Brand value rises 6% to $228.2 billion, compared to previous years: BrandZ report

Despite slow-down, some brands have continued to grow and that growth is still in line with that of the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, as India steadily rises in global economic rankings, said WPP and Kantar Millward Brown's top executives at the launch of the sixth annual WPP and Kantar Millward Brown BrandZ™ Most Valuable Indian Brands study. This year’s results revealed a 6% rise in overall brand value to $228.2 billion, a moderate pace compared to previous years, given India’s recent macroeconomic challenges.

The study indicates that there has been a lot of volatility in terms of growth rates with consumer technology growing by 30%, automotive de-growing by 15% and with only 10 brands across 5 years have consistently grown year on year, while most others fluctuated. However, an interesting revelation is that the top-risers which is a group of top brands have grown 24%- almost four times the average growth and have done well despite a slow-year.

Preeti Reddy, CEO South Asia, Insights Division, Kantar said that consumer trust is a common thread among successful brands and it is concerning that only a few have succeeded in growing trust over the last five years. Those who do so, have done it through open and honest conversations with their customers. Reddy suggested that brands would do well to consciously work at building consumer trust. “It is the shield that gives a brand the resilience to face headwinds in uncertain times,” she remarked.

Reddy pointed out that the study reflected that increasingly for today’s consumer, brand trust is becoming extremely important. “Consumers are constantly making choices for and against brands they trust. There is no room for complacency,” she said. She advised that to have a stable growing brand, disrupting it from time to time is key.

According to CVL Srinivas, Country Manager of WPP, BrandZ is a very important part of WPP’s strategy of driving creative transformation. “It helps us stay ahead of the curve with relevant insights. We live in uncertain and challenging times. It helps keep our fundamentals strong because we are really brand custodians of our clients,” Srinivas said.

He continued, “Earlier agencies were seen as execution arms. Post the mid-90’s when media got de-bundled from creative and we started getting into this world of specialisation.  One of the reasons the whole industry got commoditised was because there was too much specialisation. We ended up with too many silos. Not only on the agency side but also the client-side which led to erosion of brand value. Studies like BrandZ are really helping us move up the value chain. It is helping us have these strategic conversations with clients and positioning WPP and its operating companies to be far more serious business partners to clients, not just execution arms.”

Vishikh Talwar, Chief Client Officer, Kantar Insights Division remarked that the rise of ‘middle India’ combined with the rapid growth of the mobile internet is providing unprecedented opportunities for brands. “But, with an almost overwhelming choice of products and services to buy, consumers are increasingly discerning; the Indian psyche requires that brands cater to local needs with offerings that genuinely improve daily life. Today that is as much about providing comfort and reliability as it is about generating new experiences,” he said.

In 2019, technology-backed companies, either in the consumer or business-to-business arena have been dominating the top 10 brands, Talwar revealed. Sharing learnings from the brands that have done well, he asserted that they are the ones that have a clear purpose in the volatile world. “Impactful activation of brand purpose drives long-term growth,” Talwar said. Highlighting other learnings he said that brands must be bold and open, explore abundant markets, drive innovations, be frictionless and be authentic in their pursuit to earn consumer trust. “The need for honest conversations, identification and inclusion- to treat each consumer well is essential,” he suggested.

 Other key trends highlighted in the BrandZ Indian Top 75 study include:

 Mobile Internet access

Smartphone user numbers in India have increased by 18% in 2018 (the fastest rate of growth in the world), mainly due to a combination of Jio’s low tariffs and the renewed competition causing other telecom providers to reduce their rates.

Buying power

Retail is the second-fastest-growing category, with online and offline both growing strongly. New entrant Reliance Retail (No. 55, $1.1 billion) opened nearly 500 new stores and used Jio’s service to connect retail shops with grocery deliveries, while D-Mart ($2.4 billion) focused predominantly on offline, rising two places to No. 25.

The Amazon effect

Amazon and Flipkart compete with many Indian brands across several sectors, with Amazon also opening its largest campus yet in India.  This has increased competition and driven brands to step up their operations to ensure they are meeting customers’ needs.

A confident country

The success of unicorn brands such as Swiggy, Zomato and OYO is fostering new-found confidence in India. This is augmented with the increasingly global outlook of these new brands as they actively seek to expand their operations outside India.