When a brand with over 70 years of presence in India decides to change its name, it's more than a marketing exercise, it’s a calculated risk. That’s what unfolded when L&T Switchgear transitioned into Lauritz Knudsen. Behind the scenes were two distinct forces: Lauritz Knudsen, now aiming to assert its renewed identity in the Indian market under the Schneider Electric umbrella, and Saatchi & Saatchi India, the agency tasked with translating that shift into a compelling story.
From the start, the rebranding was positioned as a continuation rather than a reinvention. Rajat Abbi, Vice President – Marketing, Schneider Electric, Greater India, explained that the Lauritz Knudsen name wasn’t plucked from nowhere. It had roots in the company’s early history, when L&T Switchgear had partnered with the Danish brand for technology, leading to the success of products like the LTLKMK1 motor starter. The acquisition by Schneider Electric made the revival of the Lauritz Knudsen name a strategic next step rather than a sudden overhaul. For the Indian market, it meant preserving familiarity while introducing a global identity.
Abbi emphasized the core challenge was not just about shifting names, but maintaining the trust built over decades. That meant working internally across teams, aligning stakeholders, and being deliberate in the messaging. The objective was clear: retain the credibility of L&T Switchgear while introducing Lauritz Knudsen as an evolved, future-ready entity.
On the agency side, the brief arrived at Saatchi & Saatchi India with high expectations. According to Atin Wahal, Executive Director, the agency started by examining the relationships the brand had built within its ecosystem, from small business owners to large infrastructure clients. What stood out, he said, was not just product performance, but the deep-rooted trust that existed within distribution channels and customer communities. That insight, that in India, brand preference is often shaped by long-standing relationships, formed the foundation of the creative approach.
Rather than starting from scratch, the agency leaned into this sense of continuity. Wahal described the task as threefold: clarify who Lauritz Knudsen is, define what it offers, and articulate what it stands for. The brand story needed to acknowledge its past while pushing a more modern, accessible voice to resonate in a saturated market.
As part of the brand’s visibility strategy, Lauritz Knudsen tied up with the Mumbai Indians during IPL 2024. The idea was to leverage one of India’s most watched platforms to increase awareness. Abbi said the choice of Mumbai Indians in particular, was deliberate. It offered scale and visibility, aligning with the brand’s ambition to reach diverse segments beyond its traditional industrial customer base.
The campaign itself, which featured playful interactions between the cricketers, was designed to be light, familiar, and engaging. According to Wahal, using well-known faces helped lower the barrier for new audience engagement, but the focus remained on ensuring the brand itself didn’t get overshadowed by the celebrity presence. The players, he said, added flavor, but the narrative was still built around the brand’s purpose and offering.
But high-profile partnerships aside, the rebranding effort has also relied heavily on integrated outreach, across ATL, BTL, and digital. Abbi pointed out that Lauritz Knudsen had a presence at ELECRAMA, India’s largest electrical trade show, and had also been active in rural outreach through vans fitted with its agri-tech solutions. These efforts signal the brand’s intent to stay visible across touchpoints, not just on screen but on the ground.
While both Abbi and Wahal agree that the rebranding journey has seen strong initial traction, they also acknowledge that the work is far from complete. Metrics around brand recall, awareness, and engagement are still being tracked and refined. Both are cautious in assigning immediate success to the campaign, noting that the impact of rebranding efforts, especially in a technical category like this, takes time to consolidate.
The working dynamic between Lauritz Knudsen and Saatchi & Saatchi has played a key role in the process. Wahal described the relationship as collaborative and embedded, with the agency often taking on responsibilities typically handled in-house. Abbi added that the partnership worked because of mutual respect and a shared understanding of brand values.
At its core, this rebrand represents an intersection of legacy and ambition. It’s not just about renaming a known brand, but about repositioning it to appeal to a broader, possibly younger, and more diverse audience. With more campaigns likely to follow, the next challenge will be sustaining this identity beyond the IPL window, through consistent messaging, product innovation, and deeper market engagement.
Whether Lauritz Knudsen manages to move from industry familiarity to wider cultural recall will depend on how well it navigates this next phase. But for now, the brand seems to have made a confident re-entry, one that acknowledges its past without getting stuck in it.
