Bates changes to engage

Re-launches with new corporate identity that reflects dictum of driving brand conversations

Bates, the Asia-focused communications network that had been driving the message of change, yesterday executed a simultaneous region-wide re-launch of its corporate identity to reflect an enhanced strategic approach to brand communications.

The new logo and brand livery features colourful speech balloons to depict the brand conversations that marketers and communicators must drive if they are to truly engage their audiences with their brands.

Together with a new description of the Agency as “the changengage people,” Bates underscores the requirement to go beyond broadcasting advertising messages to focus on generating brand conversations in the marketplace, and is showing its clients how to engage effectively with their consumers using new strategies and new media.

The staff of Bates Strategic Alliance Sri Lanka joined the region-wide re-launch in an internal staff event and plans to roll out its message to their clients and the marketing community at large. Bates’ Asia-Pacific Chairman Tim Isaac, who led the regional strategy team including regional ECD Sonal Dabral and regional Planning Head Dheeraj Sinha on the re-launch project, commented: “Brands that engage with their communities can far outperform those who are still talking at broad audiences.  Technology increasingly allows us to do this.  Our futures in marketing will increasingly be about a fusion of technology and creativity. These are exciting times and I feel that Bates is in a very good place to ride this wave.”

Bates’ Talent veteran David Meredith and Regional Marketing Head Des Lim are driving the rollout to staff and clients.

Commenting on the relevance of the re-launch, Chairman and CEO of Bates’ Sri Lanka business Nimal Gunewardena said: “We have been saying all this while that marketers need to review and change their approaches of communicating with their audiences based on the rapid changes in the field of communications driven by technological, social and environmental change. Pure broadcast advertising is having declining returns with the proliferation of channels and the fragmentation and inattention of audiences.

“Audience engagement is the need of the day, and marketers and agencies must drive interesting brand conversations among its consumers and potential audiences if brands are to be talked about, recommended and adopted. We are showing the way with the innovative strategies we are developing for our clients using our capability to integrate advertising, BTL and PR and overlay with the effective use of the web and social media for brand building.”

Bates has been in Sri Lanka for 18 years, and its Agency Bates Strategic Alliance founded by marketing and communications veteran Gunewardena serves a prestigious list of local and multinational clients offering a true integrated communications capability that it has built from inception.