The "Master Blaster" - one of India's most trusted brands

India's passion for cricket and celebrity sees Sachin Tendulkar named as one of India's most trusted brands.

While Nokia once again cement their position as India's most trusted brand, research by Trust Research Advisory (TRA) illustrates the commercial power of Indian cricket hero Sachin Tendulkar.

Brand personalities

Tendulkar occupies 59th position in TRA's study, 'The Brand Trust Report India Study, 2011', well ahead of Mahatma Gandhi in 232nd and actor Aamir Khan in 242nd place. Surprisingly, Amitabh Bachchan', or the "Big B" as he is known does not figure in the list of 300 brands.

The report - based on comments from 2,300 participants across nine Metro cities - benchmarks brands against composites of trust that include empathy, perceived competence, commanding respect, displayed sincerity, enthusiasm and accepting responsibility.

The findings underline India's obsession with celebrity and the commercial sectors love of celebrity endorsement.

Tendulkar still in demand

Over the years Tendulkar has endorsed a multitude of domestic and international brands, including Adidas, Toshiba, Canon, RBS and Britannia, at any one time endorsing up to 15 brands.

And while young pretender and current Indian cricket captain, MS Dhoni, has usurped Tendulkar as the world's highest paid cricket player, Tendulkar still commands commercial respect.

Having previously been dropped by the likes of Pepsi and Airtel, his longevity and appeal have been confirmed - despite concerns that at 37 years old he could be too old to connect with India's youthful demographic - when Coca Cola signed him to a three-year endorsement deal estimated around R's 20 crore.

Importance of integrity

His high position in the study may have received a boost due to his recent decision to turn down the opportunity to endorse an alcohol brand. The decision was reportedly made due to a promise made to his late father when just 16 years old. The act received extensive media coverage, perhaps elevating his "sincerity" score.

The trusted top ten

Elsewhere the report confirmed the power of Nokia in India. The Finnish company occupies number one spot, followed by Tata in second, Japan's Sony in third and South Korea's LG and Samsung in fourth and fifth. Reliance, Maruti, LIC, Airtel and Titan make up the top ten.

Interestingly, Pepsi - endorsed by MS Dhoni - appear to be winning the cola wars. Pepsi occupy 36th spot, compared to Tendulkar's Coca-Cola in 60th place.

January 22, 2011 Add a comment

Modern living puts processed food on the menu

Lifestyle changes, an increase in spending power and decrease in time, boosts popularity of packaged foods.

Urban India is changing its eating habits. Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India (ASSOCHAM) has found that consumption of instant and processed foods has gained traction. As life gets busier and time shorter, due to convenience, eighty six percent of metro households claim to prefer processed foods.

Packaged food appeals to families

ASSOCHAM's survey, "Ready to eat food in Metropolitan cities" evaluates responses from 3000 households. It concludes that processed foods are particularly popular with families where both parents work.

With 92% of parents claiming to have less time to prepare meals, 85% of parents with children under 5 years of age serve processed foods at least 7-10 times each month.

With this in mind food manufacturers are increasingly focusing on health. Tata Strategic Management Group expects the market for health and wellness foods to achieve compound annual growth rate of 30-35% for the next five years.

Focus on health

With awareness of health issues increasing, and modern living contributing to modern health challenges across major cities, food majors are increasingly developing healthy variants and nutritionally balanced meal solutions.

In the breakfast category, Pepsico's Quaker Oats, supported by its"Good Morning Heart" campaign has experienced 30% annual growth. In response, Kellogg's have launched "Heart to Heart Oats" as they seek to appeal to health conscious mothers.

Further growth expected

ASSOCHAM believe that the consumer-spending rate for processed foods grew at the average rate of 7.6% between 2008 and 2010, they project this will rise to 8.6% through to 2012. In addition, ASSOCHAM expects the food processing industry to experience annual growth of between 40-60% in the next five years.

More choice, less time

With new, innovative and Indianised products on sale. More choice will coincide with less time.

Consumer eating habits and the contents of their shopping baskets are set to change further.

January 8, 2011 2 comments

"People's car" scorched while Indian car sales grow

The festival season accelerated car sales across India. While foreign cars experienced significant growth, India's Tata Nano is being left behind.

Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) finds that passenger car sales grew 15% in the four months up to October, but by comparison Tata's Nano is way off the pace. Urgent fire fighting is required.

Maruti Suzuki record sales

Japanese owned Maruti Suzuki go from strength to strength, selling over 100,000 units for the second month in a row. November sales reached 112,554 vehicles, an increase of 28% on the same month last year.

Korea's Hyundai also reports impressive figures, increasing sales by 12% to 31,540 units. Home grown, Mahindra and Mahindra are up 17% on the previous year, with November sales of 25,166 vehicles.

Nano in reverse

By contrast, while the Indian auto-market grows, Tata Nano sales have gone in to reverse. With safety issues fresh in people's minds, sales dropped for the fifth consecutive month. Despite being heralded as the cheapest car in the world, November sales – just 509 units - were the lowest since its high profile launch in July last year.

This year's November sales are down 85% on last year and decline is rapid. In July this year sales were 9,000 units, since then the trend is startling. Sales dropped to 8,103 units in August, 5,520 in September, and 3,065 in October before hitting rock bottom last month.

Tata being squeezed by new entrants

The Nano story is reflected across Tata Motors passenger cars, with November sales dropping to 15,340, down from 20,706 a year ago. SIAM says Tata's October market share of passenger cars is 12.2%, down from 13.2% seven months previously.

With GM - up 18% - and Ford reporting strong growth Tata are likely to continue to feel the pinch. Compounding the problem is the fact that Toyota appears to have identified India as the market to off set declining US sales. They aim to double sales – circa 73,000 in 2010 - over the next 12 months.

Reconnecting the "People's car" with the people

Given the strength of the competition, Tata needs to quickly reestablish trust in the Nano, cheap can not be mistaken for unsafe. Safety fears and questions about quality need to be countered.

The brand also needs to rediscover it's unique positioning and reconnect with its target market; two-wheeler owners. While the Nano is a car it fills a unique space between two-wheeler and car, and needs to be marketed accordingly.

If they fail to do this, sales are unlikely to match the hype and undoubted potential of this innovative model and brand.

Image source - www.ibnlive.in.com

December 5, 2010 1 comment

Airtel rebrand confirms global aspirations

While the jury is still out on Airtel's new brand identity, the exercise confirms that Airtel intends to be a major player on the global stage.

As with seemingly all major rebranding exercises, the design of the new Airtel identity has split opinion. Many have made the point that it looks like a red version of the Videocon identity, others feel that due to the color pallette it resembles Vodafone.

International feel for international markets

Airtel had to address their branding due to recent acquisitions. From being Delhi-centric just 15 years ago, they now compete in 19 international markets. The company is now the world's 3rd largest in-country mobile operator, and 6th largest in-country integrated telecom operator.

With mobile phone tariffs and services costing so little, scaleability is crucial, overseas markets and subscribers will become increasingly important in the hunt for profits.

For these reasons alone, a unified and modern brand, with an international flavor was required.

"Embracing everything that is new"

Airtel claims that the identity is, "youthful, international, inclusive and dynamic", and that the identity underlines their "willingness to embrace everything that is new".

Indian brand looking globally

Whether they have succeeded is a matter of opinion, design will always be subjective. I for one feel that they have ticked all the boxes, and that the new identity lends itself especially well to digital media. Their media strategy - and budget - has been equally impressive, over night the new identity covered Mumbai.

But, more interesting to me is the fact that an Indian brand is showing real global intent and ambition. In the process investing substantial sums to ensure that they present a coherent image to new markets, stake holders and customers alike.

November 27, 2010 Add a comment

India Insights covered in The Franchising World

The article examines how foreign retailers can get it wrong when entering India's retail sector.

India Insights has once again gained coverage in the media. This time, the article in The Franchising World analyses the pitfalls of entering India's buoyant retail market.

India is the destination of choice for many international retailers. An accelerating economy, increased consumer confidence and improved affluence are just some of the factors that make India attractive.

The article analyses where market entry can fall down, and discusses the fine line between success and failure.

For media requests contact - dominic@india-insights.co.uk

November 15, 2010 Add a comment

Surveys reveal Indian consumer and business community confidence

New studies show that the Indian consumer and the countries business community share an optimistic outlook of the future.

While the West worries about double-dip recession India grows in confidence. Two recent surveys illustrate the difference in mindset.

Indian consumer confidence leading the way

India leads the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index (Q3 2010) by twelve points. India scores 129 points, twelve points ahead of Thailand in second place.

In 20 of 53 markets surveyed confidence was lower than in June, this pushed the Index average score down 3 points to 90. A reading below 100 signals pessimism about the outlook.

Despite India's impressive figures, India is still well below India's record of 137 in late 2006. Nielsen offers some caution:

"Indian consumers are confident about their economy and have shown similar confidence levels as the second quarter of 2010; however these levels have not increased like they did in the first two quarters of 2010. This indicates stabilization is the trend." said Justin Sargent, Managing Director – Consumer, India, The Nielsen Company.

Of the 500 Indian respondents, 90% are positive about their job prospects in the next 12 months. In addition, more than two-thirds expected their state of personal finances to be good over the same period.

India's consumer is spending and saving

Nearly 65% of Indian respondents are saving, a 2% increase on the previous quarter. After savings, Indians like to invest in equity and mutual funds.

India Inc expects confidence to grow

In line with improved consumer confidence, the FICCI Business Confidence Survey shows that India Inc's confidence levels are rising. The survey of 359 companies concludes that confidence is expected to rise further in the coming six months.

"The confidence level of corporate India is on the upswing. Companies are brimming with confidence and are expecting to put up a good show in the next two quarters". FICCI Business Confidence Survey

Findings for Q2 show that the Current Conditions Index hit 75.2 (up from 71.1 previously), Expectations Index reached 76.6 (up from 72.2) and Overall Business Confidence Index has risen to 76.2 (up from 71.9).

Comfortable with increased lending rates

Despite increased lending rates, 76% of respondents do not intend to postpone investment plans. This is mainly due to the fact that many mid and large sized companies have a cash surplus and aren't reliant on banks lending.

India's domestic economy shows its strength

70% of firms are optimistic about the domestic economy and demand is still strong. Three in every four firms expect domestic sales volumes to increase in the next six months.

This domestic security is significant for both consumer and India Inc. India's safely insulated domestic market offers sufficient scale to have banished apprehension about the global economy and fears of double-dip recession in the West.

November 2, 2010 Add a comment