Trust Conference lays thrust on building brands to last
TRA Research, a part of the Comniscient Group, and the publishers of the Brand Trust Report had organised India's first exclusive event on Trust, The Trust Conference 2016 - “Building Brands to Last” on 3 June in Mumbai. The conference was an exclusive event for CXOs of various brands that are based in India.
“The Trust Conference is an important platform for brands to revitalize and create curiosity on the complex topic of Brand Trust. TRA Research has always endeavoured to benefit brand custodians by helping them refocus their energies on the behavioural and attitudinal aspects of brands,” said N. Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research
The event began with a panel discussion on 'The David Theory - The New Rules of Competition'. The discussion was moderated by Govindraj Ethiraj, Television and Print Journalist, Founder of Ping Digital Networks. The panelist were Vipul Sabharwal, MD, Luminous Power Technologies, Kailash Kulkarni, CEO, L&T Investment Management, V Ramnath, MD for India and South Asia, Racold Thermo and Neelima Burra, ?CMO, Cargill Foods India.
“Technology will be the biggest disruptor,” said Kulkarni. We need to go out there and collaborate. It is not always important that we create, but partner, he said.
“We have divided India into different parts for better customer understanding,” said Sabharwal. We have an open culture and get feedback from people and also track various customers, he added.
The panel discussion was followed by a presentation by Ritu Gupta, Director, Marketing Consumer & Small Business, Dell India who spoke on 'Building organizational resilience through trust'. “Our customers are at the center of everything we do at Dell. It is our endeavor to innovate and introduce technology solutions for customers based on their feedback and requirements. This is what we believe is attractive; to make everything that a customer wants a priority,” she said.
Manoj Adlakha, CEO, American Express Banking Corp India spoke on 'Leadership’s role in sustaining brand trust'. “During the Tsunami of 2004, rather than waiting for calls, we reached out to the customers in that area just to find out if they needed any assistance. These minor things go a long way,” he said.
Kewal Handa, Former MD - Pfizer India & Promoter Director, Salus Lifecare spoke on 'Trust loss and trust gain - The difficult terrain'. “Brands define who you are. They fulfill three basic functions, self realization, self realization and self identification.” he said. He spoke about the recent Maggi and Cadbury issues. Trust deficit of leading brands and Marlboro ciggarattes and Corex who are still leaders in their categories.
Saurav Bhattacharya, Group President, Gitanjali Gems Ltd. spoke on 'Developing customer trust in the new age for luxury products'. Whatever you give the customers, they expect more and much more.” he said. “Every organization should have a CXO that is Chief Trust Officer,” he added.
“We have understanding Trust for the last seven to eight years. Trust should be acted upon in a scientific manner,” said Chandramouli concluding the event.