With the existence of monopolies and public sector dominance, and in the absence of competition and multinational companies; Indians pre 1991 were resigned to buying what was available. Those who had desires and the monetary power, opted for the parallel black economy that sold “imported” goods. It was a mini nation of the elite living in another nation which was crawling on its knees. With the lowering of import duties and removal of the licence Raj in 1991, the flood gates opened. A swarm of international and private companies occupied the Indian consumers’ time. Instead of selecting only between Thums Up and Limca, the Indian consumer now had three colas to choose from – Thums Up, Coke and Pepsi. Even the “lime and lemony Limca” fought a fierce battle of supremacy against 7 Up and Sprite.
Every industry segment witnessed new entrants (both domestic and international) – from FMCG[1] to media to aviation to automobiles. With each player trying to maximise its market share, organisations embarked on the road to establishing their unique selling points (USP). During the industrial revolution non-local manufactures undertook “branding” exercises to increase awareness and acceptance of their products. This was an attempt to try an associate a certain experience or quality with the product in order to create a follower base. Some of the first brands thus to be established during that era were Coca-Cola, Quaker Oats and Campbell Soup[2]. Similarly to entice customers, Indian companies post 1991, embarked on a journey to create their own brand image.
This quest reached a level where even election rallies were being driven as marketing campaigns. Remember the “India Shining” tag line of the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) in the last general elections! It’s sad that despite an innovative approach to Indian politics, the BJP lost elections[3].
It is not just BJP, but a number of Indian firms have spent millions of dollars on brand building exercises, unsuccessfully. Remember Onida television – “neighbours’ envy, owner’s pride”, or Amul chocolates – “a gift for someone you love” or my personal favourite – ECE “Bhool na jana ECE bulb lana[4]” the jingle was sung in a multitude of Indian languages one after the other!
Today, while there has been some success, urban Indians still recognize very few Indian names as “brands”. This conclusion is the result of a survey[5] with Indians in the age group of 18 to 62, living either in Indian metros or overseas and across professional backgrounds. Each participant was asked to respond to a simple question “what do you think of first when you hear the term Indian brand and the term international brand”. The results were quite fascinating. About 11% of the respondents replied stating that the term “Indian brand” made them uncomfortable denoting inferior quality or service, however, international brand to these individuals meant quality, expense or luxury. Only one of the 55 respondents actually said that his/her instantaneous reaction to “Indian brand” was trust in quality while “international brand” made him/her suspicious.
Leaving aside these responses, an analysis of the remaining answers came up with a very interesting tally. There was one Indian name that came out as being the strongest brand in India – Tata, with 44% of the respondents thinking of Tata as their Indian brand. In fact, if two other responses that belong to the Tata group of companies are added to this set[6], then the Tata Group walks away with almost 50% of the votes. On the international side, it is a same number of voters, 44%, who came up with varied answers which no one else in the analysis group had covered. So urban Indians relate to more foreign brands than Indian, might be a fair analysis. To further substantiate this thought is the fact that the most popular “international brand”, Coke, received 22% of the votes while only 22% of the respondents came up with Indian brands which were different from the choice of any other respondent! Thus, in a country with the most listed companies globally, the urban Indian middle class seems to miss the palpable brand equity domestically.
One reason for the weak brand recognition in India is that the middle class which has the largest targeted audience group is undergoing a brisk attitude change. Globalisation is rapidly altering the life style expectations of this segment of the society. For any “brand” to have a tangible “brand equity” there needs to be consistency in the message delivered to the aimed market segment. With the end consumer’s needs and desires changing from day to day, the product marketing also changes accordingly. This causes disruption in uniformity of message delivered, leading to a weaker “brand” perception.
Uniformity of message is also very difficult to maintain in a country like Indian which is culturally very diverse[7]. Thus the second reason for weak brand development in India is the different needs and mental makeup of Indians residing in different parts of the country. If a glamorous product appeals to the more materialistic north India, it loses its sheen in the more conservative South India. Similarly, while local handicrafts are still preferred in the east, there is a very conscious following of western fashion in west India. Food habits, lifestyles, intellectual curiosity are all different in this country of over 300 languages. Thus western brand building concepts cannot be used in India and we Indians need some more time to develop a branding system that works within our cultural diversity and sensitivities.
While it is true that a country which has seen a plethora of brands only in the last two decades, will take some time to develop its own unique marketing and brand building framework, a very important third reason for underdevelopment of “brands” in India is the shareholder attitude. Majority of Indian firms are family run with controlling stakes and management say vesting with the family, who are very conscious of the cash flows. Brand development requires significant investment into researching the target audience attitude, analysing varied marketing strategies and then finally undertaking a thought through long term marketing campaign. In the absence of the desired investment happening, the “branding” exercise is half hearted and hence the outcome is similar.
Substantiating the longetivity and stability of campaign and the investment are the two leading “brands” of the mentioned survey. Coke and Tata have had consistency of logo and experience for the consumer in their marketing despite customisation to address the local audience suitably. On the flip side, it can be seen by the experience of the Indian IT industry that lacklustre effort in brand development leads to non recognition. Globally India is the most known today for its ITeS[8] industry, however, only 2 of the respondents thought of an Indian IT company as a brand[9]. And if one comes to think of it, there is nothing that can actually be described about the Indian IT players except for their low cost base. Given that now even eastern European economies are proving to be equally cost effective with a significant workforce capable of managing outsourcing, Indian IT firms are facing competition. Thus in the absence of another quality associated with Indian outsourcing, the industry is threatened in losing its cash cow status.
Most developed economies are home to some of the most globally recognised brands. As India is progressing on its growth path, Indian companies also need to pay more attention to the “brand” awareness that they create; especially when they enter the overseas markets. India Inc’s brand awareness will improve its own revenue stream, build investor confidence in the country and support India Brand Equity Foundations’ attempts to promote the nation as the Fastest Growing Free Market Democracy.
[1] FMCG = Fast Moving Consumer Goods
[2] Source: Wikipedia
[3] Of course the reasons for BJP’s defeat were much more complex than just their marketing campaign
[4] Literally translated as “Do not forget to get an ECE bulb”
[5] Details in Appendix 1
[6] Titan and Taj
[7] Madhukar Sabnavis had a very interesting column in Business Standard on this topic. The article can be found on http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/madhukar-sabnavis-culture-sensitive-marketing/351047/
[8] IT enabled Services (IT = Information Technology)
[9] Surprising, given that almost 13% of the respondents are or have been IT professionals.
Every industry segment witnessed new entrants (both domestic and international) – from FMCG[1] to media to aviation to automobiles. With each player trying to maximise its market share, organisations embarked on the road to establishing their unique selling points (USP). During the industrial revolution non-local manufactures undertook “branding” exercises to increase awareness and acceptance of their products. This was an attempt to try an associate a certain experience or quality with the product in order to create a follower base. Some of the first brands thus to be established during that era were Coca-Cola, Quaker Oats and Campbell Soup[2]. Similarly to entice customers, Indian companies post 1991, embarked on a journey to create their own brand image.
This quest reached a level where even election rallies were being driven as marketing campaigns. Remember the “India Shining” tag line of the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) in the last general elections! It’s sad that despite an innovative approach to Indian politics, the BJP lost elections[3].
It is not just BJP, but a number of Indian firms have spent millions of dollars on brand building exercises, unsuccessfully. Remember Onida television – “neighbours’ envy, owner’s pride”, or Amul chocolates – “a gift for someone you love” or my personal favourite – ECE “Bhool na jana ECE bulb lana[4]” the jingle was sung in a multitude of Indian languages one after the other!
Today, while there has been some success, urban Indians still recognize very few Indian names as “brands”. This conclusion is the result of a survey[5] with Indians in the age group of 18 to 62, living either in Indian metros or overseas and across professional backgrounds. Each participant was asked to respond to a simple question “what do you think of first when you hear the term Indian brand and the term international brand”. The results were quite fascinating. About 11% of the respondents replied stating that the term “Indian brand” made them uncomfortable denoting inferior quality or service, however, international brand to these individuals meant quality, expense or luxury. Only one of the 55 respondents actually said that his/her instantaneous reaction to “Indian brand” was trust in quality while “international brand” made him/her suspicious.
Leaving aside these responses, an analysis of the remaining answers came up with a very interesting tally. There was one Indian name that came out as being the strongest brand in India – Tata, with 44% of the respondents thinking of Tata as their Indian brand. In fact, if two other responses that belong to the Tata group of companies are added to this set[6], then the Tata Group walks away with almost 50% of the votes. On the international side, it is a same number of voters, 44%, who came up with varied answers which no one else in the analysis group had covered. So urban Indians relate to more foreign brands than Indian, might be a fair analysis. To further substantiate this thought is the fact that the most popular “international brand”, Coke, received 22% of the votes while only 22% of the respondents came up with Indian brands which were different from the choice of any other respondent! Thus, in a country with the most listed companies globally, the urban Indian middle class seems to miss the palpable brand equity domestically.
One reason for the weak brand recognition in India is that the middle class which has the largest targeted audience group is undergoing a brisk attitude change. Globalisation is rapidly altering the life style expectations of this segment of the society. For any “brand” to have a tangible “brand equity” there needs to be consistency in the message delivered to the aimed market segment. With the end consumer’s needs and desires changing from day to day, the product marketing also changes accordingly. This causes disruption in uniformity of message delivered, leading to a weaker “brand” perception.
Uniformity of message is also very difficult to maintain in a country like Indian which is culturally very diverse[7]. Thus the second reason for weak brand development in India is the different needs and mental makeup of Indians residing in different parts of the country. If a glamorous product appeals to the more materialistic north India, it loses its sheen in the more conservative South India. Similarly, while local handicrafts are still preferred in the east, there is a very conscious following of western fashion in west India. Food habits, lifestyles, intellectual curiosity are all different in this country of over 300 languages. Thus western brand building concepts cannot be used in India and we Indians need some more time to develop a branding system that works within our cultural diversity and sensitivities.
While it is true that a country which has seen a plethora of brands only in the last two decades, will take some time to develop its own unique marketing and brand building framework, a very important third reason for underdevelopment of “brands” in India is the shareholder attitude. Majority of Indian firms are family run with controlling stakes and management say vesting with the family, who are very conscious of the cash flows. Brand development requires significant investment into researching the target audience attitude, analysing varied marketing strategies and then finally undertaking a thought through long term marketing campaign. In the absence of the desired investment happening, the “branding” exercise is half hearted and hence the outcome is similar.
Substantiating the longetivity and stability of campaign and the investment are the two leading “brands” of the mentioned survey. Coke and Tata have had consistency of logo and experience for the consumer in their marketing despite customisation to address the local audience suitably. On the flip side, it can be seen by the experience of the Indian IT industry that lacklustre effort in brand development leads to non recognition. Globally India is the most known today for its ITeS[8] industry, however, only 2 of the respondents thought of an Indian IT company as a brand[9]. And if one comes to think of it, there is nothing that can actually be described about the Indian IT players except for their low cost base. Given that now even eastern European economies are proving to be equally cost effective with a significant workforce capable of managing outsourcing, Indian IT firms are facing competition. Thus in the absence of another quality associated with Indian outsourcing, the industry is threatened in losing its cash cow status.
Most developed economies are home to some of the most globally recognised brands. As India is progressing on its growth path, Indian companies also need to pay more attention to the “brand” awareness that they create; especially when they enter the overseas markets. India Inc’s brand awareness will improve its own revenue stream, build investor confidence in the country and support India Brand Equity Foundations’ attempts to promote the nation as the Fastest Growing Free Market Democracy.
[1] FMCG = Fast Moving Consumer Goods
[2] Source: Wikipedia
[3] Of course the reasons for BJP’s defeat were much more complex than just their marketing campaign
[4] Literally translated as “Do not forget to get an ECE bulb”
[5] Details in Appendix 1
[6] Titan and Taj
[7] Madhukar Sabnavis had a very interesting column in Business Standard on this topic. The article can be found on http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/madhukar-sabnavis-culture-sensitive-marketing/351047/
[8] IT enabled Services (IT = Information Technology)
[9] Surprising, given that almost 13% of the respondents are or have been IT professionals.
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