A Return to Form
Rare Ideas partnered with Elephant & Co. to relaunch one of Pune’s most-loved neighbourhood bars. By re-centering rituals of belonging, we rebuilt ECO’s identity, experience, and culture-first communication system.
Project Overview
Client
Elephant & Co. (Pune)
Studio
Rare Ideas
Timeline
2025
Disciplines:
Strategy
Relaunch
Rebranding
Visual Identity
Experience Design
Growth Planning
Brand Custodianship
Background & Context
Elephant & Co. (ECO), founded in 2016, was never just a bar. It became a ritual of belonging; the place where Pune’s neighbourhood crowds went not for cocktails or décor, but for recognition, safety, and memory-making.
By 2022, however, a mix of pandemic aftershocks, operational firefighting, and regulatory noise restrictions dulled its soul. Guests remembered ECO fondly, but increasingly in the past tense: “we used to go.”
In 2025, with the flagship shifting to a larger location minutes away, Rare Ideas was tasked with more than a relocation. The mandate was a brand revival - to make the move feel like a return to the ECO people fell in love with in 2016, not just a change of address.
The Challenge in One Line:
Same team. Same guests. New location.
How do we recapture the soul of a neighbourhood bar, now bigger, louder, and future-fit?
Research & Insights
Rare Ideas began with an ethnographic study: What truly defines a neighbourhood bar?
We found it’s not geography or pricing, but rituals of belonging - subtle but consistent emotional and cultural cues that make a guest feel at home.
Warm Arrival – Recognition at the door, not a transaction.
Emotional Safety – Fast conflict resolution and zero tolerance for harassment.
Simple Choices – Tight menus with signatures upfront.
Service Rhythm – Trust earned in the first five minutes, memory left in the last five.
Regulars’ Culture – Familiarity without exclusivity.
Sound & Light – Tuned for conversation, not performance.
Fair Value – Honest drinks, transparent pricing.
Community Grid – Rituals and collaborations rooted in the local.
Memory System – Stories of guests over marketing campaigns to drive connection.
Service Recovery – Quick, human fixes that protect trust.
And yes, fun isn’t optional.
These principles became guardrails for revival. Every design, communication, and operational decision was mapped against them.
Brand Strategy
Be the bar people return to multiple times a week.
Not to be “the best cocktail bar” or “the trendiest restaurant,” but the place of belonging.
Regulars: The original ECO guests, emotionally invested in its return.
“ECO is my second home. I want my favourites back - the popcorn, the gigs, all of it!"
Escapists: Those seeking comfort, recognition, and safety after long days.
“After long days, I need a place where I can just be me, and still be welcomed."
Social Explorers: Younger, experience-hungry audiences seeking connection.
"I want a place where I can step out to by myself, and maybe find my people there."
ECO must remain a bar first.
Avoid drifting into “polished restaurant” or “premium club” identities.
Keep food quality and loud indoor energy, but anchor the identity in a neighbourhood bar.
Messaging system
In today’s hospitality landscape, visual sameness dominates Instagram. Bars compete on neon signs, cocktails-in-hand shots, and event posters. Rare Ideas built ECO’s communication system as a narrative-led platform, not a promotions feed.
Instagram as a Founder’s Journal:
Posts feel as if written by the ECO founders themselves. Honest, self-deprecating, culturally in-tune, and memory-driven - without really showing them in the forefront.
Narrative > Product:
Food, drinks, and events are communicated, but the primary feed sells culture, not SKUs.
Story-first Posts:
Use wit, nostalgia, and honesty to spark emotional engagement rather than mere product awareness.
Platform Prioritisation:
Instagram = vibe archive; Print collaterals (menus, tent cards) = key transactional communication.
Tone of Voice:
Authentic, witty, vulnerable when needed, and deeply human.
In short, ECO's social feels lived-in, not curated. Guests read posts and feel like insiders, not followers.
Visual Identity & Brand System
Rare Ideas built a dual system: strict longevity + playful flexibility.
The Toy-Box System:
Long-life assets like logos, colour palette, typography were governed by strict rules.
Logo: Mature yet friendly logotype; signage exceptions allowed.
Short-life assets like digital campaigns, posters, event drops were given freedom to play.
Experience Design – Designing in the Details
For ECO, “experience” didn't stop at interiors and playlists. For ECO’s revival, Rare Ideas treated experience as choreography of overlooked details: those small, often skipped moments that become amusing surprises for guests and deepen their emotional connection.
At the Door:
Host scripts were redesigned to lead with recognition before transaction. Guests were greeted by name when possible, instantly signalling belonging.
Menus:
Simplified layouts brought ECO’s signatures upfront, making choices frictionless and intuitive. Decision fatigue was eliminated.
Kit of Parts:
ECO’s identity was embedded into subtle carriers, like coasters, staff uniforms, and even washroom notes. These touchpoints transformed functional elements into brand signals.
Service Choreography:
The experience was engineered around two emotional beats: trust in the first five minutes, memory in the last five.
Recovery Rituals:
Service failures were turned into loyalty-building gestures (“this one’s on us”), reinforcing trust through quick, human fixes.
Outcome: ECO doesn’t just serve drinks; it stages belonging. Guests left with memories, always.
One of ECO’s most-loved insider terms, Humans of ECO, was reborn as HOE - yes, cheeky by design. Regulars proudly called themselves HOEs, and Rare Ideas turned the phrase into a cultural IP. In design, we transformed these everyday people into a living library of characters.
Collateral Creation:
Limited-run merch (staff tees, guest mugs, posters) carried the HOE identity.
Social Reinforcement:
ECO’s Instagram featured HOEs in micro-stories, celebrating regulars as heroes of the community.
Internal Language:
Staff naturally adopted the term, creating a playful in-joke that strengthened team-guest camaraderie.
The HOE IP created a shared cultural code that made ECO not just a bar, but a club of insiders.
Growth System – Sustained Cultural Participation
Growth for ECO wasn’t about discounts or mass promotions. Rare Ideas designed it as cultural participation sustained over time.
Instagram:
A living memory archive, not a marketing feed. Posts told guest stories, moments of nostalgia, and the bar’s culture-first narrative.
Discovery Platforms:
Zomato, Google, and TripAdvisor were refreshed with honest photography and human storytelling to ensure ECO appeared authentic, not manufactured.
CRM:
Personalised nudges like birthday notes, surprise invites, and carefully timed FOMO gestures kept ECO top of mind.
Programming:
Layered IPs (weekly rituals, monthly specials, quarterly events) created rhythm and recall, giving guests reasons to return without feeling “marketed to.”
GTM – Action Mode Design Launch Strategy
Rare Ideas’ job was not just to announce a move. It was to revive emotional connection across the city. The strategy turned ECO’s downtime into anticipation, not absence.
Nostalgia Campaign:
Guests’ own stories from 2016–2018 were resurfaced as living memories, making them part of the relaunch narrative.
Transparent Closure Note:
ECO announced the shutdown honestly, positioning vulnerability as a trust-builder.
Two-Week Closure → FOMO Moment:
What could have been dead time became a city-wide conversation: “What’s happening at ECO?”
The Last Hurrah:
Loyalists were invited to celebrate “regular things one last time,” making closure itself a cultural event.
Quiet Storytelling:
Subtle hints and creative breadcrumbs dropped on socials kept attention high.
Private Previews:
Regulars were given first access to the new space, reinforcing loyalty.
Public Launch:
The bar reopened with clarity, intentional communication, and new rules of return.
Impact
Regulars returned, often with new friends.
Dwell time and energy levels increased, signalling renewed emotional connection.
Simplified menus improved service speed and consistency.
Guests began saying “let’s go to ECO” again, reestablishing a ritual.
The two-week downtime became a city-wide FOMO event.
Neighbourhood bars are not built on cocktails or interiors alone. They endure through rituals of belonging, trust, and recognition.
Core Insight: Strategy comes first, design follows, but community sustains.
Credits
Client
Elephant & Co. (Pune)
Studio
