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Trying to define a 'brand' can be compared with attempting to define 'love'; they both have dozens — correction — hundreds of definitions, which are funnily all applicable, correct and seem to make sense depending on the time and place. It is virtually intangible and in actuality, lives purely in the mind of the consumer. Like love, any marketing or business school student will tell you that a brand, far from being a product or just a service provided is an emotion... and what an emotion it is! How else, then, does one possibly even begin to explain how a normal healthy adult, of sound mind and body, can go and spend Rs 7,000 on a Hugo Boss T-shirt; or Rs 150,000 on a Louis Vuitton hand bag; or even Rs 1,500 on a 50ml bottle of Tigi Bed Head's 'Catwalk', which is clearly a criminal waste of money to anyone sound of mind; and completely emotion free towards above mentioned brands.
That brands are an integral part of our lives: as we are all aware, Bisleri will still mean bottled mineral water — whether it's Himalaya or Oxyfresh — for generations and generations to come; Keds has become so generic for sneakers, most of us not living in the US aren't even aware of its existence. You get the point... How it got this way, nobody knows. It drives a few people nuts, but most of us don't care. Life goes on, and we're all happy and cozy surrounded by the brands we need to survive from one day to the next.
There is no doubt in anyone's mind that India is a brand crazy country. We've actually been brand happy for decades, without even realising it. That stamp of knowledge and acceptance, so to speak, was given to us in 2002, when UK based Superbrands — the big daddy of authority and arbiter on branding — came to India. Why India, one might ask? "That's very very easy," says Bill Colegrave, International Director, Superbrands, "because India is a very important country in the world’s economy. And the Indian brands, from what I've seen, are amongst the strongest in the world. India has a higher proportion of domestic strong brands than almost any country in which we operate. And we operate in 45 countries," which really should put things into proper perspective for us.
Superbrands promotes the discipline of branding and pays tribute to exceptional brands. It was first set up in London over a decade ago (in 1992) by Marcel Knobil. It was initiated as a radio programme on BBC. In 1995, the potential to convert the radio show into a book was explored and the first edition of Consumer Superbrands was published.
Australia was the first country to replicate it, and a decade later, this exclusive club had 43 other members — including the Americas, the UK, most European countries and even the Middle East and Africa — with India being the twenty-fifth to gain entry into it.
In India, we have 101 Superbrands — Lakme, Britannia, Strepsils, Rin — to name a few. The selection process of a Superbrand is highly complex one: brands or companies do not have the privilege of applying for 'Superbrands status'. The Superbrands Council, which is a panel of judges made up of the stalwarts of the corporate world of marketing, advertising, research, and media, carefully surveys the market for brands worthy of being invited to join the private clique. Several international brands with a presence in India have found themselves knighted Superbrands. However, this is irrespective and independent of their Superbrands status at home. American food chain Pizza Hut, though a recipient of the Superbrands accolade in India, is devoid of it in both the US and Britain, while Indian Superbrand Heinz India, shares its prestige with Heinz Britain, while Heinz America got left out of the party.
To read the entire article, buy a copy of Impact Advertising and Marketing magazine dated September 12-19