Hero Motocorp unveils new brand identity post its split with Honda

The first communication from the company, to be released on August 15, is in the form of an anthem.

After splitting with Honda, the new Hero Motocorp logo was launched at a star-studded event in London. It was attended by celebrity musicians, actors and sports personalities such as Akon, A R Rahman, Shahrukh Khan, Anushka Shankar, Boris Becker and David Coulthard, to name a few.

On the new identity, Charles Wright, managing director, Wolff Olins told afaqs!, 'Hero has become an iconic brand in India. The task we had at hand was to build on the image of an Indian company going international'. It took over 3-4 months for Wolff Olins to create a new brand identity for Hero. 'The colour red in the logo depicts continuity and change. It also depicts confidence. There is an 'H' formed in the logo. The angular formation of 'H' symbolises that Hero is no longer dependent on foreign expertise for its brands. It will be focussing on its own engineering capablities. ' The position that Hero Motocorp will strive to acquire out of this new identity is 'Catapult'-a motorcycle can penetrate into your minds and transform lives.

The logo revolves around high energy and space. Speaking about the new logo, Anil S Nair, chief executive officer and managing partner at Law & Kenneth, tells afaqs!, "The new logo is in sync with the overall philosophy of pushing the limits and boundaries. The earlier logo denoted stature".

Hero Motocorp had earlier roped in Law & Kenneth as a creative partner to launch and establish the new brand for the company. Global brand and innovation specialist Wolff Olins was handed over the responsibility to create the new brand identity. Maxus will handle the media mandate for the brand.

The logo continues to have the colour red, a colour that has been associated with the Indian two-wheeler giant for ages.

The company has also roped in Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor and cricketer Irfan Pathan to endorse the brand. Hrithik Roshan will continue to remain associated with the brand. The company has also commissioned a new brand anthem by A R Rahman.

"The new anthem is about human stories. It won't focus on the star power, but will talk about Indians and their association for years with Hero," says Nair.

Explaining the new tagline Hum Main Hain Hero, Nair says, "There is a Hero in each one of us."

According to Nair, it took several months of planning to form the new identity. "When you migrate, it cannot be overnight," he adds.

The group is planning to connect with the Indian people. The entire creative strategy is engaging and far more interactive.

"The new brand identity is born out of our desire to break the shackles and realise our potential which were restricted by the nature of our JV (joint venture) with Honda," says Pawan Munjal, Hero MotoCorp's managing director and chief executive officer at the unveiling event in London.

The company also launched a 110cc scooter 'Maestro' and 150cc off -- road bike 'Impulse' under the Hero brand for the first time.

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