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In this age of consumerism and globalisation, only the best rule. And everybody
would want to be associated with the best. So
while the bests seem to be corroborating
their hold on the people and the market, Economic
Times made a survey of the Most Trusted
Brands in India, and as they pass a completely
rationalised and tested judgement, "The
verdict is finally in."
So which of the brands have the strongest hold
on the Indian market? The survey answers it and
often there are surprises. Personal care products,
soft drinks and detergents dominate the list,
while the automobile industry is conspicuous by
its absence in the Top 50.
The Final Countdown - Top 50
- Most Trusted Brands
| Rank
|
Brand
|
Rank
|
Brand
|
|
1
|
Lux
|
26
|
Vim
|
|
2
|
Colgate
|
27
|
Bournvita
|
|
3
|
Rin
|
28
|
Titan
|
|
4
|
Thums
Up
|
29
|
Lifebuoy
|
|
5
|
Dettol
|
30
|
Tata
Tea
|
|
6
|
Fair
& Lovely
|
31
|
Amul
|
|
7
|
Surf
|
32
|
Iodex
|
|
8
|
Coca
Cola
|
33
|
Johnson
& Johnson
|
|
9
|
Pepsi
|
34
|
Rexona
|
|
10
|
Horlicks
|
35
|
Cinthol
|
|
11
|
Ponds
|
36
|
Videocon
|
|
12
|
Pepsodent
|
37
|
Hero
Honda
|
|
13
|
Britannia
|
38
|
Nirma
|
|
14
|
Vicks
|
39
|
Parachute
|
|
15
|
Clinic
Plus
|
40
|
Parle
|
|
16
|
Bata
|
41
|
Nescafe
|
|
17
|
Ariel
|
42
|
Mirinda
|
|
18
|
Close
Up
|
43
|
Liril
|
|
19
|
Sunsilk
|
44
|
Complan
|
|
20
|
Limca
|
45
|
Wheel
|
|
21
|
Rasna
|
46
|
Pears
|
|
22
|
Godrej
|
47
|
VIP
Luggage
|
|
23
|
HMT
|
48
|
Taj
Mahal Tea
|
|
24
|
BPL
|
49
|
Burnol
|
|
25
|
Philips
|
50
|
Sony
|
 The
No 1. brand of the country is the beauty soap that
satisfies the 'dreams of beauty' of every
woman - Lux. The brand has been in India
since our grandmothers' times, in fact since 1929.
And they have been using a plethora of actresses
to popularise the soap - from the first Ginger Rogers,
Leela Chitnis, Mala Sinha, Waheeda Rehman to
the now Aishwarya Rai and Rani Mukherjee.
They drove home the point of a film star's glamourous,
dreamy beauty. Their brand evolution is no less
impressive. As the market evolved, so did the brand.
From the basic functional benefits of Lux, evolved
Lux International, offering extra moisturising and
sunscreen variants. Another factor that was instrumental
in the huge popularity of the brand, was (and still
is) Hindustan Lever Limited's effective distribution
in the rural areas. Not surprisingly Lux became
synonymous with soap among the rural people.
 The
other beauty products that make it in the list are
Fair & Lovely and Ponds at number
6 and 11 respectively. Fair & Lovely was marketed
with the popular notion that men wanted fair brides.
And it has managed to catch a huge market despite
the competition it received once from Vicco (whose
long name - Vicco Turmeric Ayurvedic Cream - failed
to interest the masses) and the present Fairever
brand.
 No.
2 and 3 on the list of the Most Trusted Brands are
Colgate and Rin. Colgate - the ubiquitous,
70 year old brand's positioning second as the Most
Trusted Brand comes as no surprise. However it plans
to move higher up with several strategies, one of
which is the advertising strategy for their Colgate
Fresh Energy, which goes with a real cool slogan
- 'Speak to me'.
 Aart
Weijburg, Director - Detergents, Hindustan Lever,
talking about Rin, had this to say - "If you'd
ask me to name one brand that would feature in a
survey of the most trusted brands, it would have
been Rin. It's quite a large brand and accounts
for 12 per cent of the Indian market, while Surf
accounts for just eight per cent." And rightly
so. Often used as a case study of a brand that has
done things right, it instantly appealed to women
who wanted their families to be seen in good-looking
clothes. It was the emotional value of the brand
- "the whitest of whites - the envy of others,"
that hit the bull's eye.
The other utilitarian personal care product up on
the chart is Dettol, placed fifth. The brand
has been around since the Raj days and for nearly
40 years now, the brand has been a household necessity
for all kinds of cuts and bruises.
 Perhaps
the other most conspicuous brands in India are the
Cola giants - Coca Cola and Pepsi. Their
constant public squabbles over market shares, popularity
and other such parameters, are no secret. And with
the positioning of two of Coca Cola's brands - Coke
and Thums Up, being higher than Pepsi, is
definitely a one up for the former. Despite these
rankings, the Cola brands have their own dominion
in different parts of the country. While both Thums
Up and Coke are ahead of Pepsi in the East, West
and Northern markets; in the South, Pepsi is in
the fifth position while Thums Up and Coke are way
down at 15 and 16 respectively. Thums Up is seen
more as a bar drink in the north since it is makes
a favourite drink when mixed with black rum. While
the other two - Coke and Pepsi are more popular
amongst the youngsters on campuses. They are seen
more as a sissy drink. But despite all the
hype and the 1300 million dollars the Cola giants
have spent on their advertisements, primarily taking
a dig at each other, they figure nowhere in the
first five. The advertisements did not catch the
massive rural market. Instead film stars and cricketers
benefited while the ad agencies laughed all the
way to the banks.
So here are the most happening brands and hope there's
more to come and witness in the following year -
both for the consumers and the movers & shakers. |
