JK TYRE
After showing that its in ‘Total Control’, India’s tyre superbrand wants to take you for a ride...

JK Tyre – the pioneers of radial technology in India has not only stood up to ‘foreign’ challenges but is improving its position in the dynamic tyre industry. The brand power was also visible in the customer sentiments revealed through the JD Power Asia Pacific 2007 Survey which rated J K Tyre as the second best tyre manufacturer in the country. So what has the company done right in India? During 2006, it unleashed its radial revolution in the truck and bus segments in JK’s world class manufacturing plant. Then the brand proceeded to associate itself with ‘speed’ and signed up speedsters like Narayan Karthikeyan, and it worked wonders for the brand. According to A.K. Bajoria, President, JK Tyre, “As a part of the consumer focused approach, the company plans to further its association with the consumers through ongoing programmes.” Surely its attempts to get closer to the market by implementing unique concepts like ‘Dial- a-Tyre’ or the ‘Steel Wheels’ service to the customer across cities and opening up of ‘Tyre Care Centres’ for after sales service during 2006 have pushed the brand value by 24 places to the 65th rank this year. This brand sure has shown some terrific velocity!

THUMS UP
What happens when the thunder-bird gets stuck in a thunderstorm? Take a cue – look at Thums Up

Three decades and umpteen brand wars since its launch, Thums Up still makes us ‘Taste the Thunder’ every time we gulp it down. Be it with the strong taste or its brand communiqué, the brand has always remained a favourite among Indian masses. During 2006, the cola brand augmented its presence in minds of its patrons and rolled out ‘Rural Games’ for second time in row in the country. Also, the brand has featured commercials with actor Kunal Kapoor, besides featuring its chief ambassador Akshay Kumar. Speaking on what the brand stands for, Kashmira Chadha, Director (Marketing) at Coca-Cola India, explained, “The ‘Thums Up’ campaign aims at portraying the anything for thunder attitude of the Indian male. Nothing can come in between him and his Thums Up.” K.V. Sridhar of Leo Burnett also pointed out, “We found a fresh way to present Thums Up as a contemporary brand. The task was to reposition the attitude of the brand with the changing consumer attitude...” But crudely, despite its recent commercials having shown fire in Thums Up’s belly, they haven’t been able to elevate the brand’s eloquence. So while it slipped 10 spots to 66th in the ranking, we wonder, will its hard-hitting commercials take that hit at competition sometime soon?

PHILIPS
Being branded as just another run-of-the-mill technological brand isn’t bad! It’s a blessing in disguise!

Innovation sure comes easy to this brand! Repositioning itself as a lifestyle & healthcare brand, the consumer electronics giant Philips showed off its brighter side by acquiring Lifeline Systems Inc., a leading provider of emergency call services in US & Canada in 2006. From being a technology-driven company, Philips now delivers the promise of easy access to technology through its ‘Sense & Simplicity’ campaign which was a hit & hiked the brand value to a dazzling $6.7 billion! The brand also benefited from promotions as an official partner of the FIFA World Cup 2006. As a measure of its brand performance, its earnings increased by a stupendous 14% to touch a brilliant $7.4 billion during 2006. India too saw Philips getting generous with promotions & gifts on purchase of a CTV. The ‘Official Global Philips FIFA World Cup Preparation Centre’ was also run during the World Cup season. Commenting on its tactics, Tushar Bhattacharya, Sr. Economist, FICCI said, “The brand has rightly tapped the market dynamics of India. Philips’ strategies and techniques are highly innovative.” During 2007, Philips ventured into the water-purifying business, launched its “Entertainment on the go” promotion & showcased its ‘Go Gear’ MP3 players. Sure, moves which’ve worked wonders for the brand as it climbed 15 spots to rank 67. Real repositiioning as you could call it!

TVS MOTORS
It entered when the leaders had moved too far off... But the TVS brand still dreams big!

It is often said that ‘when two fight, the third one walks away with the booty...’ So to imagine such a situation in the Indian two-wheeler industry, can we say that in the battle for leadership between Bajaj & Hero Honda (which together control 80% of the market), the third – TVS – is waiting to scoot away with the market leadership? Sure enough a possibility as TVS Motors has not only managed to hang-on but has gradually grown with time. Though the TVS brand has always been associated with fuel-efficient two-wheelers, it wasn’t too known for hit models and it’s just products like Victor & Apache that the brand today is in a position to challenge industry leaders. During 2006, TVS recorded its highest-ever sales, which stood at an impressive 9.25 lakh – representing an annual growth of 15%! This combined with its never- failing high performance a n d new-TVS Scooty Pep launch gave the brand a leap-ahead of 24 spots to occupy the 68th rank in the 2007 list of 4Ps 100 Most Valuable Brands. As Murad Ali Baig, Auto Analyst opined, “TVS has been an extremely good brand moving ahead with aggressive marketing strategy. While its competitors like Yamaha and Kinetic failed...,” this is one brand resurgence saga to watch out for!

SUNSILK
Fresh new launches and re-positioning efforts didn’t go unnoticed. The brand however did!

If there’s a fresh look on your local grocer’s dull shop shelf, perhaps its got something to do with the jazzy new Sunsilk packs. The brand received some fresh makeover in 2006 and launched a range of products like the ‘9 to 9’ lotion and drove the nation wild with the first ever of its kind ‘Gang of Girl’ community. It also launched the ‘damage repair range’ in 2007. It’s repositioning as a topend brand with the launch of haircare solutions rather than following the usual shampoo-oil routine, worked decently to boost Sunsilk’s brand image and it did prove successful to some degree. Surely going by the way it is, this HUL’s brand may soon stand as a tough challenger to leaders in the Indian hair products market. With the Rs.12.50 billion ‘shampoo and oil’ market showing a 10% appreciation in worth during 2006, Sunsilk appears to have a brighter than ever future. KV Sridhar, National Creative Director of Leo Burnett, “Sunsilk is a powerful brand and Sunsilk Black has the largest market share. The Gang of Girls is making inroads into the market.” However, considering its slump by 3 slots to the 69th rank, there are obvious issues to be catered to in the brand promotion efforts; something fresh & innovative needed there too!

L&T
Silent delivery of quality technology have been L&T’s hallmark. But the silence was broken!

“It’s all about Imagineering”- that’s what L&T’s new motto is. The brand has recently refurbished its old tagline and from simply being an entity which shouted “We make things that make India proud”, it wants to be known as a hub of superior imagination (imagineering). Till recently, L&T was a lowprofile company with no loud declarations of its achievements and practically close to zero promotions. But of late, the brand seems to have understood the need for the public eye and has geared up to attract the attention of the global market. Considering the same, Amir Ullah Khan, Sr. Fellow, IBF asserted, “Indeed the strategy has proved to be extremely successful for the company...” We however beg to differ as proven by the slump in brand value as denoted as L&T plumetted by 28 slots to a modest 70th in the 4Ps B&M rankings for 2007. Surely, the company could not substantiate its promotional efforts & highly ambitious tagline, when it came to its India operations and despite the brand being recognised, the market somehow found its sudden burst in promotionss hard to digest... and erosion in brand equity resulted!

TAJ HOTELS
Four new luxury projects announced during the past year - that’s all in the name of promotion!

Luxury, opulence and extravaganza available through 77 hotels (including 7 authentic palaces) in over 52 destinations spread across 12 countries and 6 private islands – the Taj Hotels chain has indeed a lesson to share – grow like the mushrooms and choke your competitiors! With tourism sector steaming ahead at a fantastic 11% during 2006, the Taj Hotels brand has practically grown from strength to strength over time. Ajoy Misra, Sr. VP, Sales and Marketing says, “The mantra is that the organization has been built on a customercentric approach and bench-marked with hospitality brands on the highest standards of service whilst being obsessive about its people.” However, the brand during the past year has not excelled in visibility – what else sans promotions and improved advertisements?

LAKME
The brand has to realise that its focus-shift to skin-care products and away from cosmetics will prove detrimental...

Beauty is skin deep… and sure enough Lakme understands it like no one does. Today, brand Lakme stands strong as one of the 100 most powerful brands and right fully so, for it’s ‘the’ brand that lights up the face of million girls, everyday. It’s a brand that inspires, motivates and infuses confidence. Colors, shades, brushes and tones to beautify, have been the core attributes of the products. Indrani Das Gupta, brand ambassador, Lakme, says, “Lakme is a very organised brand and the company can forecast fashion. They are extremely popular and I’ve had a long association with Lakme...” The challenge which the cosmetics industry had to break was the negative connotation of “Being fashionable”. However, what the b r a n d missed out on during the past year despite having roped-in top brand ambassadors like Yana Gupta, Katrina Kaif et al, is that it scored low on the promotional gauge. And understandably, the brand has slumped by 18 positions to 72nd in the 4Ps B&M 2007 rankings.