Amazon, Asian Paints and Tata Tea lead Kantar’s objective brand rankings

This is the first time that research firm Kantar has focused on “purpose” as a key metric for brand prominence in its ranking study. Kantar defines purpose as a combination of functional benefits, but said that increasingly brands need to offer assurance, security, connection, and hope for the future. Features like these make a brand meaningful and different.

According to the findings of the report, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for brands to focus only on profits. As India opens up, businesses and consumers are once again looking to the future. It added that brands will need to articulate more specific perspectives on how they plan to improve this future. This is especially true as brands are being evaluated by consumers on the political and social stands they take – although these can also attract criticism.

Kantar, in its Eighth Annual Report, analyzed 418 brands across 30 categories in India and found that in India, in particular, a brand’s objective perception is to establish a brand’s prominence among consumers and “enhance” growth prospects. be important for.

In the post-pandemic world, consumers in India continue to look to brands to provide practical solutions to their everyday lives – from promoting nutrition and hygiene to saving time and managing stress. Consumers are also “highly aware” of issues—from pandemics to climate change, prompting brands to engage with society and consumers at large.

Deepender Rana, Executive Managing Director, South Asia, Insights Division, Kantar said, “The objective is 10 times more important as a contributor to brand equity in India than in other markets globally.

The ranking – divided into three categories – rated technology, fast moving consumer goods as well as non-tech FMCG brands. It surveyed over 12,000 respondents. The database includes 28 features that make a brand buyer friendly. However, for the first time, it spotlighted the most purposeful Indian brands in these business segments.

Amazon leads the index within the technology rankings, followed by Zomato, YouTube and Google and Swiggy jointly at fourth place, followed by Flipkart. The non-FMCG ranking is dominated by telecom brands, with Samsung and Jio jointly second, followed by MRF, Tata Housing and Airtel. Tata Tea leads the FMCG category, followed by Hindustan Unilever’s detergent brand Surf Excel, tea brand Taj Mahal, Marico’s Parachute and Nestle India’s Maggi both at fourth and Britannia in the list.

According to Kantar BrandZ data, consumers believe that these brands move forward with a clear understanding of the purpose of improving their daily lives. “It also reflects those (brands) who have taken a bold social stance, as COVID-19 has increased the need for brands to focus only on profits. Conclusion The long-term need to value brands in India and abroad The trends combine with traditional factors on ESG criteria (environmental, social and governance) as well as valuations and income growth,” it added.

The pandemic has prompted consumers to re-examine their purpose in life. Similarly, brands too, beyond the idea of ​​making a profit for their shareholders, had to re-examine what they stand for and what they deliver to consumers, Rana said.

Soumya Mohanty, Managing Director – Client & Quantitative, Insights Division, Kantar said one path of the objective is through Corporate Social Responsibility – which includes how brands treat employees; their stakeholders, social responsibility and environmental responsibility. The second route is through well-designed products and services that are adapted to the needs and lives of the consumer.

Rana, however, said the objective of turning it into a one-time ‘corporate charity’ is insufficient to build long-term credibility. “Instead, real purpose flows from, and builds on, a brand’s existing core values ​​and DNA. This reinforces the need to understand and measure whether a brand’s purpose is perceived as adding real meaning to consumers’ lives. goes,” he said.

It is important for consumers in India to understand a brand as a purpose – to amplify or communicate their “purpose”. Meanwhile, technology helps brands their ability to display and deliver on convenience. “These brands have been able to expand and showcase a wide range. At a time when consumers were desperate for at-home and delivery solutions, foray into new categories of products. Everyday convenience made life easier and brands promoted to prominence,” it said.