Vicks: Vicks Ki Goli Lo , Khich Khich Door Karo

Brand : Vicks
Company : P&G
Agency: Ambience

Vicks is a brand that is more than 50 years old. Vicks is a leading brand in the Fast Moving Health goods ( FMHG). FMHG industry in India is worth around 4500 crores. This market is dominated by products like Rubs & Balms, medicated skin treatments,cough syrup and drops, digestives and health supplements.
Vicks Brand was launched in India in 1951 . It was manufactured by Vicks Products Ltd. Later in 1964, Richardson Hindustan Ltd was formed to manufacture the product .In 1985 RHL became the affiliate of P&G. In 1989 RHL became P&G hygiene and health care.

Vicks in India is known for its VapoRub and cough drops. Globally Vicks brand is worth around 3000 crores.

Vicks vaporub is the market leader in this segment with a share of 50%. Vaporub was initially targeted at children but later the company found out that it is used mostly by adults. Vicks Vaporub is positioned along Mother's Love platform . Vaporub pioneered the concept of " Touch therapy" linking it to the rubbing of vaporub on the child's chest. Vaporub advertises itself as having 6 key benefits
1. Clearing blocked nose
2, Cough relief
3. Body ache relief
4. Head ache relief.
5. Relaxing muscle stiffness
6. Easing breathing difficulty.

Vaporub also ranks best among the consumers in the following parameters : Non greasy, Smells better, Long lasting relief. Greasyness was important because Iodex ( a different category product) failed because of greasyness.

The rencent ad campaign also involves " father " in to the picture. The ad shows a father taking care of the child using Vaporub when the mother is away. The smart positioning and campaigns has ensured the brand retaining the top position in the market.

Vicks Cough drop is another blockbuster from the Vicks stable. Vicks commands a generic recall in this category. Using brand imagery and the catchy charachter " Kitch Kitch", Vicks commands a major share in this market. With unique shape and the long lasting positioning "Vicks ki goli lo Kitch Kitch door karo" , Vicks is a super brand in this category .Vicks coughdrops were careful in not messing up "Kitch Kitch" .This has ensured that the brand enjoys excellent recall .The recent campaigns of Vicks-Honey also strengthens the time tested positioning of the brand.

Vicks Action 500 has been in the market for more than 25 years. Launched in 1979 this is the first advertised OTC brand in India. Over these years the brand has carved a position for itself with around 40% market share in the category. This brand which is now relaunched talks about its ability to provide relief from cold related symptoms. This product is in Caplet shape ( capsule shaped tablet) which makes it different from its competitors and reinforces its ability to cure two symptoms of cold : blocked nose and headache .

Vicks Inhaler was launched in 1951 created and own the inhaler category is one of the first products launched in India from Vicks.

Vicks recently ventured in to the 550 crore cough syrup market with its Formula 44 in October 2003. The brand's usp is 8 hours relief from cough. The product is targeted at kids .The insight is that the power of most of the Cough syrups wanes after 5 hours and long lasting relief is the platform that Vicks is banking on for this product.

Vicks is a brand that is enjoying tremendous equity in the market. It has established its trust with thee customers. The FMHG market calls for Umbrella branding since it is difficult and expensive to create trust for individual brands in that category .That is the reason behind Vicks extending its equity across the various categories. Vicks has used careful branding and packaging for promoting the products. The unique shapes of cough drops, inhaler and caplet are examples of using product form as a differentiating factor.

Vicks is a testimony to the marketing genius of P&G

Brand Update : Crocin

Crocin is yet again in a repositioning exercise. The brand which was struggling itself to break the " fever pill " perception is trying to enter a new segment : Cold and Flu tablet segment.

Crocin was earlier trying to position itself as a pain reliever ( Analgesic) and met with limited success.
Crocin is trying to enter the domain of brands like Vicks Action 500 and D'cold with a new extension Crocin Cold N Flu.The television campaign is already on air.
Watch the TVC here : Crocin Cold N Flu
The execution of the ad is perfect and the message very straight forward. The brand is pitting head on with Vicks Action 500 by emphasizing on the four main symptoms of cold : headache, congested nose, back pain and throat pain. The message is strikingly similar to that of Vicks. However the execution is much more classy that that of Vicks Action 500. That means that Crocin variant is targeting urban crowd with this variant compared to the much more down to earth targeting of Vicks Action 500.

I feel that this time Crocin has got its positioning correct. I checked with a local druggist and to my surprise, the stock was sold out ( its rain out here....) . So the ads seems to have clicked.
One reason for the success of this variant is in the concept called Brand Association. In the Pain relief variant, the brand tried to downplay the brand's primary association with fever. That caused a confusion in the mind of the consumer. How can one take a fever pill for headache ?

This time the variant "Cold N Flu " takes the primary association into its advantage by using the term Flu with the brand name. This rings a bell since we feel that Catching cold is a symptom of catching fever. Hence the customers will feel much more secure by taking a pill which is a combination of ' Fever and Cold " remedy.

This variant is going to create some dent into the market dominated by Dcold and Vicks. I feel we are going to see a lot of sneezing models on television in days to come

Related Brand
Crocin

Smyle : It does Wonders

Brand : Smyle
Company : Maneesh Pharmaceuticals


Brand Analysis Count : 314

Smyle is one of the popular brands in the OTC market in India. This 60 crore brand earlier belonged to Kopran Pharma and was later sold to Maneesh Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Smyle as the name suggests was firts launched in the Oral care market. Its most popular product was Smyle Mouth Ulcer Gel. Smyle was one of the first OTC ayurvedic Mouth Ulcer Gel. The product achieved instant popularity because of its effectiveness.
Mouth Ulcers are a common irritating disease . The reason for mouth ulcers can be many : digestive problems, vitamin deficiency, accidental biting, use of heavy antibiotics etc. Once it is there, it causes severe pain and one will not be able to eat anything till the ulcer get cured. Normally we used to treat this ourselves using some home remedy like applying coconut oil etc. Usually one will resort to medical advice only in case of severe ulcers.
But the medicines that are usually prescribed for Mouth Ulcers tastes too bad and often smells bad also. This has opened up a new untapped market for a user friendly product.
Smyle Mouth Ulcer Gel had lot of advantages. First was that it tasted pretty OK and hence the customers did not mind using the product again and again. Secondly Smyle was ayurvedic and hence perceived to be side - effects free. Thirdly , the product was very effective.
These advantages created lot of equity for this product. But the market was small and Smyle Gel was essentially a niche brand. Smyle ulcer gel was promoted heavily through TV and print ads. I still remember a TVC which shows a guy screaming with pain inside a cinema hall while having a popcorn.
What was interesting is the way in which the brand owners extended the brand " Smyle " . I don't know the exact hierarchy of the launch of these extensions but here is the list of brand extensions of Smyle :
Smyle Mouth Ulcer GEl
Smyle Toothpaste
Smyle Prickly heat powder
Smyle throat reliever
Baby Smyle range of baby soaps
Baby Smyle baby powder
Smyle Lozenges
Smyle vaporub
Smyle Freshness talc
Smyle first aid kits
Smyle band-aid
Smyle nasal inhaler.

All these products were launched in a span of four years. Common sense says that the brand extensions was too many too fast.Smyle extending itself into powder and baby products does not make sense because the parent brand Smyle does not have a strong brand equity to support these category extensions.
Marketing theory suggests that inorder for a brand to extend into multiple categories, the parent brand should have strong relevant brand equity aswellas brand values. Smyle as a parent brand did not had such extendable brand equity. What Smyle had was a successful product.
Smyle Toothpaste made sense because Smyle was associated with Oral-Care . But there also the brand did not invest on building a positioning platform but tried to become a price- warrior. Fighting the giants like Colgate, HUL and Dabur needs more than low price.
While the throat lozenges and cough syrup extensions had a connection with oral-care, the brand had to break into the strong hold of power brand like Vicks. Smyle throat reliever had a USP of Gargle and Gulp property but I feel that the brand lacked power to compete with Vicks.

Having extended so much into so many products, Smyle may have shown an increase in the cumulative sales but in the long run, there is a chance that the brand may bleed itself to death. With out developing a core brand, too much energy has been spent on these brand extensions. Successful umbrella brands like Vicks and Johnson & Johnson have unmatched core- brand strentgh which Smyle lacks. Smyle as a brand had lot of advantages like a good brand name and a successful product . The brand could have leveraged the Smyle name and could have built a strong brand image taking some time . For example Smyle can take meaning of Smile from relief, enjoying life , freedom from pain , instant relief etc. Once that core values are built, these extensions could have worked . I am not saying that the extensions of Smyle has failed but I have a feeling that the brand will be wasting too much money over building these individual extensions since Smyle lacks a core equity.

For every brand manager, its always a dilemma choosing between investing in a brand Vs showing high sales figures. In this era of managing brands on a quarterly basis, investing in building brands takes the back seat.

Amrutanjan : It's Gone !

Brand: Amrutanjan
Company: Amrutanjan Ltd
Agency: Dentsu

Brand Count: 168

Gayab,
Poye Poch,
Poyallo,
Its Gone !!!!!
Remember the brand ?

Amrutanjan is one of India's heritage brands. This 113 year old brand is still young and rocking. Amrutanjan is still one of the largest players in the Rs 250 crore balm market.Etched firmly in the mind of the consumer, Amrutanjan sustained competition, generations and maintained its relevance in the Indian market. The brand has a huge equity in the Indian market and all along has been trying to extend its equity to various categories.

Amrutanjan was founded in 1893 by Mr. Nageshwara Rao Panthulu Guru. The company became public in the year 1936 and currently commands 21-23% market share in the category. The yellow colored formulation and the glass bottle has been a part of Indian households. Although a pain balm , the brand was used for cold and head aches. The brand has a huge cache of loyal users especially in South India. Although the balm market including cold rubs and cold reliever market is Rs 250 crore, the balm market is estimated to be around Rs 100 crore.

Although Amrutanjan is famous for its pain balm, the company has successfully diversified into categories like Diabetes cure and bio technology. The company has now a portfolio of brands like Daikyur, Amrutanjan strong, Dragon liquid balm, Cold snap etc.
In the pain balm segment, the company faces tough competition from Zandu Balm which is the market leader. While the overall balm market (including cold) is dominated by Vicks. Vicks commands a market share of over 60% in the cold balm/rub category.
Amrutanjan has positioned its pain balm on its quick relief attribute. The old and famous " It's Gone" campaign is still recalled by most people. Even though many brands have tried to convince the customers about quick relief, Amrutanjan still retains its equity.

In its portfolio of brands, Amrutanjan's Cold snap is an interesting case .The brand was launched in 1997 with much fanfare. The cold snap was pitted against Vicks. The brand was the first gel product in the category. The differentiators for the brand was that it is non greasy . But the brand was not successful. The simple reason is that Cold snap should not be applied to the nose. It should be applied to the chest and the back for Cold relief. This caused lot of confusion in the consumers. Traditionally when we have cold, we rub the balm all over the nose and even apply the balm inside the nose ! Now the brand says not to do it and warns the customers that it is dangerous to apply Cold Snap on nose. I believe that it is the single factor that prevented Cold Snap from being successful. Cold & Nose have strong association and the brand went against that association.

The pain balm has been riding on the equity and the heritage. Although I am not making any judgement about the future of the brand, I feel that the campaign " It's gone" has immense potential. The brand could come out with new series and versions on this platform and keep the brand alive and relevant in the consumer's mind.

source: businessline,amrutanjan.com,superbrands,sify,domain b

Kandamkulathy Eladi Lehyam : Making Ayurveda Popular

Brand : Eladi Lehyam
Company : Kandamkulathy Vaidyasala


Brand Analysis Count : 296

The brand that is featured today is offbeat and unique. Those readers outside Kerala ( South India) may not have heard about a brand known as Eladi Lehyam. But this small brand from Kerala has lots of lessons for a marketer.
Eladi Lehyam is a brand of Kandamkulathy Vaidyasala. Kandamkulathy is a well known ayurvedic company in Kerala. The Vaidyasala ( traditional name for ayurvedic clinic ) has a rich tradition of over 150 years . The firm which was started by late Shri K P Pathrose Vaidyan has now grown into a company with over 500 product ranges and over 20 patents.

India boasts about its rich tradition of ayurvedic way of treatment. The ayurvedic treatment has been a permanent feature in most of the campaigns that highlight India as a tourist destination ( example : Incredible India campaign). But within India, ayurvedic marketers are facing difficulty in attracting the new generation into this system of medicine. In my opinion Ayurveda is fighting hard to sustain the competition from Allopathic system of medicine. Since Indians have strong roots in their traditions, this system is still in the Consideration Set of the prospective customers. But Ayurveda is considered only after modern medicine by most .
But the real problem lies in attracting the new generation into this system . There is no doubt about the effectiveness of the treatment system, but the issue is with regard to convenience. It is in this area that Allopathy scores over Ayurveda. Usually youngsters are put off by the lengthy healing time and the strict dietary regime which is a part of the treatment system in Ayurveda. Most of the Kashayams ( syrups) taste very bad which adds to the unpopularity of this system among youngsters. What today's customer looks for is a single pill that cures all very fast ( Panacea !)
Modern Ayurvedic practitioners has tried to adapt to the changing times. Now the sour tasting syrups are available in capsules. Practitioners have also liberalized the dietary regime to fit the modern lifestyle. It is estimated that the total size of the ayurvedic products is about $1 billion. It is in this context that brands like Eladi assumes significance.
Eladi Lehyam is a propriety medicine of Kandamkulathy for the treatment of sore throat & coughs. It has expectorant properties and also provides immunity against common cold and cough. Kandamkulathy has the patent for the Eladi Lehyam combination.
Eladi Lehyam was initially launched in the Lehyam product form. Lehyams are thickened and sweetened semisolid extract of a single herb or a combination of herbs. The product form made this brand less popular because consuming lehyam may not be possible during work . It is often messy and you have to wash your hands after taking it or use a spoon . So people preferred the easy to use lozenges like Vicks and Strepsils.
chewable tablet became highly popular. In this segment, the brand faced competition from Understanding this problem, Kandamkulathy launched Eladi Lehyam in chewable tablet form which became highly popular. Since the brand was proved effective in soothing the throat, Eladianother similar ayurvedic tablet branded as "Thalees" from SD Pharmacy.

The innovation did not stop at that . This year , Kandamkulathy launched a granule product form of Eladi Lehyam. What attracted me was the new packaging which was modern and user friendly . The pack looks similar to Tic Tac breath mints pack. What is interesting is that the new variant looks totally Un-Ayurvedic.The granules are more powerful than the tablets and it seems that this version is aiming at those who liked the lehyam form.

Right now the granule variant is heavily promoted in the media across the state. The positioning is based on the ease of use and the packing acts as the key anchor.
I am not commenting on the future of this brand . The brand faces competition from the likes of Vicks which have a strong equity in the market. But I am thoroughly impressed by the efforts of a small company to make its flagship brand sustain in this market. Eladi is an example of how brands change in tune with times. It also shows that even small firms can make meaningful customer centric innovations. The new variant may fail or succeed but this brand should be an inspiration for all smaller brands who wants to make it big.

Clearasil : For Clear Skin

Brand : Clearasil
Company: Reckitt & Benckiser
Agency: Euro Rscg

Brand Count : 177

Clearasil was a brand that was synonymous with skin care in India. The brand occupied a distinct space in the Indian market as the ultimate cream for Pimples and acne. But over the years this brand is facing the decline stage in its product life cycle. The brand reached this pathetic state because of reasons not of its own.

Clearasil is a global brand famous world wide as a cure for acne and pimples. The brand is 56 year old. Mr Ivan Combe of USA invented the product in 1950. It was the first dermatological brand for curing pimples and acne made especially for young skin. In 1961, the brand came into the fold of Richardson Vicks. In 1985 P&G became the owner of Richardson Vicks. Later the company sold of these brands to Boots Pharmaceuticals in the year 2000. In 2006, Reckitt &Benckiser bought the brand globally. The brand came to India in 1967.

Now you can easily see the reason why the brand failed. The brand went through too many ownership changes. Some companies did not feel that the brand was a part of its core portfolio. For example during the ownership of Clearasil by P&G there was no investment on the brand since for the company, the personal care business was not a core area. Hence during this period the brand was not at all promoted. Even though the other owners had tried to revive the brand, frequent changes made the brand vulnerable.

Clearasil during its peak years had the reputation as a strong cream for fighting pimples and acnes. At that time there was no direct competition for Clearasil although there were many skin creams. For a family having teenage girls, Clearasil was an essential brand. But over the years, because of the lack of brand building efforts, the brand became irrelevant to the younger generation. Clearasil slowly became the brand that “my mother used”. When Boots owned the brand, lot of variants were launched. The brand changed its packaging and was extended to soaps.Rather than limiting to acne control, the brand tried to position itself as a skin care brand. But the effort did not bear fruit because by that time, the market was flooded with modern contemporary brands.

The brand is now owned by Reckitt and marketers expect that the brand will get a new lease of life. The greatest challenge before the new owners is to make the brand contemporary and relevant to the new generation. Reckitt had to find a new differentiation platform for this heritage brand. It has to tap the existing brand equity and try to create a new space for Clearasil. Globally Clearasil is positioned on the basis of Confidence through better skin . The global positioning statement is “Get Clearasil , Get Confidence”. But in India, Cinthol uses this positioning . The brand faces tough competition from the likes of Ponds, Lakme, Loreal and so on .So to find the right space is going to be tough.I think that the brand could take the “ Clear Skin” positioning where by it is not limited to controlling pimples but overall skin care. With the brand Veet from Reckitt is in the same skin care market; the brand managers will have a tough time integrating Clearasil to the portfolio.

source:agencyfaqs,businessline,reckittbenckiser.com

Related Brands

Ponds
Fair&Lovely
Vicco
Loreal
Bodyshop

Halls : Thandi Saans Ka Blast

Brand : Halls

Company : Cadbury India Ltd

Agency : Contract Advertising

Brand Analysis Count : 421

Halls is one of the largest selling cough drops brand in the world. The brand claims to have 50% share in the International cough drops market.Halls brand was born in 1930 when Halls Brothers invented a Metho- Lyptus formula that alleviates throat irritations. Later in 1964,

Warner- Lambert acquired the brand and began to aggressively sell the product in the US market.

Halls came to India in 1968. The brand was initially sold as a therapeutic candy in the cough lozenges market. In 2003, Halls came into Cadbury's fold when it acquired the confectionery business of Warner-Lambert/Pfizer network ( Source : Halls Brand Site).

Halls had a series of ups and downs in the Indian market. At one point of time during the ninetees, the brand was the market leader with a share of over 30%. But at point in time , Warner- Lambert increased the price of Halls from 50 paise to 75 paise. The effect was devastating. The brand began to lose its share because consumers found it difficult to find the change in order to buy the product. It was easy to find a 50 paise but finding 25 paise was not easy. And the shop keeper will never return the 25 paise if given Rs 1. (source ).

Halls was promoted heavily by both Warner- Lambert and Cadburys. Halls is one of the heavy spenders in the category. But despite the heavy share of voice, Halls had a huge positioning problem.

The Rs 200 crore throat lozenges category is an interesting category. With in these category, there are certain subsegments which may not be visible to the consumer. For example, there is a therapeutic lozenges category which are medicinal in nature and sold through chemists. Strepsils belong to this category. While Vicks is perceived to be medicinal in nature, the product can be sold in all kind of shops. Halls belongs to the candy sub-segment within the category.

While most of the throat lozenges products are sold on medicinal platform, Halls wanted to differentiate itself. Hence the brand chose to position itself on the " Cool and Refreshing " Platform. But instead of focusing and establishing this platform, the brand kept oscillating between " medicinal throat relief " and " Refreshing" platforms. If you look at the series of ads of Halls across its lifetime, the brand was confused about its core brand value. In one ad, the brand will be concentrating on " Sore Throat " while in another it is taking about refreshing breath,

The brand was not confident about ditching the " sore throat " and embrace the " cool + refreshing " platform. This confusion eroded the brand's chances to become the market leader in this category. The brand failed to understand that it cannot be everything to everybody. It is commonsense that brands should try to occupy a unique position rather than trying to please everyone.

It was in 2008 that Halls finally decided to focus on the " Cool throat " platform . The brand used hyperbole to communicate this message to the consumer.

Watch the ad here : Halls Airplane Ad

Personally I did not like the ad because the action of the person who took Halls was contradicting the " Coolness " factor promoted by the brand. But the hyperbole or the exaggeration worked to brand's advantage. The brand was able to clearly communicate its core brand promise to the consumer.

It shows when a brand understands its core brand mantra. The decision of the brand to focus on the " coolness " had its impact on the quality of brand communication. Halls came out with its latest ad reinforcing its core positioning.

Watch the ad here : Halls Polar Bear ad

It is again Hyperbole at its height. The message is spot-on and the exaggeration works well to reinforce the core positioning of the brand. The brand has the tagline " Thandi Saans Ka Blast " which communicates its coolness promise.

Halls is facing competition for its positioning also. Recently Parle Xhale also has started its campaign highlighting its 'coolness'. Watch the ad here.

I hope that Halls will stay focused on the current positioning platform. Ofcourse by doing so, it may lose some consumers but in the long run the brand will benefit with the focus.

Marketing Funda : India's Most Trusted Brands 2007

Economic Times has published Brand Equity's Most Trusted Brands. Colgate for the fourth year in a row topped the list. The first ten positions in the list looks like this

1.Colgate
2.Vicks
3.Lux
4.Nokia
5.Britannia
6.Dettol
7.Lifebuoy
8.Pepsodent
9.Pond's
10.Tata Tea

The top ten service brands are
1.LIC
2.Airtel
3.State Bank of India
4.Reliance India Mobile
5.BSNL
6.Tata Indicom
7.Indian oil
8.ICICI Bank
9.Bank of India
10.Reliance Petroleum

Colgate has every qualification to be in the number one league because of its ability to understand Indian consumer and innovate interms of the product and marketing mix. The brands that feature in teh list is a testimony of successful marketing.

Cheers

Crocin : Your Trusted Paracetamol

Brand : Crocin
Company: Glaxo Smithkline
Agency: O&M

Brand Count: 186

Crocin is a three decade old heritage brand. The brand was once generic to the antipyretic category in India . The brand is currently sold through Over The Counter (OTC) route. The brand is the market leader in the paracetamol category.

Crocin was launched in India 30 years ago by the company Duphar Interfran Ltd. During the early years, the brand was marketed through the ethical route. The brand was bought by Smithkline in 1996. The brand was so successful in the market that GSK bought it for a consideration of Rs 45 crore. There was a logic behind the brand acquisition. GSK had the brand Calpol in the prescription market and was a market leader in the Ethical segment. Crocin was proving to be a major threat for Calpol. So the brand was acquired inorder to safeguard the position of Calpol.

The Indian Pharmaceutical market is huge with a valuation of $45 billion. The OTC segment accounts for a value of $ 1 Billion i.e Rs 4500 crore. Crocin is in the analgesic/antipyretic market. The analgesic (pain Killer) market is a large market with a size of Rs 900 crore and the mild analgesic market is worth Rs 300 crore. With in the analgesic market there are two types : Aspirin based and Paracetamol based. Paracetamol based formulations constitute a major part of the market. Crocin formulations has a 5% share in the total market.

Crocin although a generic name in the paracetamol segment faces an interesting problem. 65% of the brand usage is for its antipyretic i.e fever related use. The antipyretic segment in the OTC is very small with a size of Rs 30-40 crore. In the painkiller market which is large, Saridon leads the pack in the OTC segment.

Crocin's market became limited sadly because of its efficacy or popularity as a drug for fever although it had pain killer properties. Sometimes success can become a limiting factor for further growth. The paracetamol segment is witnessing competition from the generic tablets. Most of the time the druggist has the influencing power in the sale of OTC products. During the 1990's if Crocin was a generic name for paracetamol tablets, the situation is different now with consumers asking for Paracetamol rather than Crocin.
Crocin was in the maturity stage of its product lifecycle in 2000 with the sales stagnating.There was intense competition from generic products and other brands.Paracetamol became a commodity with little scope for differentiation. The brand then went into Market Development Mode in 2003 by repositioning the brand as an analgesic. The brand roped in Kapil Dev to endorse the brand. The high profile ad campaign gave a new life to the brand. The brand also came out with variants like Crocin Quik that boasted of faster relief . Quik was essentially a concentrate of the classic Crocin. Crocin also came out with Crocin 1000 aiming at patients having arthritis. Crocin is promoted as an ethical product.

Crocin had its fair share of problems from the " Watch Dogs". Typically when a brand moves from Ethical to OTC and embarks on brand building , there is going to be someone who will cry foul. Crocin faced objections from FDA for some of its campaigns but those were later sorted out.

As far as a customer is concerned, Crocin is still perceived as a drug for fever( antipyretic) rather than as a pain killer(analgesic). It will take a lot of money and time to change that perception.

Related Brands
Gelusil
Vicks
Hajmola

Source: walletwatch,agencyfaqs,pharmabiz

India's Most Trusted Brands - 2008

Economic Times' Brand Equity has published the list of India's Most Trusted Brands Survey findings today.
The top ten brands are

1. Nokia
2. Colgate
3. Tata Salt
4. Pepsodent
5. Ponds
6. Lux
7. Britannia
8. Dettol
9. Lifebuoy
10. Vicks

This year, Nokia displaced Colgate to gain the top slot. Nokia is riding on the explosive telecom growth that India is now witnessing. The focus on quality and features has made Nokia a brand that Indian consumers love. The brand was able to bring in successful models regularly. Currently the N series has been the poster boy in its portfolio. Along with the models, the brand also has been investing in building the brand equity. The result of the survey also throws an interesting lesson. Recently Nokia faced the issue of " overheating of battery". Around 46 mn BL-5C series batteries was recalled by Nokia worldwide . Marketers feared that this recall will have a negative impact on Nokia's brand equity. But this survey proved that Indian consumers have been impressed by the commitment of Nokia in the Indian market.

The current results has been a disappointment for Colgate which topped the list for the past 4 years. But I feel that the brand lost the position not because of any loss of trust but because the mobile telecom category have seen a huge growth and was the top- of -the- mind category for consumers. Colgate still leads the toothpaste category but will have a reason to worry because Pepsodent has moved to the No.4 slot from the No.8 slot.

The top ten service brands are

1. LIC
2. Airtel
3. State Bank of India
4. Reliance Mobile
5. BSNL
6. Tata Indicom
7. Indian Oil
8. Hutch/Vodafone
9. ICICI Bank
10. Bank of India

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India's trusted brands 2007