It may be 60 years old today and a respected household name but Devish Gala, Head of Branding, Navneet Education Limited tells us that Navneet is not taking its legacy for granted. Gala takes us through the brand’s innovation and use of technology in the education space, which allows it to stay ahead of the curve in today’s challenging times.
Q] Navneet recently rolled out the ‘Progress Limitless’ campaign to mark its 60th anniversary on Teachers’ Day. Take us through the campaign and its core objectives.
The campaign ‘Progress Limitless’ encompasses Navneet’s beautiful journey over the past six decades. Over the years, Navneet has achieved great heights, these achievements are attributed to not just our employees but all the stakeholders. Through this campaign, we want to express gratitude to all those who have played the biggest roles in our lives – grandparents, parents, teachers, and most importantly students. Navneet is a household name when it comes to the education and development of a child, which has been depicted in the campaign. If one has spent their childhood in India, Navneet books surely are a part of childhood nostalgia!
The brand’s objective has always been to be a brand that is beyond just manufacturing educational products since our inception. Today we can proudly say that we have made a difference in the lives of people with our values, beliefs, and personality. Today, Navneet as a brand has a legacy of being trusted and reliable in the market.
Q] In this pandemic scenario with schools shut, how are you amplifying your campaign and what kind of budgets are you allocating to it?
We have carefully laid out the strategy to reach out to all our stakeholders. The campaign is running on all our social media platforms to ensure we express our gratitude to the masses. In another attempt to show our appreciation to teachers, an appreciation certificate was sent to teachers to thank them for being the most important part of the student’s educational journey and for their constant support and belief in our brand.
In addition to that, we have also planned to introduce Navneet Youva Happiness Combo during the campaign, where we will provide Navneet Digest and Youva stationery products to customers at discounted rates on e-commerce platforms.
Q] Having completed six decades in the education space, how is Navneet, a legacy brand, staying relevant to today’s consumers?
For Navneet, quality has always been crucial, and we are never going to change that. However, with the rapidly growing technology in the education space, it is important for us to stay ahead of the changing times and provide our customers with the best products and services to continue to be their preferred brand. Thus, we have taken a major leap in reinforcing our efforts in the ed-tech space.
This year we launched DigiBook, the digital version of all the books published by Navneet which is available as an app and as a web-based platform. The students can access the DigiBook with the help of an access code which will be printed on the books that have an interactive feature resulting in a better understanding of concepts and syllabus. Spreading our wings in the ed-tech space, we have recently made investments in ed-tech companies in order to provide the best quality of educational products and services to customers in the language and medium of their choice and provide complete platforms for online learning.
Q] With remote learning gaining prominence and with schools shut, what are some of the shifts you are making in terms of marketing and advertising to consumers today?
Pre-COVID, we focused more on on-ground activations. Since the last two years with the increasing use of technology and with time spent on smartphones increasing, we are making more efforts on the digital side. For instance, recently we have invested in Elation EdTech and Carveniche Technologies. We are also currently working on a learning platform for the age group of 2 to 8 years. Apart from an array of e-books, we have launched a tutoring platform to help school students learn and teachers teach on a platform that is built specifically for education.
Social media is the best way to promote and reach your target audience. We have associated with some well-known, prominent influencers. Apart from all these, we also have a good presence on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart. We hope the situation becomes normal soon so we will start promoting on the ground and on digital. We believe 360-degree promotion is important for the brand to stay relevant.
Q] What are the trends that will drive growth for your brand and the education space, going forward?
After a long period of online schooling, whenever schools reopen and students go back to school, there will be a lot of excitement. While online schooling was the need of the hour and it helped seamlessly continue the students’ academic years, going to school helps in building students’ personalities. The penetration of technology in education has made learning more fun and interactive, and we see this trend continuing irrespective of online or offline schooling. While physical books will remain relevant, digital learning is expected to grow rapidly.
