WolfzHowl, LeapFrog Partners Post-digital, Integrated Era Of Brand Management

WolfzHowl Strategic Instigations, the 7-year-old brand strategy firm founded by Kalyan Ram Challapalli enters into an alliance with Semiotics specialist firm, Leapfrog Strategy Consulting. Given this new marketing era, both partners in the alliance believe that new thinking, specialised know-how and collaborations are the future of brand strategy solutions.

Kalyan Challapalli, Founder, Wolfzhowl Strategic Instigations said, “Interrogation of culture and consumer behaviour from a multitude of dimensions and with greater depth is essential in the post-digital world, to create lasting impact.  Semiotics is often thought of as esoteric application in marketing and relegated to “also good to do”. WolfzHowl believes that this needs to change. We want to help clients shape their brand-consumer relationships more effectively by taking semiotics into their everyday work.”

“We enter a new marketing era in 2020.  In 2019, 12,000 brands used TV, 2 Lakh brands advertised on print and the number of brands that put money on digital was over a million! Digital has not quite taken off TV’s share (and sheen) but has been additive in customer consumption habits. It has increased today’s marketer’s touchpoints (rather screens and screen time) for the same customer and yet it has made the job far harder than ever with the democratization of consumer journey and choices,” he further added.

Hamsini Shivakumar, founder of Leapfrog Strategy said, “Globally, it is proven that Semiotics is central to brand strategy.  We are delighted to partner with the diverse and passionate team of Wolfzhowl to demonstrate the power of semiotics for brands in impacting consumer behaviour while drawing from culture.”

She further added, “The days when brilliant advertising campaigns were the only basis for defining and building brands are over.  Everything communicates and brands use a wide range of media platforms to get their message and image out to consumers.  Brand purpose, mass personalization and customer experience have grown in importance.  In such a scenario, tools and frameworks of thought built in the FMCG, TVC, creative campaign dominated world are passé.  Brands need much more intellectual horsepower of various kinds, to live up to their potential for creating value for businesses.”

Hamsini Shivakumar is also co-founder of Semiofest, the only global conference for applied semiotics.  Since its founding in 2012, Semiofest has travelled the world. Hamsini and her team have been working in the field of applied marketing semiotics since 2009.  She has previously been Planning Head for JWT Mumbai and has also worked with P&G as well as TNS/Mode. 

Kalyan Challapalli is a veteran strategist with over 18 years of experience leading strategy teams for Contract Advertising, TBWA, Leo Burnett ASEAN and Commonwealth (APAC).  Wolfzhowl specialises in creating behaviour change through brands.