BZ India

The growing opportunity of India and the changing Indian
consumer challenges all brands to remain relevant and diferent.

Every brand has its story.
To watch short individual videos about each of the BrandZ
TM
Top 50 Most Valuable
Indian Brands stories and unique content about India scan the QR code or go to:
www.brandz.com/stories
4 5
TOP 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2014
India enters new period of
widely shared optimism
Timing is everything.
Just a few months ago, India experienced
a transformative moment when voters
overwhelmingly rejected the national
ruling party in favor of a challenger who
promised to reenergize the economy and
promote a culture of new possibilities and
inclusive opportunity.
Now were inaugurating the WPP
BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian
Brands 2014, a groundbreaking study
that ranks these accomplished brands,
analyzes their success, and points out
important similarities and diferences
among the BrandZ brand valuation
rankings in India, China, Brazil, Latin
America, and the BrandZ Top 100 Most
Valuable Global Brands.
The BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable
Indian Brands 2014 is the rst edition
of an annual study that will chart
and anticipate the rapidly changing
environment for brands in India and the
changing value of Indias most valuable
brands. Whether youre an Indian
company or international company,
already doing business in India or
considering it, I promise that in this report
youll nd knowledge and insights to help
create and grow brands in India more
efectively.
On page 20, Take Aways provide
succinct action-oriented prescriptive
recommendations from our analysis
for brand success. Weve also included
summaries of Indias Top 50 most
valuable brands. Brand experts from
WPP Companies across India share their
market wisdom in sharp insights and
extensive thought leadership and best
practices essays. And weve presented
all this with stunning photography and a
vibrant design as colorful as India itself. As
you read the report, consider this:
- Indias consumers like brands and
Indian companies are sophisticated
brand marketers. In India, 86 percent
of brands are private. In China, 45
percent of brands are state owned.
- India is home to all kinds of brands.
Global brands and national brands
thrive, but so do innumerable regional
brands that are targeted specically
to particular segments of this diverse
country. And because India is home
to 1.25 billion people, even a regional
brand has scale.
- India is both old and young. India is
one of the worlds oldest civilizations
but a young nation, independent
since 1947. The median age of the
population is 27, compared with close
to 40 in the UK and US. Ecommerce
is beginning to boom in India, and
the leading global Internet and social
media brands are active.
- Valuable Indian brands provide solid
shareholder ROI. A portfolio of the
BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian
Brands signicantly outperformed
Indias SENSEX Index over the past
ve years.
There are challenges, of course. The
pace of change is more deliberate
and slower in India than in China,
for example. Thats in part a
consequence of Indias democratic
heritage, a fact that also ensures a
high degree of political stability.
Our timing was
not coincidental
At WPP, the global communications
services leader, our companies
have been engaged in India for over
85 years. Today, 13,000 people
including associates work across
India in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru,
Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and
many other cities. We provide
advertising, marketing, insight,
media, digital, shopper marketing
and PR expertise. Its part of our
global presence in 110 countries.
By linking all this talent, creativity,
wisdom, and horizontality, we
amplify global trends and insights
that help our clients in useful and
unique ways. We invite you to access
our unrivaled BrandZ resource
library. Along with the new BrandZ
Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands
report, the library includes these
annual studies: BrandZ Top 100
Most Valuable Global Brands,
BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable
Chinese Brands, and BrandZ Top
50 Most Valuable Latin American
Brands.
To download these and other
reports, please visit www.brandz.
com. For the interactive BrandZ
mobile apps go to www.brandz.
com/mobile.
The backbone of all this intelligence
remains the WPP proprietary
BrandZ, the worlds largest,
consumer-focused source of brand
equity knowledge and insight, and
WPPs proprietary BrandZ brand
valuation methodology. First we
analyze relevant corporate nancial
data and strip away everything
that doesnt pertain to the branded
business. Then we take a critical step
that makes BrandZ unique and
denitive among brand valuation
methodologies.
We conduct ongoing, in-depth
quantitative consumer research
with more than 170,000 consumers
annually, across more than 30
countries, to assess consumer
attitudes about, and relationships
with, over 10,000 brands. Our
database includes information
from over two million consumers.
It reveals the power of the brand
in the mind of the consumer that
creates predisposition to buy
and, most importantly, validates a
positive correlation with better sales
performance.
At WPP, were passionate about
using our creativity to create and
build strong, diferentiated brands
that deliver lasting shareholder value.
To learn more about how to apply
our experience and expertise to
benet your brand, please contact
any of the WPP companies that
contributed expertise to this report.
Turn to page 212 for summaries
of each company and the contact
details of key executives. Or feel free
to contact me directly.
Sincerely,
David Roth
WPP
droth@wpp.com
Twitter: davidrothlondon
Blog: www.davidroth.com
Conditions ripe for brand building
Welcome
Brand Selection
Criteria
Our proprietary BrandZ brand
valuation methodology makes the
Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands
the denitive study of brands in
India. The uniquely consumer-facing
BrandZ methodology combines
extensive and on-going consumer
research with rigorous nancial
analysis. (See page 204 for full
methodology.)
We gathered brand perceptions
from consumers across the Indian
market, in both urban and rural
areas, and asked about brands with
all kinds of ownership structures:
individual private brands, Indian
family owned conglomerates, MNCs
(Multinational Corporations), and
SOEs (State Owned Enterprises).
We selected brands that met these
three qualifying criteria:
- They reported positive earnings;
- The brand or corporate brand
owner was publicly traded in
India; and,
- In the case of banks, at least 25
percent of revenue came from
retail business.
This approach produced a carefully
conceived ranking of brands in 13
consumer-facing categories, such as
automobiles, home care, personal
care, soft drinks, and food and
dairy. The ranking does not include
any business-to-business brands,
regardless of value, because they are
outside the scope of this report.
To learn more about the BrandZ
TM

valuation methodology, please
contact: Elspeth Cheung, Global
BrandZ Valuation Director,
elspeth.cheung@millardbrown.com.
6 7
Part 1.
Introduction
Overview
Themes 10
India Top 50 Portfolio 11
Insights 14
Highlights
Key Results 16
Cross Category Trends 18
Take Aways 20
Background
Economy and Demographics 26
History 28
Market Structure 32
Media Spending 34
BrandZ Analysis
Categories and Brands 36
Brand Ownership 40
Brand Age 42
Brand Contribution 46
Brand India 48
Part 2.
Thought Leadership
Emerging Consumers 52
by Divya Khanna, JWT
Millennials 54
by Upasana Roy, Ogilvy
Premiumization 56
by Mythili Chandrasekar, JWT
Retail Revolution 58
by Rajan Zachariah, Smollan
Rural Mindset 60
by Soumitra Patnekar, Grey Worldwide
Value 62
by Shaziya Khan, JWT
Part 3.
The India Top 50
India Top 50 Ranking 66
Category Summaries 68
Brand Proles 1-10 76
Our Insights 96
Our Insights 118
Our Insights 142
Our Insights 164
Our Insights 188
Part 4.
Brand Building
Best Practices
Brand Experience 192
by Gazala Vahanvati, Landor
Total Consumer Experience 194
by Vivek Das, Blue Hive
Expanding FMCG 196
by Urmi Saha, Millward Brown
The Next Generation 198
by Devang Raiyani, Grey
Bridging Cultures 200
by Ganapathy Balagopalan, Ogilvy
Part 5.
Resources
BrandZ Valuation
Methodology 204
BrandZ Reports,
Apps and iPad Magazines 208
WPP Resources
WPP Company Contributors 212
WPP Brand Building Experts 216
BrandZ India Top 50 Team 218
BrandZ Valuation
Contact Details 220
WPP in India 221

Contents
Part 1
Introduction
Part 1
Introduction
Part 1 // Introduction - Overview
India is on the cusp of new
optimism and brand growth
The BrandZ Top 50 Most
Valuable Indian Brands 2014
totals $70 billion in value. Service
sector brands, banks and telecoms
primarily, drive that result.
Consumer product brands also
contribute, powered by Indian
family conglomerates and MNCs
(Multinational Corporations). The
value of the India Top 50 reects
the eforts of these brands to serve
the rising middle class and those
who aspire to it, both in Indias
cities and countryside.
Brand value growth is taking place
as India experiences a resurgence
of hope following the election in
May of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, and a shift from the Indian
National Congress party, which
ruled India much of the time since
independence in 1947. Indians from
diverse backgrounds expressed
dissatisfaction with the status quo,
and their desire for a society based
on equal opportunity rather than
stratication and entitlements.
The immediate impact for brands
seems to be that a country market
thats been hospitable is about to
become even more supportive
and welcoming. And the potential
is enormous. Perhaps the worlds
oldest civilization, India is among
its youngest nations. Its population
totals 1.25 billion, with a median age
of 27, around 10 years younger than
the US, UK, and even China.
There is this caveat. As an ancient
civilization, the birthplace of
Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism,
and Sikhism, the home of 22
regional languages, a place
where cultural traditions can
change village-by-village, the
only denitive statement about
India is that nothing is simple. The
country has been on the cusp
of change before. The optimism
following independence ended
in failed economic policies and
political trauma, including the
assassinations of two prime
ministers.
Change happens slowly in India,
modulated by the competing
interests of the countrys
democratic polity, and an Indian
view of time and progress that
respects the past while embracing
the present. Daily life unfolds in
this duality. India is not a teardown
nation where infrastructure
appears almost overnight even
if heritage is obliterated in the
process. Its a place that attempts
to advance with material and
spiritual needs aligned. If the
pace of growth is slow, its also
inexorable and relatively stable.
Growing brand
condence
Indian entrepreneurs have become
more sophisticated and focused on
brand building. Leadership of the
Indian family owned conglomerates
has moved from the entrepreneurial
founding generations to younger
family members and professional
managers with extensive business
education.
To satisfy the demands of Indian
consumers, Indian brands perfected
their value-for-money propositions.
And the presence of competitive
MNCs forced Indian brands to
innovate, certainly in FMCG (Fast
Moving consumer Goods), but also
in categories like cars, where the
Indian brand Mahindra leads the
SUV segment.
The mobile phone category
illustrates the growing condence of
Indian brands. After initially ofering
low priced imitations of global
smart phone brands, Indian brands,
such as Micromax, Karbonn, and
Lava, improved functionality and
gained credibility, in part by using
international celebrities as brand
ambassadors to suggest parity
between Indian and global brands.
Micromax scaled up to sell phones
internationally at a competitive
price.
Similarly, Indian motorcycle
brands, like Hero, Bajaj, and TVS
are expanding into Southeast
Asia, Africa, and other developing
markets where the experience of
Indian brands prepares them to
serve the needs of value-focused
consumers. For categories, like
wellness, Indian brands ofer the
additional advantage of heritage.
Examples include the Parachute
brand of Marico and the ayurvedic
oferings of Dabur, like its agship
Vatika hair care brand.
The Indian family conglomerates
most clearly demonstrate the
potential power of Indian brands.
Having developed respected
master brands across disparate
categories in India, these dynastic
organizations are building
international presence. The Aditya
Birla Group operates industrial
businesses in 36 countries. Over
time, Tata companies have acquired
brands as diferent as Jaguar Land
Rover and Tetley Tea.
10 11
Overview // Themes
May 09
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
May 10 May 11 May 12 May 13 May 14 Nov 09 Nov 10 Nov 11 Nov 12 Nov 13
BrandZ India Top 50 Portfolio outperforms Indias SENSEX
The strong stock growth of the India Top 50 conrms that valuable brands deliver solid
shareholder returns, our BrandZ analysis shows.
We created a stock portfolio of the BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2014 and
compared its performance over the past ve years with the performance of Indias SENSEX.
Between May 2009 and May 2014, The BrandZ India Top 50 Portfolio appreciated 201
percent compared with a rise of 74 percent for SENSEX.
The BrandZ India Top 50 Portfolio includes all the brands in BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable
Indian Brands. SENSEX is a weighted Index of 30 stocks listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Conrming the connection between strong brand power and positive stock market performance, the
BrandZ India Top 50 Portfolio signicantly outperformed Indias SENSEX over the past ve years.
Sources: BrandZ/ Millward Brown, Bloomberg
201%
74%
BrandZ India Top 50 Portfolio
SENSEX India
12 13
Overview // Themes
Trends and
countertrends
These developments unfold
in an Indian way. Trends meet
countertrends and change
happens in this tension, as these
current examples suggest:
Premiumization/Inclusiveness
Driven by rising aspirations and
income, brands across categories
are introducing more premium
products and services. But
premium is only a narrow band
of the potential. The move to
premium alone accrues only short-
term results. The larger opportunity
is in achieving inclusiveness by
making most brands more available
and afordable.
National/Regional Because
of Indias rural character, with
languages and traditions that
sometimes change within short
distances, brand preferences
change too. Especially in FMCG,
multiple regional brands compete
successfully with national brands.
Smart local consumers purchase
the local brand over the national
when they believe theyre getting
similar benets at a lower price.
Brands face two clear and
opposing opportunities: growth
by consolidating regional brands
into powerful national brands; and
growth by developing regional
brands which, in India, can have
economic scale.
Talent Drain/Talent Pool No
consumer technology brands
appear in the BrandZ India
Top 50. In contrast, several of
Chinas most valuable brands are
in technology. This absence of
valuable technology brands in India
is striking because of the presence
of so many Indian entrepreneurs in
major tech companies worldwide,
but its easily explained. Global
consumer technology brands
Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
operate relatively freely in India,
so theres no gap in the market.
The recent rise of India tech
brands, particularly in ecommerce,
indicates that Indians who may
have pursued their technology
ambitions abroad in the past, are
increasingly contributing their
talents at home, a development
that should have tremendous
impact for the technology category
and brands going forward.
An expanding
opportunity
Inuenced by the Internet
and social media, Indians with
widely diferent income levels
share similar aspirations. But
the afordability gap remains.
Although India is becoming
wealthier, even in rural areas,
almost 30 percent of the
population lived below the poverty
line as of 2010, according to the
World Bank.
Many brands support eforts
to help create a country thats
economically and socially inclusive.
As a democracy, India depends
on organic cohesiveness, rather
than imposed order, to keep the
nation whole. It has experienced
traumatic periods when
cohesiveness wore thin.
The determination to achieve
inclusivity is in the DNA of Indias
leading brands across all sectors.
They dont treat CSR (Corporate
Social Responsibility) as an
add-on, but rather as a relevant
business function. FMCG brands
that produce laundry products
often become involved in hygiene
and water conservation initiatives.
Banks expand into underserved
rural areas where initial ROI may
not be signicant but the potential
of the unbanked is great.
Finally, theres the Indian Diaspora.
While 1.25 billion Indians live in
India, perhaps another 22 million
Indians, almost the population
of Australia, live in other parts of
the world. These people form a
receptive audience for exported
Indian brands. And many of them
live abroad only temporarily, for
study or work, returning to India
with knowledge to contribute,
money to spend, and brand
sophistication that will inuence
purchasing.
Key factors diferentiate India
and impact brand development
Service sector
brands dominate
in value
Service sector brands the
banks, insurance companies, and
telecoms account for the largest
proportion of value in the BrandZ
Top 50 Most Valuable Indian
Brands 2014. Many of these brands
are relatively young, formed in
the last 25 years after the market
liberalization of the 1990s. They
have invested tremendously in
building brand and scale.
The strength of this sector is
not particular to India. Because
nancial institutions and telecoms
are fundamental to the growth
of nations, the service sector
generates high brand value across
the BRIC countries. However, in
India, service brands account for a
rising proportion of GDP growth,
formerly driven primarily by
agriculture. And distinctive to India,
these brands primarily are privately
owned, not SOEs (State Owned
Enterprises).
Because of the nature of their
businesses, and because they
understand that opportunity in
a land of 1.25 billion inhabitants
is not limited to the expanding
middle class as signicant as that
is these brands also organize
their oferings to meet the needs
and aspirations of the broadest
possible market, as they expand
both in urban and rural areas.
Banks, in particular, articulate
the need for inclusiveness, and
advance a progressive, and
commercially viable, social
agenda to meet the needs of the
unbanked. Telecoms promote
programs to make their services
widely afordable. While building
scale, however, the service sector
brands have not sufciently
developed deep relationships with
their customers.
BRAND IMPLICATIONS
Having built scale, the service
sector brands are salient, a
BrandZ measurement of being
familiar on a top-of-mind basis.
Theyve have had a meaningful
impact on improving the lives
of many Indians, opening bank
branches in remote regions and
empowering small vendors with
mobile phones.
Consumers, however, dont see
these brands as meaningfully
diferent. Meaningful (meeting
functional needs and cultivating
emotional attachment) and
diferent (being distinguished,
even a trend setter) are, along with
salient, the BrandZ components
of brand equity.
Service brands
need to invest in
building customer
relationships.
They need to
evolve from
being providers
of products and
services to being
trusted service
partners. Having
said that, Indian
service brands
have been relatively innovative.
Three banks appear in the India
Top 5, and each scores high in
brand contribution, the BrandZ
measurement of brand inuence
alone, when all other factors,
including nancial power, are
stripped away.
FMCG brands
excel in brand
contribution
Of the Top 10 Indian
brands in brand contribution,
nine are in FMCG (Fast Moving
Consumer Goods) categories.
While these brands lack the near
monopolistic inuence of the
service category brands, they
score well in the BrandZ MDF
(Meaningful Diferent Framework)
of brand equity. And the brands
are salient, well known to the point
that they come easily to mind.
These brands achieved MDF
strength in a variety of ways, some
of which pertain to brand age and
brand ownership. Brand age in
India divides into three periods:
before independence in 1947;
after independence but before
market liberalization in 1991; and
post liberalization. In contrast to
the service brands, mostly formed
post liberalization, the FMCG
brands came into
being much earlier.
Many have long
Indian heritage.
Theyre all private.
Individual Indian
entrepreneurs
formed a few of the
brands. Some brands
t under the master
brand of an Indian
family conglomerate
with a portfolio of brands across
categories. Others are brands that
MNCs (Multinational Corporations)
introduced to India which, over
decades of marketing, have
become Indian brands in the
consumer mind.
BRAND IMPLICATIONS
Although these brands have
achieved strong brand equity,
they lack the scale of the service
sector brands, in part because the
nature of their categories requires
reaching market segments rather
than the full mass market. Their
strong equity enables these brands
to build scale without sacricing
their meaningful diference, an
important advantage. However,
these brands havent fully
leveraged their equity to pursue
new business opportunities and
increase earnings.
Private brands
comprise most of
the India Top 50
Brand ownership reveals one
of the key distinctions between
India and other BRIC markets. Over
85 percent of the India Top 50
most valuable brands are privately
owned. In China,
valuable brands
are much more
likely to be state
owned. While
private brands
predominate in
Brazil, ownership
is not the
determinative
brand success
factor that it is in
India.
The diference in India is the
presence of Indian family
conglomerates and MNCs.
The family owned conglomerates
have succeeded where
conglomerates often fail, creating
master brands that convey trust
and reliability across disparate
categories, while at the same
time accruing economies of
scale. Additionally, the family
conglomerates have succeeded
where family businesses often
fail, in transmitting a sense of
mission and business acumen
to successive generations.
Similarly, the MNCs have achieved
an elusive goal of multinationals.
MNCs in India have
combined the
advantages of global
scale and expertise
with the need to
gain deep local
market insight and be
perceived as a local
brand.
BRAND
IMPLICATIONS
The family owned conglomerates
need to continue do what they do
best, build businesses using their
respected master brands. But they
need to consider potential shifts in
consumer attitude toward master
brands. While young people
respect tradition, theyre also more
inclined look beyond it, for new
ideas and experiences.
At the same time, the family
conglomerates need to prepare for
audiences where the master brand
has little or no currency outside
of India. Having built
world-class marketing
competence, some
of the family owned
conglomerates
are ready for new
growth stages, with
expansion abroad
and the acquisition of
international brands
for introduction in
India.
The MNCs have
done an excellent job of building
valuable brands. Of the Top 50
most valuable Indian brands, 34
percent are owned by MNCs. The
MNCs now have an opportunity to
build scale, in part by leveraging
their market presence to rapidly
reach groups of consumer who
desire and for the rst time
can aford their products and
services.
Brands face
greater potential
and competition
Indias history, culture, and
democratic values make it a
tolerant country
open to new
ideas. Its also a
country thats
hospitable to
brands. Indian
consumers like
brands. They have
long experience
with brands.
These conditions
make the market
fertile for new brand entries.
But it also makes the market
competitive. The relative lack of
SOEs and the predominance of
privately ownership, mean that
Indian brands have signicant
brand building experience. In
the BrandZ Power Index, a
measurement of brand equity, the
India Top 50 most valuable brands
score virtually the same as the
Global Top 50.
Both new entrants and existing
Indian brands face similar market
opportunities. These include:
reaching the growing number of
consumers now able to purchase
products and services; and
communicating both to the mass
market and to market segments,
which have economic scale in India.
BRAND IMPLICATIONS
Until now, salience has been
important. Many Indian brands
build top-of-mind awareness with
celebrity brand ambassadors,
often movie stars or sports stars.
Those tactics will go only so far
as the Indian market evolves.
Consumers will look for brands that
promise and deliver meaningful
and diferentiating benets that
improve life in some way.
In part because of government
policies, some sectors have been
more protected than others from
foreign competition. The absence
of signicant overseas competitors
in retailing, for example, has meant
that the manufacturer brand
owner drives brand building. In
countries with more developed
modern retail sectors, the brand
owner and retailer share brand
building power, or compete for it.
14 15
Overview // Insights
1
2
3
4
India Top 50 reaches
US$ 70 billion in value
The combined value of the BrandZ Top 50 Most
Valuable Indian Brands reached almost US$ 70 billion.
Brand equity is strong
In creating a consumer predisposition to purchase,
Indian brands performed better than comparable
brands in Brazil or China, and equal to the top brands
globally. In the BrandZ Power Index, a brand equity
measurement, the India Top 50 scored 222, compared
with a 221 score for the Global Top 50. The average
score for all brands worldwide is 100.
Mega brands dominate
The Top 5 brands account for 45 percent of the total
value of the BrandZ India Top 50, or US$ 31 billion.
This concentration of value at the top of the ranking
is similar to other BRIC markets. In contrast, the Top
5 brands in the Global Top 50 account for only about
a quarter of the rankings total value.
Financial services sector
leads in brands represented
Financial service brands banks and insurance
companies represent almost a quarter of the
brands ranked in the BrandZ India Top 50. That
level of representation exceeds the proportion of
nancial services brands in the BrandZ Brazil
and China rankings, and is equivalent to the Global
Top 100. Financial service brands are typically well
represented in BrandZ rankings because the sector
is fundamental to economic health.
Banks are the most
prominent category
Banks are the most prominent
category in the BrandZ India
Top 50, both in number of brands
and total brand value. Ten banks
account for 35.8 percent of the
brand value of the Top 50.
HDFC Bank ranked
most valuable brand
With a brand value of US$ 9.4
billion, HDFC Bank is Indias most
valuable brand. When established
in 1994, following Indias nancial
reform, HDFC Bank became one of
Indias rst private banks.
Telecoms exhibit
high brand value
With only three brands in the
BrandZ India Top 50, telecoms
are number two in total brand
value, making up 16.9 percent of
the rankings total brand value.
Airtel ranked second
most valuable brand
Ranked the second most valuable
brand in the BrandZ India Top
50, with a brand value of US$
8.2 billion, Airtel is part of Bharti
Enterprises, an Indian family
conglomerate, and operates in
20 countries.
FMCG brands lead in
brand contribution
Nine of the Top 10 brands in brand
contribution are from FMCG
categories. A BrandZ metric,
brand contribution measures
the impact of brand alone on
earnings. The result reects that
India has long been is a hospitable
market for brands. Many FMCG
brands started before Indias
independence in 1947. Theyve
ourished in a democratic and
relatively open market economy.
Food and dairy,
and personal care
brands are well
represented
Food and dairy, and personal care
brands each comprise 14 percent
of the brands in the BrandZ
India Top 50. Thats a high level
of representation relative to other
BRICs. Personal care comprises
only 2 percent of the brands
ranked in the Brazil Top 50 and
China Top 100. The contrast
suggests strong Indian interest in
personal care. The food and dairy
representation in part indicates
MNC (Multinational Corporation)
success in introducing and
developing FMCG brands.
Most of the BrandZ
India Top 50 brands
are private
Unlike China, where SOEs (State
Owned Enterprises) dominate the
BrandZ ranking of most valuable
brands, private brands comprise
86 percent of the BrandZ India
Top 50. Indian entrepreneurs
and Indian family conglomerates
together own over half of the
private brands. Others are owned
by MNCs. Both the conglomerates
and the MNCs have efectively
leveraged signicant resources
and world-class marketing
expertise to build scale and
develop meaningful brands.
Master brands
exert inuence
The Indian family conglomerates
have developed powerful master
brands that confer trust and
authority across categories
while simultaneously accruing
economies. Unlike many
conglomerates, theyve built brand
equity across disparate categories.
And unlike many family businesses,
theyve established continuity
of mission and competence in
successive generations.
Brand age tells
a lot in India
You can tell a lot about a brand
by its age in India. The younger
brands tend to be banks or
telecoms that rapidly achieved
scale since market liberalization
in the 1990s. They enjoy high
market value and salience but
consumers are less likely to see
them as meaningfully diferent.
Older brands, formed before
liberalization, and even before
Indian independence, in 1947, often
are well known and appreciated
FMCG brands. Some started
originally in India, while others
were established elsewhere and
introduced in India by MNCs.
Top 50 brands seen
as entrepreneurial
In a BrandZ brand personality
analysis, the characteristic
adventurous distinguished the
India Top 50 from the Brazil, China
and Global Top 50, suggesting
that leading Indian brands are
viewed as more entrepreneurial.
Part 1 // Introduction - Highlights
Findings and analysis frame
opportunities and challenges
Highlights // Key Results
16 17
Current forces can propel
or disrupt brand growth
Rural expectations
are changing
Brands are moving into rural
and semirural areas of India.
Banks are opening branches and
establishing a presence. HDFC
Bank opened mini-branches
stafed by only a couple of people.
Hindustan Lever is increasing small
town penetration of its FMCG
(Fast Moving Consumer Goods)
products. The trend is similar to the
brand expansion into Chinas lower
tier cites. The diference is that the
Indian government has not, literally,
paved the way.
People are
moving to cities
People from Indias rural areas
are moving to the countrys cities
seeking opportunity. Growth of
the urban migrant population
is the same phenomenon as
happened in China. And theres
another similarity. People from
rural areas who become urban
dwellers dont abandon their roots.
When they return to their small
towns and villages they potentially
become ambassadors for brands
they experienced in the city.
This possibility is important for
brands because in rural areas the
recommendations of local leaders
can carry more weight than media
messages.
Value drives
consumer spending
Chastened by the global recession
and the slowdown in the growth
rate of Indias economy, Indian
consumers are purchasing more
thoughtfully. Similar to many
of todays Chinese consumers,
Indians prefer to purchase value
rather than status. For those
who can aford a luxury car, the
badge is still important, but not
as important as the drive. Less
well of Indians have traditionally
sought value. Thats one reason for
the abundance of regional brands
that compete with national names,
which usually are more expensive.
Premium gains
middle class
attention
Some consumers are willing
to pay a premium for certain
products, such as healthier foods
and beverages. Consequently,
companies like Hindustan
Unilever, Procter & Gamble, ITC,
and Cadbury are adding more
premium oferings to their product
portfolios. Two leading paint
brands, Asian Paints and Berger
Paints, introduced initiatives
to inspire more elaborate and
upscale home decoration. Banks
are increasing their focus on
wealth management. Even some
commodities, like rice, are branding
to suggest a qualitative diference
that deserves a premium.
Afordability
reaches across
the economy
Members of Indias rising middle
class, and those who aspire to
move up into that group, share
the Indian dream, to prosper
individually and as a family. Across
the economic spectrum people are
eager to have that dream realized
sooner rather than later. Brands are
responding with schemes to make
their products and services more
accessible. Buying on installment
is available both for inexpensive
products and luxury cars.
Consumers link
brand with identity
Indian consumers increasingly
consider the brands they choose
as expressions of who they are
as individuals. The connection
between brand and identity
extends to experiences, as
people consider holidays abroad
to more aspirational destinations,
like Europe.
Young generation
has diferent
priorities
The median age of Indias
population is 27. In contrast, people
of median age in the US and UK
are almost 40. This generational
diference is signicant for brands.
Indias young people were born
in the 1990s, post liberalization in
a free market period that drove
economic growth. Unlike their
parents, their priority is not saving
for a rainy day. They want nice
things. But theyre also struggling
to balance their desire to advance
with the tug of family and tradition.
Thats part of what motivates
young people to move to the city.
It limits the tensions at home.
Brands need to communicate in
new ways to reach them.
More opportunities
open for women
The presence of more women
in the workplace inuences
brand products and services and
communications. Motorcycle
brands have introduced sub-
brands aimed at women. Ads
for Hindustan Unilevers Fair &
Lovely skin treatments emphasize
themes of womens empowerment,
achievement, and transformation.
18 19
Highlights // Cross Category Trends
Insights and actions for building
valuable brands in todays India
Highlights // Take Aways
Meet desire with
afordability
In India, if you can create a product
or service, you can nd a market
for it. You need to create desire and
deliver an afordable price. Dont
assume your market is limited
to the wealthy. Its not only the
middle class in the cities who have
aspirations. Less well of people in
both the cities and rural areas are
eager for the good life. Figure out
a way for them to aford the piece
of the good life that youre selling.
Hair coloring is a big business, and
not just for the wealthy. Mobile
phones, cars, innovative consumer
products, and healthcare are just
a few of the categories where
marketers need to match product
and service afordability with
consumer desire. India may be
one of the few markets where a
consumer can purchase an iPhone
with installment payments.
Build scale
and depth
Its not one or the other in India.
With 1.25 billion inhabitants, India
clearly ofers scale. But to fully
realize that opportunity, its also
necessary to achieve depth, to
connect emotionally. Indian service
brands, like telecoms, are excellent
at building scale. FMCG brands do
a better job developing depth or
emotional connection. To achieve
meaningful diferentiation, build
both scale and depth. This dual
focus is particularly relevant in
India because of the diversity of
the country. Building scale requires
serving the particular interests and
tastes of many diferent consumer
segments. For international
brands, its useful to think of India
as Europe, a large geography
with states that are both unied
and distinctive. For Indian brands,
achieving both scale and depth can
help sharpen the competencies
necessary for overseas expansion.
Understand the
special role of
master brands
In many of the worlds markets
diversication hasnt been the
optimum path to brand success
because too often it difuses focus,
producing more inefciencies than
synergies. That assumption doesnt
work the same way in India, where
some of the most successful
brand builders are the family
owned Indian conglomerates.
Their master brands, symbolizing
efcacy and quality, enable these
companies to expand across
dissimilar categories, IT to FMCG,
generating consumer trust and
accruing economies of scale. These
conglomerates have achieved
these results over time and with
the advantage of Indian heritage,
so master brands are not a formula
for instant success. However, major
MNCs (Multinational Corporations)
have demonstrated that master
brands, when accompanied by
deep market insight and patience,
can create brands that Indian
consumers view as Indian even if
the actual provenance is not.
Seek insight in
contradictions
Indians live surrounded by the
artifacts and traditions of their
ancient civilization. They also live
in the same day-to-day reality
as the rest of the developed
world. Indians constantly mediate
between these realities. The same
person may wear contemporary
clothing one day and traditional
dress another. The balance
between old and new depends
on time and circumstances. Its
a factor in many purchasing
decisions. This balance also means
that Indians are receptive to
accepting brands whether they
are old (Bank of India , established
in 1906) or new (Airtel, established
in 1995).
Set the clock
on Indian time
This duality of embracing the past
while living in the present is one
of the reasons, along with political
diferences, that the pace of
change in India is relatively slower
than in China, where until recently
infrastructure construction took
priority over preservation, and
consumers faced the future
with less equivocation. Brands
need to set their expectations in
India according to a clock that
spans millennia. Paradoxically,
progress that seems slower may
be faster. When change happens
deliberately and incrementally,
societys material, communal, and
spiritual needs are more likely to
remain aligned. The result can be
long-term growth and stability at a
deep level.
Study the young;
view the future
India is a young country
demographically. The median
age is 27. In contrast, the median
age in the US and the UK is more
than 10 years older. Young people
desire the newest and shiniest
products. And theyre more likely
to purchase them even with lay
away plans than their parents.
The older generations lived
through difcult economic periods,
without an elaborate social safety
net, when the prevailing mentality
was about saving for a rainy day.
Young people are less risk averse.
But theres a caveat. Although
young people are more likely than
their parents to challenge tradition,
young Indians share with their
parents the need to balance the
old and the new and dont reject
tradition totally.
Question Basic Assumptions
1
2
3
4
5
6
20 21
Indianize
Drive Brand Power
Indianize
Dont expect to simply repackage
a global product and sell the
same formulation successfully
to 1.25 billion Indians. Thats a
thrilling idea. But it usually fails.
The international brands that have
experienced the greatest success
in India and there are many
took the time to understand Indian
needs and tastes and adapt to
them. When Nestl introduced
Maggi instant noodles, in 1982,
it gave them a Masala taste, and
today Indians generally think of
Maggi as an Indian brand. Even
the most iconic of global brands,
McDonalds, did not fully succeed
in India until it introduced Indian
avors and vegetarian menu
options that would seem out of
character for the worlds largest
hamburger chain. Along with
adapting to the mass market,
Indianizing can involve another
step, understanding the myriad
regional and cultural variations
within the mass market. That
knowledge unlocks possibilities for
more focused oferings that, given
the overall size of India, can still be
produced at economic scale.
Think and act
regionally
Managing Indias diversity remains
a challenge for marketers. What
sells in one part of the country
might not sell well in some
other part, so marketers have
to constantly customize their
oferings for regional needs, taste
and sentiments. While people in
the north tend to believe claims
made by ads, in the south they
look for reasons to believe. Even
celebrities enjoy diferent levels of
popularity and appeal in various
parts of the country. Taste varies
immensely from east to west and
north to south in food habits,
media consumption or any other
way of life. Marketers need to
keep in mind these diferences in
their eforts to create successful
national brands in India. The
message may be national, but the
communication needs to be local
market specic. With possibly one
exception. Conventional marketing
wisdom holds that two things unite
the billion-plus people of India
movies and cricket.
Maintain focus on
traditional retailing
Marketers need to distribute in
the modern retailing sector, which
is expanding slowly as the Indian
government incrementally relaxes
market entry restrictions. But today,
Indian retailing still is dominated
by traditional retailing the local
kirana shops, the independently-
owned neighborhood general
stores, chemists, footwear shops,
apparel shops, shops selling paan
(betel leaf) and beedi (tobacco),
the hand-cart hawkers and
pavement vendor. While marketers
must use the modern trade format
for promoting their brands and
gaining distribution efciencies,
they need to continue rening
their distribution and promotion
strategies through the traditional
route because the modern sector
accounts for only about 7 percent
of Indian retailing.
Dene and
deliver good
value
Indian consumers are extremely
value conscious. Well travelled
and educated, theyre aware of
whats available in the West. They
want the latest, most modern
technology at a reasonable price.
Marketers need to innovate and
keep up with the consumers
constantly changing interests and
desires. Perceived good value
is pivotal. But the consumers
understanding of good value
varies by category and brand.
Marketers need to decode
consumer behavior and dene
good value by category and
brand and deliver it.
Help the
consumer
feel smart
While the details of value difer by
category and brand, this much is
consistent: value no longer means
cheap. Consumers are discerning.
Especially in poorer rural areas,
household budgets require
purchasing products that work
well the rst time and for a long
time. Thats why regional brands
proliferate in many categories.
They ofer enough quality at a
good price. Consumers feel theyre
getting their moneys worth. They
feel smart. Ofering traditional
price discounts and sale periods
may help attract these value-
driven consumers. But not as much
as providing an honest product or
service at the right price.
Be Meaningful
In todays India, where consumers
know what they want and are
aware of the diferent brand
oferings, being meaningful and
relevant is imperative. As the
preference for branded products
increases, consumers seek
more relevant and personally
signicant brands. Building
afnity, an emotional connection
with the consumer beyond the
transactional relationship, is critical
for marketing success. Some
brands, like the bakery and dairy
brand Britannia, have connected
so strongly with consumers, that
in the minds of many Indians the
brands actually represent not just
particular product ranges, but
entire categories.
Diferentiate
Indian consumers today have a
strong sense of identity and they
want to stand out in the crowd. A
me-too brand is not acceptable
anymore. A brand needs to
have a meaningful USP that
diferentiates it from competition.
Diferentiation does not
necessarily mean developing a
new ofering. Marketers can look
at diferentiating with service,
brand experience, ambience
or anything else that suits their
brand.
Build trust
Trust and reliability are the most
critical attributes for a brand
to possess in India, relative to
other country markets, research
suggests. Closing any gap
between the brand promise
and the delivery of the promise
builds trust. While legacy brands
like Tata and State Bank of India
have built trust over many years,
global brands like McDonalds
and Nokia have also cultivated
trust by, over time, nding the
right localized approach. For
heritage and global brands, the
common factor is being true
to the consumer and providing
authentic products and services.
7
8
9
10
11 12
13 14
22 23
Market Creatively
Crack the
value code
Consumers have many choices.
Find something that makes your
brand or service locally relevant,
diferent, and necessary. Make
something about your ofering
the functionality, delivery, or
emotional appeal superior to
the competition. Or make your
ofering more accessible. And
execute efectively.
Get social
India is the worlds second largest
market for social networking sites.
Major social media brands, such as
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn,
operate relatively freely in India,
in contrast to China. Facebook
has approximately 100 million
users in India. The country has the
worlds third largest Internet base,
with 210 million Internet users,
according to the Internet and
Mobile Association of India. Social
networking in India helps improve
brand engagement. Social media
platforms, detailing the users
demographics, preferences, social
connections and behavior, provide
an attractive proposition for
advertisers. The high granularity
of information allows advertisers
to target consumers much more
efectively.
Get mobile
India ranks third among
countries for mobile device users.
Around 84 million Indian Facebook
users access the website using
their mobile devices. Mobile
marketing is the next big platform
for brands in India. Especially
in rural areas, where illiteracy
and erratic electricity supply
sometimes hamper traditional
marketing platforms, marketers
need to leverage mobiles
advantages. Missed-call ads
ringing and leaving a message to
save the recipient the cost of the
call have proved successful for
some leading brands in India. With
the increasing number of utility
transactions like paying bills,
banking, and booking tickets
being made on mobile phones,
the medium has huge potential.
Implement
clever
ecommerce
strategies
Increased trust, low price ofers,
and the ability to transact 24/7,
drive ecommerce growth in India,
where there are over 25 million
online buyers and over 210 million
Internet users. Marketers must
explore the ecommerce route
more aggressively and adapt it
to the particularities of the Indian
market. For example, because
credit card ownership is limited
and customers hesitate to pay for
merchandise before receiving it,
many ecommerce brands have
successfully adopted a cash-on-
deliver strategy.
Optimize
media
spending
The media industry has changed
signicantly, driven by the
changes of 2001, when liberalized
government regulations invited
more competition in print,
television, radio and eventually
social media and out-of-home.
Add in the numerous variables
like geography, language, religion
and socio- economic status, and
the Indian media market becomes
very complex and challenging for
advertisers and media planners.
Consumers dont consume media
one medium at a time anymore.
They browse websites on mobile
devices while watching TV, or
notice an out-of-home ad while
browsing through the pages of
a magazine. Marketers need to
optimize their media mix to get
the highest ROI.
Simplify
the route
to market
Having an efcient route-to-
market strategy helps consumer-
facing businesses gain market
share at an optimal cost. But the
route that a product or service
needs to travel before reaching
its end user remains complex in
India. Marketers need to develop
more creative strategies to
reach the consumer. Combining
bricks and mortar retailing with
ecommerce is probably the
starkest example of this creative
thinking. Other strategies include:
using unconventional channels,
like self- help groups in rural
markets; using mobile technology
to reach every consumer; and
focusing more on modern trade,
a less complex channel.
15
16
17
18
19
20
24 25
Part 1 // Introduction - Background
Key Facts and Figures
26 27
Background // Economy and Demographics
Bangalore
Bhopal
Mumbai
Amritsar
Hyderabad
Nagpur
New Delhi
Agra
Population
Total population
1.25 billion
Rural population
as percent of total
population
68%
Population below
the poverty line
1

(2010 estimate)
29.8%
Population by age
1
Median Age
1
(2014 estimate)
Figures fromthe World Bank and for 2013 unless otherwise noted
1
CIA World Fact Book 2014 estimate
Figures fromthe World Bank and for 2013 unless otherwise noted
2
Internet and Mobile Association of India
65 years and over
55-64 years
25-54 years
15-24 years
0-14 years
5.7%
7%
40.6%
18.1%
28.5%
27yrs
30.7yrs 36.7yrs 37.6yrs 38.7yrs 40.4yrs
Economy
US$ 24 billion
US$ 76.1 billion
US$ 295.6 billion
US$ 50.6 billion
Foreign Direct Investment
GDP Per Capita
(around the same as Yemen)
US$ 1,499
GDP Rate of Growth
5%
71%
89
135
153
Mobile Subscriptions
per 100 people
46
213 million
(141 urban/72 rural)
2
Total Internet Users
Internet Users
per 100 people
15 61 52
Geography
3.1 million sq. km. /
1.2 million sq. mi
Land Area
(worlds seventh largest nation,
about one-third the size of the US)
GDP
(about equal to Canada)
US$ 1.9 trillion
Ease of Doing Business
134
(on a scale of 1 to
189, 1 being the most
business friendly)
29 28
Recent ndings suggest that India is possibly the worlds oldest
civilization. Compressing this extensive history into a brief timeline
produces a limited and inexact glimpse into the formation of a
nation. But the summary knowledge is a useful introduction for
any brand trading, or contemplating trading, in India.
Ancient civilization absorbs diverse
inuences, inspires major religions
Background // History
Pre-History
The Dravidians, a group of people
who shared a common language,
were among the earliest inhabitants
of the territory of modern India,
starting perhaps 4,000 years ago.
But in 2002, scientists discovered
an enormous city, dated to 7,500
BCE, 100 feet deep in the Gulf of
Cambay, of of the Indias west
coast, near Gujarat. The discovery
suggests that civilization in India
may have formed much earlier.
The Beginning
4000 BCE
Historians generally believe that the
populations of India and much of the
West are rooted in the same place,
around the Black Sea, with the
Indo-European people, who spoke
similar languages and lived perhaps
in the area of modern-day Turkey
or Ukraine. Some of these people
moved west into Europe and others
migrated south through what is now
Iran, arriving ultimately in India.
The Indus Valley
Civilization
2500 BCE to 1700 BCE
In the migration south, the Indo-European
language evolved into Indo-Iranian and
then Indo-Aryan. Along the Indus River, in
what is now Pakistan and northern India,
the Indo-Aryans came in contact with
whats considered the largest civilization
of the ancient world, with a population
exceeding that of Egypt or neighboring
Mesopotamia. These people introduced the
Vedas, collections of devotions to various
gods, written in Sanskrit. A collection of
Vedas called the Upanishads inuenced the
development of Hinduism. The Dravidians
may have populated the Indus Valley.
The Axial Age
800 BCE to 200 BCE
This period of history marks a radical
transformation in human consciousness,
with the emergence of a new sense
of self that changes how people view
morality, life, and death.
In inventing the term Axial Age, German
philosopher Karl Jaspers noted that this
change happens almost simultaneously
and independently in diferent parts
of the world. In Iran, Zarathustra
establishes Zoroastrianism. Hinduism
evolves from the earlier Vedic texts.
Jainism appears. The Buddha is born.
Confucius is born in 551 and Laozi, the
founder of Daoism, a few years later.
The Hebrew Bible is redacted during the
exile in Babylonia. In Greece, Socrates,
Plato, Aristotle and others establish the
foundation of western philosophy.
Successive empires advance human knowledge
Conquest and
Unication
500 BCE to 185 BCE
When the king of Macedonia,
Alexander the Great, set out to
conquer the known world, he
followed roughly the same route as
the Indo-European migration south.
After conquering the Persians, who
had extended their empire into
the area that today is Pakistan and
Afghanistan, he reached the Hydaspes
River in Punjab. But after defeating
the Indian armies led by King Porus,
Alexander, his troops exhausted,
ended his conquest of India.
The Golden Age
320 BCE to 550 CE
Subsequently, the Maurya Dynasty
unied India under the rule of
Ashoka the Great. Buddhism
ourished during this period. And
maritime trade with Rome began.
For about three hundred years,
much of India enjoyed peace and
prosperity during the Gupta Empire.
During this period, Hinduism became
the major religion and Indians made
major advances in science and
mathematics, inventing the concept
of zero and the decimal system.
Background // History
Empires and Invasions
500 to 1500
With the end of the Gupta Empire, India fractured into
several kingdoms. Arab Muslims conquered Persia and
then the areas now Pakistan and Afghanistan, but Hindu
rulers repelled advances further south. Later, Turkic
and Afghan invaders established the Delhi Sultanate in
northern India and exerted inuence in other parts of
the country, adding Islam to the mix of religions.
Mughal Era
1500 to 1857
Mughal invaders defeated the Muslim rulers of northern
India, adding more elements to the countrys cultural mix.
Turkic-Mongols from central Asia, the Mughals traced
their lineage to Genghis Khan. During the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries they controlled most of India. A Mughal
emperor, Shah Jahan, built the Taj Mahal. In 1499, Portuguese
explorer Vasco da Gama discovered a new sea route to India,
around Africas Cape of Good Hope. The Dutch East India
Company was established in 1602. Subsequently, the Danish,
French, and Portuguese set up similar mercantile businesses.
Britain established its East India Company in 1612.
British Rule
1858 to 1947
With these developments, India became
not only a trading partner for the
Europeans, but also another theater of
war. Following Britains victory in the
Seven Years War, which broke out in
1756, its East India Company controlled
most of India for about a century, until
an Indian rebellion against the company
in 1857. Then the British government
asserted control. It installed modern
governance institutions, helped build the
economy, and encouraged an emerging
middle class. At the same time, much of
India remained impoverished. By the early
1920s, the Indian National Congress called
for self-government. Relying on principles
of non-violent protest, Mahatma Gandhi
led a movement for independence.
Independence
1947 to 1991
In the global geo-political reorganization
following World War II, India achieved
independence, on August 15, 1947, and
Jawaharlal Nehru became the nations
rst prime minister. Britain partitioned the
land into a Muslim state, Pakistan, and a
predominately Hindu state, India. Massive
migration and violence ensued. Tensions
between India and Pakistan deteriorated
to the point of war several times. Internal
divisions resulted in the assassinations
of two prime ministers, Indira Gandhi in
1984, and her son Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
Indias economy neared default in 1991.
This trauma forced the government to
advance more inclusive policies and
loosen its central control of the economy.
Rising India
1991 to Today
Some sectors, such nancial services
and telecommunications, experienced
reform, while other sectors lagged.
Having nationalized banks in 1966, the
Indian government allowed more private
ownership, in 1996. Regulatory reform
of insurance, in 2000, attracted foreign
investment. For similar reasons, the telecom
sector grew exponentially. In contrast, the
retail sector remains highly protected and
fragmented. Although GDP grew by over
10 percent in 2010, the economy slowed
to half that rate in 2013. The overwhelming
rejection of the long-time ruling party, and
the vote in favor of Narendra Modi, in Indias
national election, in May 2014, signaled
impatience with the pace of reform and
afrmed a desire for greater opportunity.
31 30
Centuries of dynastic and
colonial rule end with
independence and democracy
Modern India strives for inclusive opportunity
Background // Market Structure
33 32
Indian family conglomerates
own many valuable brands
In a distinctly Indian phenomenon,
family conglomerates own 26
percent of the BrandZ Top 50
Most Valuable Indian Brands, and
a signicant number of Indias
other leading brands across
most categories, from industrial
products to FMCG.
Most of the Indian conglomerates
were formed over 65 years ago,
before the establishment of
India as an independent nation,
during the period of British rule,
at a time when Indias middle
class rst expanded and local
entrepreneurs found ways to
align with the governments
nation-building agenda.
When conglomerates worldwide
often failed to produce productive
synergies among their many
holdings, many Indian family
conglomerates expanded their
holdings and built master brands
that confer authority across
disparate categories while
accruing economies of scale.
Theyve also succeeded where
many family businesses fail,
transmitting a sense of mission and
entrepreneurialism to successive
generations.
There are around 40 prominent
Indian family conglomerates.
The largest include: Adani
Group, Aditya Birla Group, Bharti
Enterprises, Essar Group, Godrej
Industries, Mahindra Group, O.P.
Jindal Group, Reliance-ADA Group,
Reliance Industries, Sahara Group,
and Tata Group.
Indian family conglomerates
overall score signicantly higher
than MNCs (Multinational
Corporations) in brand power, the
BrandZ measurement of brand
equity and a brands ability to drive
market share. Factors driving this
result include:
Dynasty
Prior to British rule, India
experienced centuries of
dynastic leadership. These family
conglomerates adapted Indias
traditional governance structure
and applied it to commerce.
Over time, they leveraged their
privilege, knowledge of the
system, and access.
Family
Family is the primary social unit
in India, perhaps more than in
many other nations. Until recently,
individual prerogatives were
secondary to the needs of the
family. The family dynasties match
this cultural characteristic.
Trust
Trust plays and important role
in Indian society. A family name
on a product or service assures
consumers with promises of
quality and reliability even across
unrelated categories.
Mission
The conglomerates are
not building family wealth
alone, although theyre often
tremendously wealthy. Theyre
also building businesses to serve
a nation. This mission provides
guidance and continuity for
successive generations.
Local Roots
Local knowledge and connections,
important factors for success in
any market, are especially critical
in India because of complexity and
diversity. Success requires getting
the subtleties right.
Professionalism
In culture, Indian conglomerates
respect tradition and family; in
operations, they adopt the most up-
to-date, global best practices. This
duality is part of what makes them
successful and particularly Indian.
Prominent Indian Family Conglomerates
Adani Group
Established in 1988, the Adani
Group focuses on developing
infrastructure, logistics and
energy to meet the needs of
a more prosperous India. The
companys businesses include
coal mining, development and
operation of seaports and
railways, and electric power
generation and delivery. The
Adani Foundation promotes
inclusive growth by focusing
on these areas of concern:
education, community health, job
development for people in need,
and rural infrastructure.
Aditya Birla Group
Outside of India, Aditya Birla
is best known for its industrial
products, including copper,
aluminum, cement, and fertilizer.
Indians think of it for fashion,
telecommunications, nancial
and retail. Its brands in India
include Idea Cellular. The Aditya
Birla Group was formed in 1857,
in the village of Pilani in the
Rajasthan desert, where Seth Shiv
Narayan Birla started a cotton
trading business. Today, the
Groups operations extend to 36
countries.
Bharti Enterprises
Bharti operates businesses in
telecom, insurance, retail, digital
TV and foods. The telecom
business is present in 20
countries across Africa and Asia,
and includes a joint venture with
Japans Softbank. Bhartis retail
operation included a six-year joint
venture with Walmart. Founded
in 1976, by Sunil Bharti Mittal,
the company developed rst as
a manufacturer of bicycle parts,
and started in telecom services
by launching a mobile services
business in Delhi, in 1995.
Essar Group
Essar Group operates primarily
in steel, energy, infrastructure,
shipping, ports and logistics,
and services, including tele-
communications, in over 25
countries. The company was
incorporated in June 1976.
Godrej Industres
Established in 1897 as a lock
company by inventor Ardeshir
Godrej, Godrej Industries today
includes: real estate; FMCG,
particularly home care and personal
care products; chemicals; and
agribusiness, with products such
as animal feed and palm oil. As
advocates for inclusive growth,
Godrej operates its Good & Green
program to help more low income
people nd productive employment
and to make more afordable
and environmentally responsible
products available to them.
Mahindra Group
Mahindra has a presence in
a wide range of industries,
including: aerospace, agribusiness,
automobiles, automobile
aftermarket, construction
equipment, defense, energy, farm
equipment, nance and insurance,
industrial equipment, IT, leisure
and hospitality, logistics, real
estate, and retail. Two brothers,
J.C. Mahindra and K.C. Mahindra,
and Malik Ghulam Mohammad,
incorporated the original
company, Mahindra & Mohammed,
in 1945, in Punjab, to trade steel.
The company entered automobile
manufacturing in 1947.Today, the
company is especially well known
for its SUV brands and tractors.
O.P. Jindal Group
An industrial conglomerate, O.P.
Jindal Group maintains interests
in steel, cement, mining, and
power. Founder O.P. Jindal
opened the companys rst steel
plant in Hisar, in northwestern
India, in 1952. The companys
operations today span the globe.
RelianceADA Group
Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani
Group is present in many sectors
including: communications,
infrastructure, nancial services,
entertainment, power, healthcare,
technology, cement, real estate,
food, and logistics. The group
formed in 2005, when the
two brothers running Reliance
Industries split that company into
two entities.
Reliance Industries
The business interests of
Reliance Industries include:
retail, telecommunications,
and petrochemical exploration,
rening and production. The wide
range of retail holdings includes
Reliance hypermarkets, specialty
stores in both food and non-food,
and relationships with major
international brands. Founder
Dhirubhai Ambani incorporated
Reliance Textiles Industries
Private Limited in 1966. After an
IPO (Initial Public Ofering) in
1977, the company focused on
vertical integration, connecting its
textile business in polyester bers
to the petrochemical business.
Sahara Group
Sahara India Pariwar interests
include: infrastructure and
housing, sports, nance, retail,
power, manufacturing, IT,
media, entertainment, tourism,
healthcare, dairy, hospitality, and
power. The Group owns several
sports teams and major interests
in Londons Grosvenor House
Hotel and New Yorks Plaza Hotel.
Tata Group
The Tata Group operates
over 100 companies, across
the world, in seven business
sectors: communications and IT,
engineering, materials, services,
energy, consumer products, and
chemicals. Among the companies
are: Tata Motors, with brands
such as Jaguar Land Rover;
and Tata Docomo, the telecom.
Formed from a trading company
that Jamsetiji Nusserwanji Tata
established in Bombay, in 1868,
the company entered its rst
major industrial business, in 1874,
with the establishment of the
Central India Spinning, Weaving
and Manufacturing Company.
Over time, the Group entered
the airlines and automobile
businesses. And it 1952, it created
the rst popular Indian cosmetic
brand, Lakm, now owned by
Hindustan lever.
Background // Media Spending
35 34
Digital gains growing share
of an expanding media pie
Digital advertising investment
in India is predicted to grow 35
percent in 2014, following a 30
percent increase a year earlier.
This growth would give digital
just under 8 percent of total
media spending. Digital already
is the third largest media sector
investment, less than TV and print
but higher than out-of-home,
radio, and cinema.
As digital gains as a percentage
of total spending, the share of
some traditional media declines.
Although print is expected to
claim a strong 38 percent of total
media spending in 2014, thats
down from 53 percent in 2005. In
contrast, TV investment increased
over the same period to 44
percent of total media spending
from 37 percent.
Driven by Indias economic
expansion and the brand building
requirements of a market
economy, the total media pie
expanded between 2005 and
2013, even as the slices changed
in relative size. And in actual
spending, investment in all media
increased during this period,
even for magazines, which
are experiencing the greatest
pressure.
Total media spending is expected
to reach 430.6 billion rupees (US$
7.2 billion) in 2014, up from 386.0
billion rupees (US$ 6.4 billion) in
2013, and from only 156.3 billion
rupees (US$ 3.6 billion) in 2005.
.
FMCG leads media spending...
Representing 29 percent of all media spending, FMCG led all
sectors, with signicant investment also in retail and auto.
Media Spending by Sector
Ad Spending by Media
Source: GroupM and others
...With more spending going to digital
Digital spending continued its steady growth, with print investment,
especially magazines, predicted to again decline.
Source: GroupM and others
FMCG 29%
Real Estate 4%
Services 4%
Consumer Durables 5%
Financial Services 5%
Telecoms 6%
Others 22%
Retail 12%
Automobiles 8%
Education 6%
2005
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2007 2009 2011 2013 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Estimated
TV Print Digital OoH Radio Cinema
The value of the BrandZ Top 50
Most Valuable Indian Brands 2014
is concentrated at the top of the
ranking, among a limited number
of categories.
Two categories banks and
telecoms comprise more than
half of the brand value of the
India Top 50. Banks are the
most represented category, with
10 brands. Only three telecom
brands appear in the Top 50, but
theyre highly valued and each
ranks in the Top 10.
The Top 5 brands alone three
banks, a telecom, and an
automobile brand produce 45
percent of the Top 50s total value.
The brands are HDFC Bank, State
Bank of India, and ICICI Bank,
along with Airtel and Bajaj Auto.
In counterpoint to the
concentration of value and the
limited number of categories at
the top of the Indian ranking,
the rest of the Top 50 is more
category diverse, with food and
dairy, personal care, and home
care also well represented.
The value of bank, telecom,
and automobile brands results
from a couple of factors. Market
liberalization, particularly changes
enacted in 1991, encouraged more
private ownership and resulted
in new brands. Heritage and
consumer appeal drove growth of
existing brands.
For example, Punjab National
Bank opened in 1895. After
several changes in ownership and
brand name, the current State
Bank of India was established in
1955. Bajaj Auto was formed in
1959. Tata Motors began in 1945.
Part 1 // Introduction - BrandZ Analysis
Value is concentrated at the top,
similar to other BRIC markets
BrandZ Analysis // Categories and Brands
36 37
Top 50 ranking by brand value Top 5 ranking by brand value
Brand value is concentrated at
the top of the India Top 50...
The Top 5 brands account for 45 percent of the total value of
the India BrandZ Top 50.
Source: BrandZ/ Millward Brown Source: BrandZ/ Millward Brown
Source: BrandZ/ Millward Brown
Top 5 Ranking 6-20 Rankings 21-50 Rankings
HDFC Bank 30%
Airtel 27%
State Bank of
India 22%
ICICI Bank 11%
Bajaj Auto 10%
33%
45%
22%
$23bn
$31bn
$16bn
Top 50 by brand value Top 50 by number of brands
...Banks dominate in value, number of brands
Banks are the most prominent category in the BrandZ India Top 50, both in brand value and number of brands.
Banks - 35.8%
Telecoms - 16.9%
Automobiles - 12.2%
Food and Dairy - 8.3%
Personal Care - 5.3%
Alcohol - 4.7%
Paints - 4.7%
Motor Fuels - 3.5%
Home Care - 3.3%
Lubricants - 1.8%
Jewelry - 1.3%
Soft Drinks - 1.2%
Insurance - 1.1%
Bank - 10 Brands
Food and Dairy - 7 Brands
Personal Care - 7 Brands
Automobiles - 5 Brands
Home Care - 4 Brands
Telecoms - 3 Brands
Motor Fuels - 3 Brands
Alcohol - 3 Brands
Paints - 2 Brands
Soft Drinks - 2 Brands
Insurance - 2 Brands
Lubricants - 1 Brand
Jewelry - 1 Brand
Value concentration
consistent with
other BRICs
The concentration of brand value
at the top of the BrandZ India
Top 50 is consistent with the
results in other BRIC markets. In
fact, the Indian market, with the
Top 5 brands representing 45
percent of total Top 50 value, is
somewhat less concentrated than
Brazil (48 percent) and China
(50 percent). In contrast, only 27
percent of total brand power is
concentrated in the Top 5 brands
in the BrandZ Global Top 50.
The dominance of banks in the
India Top 50 is also consistent with
BrandZ rankings across other
BRIC markets, where the number
of nancial services brands
exceeds other categories.
The Top 5 brands of the BrandZ Indian Top 50 account for 45 percent of
total value, which makes brand power in India a bit less concentrated than
in other BRICs.
% Value - Brand value share of top 5 brands
The concentration of brand power is consistent
across the BRICs...
45%
India
Top 50
48%
Brazil
Top 50
50%
China
Top 50
27%
Global
Top 50
Financial services brands comprise
24 percent of the brands ranked
in the BrandZ Indian Top 50
compared with Latam (26 percent),
and Brazil (12 percent) in other
BrandZ Top 50 studies. Financial
services brands comprise 15
percent of the China Top 100 and
23 percent of the Global Top 100.
Similar to other BRIC markets,
India also has a strong telecoms
category. Unlike other BRIC
markets, the Indian automobile
category accounts for a signicant
portion of total brand value. And
unlike China, the technology
sector does not account for a high
proportion of brand value in India.
Several factors account for this
technology nding, which seems
counter intuitive given the large
presence of Indian entrepreneurs
active in technology worldwide.
Most signicant, the major global
technology players like Google,
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
operate without restriction in India,
so there is no gap in the market.
Also, during difcult economic times
Indian entrepreneurs fullled their
ambitions outside of India. With
economic improvement, Indians
are nding greater opportunity
at home. Consumer technology
brands are rapidly developing,
particularly in ecommerce. (These
brands are not publicly traded
and therefore do not meet the
criteria for inclusion in the BrandZ
India Top 50, although many have
achieved high value.)
BrandZ Analysis // Categories and Brands
38 39
Sector
India
Top 50
Brazil
Top 50
China
Top 100
Latam
Top 50
Global
Top 100
Automobiles 10% 0% 1% 0% 6%
Alcohol &
Soft Drinks
10% 8% 13% 18% 4%
Food & Dairy 14% 8% 7% 6% 0%
Financial Services 24% 12% 15% 26% 23%
Oil & Gas 6% 2% 2% 8% 5%
Personal Care 14% 2% 2% 2% 3%
Retail 2% 20% 1% 26% 8%
Technology 0% 2% 7% 0% 18%
Telecoms 6% 8% 3% 8% 11%
Others 14% 38% 49%* 6% 22%
...Financial services are pivotal in all economies...
...The value of automobile brands distinguishes India
In the BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands, as in other BrandZ
BRIC rankings, the nancial services category dominates in the number
of brands represented. Food and dairy and personal care brands also are
well represented in the Indian ranking.
Unlike other BRIC markets, local automobile brands rank in the India Top 50.
India has no technology brands in its Top 50 ranking, in contrast to China.
Financial Services
Telecoms Technology
Automobiles
Category comparisons across country rankings
Implications
for brands
The structure of the
Indian market, with a few
categories and brands
dominating in brand
power, is consistent with
the situation in other
BRIC markets.
The concentration
is partially category
driven. The service
brands, nancial services
and telecoms, which
are fundamental to
national infrastructure,
drive scale, often with
government support.
The distinction in India
is that the banks and
telecoms are mostly
privately owned.
And FMCG brands
generally are part of
the brand portfolio of
an MNC (Multinational
Corporation) or an Indian
family conglomerate.
These well-funded
organizations are
capable of driving high
brand value.
Source: BrandZ/ Millward Brown Source: BrandZ/ Millward Brown
Note: 49 percent Others in China mainly comprises real estate, apparel, and home appliances.
Financial services dominates
in number of brands ranked
India
China Global
Brazil
Latam
12.2%
36.8%
24%
14.7% 38.4%
22.8%
12.6%
1.1%
28.9%
16.9%
4%
0.2%
11.9%
19.5%
3.4%
15.8%
Most Top 50 brands are private,
although ownership type varies
BrandZ Analysis // Brand Ownership
40 41
Valuable Indian Brands are
predominately private, reecting
a complicated and distinctively
Indian brand ownership structure.
In all BRICs, including India, high
value brands are either SOEs
(State Owned Enterprises) or
theyre private. In India, however,
private ownership includes at least
two, and possibly three, variations.
Independent entrepreneurial
brands drive about half the value
of Indian privately owned brands.
Family conglomerates, an Indian
phenomenon, drive the other half
of the value of private brands.
In addition, MNCs (Multinational
Corporations), essentially private
organizations, drive signicant
brand value. Although MNCs, by
denition, are present worldwide,
they have an unusual presence in
India, where many of their brands
are considered local.
Private brands entrepreneurs,
Indian family conglomerates, and
MNCs comprise 84 percent of
total brand value and 86 percent
of the brands in the BrandZ
India Top 50. SOEs make up
16 percent of the value and 14
percent of the brands.
In contrast, ownership of the China
Top 50 is 45 percent SOE and
55 percent private. Ownership in
Brazil is overwhelmingly private
(94 percent), but the Brazilian
private sector is monolithic
compared with Indias. Several
diferentiating factors drive Indias
more complicated ownership
structure:
Democracy and
free-market economy
State ownership doesnt t
Indias democratic ethos. In the
early 1990s, India loosened its
centrally controlled economy,
enabling private brands to emerge,
especially in banking and telecoms.
Trading history
European powers arrived during
the Age of Exploration. MNCs
came to India early with brands
they deeply embedded in India
as local brands. Nestl set up a
factory in 1912. Hindustan Unilever
formed in 1933.
Dynastic rule
Prior to the period of British rule,
a series of dynasties governed
India. Many large Indian families
adapted that model of governance
for commerce, establishing family
master brands that cross many
categories.
Implications for brands
India is a competitive market. The high
percentage of brands owned either by
Indian family conglomerates or MNCs
means that marketing sophistication
is high. The success of both the Indian
family conglomerates and the MNCs
provide valuable lessons for achieving
success in ways that defy usual
assumptions.
Although conglomerates too often
dont achieve expected efciencies
and synergies, the Indian family
conglomerates created strong master
brands that confer trust across
categories while accruing marketing
efciencies. The MNCs successfully
introduced existing brands, Indianizing
them so that consumers presume that
the brands originated in India.
Nestl established a new category in
India when it introduced Maggi instant
noodles, in 1982. Horlicks, a chocolate
malt drink began in 1873, in Chicago, and
became a household name in the UK
before its Indian market entry, in 1930.
Indian consumers consider both of these
market-leading brands Indian.
India is rich in private brands, particularly
in FMCG categories, because both
the Indian family conglomerates and
the MNCs have scale across diverse
businesses, reach deep into the Indian
market, and implement efective brand-
building strategies.
Brand ownership is more complicated in India...
Brand private ownership in India includes entrepreneurs, Indian family
conglomerates, and MNCs (Multinational Corporations).
$70bn
67% of Total Value
26 Brand in Top 50
16%
17%
7
17
US$ 23 bil.
US$ 11 bil.
Private
Private with MNCs 84% of Total Value
Private 52%
US$ 12 bil.
US$ 24 bil.
Total Value
of Total Value
of Total Value
Brands
in Top 50
Brands
in Top 50
Indian Conglomerates
State Owned
MNCs
Independent brands
India China Brazil
...SOEs play a larger role in China and private ownership dominates in Brazil...
Indias complicated ownership structure distinguishes it from China and Brazil.
Ownership structure - by number of brands
SOEs
14%
SOEs
6%
Private
55%
Private
94%
Independent Brands
26%
Indian
Conglomerates
26%
SOEs
45%
MNCs
34%
Ownership structure - by brand value
Private with MNCs 86%
of Total Number of Brands
Age of an Indian brand indicates
its challenges and opportunities
BrandZ Analysis // Brand Age
42 43
The age of every Indian brand
corresponds to a particular period
in Indias political and economic
development. These periods
inuenced the brands in their
formative years and continue
to shape them and dene
their potential challenges and
opportunities.
Brands under age 23 were
established since 1991, after Indias
economic liberalization. Brands
age 23 to 67 emerged prior to
liberalization. And brands older
than age 67 came into being
during the period before Indian
statehood, in 1947.
Of the Top 50 brands, 14 were
formed after liberalization
and 15 were formed before
independence. Although roughly
the same in number, the brands
formed after liberalization account
for 44 percent of total brand value,
more than double the percentage
value generated by the older
brands.
Twenty-one Indian brands, the
greatest number, fall in the middle
group, formed in the period
after independence but before
liberalization. In comparison with
other BRICs, the greatest number
of Brazil Top 50 brands were
formed over 64 years ago, while
around three-quarters of the
Chinese Top 100 were created less
than thirty-ve years ago.
Two reasons explain the relative
youth of Chinese brands. First,
the Reform and Opening Up,
started in 1978, stimulated growth
and brand development. Second,
the BrandZ China analysis
includes the Top 100 brands, and
the brands ranked 51 to 100 are
younger.
Brands formed since liberalization
total the greatest value...
The 14 brands formed since liberalization generate 44 percent
of the total value of the BrandZ India Top 50.
$70bn
14 Brands in Top 50
21 Brands in Top 50
15 Brands in Top 50
US$ 31 bil.
US$ 26 bil.
US$ 13 bil.
Total Value
Brands established
after Liberalization 1991
Less than 23 years old
Brands established
before Liberalization 1991
23 - 67 years old
Brands established
before Independence 1947
Over 67 years old
The brands formed during this period entered competitive sectors
relatively free of protective regulation. They have brand building
experience. As more competition enters these sectors, and more
sectors open to competition, the need for branding skills will
increase. Market liberalization happened over time and today some
categories, like telecoms, are more open than others, like retailing.
If liberalization can be slow, it also seems inexorable, which means
that opportunities await brands as more categories open.
Two cataclysmic events shook
Indias economy and politics
in 1991. Until then, the Indian
government had depended on
centralized economic control to
drive development and protect
Indian businesses. The approach
limited Foreign Direct Investment
and growth.
By 1991, India verged on default.
The country also was in the midst
of contentious elections that
intensied ethnic and religious
divisions. Assassins killed Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi while he was
campaigning.
Emerging from this trauma, India
began to implement reforms
to encourage a market-driven
economy and a more inclusive
polity. Brands formed after
1991 developed in this robust
outward-looking India working
to nd strength in its diversity.
Economic change evolved slowly,
however, with its efects felt
unevenly across sectors.
Brand examples
Recognizing the importance
of telecommunications to
national development, the Indian
government opened the sector
to competition in 1994. Several
brands formed soon after: Airtel
(1995), Idea (2002), and Reliance
Communications (2003).
The insurance sector opened
to international investment in
2000, enabling joint ventures that
combined global best practice
experience with local insight
and access to rising middle class
consumers. That same year,
several UK and Indian nancial
services companies created HDFC
Life and ICICI Prudential.
After liberalization in 1991 -
Under Age 23
37%
44%
19%
BrandZ Analysis // Brand Age
44 45
Implications
for brands
Brands introduced during the last half of the past century often
are well entrenched in the Indian market and experienced at
promoting both the functional and emotional benets of their
products. Many of the brands rely on brand ambassadors, often
leading Hindi and local language movie stars. They face the key
challenge of success: complacency. Consumers are changing.
More women are entering the workforce. Young consumers
are challenging societal traditions. In a freer market with more
competition, complacency can be fatal.
Brands with this kind of
heritage probably have
more to teach than to
learn. With that said, these
brands market today much
diferently than they did
when they were formed.
That past adaptability is
key to their future vitality.
As this ancient civilization, with a
recent colonial past, transformed
into an independent state in 1947,
India faced the enormous challenge
of building a modern economy
able to sustain its population and
compete with other nations.
Central control of the economy
characterized the rst 40 years, but
government ownership didnt reach
the same level as in China. Other
than the State Bank of India, which
dates to a predecessor brand
formed early in the nineteenth
century, most nancial institutions
operated privately until 1969, 22
years after independence, when
the government nationalized the
largest commercial banks.
In other sectors, many new brands
emerged during this period, driven
by consumer desire. These brands
usually were not established by
SOEs (State Owned Companies),
in contrast to China. Instead,
they typically were powered by
the nancial strength of large
conglomerates, sometimes Indian,
sometimes MNCs (Multinational
Corporations).
This activity created a richer brand
landscape across many sectors,
with some sectors open and
others, such as insurance, banking,
and energy, tightly controlled or
regulated. Many local FMCG brands
ourished. Because regulations
prevented most international
retailers from operating in India,
local brands faced less pressure
to cut margins or compete with
retailer private labels.
Brand examples
Maruti Suzuki, an Indian-Japanese
joint venture, changed the car
market when it introduced the
Maruti Suzuki 800, in 1982. United
Breweries Group, an Indian
conglomerate, founded in 1857,
launched Kingsher, its agship
beer brand, in 1978. The Indian
FMCG conglomerate Hindustan
Unilever, started in 1933, introduced
Fair & Lovely, a leading skin
lightening product, in 1975.
The period before independence
covers the years of British rule,
from 1858 to 1947. Several
bank brands were established.
Less expected, perhaps, is the
emergence of brands in FMCG
and other categories that are not
about establishing fundamental
institutions but rather reect the
desires and tastes of ordinary
consumers.
One of the earliest brands, Punjab
National Bank, was established
in 1895. But Britannia, a maker of
popular biscuits, cakes, and dairy
products, started in 1892. Its
owned by Wadia Group, an Indian
conglomerate formed around the
time that the British East India
Company arrived in India, in the
eighteenth century.
The longevity of the brands
established prior to Indias
independence suggests that
if their survival was aided by
government regulation or limited
competition, it probably was not
due to those factors alone but
also the brands ability to build
deep and enduring bonds with
customers.
Brand Examples
Some brands arrived in India
during this period, having been
founded earlier in another part
of the world. Established in the
US, in 1873, Horlicks, a chocolate
malt drink become popular in the
UK and arrived in India in 1930.
Lever Brothers launched Lux
soap in 1899 and introduced it to
India in 1905. Other brands began
in India, such as Asian Paints,
formed in 1942, and Tata Motors,
which began in 1945.
Before liberalization in 1991 -
Ages 23 to 67
Before Independence in 1947 -
Over age 67
Based on the BrandZ China Top 100, Brazil Top 50, and India Top 50.
...The Brazil brands are older
and the Chinese younger
Comparing the BrandZ BRIC country rankings, China has more younger
brands and Brazil more older brands, with India in the middle.
Age of Brands - China vs Brazil
Age of brand (% value share) - India
74%of brands
44%- 14 Brands
26%of brands
12%of brands
19%- 15 Brands
36%of brands
14%of brands
37%- 21 Brands
38%of brands
Less than 35 years old 35 - 64 years old Over 64 years old
Less than 23 years old
23 - 67 years old
Over 67 years old
China Brazil
Consumer goods brands
lead in brand contribution
BrandZ Analysis // Brand Contribution
46 47
Brand contribution measures the
impact of brand alone, without
nancials or other factors, in the
mind of the consumer. A high
brand contribution score on a
scale of one to ve, ve being the
highest suggests that a brand
is resilient and likely to produce
strong future earnings.
Indias Top 10 brand contribution
leaders are mostly in FMCG
categories. FMCG brands operate
in highly competitive, often
fragmented sectors and generally
lack the level of dominance that
can approach the monopolistic
levels of service brands. However,
FMCG brands often enjoy high
brand equity.
And many FMCG brands have
been present in India for at least
50 years, starting with brand
contribution leader, Lakm
(personal care, 1952), and including,
Lipton (beverages, 1898), Colgate
(personal care, 1937), and Surf
Excel (home care, 1959).
In contrast, many Indian service
brands formed relatively recently,
after the economic liberalization
in the 1990s. They have rapidly
and efectively built scale but
not the emotional connections
to consumers that drive brand
contribution.
Valuable Indian Brands 2014
scored an overall brand
contribution average of 3.02, only
a moderately strong result, in
part because of the dominance of
service brands that score lower in
brand contribution, with nancial
results driving value.
However, the brand contribution
results of the service brands
are nuanced, with the banks
generally scoring higher than the
telecoms. The Indian BrandZ
Top 5 most valuable brands
scored an average 3.6 in brand
contribution because three
banks outperformed category
expectations.
State Bank of India scored 5, and
HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank each
scored 4. Indian nancial services
brands as a group score higher in
brand contribution than Brazilian
or Chinese brands. Indian
telecoms score lower.
In strengthening brand contribution, the FMCG
brands and the banks and telecoms face
diferent sets of challenges. The service brands
have outspent FMCG brands on brand building,
in part because theyre newer to the Indian
market and needed to build scale.
The service brands introduced product
innovations that have meaningfully changed the
way Indians live their lives. However, consumers
dont see these brands as meaningful. The
brands have not transitioned from product
providers to trusted service partners.
In contrast, FMCG brands, often long
established in India, have cultivated emotional
afnity with consumers and enjoy consumer
trust. But many of these brands have not
adequately leveraged those accomplishments
for commercial advantage.
In terms of the three BrandZ components of
brand equity, service brands have built salience
(top of mind awareness) but are less likely to
be seen as meaningful (meeting functional and
emotional needs) and diferent (distinguished
and trendsetting).
The FMCG brands are strong in the three brand
equity components. They need to leverage
their strong equity to pursue new business
opportunities and to increase earnings. As
FMCG brands continue to strengthen equity,
theyre better able to build scale and salience
without losing the meaningful diference that
accrues from serving discrete market niches.
Source: BrandZ/ Millward Brown Source: BrandZ
Brand Contribution measures the inuence of brand alone on earnings, on a 1-to-5 scale, 5 highest
FMCG brands lead brand contribution ranking... ...Indian nancial
service brands
outscore Brazil, China
...The India Top 5 score well in brand contribution...
The brand contribution leaders have long heritage in India.
Indian nancial services brands
score higher in brand contribution
than Chinese or Brazilian brands.
The BrandZ Top 5 score better in brand contribution
than the India Top 50 overall.
Top 10 by Brand Contribution
Rank Brand
Brand Value
(US$ Mil.)
Brand
Contribution
1 Lakm 297 5
2 Lipton 208 5
3 State Bank of India 6,828 5
4 Berger 451 5
5 Surf Excel 778 5
6 Safola 450 5
7 Castrol 1,264 5
8 Asian Paints 2,812 4
9 Horlicks 1,018 4
10 Rin 302 4
Top 50 Top 5 Ranking 6 - 20 Ranking 21 - 50
5
4
3
2
1
0
3.02
3.60
2.73
3.07
B
r
a
n
d
C
o
n
t
r
ib
u
t
io
n
In
d
e
x
Financial Services
Telecoms
Automobiles
2.8
1.3
2.0
India
1.9
3.3
China
1.0
2.6
1.0
Brazil
2.6 2.6
3.3
Global Brands
49
Part 1 // Introduction - Brandz Analysis
Brand Indias personality difers
from other BRIC country brands
Brandz Analysis // Brand India
48
Brand India is similar to the
national brand personality of two
other BRIC countries, Brazil and
China. Its also diferent from both
in signicant ways. Understanding
the diferences is useful for brands
competing in India and for Indian
brands with overseas growth
aspirations.
BrandZ country personality
proles are compiled from the
descriptions local consumers
form of a countrys most valuable
brands, using a vocabulary of
20 personality characteristics.
Brand India, in other words, is
the cumulative impression that
consumers have of the countrys
Top 50 most valuable brands.
Because theyre based on the each
countrys most valuable brands,
these constructions of Brand India,
Brand China, and Brand Brazil are
especially relevant for competing
in these country markets.
A country brand personality helps
brand owners understand how
a particular brand ts into the
consumers general view of brands
across categories. For exporters,
country brand comparisons
identify the potential areas of
advantage or disadvantage, where
a country brand can help propel or
slow international expansion.
While India, Brazil, and China are
remarkably congruent in brand
personality characteristics, there
are some tonal diferences. India is
more brave, adventurous and wise,
for example. Adventurousness, in
particular, points to a degree of
entrepreneurialism. The character
distinctions are consistent with
brand ownership structures in the
three country markets.
The overwhelming majority of
the most valuable Indian brands
are privately owned. In contrast,
45 percent of the most valuable
Chinese brands are SOEs (State
Owned Enterprises), not known
for being brave or adventurous.
Although Brazils most valuable
brands are usually privately
owned, theyre relatively older.
In addition, the private Indian
brands are predominately owned
by Indian family conglomerates or
MNCs (Multinational Corporations).
Both kinds of organizations have
boldly built brands. The Indian
family conglomerates have
developed master brands that
cross categories and in a way form
the basis of Brand India.
Rebelliousness is the one
characteristic thats relatively
less evident in Brand India, not
surprising in a country that
values its cultural heritage, and
where people constantly mediate
between the tug of tradition and
the demands of modernity.
Brand India difers
from Brand Brazil
and Brand China
The three BRICs Brazil,
China, and India are
similar in brand personality,
but Brand India difers in
certain ways. Being seen
as adventurous suggests a
level of entrepreneurialism
for Brand India.
Caring
Brave
Fun
Adventurous Creative
Kind Diferent
Wise Rebellious
Idealistic In Control
Innocent Assertive
Friendly Generous
Straightforward Playful
Sexy Trustworthy
Desirable
India
China
Brazil
Part 2
Thought
Leadership
Part 2 // The India Top 50 - Thought Leadership
Seeking a better life,
emerging consumers
travel on diverse,
intersecting journeys
Flexible
individuality
Migration is also the easy way to
adopt new values. Rather than
stay with the extended family
or community and ght daily
battles, moving away makes
it easier to assert individuality
without compromising those
relationships. While traditional
values are still ercely defended
in rural strongholds, the urban
areas are a kind of refuge
for those who are weary of
ideological debates, physical
violence and simply want the
freedom to live their own lives.
Its not about choosing between
the extremes, just the exibility
to decide which values to hold on
to and which to give up from a
purely individual perspective.
Merging with
the mighty
middle class
With a new prime minister who
boasts of a background as a
chaiwalla, a humble tea seller,
democracy in India is truly
coming of age. Political ideology
aside, this is the ultimate proof
for the emerging consumers that
they can base their identity on
their ambition in terms of where
they want to go and not by
where they may be coming from.
Ask them to classify themselves
and theyll tell you they are
middle class. Only those looking
for a handout would say they
are poor. And they know that
handouts will not get them where
theyre aiming to go; only their
own eforts will.
Fullling long-held
aspirations
As they migrate from being
have-nots to haves, emerging
consumers are starting to fulll
aspirations that they have long
held. They may have not always
consumed our products and
services, but they have been
consuming our brand messages.
So assuming they know little or
are less savvy than the other
consumers could be dangerous.
In fact, given their past struggles,
they are likely to be more
sensitive to disrespect and
condescension.
Life is to be lived,
not just endured
Every migration happens by
degrees. Only Bollywood movies
like to show a helpless country
bumpkin transplanted into a big
city. Emerging consumers are not
so isolated and unaware. They
too chart their journeys with care
and foresight, trying to learn
what they can expect, preparing
themselves as best they can. Life
is not something to be endured;
it is something to be created.
From how they dress to how
they live, from how they talk to
the new kinds of work they learn
to do, there are many avenues
to explore. They have already
subscribed to the credo of most
city-dwellers my life, my rules.
The attitudes, values and beliefs
of the emerging consumers are
rapidly shifting, giving a boost
to both their consumption ability
and preferences. Yet, they are
rmly in the drivers seat. Rather
than attempting to wrest control
of the wheel or change the
direction on their maps, we might
benet from understanding
their journeys and where our
products might t in with their
agenda. They may spend more
on a mobile phone handset but
may stop using soap if the brand
raises the price by one rupee. Its
up to us to gure out why and
what our brands/products can
do to be invited along on these
journeys.
Its not easy to generalize in a country as diverse
and dynamic as India. And emerging consumers, like
every other segment, have not one but many diferent
narratives. Hes the young villager trying to nd his
way in the big city and shes the slum-mother trying
to direct her childrens future. Hes the hard worker
who lives for the one month he spends as the big man
returning home to his small town and shes the young
college girl trying to mask her humble origins.
If the emerging consumer is not one person with one
journey but many people with overlapping journeys,
it would be good to draw ourselves a map, to identify
the points of intersection, where we can be assured
of heavy trafc for the messages we need to get out.
So, rather than prole a single stereotypical emerging
consumer, it might be more useful to prole an
emerging consumer mindset the attitudes, values
and beliefs that they are adopting.
Thought Leadership // Emerging Consumers
53 52
by Divya Khanna
Assistant Vice President & Regional
Planning Director, South Asia, JWT
divya.khanna@jwt.com
Mapping the many mindsets
and points of intersection
Shedding the old
attitudes in favor
of the new
The broadest narrative of emerging
consumers is that of migration. This is not
just in the literal sense from the village
or small town to the city, but also in the
metaphorical sense of migrating to newer
attitudes and lifestyles. The rst traditional
belief shed is fatalism. Accepting your lot in
life is pass and creating a better life is in.
Like the crowds at the escalators in the big
shiny malls, emerging consumers are eager
to be on their way up, some jumping on
and climbing quickly to speed things along,
others hesitating and fumbling till theyre
pushed forward. Yet all seem equally
determined to progress and move forward.
JWT is South Asias leading and most
admired marketing communications
agency that ofers a truly integrated
network across India, Sri Lanka and
Nepal. JWT India provides powerful
360-degree total communication
solutions to its clients from across its
six ofces in India.
www.jwt.com
Large population
of young people
drives rapid rise
of social media
Internet penetration in the country
may not have crossed 16 percent of
the population yet, but in absolute
numbers, penetration works out
to be more than three times the
population of France. And within this
colossal gure lies a demographic that
demands the lions share of attention:
The Millennial generation. With 56
percent of our population under the
age of 30 (the median age of the
population is 27), its no surprise that
when surveyed about the top reasons
for going online, 87 percent of netizens
answered communication and 67
percent said social networking.
We know that social media sites
have achieved critical mass. Indian
Millennials are the demographic fueling
this engagement on social media
today, Facebook being the primary site.
The top Facebook pages in India today
have accumulated millions of fans. The
mobile phone sites, Vodafone and Tata
Docomo, and the youth fashion brand
Fastrack, each claim over three million
Facebook fans. This phenomenon
compels marketers to ask, how much
do we really know about this Millennial
demographic and its online activity?
Whats next? Are we simply collecting
crowds?
With the decline of organic posts on
Facebook, marketers are frantically
blanketing social media with paid
posts, praying that, like some heat-
seeking missile, theyll reach the
intended targets. But its become
apparent that even narrowing the focus
according to interests and age groups
isnt enough. We saw the opportunity
to deep dive into social media
and mine for qualitative behavior
discoveries.
Thought Leadership // Millennials
54
by Upasana Roy
Planning Director, Ogilvy, Mumbai
upasana.roy@ogilvy.com
55
Our Seven Faces of Facebook study segments
Indias most sought-after demographic
Identifying types
We went back to the basics: behind each target
audience you are essentially talking to a real person.
Our team conducted independent research to
create a segmentation study of consumer proles
on Facebook in the age range of 18 to 24, which
is the largest demographic on Facebook today.
The research yielded seven distinct proles of
Millennials. Each prole is packed with data around
interests, tonality, basic personality traits, and
engagement triggers.
We used the well-established psychometric
assessment called Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to
assign a personality type to each of the proles.
Lets start with the Curator of Cool who is a
trendsetter and tastemaker, sitting at the top of the
social-ecosystem. Tech-savvy and opinionated, he
knows whats hot and whats not. Then we found
the Homebody who posts on Facebook, but only
about family life.
On to the Professor, a subject matter expert
who believes in quality over quantity. Next, the
trigger-happy Live Wire who lives, breathes, eats
and sleeps online. We also found The Observer,
who is on Facebook because everyone else is.
The Observer literally has nothing to say. The
Exhibitionist incessantly self promotes. And nally,
the Wannabe tries really hard to t in, but is just not
there yet.
Predicting behaviors
We cross-referenced each prole with the type
of content they shared on their timeline to create
an extensive list of triggers. For example, the
Exhibitionist might respond to customer shout-
outs/acknowledgments, while the Professor is likely
to respond to cool anecdotes/insider information
about a brand. Our discoveries also help to engage
audiences and create relevant content.
Various trends uncovered in the course of this study
made us take a renewed look at how we do things.
Wed assumed that Facebook content was all in
English, for example. The truth is that a lot of content
is in local languages. So maybe its about time we
start creating content in regional languages.
We also dispelled the misconception that Indians
dont create content. We saw that given the right
platform and tools they do. The explosion of
apps like meme generators gave these people the
platform they wanted. Their engagement suggests an
opportunity for brands to create relevant content.
It may not be surprising to learn that urban India
is hooked on Facebook. But so is the rest of the
subcontinent. When we imagine a Live Wire we
immediately visualize kids from big cities ddling
away on their smart phones. Interestingly, our study
shows that Millennials from small towns are equally
engaged on Facebook.
Essentially, what we are saying is that if the Millennials
seem like one single faceless demographic cluster
to you, its time to take a closer look. While some
Millennials are Homebodies, others are living and
breathing online. If some are Exhibitionists, others
are clinging to the value of sharing good content. As
marketers, its our responsibility to create content that
excites each of the types and adds true value to our
social campaigns.
Ogilvy & Mather is a leading
communication network in
India. The company comprises
strong oferings in: advertising,
social media, direct marketing,
data analytics, retail
marketing, rural marketing,
activation, public relations and
healthcare.
www.ogilvy.com
Indian consumers
may consider paying
more for brands
As Indian consumers climb the
ladder of aspiration, the marketing
communications targeted at them
evolve from penetration strategies
(use shampoo instead of shikakai,
the traditional herbal hair cleaner) to
consumption strategies (use shampoo
three times a week) to premiumization
strategies (choose the costlier shampoo).
Indian marketers need to answer a
fundamental question. What will make
consumers believe that its worth
paying more for their brands, products
and services? The classic JWT brand
ladder is a useful tool for answering this
question. It provides possibilities for
brand propositions that justify greater
price premiums as consumers ascend
the ladder.
A brand proposition that justies a
premium for a product or service can be
constructed with components such as
these:
Crafting the brand story
Who makes it: Extol the benet of
heritage or provenance.
What its made from: Focus on
diferentiating or quality ingredients.
How its made: Special production or
sourcing can be important.
Segmenting by audience
What its for: This is the rational
benet and may relate to occasion.
How it makes you feel: This is the
emotional benet, which can be
critical.
What kind of person it helps you to
be: This is about user imagery.
What values people associate with it:
This is about aligning consumer and
brand.
Thought Leadership // Premiumization
56
by Mythili Chandrasekar
Executive Planning Director & Senior Vice President, JWT
mythili.chandrasekar@jwt.com
57
Who makes it, what
its made from,
how its made
These components are about
marketers crafting a story
around the product philosophy.
Examples include Chipotle, which
emphasizes quality ingredients
in a fast food Mexican restaurant
setting, or Body Shop, known
for ethical sourcing. Similarly,
Fabindia markets quality
traditional products sourced
from local communities that
benet from the production.
Brand philosophy also drives
the entire genre of high end
Ayurveda, herbal, natural
products and services. Roam
the shop shelves and youll
nd Organic India ghee, a kind
of claried butter made from
tension free cows, charging
more, and Keggs eggs charging
more for being produced by free
range poultry.
Brands also derive strength
from their place of origin, a
factor that drives imported
brands in India. Sourcing and
quality production can justify
a premium, as exemplied by
Horlicks Gold, slow roasted, or
baked namkeens, because these
snack foods are usually fried.
In fact, just think of a regular
restaurant menu where you pay
more depending on whether you
are ordering a roti, naan, paratha,
lachcha or rumali! Its all bread.
Its all made from the same atta,
or our, just the cooking process
and the form of the end product
are diferent.
Recasting ingredients creates
premium possibilities for
products such as mixed seed
edible oils, double rened sugars,
multigrain atta, bread and even
water when its avored or from
a spring or other special source.
And premium pricing isnt just
about adding ingredients. Even
removing something oil, fat,
sodium, sugar, gluten may let us
charge more.
Packaging alone may justify
charging a premium by
associating the pack design
with other premium products
or concepts. Marketers can
borrow the packaging that
signies premium in another
category to overcome consumer
preconceptions in their own
category. For example, a chips
brand may borrow the premium
design coding of an alcohol
brand. In fact, even removal
of packaging like soaps have
done can produce a premium
perception!
What it is for,
how it makes you
feel, how it helps
personal image,
brand value
This is the playing eld of
segmentation. Consumers are
usually willing to pay more for
products perceived as tailor
made for the needs of their
specic demographic group.
Among the myriad examples
of these groups are: mothers,
expectant mothers, athletes,
diabetics or others with particular
dietary requirements.
Key to this approach in India is
crafting the benet proposition.
The benet depends on the
product category. In personal
care the benet could be about
softness or shine, damage
control or beauty enhancement.
In paints the benet could be
about durability for exterior paint
and texture for interior paint.
Most important, the benet
needs to be clearly understood.
Indian consumers look for
rational explanations to justify
their purchases.
Occasions day or night, casual
or formal, ofce or party, regular
or festival are part of this
benet set. At the top end of this
set are feelings that rich sensorial
experiences evoke. Think of
molten chocolate, extra cheesy
pizzas, exotic ice creams, silken
skin or walls, experiential dcor
or designer jewelry. User imagery
also ts here. The aspiring CEO
concerned about the image he
or she projects is more likely to
pay a premium for the apparel
that provides a higher level of self
assurance.
Finally, the permission to charge
a premium price also is related
to brand value, the consumers
perception of what the brand
stands for, its philosophy beyond
function, belief and badge
beyond the rational.
Brands that create a high level of
desire in the minds of consumer
have the opportunity to ofer the
costlier hotel, the costlier airline,
the costlier chips or the costlier
shampoo. Indian consumers will
indeed climb their own ladders
of aspiration. The question is, are
our brand ladders ready to assist
their assent?
six ofces in India.
www.jwt.com
But marketers need
to justify the premium
Complicated shopper
behavior requires
new brand strategies
As shopping changes, the shoppers experience
becomes more complex and harder for retailers
and brand owners to manage. In other words, the
customers want the retailer to manage their 3Ps
(prole, personal history and preferences) and let
them have access to it whenever and wherever they
want it. This demands that retailers become more
smart, agile and clever.
Shopping decisions are now framed and managed
by aggregators, deal sites, social media and social
recommendations. Retailers are in a world where
they serve as intermediaries. Finding new and
imaginative ways to match shoppers desires for
value, assurance, mental space, and quality will
become priorities for all retailers.
Success requires new
thinking and fast action
Indian retail is in a transition phase as digital
technology disrupts shoppers expectations
regarding how they interact with the world around
them. Continued retail success requires rapidly
adapting to the new wave and thinking beyond
business as usual. For retailers to win in the new
environment they must quickly take new initiatives
such as these:
Reinvent convenience: Understand what each
customer needs to make shopping easier,
everything from checkout to ease of pick-up.
Redene loyalty: Learn how the customer shops in
a new non-linear way and engage at every point.
Re-imagine experience: Its a key to diferentiating
the brand.
Reposition value: Price is only a starting point.
Analytics help achieve these initiatives. The advent
of Big Data, captured from the gamut of information
available on the shoppers, has thrown open multiple
opportunities for the retailers to monitor customer
behaviors much more closely, and in real time. By
mining Big Data, retailers have a stronger platform
to manage existing relationships better and start
new ones. Because the shopping process has been
diversied, the store needs to extend itself in time
and space, beyond a physical location or website,
with the aid of technology.
All of this new conversation is being shaped and
enabled by a surge in personal, portable digital
technologies, mostly smartphones, but also tablets.
These are already widely used for shopper research
and recommendation and are being used for
purchase as well, especially by younger shoppers.
This intersection between shoppers, retailers and
technology has, for the rst time, given shoppers
the potential to access retailers management and
information systems if the retailer is willing to allow
it. In the future, providing access will be a source of
retail competitive advantage.
Leveraging online and bricks
and mortar advantages
Online retailers can ofer very disruptive, fast-moving
price points to create more personalized and tailored
propositions to woo shoppers. Shopping across all
online platforms will be faster; it will be more aimed
at the shoppers personal preferences and choices.
Bricks and mortar retailers, on the other hand,
need to do things that digital competitors cant
match. They can convert oor space to zones where
customers can experience products and oferings.
Demonstrations and promotions in these experience
zones will enable customers to touch and feel or
taste the ofering prior to purchase.
Bricks and mortar retail businesses need to be
backed by digital presence as well. This will involve
rethinking strategies and making use of the digital
presence beyond the walls of the store, and within
them. Loyalty programs have to be redesigned
and customized to suit preferences. Information
ow has to be made more robust, transparent, and
personalized.
In this complex shopping environment, brands have
their work cut out. Devising strategies to inuence
reluctant shoppers to try the product, capturing
their feedback and addressing their concerns, is
equally important. While marketers spend millions
trying to convince new customers to try their
brands, they often end up ignoring the brand
loyalists. Word-of-mouth publicity, and advocacy by
these loyal customers, can help brands and retailers
gain much-needed momentum.
A complicated and worldwide
shopping phenomenon is rapidly
nding expression in India in ways
that will impact Indian retailers
and any brand sold at retail.
The combination of digital
technologies, consumer
expectations and socio-economic
change is transforming the way
we shop and what it means for
suppliers, manufacturers and
retailers alike. The balance of
power has shifted in favor of the
consumer who is now more in
control than ever.
Retailers, on the other hand, are
left trying to understand the
consumer mindset in this new
omni-channel world; how, when,
why and where consumers buy,
what inuences and triggers the
purchase decision. Retailers need
to know what channels and media
consumers are likely to use, and
retailers also need to predict
consumer demand.
Indian retailers and brands can
get in front of these changes,
which are inevitable because
consumerism in India is
experiencing unprecedented
growth, driven by favorable
demographics: a young and
working population, rising income
levels, urbanization and growing
brand orientation.
This growth drives the rapid
expansion of Indian retailing,
a US$ 520 billion category
expected to expand at a CAGR
(Compounded Annual Growth
Rate) of 13 percent to reach
around US$ 950 billion by 2018.
Meanwhile, the modern retail
sector is developing rapidly
and should reach 10 percent of
the retail market by 2018. The
challenge is to devise a model
that will help retailers and brands
sharpen up their strategies in this
challenging and rapidly changing
environment.
Purchase path
becomes more
complicated
With the emergence of modern
Indian retailing, shopping and
shoppers are becoming more
complicated. The path to
purchase no longer is a linear
progression that goes from
awareness to consideration,
preference, purchase, loyalty and,
nally, advocacy. Rather, shoppers
move much more randomly
among a complex combination of
physical and virtual touch points
that involve search, research and
interaction with both the seller
and peers.
Thought Leadership // Retail Revolution
59 58
by Rajan Zachariah
Country Head, Smollan India
ranjan.zachariah@smollan.co.in
Retail winners will perfect
omni-channel presence
Founded in 1931 by rugby Springbok Fred Smollan, the
Smollan Group opened its doors initially as a regional
South African based sales agency. With its pedigree in eld
marketing, the Group has evolved to ofer a diverse range of
outsourced marketing services to multiple channels across a
broad spectrum of industries.
www.smollan.co.za
New economic
development initiatives
may narrow Indias
rural-urban social gap
Access to
information aligns
rural and urban
aspirations
Over the last 10-to-15 years, the
proliferation of cable television
has democratized access to
information at an unprecedented
scale. In the words of Indian writer
Pico Iyer, Today the aspirations
of rural India are not very diferent
from those of urban India as both
are consuming the same content.
From cars, to fashion accessories,
to lifestyles, they have similar
desires.
Both rural and urban Indians are
exposed to the same popular
culture simultaneously. The
aspirations of rural Indians are in
sync with the larger reality that
mainstream India consumes.
Brands must communicate with
rural Indians in the same language
they use for the urban population.
Talking to people from rural
India as if theyre small-towners
is patronizing and a business
mistake.
People seek
empowerment not
social welfare
The preconception about rural
India is that it is entrenched
in socio-economic inequality
and that economic progress
depends on quotas for political
representation, and government
largesse to provide for basic
needs like food and shelter.
However, the biggest learning
from the recent elections is that
this social welfare model has
irreversibly changed. The rural
populace isnt waiting for mere
entitlements. Instead these people
are looking for opportunities and
access. They want to be part of
the development juggernaut,
unleashing their potential to join
the larger India growth story.
Brands need to tap this unleashed
individual agency and ofer
a platform for its expression.
Brand communication needs to
strike a balance, recognizing this
emerging individuality within the
context of the ongoing collective
Indian identity.
Before, time
seemed endless;
today, time is
money
The advent of mobile devices has
disrupted the idyllic, laidback,
self-sustained village ecosystem.
Mobile devices have altered the
ow of time, punctuating daily life
with new moments for personal
and business life. People may use
their mobile to chat with a friend
or to learn the prevailing rates of
onions in the wholesale market.
Mobile devices also changed the
local mentality as people became
aware that they were perpetually
accessible and answerable to
others. A new sense of urgency
and accountability accompanied
this change. Not long ago
time seemed like an endless
commodity. Today, time is money.
When telecom brands advertise
and promote per second billing,
they assign time a value. Brands
need to ride this growing desire
of rural inhabitants to make things
happen, to be purposeful and
to transform their immediate
surroundings.
Rural economies have been
galvanized by the sheer
possibilities the new economy
has to ofer. With technological
and infrastructure development, a
lot of people at the margins have
started nding their voice in the
mainstream. Theyre accessing
modernity and steadily bridging
the gap between the rural and
the urban. Brands need to locate
themselves in the individualized,
opportunity-seeking worldview
of the rural consumers who seek
a better life, a life equal to that of
their urban compatriots.
The recent national election results
caused not just a disruption, but
rather a tectonic shift in how social
life is being reorganized in India. Until
now the rural and urban economies
operated in almost diferent time
zones and eras. Social life in rural and
urban India reected deeply rooted
systemic and structural diferences.
In the hinterlands, where caste
and class privileges determine and
regulate a xed social trajectory, any
outside inuence has been treated
as an intrusion and typically faces
a lot of resistance. The victory of
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),
and its focus on vikas, or economic
development, suggests that attitudes
in rural India are changing. These
changes, all of which impact brands,
include:
The rural Indian
economy is no
longer dominated
by farming
In rural India today, 66 percent of
income is non-farm. Despite the
popular misconception that farming
continues to dominate the economy,
Indias rural economy today
encompasses a range of non-crop
agricultural activities, manufacturing
activities, trading, shop keeping
and professional services. Migrant
workers drive the rural economy and
are in a sense its brand ambassadors.
Brands need to acknowledge this
evolving reality rather than limiting
their audience to just farmers.
Thought Leadership // Rural Mindset
61 60
by Soumitra Patnekar
Planning Director, Grey Worldwide
soumitra.patnekar@grey.com
Brands need to understand
the changing opportunity
Grey is a global advertising network.
Under the banner of Famously
Efective Since 1917, the agency
serves a blue-chip client roster of
many of the worlds best known
companies.
www.grey.com
Value is the new
smart, linking
quality and price
Budget used to mean cheap. Expensive used to mean classy. The
world was divided into cheapskates and spendthrifts. But the old
denitions no longer apply. Budget or value is the new smart. (And
expensive is the new stupid.) Budget spells not only good value
for money, but also pretty good quality. Words like accessible,
experiential, afordable and hip describe the new value. The new
value consumer rejects excess in favor of responsible spending.
Modern Indias enormous geographic, demographic and economic
shifts drove this revised perception of value. Its apparent everywhere:
In the long queues during holiday time, at the budget airline
counters, where evidently the upper crust, who travel premium
class on business, nd it perfectly acceptable to travel budget
class on vacation.
With the woman who has the savvy to wait and buy the latest
IT item after its on sale, or the teen owner of the trendy phone
who gured a way to buy it cheaper from the US or Singapore or
online from Flipkart.
From street vendors selling look-alike designer label merchandise
almost as soon as designers produce the originals, and from
fashion forward street customers looking for bargains.
Above all, value means smartness, experiential savvy
and cultural cool. There is a new language and set of
meanings around value. We call them the ve new
smart codes of value.
Opportunity in
the smart name
As the mass market evolves it requires new names
to describe the changes. These names include:
the value segment, the strivers, the aspirers, the
emerging markets, or even masstige. These names
are laced with opportunity and panache earlier
reserved for the premium end of the market. The
term value now signals inclusiveness and respect,
not just low price.
The importance
of smart timing
Among the many factors that drive purchasing
today, timing predominates. Consumers and
marketers are engaged in a game played in the world
of buzz and WOM (Word of Mouth). Its a world
when certain days or weeks, magical time zones,
combined with incentives, persuade consumers
to spend. The game includes whatever incentives
work, such as 25 percent or even 70 percent of, free
add-ons, cheaper ights on weekdays and for of-
season holidays, frequent yer points, coupons and
interest-free loans. But what works today may not
work tomorrow because in value, as in humor, timing
is everything.
The smartness of playing
one ofer against another
A generation that just a few decades ago rst
tasted the sweet life of credit has evolved to a
more savvy thrill. Its learned that playing one
option against another provides the satisfaction
of winning a superior deal. Comparison-shopping
reigns! Excel sheets, charts and even apps that
help make comparisons are everywhere from
insurance packages and hotel rates to telecom
options and employment ofers. The catch phrase
of this buyers market is, Kitna doge? How much will
you give? Squeezing out the best buy is the new
normal. Service providers, vendors, sales agents,
loan ofcers, even long-time business partners or
potential employers are not exceptions.
Being responsible and
understated is now smart
The benets of value go beyond the transactional
and include the relational or emotional. Post-
recession prudence has made value conscious
thinking not just permissible but almost aspirational
and responsible. Down trading, down sizing,
down traveling, down housing, down anything has
acquired new age minimalist cachet and approval.
Value is associated with responsibility, focus, and
even social sensitivity. Bling and showing of has
made way for more muted, understated purchase
behavior. Package lunches, group discounts,
cloth carry bags, local instead of foreign holidays,
redemption coupons all point to the responsibility
associated with being value conscious.
Smart, accessible
design leads the way
Value consciousness has unleashed a burst of
creative design solutions. There is a promising
segment, across categories, which focuses on
providing premium yet accessible quality. It
celebrates the good life for all. Inclusive, edgy and
driving volume, this segment attracts the hottest
talent, signicant investor support and the most
innovative designs. Whether in hospitality, home
dcor, travel, fashion, personal care, technology,
music or the environment, accessible design
solutions lead the way.
The new meaning of value is a fascinating shift.
Because it operates at several levels, it has set
in motion a virtuous cycle. This follows from a
sense of entitlement, brought on via exposure and
experience. Once consumers have tasted a Happy
Meal they feel entitled to similar happy experiences
in other purchases. Experience raises expectations
and entitlement and it sharpens the skills needed to
fulll new aspirations.
Thought Leadership // Value
62
by Shaziya Khan
Executive Planning Director, JWT
shaziya.khan@jwt.com
63
1
2
3
4
5
Across the economy, shoppers
rich and poor seek value
six ofces in India.
www.jwt.com
Part 3
The India Top
66 67
Part 3 // The India Top 50 - The Ranking
Brand
Brand
Value
(US$ Mil.)
Brand
Contribution
1
9,425 4
Banks
2
8,217 2
Telecoms
3
6,828 5
Banks
4
3,536 4
Banks
5
3,034 3
Automobiles
6
2,812 4
Paints
7
2,164 2
Automobiles
8
1,882 1
Telecoms
9
1,721 1
Banks
10
1,636 1
Telecoms
11
1,510 2
Automobiles
12
1,498 3
Motor Fuel
13
1,395 4
Alcohol
Brand
Brand
Value
(US$ Mil.)
Brand
Contribution
27
754 3
Food and Dairy
28
742 3
Personal Care
29
641 3
Soft Drinks
30
570 3
Banks
31
569 1
Automobiles
32
552 2
Alcohol
33
539 3
Motor Fuel
34
520 3
Personal Care
35
511 3
Personal Care
36
491 3
Personal Care
37
451 5
Paints
38
450 5
Food and Dairy
Brand
Brand
Value
(US$ Mil.)
Brand
Contribution
39
416 4
Banks
40
393 2
Motor Fuel
41
372 3
Insurance
42
367 2
Insurance
43
328 3
Food and Dairy
44
302 4
Home Care
45
299 1
Banks
46
297 5
Personal Care
47
273 2
Banks
48
236 2
Personal Care
49
219 4
Home Care
50
208 5
Soft Drinks
Brand
Brand
Value
(US$ Mil.)
Brand
Contribution
14
1,345 3
Alcohol
15
1,264 5
Lubricants
16
1,228 2
Food and Dairy
17
1,196 2
Automobiles
18
1,127 4
Food and Dairy
19
1,059 3
Bank
20
1,018 4
Food and Dairy
21
982 3
Home Care
22
907 1
Personal Care
23
880 3
Jewelry
24
879 4
Food and Dairy
25
778 5
Home Care
26
764 2
Banks
BrandZ
Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2014

*The Brand Value of Indian Oil, HP and Bharat Petroleum includes only their retail business
Source: Millward Brown (including data from BrandZ
TM
and Bloomberg)
68 69
Part 3 // The India Top 50 - Category Summaries
Changing market dynamics
shape brand development
Alcohol
Brands market to women
and new young drinkers
India is a key focus for global spirits producers
seeking sales growth opportunities as their core
markets mature.
International players are attracted to the substantial
size of the Indian market, with about 485 million
Indians currently of drinking age. In addition, per
capita alcohol consumption is relatively low, but
increasing by 10 to 15 percent annually, according
to some predictions, with the number of drinkers
expected to increase by 150 million over the next
ve years.
Factors driving this growth include the increased
purchasing power of the middle class, the growing
acceptance of alcohol consumption, and the greater
nancial and social independence of Indian women.
The regulatory environment moderates this growth,
however, prohibiting liquor advertising. Restrictions
have forced marketers to respond with clever
digital campaigns, stealth ads for soft drink mixers
branded the same as the liquor, and innovative
packaging aimed at new young drinkers. And
brands have introduced low-alcohol products to
reach women drinkers.
Category Summaries
The alcohol category includes spirits and beer.
The automobiles category includes cars and motorcycles.
Automobiles
Rebounding car market
is one of worlds largest
Driven by the size of the market, low penetration,
poor public transportation and the car ownership
desires of the upwardly mobile and recently
afuent, Indias car industry grew rapidly during the
past decade and today is one of the worlds largest
and most dynamic.
The markets transformation usually is dated to
1982, and the introduction of the Maruti Suzuki 800,
the rst car designed for middle class aspirations
and budgets. Today, the market leaders include
a mix of Indian, international and joint venture
brands, such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mahindra &
Mahindra, Tata Motors and Toyota.
Many brands ofer a full range of passenger
cars, SUVs, vans, and commercial vehicles, and
sometimes motorcycles, although two- and three-
wheel vehicle makers also include brand leaders
such as Bajaj Auto, Hero Motocorp, and TVS Motor
Company.
The Indian automobile category, which uctuates
with the health of the national economy, is about
to experience a growth surge after two stagnant
years, according to most predictions.
70 71
Home Care
Normally staid category
draws interest in India
Typically a fairly staid category,
home care products in India
are experiencing a surge of
interest. Thats mostly because,
as purchasing power rises, more
households own washers and
dryers and have the disposable
income
necessary for
value-added
products.
Growing
awareness and
concern about
health and
hygiene also
is expected
to drive
category sales
and product
innovation. At the same time,
both rural and urban consumers,
regardless of income, remain
concerned about value
for money. Innovation will
need to be accompanied by
afordability.
The home care category
consists predominantly of
dishwashing bars and liquids,
detergents, and household
supplies. It developed over
the past century as MNCs
(Multinational Corporations),
such as Hindustan Unilever
and Proctor & Gamble,
introduced, new products and
educated users about benets,
which often included added
convenience.
Jewelry
Sector shifts to branded
mass market merchandise
Jewelry is one of the fastest
growing sectors of Indias
economy, driven by increasing
demand and the ongoing
transformation of the industry
from a fragmented collection
of family-run businesses to a
more modern retail structure
where large companies produce
branded merchandise for the
mass market.
The Indian government is
expected relax restrictions
on the import of gold, which
traditionally has been an
investment medium in India.
Intended primarily to curb
excessively smuggling, the
government action should
lower manufacturing costs,
potentially making gold jewelry
more afordable in the Indian
market and more competitive
for export.
Indias main jewelry specialties
are gold, which has cultural
and religious resonance, and
diamonds. One of the worlds
largest diamond exchanges is
located in Mumbai.
Insurance
Penetration level low
in growing category
Indias insurance business
has grown rapidly since
government reform opened the
sector to private companies in
2000. Liberalization recognized
the potential need for insurance
products by an expanding
middle class concerned with
protecting recently acquired
assets.
Penetration, still relatively
low, is expected to increase
because of steady demand and
further relaxation
of government
regulations, which
would permit a
higher level of
Foreign Direct
Investment and also
expand the role of
banks as insurance
providers for multiple
insurance brands.
Meanwhile, operators
in all sectors
property and casualty, life,
and health are improving
their distribution methods,
increasing online presence and
attempting to analyze their
client data to better anticipate
needs and improve sales and
retention.
A total of 52 insurance
companies operate in India,
more than half in life insurance,
according to Indias Insurance
Regulatory and Development
Authority. Dominated by the
state-owed Life Insurance
Corporation of India, the sector
also includes private and joint
venture operators such as
HDFC Life, ICICI Prudential, SBI
Life, and Bajaj Allianz.

Food and Dairy
Tastes evolve in worlds
second largest market
India is the worlds second
largest producer of food after
China. Food store shelves are
lled with local brands, often
made by divisions of FMCG
conglomerates owned by
Indian companies or MNCs
(Multinational Corporations).
Nestl India introduced Maggi,
an instant noodle brand that
promoted both taste and health,
in 1982. Today, Indian consumers
consider Maggi an Indian brand.
An Indian brand, the dairy
cooperative Amul formed in
1946, just prior to the countrys
independence, created the
countrys modern dairy business
and a direct link between dairy
producers and consumers.
Today Amul produces a wide
range of dairy products.
Increasing income and
urbanization are triggering
a rapid change in food
consumption patterns and
variety. As more afuent families
eat out more often,
they expand their
food repertoires.
With more women
in the workplace,
the need for
convenience has
also introduced new
food options, such
as pasta sauces and
packaged soups.
And in the worlds
largest vegetarian
country, the number of non-
vegetarians is growing.
Rising demand for variety and
quality creates opportunities
for the food processing and
agriculture industries. Fully
realizing these opportunities
will require adding production
facilities and improving the roads
and other infrastructure that
links supply in rural regions with
the demand in urban centers.
Ecommerce
Rapid growth rate
expected to increase
Indias booming ecommerce
sector has a lot of growing
room. Although India ranks
third in number of Internet
users, after the US and China,
Internet penetration remains
relatively low.
The number of Internet users
totals around 213 million,
according to the Internet and
Mobile Association of India
(IAMAI). That means only
about 15 percent of Indians are
online, compared with half the
population in China, according
to the World Bank.
The ecommerce category
reached around $13 billion
in revenue in 2013, and is
expected to grow rapidly as
more Indians shop online and
more retailers compete for
their spending, according to
IAMAI. Leading those retailers
are Indian brands such as
the online
mall Flipkart,
started by
former Amazon
employees, and
Snapdeal, with
about 20 million
users, which
hopes to replicate
the success of
Chinas Alibaba.
Amazon entered
India in 2012. Two years later,
just days after Flipkart raised
$1 billion in funding, Amazon
announced plans to invest $2
billion in India.
Walmart plans to open an
ecommerce site in India
during 2014. About one-third
of ecommerce sales in India
happen over mobile phones
and that proportion is expected
to increase.
Category Summaries
The banks category includes public sector and private banks.
The ecommerce category is growing rapidly, but no brands appear yet in the BrandZ
India Top 50 because none are publicly traded, an eligibility criterion.
The food and dairy category includes cooking oil, biscuits, health food drinks, instant
food, and dairy and milk products.
The home care category includes laundry products and household supplies like mosquito repellents.
The insurance category incudes companies ofering life, property and casualty, and health insurance products.
The jewelry category includes jewelry retailers.
Banks
Banks add services
and more branches
The banks category grew rapidly
over the past decade, driven
by the strength of the Indian
economy and the relaxation of
government regulation, which
encouraged more competition.
Banking in India today includes
SOEs (State Owned Enterprises)
and private institutions, both
Indian and international.
Three of the top four most
valuable Indian brands are banks.
HDFC Bank, one of Indias rst
private banks, established in
1994, leads the ranking. Ranked
third, State Bank of India formed
the brand in 1955, prior to
liberalization, although its earliest
predecessor bank opened in
1806. ICICI Bank, which started in
1994, ranks fourth.
Banks are improving services,
adding technology and opening
new branches to serve the
afuent middle class. Theyre
also expanding their presence
in rural and semi-rural areas to
serve the unbanked, driven by
the nancial inclusion policies of
the Reserve Bank of India, the
nations central bank.
A set of new regulations may
soon increase the number of
foreign banks operating in India
and also impose standards to
protect Indias banks from the
kind of systemic problems that
fomented the global nancial
crisis in 2008.
Modern banking in India began
in the eighteenth century.
Following Indias independence,
in 1947, private banks functioned
under government regulation.
The government nationalized
most banks in 1969, but relaxed
some control with liberalization
that started in 1992.
72
73
Mobile Phones
Many brands compete
for smartphone growth
India ranks second after China
in number of mobile phones.
Of Indias roughly 907 million
wireless subscribers, perhaps
only 10 percent own smart
phones. However, driven by the
interest in data consumption,
and aggressive marketing
by many phone brands,
smartphones are the fastest-
growing segment of the mobile
phone market.
The Indian smart phone
market includes many strong
international brands, such as
Samsung, Apple, Nokia and
LG, competing with a range of
models, including their least
expensive. Among the Indian
mobile phone brands are:
Micromax, Karbonn, Xolo, and
Lava.
Having entered the market
as low-price imitators of
multinational brands, the India
brands have achieved credibility,
advertising features and
emotional appeal as well as
price, and implying their parity
with global brands by engaging
well-known brand ambassadors,
like the actor Hugh Jackman,
who has represented Micromax.
This more international image
helps some of these brands
build their export businesses,
which are focused particularly
on Southeast Asia, Russia and
Africa. Many Chinese handset
brands have entered India and
sell afordable smartphones.
These brands include: Gionee,
Lenovo, OPPO, Huawei, ZTE
and Konka.
In overall mobile sales, including
feature phones, Samsung again
enjoys a strong presence, along
with Nokia, which is expected
to benet from investment by
corporate parent Microsoft.
Paints
Middle class aspirations
fuel steady expansion
The decorative paints industry
continues to grow by double
digits, fueled by middle
class aspirations, real estate
expansion, and higher price
points as paint companies
introduce more premium
products.
To further stimulate demand,
paint companies have
introduced initiatives to both
inspire customers with new
dcor possibilities and instill
condence that they can
complete more complicated
home improvement projects.
Asian Paints recently opened
retail outlets called the Colour
Ideas Store, showrooms
where designers ofer free
consultation. Berger Paints
introduced Lewis Berger
Design Stories, a collection
of home decoration ideas
presented as full solutions with
professional advice.
Other key industry players
include Kansai Nerolac, a
subsidiary of a Japanese
company, present in India since
1920; Shalimar Paints, formed
in 1902; and Dulux, a subsidiary
of Akzo Nobel, the global paint
and coatings company based in
the Netherlands.
Category Summaries
The motor fuel and lubricants category includes brands that make and market lubricants, and the retail businesses of oil and gas companies.
The mobile phones category is growing rapidly, but no brands appear yet in the BrandZ India Top 50.
The paints category includes makers and retailers of decorative paint.
Motor Fuel and
Lubricants
India imports crude oil
and exports rened products
India ranks fourth among nations
in total annual oil consumption. It
remains dependent on imported
crude oil to meet its energy
needs, but has surplus rening
capacity, making India an
exporter of petroleum products.
Two SOEs (State Owned
Enterprises) lead the industry:
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
(ONGC) primarily focuses on
oil exploration and production;
and Indian Oil Corporation
(IOC) operates most of the
Indian reneries that produce
petroleum products.
The Indian government opened
these companies to partial public
ownership when it liberalized
the economy in 1991. The Indian
government still holds a majority
stake in the companies. Price
controls on the public sector
companies impacts their results.
Since 1991, independent oil and
gas companies also operate in
India. Following further relaxation
of regulations, the Indian
government allowed 100 percent
Foreign Direct Investment in
many industry segments. Stricter
standards apply to private
partnerships with SOEs.
Over 1,200 Indian and
international companies market
petroleum and gas products.
Most are small or medium size
Indian rms. Three public sector
rms dominate manufacturing:
Bharat Petroleum, Indian Oil
Corporation and Hindustan
Petroleum.
Foreign rms such as Shell,
ExxonMobil, Elf, Castrol and
Veedol also enjoy a presence
in the Indian lubricants market.
Most of these companies exist
on their own, through wholly
owned subsidiaries, which are
companies incorporated in India.
Castrol leads the automotive
lubricants sector, followed by
Servo, the Indian Oil brand.
Telecoms
Relatively low penetration
points to growth opportunity
India is the worlds second
largest telecom market after
China, with a total of around 935
million subscribers as of mid
2014, according to the Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India
(TRAI). Landline telephone
subscribers totaled only 28.5
million in 2000.
Still one of the fastest growing
telecom markets, the number of
telecom subscribers experienced
a 35 percent
compound annual
growth rate (CAGR)
between 2001 and
2011, according to
TRAI.
Only about 75 of
every 100 Indian
adults is a phone
subscriber, however,
a high level but less
than the density
of China or Brazil,
and below the world average,
indicating strong prospects for
future growth.
The vast majority of the
telephone subscriptions,
907 million, are for wireless
service. Urban density is higher,
indicating that many individuals
have multiple subscriptions,
in contrast to the rural areas
where density is rising but the
opportunity remains large. In
the decade of 2002 to 2012,
rural density increased from 1.2
million to 38.5 million, according
to TRAI.
Private players dominate over
90 percent of the telecom
market. They include: Bharti
Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Reliance
Communiciations, Aircel,
and Tata Docomo. Some of
these brands are also leading
providers of broadband service.
All are attempting to increase
revenue with data consumption,
competitive rate plans, and new
customer services.
Soft Drinks
Low consumption levels
signals large opportunity
The Indian soft drink market
includes a range of non-
alcoholic beverages, including
colas, juices, energy drinks,
tea and cofee. Similar to
the dynamics
shaping the
category in
developed
markets, health
concerns are
moderating the
growth of CSDs
(Carbonated
Soft Drinks).
In contrast to
more developed
markets,
however, per capita
consumption remains relatively
low, and distribution is
fragmented, with much of it
going through
the traditional
retail trade. Global
leaders Coca-Cola
and PepsiCo, and
several Indian brand
leaders compete,
introducing new
products to
stimulate demand.
India is one of the
markets where the
Pepsi brand leads
the Coke brand, although one
of the countrys favorite drinks,
Thums Up, is an Indian cola
brand that Coke purchased
in 1993. Pepsi entered India in
1989.
74 75
Category Summaries
The personal care category includes hair care, hair oil, female beauty, male grooming,
oral care, and personal wash.
The soft drinks category includes carbonated drinks, juices, tea and cofee.
The telecoms category includes brands that provide landline, cellular and broadband services.
Personal Care
Rising income, changing
attitudes propel sales
Personal care enjoys healthy
growth in India, driven by
cultural regard for ideals of
beauty, increasing disposable
income, rising consumer
demand in rural areas, and
changing male grooming
attitudes, which opens new
marketing opportunities.
The category includes a wide
array of products, such as hair
care, skin care, and oral care.
Among the key players are:
Hindustan Unilever, Procter &
Gamble and its Gillette brand,
as well as the Indian brand,
Dabur, which specializes in
health and wellbeing.
Companies continue to
introduce products specically
designed for the needs of
Indian consumers and often
market with an emphasis on
beauty as a quality that can be
enhanced, but
which emanates
within the
person.
Some of the
leading Indian
brands, already
present in
various parts of
Asia and Africa,
are looking
to strengthen
their position in
those markets, while others are
looking to enter them.
77 76
Part 3 // The India Top 50 - Brand Proles
Rapidly growing HDFC Bank has created a distribution
network of over 3,400 bank branches and 11,250 ATMs
in more than 2,100 cities across India. The bank ofers
a wide product range in wholesale banking, retail
banking, and treasury.
The banks customers, numbering over 28 million,
primarily live in rural and semi-rural areas, positioning
HDFC Bank to grow as these regions develop
economically. To reach deeper into rural India, the bank
opens mini-branches stafed by only a couple of people.
And to keep pace with the younger, tech-savvy
generation and make banking easier, HDFC Bank
introduced mobile apps that support diverse operating
systems. These apps enable HDFC Bank customers to
stay up-to-date about their account activities and pay
bills, book tickets, and transfer funds via smart phones.
As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility activities,
the bank has initiated literacy, education, and skills-
training programs across rural India. Notable among
these are the Sustainable Livelihood Initiative, an
endeavor to empower rural women by providing them
with access to nancing and occupational training.
Established in 1994, following Indias nancial reform,
HDFC Bank was among the rst private banks
approved by the Reserve Bank of India, the countrys
central bank. Indias Housing Development Financial
Corporation (HDFC), a nancial company started in
1977, was instrumental in setting up HDFC Bank and
remains a substantial stakeholder.
Company HDFC Bank
Brand Value US$ 9.4 Billion
Headquarter City Mumbai
Industry Banks
Year Formed 1994
Private bank expands,
mostly in rural India
HDFC Bank
Airtel is Indias leading wireless telecommunications brand, with
operations in 20 countries. The company serves almost 200
million mobile customers in India and over 75 million abroad. It
is expanding its 3G and 4G networks.
In addition to mobile, the brand operates in two other
consumer businesses: telemedia, including high-speed
broadband, and digital TV. Airtel business serves the telecom
needs of business and government customers. And the brand
is also Indias leading provider of telecom tower infrastructure.
Leveraging its mobile platform and customer reach, Airtel
ofers a mobile wallet called Airtel Money, in India and 17
African countries. Airtel markets itself as a brand that
connects people. Its taglines include Power to Keep in Touch
and Live Every Moment. Oscar-winning Indian musician A.R.
Rehman composed the brands popular ad jingle.
Airtel is part of Bharti Enterprises, a leading Indian business
group with interests that include agriculture, nancial services,
retail, and manufacturing. The brand also is part of the Bharti
Foundation, which works through publicprivate partnerships
to improve education.
Company Bharti Airtel Limited
Headquarter City New Delhi
Industry Telecoms
Year Formed 1995
Leading mobile provider
present across Africa
Airtel
79 78
81 80
Indias largest commercial bank, State Bank of
India is a government-owned institution that
operates almost 16,000 domestic branches,
more than 43,000 ATMs, and 190 international
branches across 36 countries.
The banks businesses include consumer and
corporate banking, investment banking, insurance,
wealth management and credit cards. Formed
in its current incarnation around 70 years ago
to fund rural economic development, the banks
heritage dates to the early nineteenth century.
Among its forward-looking initiatives, the bank
introduced OnlineSBI, an Internet banking portal
to make banking convenient for its customers,
enabling them to carry out banking activities,
such as money transfer and bill payment, online.
The bank was established in 1806 as Bank of
Calcutta, which was later merged along with two
other banks to form Imperial Bank of India. The
Indian government renamed the Imperial Bank of
India the State Bank of India in 1955.
Company State Bank of India
Industry Banks
Year Formed 1955
Government bank
ofers range of services
State Bank
of India
Indias second largest bank in assets, ICICI Bank ofers a wide range
of banking products and nancial services, including retail banking,
corporate banking, insurance, and asset management.
ICICI Bank delivers its products and services through a multi-
channel network of branches, ATMs, call centers, Internet banking,
and mobile banking. The bank operates over 2,790 branches and
10,020 ATMs.
To keep pace with the online generation, ICICI Bank has been
integrating social media with its Internet banking platforms. ICICI
Bank recently launched a Facebook app. Called Pockets by ICICI
Bank, it enables customers to conduct banking transactions on
the social media site. In collaboration with Vodafone, ICICI Bank
launched M-Pesa, for mobile money transfers and payments.
The bank is expanding its reach to rural and semi-urban markets.
ICICI Bank also funds the ICICI Foundation, which focuses primarily
on improving elementary education, healthcare, and sustainable
livelihoods for rural families.
ICICI Bank is present in 19 countries. The bank was established
in 1994 by ICICI Limited, which was incorporated in 1955 by the
World Bank, the government of India, and representatives of Indian
industry to provide nancing for commercial projects in India.
Company ICICI Bank
Industry Banks
Year Formed 1994
Internet and social media
complement branches
ICICI Bank
83 82
85 84
Bajaj Auto Limited is a leading manufacturer and
marketer of motor scooters, motorcycles and
commercial three-wheel vehicles also known as
auto-rickshaws.
Established in 1945 as a marketer of imported
vehicles, the brand launched its manufacturing
business in 1959. Today, Bajaj exports to 57
countries, with Africa generating almost half of
international sales. The brand sold over 3.7 million
motorcycles in India and abroad in 2013. It operates
assembly plants in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Bajaj manufactures popular Indian brands like Pulsar
and Avenger and also serves as the India distributor
for Kawasaki, the Japanese brand, with which it also
has a distribution agreement in Indonesia. Bajaj owns
a major stake in the Austrian motorcycle brand KTM.
Headquartered in Pune, Bajaj Auto Limited has three
plants in India, located in the states of Maharashtra
and Uttaranchal. The Bajaj Group, an Indian
conglomerate, owns the brand. The Groups holdings
span diverse businesses including sugar, power, and
infrastructure development. Bajaj Auto Limited is
listed on the Indian and Bombay Stock Exchanges.
Company Bajaj Auto Limited
Headquarter City Pune
Industry Automobiles
Year Brand Formed 1959
Brand markets vehicles
in India and worldwide
Bajaj Auto
Indias largest paint company, Asian Paints operates 23
manufacturing plants in 17 countries, in the Middle East,
the Caribbean, South Pacic, and Asia. The brands
ofering includes decorative and industrial coatings and
chemicals.
The consumer business attempts to motivate consumers
to undertake home improvement projects and stresses
the brands home dcor credentials. Asian Paints recently
opened retail outlets called the Colour Ideas Store,
showrooms where designers ofer free consultation.
Famous Indian cartoonist R.K. Laxman created the
widely recognized Asian Paints mascot, a man with a
paintbrush. Asian Paints introduced a new logo a couple
years ago, a ribbon of color intended to represent the
easy ow of paint and inspire consumer creativity.
The brand tagline, Every house has a story to tell,
encourages consumers to decorate.
Asian Paints engages in a variety of social responsibility
initiatives, including helping to improve the infrastructure
of primary schools and promoting disease prevention
with better health and hygiene practices. Headquartered
in Mumbai, Asian Paints is listed on the National and
Bombay Stock Exchanges.
Company Asian Paints Limited
Industry Paints
Year Formed 1942
Paint brand attempts
to inspire with color
Asian Paints
87 86
89 88
The Indian motorcycle and scooter brand Hero
MotoCorp is the worlds largest two-wheeler producer.
The company manufactures at three Indian facilities
and operates a sales and service network of over
6,000 outlets located throughout the country. The
brand is adding production and R&D capacity in India
and also looking abroad for growth, starting with
Nepal, Sri Lanka and Central America.
While focusing on its core customer group, afuent
young and middle-age men, the brand also markets
to women with a recently updated sub-brand called
Pleasure. The brand tagline, We have a hero inside
us, articulates the brands emotional appeal, that it
helps people achieve their potential.
Brand ambassador, Indian actor Ranbir Kapoor, has
appeared riding a Hero motorcycle in commercials
with action adventure themes. The brand associates
with sports, including hockey and golf. It has
sponsored events with the International Cricket
Council.
Hero MotoCorp evolved from Hero Cycles, a bicycle
manufacturer that merged with Japans automobile
manufacturer, Honda, in 1984, to form Hero Honda.
The company was renamed Hero MotoCorp in 2011,
the year after Honda left the joint venture. Hero
MotoCorp is a public company listed on Indias
National and Bombay Stock Exchanges.
Company Hero MotoCorp Limited
Year Formed 1984
Major motorcycle brand
gears up for global growth
Hero
Idea Cellular is Indias third largest mobile operator by
revenue. The brand provides over 135 million subscribers
with 2G and 3G service. Its present across most of India
and is expanding into several new territories including
West Bengal, Kolkata and the Northeast.
Determined to continue its steady growth in a
competitive but consolidating industry, Idea raised over
$500 million from the nancial markets during 2014, to
invest in adding spectrum and building infrastructure.
To support its national presence and raise visibility, Idea
introduced an ad campaign called, Idea rings all India.
An earlier ad campaign had promoted progressive
social messages with taglines like, Education for all.
Idea Cellular was incorporated as Birla Communications
Limited in 1995. After several corporate hook-ups
involving Tata Cellular and AT&T Wireless, the company
was renamed Idea Cellular Limited in 2002. It is owned
by the Aditya Birla Group, an Indian multinational
conglomerate with businesses in various sectors such as
telecom, chemicals, retail, and apparel. Idea is listed on
Indias National and Bombay Stock Exchanges.
Company Idea Cellular
Industry Telecoms
Year Formed 2002
Brand promotes
national presence
IDEA
91 90
93 92
One of Indias largest banks, Kotak Mahindra Bank
ofers a complete range of nancial services,
including consumer and commercial banking, asset
management, investment, and life insurance.
The bank is rapidly expanding throughout India,
providing access to nancial service to more of the
population, which it views as under-banked. Over the
past four years, Kotak Mahindra Bank doubled its
number of branches to 600 and increased ATMS to
over 1,000.
Other recent initiatives to serve more of the
population with nancial services include Kotak
Samridhi, an efort to make banking easier for dairy
farmers, and Kotak Ji, connecting banking services
with social networks including Facebook and Twitter.
Kotak also introduced a mobile app.
Recognizing Indias growing prosperity, the bank
is expanding its wealth management business.
In addition to India, the bank maintains ofces in
London, New York, Dubai, Mauritius, San Francisco,
and Singapore.
Kotak Mahindra Bank was established in 2003, when,
Kotak Mahindra Finance Limited, formed in 1985,
became a commercial bank. Kotak Mahindra Bank is
a part of Kotak Mahindra Group, one of Indias major
nancial conglomerates. Kotak Mahindra Bank is
traded on the National and Bombay Stock Exchanges.
Company Kotak Mahindra Bank
Industry Banks
Year Formed 2003
Bank brings nancial
access to underserved
Kotak Mahindra Bank
Reliance Communications is one of Indias largest
telecommunication brands. It serves 150 million customers
and ofers a full range of mobile and Internet services,
including a portal called R World.
As the Indian telecommunications industry consolidates
to ve national players, and the regulatory environment
becomes clearer, Reliance intends to rely on several
strategies to solidify its leadership.
These strategies include: accelerating acquisition of new
customers by allowing them to keep their current phone
numbers; gaining more revenue from existing customers
with upgrades to smart phones; and beneting from the
increase in data consumption.
Underscoring its determination to be a leading national
player, Reliance introduced the One India, One Rate plan,
which ofers customers the same at rate for calls and
texts made from anywhere in the country. The brand also
expects to expand its web-based, international calling
product called Reliance Global Call, which has 2.5 million
users globally.
To develop its enterprise business, the brand positions itself
as a one-stop source for Internet and web services and
solutions. Owned by the Reliance-ADA Group, an Indian
conglomerate, Reliance Communications is listed on both
the National and Bombay Stock Exchanges.
Company Reliance Communications Limited
Industry Telecoms
Year Formed 2003
Telecommunications leader
pursues national strategies
Reliance
Communications
95 94
Part 3 // The India Top 50 - Our Insights
97 96
NO BORDERS
Marketers must be more
nimble than consumers
VISUAL MERCHANDISING
Merchandising helps brands
make a lasting impression
First impresssions are critical. Recent research shows that
80 percent of the decision to purchase is emotional, while
only 20 percent is rational and considered. This distinction
illustrates the impact that an attractive and well executed
merchandising program can have on sales.
Visual merchandising is not an isolated and one-of
phenomenon but rather forms a signicant component of
retailing. Besides the window displays, which are designed
to attract walk-ins, there are also in-store activities that
enhance the shoppers experience and convenience while
shopping.
Efective visual merchandising increases awareness
of a companys most important assets, its brands.
Merchandising will enhance a brands exposure and
increase sales. It is also extremely important for protecting
and growing market share.
In an increasingly intensifying marketplace, growing
market share requires brands to consistently diferentiate
from their competitors. But success and growth make it
harder to to ensure brand consistency at every point of the
consumer journey. Visual merchandising inserts the brand
and reinforces consistency at key points on this journey.
Rajan Zachariah
Country Head
Smollan India
ranjan.zachariah@smollan.co.in
Reny Thomas
Planning Director
Ogilvy & Mather
reny.thomas@ogilvy.com
Prasun Basu
Managing Director
Millward Brown South Asia
prasun.basu@millwardbrown.com
SUSTAINABILITY
Embracing sustainability
is a matter of self-interest
While the West strongly advocates the
philosophy of green living, this imperative
has evolved after years of persistent
environmentalist advocacy.
With one of the highest GDP levels among
fast growing countries, in India, the concept
of sustainability is understandably alien. On
one hand the afuent are just beginning to
taste contemporary extravagances, while
on the other, the underprivileged still sufer
from illiteracy and poverty. Everyone is
simply trying to maximize life today, which is
why worrying about a better tomorrow for
the planet is incomprehensible.
Indians are unlikely to adopt
environmentalism en masse out of a
sense of good citizenship. What will
work for Indians, however, are practical
demonstrations that sustainable practices
yield personal benets. For example, energy
conservation would lead to lower utility bills.
A green conscience could be the new social
currency for the afuent, like eco-weddings.
CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS
Clutter of celebrity endorsers
makes distinction difcult
As more brands sign celebrities as brand representatives,
it becomes increasingly difcult for brands to achieve the
distinction that celebrities are expected to confer. The limited
number of celebrities endorsing brands further compounds the
problem. To derive full benet from associating a brand with a
celebrity, the brand must cut through the celebrity clutter.
Ironically, one solution to this problem is for brands to
showcase the celebrity more, rather than less, but in a variety
of media. Presenting the brand across multi-channels both
helps to strengthen brand awareness and makes celebrities
seem more interesting as they constantly reinvent themselves
for each role as spokespersons, brand characters and experts.
Deep Singh
Account Planning Manager
JWT
deep.singh@jwt.com
Our Insights
Today we listen to books and watch music.
Thank you, Kindle and YouTube. Audiobook
sites like BooksTALK and Reado are
increasingly popular. Viral videos connect
the world. Today we sit in a comfortable
chair to shop. Thank you again, Amazon, and
thank you, Snapdeal, Flipkart, Myntra, and all
the other ecommerce sites.
The traditional patterns of consumption,
across categories, seem turned upside down.
And todays Indian consumers seem ne with
this disruption. Theyre open, exible and
adaptable, not bound by old school thinking
and actions. To reach these consumers
marketers need to be equally nimble.
Adjust your brand for this new consumer.
Think no borders. Question old assumptions.
Indians today enjoy cornakes for breakfast
rather than the traditional parathas bread.
A small detail, perhaps, but if thats how
Indians start the morning, imagine how their
lives have changed for the rest of the day.
99 98
Maruti Suzuki is one of Indias largest car
brands, producing a range of vehicles including
hatchbacks, sedans, SUVs and MUVs, or mini-
vans, at various price points.
When the rst Maruti Suzuki 800 arrived in India
from Japan, in 1982, it was designed to meet the
aspirations and budgets of middle class Indians.
Today, the brand produces more than 1.5 million
cars annually across 15 models. The sporty SX4
sedan and the Ertiga SUV are especially popular
with individuals and families.
With a presence in almost 1,500 Indian towns
and cities, Maruti Suzuki also ofers a menu
of sales-related services, such as nancing,
insurance, and driving instruction. Several brand
initiatives promote driving safety.
To improve driving habits in the state of
Haryana, Maruti Suzuki set up road safety
knowledge centers in partnership with the states
police force. Maruti Suzuki has collaborated
with many NGOs to encourage its employees to
engage in social action and community work.
Maruti Suzuki India Limited is a subsidiary of
the Japan-based automobile and motorcycle
manufacturer Suzuki. The brand exports to over
125 countries.
Company Maruti Suzuki India Limited
Year Formed 1982
Range of car models
meets growing demand
Maruti Suzuki
Indian Oil Corporation Limited is the Indias national oil
company. Its a publicly traded corporation in which the
Indian government owns a majority stake. The company
divides its business into three parts: rening, pipeline
distribution, and retail marketing.
It owns and operates 10 of the countrys 22 reneries and
accounts for over one-third of Indias rening capacity,
producing a variety of petroleum products. The brands
pipelines carry both crude oil and rened products.
Indian Oil operates an extensive network of 23,900 petrol
and diesel stations, around 100 aviation fuel stations, and
propane lling stations across India. More than half of all
Indians receive their cooking gas, usually in cylinders, from
Indian Oil.
To drive international growth, the company established
subsidiaries in Sri Lanka, Mauritius and the United Arab
Emirates. Indian Oil also ventured into alternative energy,
with several solar and wind power projects currently active.
The brand runs the largest bio-fuel production plant in India.
Starting operations in 1959 as Indian Oil Company Limited,
Indian Oil Corporation was formed in 1964 in a joint venture
with Indian Reneries Limited. Indian Oil is listed on the
National and Bombay Stock Exchanges.
Company Indian Oil Corporation Limited
Industry Motor Fuel and Lubricants
National oil company
positions for growth
Indian Oil
101 100
103 102
McDowells is a leading Indian alcoholic drink brand with
a portfolio that includes whiskey, brandy, and rum.
Positioned as a brand associated with celebrations,
McDowells continues to introduce new variants to keep
pace with changing consumer preferences. The brand
launched the premium McDowells No. 1 Platinum as an
aspirational option.
Similarly, the brand added premium rum to its lineup
with McDowells No. 1 Cariba. And it introduced its
Celebration Spiced Rum, in two avors, to reach
younger drinkers looking for a new taste experience.
Several years ago, McDowells launched a diet whiskey,
Diet Mate.
Challenged by the entry of international whiskey brands
during the past decade, and restricted from advertising
because of Indian law, McDowells rened its packaging
to create a more sophisticated appeal that strengthened
it competitively against imports.
The brand enjoys international popularity across the
world. McDowells No.1 Celebration Rum is sold in 13
countries. McDowells sponsors concerts and sports.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captain of the Indian Cricket
team, is the McDowells brand ambassador.
McDowells is owned by United Spirits Limited, a
subsidiary of the United Breweries Group, an Indian
conglomerate with businesses in various industries, such
as aviation, airlines, engineering, fertilizers and brewing.
Company McDowells
Parent Company United Spirits Limited
Headquarter City Bengaluru
Industry Alcohol
Alcohol brand segments
to broaden its appeal
McDowells
Kingsher is the largest selling beer brand in India and is marketed in
52 countries. Its the agship beer brand of United Breweries Group,
which produces Kingsher in many varieties, including Kingsher
Premium, Kingsher Strong, Kingsher Ultra, and Kingsher Draught.
United Breweries positions Kingsher as the beer for Good Times.
Reecting this spirit, United Breweries associates Kingsher with
major Indian sports, fashion, music, and food events. Sponsorships
include: crickets Indian Premier League; some of Indias biggest
fashion festivals, such as Lakm Fashion Week; and major music
festivals like Great Indian Oktoberfest.
For about a decade, the brand has published the Kingsher
Calendar, with each month illustrated by female model in a swimsuit.
The models are selected on a TV reality show called Model Hunt,
which draws an audience for the brand and the models, often-
aspiring actresses.
The Heineken Group, the global brewer based in the Netherlands,
owns a 37.5 percent stake in United Breweries. The arrangement
helps Kingsher implement global best practices and it provides
Heineken with access to the Indian market
United Breweries invests in the communities it serves, focusing
on educational advancement and water conservation. An Indian
conglomerate with businesses in various industries, such as aviation,
engineering, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, and airlines, United
Breweries entered the brewing business about 100 years ago with
the purchase of ve breweries in southern India. It introduced
Kingsher in 1978.
Company United Breweries Group
Industry Alcohol
Popular beer brand
promotes good times
Kingsher
105 104
Castrol India Limited is one of the countrys largest manufacturers of
lubricants across three market segments: automotive, industrial, and
marine and energy.
Along with its consumer-facing business the brand supplies industries
including mining, shipping, aviation, and energy. Products span a range
of uses. They lubricate motorcycles, scooters and cars as well as the
deep-water drills for oil and gas exploration.
In the automotive sector, Castrol has identied a new opportunity
among people who for the rst time can aford a two-wheel vehicle
or a car. The brand creates products for this customer group, which it
reaches mostly on social media.
Castrol sports sponsorships include the Cricket World Cup and the
FIFA World Cup of Football. It also sponsors many auto and motorcycle
racing events. Cricket star Sachin Tendulkar is among the brand
ambassadors.
The brand takes a strategic approach to Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR), supporting causes that are brand-relevant including, training for
mechanics and driving safety, as well as health and education projects.
Castrol India Limited is a subsidiary of Castrol, the UK-based lubricant
manufacturer that started in 1899, does business in about 140 countries,
and is part of the BP Group.
Company Castrol India Limited
Year Brand Formed in India 1919
Lubricant brand makes
the world spin smoothly
107 106
Castrol
109 108
Nestl is one of Indias leading food producers and
marketers. It derives almost half of its revenue in India
from a category it calls milk products and nutrition.
The company also manufactures products in these
other categories: prepared dishes and cooking aids,
chocolate and confectionery, and beverages.
In this BrandZ ranking, the Nestl valuation pertains
to the dairy business alone. When the company
established Nestl India Limited, in 1961, it was
among the rst companies to introduce modern
dairy methods to rural areas, establishing a milk-
processing factory in Moga, Punjab. Today, Moga is a
district known for producing high-quality milk.
Nestl works to advance the prosperity of the
communities in which its present. Among its many
social welfare initiatives, Nestl promotes programs
to build awareness of nutrition, healthy eating and
water conservation.
Nestl is a part of the Nestl Group, headquartered
in Vevey, Switzerland. The company traces its history
in India to 1912, and the importing company Nestl
Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk (Export) Limited.
Today, Nestl is present across India, with eight
manufacturing locations and four sales ofces, in
Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.
Company Nestl India Limited
Headquarter City Gurgaon
Industry Food and Dairy
Food marketer promotes
health awareness initiatives
Nestl
111 110
One of Indias major automobile manufacturing brands,
Mahindra & Mahindra is known for sports utility vehicles,
including its Bolero and Scorpio models. The company
also produces trucks and buses, pick-ups, passenger
cars, and tractors.
Mahindra distributes in India through over 2,700
showrooms of varying sizes, with rural areas contributing
about 25 percent of sales. Brand recognition is high
throughout South Asia. Nepal, Bangladesh, Peru, and
Tunisia lead the list of export markets.
The company acquired a major stake in South Koreas
SsangYong Motor Company, in 2011, to strengthen its
pick-up truck and two-wheeler sales, while extending
its global reach. An earlier acquisition of Indias Kinetic
Motors expanded Mahindras two-wheeler business.
Mahindra connects the brand with the idea of adventure
using the tagline, Live Young, Live Free. To help
expand the customer base for its cars and strengthen
customer relationships, Mahindra operates an of-road
driving school.
It began building cars in 1947, two years after corporate
parent, Mahindra Group, started as a steel business.
Mahindra Group operates in 18 industries. Among
its other business sectors are aerospace, agriculture,
insurance, IT, real estate, and retail.
Company Mahindra Group
Year Formed 1947
Carmaker is known
for its SUV models
Mahindra &
Mahindra
Maggi is a food brand best known for its instant
noodles, ketchups, sauces, seasonings, pasta and
soups. The brand is owned by Nestl India, which
introduced a new food category to the Indian market
when it launched Maggi 2-Minute Noodles in 1982.
Since then, Maggi has developed a product range
promoting the twin benets of taste and health.
Advertising and marketing showcase the emotional
satisfaction that customers associate with the brand.
With tag lines such as Fast to Cook, Good to Eat
and Tasty and Healthy, Maggi markets itself as
purveyor of quick and nutritious snacks. Indian
movie star Amitabh Bachchan is the current brand
ambassador.
Nestl is an Indian subsidiary of the Nestl Group,
the global FMCG company. Established in 1961, today
Nestl India has a wide presence across the country,
with eight manufacturing facilities and four branch
ofces. Its head ofce is located in Gurgaon.
Company Nestl India
Headquarter City Gurgaon
Taste and health
go hand in hand
Maggi
113 112
115 114
Established just 20 years ago, IndusInd Bank
operates a network of over 600 branches and 1100
ATMs spread across more than 400 Indian cities and
towns. It maintains ofces in London and Dubai as
well.
The bank plans to add density to its branch network
as part of a larger strategy to establish a presence as
a High Street brand. A multi-media marketing mix,
including TV, radio, digital, cinema, and out-of-home
helps build awareness. And the bank gained naming
and branding rights for a metro station in Gurgaon.
To help personalize the bank-customer relationship,
Induslnd introduced its My Account, My Number
program, in which customers can select 10 digits of
their 12-digit account number, choosing numbers
they believe are lucky or just easy to remember.
With a program called Cash-on-Mobile customers
can use their phones to send money.
The Induslnd brand name was selected to fuse the
past and future, evoking the ancient civilization of
the Indus Valley while also suggesting innovation.
IndusInd Bank is owned by the Hinduja Group, a
global conglomerate with businesses in automotive,
oil and gas, and nancial services industries.
Company IndusInd Bank
Parent Company Hinduja Group
Industry Banks
Young brand seeks
to build awareness
IndusInd Bank
India is the worlds largest market for Horlicks, a
brand best known for the chocolate malt drink it sells
as a powder. Horlicks also produces a range of other
drinks, snack bars, and various foods, all positioned
to provide nutrition in a tasteful, convenient way.
Leveraging this heritage, Horlicks is expanding its
range in India, adding items like breakfast cereals
to position the brand as a provider of both health
foods and drinks. It recently introduced a product for
women called Horlicks Womens.
Originally a childrens food brand, Horlicks for over
a decade has organized Horlicks Wizkids, an annual
event that promotes educational excellence. School
children from across South Asia compete for prizes,
in subjects including art, music, and literature.
The Horlicks brand was established in 1873, in
Chicago, as a baby food alternative. The Beecham
Group, now the UK-based GlaxoSmithKline, acquired
the company in 1969. The brand has been present in
India since the 1930s. The rst Indian factory opened
in 1960, in Punjab.
Company Horlicks
Parent Company GlaxoSmithKline
Malt drink expands
ofering and brand
Horlicks
117 116
119 118
ECOMMERCE
Tap into emerging online culture,
not just its transactional benets
ACCESSIBLE LUXURY
Luxury market grows
as desire meets access
An undergrad owning a MacBook or the sight of
a college girl with an Armani bag doesnt raise
eyebrows anymore in India. We are in the age
of instant gratication. Nobody is ready to wait.
Everyone wants everything and they want it now.
And everyone means everyone. People across
income levels aspire to luxury and have greater
access to it. Easy nancing options and a robust
market for second-hand merchandise are among
the factors driving this trend.
Therefore, luxury brands need not target only
the highest income group anymore. They also
can focus on the Indian middle class with its
rising aspirations and afuence. The growing
number of HENRY (High Earning Not Rich Yet)
individuals who have started spending on luxury
brands are key contributors to this growth story
Binata Banerjee
Senior Research Executive
Millward Brown
binata.banerjee@millwardbrown.com
Our Insights
PERSONALIZATION
Versatile tool boosts
marketing efectiveness
In the last decade, the concept of personalization has witnessed a
phenomenal evolution. A term adopted and formalized in management
practice in the mid-nineties, personalization has been used, overused,
and even abused to describe any ofering that targets the individual
consumers preferences and interests in any manner big or small.
Now digital marketing, born just yesterday, has already inspired many more
personalization initiatives. Clearly, much experimentation still lies ahead.
Personalization can assume amazing forms and shapes across channels.
Amidst all the innovations that technology is making possible, however, the
most basic, ancient, and stripped down denition of personalization will
always hold talking to your consumer one-to-one; interactions from me
to you, from you to me, and not once but through a lifetime.
Sandeep Pandey
Practice Leader, South Asia
Consulting, Analytics and Intelligence
Mindshare
sandeep.pandey@mindshareworld.com
Aparna Jain
Planning Director
Ogilvy & Mather
aparna.jain@ogilvy.com
Yes, the urban Indian woman is venturing into the working
world traditionally dominated by men. In the beginning,
she dreams about joining the workforce, even aiming to
reach the very top. But often she falters at the threshold.
Societal expectations, safety concerns and her own guilt
are just some of the challenges holding her back. For her,
the focus on family, kids and husband has not diminished,
nor will it ever. So often she nds herself taking a step
back, allowing herself to seamlessly slip into the very
shadows from which she dreamt about emerging.
Brands have an important role to play in this journey.
Brands can support her and stand by her choices. But
here is an opportunity for brands to do what most
family members dont. To help her slowly change the
expectations she has for herself.
Brands can help her bridge the gap between hesitation
and determination. They can inspire her, show her what
she can do and encourage her with myriad wonderful
ideas stemming from identity and independence.
WOMEN AT WORK
Brands can encourage women
to realize work world potential
Indian ecommerce brands are still stuck in
barrier mitigation mode promoting the
advantages of ecommerce over ofine
shopping, of convenient shopping, on-time
deliveries, attractive discounts and more.
While these are relevant pain points, online
shopping in India is much more than a
feature-driven transaction that is mim-
icked in our advertising. Instead, its a rich
palette of new habits and rituals waiting
to be explored. For some, the pleasure of
online shopping is opening a parcel at the
ofce, which may lead to conversation and
a welcome break from work. For others,
online shopping is therapeutic, for some
its compensating for time away from
loved ones, etc.
With over 25 million early adopters, there
is an emerging culture of online shopping
in India that remains untapped. Brands
need to look beyond the transactional
value of ecommerce and recognize this
emerging culture to create a distinct
proposition in this increasingly competitive
space.
Devang Raivani
Assistant Vice President Planning
Grey
devang.raiyani@grey.com
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MOBILE
Mobile helps boost
marketing efectiveness
NEW MENTALITY
Aligning with awakened social
consciousness will build trust
Indians have been in a breathless
chase to prove a point to
themselves and others. One
important consequence of this
dynamic is that individual desires
took priority over the collective
welfare and personal gratication
became more important than social
progress. This shift was reected
in governance and businesses, two
bastions of a society that indulged
in selsh gains at all costs.
Decades of broken political
promises resulted in an inherent
cynicism that until now was
brushed under the carpet with
indiference. But there is a tipping
point for everything and we have
come to ours. Numbness has
been replaced by angst, apathy by
responsibility and words by acts.
Indians are now looking to create
symbiotic, wholesome relationships
that can both build and sustain
progress. Brands that align with
this awakened social consciousness
will be trusted, respected and
endorsed.
With the smartphone boom and
increased mobile Internet access,
mobile has become an enormous
repository of data. Here are three ways
for marketers to leverage this data:
Engagement with stakeholders With
mobile, one medium can economically
reach multiple stakeholders with a
targeted and relevant message.
Mobile as a media channel Content
is easily accessed anywhere through
mobile, either as an app, mobile video,
or SMS text. In addition, with the
missed call tactic, marketers can
reach more nancially constrained
rural consumers who receive
messages without paying for the calls.
Shopper marketing Mobile can
disseminate product and promotion
information in real time, alerting
customers with personalized oferings
that drive sales.
Mobile is part of the marketing
portfolio, a medium that can boost
awareness and response at each touch
point. Clever marketers must nd new
ways to use this versatile tool.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
The voice of the brand is as important as its face
Riddhi Shah
Research Executive - Client service
Millward Brown
riddhi.shah@millwardbrown.com
Priti Murthy
National Director Insights
Maxus India
pritimurthy@maxusglobal.com
Aniruddha Khandekar
Senior Planning Director
Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai
anirunddha.khandekar@ogilvy.com
Noor Samra
Senior Planner
JWT
noor.samra@jwt.com
RURAL MARKETING
Four strategies can help
unlock rural potential
One of the most important aspects of changing India will be unlocking
the potential of its rural population. Several daunting roadblocks
await, however. Variations in rural population density make uniform
logistical planning difcult. Because of the high illiteracy rate, many
rural consumers are unable to identify brands, making them susceptible
to counterfeits. Low income usually limits large, one-time investments.
And rural consumers are swayed by local inuencers and traditional
media intervention has low impact. To overcome these roadblocks when
marketing to rural consumers, consider these strategies, the four As:
1. AFFORDABILITY
Ofer items in smaller sizes and lower prices and products that cost
less to produce. Help consumers save money with DIY product kits,
when appropriate. Ofer loans for nancing options to facilitate larger
investments.
2. ACCESSIBILITY
Instead of targeting organized retail, it is important to consider
targeting 47,000 weekly markets, called haats, the nerve centers of
rural commerce where products worth roughly 50,000 crore rupees
(US$ 8.4 billion) change hands annually.
3. AWARENESS
use vernacular language, integrate local cultural inferences, and
design packaging with memorable visual cues to improve brand recall.
4. ACCEPTABILITY
Market through word of mouth recommendations from opinion
leaders with high credibility.
Our Insights
Ever wondered what the person on the other end of the call looks like? While
the front-end executives play an important role as the face of the brand, the call
center operators play an equally important, if less appreciated, role as the voice
of the brand. Their behavior and tone inuence how customers think and feel
about the brand.
Consider a situation where a customer loses a credit card or mobile phone.
Responding with understanding and concern can help strengthen the customer
bond and form the basis of a long-term customer-brand relationship. One
comforting sentence from the representative can reassure the customer that
the company is going to be there in such times of crisis. While marketers must
continue to invest in improving their front-end services, they also must not
neglect the less apparent but impactful customer service provided by phone.
123 122
Not simply one of Indias most popular household
detergent brands, Wheel is among the countrys best
selling products across all FMCG sectors. Hindustan
Unilever introduced the brand, almost 30 years ago,
to segment the detergent market and protect its Surf
brand from price competition.
Wheel later expanded its value position by adding
claims that the product produces cleaner results and
takes some of the tedium out of doing laundry. Ads
that feature one of Indian cinemas leading male stars
suggest that the products fresh and fragrant scents
have emotional appeal.
In an innovative mobile campaign, Wheel reached
consumers in rural areas less exposed to traditional
media. Adapting a widely used money-saving tactic, the
brand rang mobile phone numbers but disconnected
before the call was picked up, saving the recipient the
cost of the call.
Consumers who dialed a free callback number heard a
joke, told in the callers language, by Wheels movie star
brand ambassador. Supported in traditional and digital
media, the campaign enabled Wheel to associate the
brands value proposition with the rural populations
respect for frugality.
A brand of Hindustan Unilever, the large MNC, Wheel
comes in powders, bars and soaps.
Company Hindustan Unilever Limited
Brand Value US$ 982 Million
Industry Home Care
Clever mobile campaign
reaches rural consumers
Wheel
One of Indias leading Indian consumer goods companies,
ofering over 400 products, Dabur is distinguished by its focus
on health and wellbeing and an extensive range of ayurvedic
remedies. Its particularly prominent in health supplements.
The brands business entities include consumer care, food, and
international, which drives about one-third of revenue. The
company is present in about 60 countries with its Dabur and
Vatika health and personal care brands.
In India, Dabur relies on a network of over 5,000 distributors
and 5.3 million retail outlets. In the past couple of years Dabur
doubled its reach in rural India and now is present in over 38,250
villages.
The company operates four Internet portals to promote its oral
care, skin care, hair care and health care brands. As the home and
personal care category continue to grow, driven by rising incomes
and aspirations, Dabur has added mens grooming products.
Its social agenda includes encouraging adults and children to
strengthen their immune systems. The brand traces its origins to
a Calcutta pharmacist in 1884. Incorporated in 1936, the company
is listed on Indias Bombay, National and MCX Stock Exchanges.
Company Dabur India Limited
Headquarter City Ghaziabad
Industry Personal Care
Health and wellbeing
distinguish FMCG brand
Dabur
125 124
127 126
One of Indias most recognized jewelry brands, Tanishq
ofers a wide range of traditional as well as trendy jewelry
designs in gold, diamond, and platinum.
The brand pioneered the concept of branded jewelry and
ornaments in India when it challenged the established
industry structure of family-owned jewelry businesses
and added order to a fragmented sector.
To make jewelry afordable to more people, Tanishq
runs its Golden Harvest savings scheme that enables the
customers to buy Tanishq jewelry at a reasonable price
and on an installment plan with favorable terms.
A pioneer in selling jewelry online in India, Tahishq ofers
its collections on its website. Many popular Indian movie
actors have endorsed the brand. Tanishq is owned by
Titan Company Limited and is the agship line of jewelry.
Titan Company Limited launched Tanishq in 1994.
Titan is a joint venture of Tata Group, one of Indias
largest conglomerates, and the Tamil Nadu Industrial
Development Corporation, based in Tamil Nadu, and
responsible for industrial development in that state. Titan
operates in four product areas: watches and accessories,
jewelry, eyewear, and precision engineering.
Company Titan Company Limited
Industry Jewelry
Brand markets trendy jewelry
that more people can aford
Tanishq
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Britannia Industries Limited is a major Indian
food provider. Focused primarily in the bakery
and dairy sectors, Britannia manufactures
and markets biscuits, breads, cakes, and dairy
products including milk and butter through over
3.5 million retail outlets.
To meet the changing values, tastes and growing
afuence of Indian consumers, the company
expanded from its bakery roots and entered the
dairy business in 1997, updating its brand identity
with a focus on health, captured in the slogan,
Eat Healthy, Think Better.
Britannia Industries Limited also activates this
focus on health through the Britannia Nutrition
Foundation, which increases awareness for
the issue of child malnutrition. In partnership
with Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, an
international NGO, the foundation distributes the
brands Tiger biscuits in public schools.
The brand was established in 1892 as a biscuit
bakery in Calcutta. Today, Britannia Industries
Limited is headquartered in Bengaluru, and is
owned by the Wadia Group, one of Indias oldest
conglomerates, dating to the period of the British
East India Company in the eighteenth century.
Company Britannia Industries Limited
Food provider focuses
on bakery and dairy
Britannia
Hindustan Unilever introduced Surf detergent powder to India around
55 years ago, when most Indian homemakers washed clothes with
soap bars. Since then, the mass-market detergent has constantly
innovated new products to meet changing consumer needs.
While the brand initially stressed rational, value-for-money benets,
Surf Excel today depends on the more emotional appeal of Dirt is
Good, a natural result of an engaged life. Commercials show children
at play, enjoying fun and freedom, and getting dirty in the process.
The brand ofers a range of products for cleaning dirt, along with
extensive commentary and insights about child development and
why getting dirty can indicate curiosity and a need to explore, critical
ingredients for growth and self-condence.
A recent brand initiative called the Kids Today Project, ofers a
multi-media compilation of parenting tips, activities for kids, how-to
instructions for doing laundry, advice for operating washing machines,
and advocacy for conserving water and protecting the environment.
Unilever introduced the brand in 1948. Known then as Surf, the brand
was one of the earliest in the conglomerates portfolio. Subsidiary
Hindustan Unilever launched Surf Excel in India in 1959.
Industry Home Care
Emotional spin
says dirt is good
131 130
Surf Excel
Punjab National Bank is one of Indias largest and
oldest public sector banks, providing nancial services
for over 120 years. On the strength of that legacy, the
bank emphasizes relationship building and trust.
The bank advances its stated mission, Banking for the
unbanked, with a countrywide network of over 6000
branches and close to 7000 ATMs that mostly serve
customers in rural and semi-urban areas.
Punjab National Bank intends to extend its global
reach, which currently includes a combination of
company branches, joint ventures, and representative
ofces mostly in Asia, but also in London and Sydney.
PNBs active social responsibility agenda aims to
nurture the aspirations of small entrepreneurs, farmers,
and young people. The bank also promotes personal
health and environmental sustainability.
Founded during the period of British rule, in an efort
establish Indian-owned institutions and fund national
growth, Punjab National Bank began operations in
April 1895. The Government of India owns a majority
stake in the bank, which it nationalized in 1969.
Company Punjab National Bank
Industry Banks
Historic legacy supports
relationships and trust
Punjab National Bank
133 132
Since its introduction just over a decade ago, Sunfeast has
become a leading biscuit brand, its rapid rise driven by the
marketing power of corporate parent ITC, a leading Indian
conglomerate.
Sunfeast continuously introduces new biscuit variations
across market segments, most prominently at the
premium end with lines named Dark Fantasy and Sunfeast
Delishus, and in the health segment with Sunfeast Farmlite.
For Farmlite, Sunfeast launched an innovative consumer
engagement program at the airport in Bengaluru, ofering
free samples in a farm-like setting and even from a basket
that preceded baggage moving along the conveyor belts.
Sunfeast built its brands on the promise of new taste
pleasures and indulgences, using brand ambassadors,
integrated promotion including TV, print and outdoor, and
presence in social media like Facebook.
Established in 1910, ITC Limited is present in a range of
FMCG categories and also operates in other business
sectors including: hotels, packaging, agriculture, and IT. ITC
launched the Sunfeast brand in 2003.
Company ITC Limited
Headquarter City Kolkata
Brand races to top
in about a decade
135 134
Sunfeast
A leading oral hygiene brand, Colgate has been present in India
for over 75 years. The Colgate range includes toothpastes,
toothbrushes, mouthwashes, and teeth-whitening products.
The brand is distributed in over 4.6 million retail outlets
throughout India. It is driving additional growth by increasing
penetration, especially in rural areas, and introducing new
benets and occasions for using the brand. Colgate also
continues to segment its oferings and add more premium
products.
In an efort to build and sustain consumer trust, the brands
ad campaigns stress the need for consistent oral hygiene
and dental care. The brand markets actively with in-store
merchandising, social media, and mobile apps.
To increase oral health awareness among school children in
both rural and urban areas, Colgate has worked in partnership
with the Indian Dental Association since 1976. The brand
ofers free dental check-ups and distributes dental health care
information and product samples.
Colgate-Palmolive India Limited markets the Colgate brand.
A subsidiary of US-based company Colgate-Palmolive,
a manufacturer of household, oral care, and health care
products, Colgate-Palmolive India Limited was incorporated in
1937. The Colgate brand began in 1806, in New York.
Company Colgate-Palmolive India Limited
After 75 years in India,
brand growth continues
Colgate
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Indias oldest tea brand, Brooke Bond includes these
major sub-brands: Brooke Bond Taj Mahal, Brooke Bond
Taaza, Brooke Bond Red Label, and Brooke Bond 3
Roses. Brooke Bond Taj Mahal, introduced in 1966, is the
premium brand of tea in the Indian market.
Brooke Bond promotes its product range based around
freshness and as a healthy beverage for the entire family.
The only Indian tea brand sold in vacuum-sealed packs to
protect product freshness, Brook Bond was also the rst
to introduce tea bags in India.
Many celebrities have endorsed the brand, including
Ustad Zakir Hussain, an Indian musician, and a variety of
popular Hindi movie actors. The brands current brand
ambassador is actor Saif Ali Khan.
The Brooke Bond Red Label Tea brand was launched in
1903. Brooke Bond & Company India Limited was formed
in 1912. Hindustan Unilever Limited, the large multinational
conglomerate acquired the company in 1984.
Industry Soft Drinks
Tea emphasizes health
and freshness benets
Brooke Bond
Bank of India is a nancial SOE, (State Owned Enterprise)
publicly traded but two-thirds owned by the Indian
government. Its core oferings include commercial banking,
retail banking, private banking, and asset management.
The bank operates over 4,600 branches, with almost 2,000
in rural areas, and over 4,200 ATMS. It focuses on developing
its relationships with corporate and small and medium
business customers, as well as with wealthy retail clients.
Bank of India attempts to diferentiate from the competition
by emphasizing customer service, a theme communicated
in ads and expressed in the tagline, Relationship beyond
banking. It recently introduced a facility that enables
customers to send money using their mobile phones.
The bank supports medical and education programs
for Indias under-served populations and it funds rural
infrastructure improvement. Established in Mumbai in 1906,
the bank remained private until 1969, when the government
nationalized any banks it didnt already control.
With its headquarters still in Mumbai, the bank today is
present in 20 countries including major nancial centers,
such as New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, London,
and Paris. Bank of India is listed on the Bombay and National
Stock Exchanges.
Company Bank of India
Industry Banks
Relationship banking
distinguishes the brand
Bank of India
141 140
143 142
WOMEN AND FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE
Drop old assumptions for new opportunities
Marketers seeking to connect
with modern Indian women will
encounter a major opportunity if
they look beyond old assumptions
and stereotypes. Women today
seek nancial independence. Work
and career is a high priority. In a
recent JWT study, a whopping 85
percent of middle class women in
their 20s, 30s and 40s said that
career denes a successful woman.
(We surveyed women in Indian SEC
Groups A and B.)
When we asked younger women,
ages 20 to 24, Thinking about
your generation compared to your
mothers, which of the following
do you think have been most
inuential for women? they
cited opportunities for work and
career (53 percent) and nancial
independence/spending power
(43 percent) as the most inuential
drivers for change for women. The
also listed nancial independence
and career advancement as a top
goal (65 percent).
Older women, in their 30s and
40s, also revealed similar desires
for nancial independence. Their
priorities included wanting to
advance a career (40 percent),
start a business (36 percent), travel
the world (45 percent), as well as
buy a home (37 percent) and a car
(36 percent).
This deep desire for nancial
independence ofers a fresh
platform for brands to forge
connections with an audience it
viewed mainly through an emotive
lens. Brands can play newer roles in
womens lives as enabler, catalyst,
educator, sponsor, benefactor,
and advocate for their nancial
independence.
SEEKING BALANCE
Individual aspirations rising
in family-comes-rst-culture
Shaziya Khan
Executive Planning Director
and Vice President
JWT
shaziya.khan@jwt.com
Dilip Garga
Group Head Planning
Ogilvy
dilip.garga@ogilvy.com
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
Brand communication
options grow in more
egalitarian culture
In India, notions of power, authority and popularity
have always converged on a select few. The cultural
landscape also was ruled by a small coterie of mass-
market icons. At last count, M. S. Dhoni, the captain
of the Indian cricket team, had 20 endorsements.
But Indian youth, exposed to more inuences and
given to manic sharing, are making India far more
egalitarian.
A video called Bollywood Aam Aadmi Party, a
political satire by The Viral Fever, enjoyed more than
3.5 million views on YouTube. Little known stand-up
acts are popular at tony joints in Gurgaon, Mumbai,
and Bengaluru. The indie music scene is thriving with
talented artists like Sehaj Bakshi and Tajdar Junaid.
So when it comes to choosing a cultural territory
or an ambassador, the fate of brands isnt tied to a
select few. Brands can now attach themselves to a
cultural force in the beta-phase and be the part of a
cultural movement right from scratch.
Sumant Bhattacharya
Assistant Vice President &
Planning Director
Grey
sumant.bhattacharya@grey.com
Our Insights
NEW BOLDNESS
New edgy ads diferentiate
brands, but risk alienating
core customers
In 1994, using the term sexy in Bollywood songs
created such a huge backlash it had to be replaced
by a more socially acceptable word.
Fast-forward 20 years. Today, Big Boss, the
Indian TV reality show introduces Sunny Leone, a
renowned adult movie star, and audience accepts
her, not only as a reality show participant, but also
as a mainstream actor in Indian cinema. The Indian
audience has really grown up!
Even advertisers have changed their communication
style, connecting their messages with themes that
until recently were considered taboo. These themes
include: indelity (a husband nds his wifes lover
hiding in the closet with VIP Skybag luggage);
remarriage (a bride and her daughter wear Tanshiq
wedding jewelry); and sexual freedom (two young
women emerge together from a closet in an ad for
Fastrack watches).
Being bold helps a brand stand out as diferent
more so in todays India. However, care should be
taken that boldness doesnt contradict the brands
ethos or risk alienating its core audience.
Ritesh Shetty
Account Manager
Millward Brown
ritesh.shetty@millwardbrown.com
The sheer number of customs,
dialects, foods, beliefs and gods in
India are enough to create the most
challenging probability problem
ever, or as a marketer would call it,
the perfect nightmare.
To understand how average Indian
consumers process all the cultural
and commercial stimulation, its
necessary to understand the core
values through which they lter all
these choices.
In India, family takes precedence
over everything else. Children grow
up and continue living with their
families to repay all the years of
hard work that their parents put into
raising them. For every decision,
family comes rst before any
personal consideration.
But there is another side to India
today, a more enterprising side that
wants more with every passing
moment. In this India, people seek
to balance traditional loyalty to
family with the pursuit of individual
aspirations.
Tata Motors introduced the rst Indian-made light commercial vehicle in
1986, and rst SUV, in 1991. Today, the company is a leading manufacturer
of personal and commercial motor vehicles, including passenger cars and
SUVs; vans, trucks and buses; and police and military vehicles.
Appealing to all segments of the Indian market, Tata Motors ofers
micro cars, like the Nano, for budget-constrained consumers and the
premium brands Jaguar and Land Rover, which Tata acquired in 2008, for
customers more concerned with performance and status than afordability.
Tata sells products through 250 dealers in almost 200 Indian cities, as well
as through a distribution network in 180 countries. It produces cars at six
Indian plants and with partnership arrangements it also operates assembly
plants in Kenya, Bangladesh, Ukraine, and Senegal.
To promote inclusive economic growth, the companys social action
commitment spans initiatives devoted to health care, safe drinking water,
education and vocational training, sustainability, and environmental
protection.
Formed in 1945 as Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Limited,
Tata entered the car business in a joint venture with Daimler-Benz. The
name changed to Tata Motors Limited in 2003, and the company was
listed on the New York Stock Exchange the following year. Tata Motors is
part of the Tata Group, a major Indian conglomerate.
Company Tata Motors Limited
Car pioneer serves
all vehicle segments
145 144
Tata Motors
One of Indias most prominent whiskeys, Bagpiper
exports to 10 nations. Its positioned as an
aspirational brand, ofering the taste appeal of
Scotch at an afordable price, in two varieties,
Bagpiper and Bagpiper Gold.
The brand communicates its positioning, and the
idea of social drinking, through its well-known
tagline, Three will be company: You, me, and
Bagpiper. A pioneer in celebrity endorsements,
Bagpiper was the rst whiskey brand to sign Hindi
movie stars as brand ambassadors.
And Bagpiper was one of the rst brands to
introduce the Guala international capping system
to assure tamper-proof bottles. In a cost-saving
innovation, Bagpiper also was among the rst
brands to sell an alcoholic beverage in the
cardboard tetra paks normally associated with milk
products.
Bagpiper is the agship brand of United Spirits
Limited, formed in 2006 from the merger of several
companies, including Herbertsons Limited, which
introduced the Bagpiper brand in 1976.
Company United Spirits Limited
Industry Alcohol
Prominent whiskey
exports to 10 nations
Bagpiper
147 146
149 148
Hindustan Petroleum is major integrated oil and gas
SOE (State Owned Enterprise) thats active, directly or
through subsidiaries, in petroleum exploration and the
rening and distribution of petroleum products.
The company maintains over 12,100 retail outlets,
all under the brand identity Club HP to signify a
commitment to customer service and excellent care.
HPCL recently introduced a premium version, Club HP
Star, with service improvements including automated
pumps and electronic payment.
To strengthen the brands position as a supplier of
liqueed petroleum gas, the propane Indians generally
use for cooking, the brand expanded its distribution
network to around 3,200 distributors.
In addition, as the operator of Indias largest lubricant
renery, HP created a network of over 200 distributors
who serve the almost 40,000 shops where Indians buy
lubricants. The company also continues to expand its
R&D, pipeline network, and renery infrastructure.
Social action activities span health care, childcare,
education, and programs for professional training or job
skills building in an efort to increase employment among
economically or socially disadvantaged young people.
Incorporated as Standard Vacuum Rening Company
of India Limited, in 1952, the company became Esso
Standard Rening 10 years later and subsequently
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited in 1974.
Company Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited
Petroleum brand adds
premium retail service
HPCL
151 150
Fair & Lovely is a skin-fairness product designed to
lighten skin color. The brand is available in a range of
creams and face washes for skin issues such as sun
tanning, dark circles and dullness. Primarily aimed at
women customers, the brand recently introduced a
product line for men called MAXFairness.
Ad campaigns for Fair & Lovely advance themes
of womens empowerment, achievement, and
transformation. They usually present stories where
women challenge unpleasant social realities and
discover their potential with the help of the Fair &
Lovely brand. An Indian lm actress is the current
brand ambassador.
To support issues around womens empowerment,
the brand established the Fair & Lovely Foundation
in 2003. Foundation support helps women from low-
income rural and urban backgrounds pursue higher
education and acquire professional skills. Every
year, the foundation awards scholarships based on
academic performance and nancial need.
Hindustan Unilever Limited owns Fair & Lovely.
Launched by Hindustan Unilever in 1975, Fair &
Lovely expanded internationally in 1988, and now is
available in over 30 countries. Hindustan Unilever is
a subsidiary of Unilever, one of the worlds leading
FMCG companies.
Skin cream brand adds
product line for men
Fair & Lovely
153 152
Indias largest selling soap brand, Lifebuoy is sold in
over ve million outlets throughout the country. The
brand is positioned as healthy and afordable soap for
the entire family, available as soap bars, liquid hand
wash, hand sanitizer, and talc.
The brand advocates improving health and hygiene
standards and afordability. Through its advertising
campaigns, Lifebuoy educates the public about the
importance of hand washing and other hygiene habits.
The brands many social action initiatives reect this
mission. Lifebuoy has collaborated with the Maternal
and Child Health Integrated Program, a global efort
to improve hygiene behavior among new mothers and
reduce child mortality rates.
The brand is one of the founding members of the
Public-Private Partnership for Hand Washing with
Soap, which promotes Global Handwashing Day
observed on October 15. And Lifebuoy has partnered
with more than a hundred restaurants and cafs at the
Kumbh Mela festival, a Hindu pilgrimage in India that
attracts devotees from around the world.
Lifebuoy is marketed by Hindustan Unilever Limited,
Indias largest FMCG company. It was established in
1894, in England, to ght bacteria and prevent disease,
and appeared in India the following year.
Soap brand delivers
afordable hygiene
Lifebuoy
Lux is one of Indias oldest and best-selling soap brands.
Positioned as an afordable indulgence, primarily aimed at
women, the brand is available in a variety of forms including
soap bars, shower gels, shampoos and deodorants.
Many leading Indian actresses have endorsed the brand over
the decades, including former Miss World Aishwarya Rai. Lux
was the rst soap brand in India to be endorsed by a male
actor, as well. The brands ad campaigns emphasize beauty
and glamor.
The UK manufacturer Lever Brothers now Unilever
launched Lux in 1899 and introduced Lux akes to India
in 1905. Today Lux is a $1 billion global brand sold in over
100 countries and marketed in India by Hindustan Unilever
Limited, Indias largest FMCG company.
Global brand ofers
afordable luxury
Lux
155 154
Indias second largest decorative paint company, Berger Paints ofers
interior and exterior wall coatings for professional and industry users
and middle and upper class homeowners. The brand is moving more
up-market as Indian consumer purchasing power increases.
The professional business covers several segments including
industrial, automotive and coatings. But the faster growing decorative
business drives the majority of revenue, and Berger promotes its
premium brands, including Breathe Easy, Silk, and Weathercoat.
To inspire customers and instill condence, the company recently
launched its Lewis Berger Design Stories, a collection of home
decoration ideas presented as full solutions, including recommended
paints, furniture and accessories, along with professional advice.
Involvement in important landmark architectural projects also helps
publicize the brand. The company operates 11 manufacturing plants
and 170 sales ofces. It distributes through 15,000 dealers and is also
present in Russia, Poland, Nepal and Bangladesh.
From its origins in West Bengal in 1923, the company has been
operating steadily in India for almost 90 years. After several name
changes, the company became Berger Paints in 1983. Its named for
the eighteenth century UK paint pioneer Lewis Berger.
Company Berger Paints India Limited
Brand Value US$ 451 million
Headquarter City Kolkata
Industry Paints
Paint brand moves
further up-market
157 156
Berger Paints
159 158
Launched during the 1960s as a cooking oil to help
lower the risk of heart disease, Safola has broadened
its appeal to promote healthly living and help combat
cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
The broader brand proposition, launched around
a decade ago, reects the values and increased
afuence of Indias rising middle class. An expanded
product range includes more edible oil options, each
with a diferent mix of benecial ingredients like
antioxidants, molecules known fortify health; breakfast
foods like muesli and oats; and low-sodium salt.
To cultivate an audience devoted to healthy living and
to raise awareness about the risk of heart disease and
other illnesses, Safola introduced Safolalife.com,
an educational website that ofers recipes, expert
advice, and Safola product suggestions. Safola has
sponsored other initiatives, including free cholesterol
checks for the general public.
Bombay Oil Industries introduced Safola Oil in the
1960s. Today, its marketed by Marico Limited, an
Indian FMCG company, which specializes in beauty
and wellness, and is present in 25 Asian and African
countries. Marico was established in 1990 and listed
on the Indias National and Bombay Stock Exchanges
in 1996.
Company Marico Limited
Year Brand Formed 1960s
Broader mission aims
at improving health
Safola
IDBI Bank is a pubic sector commercial bank with a diferentiating
focus on infrastrucure nancing, dating back to its origins as a
Development Financial Institution (DFI) 50 years ago, established
by the Indian government to help underwrite the countrys growth.
The bank divides its businesses into corporate and retail. Key areas
of focus include agriculture and infrastructure. IDBI believes that
its younger and more female workforce provides a competitive
advantage as it attempts to project a warm and friendly attitude.
The bank serves more than 3,000 corporate customers and over
6.5 million retail customers with over 1,390 branches and 2,400
ATMs located across India. IDBI Bank also operates in Dubai and
plans further international expansion.
The banks social action priorities include extending banking to
underserved parts of the population and improving the nancial
literacy of both school children and adults. Other programs foster
entrepreneurship.
IDBI was formed in 1964 by the Indian Parliament as a subsidiary
of the Reserve Bank of India, the nations central bank. It
transitioned from a DFI to a full-service commercial bank in 2004.
The governments stake exceeds 70 percent.
Company IDBI Bank
Industry Banks
Expertise, attitude
diferentiate bank
161 160
IDBI Bank
163 162
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited engages in
energy exploration and in rening and marketing of
a wide range of petrochemicals, solvents, aircraft
fuels and specialty lubricants. It conducts much of
its activities through subsidiaries and joint ventures.
One of Indias largest energy companies, BPCL
explores for oil and gas in six countries and operates
a network of over 11,600 retail outlets in India. The
ad campaign Energizing Lives positions Bharat
Petroleum as innovative, introducing its branded
fuel, Speed, and loyalty cards.
As an SOE (State Owned Enterprise) in which the
Indian government owns a majority stake, Bharat
Petroleums priorities include not only growing its
business, but also helping to drive the development
of India and build public awareness about energy
efciency.
Bharat Petroleum engages in a full agenda of social
responsibility initiatives, mostly to improve living
conditions for impoverished people, with a particular
focus on education, water conservation, health, work
skill development and the empowerment of women.
The company was formed from Burmah Shell
Reneries Limited, which the Indian government
took over in 1976 to create Bharat Reneries Limited.
The name changed the following year to Bharat
Petroleum Corporation Limited.
Company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
Brand nds, renes
and sells petroleum
Bharat Petroleum
165 164
WOMEN IN NEW ROLES
Brands lag in portraying
women as multi-dimensional
Despite its melodrama, Bollywood is quite revealing in its
portrayal of the metamorphosis of the Indian woman.
The 50s and 60s saw women portrayed as good and evil,
the heroine and vamp. Heroines were pure, silent pillars of
strength, self-sacricing lambs. They were the respectful
daughters, dutiful wives and loving mothers. In contrast,
vamps were sexually expressive, wore revealing clothes,
smoked and drank. True love and happiness eluded them.
Then came economic liberalization and the lines blurred
between the two stereotypes. Todays Bollywood heroine
uses her sexuality to get ahead, plot revenge, go alone on
her honeymoon and steal her dads money.
But unlike Bollywood, most brands continue portraying
women as dened by their relationships. Its time to
acknowledge and celebrate womens independence
and depth of character (artful negotiator, ambitious
professional, tiger mom, hedonist) and even help them
negotiate their new roles successfully.
Rasika Fernandes
Vice President Planning
Ogilvy & Mather
rasika.fernandes@ogilvy.com
Indian youth are coping with the dramatic
shift from boom times to gloom times that
happened over the past few years. Theyre
reacting to a troubled economy and job
market, social decay, political corruption and
the paralysis of development policies. A study
from the National Institute of Mental Health and
Neurosciences characterized eight out of 10
Indian youth between ages 15 and 16 as angry.
Youth have adopted these coping strategies:
1. OFFENSE STRATEGY
Unrestrained expressions of anger as seen
in protests and agitations, on the streets
and on the digital media, across the country
and especially in the overwhelming defeat
of the United Progressive Alliance party.
2. DEFENSE STRATEGY
Unique and engaging experiences including
interest in new technologies, live music,
novel drinking and dining out experiences,
exploring exotic cooking, and high-
adrenaline travel adventure.
3. RESILIENCE STRATEGY
Unleashing potential in innovation and
creativity, launching start-ups, posting
online content, and performing in bands
and as stand-up comedians.
For brand marketers who want to reach
todays Indian youth, the following themes
are likely to resonate with them: advocating
for positive social change, indulging in unique
and engaging experiences, and expressing
creativity in pursuit of success.
YOUTH MARKETING
To reach Indian youth
know their coping strategies
Rinku Roy Choudhury
Assistant Vice President
Strategic Planning Director
JWT
rinku.ray@jwt.com
DIVERSITY
Make sense of the many Indias
to succeed in complex market
The Indian market is composed of a number of distinct
socio-economic clusters, each diferent from the other.
These clusters are characterized by homogeneity in tastes
and culture across diferent demographic strata probably
caused by the deeply embedded codes of Indias ancient
civilization.
Street food is a great example. The same street food, balls of
deep-fried bread with various llings, can be called golgappa,
panipuri or phuchka, depending on the region, yet theyre
equally popular across income classes. This complexity
applies to festivals and movies too.
Marketers have had great ideas to leverage this diversity
whether it is Frito Lays regional innovation centers to develop
local snack foods or Asian Paints attempt to win over the
Bengali consumer through deep and meaningful association
with the annual Hindu Durga Puja Festival. More such ideas
are needed to win in the complex Indian marketplace.
Soumitra Sengupta
Group Account Director
Millward Brown
soumitra.sengupta@millwardbrown.com
Our Insights
Part 3 // The India Top 50 - Our Insights TOP 50 Most Valuable Indian Bands 2014
167 166
DIVERSITY
In diverse India, ads that win
in Delhi may fail in Mumbai
ECOMMERCE
Even low-interest products,
like tires, now sold online
Women shocked us when they went all out and ordered
clothes and shoes online. A huge change considering that
they forsook the tting room and relied on what the online
retailers website promised.
Now we see a smaller change, but with large implications
buying car tires online.
Despite having a wide choice of tires to choose from, the
consumer, more often than not, ends up buying a tire that a
dealer wants to sell. A tire purchase is probably the lowest
involvement decision made when it comes to a car.
However, we see this changing. More and more websites
are attracting both consumers making their tire purchase
decision online, and auto enthusiasts keeping track of new
tire-related products and technologies.
Through a website one can choose and compare prices
and buy tires and select a convenient time slot for a tting
service. Tires can be delivered and installed at the
consumers home, place of work or parking spot.
Fad or trend? Only time will tell. However, the rules of selling
tires in India will be rewritten. And those new rules will impact
the online presence of other low-interest product categories.
There are many Indias. MNCs
(Multinational Corporations) entering
India often learn this fact the hard
way. The country splits into six roughly
homogenous geographic clusters that
inform how consumers respond to
advertising.
While the appeal of children in slice-of-
life situations is universal across clusters,
celebrity appeal difers. TV personalities
work in Mumbai but not in parts of Uttar
Pradesh in the North. Similarly, appeals to
the heart work in Delhi, but an appeal to
the head is necessary for an ad to work
well in the South. Glamour and style works
well in Delhi, but a more subtle expression
of sensuality, perhaps a dewdrop on
parched skin, works in West Bengal.
Understanding this phenomenon is critical
for brand success in India. Having analyzed
the implications for TV commercials,
Millward Brown continues to examine and
codify the challenges and opportunities
for print and other media.
YOUTH MARKETING
To gain respect of youth,
ofer reality, not fantasy
Youre 22 already and you havent been to
Egypt yet?
Along with the usual peer and family
pressures, youth today are facing an
added expectation called, Twenty-
somethings must do this. And they must
do it test their options and experience
many adventures by the self-imposed
deadline of age 30. To an extent, young
people feel compelled to live the fantasies
their favorite brands create.
Brands need to be sensitive to the stress
these fantasies potentially produce. Brands
have an opportunity to help young people
aspire to become their genuine selves,
not a media-created ideal. Brands can tell
the youth that its okay to be dependent
on your parents for a while, or its okay to
have only traveled only a limited amount
or to focus on building career.
Such brands will achieve diferentiation
and respect.
Shriya Sengupta
Group Planning Head
Ogilvy & Mather
shriya.sengupta@ogilvy.com
Mayank Agarwal
Marketing and Business Development Director
Millward Brown
mayank.agarwal@millwardbrown.com
Zubin Tatna
National Director, Integrated Planning
MEC
zubin.tatna@mecglobal.com
RURAL MARKETING
Urban migrant workers inuence choice in rural India
Marketers have often resorted to inuencer
marketing in rural markets by reaching out
to the clichd, easy to identify Sarpanch, the
elected community leader. However, in the
last decade inuence of the Sarpanch has
been diluted by several factors, including
NGO outreach, womens education, regional
language media, improved marketing
infrastructure, and pester power the
inuence of children on their parents
purchasing.
The migrant worker is the new inuencer.
Driven to cities in search of a livelihood, the
rural migrant young person represents a
hero archetype, a breadwinner braving the
unfamiliar to provide for the family back
home. As rural insiders who have personally
experienced urban India, their opinions and
brand choices carry signicant weight.
This phenomenon also highlights a shift
in social perspective. While the Sarpanch
represents a keeper of keys who helps keep
out external inuences, the young migrant
is seen as a curator of urban experiences,
helping rural India take a peek into the urban
life, made aspirational by media exposure.
As marketers, targeting this small, localized
and receptive community of migrant workers
is a powerful means of delivering brand
advocacy and generating demand in the rural
markets, without even stepping on rural soil.
Mehul Shah
Head Strategic Planning
Contract Mumbai
mehul.shah@contractindia.co.in
Our Insights
A major private provider of life insurance, ICICI Prudential is a joint
venture of Indias ICICI Bank and the international nancial services
company Prudential plc, based in the UK.
The partners formed the company in 2000, the year India reformed
its insurance regulations, opening the sector to private companies.
They recognized an opportunity to meet the insurance needs
of Indias rising middle class with a combination of local market
knowledge and insurance industry expertise.
With the tagline, We are changing, too, ICICI Prudential attempts to
communicate that it is keeping pace with the Indian insurance market,
which is rapidly evolving with new products and players as consumers
have more disposable income and view insurance as part of their
nancial planning portfolio.
To serve the needs of these consumers, the brand developed a
exible menu of products that can be customized according to
life stage. And to improve sales and renewals, and speed claims,
ICICI Prudential simplied interaction with customers and has its
representatives conduct much of their business using tablets.
The companys social action agenda focuses on these areas: nancial
inclusion; health, education and job training for children and young
people; and encouraging company employee volunteerism. In a
partnership with Teach for India, ICICI Prudential keeps employees on
the payroll during their two-year teaching assignments.
Company ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited
Industry Insurance
Life insurance brand
grows with the market
169 168
ICICI Prudential
171 170
HDFC Life is among Indias leading life insurance
providers, ofering both individual and group coverage
that includes life and health policies; savings and
investment products, and specialized oferings for
women and children.
The company markets through a network of almost 500
branches across over 900 cities and towns, and with
bankassurance partners and Non-Banking Financial
Corporations (NBFCs). To reach younger consumers,
HDFC Life maintains a growing presence in social media.
HDFC Life recently standardized the visual look of its
brand to more efectively communicate, and it improved
the comfort of branch ofces with an initiative called
Branch Health. The brand also made it easier for
customers to transact business, even initiate a claim, on
its website.
Although the nancial needs of Indias middle class drives
the business, HFDC Life makes its products accessible to
individuals living in rural areas, as part of the corporate
commitment to the development of India, which it also
manifests in myriad philanthropic endeavors.
HDFC Life is a joint venture between Housing
Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC), an
Indian nancial services company started in 1977, and
Standard Life plc, a nancial services provider based
in Edinburgh, Scotland, and established in 1825. The
partners formed HDFC Life in 2000, the year India
opened the insurance sector to private investment.
Company HDFC Life
Industry Insurance
Insurer keeps brand
visible on social media
HDFC Life
Kwality Walls makes and markets frozen desserts and snack products
distributed in India and neighboring countries. Products come in cones,
cups, and as pops and in many avors. A wide range, including Carte
Dor, Cornetto and Paddle Pops, appeals to adults, teens, and children.
To reach an audience of young and health conscious consumers,
Kwality Walls introduced a product called Fruttare, in 2012, positioning
it as Indias rst ice candy made with real fruit juice and pulp, and
promoting the product with a Facebook campaign.
Kwality Walls reinforces its presence in major Indian cities with vendors
selling from Kwality Walls carts, and with Swirls frozen dessert parlors,
where the core concept is, Create your own Happiness.
Kwality Walls positions itself as a brand that spreads happiness,
symbolized by the brands heart-shaped logo that corporate parent
Unilever uses for a variety of dessert and snack brands in over 40
countries.
Founded in 1956, Kwality was the rst Indian company to make and
sell ice cream on a commercial scale. When the brand became part of
Hindustan Unilever in 1993, the corporate parent added the name of
Unilevers UK ice cream, Walls, making the India brand Kwality Walls.
Company Hindustan Unilever
Frozen desserts sell
as taste of happiness
173 172
Kwality Walls
Rin is an Indian laundry soap and detergent brand. Its
positioning as a cleaner that produces brighter whites
dates to the brands market introduction, in 1969, as a
soap bar with concentrated whitening ingredients.
The brand now is available in several forms including bars,
washing powder, and bleach. It continues to emphasize
the ability to produce whiter results. Recent brand
extensions, such as Rin Matic, for washing machines, and
Rin Perfect Shine also extol this functional benet.
Adding emotional appeal, Rin emphasizes the symbolic
importance of clean clothes in enhancing self-image,
condence, and social stature. The brand communicates
its whiteness positioning with its logo, a white lightning
ash, and its slogan, Super Whitness. Another slogan,
Just a Little Rin, implies that the concentrated cleaner
goes a long way, a price benet.
Rin is a brand of Hindustan Unilever Limited, Indias
largest FMCG conglomerate.
Industry Home Care
Soap promotes functional
and emotional benets
Rin
175 174
177 176
ING Vysya Bank is a leading private multinational
bank that operates retail, private, and wholesale
banking businesses throughout India, primarily in
urban areas, with a network of over 550 branches
and 640 ATMs, serving over two million customers.
Through its three business sectors the bank serves
consumers, farmers and businesses of all sizes, and
clients requiring wealth management services. The
bank recently launched a mobile platform and is
active in social media and brand promotion using
outdoor media in particular.
When the Dutch ING Group acquired a major stake
in the Indias Vysya Bank in 2002, it became the rst
foreign company to hook up with a private Indian
bank, soon after India liberalized regulations. ING
gained access to the Indian market. Vysya increased
its nancial strength.
ING Vysya Bank channels most of its public service
activities through the ING Vysya Foundation, which
focuses on improving education for economically
disadvantaged children and is part of the worldwide
Chances for Children initiative of the ING Group.
Indias Vysya bank was formed in 1930. ING Group,
the companys largest shareholder, is a global
nancial institution present in over 40 countries. ING
Vysya Bank is listed on the National and Bombay
Stock Exchanges.
Company ING Vysya Bank Limited
Industry Banks
Global institution powers
locally connected bank
ING Vysya Bank
Lakm is one of Indias leading cosmetic and skincare brands.
It ofers a complete range of beauty products and operates a
network of 225 salons in over 50 cities ofering services that
include hair styling, make-up and spa treatments. Kareena
Kapoor, a renowned Bollywood actress, is the current brand
ambassador for Lakm.
The brand also is one of the title sponsors of Lakm Fashion
Week, a premier Indian fashion event that takes place twice a
year. The event is produced in partnership with IMG Reliance,
a joint venture between Reliance Industries Limited, one of
Indias largest private sector companies, and IMG Worldwide,
the global sports marketing and entertainment agency.
Lakm is owned by Hindustan Unilever Limited, Indias largest
FMCG company. Established by a subsidiary of the Tata
Group in 1952, Lakm became the rst major cosmetics brand
produced in the recently independent India. Tata sold the
business in 1996.
Event sponsorship
communicates beauty
Lakm
179 178
One of the Indias largest public sector banks, Union Bank primarily
operates as a lender, extending loans to individuals for home, auto,
and education; to small- and medium-size business; and to farmers
and other agricultural enterprises.
The bank serves around 50 million customers through a network of
over 3,900 branches and over 6,400 ATMs, predominately in the
northern part of the country and spanning both rural and urban
areas. It operates two international branches, in Dubai and Hong
Kong, and ve representative ofces, in Abu Dhabi, Beijing, London,
Shanghai, and Sydney.
To improve customer service as a point of competitive diferentiation,
the bank recently introduced several initiatives. The Union Family
Scheme, for example, attempts to strengthen the banks relationships
with families that include multiple customers of the bank.
To better reach the unbanked, Union Bank plans to deploy 20
vans that will serve as mobile branches. The bank also operates 24
Financial Literacy and Counseling Centers. And Union Bank adopted
60 villages to help advance their socio-economic wellbeing.
Union Bank traces its commitment to helping build the nation to
the banks origins in 1919, and the dedication of its rst building two
years later, where Mahatma Gandhi spoke. The Indian government
nationalized the bank in 1969.
Company Union Bank of India
Industry Banks
Programs attempt to build
customer service advantage
181 180
Union Bank of India
183 182
Since entering the Indian market in 1984, global
personal care brand Gillette has gained market share
with a range of shaving and oral care products, and
with Duracell batteries and ashlights. But it got of
to a slow start.
Ironically, the brands enormous success in
developed markets slowed progress in India because
of the diferent shaving priorities of Indian men.
Particularly in rural areas, they have less access to
water, may use a hand-held mirror, and are more
concerned with safety.
After gaining these insights, Gillette developed an
afordable, lightweight, simplied razor specically
for Indians and other men with similar needs and
concerns. Called Gillette Guard, the razor has gained
a large following.
Clever marketing helped. Gillette created the tongue-
in-cheek group called Women Against Lazy Shaving.
A social media campaign encouraged women to
lobby their boyfriends and husbands to give up their
stubble and adopt a clean-shaven look.
Gillette introduced the rst safety razor in 1901.
Procter & Gamble bought the brand in 2005, about
a decade after Gillette entered India. The Gillette
experience in India reects Procter & Gambles
determination to drives sales in fast growing markets.
Company Procter & Gamble
Insights accelerate
penetration in India
Gillette
Good Knight is a leading household insecticide brand. It reaches
consumers throughout India and across all demographics with a full
range of products to repel and kill insects, including vapors, coils, lotions,
aerosols, and electried mats.
The brand diferentiates not only with product functionality, but also with
attitude. Rather than promoting the deadly efectiveness of its products,
Good Knight uses more gentle language to emphasize their benets.
Taglines like, Protecting happy moments, and advertising that features
family situations illustrate these benets. And Good Knight continuously
innovates to penetrate deeper into the Indian market and reach Indian
households that do not use insecticides, particularly in rural areas.
To achieve that goal, Good Knight recently introduced Fast Card, a small
paper tent that burns slowly and emits a mosquito repelling smoke. Its
priced at one rupee per card. Besides India, the brand is available in Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and other South Asian nations. Good Knight
plans to enter the African market.
Launched in 1984, by Transelektra Domestic Products, Good Knight today
is part of the consumer products division of the Godrej Group. Founded in
1897, the Godrej Group is one of Indias largest and oldest conglomerates.
Company Godrej Consumer Products Limited
Industry Home Care
Mosquito repellent
focuses on benets
185 184
Good Knight
The brand story goes full circle, starting in Ceylon where Sir Thomas
Lipton began with the purchase of tea plantations, and moving
forward to 1972, when Unilever completed its acquisition of Lipton
and marketed it in India through its subsidiary, Hindustan Unilever.
Today, Lipton Tea is available in India in a range that includes the
traditional Yellow Label, Darjeeling, and more recent entries such as
Clear Green Tea, and Iced Tea in several avors. The brand markets
the soothing benets of tea with the tagline, Drink Positive.
A social media campaign in India, called, Laugh Out Loud with
Lipton, invited people to tweet about their most stressful daily
experience and rewarded the winning submission. In a recent TV
ad, an Indian actress promoted the zero-calorie benets of Lipton
Green Tea.
To reach a new generation of tea drinkers worldwide, Lipton recently
altered its tea production process to distill more tea essence and
reduce bitterness. The brand re-launched Lipton Yellow Label.
Collaborating with the Rainforest Alliance, Lipton has focused
on sourcing its tea from plantations that are certied for their
sustainable cultivation and fair labor practices. Lipton Tea is sold in
over 150 countries.
Industry Soft Drinks
Global brand with local
roots circles back to India
Lipton
187 186
189 188
OFFLINE EXPERIENCE
Online world dictates new
role for ofine experience
In a world of ecommerce, what
happens to ofine? We need to
rethink and redene this channel
to create brand loyalty in a
promiscuous digital world. Going
forward sale channels will undergo
role reversals- where online drives
sales, ofine will drive brand and
product experience.
Consumers will need to be urged
to synergize the conveniences of
shopping online with value-added
in-store experiences. Brand theatre,
iconography, and store design will
create unique ambience. Service
will be a diferentiator.
Novel experiences, partnerships,
and giveaways will be reasons to
share the brand beyond the store.
Community and cultural events,
cause advocacy, and product
demonstrations and trials can
engage with a captive real-life
audience instead from behind a
computer screen.
We need to leverage our brands
inimitable strengths at ofine, which
is the real-world manifestation of
the brand. And some things have
a truly visceral essence only when
experienced live. You see, no online
store can replicate the smell of old
books and cofee.
Snehasis Bose
Head Strategic Planning
Contract Delhi
snehasis.bose@contractindia.co.in
Kamakshi Thareja
Account Planning Director
JWT
kamakshi.thareja@jwt.com
SEGMENTATION
Segmentation is unavoidable,
successful brands anticipate it
Our Insights
EMOTIONAL SELLING
Emotional selling diferentiates
from sameness of competition
Brands in India have traditionally
diferentiated themselves with
features and benets. However,
with the inuence of globalization,
new media, low-cost technologies,
and heightened competition,
products and services are
becoming interchangeable.
Homogeneity appears to be
becoming universal.
In this environment, brands need
to move from relying exclusively
on unique selling propositions
and also devise emotional selling
propositions. Because emotions
afect people at a hidden,
subconscious level, an emotional
appeal can be more powerful than
one based only on features and
benets.
Brands should infuse emotion
into their narrative, the story that
communicates what the brand is,
what it means to the consumer
and why the consumer should
care. The most compelling brands
stories dont tell consumers
what to feel, rather they elicit an
emotional response. Procter &
Gamble, Coke and Pepsi are among
the few brands in India that have
successfully adopted this approach.
And in an increasingly competitive
market like India, the emotional
approach may be the most reliable
way to drive brand preference.
Roma Singhal
Group Head, Planning
Ogilvy
roma.singhal@ogilvy.com
NEW EXPECTATIONS
Consumers seek satisfaction
beyond material goods
As wealth and material goods become more evenly
distributed throughout the Indian economy, new
expectations and a sense of entitlement are replacing
the early sense of appreciation and gratitude. Now Been
there, done that is too often the default reaction to
experiences that once elicited awe and excitement.
This phenomenon isnt specically Indian. Its human.
The particularly Indian expression reects the rapid
transformation of the nations economy from agrarian
to industrial and then to service-based and increasingly
experiential.
With the explosion of choice, combined with high
disposable income, products and services that not long
ago seemed well beyond reach are today considered
commonplace. Less impressed with material goods,
consumers are looking for self-improvement and even
self-transformation.
This trend accounts for the growing popularity of image
makeover workshops, cosmetic surgery groups, spiritual
gurus, coaching professionals, spas and stem cell banking
to treat future health issues. Marketers need to understand
and anticipate the needs of this changed consumer who
seeks more than the momentary experience.
Surekha Poddar
Managing Director
Millward Brown Mumbai
surekha.poddar@millwardbrown.com
The changed Indian reality has altered
the segmentation question: it is no
longer about whether segmentation is
necessary; rather its about deciding
when it makes most sense. Many
case studies support this conclusion.
In skin care, for example both Fair &
Handsome and Fair & Lovely pursue
the male grooming market, which
barely existed only a decade ago. But
how does a brand recognize when
segmentation is indicated? Here are
four guidelines:
1. Culture shifts signal segmentation
opportunities long before the
numbers do. Trend-based decisions
help brands to start early and hit the
market just when a segment gathers
a protable critical mass.
2. A at innovation curve indicates
the need for segmentation. Low
innovation categories are ripe for
share gain or market expansion
through segmentation.
3. Changes in consumer lifestyle
open new possibilities. Evolving
consumer lifestyles are opportune
for vertical segmentation (premium
realization) and horizontal
segmentation (lling niches as they
develop).
4. Growth of substitute categories
can drive the need for
segmentation. The appearance
of substitute categories signals
a signicant development in
consumer behavior that may
indicate the need to segment and
create a sharper product ofering.
Part 4
Brand Building
Best Practices
in India
Part 4 // The India Top 50 - Brand Building Best Practices
Brand experience is the
only sustainable advantage
in a crowd of like competitors
Connect constantly,
consistently and
constructively
Brands tend to forget about
customers after closing the
transaction. Even their loyalty
programs fail to constantly
connect. But brands that keep
the engagement alive by aligning
their beliefs with those of their
customers are often able to
break the barriers. Example:
As part of their commitment
to the environment, MAC, the
cosmetics brand, runs the Back
To MAC program that rewards
customers with a free lipstick when
they return six MAC primary
packaging containers.
Be consistent
with your brands
fundamental values
Be clear about what your brand
stands for in the minds of your
consumers and use those values as
a lter. Example: From its website
to in-store experience, Caf Cofee
Day uses dialogue to deliver a
consistent experience derived from
the brands fundamental values of
fun place to hangout, talk and get
inspired over a cup of cofee. Its
dialogue box identity is universal
in the signage, quirky comments
on the walls, brand tagline and
crockery.
Look at other
categories for
inspiration/ideas
Thinking outside the category
means thinking out of the box.
Sending your team as customers
on shopping trips to other
categories can yield more relevant
insights than any brain storming
session.
Prioritize
There are many aspects to
creating a unique and memorable
customer experience. Implement
those ideas that have the highest
customer impact and take the least
execution efort, while reinforcing
your brand promise.
Engage your
employees and your
business partners
Customer experience is only as
good as the people who deliver it.
Your employees and your business
partners are the two key resources
for delivering this experience
wholeheartedly. Unengaged
stakeholders means failure even
before the process is initiated.
For employees, engagement
should start at the beginning.
Reexamine hiring criteria,
measurement criteria, performance
appraisal formats, rewards and
recognition programs and training
programs to ensure complete
alignment with the companys
dened experience goals.
For business partners, especially
where some parts of the customer
journey are outsourced (e.g.
service centers for cars and
durables), the company must
clearly articulate and monitor the
customer experience.
Engaged customers are the best
brand ambassadors. They endorse
products and services and provide
information to other customers,
saving the company valuable time
and resources. Companies need
to develop innovative experiences
that leave customers with desired
memories and emotions. Only then
can brands create lifetime loyalty.
Customer acquisition is a brands
eternal quest. But in todays world
of extensive but similar choices,
how do we expect consumers
to diferentiate among mass
merchants such as Big Bazaar,
Star Bazaar and Reliance Mart; or
Vodafone, Airtel and Idea, leading
telecom providers?
There is one key diferentiator a
company can ofer to surpass its
competitors and drive customer
retention and engagement: a
uniquely branded customer
experience relevant to their
needs. Products and oferings
can be copied, whereas customer
experience is the only competitive
advantage that is sustainable and
inimitable.
Unfortunately, most Indian brands
are still battling with the basics
of customer service. On the ip
side, their customers are evolving
much faster. Indian brands do not
have the luxury of time to follow a
linear trajectory. No longer is the
customer just a buyer. Customers
are more informed and connected,
interacting with each other in
online communities to learn more
before they buy. They seek reviews
and peer recommendations and,
more often than not, they value
these over expensive company
advertisements and product
descriptions. Their standards are
high and their expectations even
higher.
To stay on top, brands will have
to deliver better customer
engagement. Their websites
should be easily navigable.
Their phone agents should be
empathetic and more empowered,
their service personnel more
informed. Brands must work
harder to stay relevant and to stay
connected with their customers.
Brands must also examine
all aspects of the customer
experience and align them across
all touch points to ensure the
brand experience is consistently
delivered. Only then will the
experience be memorable. Only
then will customers return for
more. Here are recommendations
for designing a great brand
experience:
Walk the talk
Brands must visualize the
experience from their customers
viewpoint. Start with the end in
mind: what memories do you wish
to create for your customers?
How do you want them to feel?
First dene these and then work
backwards to deliver on these
emotions and experiences.
Example: Disney Parks. The Place
Where Dreams Come True.
Zoom out
Consumers make choices on
brands before they even come in
contact with them. Think through
the entire shopping process, from
awareness to decision-making,
with a focus on understanding
needs and behavior at each stage.
Example: Uber, the transportation
service, tied up with Restaurant
Week India to ofer customers
a discount on rides to partner
restaurants. Uber also has an
ongoing incentive for new referrals.
Brand Building // Brand Experience
193 192
Indian brands must improve this
driver of engagement and retention
Landor Associates is one of the worlds leading strategic brand consulting and design rms. Founded by Walter Landor in 1941,
Landor pioneered many of the research, design, and consulting methods that are now standard in the branding industry.
www.landor.com
by Gazala Vahanvati
Senior Brand Strategist, Landor
gazala.vahanvati@landor.com

195 194
Total Customer Experience
helped drive the rapid rise
of ecommerce business
The existing
customer is your
number one brand
advocate
Knowing your customers is
foremost. Customer satisfaction
surveys do not sufce. Letting
customers speak freely beyond
checks and ratings is key.
Customers need to be identied
distinctly amid the social chatter.
Analyzing online and ofine
conversations leads to powerful
insights that can be leveraged
to identify, seed and propagate
positive word of mouth, as well
as improve future products. A
brand can thus start becoming
part of a future customers social
consciousness.
Know your future
customer
Segmentation studies sufer
from approximation. Consumers
evolve every day. Real time data
leads to real time intelligence.
Data from the store front, sales,
clicks and page views on the
website, content consumption
and conversations all need to be
integrated in a way that enables
a brand to study patterns and
predict who the next customer is
going to be. In real time.
Present information
with consistency
across channels
A top-notch search engine
optimization strategy, even
combined with an active engaging
social strategy, is not sufcient.
The information created and
shared by all stakeholders of a
brand is present across channels.
The information must present a
unied, consistent view of the
brand. Information is device
neutral, and in the mobile rst era,
it is critical that this information is
accessible across devices in the
applicable format.
Be prepared
to engage the
empowered
customer
A potential customer enters into
your real or virtual storefront.
Are you prepared to handle
this empowered customer?
Customized user experiences are
key to addressing this challenge.
A brand can leverage technology
to deliver a tailored experience
both online and ofine. Big data
analytics, session/cookie based
personalization, tech enabled
experience zones are the key
tactics.
Make a prospect a
customer and make
the relationship last
This is the penultimate step.
Traditional buying experiences
do not address the problem of
the honeymoon period fading
away quickly. A personalized
and structured welcome and
on-boarding strategy can result
in the moment of delight lasting
over several weeks, even months.
Technology plays a crucial role
in capturing real time feedback
and tailoring the on-boarding
experience. Customers also want
to belong to a larger community
to which they can connect, engage
and share experiences. A brand
can make this happen. It paves
the way for the next step, brand
advocacy, and TCE goes full cycle.
Until the recent elections, India
had experienced the worst
slowdown in more than a quarter
of a century, which resulted in
a sharp decline in consumer
condence. Despite these
conditions, the ecommerce sector
continued to grow at a rapid rate.
Factors driving this rapid
ecommerce growth include
a sharp rise in Internet usage,
doubling in two years to 200
million in 2013, and a favorable
demographic landscape. The
average age of Indias population
is 27, and over 450 million are in
the 15-to-34 age group.
Over and above these factors,
however, there is a focused
strategy that now has become a
benchmark for the ecommerce
industry. This common yet
diferentiating strategy that
cuts through all the successful
ecommerce businesses is Total
Customer Experience (TCE).
TCE is a customers journey from
the rst touch point to the last in a
purchase cycle, and then through
ownership and repurchase. For
a brand that aims to be the most
recognized, trusted, bought
and recommended, a solid TCE
strategy and plan is a must do.
Traditionally, TCE was
implemented once a customer
entered into a brand relationship.
Today, a potential customer
starts experiencing a brand
subconsciously much before he or
she even thinks about purchasing.
For ecommerce, the online focus
is moving from delivering the right
product to inducing or seeding
purchase by using technology and
analytics. And ofine every single
interaction from the customer
service center to the delivery and
returns process is aligned with the
brand promise. Here are a few key
considerations a brand must take
into account when building a TCE
strategy.
Brand Building // Total Customer Experience
The lessons apply to brands online
and ofine across categories
Blue Hive India is a joint venture
between Wunderman, JWT and
Mindshare and was created to
increase coordination and synergies
among Fords WPP agencies and
to ensure best practice client
partnerships and delivery.
www.thebluehive.com
by Vivek Das
Digital and CRM Lead, Blue Hive, India
vivek.das@thebluehive.com
Rising incomes, desire
for more choice drive
growth of FMCG sector
like Hindustan Unilever, Procter
& Gamble, ITC and Cadbury are
adding more premium oferings to
their product portfolios.
Blurring retail
channels
Companies are increasingly
using retail channels other than
the traditional grocers to boost
sales and target new consumers.
The fastest growing traditional
trade channel in India today is
chemists. This development is
potentially important for FMCG
brands because chemists normally
ofer more display area, attract
a diferent prole of shopper
than traditional grocers, and add
credibility to the products sold.
Companies like Hindustan Unilever,
Procter & Gamble, Dabur the
Ayurvedic manufacturer, and
cosmetic and health care producer
Emami have long sold OTC
tablets, diapers, feminine hygiene
and other relevant products
through the chemist channel. The
diference today is that sales of
beauty products and premium
cosmetics are shifting from
neighborhood grocers to chemists.
Chemists are driving sales of
premium creams, deodorants,
soaps, face wash and shampoo.
LOreal India is pushing its LOreal
and Garnier brands through this
channel.
Similarly, ITC is targeting pan
plus outlets, tobacco shops that
also sell FMCG products, to ofer
even its premium cookies, cream
biscuits and premium deodorants.
The strategy is in sharp contrast
to that of ITCs rivals, which sell
mostly mid-market confectionery,
snacks and shampoo sachets
through this channel. As part of
the initiative, ITC is also training the
panwallahs, pan plus shop owners,
to sell soaps, biscuits and noodles.
Consumers are mostly purchasing
from this channel to top-up their
monthly requirements.
Digital and mobile
use increasing
Both Internet and mobile use is
increasing dramatically. Indian
consumers are researching more
on the Internet before making
purchase decisions, highlighting
the need for companies to build
brands online. Mobile ad spending
by FMCG companies quadrupled
in 2013. For example, Surf Excel
advertised its premium liquid
product with a digital campaign
that helped build consumer
awareness of the brands stain
removal ability, a key benet.
Until 2013, Indias FMCG (Fast
Moving Consumer Goods) sector
had experienced ve consecutive
years of double-digit growth.
While the healthy expansion
then continued for many FMCG
categories, overall sector growth
moderated because of slower
performance in some large
categories, such as biscuits, soaps,
detergents, and rened oils.
These market dynamics suggest
that sustained growth for FMCG
brands requires both serving
existing customers and developing
new business. The strategies for
growing the FMCG pie include:
introducing new products,
expanding geographically,
stretching to other market
segments like premium, and
entering alternative distribution
channels.
Driving the potential expansion of
FMCG is the vast size of the Indian
market for FMCG products and
the increasing desire for choice
among Indian consumers. Both
Indian and international FMCG
brands face great opportunities.
Expanding the
product portfolio
Many brands today are widening
their product portfolios to reach
new market segments and
enter new categories. Procter &
Gamble, which already maintains
a substantial presence in India,
plans to introduce almost its entire
product range over the next few
years. Hindustan Unilever launched
Dove Hair Oil, until recently a
category dominated by Indian
companies like Marico and Dabur.
Brands also are expanding to
smaller and rural markets. In
2013, towns with populations
under 100,000 grew much faster
than the dense urban centers.
Cadbury India has increased its
sales infrastructure with more
refrigerated vending machines and
expanded its reach in rural India.
Hindustan Unilever is increasing its
small town penetration for some
of its premium brands, like the
detergent Surf Excel.
Expanding the
premium segment
Unlike previous economic
slowdowns, where consumers
mostly traded down, today they
seem willing to buy premium
products. Rising incomes, higher
aspirations and greater choice
drive this attitude shift.
Today, the demand for premium
products is sufcient for brands
to achieve the economies of
scale necessary for business
viability. That was not the case
just a few years ago. And FMCG
companies no longer market their
premium ofering exclusively to
urban consumers. With increased
purchasing power, consumers in
smaller markets and rural areas
also are potential customers for
premium products.
The consumer willingness to spend
more for a premium product
applies particularly to healthier
foods and beverages, such as
cornakes, baked potato chips,
diet beverages, juices or green
tea. Consequently, companies
Brand Building // Expanding FMCG
197 196
Both Indian and international
brands face great opportunities
Millward Brown is a leading global research agency
specializing in advertising efectiveness, strategic
communication, media and brand equity research. Millward
Brown helps clients grow great brands through comprehensive
research-based qualitative and quantitative solutions.
www.millwardbrown.com
by Urmi Saha
Account Director, Millward Brown
urmi.saha@millwardbrown.com
Youth are hacking
mainstream culture
with a new edgy voice
Action Points
for reaching
the Unsanskaari
generation
The pressure points
The Unsanskaaris are up against
ridiculous rules and unwarranted
sanctions on their free speech by
the self-certied moral brigade.
They cant gure out why the
Supreme Court cant handle
same-sex relationships, why
theres a curfew limit on partying
in Bangalore or why they have to
be over 25 years old to buy liquor
in Mumbai. These archaic laws,
stubborn old practices and heavy
censorship just dont add up in
the minds of young but mature
Indians.
From the assertion of a Khaap
Panchayat, or local council, that
chowmein creates hormone
imbalance that can lead to rape,
to the claim by spiritual leader
Baba Ramdev that yoga can cure
homosexuality, the youth have
been dragged into controversies
by those who have taken it upon
themselves to protect young
people from the evil inuences
of western culture. To counter
these ridiculous notions, the
Unsanskaaris have employed their
sharp wit and reduced this moral
high ground to sheer nonsense.
In principle, the Unsanskaaris are
training their wit on any subject
that is outdated, irrelevant,
ridiculous or pretentious. For them
no topic is taboo, no one is spared.
They are in the mood to puncture
mainstream conventions and they
arent missing any opportunities. A
line has been drawn and its time to
take sides.
Lessons for brands
Brands that continue play it safe
and depict the youth as party
loving YOLOs (You Only Live
Once) without a care in the world
risk being irrelevant or even worse,
being a part of the mainstream.
Marketers need to acknowledge
this shift in mood and employ
strategies that resolve this tension.
Theres an opportunity to create
ideas and platforms that channel
this prolic creativity, which is
showing up organically without
much help from ofcial sources.
YouTube has recognized their
impact and promoted some
of these groups via YouTube
FanFest an ofine engagement
platform for fans to connect
with YouTube celebrities. A few
brands like Snapdeal, Indias
online marketplace, have even
started adopting these channels
as legitimate advertising
opportunities, but have limited
their exposure to brand mentions
and not-so-subtle plugs. There
is huge room to create content
in a way that endorses a brands
point of view without hard-
selling the product. A case in
point is Chipotles Farmed
and Dangerous video, which
promotes the brands sustainable
farming practices using satire
to make a point. This approach
of values integration rather than
product integration seems to
be the apt formula for creating
branded content in this space.
The success of the Unsanskaaris
also points to a growing maturity
of this audience. In the past,
brands and content makers have
contested whether we have a
rened palate for intelligent,
layered narratives. The viral
success of these groups shows
that there is a wide appreciation
for ner, nuanced story telling,
which was probably limited to
smaller audiences earlier.
The time is ripe for creating
ideas and platforms that channel
their Unsanskaari cravings and
creativity and help them break
free. Until that happens they
will continue hacking away at
mainstream culture and it will get
increasingly difcult to engage
with them from the wrong side of
the fence.
Members of the breakaway
Unsanskaari generation, born in
the post 1991 liberalization era,
have a tough time dealing with the
dogmas of previous generations.
In spite of their potent rocket fuel
of ambition, global exposure and
self-condence, they continue
to be grounded in a world where
someone else sets the agenda.
In that world, this generation
nds that the media is biased,
politics is dirty, laws are archaic,
TV entertainment is clichd and
the moral codes thrust upon them
are stiing. Mainstream culture has
failed them. For some time now
theyve been resorting to jugaad,
ingenuity and clever subversion of
sanctions to meet their goals.
But lately theres a marked shift
in their attitude towards these
old world values and impositions.
And open platforms like YouTube
reveal whats actually brimming
underneath Indian youth have
had enough of the negotiated
existence that theyve been
granted.
Hacking
mainstream culture
Comedy forums like All India
Bakchod and India Viral Fever
have hacked mainstream culture
and have made some space for the
real voice of the youth to be heard.
The biting sarcasm and the liberal
use of profanity in their videos
are telling signs of a change in
tack. Theyre ripping apart cultural
clichs and are even comfortable
mocking their own aws and
insecurities.
Their tongue-in-cheek humor
allows them to take on burning
issues without sounding too
abrasive. Our embarrassments,
inconveniences, and hypocrisies
can no longer hide in the shadows.
Topics that were once taboo, are
out in the open and the reality of
our everyday lives is laid bare by
the Unsanskaaris.
Brand Building // The Next Generation
199 198
Brands need to listen attentively
and tailor their content and tone
Grey is a global advertising network,
part of the WPP Group. Under the
banner of Famously Efective Since
1917, the agency serves a blue-chip
client roster of many of the worlds
best known companies.
www.grey.com
by Devang Raiyani
Assistant Vice President, Planning
Grey
devang.raiyani@grey.com
Be unpretentious.
This generation can spot
a fake from a mile away.
Channel the prolic
creativity of this generation.
Create open platforms.
Ofer the pure joy
of unrestrained,
unadulterated experiences.
Integrate brand values into
the brand narrative. Dont
just sponsor content.
Dont shy away from
sophisticated narratives.
Theres room for nuanced,
intelligent storytelling.
This article rst appeared in the publication Campaign India.
Western brands succeed
by understanding eastern
customs and traditions
We discovered that contrasting perspectives
of happiness was the crucial link that explained
difering eastern and western attitudes toward
consuming sweets.
The West has a strong belief in independence
and autonomy of the self (individualism). The self
is the center of thought, action and motivation;
and happiness is found in personal striving and
fulllment of desires. In this context, eating
chocolate is a personal pleasure that satises a
private craving. A lot of chocolate advertising
inevitably reects this individualistic cultural
perspective of happiness.
In East Asian cultures, the self-in-relationship-
with-others (collectivism) is the locus of thought,
action and motivation. In contrast to the West,
eastern cultures dene happiness in terms of
interpersonal connectedness and realization of
social harmony.
From alien treat
to Indian sweet
Consequently, Indians connect the consumption
of sweets with occasions celebrated collectively,
and often ritually accompanied by meetha,
traditional sweets that are never in short supply at
festivals and major life cycle events, such as school
graduation, marriage, or the birth of a child.
One could argue that its not as if people in the
West do not celebrate such happy occasions
together, but surely there is no ritual mandating
sweet consumption. Only in India does sweet
meetha perform the role of a happiness ritual.
This insight about how meetha is culturally distinct
from chocolate formed the heart of our new
strategy. We re-purposed Cadbury chocolate
as meetha in order to get a share of meetha
occasions. We made this strategy more actionable
by signing of all communication with the
traditional greeting, Kuch meetha ho jaaye! a call
to have something sweet.
Over the years, our executions have spanned
many traditional meetha celebrations and shubh
aarambh, new beginnings of all kinds, such as
journeys, new jobs, new purchases and forming
new relationships.
The consistency of the Kuch meetha ho jaaye!
proposition over the last decade has helped
Cadbury Dairy Milk assume the role of meetha
and it has delivered a massive llip to the brands
growth trajectory and the Cadbury bottom line.
Lessons for brands
Despite globalization, local customs and tastes are
as distinct as ever. Ignoring these distinctions is like
trying to t a square peg into a round hole. We also
learned that tokenism doesnt work.
Delving deep into Indian culture informed our
strategy. It helped us become relevant and, by
transposing culture codes, we persuaded a new
target audience to view an unaccustomed product
experience in a new light. With this new cultural t,
the product became familiar and loved, generating
a desire for purchase.
Our experience also shows that aligning a brand
with the local culture does not always need a new
product, but often merely astute positioning in a
culturally relevant way. Happy cultural branding!
The diference between the East and
West is a much-discussed topic, and
most of us agree such diferences
exist and they impact marketing. Yet
all the literature and understanding on
the subject often goes unrecognized
and unused in practice. Instead,
most eforts at cultural relevance are
supercial at best and usually relegated
only to packaging iconography and/or
a avor variant.
When large global brands look at
new geographies to conquer, many
habitually try to change and even
transform local tastes and behaviors
usually unsuccessfully. Despite two
decades of investment, Kelloggs still
struggles to capture a major share of
the Indian breakfast market.
Others undertake expensive product
re-engineering to be culturally
acceptable in new markets, but
that approach is time and capital
consuming, and risky. McDonalds
and KFC eventually attracted Indian
fans, but not before generating public
protest about cultural or environmental
insensitivity.
Our experience with Cadbury Dairy
Milk shows that there is a middle way
between these two extremes thats less
costly in time and money, but requires
deep cultural insight.
Solving a
cultural mystery
Cadbury Dairy Milk started out in
India by selling to kids. The brand
believed, correctly, that kids would
be more open to new tastes than
their tradition-bound parents.
This approach had unanticipated
consequences, however. Cadbury
became perceived as an occasional
foreign treat for kids. And as people
grew up, they grew out of chocolate.
In fact, adults rejected chocolate. If
cross-cultural acceptance seemed to
happen naturally for tea, cricket, even
the English language, we wondered,
why did the average Indian respond so
coldly to this innocuous sweet?
Our eforts to understand this
phenomenon led us to explore
cultural diferences more deeply.
Brand Building // Bridging Cultures
201 200
Cultural insights and relevance
can save brands time and money
communication network
in India. The company
comprises strong oferings
in the following disciplines:
advertising, social media,
direct marketing, data
analytics, retail marketing,
rural marketing, activation,
public relations and
healthcare.
www.ogilvy.com
by Ganapathy Balagopalan
Senior VP Planning, Ogilvy & Mather
ganapathy.balagopalan@ogilvy.com
Part 5
Resources
Part 5 // Resources - Methodology
BrandZ
Brand
Valuation Methodology
205 204
The brands that appear in this
report are the most valuable
in India.
They were selected for inclusion
in the BrandZ Top 50 Most
Valuable Indian Brands based on
the unique and objective BrandZ
brand valuation methodology that
combines extensive and on-going
consumer research with rigorous
nancial analysis.
The BrandZ valuation
methodology can be uniquely
distinguished from its competitors
by the way we obtain consumer
viewpoints. We conduct
worldwide, on-going, in-depth
quantitative consumer research,
and build up a global picture of
brands on a category-by-category
and country-by-country basis.
Globally, our research covers two
million consumers and more than
10,000 diferent brands in over
30 countries. In India we have
studied 800 diferent brands
in 60 categories. This intensive,
in-market consumer research
diferentiates the BrandZ
methodology from competitors
that rely only on a panel of
experts or purely nancial and
market desk research.
Before reviewing the details of
this methodology, consider these
three fundamental questions: why
is brand important; why is brand
valuation important; and what
makes BrandZ the denitive
brand valuation tool?
Importance
of brand
Brands embody a core promise of
values and benets consistently
delivered. Brands provide clarity
and guidance for choices made
by companies, consumers,
investors and other stakeholders.
Brands provide the signposts we
need to navigate the consumer
and B2B landscapes.
At the heart of a brands value
is its ability to appeal to relevant
customers and potential
customers. BrandZ uniquely
measures this appeal and
validates it against actual sales
performance. Brands that succeed
in creating the greatest attraction
power are those that are:
Meaningful
In any category, these brands
appeal more, generate greater
love and meet the individuals
expectations and needs.
Diferent
These brands are unique in a
positive way and set the trends,
staying ahead of the curve for the
benet of the consumer.
Salient
They come spontaneously to
mind as the brand of choice for
key needs.
Importance of
brand valuation
Brand valuation is a metric that
quanties the worth of these
powerful but intangible corporate
assets. It enables brand owners,
the investment community and
others to evaluate and compare
brands and make faster and
better-informed decisions.
Distinction
of BrandZ
BrandZ is the only brand
valuation tool that peels away
all of the nancial and other
components of brand value
and gets to the corehow
much brand alone contributes
to corporate value. This core,
what we call Brand Contribution,
diferentiates BrandZ.
Part A
We start with the corporation. In
some cases, a corporation owns
only one brand. All Corporate
Earnings come from that brand.
In other cases, a corporation
owns many brands. And we need
to apportion the earnings of the
corporation across a portfolio of
brands.
To make sure we attribute the
correct portion of Corporate
Earnings to each brand, we analyze
nancial information from annual
reports and other sources, such
as Kantar Worldpanel and Kantar
Retail. This analysis yields a metric
we call the Attribution Rate.
We multiply Corporate Earnings
by the Attribution Rate to arrive at
Branded Earnings, the amount of
Corporate Earnings attributed to a
particular brand. If the Attribution
Rate of a brand is 50 percent, for
example, then half the Corporate
Earnings are identied as coming
from that brand.
Part B
What happened in the past or
even whats happening today
is less important than the
prospects for future earnings.
Predicting future earnings requires
adding another component
to our BrandZ formula. This
component assesses future
earnings prospects as a multiple
of current earnings. We call this
component the Brand Multiple. Its
similar to the calculation used by
nancial analysts to determine the
market value of stocks (Example:
6X earnings or 12X earnings).
Information supplied by Bloomberg
data helps us calculate a Brand
Multiple. We take the Branded
Earnings and multiply that number
by the Brand Multiple to arrive at
what we call Financial Value.
We now have the value of
the branded business as a
proportion of the total value of
the corporation. But this branded
business value is still not quite the
core that we are after. To arrive
at Brand Value, we need to peel
away a few more layers, such as
the rational factors that inuence
the value of the branded business,
for example: price, convenience,
availability and distribution.
Because a brand exists in the
mind of the consumer, we have
to assess the brands uniqueness
and its ability to stand out from
the crowd, generate desire and
cultivate loyalty. We call this
unique role played by brand,
Brand Contribution.
Heres what makes BrandZ so
unique and important. BrandZ
is the only brand valuation
methodology that obtains this
customer viewpoint by conducting
worldwide on-going, in-depth
quantitative consumer research,
online and face-to-face, building
up a global picture of brands
on a category-by-category and
country-by-country basis. Our
research now covers over two
million consumers and more than
10,000 diferent brands in over
30 countries.
Now we take the Financial
Value and multiply it by Brand
Contribution, which is expressed
as a percentage of Financial Value.
The result is Brand Value. Brand
Value is the dollar amount a brand
contributes to the overall value
of a corporation. Isolating and
measuring this intangible asset
reveals an additional source of
shareholder value that otherwise
would not exist.
Introduction
The Valuation Process
Step 1: Calculating Financial Value
Step 2: Calculating Brand Contribution
Step 3: Calculating
Brand Value
Part 5 // Resources - Methodology
Why BrandZ
is the
denitive Brand
valuation methodology
207 206
All brand valuation methodologies are
similar - up to a point.
All methodologies use nancial research
and sophisticated mathematical formulas
to calculate current and future earnings
that can be attributed directly to a
brand rather than to the corporation.
This exercise produces an important but
incomplete picture.
Whats missing? The picture of the brand
at this point lacks input from the people
whose opinions are most important - the
consumer. This is where the BrandZ
methodology and the methodologies of
our competitors part company.
How does the
competition determine
the consumer view?
Interbrand derives the consumer point
of view from panels of experts who
contribute their opinions. The Brand
Finance methodology employees a
complicated accounting method called
Royalty Relief Valuation.

Why is the BrandZ
methodology superior?
BrandZ goes much further. Once we
have the important, but incomplete,
nancial picture of the brand, we
communicate with consumers -
constantly. Our on-going, in-depth
quantitative research includes two
million consumers and more than 10,000
brands in over 30 countries.
Whats the
BrandZ benet?
The BrandZ methodology produces
important benets for two broad
audiences.
- Members of the nancial community
-including analysts, shareholders,
investors and CEOs - depend on
BrandZ for the most reliable and
accurate brand value information
available.
- Brand owners turn to BrandZ to
more deeply understand the causal
links between brand strength, sales
and prots and to translate those
insights into strategies for building
brand equity.
209 208
Part 5 // Resources - BrandZ
Reports
BrandZ
is the denitive
resource for brand equity
knowledge and insight
BrandZ Top 100
Most Valuable Global
Brands 2014
The report includes
brand valuations
and proles of key
categories along with
analysis and insights
about building and
sustaining strong brands
worldwide.
BrandZ Top 50
Most Valuable Latin
American Brands 2013
The report proles the
most valuable brands of
Argentina, Brazil, Chile,
Colombia, Mexico, and
Peru and explores the
socio-economic context
for brand growth in the
region.
The Chinese Golden
Weeks in Fast Growth
Cities
With research and
case studies the report
examines the shopping
attitudes and habits of
Chinas rising middle
class and explores
opportunities for brands
in many categories.
The Chinese New Year
in Next Growth Cities
The report explores
how Chinese families
celebrate this ancient
festival and describes
how the holiday
unlocks year-round
opportunities for
brands and retailers,
especially in Chinas
Lower Tier cities.
The Power and Potential
of the Chinese Dream
The Power and Potential
of the Chinese Dream is
rich with knowledge and
insight and forms part of
a growing library of WPP
reports about China. It
explores the meaning
and signicance of
the Chinese Dream for
Chinese consumers and
its potential impact on
brands.
Beyond Trust: Engaging
Consumers in the Post-
Recession World
An Index based on
BrandZ, TrustR
measures the extent
to which consumers
trust and are willing to
recommend individual
brands. High TrustR
correlates with bonding,
sales and brand value.
Complete information
is available from WPP
companies.
BrandZ Top 100 Most
Valuable Chinese Brands
2014
The report proles Chinese
brands, outlines major
trends driving brand
growth and includes
commentary on the
growing inuence of
Chinese brands at home
and abroad.
ValueD: Balancing
Desire and Price for
Brand Success
An index based on
BrandZ, ValueD
measures the gap
between the consumers
desire for a brand and
perception of the brands
price. It helps brands
optimize sales, prot and
positioning. Complete
information is available
from WPP companies
Reports, apps and iPad magazines powered by BrandZ
www.brandz.com
Get the BrandZ Top 100 Most
Valuable Global Brands, the Latin
America Top 50, the China Top 100
and many more insightful reports
on your smartphone or tablet.
To download the apps for the
BrandZ rankings go to
www.brandz.com/mobile (for
iPhone and Android). The iPad
interactive magazine BrandZ Top
100 is packed with exclusive content
and available from the Apple App
store (search for BrandZ 100).
BrandZ is the worlds largest and
most reliable customer-focussed
source of brand equity knowledge
and insight. To learn more about
BrandZ data or studies, please
visit www.brandz.com, or contact
any WPP company.
BrandZ
on the move
For the iPad magazine search
BrandZ 100 on iTunes.
BrandZ Latin America on iTunes.
Golden Weeks on iTunes.
for Chinese New Year on iTunes.
Part 5 // Resources - WPP Company Contributors
WPP Company
Contributors
213 212
These companies contributed knowledge,
expertise and perspective to the report.
Blue Hive India is a joint venture
between Wunderman, JWT and
Mindshare and was created to increase
co-ordination and synergies amongst
Fords WPP agencies and to ensure
best practice client partnerships
and delivery. Blue Hive handles all
aspects of Fords marketing, including
above-the-line, digital, DM, CRM and
media planning. Blue Hive ofers a full
service, integrated ofering, created
to respond to the rapidly changing
consumer and media landscapes.
All disciplines and tribes have been
physically co-located and work in a
totally open and inclusive manner,
located in Gurgaon, Delhi NCR.
www.thebluehive.com
Rajeev Rakshit
Managing Partner, Blue Hive India
rajeev.rakshit@thebluehive.com
Contract, a member of the JWT
network, is an integrated and
independent communications
company that specializes in four
practices viz. Advertising, Consulting,
Design and Digital. The latter are
driven through the three specialist
verticals Core Consulting, Design
Sutra and iContract. It operates
through three ofces in Mumbai, Delhi
and Bangalore with 300 plus people.
Contract creates brand conversations
for some of Indias most admired and
iconic brands including brands such as
Asian Paints, Acer, Amira Pure Foods,
Britannia, Dabur, Dominos, Dainik
Jagran, Edelweiss, Godrej, HSBC,
Jaypee Associates, JK Tyres, Kraft-
Cadbury(Mondelez), Microsoft, NIIT,
Provogue, Paytm, RNA Corp, Revlon,
STAR Plus, Sahara Group, Shoppers
Stop, Shell, Sony Music India, Sugar
Free, Slice, Ten Sports, Tata Motors
(International Market), Tata Tele
Services, Tata Docomo, Tata Photon,
USL and UTI Mutual Fund amongst
others.
www.contractindia.co.in
Mr. Rana Barua
Chief Executive ofcer
rana.barua@contractindia.co.in
Grey is a global advertising network.
Under the banner of Famously
Efective Since 1917, the agency
serves a blue-chip client roster of
many of the worlds best known
companies: Procter & Gamble,
GlaxoSmithKline, Diageo, Pzer,
Canon, 3M, Eli Lilly, Boehringer
Ingelheim and Allianz. In Asia, Grey
Group covers 28 cities in 16 countries
and manages branding for some of the
biggest brands. In India, the agency
has prestigious clients like Britannia,
Honda, Dell, P&G, ITC, Ferrero, Adobe,
DHL, Volkswagen, Star, GSK, Indian
Oil, Big FM, Fox Traveller, NGC & Tea
Board among others. Grey India has
ofces in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore &
Kolkata.
www.grey.com
Mr Sunil Lulla
Chairman & Managing Director
sunil.lulla@grey.com
GroupM is the leading global
media investment management
operation. It serves as the parent
company to WPP media agencies
including Mindshare, Maxus, MEC,
MediaCom, and Motivator in India.
Our primary purpose is to maximize
the performance of WPPs media
communications agencies on behalf
of our clients, our stakeholders and
our people by operating as a parent
and collaborator in performance-
enhancing activities such as trading,
content creation, sports, digital,
nance, proprietary tool development
and other business-critical capabilities.
The agencies that comprise GroupM
are all global operations in their own
right with leading market positions.
The focus of GroupM is the intelligent
application of physical and intellectual
scale to benet trading, innovation,
and new communication services, to
bring competitive advantage to our
clients and our companies.
www.groupm.com
CVL Srinivas
CEO, GroupM South Asia
cvl.srinivas@groupm.com
360 degrees total communication
solutions to its clients from across
its six ofces in the country.
Hungama Digital Services and Social
Wavelength for digital; Encompass for
experiential marketing; Design@JWT
for branding architecture, Thompson
Social for social development sector
communications; Design C for 3D
displays and exhibitions; and JWT
Rural for rural communications. Indias
best and most admired blue chip
clients work with JWT. These include
Airtel, Pepsico, FritoLay, ITC, Godrej,
Hindustan Unilever, GSK Consumer
Healthcare, Hero Moto Corp, Ford,
Nike, Nestle, Nokia, UB, Kingsher,
Kelloggs, Tisco and Exide among
others. JWT has swept awards across
National and International award
shows this year, making it the most
awarded Indian agency at Cannes and
Goafest 2014.
www.jwt.com
Colvyn Harris
CEO
colvyn.harris@jwt.com
Genesis Burson-Marsteller is a
leading public relations and public
afairs consultancy that delivers
integrated communication services
to some of the best global and Indian
companies. Our focus is on creating
real measurable impact on the clients
business through evidence based,
ideas driven and result oriented
campaigns. The network we have
created across South Asia includes
wholly owned ofces in seven of
Indias key metros and a strong
afliate footprint in over 200 cities
across India and in neighbouring
countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh,
Pakistan, Bhutan and Nepal.
Committed to Being More, we are one
seamless team that has a common
purpose and attitude: integrated
across four practices (namely, Brand
and Consumer, Corporate and
Financial, Telecom and Technology
as well as Health and Wellness) and
Centres of Excellence (Public Afairs,
Corporate Responsibility, Digital
Studio, Client Studio, Step Up, The
Outstanding Speakers Bureau, The
Content & Design Bureau, Crisis &
Issues Cluster, The GBM Newsroom),
to assist clients achieve their business
objectives.
www.burson-marsteller.com
Deepshikha Dharmaraj
Chief Marketing & Growth Ofcer
deepshikha.dharmaraj@bm.com
Part 5 // Resources - WPP Company Contributors
215 214
Maxus is a global network of local
media agencies with services including
communications strategy, media
planning and buying, digital marketing,
social media strategy, SEO, PPC, direct
response media, data analytics, and
marketing ROI evaluation. The team
of around 2,000 people across 55
markets worldwide work for some
of the worlds most well-known
advertisers, and Maxus has been the
fastest growing agency network in
2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. (Source:
RECMA 2013)
Maxus is part of GroupM, the
worlds largest media investment
management group that serves as the
parent company for all of WPPs media
agencies, and which buys over one
third of the worlds media every day.
www.maxusglobal.com
Kartik Sharma
Managing Director, Maxus South Asia
Kartik.sharma@maxusglobal.com
Founded in 1931 by rugby Springbok
Fred Smollan, the Smollan Group
opened its doors initially as a Regional
South African based sales agency.
With its pedigree in eldmarketing,
the Group has evolved to ofer
a diverse range of outsourced
marketing services to multiple
channels across a broad spectrum of
industries. With unrivalled industry
experience, exceptional human
platform and sophisticated systems,
the Group has a legacy of providing
consistent excellence in operational
execution. This proud past and solid
foundation stands the Group in good
stead as we look to the future as a
global business. With a dedicated and
growing team of 50,000 members
spread across the world, we believe in
even greater things to come over the
next 80 years.
www.smollan.co.za
Rajan Zachariah
Country Head
Rajan.Zachariah@smollan.co.in
Mindshare is a global media and
marketing services network with
billings in excess of $27.8 billion
(source: RECMA). The network
consists of 113 ofces in 82 countries
throughout North America, Latin
America, Europe, Middle East,
and Asia Pacic, each dedicated
to forging competitive marketing
advantage for businesses and their
brands. Mindshare is part of GroupM,
which oversees the media investment
management sector for WPP, the
worlds leading communications
services group.
www.mindshareworld.com
Ravi Rao
Leader, Mindshare, South Asia
ravi.rao@mindshareworld.com
MEC is a global media company
specializing in the development,
management and implementation
of communications campaigns,
locally, nationally, regionally and
internationally. MEC delivers value
by creating, implementing and
measuring communication solutions
that actively engage people with
brands. With 4,000 highly talented
and motivated people in 84
countries, it is one of the top media
communications specialists and is
part of GroupM. Their services include
communication channel planning,
research and consumer insight, media
investment management, worldwide
client services, sponsorship and
entertainment marketing and through
its digital division a full service digital
media consultancy.
www.mecglobal.co.uk
T Gangadhar
Managing Director, MEC India
t.gangadhar@mecglobal.com
Consistently ranked among the worlds
top digital, CRM and mobile agencies,
Wunderman delivers deeply connected
brand experiences, consumer
engagements, data and insights, and
health care marketing solutions that
build brands and businesses. We
blend creative, data and technology to
connect customers to moments that
truly matter, ranging from big iconic
moments to deeply personal moments
that recognize individuality. Founded
by Lester Wunderman in 1958, the
agency now has 175 ofces in 60
countries. Best Buy, Citibank, Coca-
Cola, Ford, Microsoft, Novartis, Pzer,
Telefnica, Shell, United Health Group
and leading local brands are among
our clients. Wunderman is part of the
Young & Rubicam Group.
www.wunderman.co.uk
Rahul Guha
Managing Director, India
Rahul.guha@wunderman.com
WPP is the worlds largest
communications services
group with billings of US$72.3
billion and revenues of US$17.3
billion. Through its operating
companies, the Group
provides a comprehensive
range of advertising and
marketing services including
advertising & media
investment management;
data investment management;
public relations & public
afairs; branding & identity;
healthcare communications;
direct, digital, promotion
& relationship marketing,
specialist communications and
retail and shopper marketing.
The company employs nearly
175,000 people (including
associates) in over 3,000
ofces across 110 countries.
For more information, visit
www.wpp.com.
WPP was named Holding
Company of the Year at
the 2014 Cannes Lions
International Festival of
Creativity for the fourth year
running. WPP was also named,
for the third consecutive year,
the Worlds Most Efective
Holding Company in the 2014
Efe Efectiveness Index, which
recognizes the efectiveness of
marketing communications.
www.wpp.com
communication network in India. The
company comprises strong oferings
in the following disciplines: advertising,
social media, direct marketing, data
analytics, retail marketing, rural
marketing, activation, public relations
and healthcare. It has been a pioneer
in the industry in many of these
disciplines. It also ofers marketing
services for global clients out of its
Bangalore ofce. The network is a
much awarded and recognised agency
in Asia Pacic- both in creativity and
efectiveness - the twin peaks of
communication. In fact, at the most
recent Asia Marketing Efectiveness
Awards in May 2014, Ogilvy Mumbai
was named the most efective ofce
in Asia Pacic. Ogilvy India has helped
build some of Indias largest brands
for companies like Vodafone, Unilever,
Lenovo, IBM, Mondelez, Pernod Ricard,
Tata Motors, Pidilite Industries Ltd,
Bajaj Auto, Titan Industries Ltd, Asian
Paints and Tata Sky to name a few.
Worldwide, Ogilvy & Mather is one of
the largest marketing communication
companies. It was named the Cannes
Lions Network of the Year for three
consecutive years since 2012; and
also won the Worlds most Efective
Agency Network from the Efe World
Index in 2012 and 2013.
www.ogilvy.com
Piyush Pandey
Executive Chairman and Creative
Director, Ogilvy South Asia
piyush.pandey@ogilvy.com
Millward Brown is a leading global
research agency specializing in
advertising efectiveness, strategic
communication, media and brand
equity research. Millward Brown
helps clients grow great brands
through comprehensive research-
based qualitative and quantitative
solutions. Specialist global practices
include Millward Brown Digital (a
leader in digital efectiveness and
intelligence), Firey Millward Brown
(our global qualitative network),
a Neuroscience Practice (using
neuroscience to optimize the value of
traditional research techniques), and
Millward Brown Vermeer (a strategy
consultancy helping companies
maximize nancial returns on brand
and marketing investments). Millward
Brown operates in more than 55
countries and is part of Kantar, WPPs
data investment management division.
www.millwardbrown.com
Prasun Basu
Managing Director,
Millward Brown South Asia
prasun.basu@millwardbrown.com
Landor Associates is one of the
worlds leading strategic brand
consulting and design rms.
Founded by Walter Landor in 1941,
Landor pioneered many of the
research, design, and consulting
methods that are now standard
in the branding industry. Landors
holistic approach to branding is a
balance of rigorous, business-driven
thinking and exceptional creativity.
Its work spans the full breadth of
branding services. With 26 ofces
in 20 countries, Landors current
and past clients include some of
Indias most recognised brands like
Anita Dongre, Caf Cofee Day,
ICICI Bank, Jet Airways, Lavasa,
Mahindra, Reliance ADAG, Taj
Group, Tata Global Beverages, The
Park Hotels and World Gold Council.
www.landor.com
Lulu Raghavan
Managing Director
lulu.raghavan@landor.com
Part 5 // Resources - WPP Brand Experts
217 216
Brand building experts who
contributed to the report
These individuals, from WPP companies,
provided thought leadership, research,
analysis and insight to the report.
Divya Khanna
JWT
Ritesh Shetty
Millward Brown
Aniruddha Khandekar
Ogilvy
Rajan Zachariah
Smollan India
Rasika Fernandes
Ogilvy
Vivek Das
Blue Hive
Mayank Agarwal
Millward Brown
Ganapathy Balagopalan
Ogilvy
Upasana Roy
Ogilvy
Deep Singh
JWT
Reny Thomas
Ogilvy
Devang Raiyani
GREY
Binata Banerjee
Millward Brown
Riddhi Shah
Millward Brown
Soumitra Sengupta
Millward Brown
Mythili Chandrasekar
JWT
Kamakshi Thareja
JWT
Roma Singhal
Ogilvy
Surekha Poddar
Millward Brown
Shriya Sengupta
Ogilvy
Priti Murthy
Maxus
Soumitra Patnekar
GREY
Snehasis Bose
Contract Delhi
Sumant Bhattacharya
GREY
Urmi Saha
Millward Brown
Prasun Basu
Millward Brown
Rinku Ray
JWT
Sandeep Pandey
Mindshare
Shaziya Khan
JWT
Mehul Shah
Contract Mumbai
Aparna Jain
Ogilvy
Gazala Vahanvati
Landor Associates
Dilip Garga
Ogilvy
Noor Samra
JWT
Zubin Tatna

Part 5 // Resources - India Top 50 Team
219 218
BrandZ
India Top 50 Team

These individuals created the report, providing valuations,
research, analysis and insight, editorial, photography,
production, marketing and communications.
With special thanks and appreciation to:
Genesis Burson Marsteller // Deepshikha Dharmaraj, Vaijayanthi Kari, Radhika Mehta and Krishna Vilasini
GroupM // CVL Srinivas
JWT // Shaziya Khan, Deep Singh and Bindu Sethi
Millward Brown // Uday Kagal, Bhargavi Manohar, Parnika Mehta, Madhavan Nair, Sakina Pittalwala,
Katie Pearce, Mausami Prasad, Muralidhar Salvateeswaran, Jainam Shah, Baljit Thandi and Peter Walshe
Ogilvy // Genevieve Lopes, Pooja Motwani, B Ramanathan and Madhukar Sabnavis
WPP // Rebecca Rogers and Margarita Ylla
WPP India // Ranjan Kapur
David Roth
David Roth is the CEO of the
Store WPP for Europe, the
Middle East, Africa and Asia, and
leads the BrandZ worldwide
project. Prior to joining WPP
David was main board Director
of the international retailer, B&Q.
Mayank Agarwal
Mayank Agarwal is the
Marketing and Business
Development Director,
Mumbai, Millward Brown South
Asia. He manages the content,
marketing, and communication
for BrandZ India.
Doreen Wang
Doreen Wang is the Global Head of
BrandZ for Millward Brown, leading
the brand equity research, valuation
and external communication
engagements for the global and
regional BrandZ rankings.
Gaurav Mittal
Gaurav Mittal is a Research Analyst
of BrandZ valuation at Millward
Brown. He is responsible for
nancial analysis, brand proles
research and commercial validation
for the BrandZ rankings.
Meenakshi Rawat
Meenakshi Rawat is a Consultant at
Millward Brown. She is part of the
BrandZ team which is responsible
for BrandZ rankings. Her work
involves conducting nancial
analysis, researching brands and
performing valuations.
Nisha Rawat
Nisha Rawat is a professional
writer specializing in business
writing. By profession, she is an
editor with Macmillan Publishing
Group. She is one of the writers
of the BrandZ India report.
Amanda Harrison
Amanda Harrison serves as Project and
Events Manager for The Store WPP
and Project Manager for the BrandZ
Most Valuable Chinese, Latin American
and Indian brands reports, as well as
the Chinese New Year, Golden Weeks
and Chinese Dream reports.
Nimai Swain
Nimai Swain is Group Account
Director, Millward Brown Delhi.
He is the internal BrandZ
champion for Millward Brown
India, responsible for design,
management and communication.
Elspeth Cheung
Elspeth Cheung is Global BrandZ
Valuation Director for Millward
Brown. She is responsible for the
BrandZvaluation, ranking analysis,
client management and external
communication for the global and
regional BrandZ rankings and
other brand valuation engagements.
Aman Aggarwal
Aman Aggarwal is Research
Analyst for BrandZ valuation at
Millward Brown. He is responsible
for nancial analysis, brand proles
research and commercial validation
for the BrandZ rankings.
Prasun Basu
Prasun Basu is Managing Director
Millward Brown, South Asia Region.
He is closely involved with the
launch of BrandZ India.
Cecilie stergren
Cecilie stergren is a professional
photographer, based in Shanghai, who has
worked closely with WPP agencies since
2009. Cecilie specializes in documentary,
consumer insight and portraits. Shes
travelled extensively in China, Brazil, India
and other locations to photograph images
for the BrandZ reports.
Nick Cooper
Nick Cooper is Senior Partner
of Millward Brown Vermeer.
He leads the overall practice in
Europe and the development
of brand strategy, portfolio
optimization and brand planning.
Binata Banerjee
Binata is Senior Research
Executive, Millward Brown
India. She is involved
in conceptualizing the
insights and key takeaways
for BrandZ India.
Natasha Perera
Natasha Perera is a Financial
Analyst at Millward Brown. She is
involved in brand valuation, applying
the BrandZ valuation methodology
to analyze brands, determine the
brand value and to generate the
information that appears in the
BrandZ ranking studies.
Ken Schept
Ken Schept is a professional writer
specializing in articles and reports
about brands, marketing and
retailing. For the past several years
hes helped develop the BrandZ
library of reports. He spent much of
his career as an editor with a leading
US business media publisher.
Surekha Poddar
Surekha Poddar is the Managing
Director, Mumbai, Millward Brown
South Asia. She is the head for
the Mumbai ofce and leads
the marketing and corporate
communications in India. She is
responsible overall for the launch of
BrandZ in India.
Part 5 // Resources
221 220
The BrandZ
brand
valuation contact details
The brand valuations in the BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable
Indian Brands are produced by Millward Brown using
nancial data from Bloomberg.
The consumer viewpoint is derived from the BrandZ
database. Established in 1998 and constantly updated,
this database of brand analytics and equity is the worlds
largest, containing over two million consumer interviews
about more than 10,000 diferent brands in over 30
countries.
For further information about BrandZ contact any
WPP company or:
Doreen Wang
Global Director, BrandZ Millward Brown
+1 212 548 7231
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Martin Guerrieria
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Our WPP companies have been engaged in India for more than
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companies and 245 ofces across India, in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru,
Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and many other cities. They provide the
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PR, knowledge, insight, and implementation necessary to understand
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apply this expertise to benet your brand, please contact any of the
WPP companies that contributed to this report or contact:
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Belinda Rabano
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For further information about WPP companies worldwide, please
visit: www.wpp.com/wpp/companies
or contact:
David Roth
CEO The Store, WPP EMEA and Asia
droth@wpp.com
WPP in India
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The growing opportunity of India and the changing Indian

consumer challenges all brands to remain relevant and diferent.

Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2014

India Top 50 Team

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