Most Trusted Brands in India :Brand Equity 2011

Globally we have many brand ranking agencies which rank brands, like Interbrand and Brandz Top 100, but in India not much of formal ranking is done. Though some of these agencies have started working in India too, but the Brand Equity Most Trusted Brands Ranking is an annual ranking which is keenly followed. A look at the top ranking this year,

The major change this year has been that Colgate has come back to the top slot after many years and Nokia has dropped to number 5. Nokia's drop is perhaps reflective of its performance in the market place. The ranking is accompanied with a series of interesting write-ups on various brands,

Starting with how Colgate regained the top slot again, to the analysis of why Nokia fell from the top. Then there is an interesting piece by Pankaj Ghemewat on Coke and Globalization and by Nirmalya Kumar on how brands need to gain trust of the consumers, and become a positive force in the larger community. There are few more stories which one can read.

Interesting local response

Tabs also ready for the explosive growth?

Indian government yesterday launched of the cheapest tablet PC in the world at $35, which adds to the dropping prices of tabs. Though this $35 tab might not change the dynamics of the tab market, but Amazon Tab might , which is predicted to have an huge impact on both Samsung Galaxy Tabs & Apple ipad. Earlier companies like Bharati & Reliance had also launched their tabs at $250.

I feel in the tab market is ready to take-off, as mobiles had done when prices crashed. The applications and use for which tabs are put also would increase(Ex - Salesmen of HUL use Samsung tabs for booking orders from retailers) . People would find it easier to use a tab to access internet, with its bigger screen and ease of use versus mobile phone. The volumes will have to come not just from people who would buy the tabs as a second PC or replacement for a laptop but also from users who do not have a PC. And it for the last segment where pricing would matter and the volumes would come from..

Honda Brio Another Made for India Car

I have written earlier on the effort made by multinationals in India on making products exclusively for Indian consumers. Honda Brio is new addition to that list; another notable recent addition would be Toyota Etios, again in the car segment. Brio is according to economic times the fourth new car to hit the Indian roads in the last ten days. This is in stark contrast to the pre-liberalization days when the choice use to be limited to either an Ambassador or a Fiat and Maruti 800 in the later days.

For both Honda and Toyota the new small cars are the cheapest cars in their stables, and both the companies are looking at them to drive volumes and reach out to tier II and tier III cities. But one does feel that it is a little too late, hope not too little though, given their reputation. Were they expecting that Indian's would line up for Corolla's and Cities. Though these models do sell and would keep selling, but would never be volume drivers. In that even the American auto makers (supposed to have lost their nimbleness to the Japanese) have had better offerings in the segment, in fact Figo has turned out to be a game changer for Ford in India. But then maybe they made an entry and the consumers will decide the winners.

Perhaps one more realization for the auto makers has been that maximum activity is in the 4-6 lakh segment and not the bottom of the market , which players like even Nano are finding it difficult to crack. So every serious player in the car market has a very strong offering in that bracket. The bottom line is that the choice for the consumer is increasing..........

King Fisher Red is Dead

When I read the news that Kingfisher has decided to close down its low cost operations Kingfisher Red, one part of me was happy , having traveled in many sectors on Red, but then I also felt sad as it was the erstwhile Air Deccan which was getting a final burial.

In the list of brands which we have lost in the recent past I have always felt that Air Deccan was on top of the list. To me it showcased the power of pricing and the influence it can have on expanding the overall market in a category. Air Deccan also was a sort of showcase example of power of opening up of the economy and the reflection of the increasing disposable income.

Captain Gopinath , expressed his disappointment at the closing down, but then his suggestion that all domestic should have been Red and international could have been First also goes against Kingfisher's positioning as the 'King of Good Times' . Closing down would also be a factor of the current finacial situation the airline is in. From a branding angle I would have felt that they should have used to Air Deccan name for the low-cost airline and retained the kingfisher as a full service airline. The synergies of combing the two airlines , in terms of ground operations and other logistics could still have made sense.

But then there is another theory where people suggest that acquisition was driven by the urge to start international flights which was restricted to airlines with a minimum years in operations and acquiring Air Deccan gave that status to Kingfisher.

Understanding the customer !!!!!!

Good Timely Ad

FMCG Majors and Indians

I was reading a newspaper article in TOI on how Asian Executives are increasingly in demand in corporate world worldwide . The article was written against the backdrop of the news that Harish Manwani is set to become first COO of Unilever, which is seen as an acknowledgement of the growing importance of Indian/Emerging markets. The recognition for the Indian talent has always there, historically many multinationals have looked at their Indian operations as a hunting ground for fresh talent.....

Harish Manwani is actually an addition to the list, other are PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi and Rakesh Kapoor the global CEO of Reckitt Benckiser. I have looked at only FMCG sector there are more people in other sectors also, and this probably is just the start...

Dhoni & McDowells

disappointed by Dhoni on this....

Perhaps I was expecting too much from him, with the status he has achieved he could have always said 'No' to this surrogate ad and it wouldn’t have made a difference to the crores he would anyway make. But ....

Value of Brand Dhoni !!!!!!!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed the world cup success and was quite impressed with the overall team performance and especially Dhoni's role in the success. I think many of us have always have been waiting for that one individual who would come true on the big match day and win matches for us ( like the Aussies have always had and even with Pakistan at time).

My first tweet after the world cup victory was how many ads will I see dhoni in :)

My fear is proving to be right , the endorsements rates have sky rocketed and quoting from live mint article "

Dhoni charges Rs. 6-7 crore per endorsement per year and already endorses around 19 brands, including Sony, Pepsi, Reebok and Big Bazaar, leaving only a handful of categories such as financial services and four-wheelers he is yet to enter. That may happen now.

One report in economic times says the endorsements rates might even cross 10 crores...

I have never been convinced about the over use of celebrity endorsements and I think we will hit the peak in the next coming months in terms of Dhoni & team endorsing products across the range.. and the focus will be back on cricket , which had actually changed with the some success in other sports