Paves a positive way forward for SME’s to set up shops in the Smart City; Amsterdam

Mumbai, 6 April, 2015: Born in Amsterdam and grown in India, Brand Dialogue is an Amsterdam and Mumbai based consultancy. A conglomerate of three expert firms, Brand Dialogue collectively offers solutions for all branding and design requisites. In association with the Embassy of Netherlands, SME Chamber of India, Brand Dialogue recently organized a seminar titled, ‘Amsterdam: Cradle of Creativity, Oasis of Innovation’.

Mayor of Amsterdam, Mr. Eberhard van der Laan, during his week-long visit to India with his 60-strong delegation, inaugurated the seminar. While giving the opening remarks, honourable Mayor said, “Amsterdam maybe small but that is also one aspect which makes us more interconnected and humane. Over the years, Amsterdam has learnt to think International.”

Talking about India, Mayor Laan added, “India’s democratic aspect is wonderful. We respect Indians for being hardworking and internationally oriented. Earlier, India needed to reach out to the world for its development but today the world comes to India for its high quality of services like Information Techonology.”

Sharing his first-hand experience with the two cities, Willem Woudenberg, Founder & CEO, Brand Dialogue said, “India’s design industry has a strong creative design base and works in the multi-discipline approach and Amsterdam has a really strong designing culture, the two cities in a way complement one another. At Brand Dialogue, one of our ambitions is to reach out to India in the best possible way and support India in reaching out to us.”

Paul Stork, Designer & Partner at Fabrique said, “Branding and design comes from your DNA. In designing and innovation, you have to let go off ideas and make mistakes. 99% of your thoughts can end up wasted but the 1% which can result in a creative concept can do wonders for your business.”

Other eminent speakers at the forum included, Geoffrey van Leeuwen, Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Chandrakant Salunkhe, Preseident & Founder, SME Chamber of India, Mark van Iterson, Global Manager, Design and Concept, Heineken, Radharamanan Panicker, Director, DGM India and Loe Limpens, CSD & Partner, Yellow Dress Retail. Through their intriguing presentations, the speakers enlightened the audience with the experiences their brands have encountered in the Indian and global markets.

The seminar concluded with a huge positive outcome where Mr. Laan promised to look into the possibilities of hosting an interaction between 20 Indian and 20 Dutch SMEs in the coming year.

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The time is right for Gujarat’s SMEs

European companies flock to Gujarat, appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit

India, January 19, 2014: Gujarati entrepreneurs have managed to capture the imagination of Europeans too! The recently concluded Vibrant Gujarat summit saw several delegates from Europe. Among them was Brand Dialogue, a consortium of Dutch branding and design agencies such as Fabrique, Globrands and Yellow Dress Retail. The Brand Dialogue group is widely respected across Europe for catering to some of Europe’s best known brands in retail, banking and location branding.

Brand Dialogue CEO, Willem Woudenberg, a veteran from the world of branding who has worked with top international clients was amazed by the ingenuity of the state’s thriving business community. “Almost every major company or big business house began as an SME here in Gujarat. Well designed government policies have also helped foster this spirit of entrepreneurship. The announcement of patent units will be a shot in the arm for small businesses” says Woudenberg, who wants to help such SMEs with correct branding and strategic design strategies that can help them achieve truly international standards.

This is Willem’s third visit to Vibrant Gujarat and he says it is getting better with every passing year. “It is interesting to see savvy businessmen who are not afraid of takings risks, working with such dedication to make a mark in the market.  However, competition is growing and as customer awareness increases, they would start demanding new and better goods and services. SMEs often find it difficult to differentiate themselves from competition and secure a positive image in the consumer’s mind-space. This is where branding can play a role” explains Woudenberg.

Brand Dialogue has been helping Indian brands evolve into internationally recognizable and relevant market leaders for nearly two years. In India, the company has worked with brands such as Delhi Airport, Godrej, FlipKart, Metro Cash and Carry, etc. Brand Dialogue has been organizing regular master classes, seminars and conferences to help Indian brand and design managers understand the nuances of design led branding and international best practices.

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Bags a gold and a silver

India, October 29, 2014: Yellow Dress Retail (YDR), a specialist in retail branding and design has bagged two big wins at this year’s prestigious Pentawards. It was awarded a Golden Pentaward for the design of SPAR detergents and Silver Pentaward for the design of Hands Off My Chocolate. Yellow Dress Retail is a part of the Brand Dialogue group, a consortium of Dutch branding and design agencies dedicated to help Indian brands evolve into memorable international ones. YDR has expertise in retail brand strategy, packaging design and retail communication.

The Pentaward is a leading global design competition exclusively devoted to packaging design. The awards have been presented every year since 2007 to recognize excellence in creative packaging worldwide. Participants include designers, design agencies, communication agencies, brands, packaging manufacturers and design students.

Speaking about this recent achievement, Loe Limpens, creative strategy director Yellow Dress Retail, said, “Since 2012 we are restyling the SPAR brand with clear visual recognition throughout the store. It’s great to see that our client, who is consistently investing in visualizing the brand strategy, clearly benefits through a rising own brand revenue.”

“For Hands Off My Chocolate, we worked with the founders on the positioning of the brand, the design of the identity, packaging and deployment of communications, including the website. This integrated approach of the new brand has contributed to the successful launch,” he added.

Willem Woudenberg, Founder & CEO, Brand Dialogue, hailed the awards as a significant milestone for Brand Dialogue and Yellow Dress Retail. He said, “Yellow Dress Retail has already delivered some cutting edge solutions with Metro Cash and Carry and FlipKart in India. Our team is heading strong with all the combined expertise that we bring to the table.”

The entries were judged by an international jury of heavy weights with expertise in the field of marketing and packaging design. The 2014 winners will be published in the popular book The package design book (published by Tasschen).

Brand Dialogue will soon share their international expertise with a retail banking seminar and a masterclass in its Indian headquarters, Mumbai.

About Brand Dialogue

Brand Dialogue is a Dutch branding & design group located in Amsterdam and Mumbai. With affiliates in Delhi and Chennai, Brand Dialogue comes with international expertise which can be accessed locally. Brand Dialogue is a consortium of top Dutch creative agencies such as Fabrique, Globrands, THEY and Yellow Dress Retail. Together these agencies have expertise and experience in offering innovative branding, design and communication solutions in the field of visual and digital branding, naming, e-commerce, retail, store design, etc.

For more information on Brand Dialogue, please visit: http://www.branddialogue.eu/

You can also read our company newsletter here: http://www.branddialogue.eu/news/newsletter/

About Yellow Dress Retail

Yellow Dress Retail creates retail brand strategy, private label design, retail communication and store design. They consider the integrated visualization of a retail brand as the most valuable asset of a retailer. Starting from the brand personality, the visual translation of a retail brand becomes tangible at all consumer touch points. Store design, In-store communication, Packaging design and Interactive design should all communicate the same (brand) language.

Yellow Dress Retail has a fully equipped design studio in Amsterdam, Holland and Chennai, India. Although these studios are situated in totally different cultures, we work together as one global team.

For more information on Yellow Dress Retail, please visit: http://www.ydretail.com/

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-Bring together their 1^st seminar in India to present celebrated Dutch design solutions for innovating India-

Mumbai, November 21, 2013:  Dutch brand communications consultancy Brand Dialogue collaborates with the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Mumbai for a unique Design & Branding seminar.  This joint initiative, which emphasizes a new vision targeting design and branding solutions for India, was held on Nov 19 in Mumbai.

Brand Dialogue, which recently announced its entry into the Indian market, is being graciously accepted by Indian companies for its international approach. The Brand Dialogue seminar is offered in collaboration with four renowned Dutch creative agencies, Fabrique, Globrands, THEY and Yellow Dress Retail. Speaking about the seminar, CEO & Founder of Brand Dialogue, Willem Woudenberg, said: “With the highly competitive scenario in the market today, it becomes crucial for brands to showcase their exclusivity and I believe design and branding play an eminent role here. Companies investing in design and branding invest in their future, are more innovative, develop stronger client relations and will make more profit”.

The Dutch Consulate General emphasizes that India offers a wide variety of opportunities. This is reflected in a decades-long tradition of bilateral trade between both countries; The Netherlands is currently the 4^th largest investor in India, India is the 5^th largest investor in The Netherlands. The Netherlands is the 4^th most innovative country in the world and through its business partnerships over the years, Dutch expertise has been introduced in many sectors of the Indian economy. Whereas design and branding in The Netherlands is widely developed and has become key to corporate success, the Indian creative sector leaves room for exploitation.  The Design & Branding seminar offers the principles that make brands effective today and creates awareness of how to circumvent pitfalls. Insights from experts reveal how to bridge the gap between understanding the basics of branding and the actual execution.

Mr. Woudenberg was supported by a team of panelists, comprising of Mr. Vishal Jhunjhunwala, Head Corporate Brand TATA-TCS, Mr. Shireesh Joshi, COO Strategic Marketing Group at Godrej and Mr. Manish Agarwal, CEO Reliance Entertainment (Digital).

Mr. Shireesh Joshi, COO Strategic Marketing Group at Godrej, said: “Indian brands are increasingly competing internationally, with international competitors domestically, and seeking to win consumers whose sensibilities are being increasingly trained by international exposure. There is a need to learn from and appropriately adopt international design imagination in their products and presence. Dutch design firms will have a role to play not just in such creation but building the culture and discipline of executing great design to delight consumers.”

The evening was wrapped up by workshop sessions by the four Dutch creative agencies associated with Brand Dialogue on an appealing topic- ‘How branding (really) works’.  Brand Dialogue’s journey in India is supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Dutch Consulate General in Mumbai. With its specialized agencies, Brand Dialogue holds to its credit, association with clients like Philips, Delhi Airport, Heineken, Metro, Business World, DSM, Hema and Spar, among others.

About Brand Dialogue

Brand Dialogue is a Dutch brand & design consultancy offering innovative branding, design and communication solutions. With offices in Amsterdam, Delhi & Mumbai, Brand Dialogue in India comes with international expertise which can be accessed locally. Collaborating with leading Dutch design firms Brand Dialogue, offers strength in various branding specialisms: visual & digital branding, naming, advertising, retail and product design.

For more information, please visit- http://www.branddialogue.eu/

About The kingdom of the Netherlands, Mumbai

The Netherlands sets great store by their relations with India. Improvement of bilateral trade is a core activity of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it is the 4^th largest investor in India. India, in its turn, is the 5^th largest investor in The Netherlands. As an excellent business partner for India and the 4^th most innovative country in the world, not only thorough knowledge of the creative industries contributes to this relationship. Expertise in water management, logistics and the agricultural sector play a prominent role here as well.

The post Dutch Consulate General and Brand Dialogue showcase the art of Design & Branding appeared first on Core Sector Communique.

-Bring together their 1^st seminar in India to present celebrated Dutch design solutions for innovating India-

Mumbai, November 15, 2013:  Dutch brand communications consultancy Brand Dialogue collaborates with the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Mumbai for a unique Design & Branding seminar.  This joint initiative, which emphasizes a new vision targeting design and branding solutions for India, will be held on November 19 in Mumbai.

Brand Dialogue, which recently announced its entry into the Indian market, is being graciously accepted by Indian companies for its international approach. The Brand Dialogue seminar is offered in collaboration with four renowned Dutch creative agencies, Fabrique, Globrands, THEY and Yellow Dress Retail. Speaking about the seminar, CEO & Founder of Brand Dialogue, Willem Woudenberg, says: “With the highly competitive scenario in the market today, it becomes crucial for brands to showcase their exclusivity and I believe design and branding play an eminent role here. Companies investing in design and branding invest in their future, are more innovative, develop stronger client relations and will make more profit”.

The Dutch Consulate General emphasizes that India offers a wide variety of opportunities. This is reflected in a decades-long tradition of bilateral trade between both countries; The Netherlands is currently the 4^th largest investor in India, India is the 5^th largest investor in The Netherlands. The Netherlands is the 4^th most innovative country in the world and through its business partnerships over the years, Dutch expertise has been introduced in many sectors of the Indian economy. Whereas design and branding in The Netherlands is widely developed and has become key to corporate success, the Indian creative sector leaves room for exploitation.  The Design & Branding seminar offers the principles that make brands effective today and creates awareness of how to circumvent pitfalls. Insights from experts reveal how to bridge the gap between understanding the basics of branding and the actual execution.

Mr. Woudenberg will be supported by a team of panelists, comprising of Mr. Vishal Jhunjhunwala, Head Corporate Brand TATA-TCS, Mr. Shireesh Joshi, COO Strategic Marketing Group at Godrej and Mr. Manish Agarwal, CEO Reliance Entertainment (Digital).

The evening will be wrapped up by workshop sessions by the four Dutch creative agencies associated with Brand Dialogue on an appealing topic- ‘How branding (really) works’.

Brand Dialogue’s journey in India is supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Dutch Consulate General in Mumbai. With its specialized agencies, Brand Dialogue holds to its credit, association with clients like Philips, Delhi Airport, Heineken, Metro, Business World, DSM, Hema and Spar, among others.

About Brand Dialogue

Brand Dialogue is a Dutch brand & design consultancy offering innovative branding, design and communication solutions. With offices in Amsterdam, Delhi & Mumbai, Brand Dialogue in India comes with international expertise which can be accessed locally. Collaborating with leading Dutch design firms Brand Dialogue, offers strength in various branding specialisms: visual & digital branding, naming, advertising, retail and product design.

For more information, please visit- http://www.branddialogue.eu/

About The kingdom of the Netherlands, Mumbai

The Netherlands sets great store by their relations with India. Improvement of bilateral trade is a core activity of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it is the 4^th largest investor in India. India, in its turn, is the 5^th largest investor in The Netherlands. As an excellent business partner for India and the 4^th most innovative country in the world, not only thorough knowledge of the creative industries contributes to this relationship. Expertise in water management, logistics and the agricultural sector play a prominent role here as well.

The post Dutch Consulate General and Brand Dialogue showcase the art of Design & Branding appeared first on Core Sector Communique.