Daraz’s Rebranding – Here’s what you should know!
South Asian e-commerce platform, Daraz, startled its audience with a decision to revamp its brand in January 2022. The multinational-tech company’s primary steps to rebrand consisted of major changes in logo design and brand color.
Bjarke Mikkelsen, Founder and CEO at Daraz Group, had explained the nitty gritty of the new logo as, “At the center of the icon is an arrow that highlights our focus on progress and fast delivery, but it also resembles a ‘play button’, symbolizing how we are continually innovating to create a more dynamic content experience for users.”
Following the revamp, denizens of the internet have been vocal regarding Daraz’s new logo and color. The Nepalese Reddit community has expressed its share of discontentment regarding the changes. Particularly, the motivation behind ‘play button’ was a common subject of discussion. In light of the issue, BrandGuff reached out to Mr. Paarash Jung Kadel, Marketing Manager at Daraz Nepal, to scrutinize the company’s rebranding move.
Essence of the Play Button
The combination of the new color and play button bears a slight resemblance to YouTube’s logo. At first glance, most would associate the play button with a video or streaming platform. Perhaps, the CEO’s message was insufficient in elucidating the significance of the play button when he meant ‘continually innovating to create a dynamic content experience’.
Kadel clarified the essence of the play button by mentioning a new campaign from Daraz: ‘Livestream Selling in Nepal’. The first of its kind in the country; hosts will attempt to sell their products to viewers by communicating through live streams on Daraz’s web page itself. Additionally, the company had started streaming live cricket games in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, a while back. All in all, the play button is insinuating Daraz’s entry into video streaming platform and livestream selling.
Brand Color Conundrum
The year 2021 saw a prominent rebranding of Facebook into Meta. Although the company changed its corporate name to Meta, it retained its signature blue color. Moreover, the social media platform’s name remained unchanged.
Daraz’s new logo is permeated with ‘orange’ color, which is drastically contrasting to its previous rendition. People are bound to show dubious concerns in regards to such a radical change. However, it is identical to the brand color of Daraz’s parent company, “Alibaba Group”. As such, this is a symbolic move by Daraz to integrate with the global multinational tech giant.
Kadel mentioned that “Daraz decided upon the new color in collaboration with a UK-based design agency called Design Studio. The orange color signals a new beginning for the company in Nepal, along with the appointment of a new local Managing Director”.
Daraz Nepal – What’s next?
Anchal Kunwar, a Nepali national with over 5 years of work experience in Amazon, replaced Lino Ahlering as the Managing Director for Daraz Nepal, almost coinciding with the company’s rebranding. While her exposure to the international industry is certainly a blue-chip asset, conforming to the local market of Nepal can prove to be challenging. As per Kadel, “Kunwar, with guidance from the former MD, is making consistent efforts to connect with Daraz Nepal’s employees, and also understand the mechanism of the Nepali market”. All things considered, Kunwar’s role as the new MD projects an optimistic vibe, mindful of Daraz’s aim to use localized business strategy.
Ensuing rebranding, the team at Daraz Nepal’s first marketing campaign will be based on Valentine’s Day. The “Celebrate Love” campaign will be carried out from February 4 midnight till February 14. This will include Mega deals up to 60 percent discounts, card prepayment discounts of 15 percent (max Rs 750) and mega vouchers worth up to Rs 5000, among many others. The most-alluring deal of the campaign is ‘Mega Giveaway’, where one lucky winner gets a chance to win a Shree Balaji Diamond Earrings and Ring’ set worth Rs 122,000.
Daraz revolutionized the e-commerce industry of Nepal through an amalgamation of modern technology and competent supply chain management strategies. The company’s rebranding can possibly prove to be the “Next Big Leap” for the multinational company in Nepal.
