations. What came out of this research was the probable persona of our buyer. Where we mapped our consumer’s background, personality, likes, indulgences, etc. This persona study achieved using ethnographic research techniques led to personas of the probable consumers who might be interested in buying the houses being developed

Formulating the Brand Values

Once we had understood the market and the target consumer, we went back to our client to formulate the brand values. With in-depth discussions and interview with our client we narrowed on the vision and brand values of the company. We found the following USPs which would place our client uniquely in the market.

• Our client was the pioneer in making wooden frame houses.
• No – one else in the market was offering these houses which were thus unique to our client.
• Our client had a glorious heritage of doing business in the region in which the houses were being developed.
• The houses would have state of art amenities
• The houses would be ready to move in, fully furnished.
• The houses would be just a handful in number, 12 in total.

The following Brand attributes emerged from the client’s offering and the values that would appeal to the customer’s aspirations.

The Inspiration

The houses were located near the famous hill-station of Nainital, they were being made on a hill-slope which overlooked a lake that abounds in pink lotuses. Taking an element from the place and clubbing it together with the most prominent attributes of the brand, we chose lotus as our metaphor. Apart from the fact that lotus was an association to the place, it also had some metaphoric associations that perfectly blended with our Brand and offering.

Brand Positioning

Traditionally, brand positioning is defined as how customers perceive your brand or product in relation to similar products offered by your competitors in your market. In our case the real estate market was already flooded by developers encompassing a lot of categories, instead of competing with the existing competition and trying to prove our dominance, we resorted to carve out a new niche category in the market. Since our client was the pioneer in developing the American wooden style luxury homes, we wanted to position us as the first and the only developer of these international quality luxury homes in the scenic Himalayas. Our branding would set us apart from the competition.

Brand Name

We wanted the brand name to communicate the idea of exclusivity and luxury amongst our target audience. After much thought on an appropriate name for the project we chose the name “Kamlayan”. Kamlayan which is a Hindi word has its roots from “Kamal” – the Lotus and “Ayan” – home. Kamlayan also has the inherent meaning of “the adobe of Lakshmi”. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth in Hindu mythology. We believe Kamlayan not only summarizes the values of the brand but also weaves a strong story behind the concept. The name has the power to enchant and sounds as premium as the offering.

Identity

On developing the logo of “Kamlayan” we wanted that the logo should

• Look as exclusive as the name sounds
• Give the feeling of a premium brand
• Relate to the natural, organic setting
• Be in lines with the philosophy of spirituality and tranquility imparted by the name.

Various options of the type and symbol were developed and tested and finally we chose the following logotype which sufficed the above requirements. The logo had gentle curves and an organic flow which go with the location of the houses. The font used in the logo was customized to create a feeling of exclusivity. The script font resembled the regal and royal type used in imperial era.

Brand Communication

To communicate the offering and the brand to the customers we identified that:

• It was not just a house that we were offering but a lifestyle that had to be communicated along with the house. This lifestyle offered is aligned with the aspirational lifestyle of the consumer (which we had identified from our research).
• The exclusivity and the premium value associated with the offering would itself make the owners or probable owners of the house talk about it.
• There should be enough interesting facts, stories, trivia associated with the offering that would make it interesting enough to be talked about. Since Kamlayan was a niche market offering for a select audience we decided to work with the word of mouth channel for Marketing.

The Website

For easy access to the information and its spread we decided to create a web-site which would be a window to the Kamlayan experience.

The Brochure

To build a seamless brand experience the Kmalayan brochures had to be exclusive just like the Houses. These brochures would be given to select target consumers. The design of the brochure is such  that it would not only be delightful for the viewer but would be a matter of pride for him to talk about and the show the brochure to others.

The brochure is quite different from conventional real-estate brochures. It is more like a high quality coffee table book, with beautiful pictures and floral text. It is  a lifestyle book which indulges and enchants the viewer and take him into the dream land of Kamlayan. Apart from this it  also contains all the information about the houses, complete with their floor plans and all technical specifications.