EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Whats in a name?

A rose is a rose and would smell as sweet even if called by any other name These famous words uttered by Shakespeares Juliet sends us into raptures, but marketers and consumers would not respond to this reasoning favorably. Brands rule over the marketer and consumers minds. Enormous resources, time and energy are spent in building and nurturing brands. Why? A brand distinguishes the products and services offered by one seller from another. A company may be armed with all the statistics and facts as to why their product or service is superior - but if it doesnt have an image, a personality for the audience to connect with - their message falls flat. What you are selling is always more than the product/service. It's a personality, a face with which your target customers want to do business. Thus, the success of branding lies in truly understanding who you are and who your target audience is. The cigarette brand Charms pack has a unique indigo blue print, like faded jeans fabric. The package design was intended to strike a cord with young customers who identified with freedom, because jeans symbolized freedom. Marketers use slender tall bottles to communicate feminine qualities. What is an athletic shoe with a swoosh logo on it? Swoosh is a concept- it is all about winning and action. Brands create a perception in the mind of the customer that there is no other product or service on the market that is quite like yours. A brand promises to deliver value upon which consumers and prospective purchasers can rely to be consistent over long periods of time.

CHAPTER .1 Introduction to Brand Building

Branding today is a blend of art and science and the topic is of interest to both academics and practitioners. Huge amount of money is being spent by marketers to develop brands, with a conviction that brand building, will create brand differentiation. While the intrinsic value with regard to functionality, is created by the marketer through the offering, consumer psyche plays a vital role with regard to short and long term effects of brand associations. Besides brand associations, cultural dimensions plays an important role with regard to both branding associations and how consumers mind adapts to the development of brand associations.

LIST OF TOP TEN BRANDS

2010 Ranking 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Brands Nokia Mobile Phones Colgate Lux Dettol Britannia Lifebouy Clinic Plus Ponds Fair & Lovely Pepsodent 2009 Ranking 1. 2. 3. 5. 9. 4. 15. 16. 18. 8.

Why do companies such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft, IBM and Disney seem to achieve global marketing success so easily? Why does it seem such an effort for others? Why do we, as consumers, feel loyal to such brands that the mere sight of their logo has us reaching into our pockets to buy their products?

1.1 The meaning of brands

Brands are a means of differentiating a companys products and services from those of its competitors. There is plenty of evidence to prove that customers will pay a substantial price premium for a good brand and remain loyal to that brand. It is important, therefore, to understand what brands are and why they are important. Macdonald sums this up nicely in the following quote emphasising the importance of brands: it is not factories that make profits, but relationships with customers, and it is company and brand names which secure those relationships Businesses that invest in and sustain leading brands prosper whereas those that fail are left to fight for the lower profits available in commodity markets. A brand is a collection of images and ideas representing an economic producer; more specifically, it refers to the descriptive verbal attributes and concrete symbols such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme that convey the essence of a company, product or

service. Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the accumulation of experiences with the specific product or service, both directly relating to its use, and through the influence of advertising, design, and media commentary. A brand is a symbolic embodiment of all the information connected to a company, product or service. A brand serves to create associations and expectations among products made by a producer. A brand often includes an explicit logo, fonts, color schemes, symbols and sound which may be developed to represent implicit values, ideas, and even personality. The key objective is to create a relationship of trust. The brand, and "branding" and brand equity have become increasingly important components of culture and the economy, now being described as "cultural accessories and personal philosophies". rather than product and services (e.g. political parties or religious organizations) may also be known as "branding".

One definition of a brand is as follows: A name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these, that is intended to identify the goods and services of one business or group of businesses and to differentiate them from those of competitors. Interbrand - a leading branding consultancy - define a brand in this way: A mixture of tangible and intangible attributes symbolised in a trademark, which, if properly managed, creates influence and generates value. Three other important terms relating to brands should be defined at this stage: Brand equity Brand equity refers to the value of a brand. Brand equity is based on the extent to which the brand has high brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived quality and strong product associations. Brand equity also includes other intangible assets such as patents,

trademarks and channel relationships. Brand image Brand image refers to the set of beliefs that customers hold about a particular brand. These are important to develop well since a negative brand image can be very difficult to shake off. Brand extension Brand extension refers to the use of a successful brand name to launch a new or modified product in a new market. Virgin is perhaps the best example of how brand extension can be applied into quite diverse and distinct markets.

1.2 Brands and products

Brands are rarely developed in isolation. They normally fall within a business product line or product group. A product line is a group of brands that are closely related in terms of their functions and the benefits they provide. A good example would be the range of desktop and laptop computers manufactured by Dell. A product mix relates to the total set of brands marketed by a business. A product mix could, therefore, contain several or many product lines. The width of the product mix can be measured by the number of product lines that a business offers.

1.3 Types of brand

There are two main types of brand manufacturer brands and own-label brands. Manufacturer brands Manufacturer brands are created by producers and bear their chosen brand name. The producer is responsible for marketing the brand. The brand is owned by the producer. By building their brand names, manufacturers can gain widespread distribution (for example by retailers who want to sell the brand) and build customer loyalty (think about the manufacturer brands that you feel loyal to). Own label brands Own-label brands are created and owned by businesses that operate in the distribution channel often referred to as distributors. Often these distributors are retailers, but not exclusively. Sometimes the retailers entire product range will be own-label. However, more often, the distributor will mix own-label and manufacturers brands. The major supermarkets (e.g. Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys) are excellent examples of this. Own-label branding if well carried out can often offer the consumer excellent value for money and provide the distributor with additional bargaining power when it comes to

negotiating prices and terms with manufacturer brands.

BUILDING BRANDS : What factors are important in building brand values? Professor David Jobber identifies seven main factors in building successful brands, as illustrated in the diagram below :

QUALITY Quality is a vital ingredient of a good brand. Remember the core benefits the things consumer expect. These must be delivered well, consistently. The Branded washing machine that leaks, or the training shoe that often falls apart when wet will never develop brand equity. Research confirms that, statistically, higher quality brands achieve a higher market share and higher profitability that their inferior competitors.

POSITIONING Positioning is about the position a brand occupies in a market in the minds of consumers. Strong brands have a clear, often unique position in the target market. Positioning can be achieved through several means, including brand name, image, service standards, product guarantees, packaging and the way in which it is delivered. Infact , successful positioning usually requires a combination of these things.

REPOSITIONING Repositioning occurs when a brand tries to change its market position to reflect a change in consumers tastes. This is often required when a brand has become tired, perhaps because its original market has matured or has gone into decline. The repositioning of the Jg4de brand from a sweet drink for children to a leading sports drink is one example. Another would be the changing styles of entertainers with above-average longevity such as Kylie Minogue and Cliff Richard. Communication Communications also play a key role in building a successful brand. We suggested that brand positioning is essentially about customer perceptions with the objective to build a clearly defined position in the minds of the target audience. All elements of the promotional mix need to be used to develop and sustain customer perceptions. Initially, the challenge is to build awareness, then to develop the brand personality and reinforce the perception.

FIRST MOVER ADVANTAGE Business Strategies often talk about first-mover advantage. In terms of brand development, by first-move? they mean that it is possible for the first successful brand in a market to create a clear positioning in the minds of target customers before the competition enters the market. There is plenty of evidence to support this. Think of some leading consumer product brands like Gillette, Coca Cola and Sellotape that, in many ways, defined the markets they operate in and continue to lead. However, being first into a market does not necessarily guarantee long-term success. Competitors drawn to the high growth and profit potential demonstrated by the market-mover will enter the market and copy the best elements of the leader s brand (a good example is the way that Body Shop developed the ethical personal care market but were soon facing stiff competition from the major high street cosmetics retailers.

LONG TERM PERSPECTIVE This leads onto another important factor in brand-building: the need to invest in the brand over the long-term. Building customer awareness, communicating the brands message ad creating customer loyalty takes time. This means that management must invest in a brand, perhaps at the expense of short-term profitability. INTERNAL MARKETING Finally, management should ensure that the brand is marketed internally as well as externally. By this we mean that the whole business should understand the brand values and positioning, important in service businesses where a critical part of the brand value is the type and quality of service that a customer receives. Think of the brands that you value in the restaurant, hotel and retail sectors. It is likely that your favourite brands invest heavily in staff training so that the face-to-face contact that you have with the brand helps secure your loyalty. BRAND EXTENSION AND BRAND STRETCHING: Marketers have long recognised that strong brand names that deliver higher sales and profits, ( those that have brand equity )have the potential to work their magic on other products. The two options for doing this are usually called brand extension and brand stretching BRAND EXTENSION 1. Brand extension refers to the use of a successful brand name to launch a new or modifying product in a same broad market. 2. A successful brand helps a company enter new product categories more easily. 3. For example, Fairy (owned by Unilever) was extended from a washing up liquid brand to become a washing powder brand too. 4. Theq4brandhas undergone a very successful brand extension from childrens health drink to an energy drink and sports drink.

BRAND STRETCHING Brand stretching refers to the use of an established brand name for products in unrelated markets.

For example the move by Yamaha (originally a Japanese manufacturer of motorbikes) into branded hi-fi equipment, pianos and sports equipment. When done successfully, brand extension can have several advantages: 1. Distributors may perceive there is less risk with a new product if it carries a familiar brand name. If a new food product carries the Heinz brand, it is likely that customers will buy it 2. Customers will associate the quality of the established brand name with the new product. They will be more likely to trust the new product. 3. The new product will attract quicker customer awareness and willingness to trial or sample the product 4. Promotional Launch costs (particularly advertising) are likely to be substantially lower. WHY SHOULD BUSSINESS TRY TO BUILD THEIR BRANDS? There are many advantages to businesses that build successful brands. These include: 1. Higher prices 2. Higher profit margins 3. Better distribution 4. Customer loyalty Businesses that operate successful brands are also much more likely to enjoy higher profits. A brand is created by augmenting a core product with distinctive values that distinguish it from the competition. This is the process of creating and value. All products have a series of core benefits benefits that are delivered to all consumers. For example: 1. Watches tell the time 2. CD-players play CDs 3. Toothpaste helps prevent tooth decay 4. Garages dispense petrol. Consumers are rarely prepared to pay a premium for products or services that simply deliver core benefits they are the expected elements of that justify a core price.

Successful brands are those that deliver added value in addition to the core benefits. These added values enable the brand to differentiate itself from the competition. When done well, the customer recognizes the added value in an augmented product and chooses that brand in preference. For example, a consumer may be looking for reassurance or a guarantee of quality in a situation where he or she is unsure about what to buy. like Mercedes, Sony or Microsoft can offer this reassurance or guarantee. Alternatively, the consumer may be looking for the brand to add meaning to his or her life in terms of lifestyle or personal image. Porsche or Timberland do this. A brand can usefully be represented in the classic fried-egg format shown below, where the brand is shown to have core features that are surrounded (or augmented) by less tangible features.

BRAND BUIDING TOOLS

A common misconception is that brands are basically built by advertising. It is true that TV stations & people watched the comedies, dramas, & ads with almost equal interest. Now, viewers may be watching one of the dozens of TV stations & many are zapping or ignoring the commercials. In fact many more are simply not watching TV. They are busy on their computers or engaged in recreational activities. Marketers are therefore turning to other tools for attracting attention to their brands. Among the most important are:i.Public relations & press releases: Brands can gain a lot of attention from well-placed newspapers & magazine stories, etc. ii.Sponsorship: Brands are frequently promoted in sponsored events such as world famous bicycle & car races . iii.Clubs & consumer communities: Brands can form the center of a customer community, such as Harley-Davidson motorcycle owners or Bradford plate collectors. iv.Factory visits: Hersheys & Cadburys, two candy companies, have built theme parks at their factories & they invite visitors to spend a day. v.Trade shows: trade show creates a great opportunity to built brand awareness, knowledge & interest. vi.Event marketing: Many automobile companies make an event out of introducing their new car models. vii. Public facilities: Perrier, the bottled water company, etched its identity in the public parks to promote healthful lifestyles. viii.Social cause marketing: Brands can achieve a following by donating money to charitable causes. Ben & jerrys ice cream turns over 7% of its profits to charity. ix.High value for the money: Some brand creates positive word of mouth by offering exceptional value for the money. Examples include IKEA & southwest airlines. x.Founders or celebrity personality: A colorful founder, such as Richard Branson, or a celebrity personality, such as Michael Jordan, can create positive affect for a brand.

CHAPTER. 2 BRAND BUILDING THROUGH EVENTS

A COMPREHENSIVE NEW DEFINITION

An event is a live multimedia package carried out with preconceived concepts, customized or modified to achieve the clients objectives of reaching out and suitably influencing the sharply defined, specially gathered target audience by providing a complete sensual experience and an avenue for two-way interaction. The following figure is the graphical representation of the above definition. It is evident from the model that an event is a package so organized as to provide, reach and live interaction between the target audience and the client to achieve the desired impact. The population of the target audience that the event is exposed to is called the reach for the event. The live interaction process facilitates communication between the clients and the audience. This process strengthens the possibilities of mutually beneficial transactions occurring in tune with the desired objectives for the event. Events have therefore also been termed as experiential marketing.

HIERARCHY OF EVENTS
The hierarchy of effects normally follows a gradual pattern:

What makes it complicated, however, are the other competing communication:

Therefore it is important to keep a healthy share of voice for the event-specific communication to achieve the desired objectives. The need increases if there are multiple sponsors of the event, or if there is any chance of an ambush marketer breaking-in.

AN IDEAL EVENT-ASSOCIATION PROCESS:

Objectives: This would include clarity on the marketing objective, target audience for the specific communication, and a measurable communication-objective. An increase in off-take is normally the end result of any element of a marketing communication-mix. However, the short-term measurable objectives may vary. a] Brand awareness b] Creating excitement around the brand c] Association with the cause of the event to find acceptance within the TG d] Trial of the brand

CHAPTER .3 Stories of Different Brands

A Brand Story of

Introduction Amul The Taste of India, a brand so distinctively Indian, has been a part of our lives for nearly five decades now and still is able to touch a chord in our hearts. As a brand Amul has grown from being merely a differentiating factor to protect the interests of producers and consumers, and has now become a critical success factor in the very existence and growth of a movement that started way back in the pre-independence India.

The Genesis Amul sprung from the seeds sown in the black soil of Charotar, an area in the Kaira district of Gujarat, as a cooperative movement to empower the milk producers. The beginning of the journey this brand embarked upon is itself quite unique and needs greater scrutiny. The milk producers cooperative formed in Gujarat was in response to the monopoly that existed since the time of colonial India. At that time Polson Dairy was the biggest buyer of the milk being produced in Kaira. Polson was built on the basis of providing superior quality products to up-market consumers. Polson was in fact a brand as synonymous with butter as Xerox is with photocopy. However Polsons products were not the reason that led to the rise of Amul, it was its exploitative practices that started the cooperative revolution. Polson indeed played the role of Goliath to Amuls David. The challenge that lay before the milk cooperative was not only to upstage Polsons monopoly on the supply side, but also to capture the booming milk products market with a their own brand. So the very basis of competition became high quality value-for-money products. It was under such circumstances that the foundations of Amul were laid. For several years the Kaira cooperative supplied milk and allied products without a formal distribution network leave alone a brand name. However under the leadership of Verghese Kurien the brand name Amul was formally adopted. When the need of a brand name for the Kaira Cooperative was felt initially, the word was circulated in Anand (the birth place of Amul) among friends and cooperative members. The name Amul was most probably suggested by a quality control expert in Anand. It was derived from amulya, which in Sanskrit, Gujarati and many other Indian languages, means priceless, and implies matchless excellence. As an Indian name, it associated itself with pride in swadeshi goods, a striking contrast to the English sound of Polson. The name was short, memorable and easily pronounced. It could also serve as an acronym for the organization the unusable KDCMPUL (Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Limited) taken from Kaira Cooperatives full name, could be substituted by AMUL, standing for Anand Milk Union Limited. Although not the Cooperatives true name it unmistakably conveyed the desired meaning. Even though Amul products have been in use in millions of homes since 1946, the brand Amul was registered only in 1957. The difficulty in registration stemmed from the fact that the cooperative had to prove enough sales and advertisements before this common word could be established as a brand name of a dairy product.

The Growth Era

Amul came into being as a consequence of a revolution and it has continued to be revolutionary in every stage of its life. It initially started a as means to balance the fluctuating milk supply and grew at a phenomenal rate as a liquid milk supplier. The

Kaira Union began pasteurizing milk for the Bombay Milk Scheme in 1948. However by the 1950s it was amply clear that the future lay in manufactured dairy products. Amul responded by embarking on a wide range of dairy processing activities, involving new technologies, and by expanding its processing facilities. It challenged the established Polson brand in butter manufacturing, and then moved on to sweetened condensed milk in direct confrontation with the international giant Nestle. It also locked horns with Glaxo over the production of baby food in India. On all of these occasions Amul not only displayed feats of resilience but in fact came out much stronger than ever before. Amul realized it as early as late 1960s that the only way it could increase the share of the market was by maintaining the reasonable prices of its products, but widening the range. During 1966-1970, Amul added sweet buttermilk powder, a second brand of baby food (Amulspray) and a high protein weaning food (Balamul). In 1974 the Amul Milk Chocolate was released commercially and was followed by several varieties of chocolates and chocolate confectionaries. Also, Nutramul, a malted cocoa beverage was launched in 1976. Cheese powder was released commercially in the early 70s. As district unions multiplied, Kaira Cooperative recognized the benefits of a marketing federation and thus the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) was established in 1973. GCMMF commenced marketing on April 1, 1974 under the single brand name of Amul. In 1978-79 it registered a turnover of Rs. 100 crore which grew to Rs. 539.67 crore in 1987-89. In 2002-03 the turnover stood at Rs. 2745.70 crore. At present GCMMF has 2.28 million producer members with a total milk collection in 2002-03 being 1.86 billion litres. The success rate has been to the extent that GCMMF has now become India's largest food products marketing organization.

The Amul Butter Girl

The moppet who put Amul on India's breakfast table Edited from an article by Mini Varma published in The Asian Age on March 3, 1996 50 years after it was first launched, Amul's sale figures have jumped from 1000 tonnes a year in 1966 to over 25,000 tonnes a year in 1997. No other brand comes even close to it. All because a thumb-sized girl climbed on to the hoardings and put a spell on the masses. Bombay: Summer of 1967. Mrs. Sheela Mane, a 28-year-old housewife is out in the balcony drying clothes. From her second floor flat she can see her neighbours on the road. There are other people too. The crowd seems to be growing larger by the minute. Unable to curb her curiosity Sheela Mane hurries down to see what all the commotion is about. She expects the worst but can see no signs of an accident. It is her four-year-old

who draws her attention to the hoarding that has come up overnight. "It was the first Amul hoarding that was put up in Mumbai," recalls Sheela Mane. "People loved it. I remember it was our favorite topic of discussion for the next one week! Everywhere we went somehow or the other the campaign always seemed to crop up in our conversation." Call her the Friday to Friday star. Round eyed, chubby cheeked, winking at you, from strategically placed hoardings at many traffic lights. She is the Amul moppet everyone loves to love. How often have we stopped, looked, chuckled at the Amul hoarding that casts her sometime as the coy, shy Madhuri, a bold sensuous Urmila or simply as herself, dressed in her little polka dotted dress and a red and white bow, holding out her favourite packet of butter. A Final Word Amul is an amazing and inspiring story of how a milk producers cooperative movement created a brand so powerful that it has not only lasted for five decades but has grown into a giant in the food industry. It has risen from Indian soil and it remains Indian in every sense. With roots well established in the domestic market Amul is all set to fight in the global arena. With the commitment it has shown in the past it will not be too long when Amul emerges a winner on all fronts.

Complete List of Products Marketed under Amul Brand Breadspreads: Amul Butter Amul Lite Low Fat Breadspread Amul Cooking Butter Cheese Range: Amul Pasteurized Processed Cheddar Cheese Amul Processed Cheese Spread Amul Pizza (Mozarella) Cheese Amul Shredded Pizza Cheese Amul Emmental Cheese Amul Gouda Cheese Amul Malai Paneer (cottage cheese) Frozen and Tinned Utterly Delicious Pizza Mithaee Range (Ethnic sweets):

 Amul Shrikhand (Mango, Saffron, Almond Pistachio, Cardamom) Amul Amrakhand Amul Mithaee Gulabjamuns Amul Mithaee Gulabjamun Mix Amul Mithaee Kulfi Mix

Amuls Priceless Baby 1.

Question paper leakage of Common Admission Test (CAT) for seats to the Indian Institutes of Management

2.

Chhattisgarh's political leader in an alleged corrupt deal

3.

Pun on the storyline (the fashion world meets the Underworld) of the hyped up Bollywood film `Boom'

4.

Air India pilots strike due to SARS scare

5.

Nisha Sharma refused to marry her groom-to-be after additional dowry demands were made on the wedding day.

6.

On difficulties in obtaining college admissions

Brand Story of TATA SALT

The history of iodised . vacuum - evaporated, packaged salt in India began with Tata Salt back in 1983. This pioneering brand created a market for high-quality branded salt in the country and defined the attributes that consumers now demand in the product. By highlighting factors such as hygienic production. purity, nutrition and salt as a soldier in the battle against iodine deficiency, Tata Salt sowed the seeds of, and set the

standards for, a new category in the food additives segment. The market for pre-packaged iodised salt in India is estimated to be worth Rs. 10 billion, with Tata Salt commanding a sales share of 2.1 billion or 21% of the market. According to the latest IRS data (2003/04) Tata Salt ranks number one in reach to households in urban India and number three on an all-India basis, with a penetration of more than 53 million Indian households every month. Tata

Salts sells a monthly average 35,000 metric tonnes of its product through 1.280.000 retail outlets (Source: ORG MARG Project Premium. March 2004). A survey conducted across the countrys urban ac showed that 90% of respondents had tried Tata Salt at least once (Source: ACNielsen Brand Track 2002/03). This is the highest for the category and ahead of the brands nearest competitor by a factor of nearly two. A survey conducted across the countrys urban centres showed that 90% of respondents had tried Tata Salt at least once (Source: ACNielsen Brand Track 2002/03). This is the highest for the category and ahead of the brands nearest competitor by a factor of nearly two. Tata Salt fashioned a market where none had existed and capitalized on its first-mover advantage by first establishing a leadership position and then consolidating it. The brand has stayed ahead of the competition despite a plethora of players - mighty multinationals and domestic giants included - entering the field and challenging it for shelf space and market share. ACNielsen ranked Tata Salt as the Most Trusted Food Brand. being first in its listing of the 20 Most Trusted Food Brands in India and placed it eighteenth globally in its Winning Brands Global Database (2002/03).

On the ACNielsen-Brand Equity scale, Tata Salt has maintained a rating of between 6.5 (in 2003/04) and 7.2 (in 2002/03), which is at least twice as much as its closest competitor. Tata Salt has the unique distinction of being the only Indian brand to figure for two consecutive years in The Economic Times Brand Equity-ORG-MARG survey of the Top Most Trusted Brands in India. In the 2002 edition of the survey, which identifies Indias loo most trusted brands, Tata Salt was ranked fourth and in the following year it came in sixth. This success is remarkable given tint salt has all along been a commodity. Tata Salt is manufactured by Tata Chemicals, a valued member of the Tata Group and Indias largest producer of soda ash. The companys turnover for the financial year ended was Rs. 17.07 billion with net profits of Rs. 1.97 billion. Tata Salt is produced at the Tata Chemicals facility in Mithapur haut on the Western coast of Gujarat. The salt- making plant is part of an inorganic chemicals complex which is the largest and most integrated in India. Tata Chemicals, which was founded in 1939, developed a salt works at its complex in 1979. Four years later the company launched Tata Salt. The Mithapur salt works are spread over 60 sq km and can generate over two million tonnes of solar salt, the starting raw material for almost all the 27 basic chemicals that the company manufactures. Mithapur, the city of salt, is the mother of Indias heavy chemical industry. The quest for salt plant began before the Tatas came on the scene. In the late 1920s, Kapil Ram Vakil, a chemical engineer who had studied at Manchester University, established the Okhamandal Salt Works. He later set up a soda ash plant at the site. Salt and salt-based products were then the virtual monopoly of foreign companies, which imported ordinary salt from Aden for Indias consumption. Tata Salt has all the good qualities of traditional salt: it is an essential nutrient, it enhances and accentuates the flavour of vegetables and meats and it protects food safety by retarding the growth of micro-organisms. Additionally, Tata Salt plays an important role in Indias public health campaign against iodine-deficiency disorders.

Brand Story of LUX

The Beauty Soap of 'The' Filmstars. Not just any old filmstar, 'the' filmstars that truly matter. The first ever Lux ad featured Leela Chitnis promising smooth skin all the way back in 1929. As the brand gained traction, it never lost sight of its Bollywood connect Madhubala in the 1950s; Wahida Rehman, Saira Banu, Parveen Babi, Simi Grewal in the 1960s and 70s; Hema Malini, Zeenat Aman, Poonam Dhillon, Rati Agnihotri in the 1980s; Juhi Chawla, Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi, Karisma Kapoor in the 1990s; Rani Mukherji, Kareena Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai and Priyanka Chopra now. For 81 years now, for filmstars and ordinary Indians, Lux has been one of India's most endearing brands, and sitting inside the new 13-acre steel-and-glass HUL Mumbai campus, Sudhanshu Vats, VP, home care & skin cleansing, tells us why. Vats, a marathon runner in his own words, has been working on the Lux brand for two years now. Going the distance is not new to him. In the past, he has nurtured and grown brands such as Lipton, Vim, Wheel, Domex and even been HUL's vanguard for modern trade. The 43-year-old has been with Levers for 18 years of his life, and sustaining the Lux brand now and taking it to the next level is his biggest challenge. With a 14.7% market share in terms of value and 14.2% volume share, the soap brand is still clearly the leader in its category and among the Rs 1,000-crore plus luminaries in HUL's Top 5 brand quiver. However, the challenge for any market leader is to never get complacent. "The beauty of big brands is that they change, yet they don't change," says Vats.

Recently, the brand experimented with Bollywood actors Shahrukh Khan and Abhishek Bachchan. Despite the obviously feminine campaigns that agency JWT dished out for Lux over the years, the usage of the brand actually showed a gender split. So the 2005 campaign with Shahrukh Khan featured him in the foreground but flanked by a bevy of Bollywood hotties who had featured in Lux ads over the years to commemorate 75 years of the brand's
existence.

Even the current Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya Rai campaign, represents this new playful theme with a game of blind man's buff, where Abhishek is trying to get hold of Aishwarya and her soft skin. On a recent sales visit to Barabanki in UP, Vats was caught by surprise at the popularity of the Abhi-Ash jingle in the ad campaign, used as mobile caller tunes, played on local radio stations and blaring on loudspeakers. While the overarching Lux message has remained more or less intact over the years, the brand promise has shifted with growing affluence. It is no longer the standard white and rose bars that the company hawks; instead the core SKUs are strawberry and peach with lotus as the third variant. "You can't leave it at rose because it's too accessible," says Vats. The formulation of the soap has been shifting gears since the 1990s, when floral notes like jasmine and lavender held sway. "As the consumer evolves, his or her preference for fragrance changes from basic to more complex notes," adds Vats. The current fruity fragrances seem to complement the mood of the times. The brand has also kept up with the times by graduating from soap bars to shower gels and has emerged as the leading brand in the body wash segment. Soap bars have kept up too. Lux was the first to introduce soap bars with fruit bits in them. And while the urban consumer laps up these developments, the brand today has been made available at more accessible price points to drive sales in rural markets. Vats says that whenever he travels to the hinterland, he sees consumers demanding a Rs 10 Lux. "Now that sentiment is shared across the country and ingrained in the psyche of village folk," says Vats. In a price sensitive market like India, despite the northbound affluence curve, accessible currency price points act as both convenience and affordability levers. Vats sells about 100 crore Lux cakes every year. The challenge is to sell it not just across the rural-urban chasm, but to consumers that use the brand from SEC-A to SEC-E, from a teenager to a 60-year-old. How can relevance thrive in such disparity?

Vats and his team do the thinking by scouting the length and breadth of the country with a nose for nuances. "For example, big is beautiful in Punjab," he quips, explaining why the Rs 65 Lux SKU does so well up North as a 125 gm x 4 pack. So far, the marathon man has been able to keep the brand relevant and contemporary but as he himself agrees, "Heritage is important but you can never rest on your laurels. After all every 20 years, only 30% of the companies remain in Fortune 500."

CHAPTER.3

Challenges and Opportunities of Brand Management and Brand Equity

Abstract

Today, brands and other tangible assets represent a significant proportion of a companys enterprise value. The traditional Approach to brand management is changing and their has been shift towards a new paradigm in the marketing organization .This emerging trend represents a more away from a system focuses on the individual brand manager, who is responsible for all the business activities that relate to ensuring the success of a specific brand.

Branding identifies five major environmental forces affecting market behavior and suggests their implications for brand management. We pay some attention to interrelations among these forces and the proactive nature of brand management itself in helping shape them. Given dramatic changes in the competitive nature of product-markets and technology and their consequences in the evolving role of both distributors and facilitating organizations, it is understandable that decision processes and organizational structures used to make and implement brand decisions also may need reexamination.

Firms face difficult trade-offs between the increased importance of coordinating brand activities, both within and outside the organization, and the pressures to decentralize decision making and eliminate entire layers of management in the hope of curtailing costs. Low and Fullerton (1994) trace the evolution of brand management from the origins of the first national brands to the present. They provide an important historical perspective for many of the issues affecting brand management today. They note that brand management has proves quite adaptable to differing firm and marketing environments over its existence. As the modern corporation increasingly incorporates horizontal coordination structures, the brand manager may even become part of cross-functional teams.The original logic for the brand manager system in the multibrand firm rested on the belief that competition internally for resources would improve efforts on behalf of each brand. But managers for multiple brands in the same product category (such as Cheer, Bold, Oxydol, and Tide detergents for P & G) often competed as ruthlessly with one another as they did with counterparts from competing firms. The difficulty in coordinating marketing programs for each brand and demands for a more coherent approach to managing an entire category of products on the part of the trade led firms such as P & G recently to centralize decision making at the category level, with other firms either following or actively studying the possibility. Low and Fullerton (1994) comment that category management also affords the opportunity for more experienced executives to involve themselves with the brand management function, thereby reducing one of the weaknesses of traditional brand management.

Zenor (1994) argues that a category form of brand management organization seems

inherently justified by an improved ability to coordinate pricing and other marketing efforts for a firms different products and brands. His research uses a game theoretic model to estimate the magnitude of profit advantage that category management affords, given varying degrees of crossbrand price elasticity in the market. He demonstrates that the success of category management is enhanced when competitors are organized similarly. Estimates of gain can be compared with the costs of implementing a category management structure to decide if such a move is beneficial. Brand managers must address the exigencies of the evolving needs of buyers within a market increasingly populated by global competitors and the opening of territorial markets. They must deal with the fuzziness of product-market boundaries aided by increased deregulation and competitive initiatives, which has the creation of new products / services and the lowering of costs as principal benefits.

An increasing pace of technological change, which profits from its own past successes and is given new impetus with globalization and increased competition and represents another factor contributing to blurred product market boundaries; the growing power and independence of the channels of distributions as intermediate customers, often made possible by advances in information technology; and pressure from investors to produce more predictable growth in revenue, profits, and cash flows and thus benefit from cost reduction. These forces affect buyer expectations and opportunities and by so doing impact back upon themselves, creating change. Brand managers must realize that how competently they respond depends, in part, on how they leverage new capabilities and options presented and that their actions affect the very forces to which they respond. Throughout this paper, as appropriate, we highlight the special contributions and identifies several research opportunities this perspective efforts.

Introduction

Marketers must create competitive advantage by constantly adapting to and instigating change. An innovative product or program loses its competitive edge and the ability to command price and/or share premiums as soon as competitors are able to duplicate or counter its capabilities. Hence, successful marketers must dare to be different, to market changes are likely to be more successful if actions are guided by knowledge of the forces shaping market behavior and insights that enable the development of sustainable competitive advantages.

Globalization of Competition and Greater Openness of Markets:

For an increasing number of cases, the globalization of the world economy can present daunting challenges. Japanese manufacturers have had unrivaled successes in the motorcycle and consumer electronics markets, in part due to associations with quality and reliability. The December 1993 issue of Consumer Reports carries brand name ratings in six product categories: pocket knives, bread makers, SLR cameras, perfumes, rack stereos, and miniature televisions. In each category, the top rated brand, and over 60% of the top ten brands, were foreign. This attack from global competitors accounts for many sleepless nights for brand managers. Brands often must thrive globally to survive locally.Brand management changes and competitive advantage: model elaboration A systems model of brand management will be presented in the spirit of Meade and Nason (1991) in the marketing literature. A system can be defined in terms of structure and, with respect to this, the structure of a system refers to the specified set of relationships. The importance of this lies in the identification of potential interdependence among the components, that is, the influence that one or more sets of relationships may have upon the others (Dixon, 1991). The model presented in this paper attempts to identify levels of interdependence in the brand management system to then identify

hypothesized relationships between variables, The central idea of the modal is that brand management is a holistic system: it receives information from internal sources; it creates a structure to meet the needs of both internal and external constituents, and then develops strategies which should help attain competitive advantage. There are feedback loops which permit the system to receive information from a variety of sources so that the system can adapt to changes. The existing research has revealed that external environmental changes (Shocker, 1994) and company specific variables have caused marketing organization to begin adopting new brand management system, and subsequently are changing the function of the manager, It should be noted that the changes occurring in brand management mirror those at the corporate level, as pointed out by Miller (1987) when he related the variables of strategy, structure and environment Miller (1992) further showed that firms which adapt their organizational structures to the environment are best suited to meet the needs of the external environment. The recent upheaval in marketing organizations, and specifically brand management system, reflect these findings. These changes have led to changes in micro-level brand strategies, as well as effects on competitive advantages. The model will be elaborated in detail below, and then research propositions will be outlined which relate to the inter relationships which exist in the brand management system.

Strategic Alliances

In the face of global competition, domestic firms may seek alliances with foreign competitors, thus co-opting them and preventing their availability to competitors. Such alliances have become the norm in the auto industry. Or, given shrinking margins and profits at home, companies may seek greater opportunity in the global arena. To survive, companies often have to share costs and risks, and therefore rewards. Increasingly, they also are forced to share knowledge, distribution, and even capital via strategic alliances that can stretch organizational capabilities and change the nature of brand management. The brand manager must coordinate with counterparts outside the firm as well as traditional contacts within. For many firms, strategic alliances with certain suppliers, distributors, and even former competitors are a key to future competitive strength. Cobranding extends to alliances between the complementary brand names of independent producers, for example, Fords Citibank MasterCard.

Collaborating with competitors :

Although alliances between manufacturers with complementary skills, or between manufacturers and their suppliers and distributors, is natural and understanable, even direct competitors can find reasons to collaborate. The strength of global challenges encourages domestic competitors to form alliances and creates pressures for changes in antitrust regulation to make the alliance feasible. Global alliances may provide a way of weakening antitrust restraints. This requires new thinking and possibly a split personality for the brand manager, as he or she cooperates in one domain while possibly remaining competitive in another. This may force new organizational arrangements on the firm.

Designing Products for Global Acceptance :

There are myriad factors that influence both customer and competitor behavior in foreign markets. An emerging strategy that seems to be succeeding is to plan globally and act locally, in which activities such as product design are conducted at a global level, but marketing and other transactional activities are customized locally. Finally, managers must be careful in coping with cultural or language differences.

The expansion into Europe was comparatively easy from a cultural standpoint. As Japan

developed, the cultural differences were larger, and U.S. business had more difficulty there. As we look ahead, the cultural challenges will be larger still in the rest of Asia from China to indonesia in Thailand to India where more than half the world lives. U.S. companies will have to adapt to those cultures if they are to succeed in the 21st century. The brand manager may press for flexible product designs that contain features important to all markets collectively or options that can be added readily to a basic design to satisfy local requirements. Brand management will be involved actively in seeking out, selecting from, and implementing an array of such options.

The Increasing Openness of Markets :

Deregulation often leads to increased competition from outside traditionally defined product market boundaries. Each of these new competitors are leveraging their established relationships with customers to penetrate the credit card market rapidly. To contain threats, banks have gone into partnership with airlines and telecommunication companies to offer credit cards with frequent user miles. The effects of deregulation are felt in varied industries, ranging from import / export to telecommunications, health care, and transportation. It is worth nothing that competitive forces often precede deregulation. They are both a cause and an effect. The challenge to brand management is sometimes how to adapt proactively to harsh new market realities before the protection afforded by regulation is removed.

Impact of Technologies Change :

The pace and nature of technological change is itself affected by the globalization of markets. Globalization means larger markets for the products of technology and greater need to coordinate management activities over wider expanses of distance and time. greater opportunity and reward brings more players to the table and affects the direction of research efforts. Technology can be leveraged to gain competitive advantage or technological change can be resisted by entrenched interests to their own detriment. Other impacts of technology on brand management follow.

Product Innovation :

Technological innovation often leads tonew and better ways of solving old problems. These innovative new products may offer greater functionality at lower costs and can displace existing products (e.g., compact discs replacing cassettes; camcorders replacing 8mm movie cameras), thus providing opportunities for new entrants that may not have been otherwise available. Innovations sometime provide additional opportunity for complementary products (e.g., simplified programming devices for VCRs). Brand managers are challenged to think creatively, even in mature or stable product categories. Often innovation in the nonproduct dimensions of service, imagery, distribution (e.g., direct mail), or creative pricing (e.g., frequent flyer plans) can create differentiation. The brand manager is often in a position of leadership in identifying such opportunities.

Convergence of product- markets :

Technological advances sometimes have blurred boundaries between product markets. The challenges to brand managers include (1) how to utilize skills from one product market in another, (2) assembling and managing skills of several partners (i.e., ignoring traditional organizational boundaries) in developing and marketing new products and services, and (2) managing joint promotions and ensuring that partner brand strategies do not adversely affect their own brands. Regardless of whether it is technology driven, the search for defensible competitive advantage also has extended the boundaries of existing product categories or blurred existing definitions. Many industrial producers have discovered the added value that a recognized brand name, as an ingredient or component, can add. By establishing a credible brand present in the final consumer market, producers such as Intel, with its Intel Inside campaign, or Dupont, with its Stainmaster brand, are attempting to further their influence with manufacturers of personal computers and carpeting.

Time-based Competition (Market entry timing) :

In an era of rapid technological change accompanied by fast innovation, shorter product life cycles, and converging markets, time-based competition is becoming increasingly important. Companies with shorter product development cycles can close in on potential markets faster. Each product iteration enables a fast-cycle company to apply marketplace learning (e.g., features and functions that customers like or do not want), thereby potentially improving success of the next model. Brand managers acquire greater control. When competitors can leverage similar technologies to doplicate products and services, speed is even more important. Harvesting the best customers : Occupying the mental corner store : Developing a reputation for innovation : Shorter order fulfillment cycles : Mass customization:

The Increased Power of Distribution and the Evolution of Channels

The new level of competition in many product markets has been abetted by dramatic changes in product distribution and the behaviors of distributors. Whereas in the past, products moved in a loosely coupled fashion from manufacturers to wholesalers and retailers to the final consumer, all levels of distribution and supply now see the importance of systemwide coordination to improve operating efficiences. The advent of the term relationship management captures this new awareness of symbiotic interoganizational requirements for delivering customer value. For some manufacturers, this has led to the recognition that distributors are customers with their own preference functions. Conflict within the channel, in the past merely a nuisance, is now seen as a potentially fatal obstacle to the success of the brand. Intensifying product market competition also has changed the geographic scope of product market boundaries. As markets become more global, the scope of distribution systems for most firms has broadened as well. Brand managers now recognize the incredible value of global brands those recognized and admired throughout the world and the difficult tasks associated with their creation and maintenance.

As the relationship between producers and distributors has intensified, the relative power

of distributors, especially retailers, also has increased. The rapid diffusion of electronic scanner systems has contributed to the shift in information power from manufacturers to retailers. Now, store managers can respond quickly by examining the impact of promotions. They can tell the salesperson what works best and what does not. This has led the brand manager to more consultation with distributors to seek greater understanding of their perspectives. In many cases, retailers, are demanding, and getting access to, manufacturers products for their own private label and store brand purposes. The national brand may be forced to concentrate only on flavors or varieties in which the private label does not choose to compete. This power shift away from the producers of branded products has led to the welldocumented increase in the use of marketing actions directed at the trade rather than final consumer. Distributors, interested in profit across brands and product categories (Zenor 1994) and developing their own bonds with consumers, are prone to play manufacturers against one another, creating difficulties for sales and brand managers. This has encouraged brand managers to obtain sound market research information to become better informed in dealing with distributors. Managers of large brands can try education to wean trade customers away from promotions through everyday low price (EDLP) and other strategies.

Changing Consumer Markets :

It is at the product market level that broad environmental forces are transformed into specific competitive threats and opportunities that require new and creative brand management responses. Both customers and competitors learn and adapt. Once PC buyers learned that IBMcompatible clones were reliable and used the same components as name brands, they refused to pay hefty price premiums for IBM or Compaq. The introduction of Microsoft Windows improved the user-friendliness of PCs and drove Apple and IBM compatible computers, closer together and made each more vulnerable to price competition from the other. Corporate downsizing and corresponding reduction in in-house purchasing expertise may imply increased importance for intangible product components such as the service and relationship dimensions. This shift may cause an increase in the importance of corporate brands and bring reward to reapportions that are compatible. The brand manager must become ever more sensitive to these possibilities. Brand management is challenged to understand the dynamics of changing markets and manage brand association.

The Usefulness of Brands :

The value of a brand name is associated closely with its awareness, quality perception, and the customer satisfaction engendered by related products and offerings, among others (Aaker 1991). Brands are symbols that consumers have learned to trust over time, and they often signal intangible product qualities (Erdem 1993). This signal is often based on experience attributes such as perceived reliability, quality, and safety (Nelson 1970) that products and related marketing programs afford. Such intangibles often lead to more defensible advantages for the firm relative to search attributes (physical features and prices that are readily comparable across brands via inspection or information search) because consumer learning time and experience opportunities are limited. Search attributes, moreover, often can be copied readily by competitors, and it is only when they have not been (because of insufficient time, patent

protection, proprietary production and distribution processes, or creative promotion), that they also contribute to brand equity. Broniarczyk and Alba (1994) provide empirical support for this signaling interpretation of brand equity. Customer satisfaction and relationships with a brand provide it protection from competition. Relationships put any single action in perspective, its importance evaluated against the back ground of previous experience with the brand. Consequently, managers have found that satisfied customers often have many desirable characteristics they by more, are willing to pay more, incur lower sales and service costs, and provide referrals. This has spurred brand managers to focus on customer satisfaction as a measure of operational success.

The value imperative :

Buyers across product-markets have always demanded value but defined it by the behaviors of competitors. Tougher economic times increase sensitivity. With added market alternatives available, they are now demanding high product quality and good customer service at reasonable prices. The increase in market share for private labels suggests consumers may be less willing to apy hefty price-premiums for the image component of national brands. Focus on value requires a paradigm shift from a price-quality relationship in which high quality could be assumed to lead high prices to one in which companies must produce high-quality products and services at ever lower prices. Some distributors have adopted an EDLP strategy or have added value products to their lines. This latter strategy has resulted in the backwards development of new products, starting with the desired price point and image and then designing the product and program to achieve it. Markets also are becoming fragmented by the growing differences in tastes that accompany increasing cultural and economic diversity. Buyer differences in such factors as concern for the environment, the value of time, and health and nutrition also provide scope for differentiation. The rise of cable, with its offer of myriad channels, and the consequent decline of network television represents media response to increasing fragmentation of audiences, but it also makes it more expensive to reach potential customers. Managers of brands still face a need to provide an orchestrated message to customers, distributors, and other publics in the form of one voice marketing. Although hardly an innovative concept, the goal of integrated marketing communications has been driven by the increasing feasibility of direct marketing activities, fragmented nature of media, emergence of more sophisticated and efficient telecommunications, and increased reliance on sales promotions relative to advertising. Each of these has made the development of a strong and consistent brand image more difficult to achieve.

Measuring market change :

Because it is inherently individual and multidimensional, brand equity can be difficult to measure, and even an appropriate measure can depend on user purpose. A variety of measures have ben proposed in the literature of offered as the proprietary products of market research and advertising firms. Each has strengths and weaknesses and must be evaluated in light of brand managements purposes. The brand manager gains understanding of the relative contribution of product attribute perceptions and nonattribute imagery to the brand equity for different segments and enables valuation of a brands extension to different product lines and other markets. The rapid increase in market information for managing brands, particularly from scanner technology at the retail level, has had a major effect on how brand management decisions are made. Such research data are more objective and can be collected and processed in a timely fashion. Often historical data for a product category are immediately available to the manager when the need for them arises. Increasingly, more and better decision aids have been created to

analyze such data. The different strengths of data collected at the household (micro) and store (macro) levels might be combined to offer the brand manager more detailed information about brand preferences and socioeconomic characteristics of buyers (and segments), along with information regarding the sensitivity of the market to price promotions, the impact of a brands strategy on competitors, and the vulnerability of the brand to competitive actions.

CHAPTER.4 Branding for 21st Century Teenagers

Teenagers - kids from the age of 13 to 19 - currently spend $150 billion per year globally. Teens also influence an additional $150 billion per year globally with pester power. And they indirectly influence another $300 billion per year, for example, in situations in which a parent makes a purchase taking into account kids tastes. Thats a total purchasing/influencing power of $600 billion this year. In addition to the products that teens buy for themselves and/or consume themselves (food, entertainment, clothing, music, electronics, etc.), teens actually influence adults purchases of a large variety of products. Although earlier generations have grown up with computers and computer games, this is the first generation to have grown up with online chat and multiplayer online games as part of their milieu. This generation uses the Internet not just to find things out or to connect with friends from their neighborhoods or from school. This generation uses the Net to make new friends from all over the world, to compete with them for mastery of their virtual worlds, and to co-create new communities and planets. Todays teens are also masters of multitasking. They are able to do their homework, talk on the phone with friends, watch TV, surf the Net, chat online, and listen to music - all at the same time. Historically, teenagers have been the change agent in every society, powerful and influential as ever in almost all areas. Most companies have tried to harness this power of the teen market- very few have succeeded in harvesting the rewards of teenage brand-loyalty. Therefore, in the often- freckle world of teenagers, the brand name should be able to trigger a series of expectations not only about the product, its quality, ease of use, etc., but also about what the product stands for in the mind of teenager. Branding, therefore not only represents the company or product, but also cool image. To acquire the teenage market, companies need to adapt to the fast changes in a way that sets branding apart from the rest of the competition. Todays teenagers are not only a powerful segment but also probably the most profitable. This paper is an attempt to gain an insight in to the decision- making process and the vital factors that influence teenage behaviour. There is also being longer term returns in brand loyalty as teenagers of today become the buyers of tomorrow. The paper is an honest endeavor which will throw light on the significant aspects that the marketer can afford to ignore only at his own risk. Some of these issues discussed: teenage demographics, psychological issues, personality issues, emotional issues, parental influence, peer pressures, ad exposure, celebrity endorsement, and shopkeeper behaviour. The paper would also try to analyze the shopping and spending patterns at the retail level and will make an effort to provide an insight into the media that usually appeal to their psyche.

Introduction

India, with an area of 1.26 million square miles (3.29 million kilometers), is the largest democratic country in the world. The country has about 16 percent of the worlds total population and 2.4 percent of the global land area. India is one third the size of the United States and occupies most of the Indian subcontinent in south Asia. Next to China, India is the most populous

country in the world, with a 1995 population of 950 million. Indias urban population accounts for 28 percent of the countrys total population. In 1991, one third of the 12.6 million inhabitants of Bombay were homeless, living on the streets or in squatters camps built on putrid landfills. Bombay, Indias most populous city, has 100,000 people per square kilometer. The 1995 age distribution showed that 36.8 percent of the populations were under 15 years of age; the working age group (15 to 64) was 69 percent; and the aged population (65 and over) was about 4 percent. The 1995 life expectancy at birth for males was 58 years and for females 60 years. The birthrate was twenty-eight per 1,000 populations and the death rate ten per 1,000 population, giving a natural annual growth rate of 1.8 percent. The 1995 infant mortality rate was per 1,000 live births. The sex ratio showed 929 females to 1,000 males. India has one hospital bed per 1,357 persons, and one physician per 2,189 persons. The 1993 literacy level was estimated at about 50 percent, with schooling compulsory to age 14; the literacy rate is significantly lower for females than males.

It is not uncommon to see a teenage customer spending money to buy the latest album of Sonu Nigam, to play on his MP3 compatible play-station, browsing through the latest magazines on fashion before entering the lees showroom, to buy a pair of low cut jeans and a matching bottle red top and then using the latest model of a Motorola cell- Phone to send pictures of himself to some close friends. Teenage consumers have now become a growing force in almost all global markets, increasing not only in number, but more importantly also in spending power. Most companies have tried to harness this power of the teen market- very few have succeeded in reaping the rewards of teenage brand loyalty. The immense potential of this segment has made it even more important for marketers to arrive at the correct methodology at the earliest. Since there are not many teenage- specific brands in India, most strategies have been adopted from foreign foreign countries, to address the burgeoning Indian teenage customers. Since the Indian teenager has always been different from their counterparts abroad, branding to Indian teenage customers is easier said than done.

Purview of this Paper

Todays teenagers are not only a more powerful segment but probably one of the most profitable. This paper is an honest endeavor to gain an insight into the decision making process and the driving factors that influence teenage buying behavior, there by helping a marketer to take advantage of long term payoffs in brand loyalty, as teenagers today become the buyers of tomorrow. The paper will touch upon some important aspects like Teenage demographics Issues that appeal Psychological issues Personality issues Emotional issues Peer pressures An understanding of the above issues would definitely help a marketer to better analyze the shopping and spending patterns to teenage customers, and come out with long-term wining
strategies.

Paradigm shift

Top 10 Favourite Brand 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Among Chief Wage Earner

House Wife

Young Adult Males

Young Adult Females

Nokia Mobile Phones Lifebuoy Lux Dettol Colgate Britannia Close Up Pond's Pepsodent Bournvita

Fair & Lovely Colgate Nokia Mobile Phone Lifebuoy Dettol Lux Clinic Plus Pond's Pepsodent Rin

Nokia Mobile Phones Colgate Hero Honda Lux Britannia Dettol Clinic Plus Vodafone Pepsodent Maaza

Nokia Mobile Phones Lux Colgate Britannia Ponds Clinic Plus Dettol Pepsodent Maggi Amul

Materialistic Values
Teens, on the other hand, spent time and money collecting brand names. Well known brands last longer, match what ones friends are wearing, look modern,

affluent
Today teenagers dress up more, try to follow fashions closely, and dare to express

themselves. "They are braver today" said a higher school teacher.

Influences
Fashion center US. Influenced by TV, actresses, pop singers A lot of people study abroad, and bring back influences

Changes
Higher standard of living More educational options available with private colleges (High School teacher) New techniques in education. Scientific approach/beliefs more effective Dont just believe what you are told, but value the truth. Believe what we see and hear Now more variety of occupations Housework easier - more facilities, washing machine, micro-wave, can buy readymade

food
More working women, dont care to rely on husband, have their own salary, own budget

for spending
Now in marriage, women dont just want to please their husband, but also want to be

themselves Changing Attitudes

Take care of health, and body. Care about food intake, make up (women) More travel, tourism, to the beaches, forests, mountains, nature Religion in bad shape, leaders behave badly Not afraid of sinning Problems, concerns, worries shared with friends, not family People more ambitious now.

 Both parents work, less time spent with kids, more tension at home Mothers compensate by giving their children money or buy them things Material things substitute for love Things are easy to buy, so many shopping malls nowadays Kids dont know the concept of saving Parents blame themselves, cant scold children, want to avoid conflict Parents feel if they are too strict, there will be too much pressure on the kids, affecting

their education / mind, etc

May have to accept changes - cant control them, only guide them, otherwise will do

something and not tell you

Children hide things from their parents - pack clothes and change after tuition class Children less confident now, closer to friends They copy friends, cant live without the acceptance of friends Talk for a long on the telephone, even after midnight Dress a certain way - to be accepted by the group Used to live in large extended families with grandparents - now more and more people

are living as nuclear families

10 years ago, people were more gentle, more respectful. Now they are more aggressive

now, more self involved, think only of themselves

Today's heroes
Todays teens want to be popular, like a pop star or actress on TV, model - someone who

is creative, confident
Nicole is a very important symbol for the creative teenager - she is smart and energetic Radio DJ important source for problem solving - someone to talk to.

2010: Men vs Women

Women will be working more, more efficient and capable than men Men and women will be more equal

 Thai ladies will be leaders in decision making People will live alone more, wont marry too soon; will want to be independent first. Live together and have many partners to try out.

2010: Morals and Values

Teenagers too bold, will like to shock people. Preserve the forests, no animal testing. Hope that people will be judged by their ability, not by their looks or personality

2010: Education
Lots more competition, kids will study harder

Education will be open to all, not just those with money

2010: Fashion
Outrageous fashions, people will do a double take Unisex, want look at each other Men will wear lip gloss

2010: Eating Out

No restaurants, get food from vending machines No waitresses. A screen will come up, just order what you want Chilled drinks without refrigeration Unusual foods, dont gain weight Concentrated nutrition so you dont have to eat a lot More natural foods, will get into your bloodstream faster

2010: Health Care

Surgery - so you dont have to look old any more 1 medicine for all diseases See the results immediately, especially skin treatment Wont need doctors anymore, will have medicines with no side effects Genetically modified products.

2010: Product/Service Suggestions

Hair Care: (Men) o Driven by convenience o Shampoo with no water needed o Use shampoo and it lasts for 1 month Hair Care: (Women) o Shampoo for wavy hair, for straight hair o Do it yourself - dont need to go to the salon Skin Care: o spray on lotion o spray or apply on tan - like a mask - which lasts 1-2 days o Will have masks, wont need to use make up any more o 2-in-1 : cancer prevention and sunscreen, all in one Internet: o The world will be smaller. Can see and buy everything on the internet o Can stay in bed and wait until they deliver it. No time wasted searching o Catalogues for the future season on the websites

o Home pages with prices and where available Services Banks o Monthly interest, dont have to wait a year

o Micro-chip credit cards same as car key, ID card - like a bar code in the body o On line transactions from home, can see the tellers face o Transactions on the telephone, give cash without leaving the house

Pace of Change
Both fashion and technology expected to change rapidly Food is usually slower to change in all Asian countries Banking a notable exception, though considered important Health and personal care not as important nor expected to change much

What we have learned

Some optimism, some worry, some concerns about the future That there will be significant changes, there is little doubt Teenagers are following the textbook - using dress to express their biological coming of

age, their independence from their parents

Almost magically, the weird teens transform into disciplined, socially attuned young

working adults

Branding

Branding is an important tool to create brand consciousness within the target audience. However, branding is more than creating an awareness of a particular brand. In order to appeal to teenagers, the brand name should be able to trigger a series of expectations not only about the product, its quality, ease of use, etc., but also about what the products stands for in the mind of the teenager. Branding, therefore not only represents the company or product, but also its cool image to the teenagers. To tap this teenage market, a marketer needs to adapt to the rapid changes in a way that sets the brand apart from the rest of the competition. Lets us throw light on some important indicators of what influences the teenage customer.

Teenage Customers

Todays teenage customers have emerged as big-time spenders, who not only have a good amount of pocket money but also know how to supplement the same by means of internships, summer jobs, part-time jobs. This coupled with an increased awareness of all things (thanks

mainly to internet) and a voice which speaks out what they want, makes this segment a most desirable one from the marketers point of view. Just to give an idea of the kind of spending that teenage customer would do, the data on the spending of teenagers on clothing for the year 2003,
is reproduced below.

Teens As Influencers

The teenagers therefore, become a lucrative market because of certain characteristics which are not to be found in any other target segment. These can be classified as: Search for an identity Improved cognitive power Changing sexuality Growing importance of self-esteem Higher mobility Gender differences Increasing need for independence Increasing buying power Increasing pester power Let us examine each issue in greater detail, before using them to create a brand that will be valued and accepted by teenage customers.

Search for an Identity

The age group of 13-19 years is a group searching for its identity. They are no longer content

being somebodys son/daughter, but want to be recognized for what they are. They are very open to experimentation and trying to figure out what works for them. In this process of experimentation, finding acceptance from their peer group is critical factor in creating their identity. This experimentation and acceptance may not just be limited to complex thinking process but also includes group activities. The group activities may take the form of just hanging out together or may even manifest itself in the form of physical activity, like organized sports. This stage also poses questions in their minds like who am I? This is not very easy to deal with or answer and can create a intricate chain of thoughts, which could be as complex in nature, as the question itself.

Improved Cognitive Power

Teenagers go through two phases in building and honing their cognitive powers. The stage between 13-15 years is marked by the development of their abstract thinking abilities. The need to use abstract thinking to solve complex puzzles/ problems appeals to them and helps them in further building their identity. The next stage, between 16-19 years is marked by more remarkable changes in their ways of thinking and analyzing data. By this time, the brain is almost fully developed. This brings in the ability to empathize, to control impulsive reaction and metacognition. The earlier capabilities of abstract thinking now become full-fledged ability to reason and reflect. Changing Sexuality

One of the most important and radical change that takes place in a teenager, is the hormonal change resulting in changing sexuality. Again, the early teens stage is marked by rapid and sometimes un-nerving changes taking place in the hormonal levels. This creates an imbalance, which the teenager is not geared to handle. The hormonal balance is at best an unsteady one and may change radically, over short periods. The late teens (between 16-19 yrs) is marked by a settling down of the changes in the hormonal levels and the teenager being able to better understand and control the change that has taken place. This brings in a certain amount of maturity in their sexuality, where they are fairly comfortable with the biological, psychological and physiological change. Importance of Self-Esteem

The early teen is a stage where they go through a lot of soul- searching and trying to figure out their own identity. The need for a healthy self-esteem is a crucial driving factor. They are just learning to deal with their own ego and ask themselves questions like who am I? The role of acceptance, love and success is very important in their building a healthy ego and identity.

Higher Mobility

Teenage customers are also moving away from the place where they spent their childhood,

usually for higher studies. This means that moving into a place which is unfamiliar. In their need to create a familiar surrounding for themselves, in this new place, teenage customers are known to spend not only objects that they desire but also for the basic needs. Somehow, this spending becomes a mechanism to overcome the shock associated in moving to an unfamiliar place. Gender Differences

Gender is also a major differentiator in the amount spent and the pattern of spending. It was found on comparing the typical spending by a teenage customer, that females spent almost 22% more than males. It was also found in the same research that the items rated at top three were very different amongst male and female teenage customers.

Several such differences have made marketers understand that preferences among male and female teenage customers are likely to be very disparate. Now that we have seen the factors which influence and effect the decision of the teenage custromer,let us look at what lessons a marketer can learn from these for branding a product successfully to the teenage customer. As we have seen above, some of major components of brand equity that a marketer needs to keep in mind for creating the right mix in the mind of the teenage customer.

Increasing need for Independence

The beginning of the teens also marks a significant increase in the need to be independent. This need for independence may be exhibited in the form of taking decisions without the inputs (or inference) from parents and other adults. This is usually displayed by the teenager in the form of going for shopping on their own or more likely with their own peer group, which gives them the feeling of lack of pressure and hence greater independence. Increasing Buying Power

The amount of money available to teenagers today is much more than what was available a decade or so ago. Today, the population of teenagers is shrinking whereas the population in the age group 20-49 is rapidly increasing. This means that there will be fewer teenagers per adult in the age group 20-49 years. This translates into a direct increase in the amount of money available to a teenager. Teenagers are also increasingly open to taking up short term project and summer projects. This provides them with additional sources of income, which again translates into extra spending.

 Increasing Pester Power

The teenagers today are quite vocal about what they like and dislike what they want and dont want. The 80s were marked by the teenager accepting, to a very large extent, the final decision made by the parents. However, today, they not only speak their mind, but increasingly adopt pressure tactics to get things their way. This is what is meant by pester power. Pester power is one of the powerful considerations that a marketers need to understand and leverage. Teenagers are not unknown to putting pressure on their parents through constant reminders, even to the extent of irritating or pestering them. This pester power, usually, does not take into consideration what could be possible constraints on the part of parents. It may sometimes even take the shape of so what if you did it for me type of attitude.

Brand Loyalty

By creating an identity for the product which fits in with the identity that the teenager is trying to create for him/herself. The brand loyalty must also allow the teenage customer to peg his individuality on it, so that the association becomes a long-time association. Loyalty created in such a manner will definitely help the marketer reap future benefits, because the teenage customer of today will most likely be the loyal adult customer of tomorrow.

CASE STUDY
The Maggi Brand in India Brand Extension and Repositioning

Case Background

Nestle India Limited is the market leader in Indian Noodle Market with its Maggi Brand of Noodles which was pioneer brand launched in 1983 in the packaged food market of India. It took the challenge and established Maggi in Indian market considered to be conservative and typical about food consumption. It appropriate realization of target segment, effective positioning and effective promotion and sales made Maggi to Noodles in India as Xerox it to photocopier. NIL had introduced sauces, ketchups and soups under Maggi brand to reap benefit of brand popularity and image and contribute to financial gains by 1990.Maggi also became successful in sauces, ketchups and soups Market in India. Though NIL tried to extend to other ready to eat products like pickles, cooking aids and paste, It was unsuccessful so dumped those products. Maggi Brand of products sustained recession in 2000 and 2001 in India by introducing economy packets.

To fulfill novelty needs of customers and revitalize Maggi Noodles Brand NIL made different attempts by introducing new formulation to new taste but customers resisted change and Maggi had to reintroduce Maggi Noodles in same taste. Maggi Noodle had till 2005 five product line on noodles with four variant in Maggi 2 Minutes Noodle. In 2006 in compliance with NIL target to be health and Wellness Company Maggi repositioned it as health and taste food products. NIL has also introduced with taste and product line in Sauces and Soup Market under Maggi to catch new segment, revitalize brand, compete with other producers and fulfill expectation of customers.

In 2005 Maggi brand worth was 3.7 billion from 1.7 billion market worth in 1.7 billion in 2003. Maggi Noodle is Market leader with around 80% market share in Noodles/Pasta and Maggi Sauce is market leader with almost 37% of market share in 2005 in 1.8 billion market of India. Knorr has taken over Maggi in Soup market recently.

In 2005 Maggi was the highest spender in the Promotion and Sales in the Indian Market in the Noodles Category.

Maggi is competing with Heinz Sauces and Ketchup, Knoor Soups, Kissin Sauces and Ketchup, Top Ramen, Sunfeast Pasta Wai Wai and 2 PM in corresponding categories of products and variants

Key Issues How Nestle India Limited is ahead in Noodles Market with brand Maggi since 1982 How NIL extended its brand and line of products to leverage the brand and established Maggi as family brand. NILs positioning and repositioning strategy to catch market and consumer expectation. How to continue NIL capability to Maintian Point of Difference ( POD) and Point of Party (POP) while bradn extension and repositioning. Maggis challenge to protect its market leader position in situations where there is emergence of competitors like Hindustan Lever Limited, Indo Nissan, ITC, Dabur India, Heinz are competing with their corresponding brand on the product category.

STARS : Maggi Noodles is the market leader with 80 % market share in Noodles Market and Maggi Sauces and Ketchup is leader with 37 % market share. The products are producing cash for the company consistently. The Market is growing by 15 % in the Product Category of Noodles.

QUESTIONS ? : Maggi Soups is the category which is in Question mark as the market is growing and the brand as less market share then market leader Knorr brand of Hidustan Lever Limited. There are more chances for Maggi Soups to go to dog it does not stay competitive and increase market share in the category.

SWOT Analysis of Maggi as Brand

Strengths

Established Family Brand Strong Global Corporate Brand ( NIL ) Specialization in food processing category marketing and distribution in Urban market Presence of other product segments of food category : Dairy Products, Chocolate, Infant foods Pioneer and Leader so 1st mover advantage in Noodles, Sauce, Ketchups and Soup market. Nestle symbolization of warm, family & shelter. Research and Development Division in India New Noodles Plant in Uttarnchal

Weakness

Generic Brand to Noodles in India Low rural market presence constraints Uniform Brand for all food category Brand Proliferation

Opportunities

Growing package and canned food market in India by 15% annually. High brand awareness of Indian consumer Other product category like Biscuits, Chips and Ready to Eat Market still unexplored. Opportunity to be substitute to other snacks category of food products.

Threats

Competitors with long history in product category Internationally like, Heinz Sauce and ketchups of Heinz Indian, Top Ramen in Noodle and Knorr Soups. Single product focused competitors like Heinz sauce and Wai Wai Noodles. Less Entry Barriers in the Market segment for product category ITCs strong base in Indian Market. Substitute Product to Product Segment.

Possible Alternatives

Strengthen and use the Distribution : NIL should focus on distribution channels and use of the distribution channel to expand its market to Rural India with products targeted to the market. It is the way it could increase its volume of sales.

Increase the Usage of Maggi Brand Products: Since Maggi Noodles and Maggi Sauce is market leader it has to adopt strategy to increase the usage of the product to protect its market share. As it cannot further grow sales drastically in the same segment, only way is to increase product usage like Noodles for breakfast Ketchups in biscuits.

Lunch Health Awareness Promotion Campaign : NIL should launch Health Awareness campaign to educate consumers about the benefits of health food. It could sponsors health camps, publish health information.

Enter into other product category like Biscuits, Chips and Snacks with New Brand : To enlarge its domain, NIL should enlarge its product segment. It would spread economies of scale to customers in the form of price.

BEST COURSE OF ACTION

Introduce different new brand or acquire emerging brand in biscuits, chips and snacks category.

Maggi though has been able to differentiate itself from other Noodles, Maggi being taken as generic to Noodles is hampering other extended product category. Competitors have high grounds to capture the market differentiating then from being Maggi. It makes others possible product category vulnerable if lunched under Maggi. So to avoid proliferation of brand and introduce new products to capture opportunities in other snacks and ready to eat product category NIL has to introduce new branding strategy.

As pasta of ITC has been seen as products capturing the market of noodles and Maggi failing to lunch pasta under Maggi brand also support the argument for new brand introduction by NIL.

As Indian Market is Brand conscious, other competitors are coming up with more Indianized brand of products, and as Indian being more aware of their culture and large segment being typical and conservative about their culture, there care more chances that NIL would be successful if it create a brand close to Indian culture in wording to positioning. As India is growing, Old Indian Brands are also regaining momentum worldwide, NIL could catch the trend of market.

A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design or some combination of these elements intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. The different components of a brand, Brand names, logos, symbols, package designs, and so on are brand elements. Brands offer a number of benefits to customers and firms. Brands are valuable intangible assets that need to be managed carefully. The key to branding is that consumers perceive differences among brands in a product category. Brands can play a number of different roles within the brand portfolio. Brands may expand coverage, provide protection, extend an image, or fulfill a variety of other roles for the Firm. Each brand name product must have a well-defined positioning. In that way ,brands can maximize coverage and minimize overlap and thus optimize the portfolio. The starting point in the brand game is tile product. How is it different from other products hi tile crowded market place? The answer would be firstly to look after USP(Unique selling proposition) and to think simple but powerful brand name inorder to catch customer as such braid name that could be easily remember by the consumer like Amul, parle products , Bisleri . Liberty shoes that create distinct image in customers mind. Secondly to segment the market as per demographic hi order to classify market and customer and to fulfill different customer needs and expectations. Thirdly to move the product from generic to a brand through skillful manipulation of the 4ps and blend them with current additional 4ps as per market and situation. Fourthly to choose a proper media mix like advertisement .personal selling, sales promotion and also to choose proper media channel as per demographic pattern to reach each and every customers. Fifth would be to choose proper communication media like TV, newspaper, adio. Sixth would be segment the market and customers as per region, state, national, international markets. Seventh is to position the brand properly in to these condition and to make promise to customers to ving promising product as per their expectation with proper pricing strategy, product as per quality.

Eight is to make promise to customers to fullfill all their needs, expectations.

Ninth is to create brand image by keeping promising product available in the market with stable and regular supply. To come up with new idea about product and create a brand with distinct and different product range and maintain quality like jumboking, Amul, Maggi.

Tenth to innovate the product idea by adapting all these strategys . Brands are not immortal as they are vanished with lack of marketing mix and lack of maintaining proper marketing strategy. There is no rooni for complacency in market scenario. The challenge lies not only in becoming successful but also in staying successful.