Kamal Oberoi back in business; launches Quo in India

Oberoi, who recently resigned from the post of chairperson and managing director, M&C Saatchi India, will now head the branding and communication consultancy firm as chairman.

Kamal Oberoi, the former chairperson and managing director of M&C Saatchi, is back in business, with the launch of branding and communication consultancy firm Quo, in India. Oberoi will head the Indian business as chairman, along with Caroline Rowe, as the managing partner of the firm.

Speaking about the launch, David Keen, chief executive officer, Quo Global, says, "The future lies in being a specialist. As a specialist, one can monitor and control all aspects of a brand, than just take a call on the positioning of a brand."

The newly-launched consultancy firm specialises in travel and tourism, and the hospitality sector. According to Oberoi, Indians are one of the highest spenders when it comes to travel and stay. The time is, therefore, right to get a specialist firm to take on the category that has limited resources when it comes to branding and creating a clear-cut strategy.

The consultancy firm is working with brands in the hospitality sector like Zinc InVision Hospitality in India, in addition to Jetwing Hotels, which plans to launch its services in India soon. The firm had recently launched the logo of Maldives, as part of its work for destination tourism.

Currently, the Delhi-based consultancy firm has a workforce of four people, with plans to recruit a few more. Oberoi elaborates, "We plan to hire a couple of local strategists, along with a few brand managers. We will also use the resources from our main base in Bangkok, which has a strength of about 80 people."

Going ahead in the next six months, Oberoi hopes to win one/two home-grown hospitality businesses, and create a branding for both. The launch of a successful digital strategy for one of the brands in the hospitality sector is also on the anvil.

Oberoi adds, "We will do the entire work for a brand -- create an identity, as well as launch various communication strategies. The focus will be upon lending the brand a character, to define and shape it."