How to sell Aadhar

The UID project has got a new name and logo, but the difficult part starts now

The ambitious Unique Identification (UID) number project has got a new identity and logo – something that brand experts have endorsed wholeheartedly. While the project has been renamed Aadhar, the new logo has the halo of the Sun on the imprint of a thumb.

Experts say this was required as a name like UID just couldn’t be of any appeal to a majority of its target audience – the marginalised people who will get a foolproof identity to claim various social sector scheme incentives. 

Kiran Khalap, co-founder, Chlorophyll, who is part of the five-member media advisory for the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), says, “We wanted a complex metrix of all the elements of UID in a simple name. Aadhaar encompasses all — its attribute, benefits and idea.”

Ranjan Bargotra, President, Crayons, agrees. “Aadhaar is so simple and indicative of the utility of the product. The new name will give the authorities a great creative platform to advertise it,” he says

Bargotra cites one of his very successful projects with the Delhi government. A few years ago, under the police-public partnership programme, Crayons was given a project aimed at connecting with the children of schools in slums to educate them about being responsible, fearless citizens and report their neigbourhood crime to the police. The agency executed the programme under the name “Nidar” (fearless). Bargotra says the name prompted a huge response from children. “After all, who doesn’t want to become a nidar?” he asks.

Harish Bijoor, brand-strategy specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc, too says, “The one big meaning of Aadhar is the word “depend” and possibly “support”. To that extent, the name packs a lot of punch considering the UID project’s objective.

But now that the rebanding is over, the bigger task is how to sell the concept, considering the diversity challenges in India.

Bijoor says that the brand needs to be led visually and not through script. The brand needs visual mnemonics that are strong and easily identifiable. The current logo with the finger-print and sun holds good potential here. In addition to this, it is important to create a very powerful sound mnemonic for the brand —something that will identify the brand the moment the sound mnemonic is played. Take Doordarshan for instance. The moment the sound mnemonic plays, everyone understands.

A majority of the population in rural India emotes with the visual and the audio much more than written words. It is therefore important to invest in visual and audio mnemonics that are relevant, original and innovative.

Brand experts say allowing a villager – Dhaneshwar Ram – to unveil the brand name and logo was a great marketing innovation. “When Ram talked about the difficulties he faced in establishing his identity in his village in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, even to procure a certificate of residency, there was instant empathy, which a project like this requires” says the head of an advertising agency.

UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani says the project will be marketed through media, advertisements, word of mouth, village posters etc. The UIDAI has studied other mass public change initiatives like polio awareness etc, to understand what has worked, he adds.

Brand experts say the trick also lies in using different branding strategies to appeal to diverse groups of people. The methods that work for young urban professionals, for example, would be lost on the rural poor.