Conran Design grew by 139% in India over past year: Thom Newton, Global CEO, Conran Design Group

Delhi: Havas Group has merged its two design specialist agencies, Conran Design Group, with offices in Mumbai, New York, London, and Dubai, and the Paris-based agency W, to create the Conran Design Group network. This new global offering consisting of 250 strategists, is focused on brand and design services. 

The network unveiled its new logo—a vibrant green design featuring a prominent "D" at its centre, symbolising Conran's emphasis on design. The logo also incorporates an opening-like pattern, representing the endless possibilities for the future.

The global rollout of the Conran Design Group Network was initiated from India. To announce the global rollout from India, Havas Group executed an event in Mumbai on March 21, 2024. Present at the event were Ludwig Duran, Strategy Director, Conran Design Group, Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas India, SEA and North Asia (Japan and South Korea), Anaïs Guillemané Mootoosamy, Strategy Managing Director, W Conran Design, Thom Newton, Global CEO, Conran Design Group and Lee Hoddy, Executive Creative Director, Conran Design Group along with Conran India leadership.

Throwing light on why Havas chose India to initiate the global rollout of Conran Design Group network,  Newton, the Global CEO of Conran Design Group, said, “Havas growth in India in the last 4-5 years is nothing short of phenomenal. The business landscape here is flourishing, with brands showing a tremendous appetite for design and branding services. We have witnessed continuous growth and success in India.” 

He further said, “Because we were born in the UK, so London and Paris are our two biggest hubs in terms of people. Having said that, Mumbai is our fastest growing hub. It grew by 139% in the last 12 months. Within the initial three months, we successfully pitched and secured Zydus as a client, followed by Nestle, Coca-Cola, Tata, and Reliance. We garnered interest from significant global brands right from the outset, establishing a platform that enables us to compete on a global scale. Recognizing the immense importance of the Indian market to our operations, we have chosen to initiate our global rollout from here."

For the record, the Conran Design Group entered India in February, 2021 during the Covid-19 period.

Globally, the company will also be exploring further acquisitions in the next two years. Conran Design Group has also been the official design agency on board for the Olympics for many years now. 

When BestMediaInfo.com asked Newton about his views on the level of maturity in the Indian market in terms of branding and designing, he answered, “While there is still time for India to reach the maturity stage in terms of design, this stands true for almost all the markets. I’ve seen brands quickly jumping to activation tactics that give them short-term spikes. But as design specialists, we have always emphasised on the importance of investment in brand and design to create long-term success. We measure effectiveness through longevity. There are many examples of businesses that have had a spike and a burst and then disappeared because they've neglected to invest in the brand to build a long-term vision with sustainable growth.” 

Talking about how generative AI will impact the business of design, Lee Hoddy, Executive Creative Director, Conran Design Group, said, “At Conran, we believe that human centricity lies at the heart of technologies. We use it to enable brands to reach more people in meaningful ways.” 

Newton added, “While AI can enhance processes, simply rushing to adopt technology faster isn't always the best approach. Any technology should be seen as a collaborator and partner in creativity, inspiring human ingenuity. While we cannot predict the future over the next 5-10 years, currently, AI cannot replace human creativity.”

Mootoosamy commented, “At the core of our proposition is ‘design to inspire progress’. A lot of design is about intent, which can’t be pursued by a machine or ChatGPT. While machines can do a lot of things, what remains really important in the end is the ability to create a sense, a strong proposition and to put intent into a brand.”

The network launch also marked the release of Conran Design Group’s new proprietary study, Citizen Brands, an evidence-based brand and design framework that identifies which brands are achieving balanced growth.

The study found that the top 20 ‘citizen brands’ – those able to meet the needs of both individual and society – earned £8bn more in revenues on average yearly than their lowest-performing counterparts. They also achieved equity price increases that are on average five times higher than those of the lowest performers.

As part of the consumer element of the study, Conran Design asked 5,300 respondents to rate 150 brands according to the six attributes, creating an index of Citizen Brands.

As per the report, the Top Ten Citizen Brands in India are Google, Tata, Amazon, Samsung, Microsoft, Tata Motors, Apple, Sony, LG and Paytm (Placed in ascending order). 

When asked about the lack of representation of FMCG brands in the top ten list, Ludwig Duran, Strategy Director, Conran Design Group, said, “It's always a journey and there's always room for improvement for every brand.”

The Citizen Brands framework consists of:

Three levers to address the needs of the ‘self’               

– Betterment is about improving lives emotionally and functionally by making them easier, more enjoyable, more meaningful. It’s about helping people progress in their lives.

– Originality is to inspire with unique value; to bring something both unique and valuable to people’s lives.

– Assurance is to reliably deliver and in so doing, win trust. It’s about consistently meeting people’s expectations and delivering when and where it matters most.                       

Three levers to address the needs of ‘society’

–  Inclusivity is about opening access and opportunity. We mean it in the broadest of senses – designing products and services to be open and accessible to all.

–  Environmentalism is about promoting a sustainable view of growth by taking action to reduce brands’ environmental impact, integrating sustainable practices into ways of operating, and building operational resilience

–  Contribution is being part of and providing value to society. That contribution may take different forms – be it economic, cultural or creative. The idea is that brands are productive members of society: active contributors not indifferent extractors.         

The study also found:

Brand leaders are walking a reputational tightrope

94% fear not being seen to be doing enough in response to key societal and environmental issues, while 87% fear being perceived as too ‘woke’ by focusing on the same issues.

Brand leaders struggle to balance the demands of ‘Self’ versus ‘Society’ and grow

Two-thirds of brand leaders and investors interviewed feel unable to balance profitability with people and planet, and eight out of 10 struggle to balance expectations around people and planet with the need to maximise shareholder value.

Consumers feel equally trapped between cost and conscience

71% of consumers feel forced to choose between price and sustainability.

Citizen Brands balance the demands of self and society and drive balanced growth

The top 20 ‘citizen brands’ – those able to meet the needs of both the individual and society – earned £8bn more in yearly revenues on average than their lowest-performing counterparts. They also achieved equity price increases that are on average five times higher than those of the lowest performers.