Branding: Ears before Lips

Vinit Kapahi, CMO at Aviva India is actively working on evolving the brand from protection to prevention:

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Ravi Lalwani: Briefly describe 3 brand-building initiatives you have led that are closest to you.

Vinit Kapahi: For me, the most meaningful brand-building initiatives are the ones where the brand learns to listen before it learns to speak.

One of my favorites has been reshaping how we talk about insurance itself. For a long time, the category relied on fear and finality. We consciously moved away from that, choosing a more human, respectful tone that speaks to continuity, everyday protection, and living well. This shift was less about a single campaign and more about changing the emotional grammar of the brand across touchpoints.

Another initiative close to my heart has been building credibility through consistency. In financial services, trust is not built through noise but through repetition of the right behavior. We focused on showing up with the same clarity, transparency, and intent whether it was advertising, PR, digital content, or partner communication. Over time, that consistency compounds into belief.

The third initiative has been around internal brand alignment. I strongly believe a brand is first built inside the organization. Investing time in helping teams understand not just what the brand says, but why it says it, has helped us build a more authentic external voice. When employees feel connected to the brand's purpose, customers sense it instinctively.