Brand is an identity given by a company to a product or service via a design, logo, sign, symbol etc. so as to create a separate identity for itself in the marketplace. A brand helps and encourages people to buy a product or service. Brands deliver experience which stays with the consumers for a very long time by appealing to the tastes and traditions of the people. A brand should be able to tell a story, says M G Parameswaran well known as Ambi a Brand Strategist and Founder of Brand-Building.com.
“It is very important for any brand to cultivate an awareness of what they truly value and identify issues and potentially threatening situations early. Once that’s done, they need to consciously develop a run-down list of circumstances and situations where their brand image can be scarred. Working with this, brand stakeholders must envision ways to tackle these situations while keeping their brand values at the forefront,” said Prof. Usha Patel, Dean - Academics, Indian Institute of Art & Design.
“Brand Attractiveness is an invisible, overwhelming pull that subtly but irresistibly draws audiences towards itself. In order to influence and inspire their consumers, brands have to mold their outgoing communications to constantly and proactively accentuate their brand appeal,” said N. Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research at the launch of India’s Most Attractive Brands 2016 in Mumbai last week.
LG was crowned of India's Most Attractive Brand and has taken the 1st rank, moving up from 2nd place last year. Sony ranked 2nd, followed by the two-time reigning attractiveness champion from the previous reports, Samsung Mobiles which ranked 3rd this year. Honda made an entrance at the 4th position also leading the Automobiles category. Samsung, in the Durables category leaped from rank 87 in 2015 to rank 5 this time round. The highest placed wholly-Indian conglomerate in this year’s listings, Bajaj, is India’s 6th Most Attractive brand.
The study was carried out by Trust Research Advisory (TRA) and based on primary research conducted on close to 3,000 consumers across 16 cities.
"LG has slowly but steadily been bettering its rank over the three issues of India's Most attractive Brands reports, going from being fourth in 2013 to being second in 2016 and ultimately first this year," TRA Research Head Sachin Bhosle said. The fourth place on the list was bagged by Honda while Samsung ranked fifth.
“Brands, essentially, are a collection of feelings and perceptions we form around a product or a service. The brand identity or logo is somewhat like a bar code and when our brain scans it, it unlocks all the perceptions attached to a brand,” says Alpana Parida, MD, DY Works.
While top five most attractive brands were dominated by foreign firms, homegrown firms Bajaj, Tata and Maruti Suzuki were ranked sixth, seven and eight respectively. Airtel and Nokia took the ninth and tenth spot respectively in the TRA's most attractive brands list.
According to Mahesh Gupta, Chairman, Kent RO Systems Ltd., “Once the Brand is able to catch the attention of consumers, it becomes relatively easy to communicate the message containing the USP of the product offering.”
In the sub-category of FMCG diversified, as per TRA, Patanjali pipped Hindustan Unilever (HUL) to be the most the attractive brand. Top five most attractive brands in this category are Patanjali, HUL, Nirma, Emami and Procter & Gamble (P&G).
“Think of any brand that you love. Not just a brand that you buy. But love. And defend. And recommend. And fight for. Chances are that brands like Nike, Adidas, Samsung, and Apple will figure in the list. Now, what is the quality that sets these brands apart from the tens of thousands of brands in the world? In one word, it’s Creativity,” said Prasanna Sankhe, Co-Founder & Creative Head, Hyphen.
Dominic Twyford, Client Services Director, FITCH South Asia said, “The more variety you offer, the more you can sell and the more profit you make, right? Why satisfy a singular need when you can appeal to a wider audience by fulfilling multiple needs? While this scenario may sound appealing, it is fundamentally flawed due to a psychological principle called Goal Dilution. This principle suggests that people believe that something that only does X will do it far better than something that can do X, Y, and Z. So, when brands overpromise or overstate their case, they are often taken less seriously than those that focus on a singular area of competence. It’s just human nature.
“The ability to inspire Hope is among the, key traits every brand must possess. It is generated through self-generated positivity, which is evident in some of the leading brands that have got accepted by the masses in our country,” said Pradyumna Vyas, Director, National Institute of Design and Member Secretary, India Design Council. The cooperative movement initiated by Dr. Verghese Kurien, which culminated in the Amul brand, has already achieved international recognition. In the industrial design sector, Titan is influencing the market through its brands such as Fastrack, Titan Eye+, and Tanishq, he added.
While top five most attractive brands were dominated by foreign firms, homegrown firms Bajaj, Tata and Maruti Suzuki were ranked sixth, seven and eight respectively. Airtel and Nokia took the ninth and tenth spot respectively in the TRA's most attractive brands list.
In the sub-category of FMCG diversified, as per TRA, Patanjali pipped Hindustan Unilever (HUL) to be the most the attractive brand. Top five most attractive brands in this category are Patanjali, HUL, Nirma, Emami and Procter & Gamble (P&G).