Fabrique India commences location branding for the city of Agra – home of Taj Mahal

Brand Dialogue, a consortium of top Dutch branding and design agencies, through its multidisciplinary agency Fabrique has associated itself with the branding for Agra. City branding comes naturally to Brand Dialogue with the group being closely associated with the famous ‘I Amsterdam’.

Talking about the association, Jeroen Van Erp, Co-founder & Creative Director Fabrique said, “With the experience we have had at our home ground Amsterdam through ‘I Amsterdam’, we are glad to have the chance to utilize the knowledge and experience of location branding in Agra. Through ‘I Amsterdam’, the objective was to leverage the image of Amsterdam as a cultural melting pot and an oasis for creative talent. For Agra we have significantly highlighted the identity of its first and last letter, ‘A’, the A is symmetrical like a lot of cultural heritage in Agra. Agra is simple by nature and strong in it’s appearance, that is what we want to achieve with the visual language for the brand Agra.”

View the sample design: Designing Brand Agra a sample by Fabrique.pdf

“Home to India’s pride and one of the most beautiful wonders of the world, Taj Mahal, Agra will be branded as a perfect tourist destination. Agra is a romantic, mysterious and a futuristic city with Taj being the symbol of its existence, branding for the city will redefine its existence and it is to watch out for,” added Van Erp.

Speaking about this achievement of Brand Dialogue, Willem Woudenberg, Founder & CEO, Brand Dialogue, said, “With the government’s keen involvement, India is successfully progressing towards innovation and development. UP government is taking all measures to promote the city’s tourism and we are glad that they have selected our team as one of the partner’s for branding for Agra.”

The design proposals were presented last Saturday during a special event in Agra organised by the UP government for Meragra (My Agra) branding in the presence of the honourable chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav.

The question for the need of location branding lies in subliminal sensory and emotional cues one picks up while visiting a place. If Prague or Vienna are memorable for their architecture, New York has a strong always-on-the-move vibe! Paris is about romance and London has old world charm fusing seamlessly with modern technology. Every city has a character that adds to its brand value.

Experts believe that the niche field of location branding is becoming increasingly relevant, especially for places that are either relatively new and want to attract travelers or states and provinces that want to attract business or investments. India has been trying to woo both tourists as well as businesses from across the world and has made a small but significant foray into the world of location branding. With Agra added to the list, India is all prepared to create history in the field of location branding.