Nokia voted India's most trusted brand

The Finnish mobile telecommunications supplier has vaulted 70 ranks to secure the coveted No.1 spot, the survey of over 8000 people across different socio-economic class, age and income groups in India has revealed.

In the process, oral care brand, Colgate has been pushed down to the second spot.

At No.3 is Tata Salt (gaining 10 places over last year).

Rounding up the top 5 are Hindustan Unilever's (HUL) Pepsodent and Pond's brands.

Following the release of the results of the survey, Nokia said India is a very important market for them. "Becoming the No.1 trusted brand in India is a very prestigious achievement for us. Our team in India has worked very hard to achieve this," said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, president & CEO, Nokia Corp.

Nokia's success lies in the fact that it has managed to successfully cater to both ends of the market and its comprehensive portfolio for the Indian market "together with investments in marketing and distribution...have helped differentiate the brand from the competition," Kallasvuo said.

India is a very "critical" market, Kallasvuo said, adding, it is Nokia's second biggest market after China.

"Our presence in India demonstrates this very well: the factory in Chennai, the design studio in Bangalore and the strong presence in Nokia Siemens network," Kallasvuo said. "We want to be as Indian as possible to do business in India."

According to D. Shivakumar, managing director, Nokia India, "India is moving from a penetration-driven economy to a consumption-driven one" and as consumers "become more aware of the larger issues facing society, they are likely to choose brands that reflect their concerns."

"Brands will have to engage consumers through socially-relevant differentiation to ensure that they play a deeper and more meaningful role in the life of consumers," he said.

As for Nokia, "Staying at No.1 is the bigger battle. It's a treadmill where the cycletime and response-time is in nano seconds," he said.

But Nokia can worry less. For other mobile phone manufacturers viz. LG Mobile, Motorola, Samsung Mobile and Sony Ericsson are way below in the list, ranked 75th, 83rd, 92nd, and 104th respectively.

Another point of interest is that among India's mobile services providers, while Airtel is ruling the roost at No.27, second biggest GSM operator and rival Vodafone-Essar is languishing way below at No.117. Though above BPL Mobile (No.224) and Idea Cellular (No.242), Vodafone-Essar lagged behind even Reliance Mobile (No.30), BSNL (No.39) and Tata Indicom (No.68). Clearly, the $75 million rebranding advertising blitz undertaken by Vodafone shortly after it bought out Hutchison's stake in Hutchison-Essar in May 2007 for $10.9 billion did not work as well as expected.

Meanwhile, though HUL has seen its brands lose their positions over the years, yet, many of them continue to dominate the top 10 ranks, viz. Pepsodent (4th), Pond's (5th), Lux (6th) and Lifebuoy (9th).

"Brands exist only in the minds of consumers. We are delighted that over the years HUL brands have enjoyed the trust and confidence of consumers," Nitin Paranjpe, managing director & CEO, HUL, said.

Other HUL brands in the top 50 list are Fair & Lovely (11th), Close-Up (14th), Rin (21st), Clinic Plus (23rd), Vim (26th), Surf (33rd), Sunsilk (44th) and Wheel (45th).

In the Most Trusted Brands survey, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) continued to rule the roost for the fifth year in a row in the "service brands" category.

Interestingly, when it comes to life insurance brands, LIC leaves behind its competitions by far. In the overall ranking, while LIC secured the 12th rank, ICICI Prudential came a distant second, ranking 183rd. Others like SBI Life, HDFC Standard and Bajaj Allianz were ranked further down at 194th, 215th and 237th respectively.

Interestingly, when it comes to service brands, except for LIC (1st) and India's largest bank, the state-run State Bank of India (SBI) (3rd), the top 6 places were dominated by telecom companies: Airtel (2nd), Reliance Mobile (4th), BSNL (5th) and Tata Indicom (6th).

The names of LIC and SBI also prove that public sector companies are still a force to reckon with, despite the entry of several private players in the financial sector (banking as well as non-banking) over the last decade.

Founded in 1956, LIC is not only India's oldest insurance company (post nationalization of the life insurance business) but also the largest, having over 2050 branches located in different cities and towns across India and employing over 1.2 million agents who are looking into the needs of over 200 million customers. "We have successfully built our image on trust. LIC's claim settlement ratio is one of the best in the industry," said D.K. Mehrotra, managing director, LIC.

With an asset base over $120 billion and over 10,000 branches and over 8500-odd ATMs, SBI is India's largest bank and only Indian bank to feature in Fortune 500 list. Its nearest rival, ICICI Bank has slightly over 1300 branches and 4000 ATMs in comparison.

Another interesting thing the survey and the rankings reveal is that consumer's trust is hard earned. However, once it is earned, it is for keeps. This is evident from the fact that five brands (Colgate, Lux, Pond's, Dettol and Britannia) have figured in the list all five years (2004-2008), two brands, Tata Salt and Vicks, have featured four times, while Rin has featured in the top 10 list three times. And, except for Nokia, Lifebuoy and Bata (in the past), no brand has managed to get into the top 10 list two times.

However, brand owners beware: though consumer's trust can grow stronger, yet, it does not mean it can grow weaker too. Just as fast enough as a consumer can relate to a brand and trust it, the consumer can drop the brand like hot coal.

For instance, Nokia has gained the consumer's trust the most over the years, surging from No.44 in 2006 to No.4 in 2007 and finally No.1 in 2008. Other major climbers in the Most Trusted Brands ladder are Head & Shoulders, up from No.42 (2006) to No.50 (2007) and No.22 (2008); Airtel, up from No.83 (2006) to No.46 (2007) and No.27 (2008); Reliance Mobile, up from No.95 (2006) to No.70 (2007) and No.30 (2008); Cadbury Dairy Milk, up from No.26 (2006) to No.37 (2007) and No.34 (2008); BSNL, up from No.72 (2006) to No.79 (2007) and No.39 (2008); and Tide, up from No.71 (2006) to No.44 (2007) and No.41 (2008).

On the other hand, Rin, which was in the top 10 in the 2004, 2005 and 2006 surveys (at No.8, No.3 and No.9, respectively), slipped to No.17 last year, and is at No.21 this year. And Bata has plummeted to No.43 this year, after occupying the No.9 and No.10 slots in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

Other major brands which have lost out (or is losing out) on the consumer's trust are Philips, Rasna, Goodnight, Ujala, Nirma, Iodex, Crocin, HMT, Cinthol, Mortein, Amrutanjan, Lakme, Liril, Brooke Bond, Eveready, Hamam, Uncle Chips, Saffola, Tata Sumo, Boroline, Boost, Raymond, ICICI Bank, Vimal, Disprin, Maruti 800, Whisper, Haldiram's, Lijjat, Timex, Liberty Shoes and Robin Blue.

The Brand Equity survey carried out by research agency AC Nielsen ORG-MARG included 300 brands (219 consumer products and 81 service brands).

The respondent was required to evaluate each brand on relatedness (does it evoke a feeling of warmth/ friendliness); perceived popularity (is it known, recognized and accepted by a wide array of consumers); quality connotation (what does it stand for in the quality of its product); distinctiveness/uniqueness of what it stands for; value for money that it offers (does it strike a chord with the consumer) and repurchase intent (which would show how deeply is the brand ingrained).

THE TOP 20 MOST TRUSTED BRANDS IN INDIA:

1. Nokia

2. Colgate

3. Tata Salt

4. Pepsodent

5. Pond's

6. Lux

7. Britannia

8. Dettol

9. Lifebuoy

10. Vicks

11. Fair & Lovely

12. LIC

13. Pepsi

14. Close-Up

15. Tata Tea

16. Glucon-D

17. Parle Biscuits

18. Horlicks

19. Bournvita

20. Fevicol

TOP 10 SERVICE BRANDS:

1. LIC

2. Airtel

3. State Bank of India

4. Reliance Mobile

5. BSNL

6. Tata Indicom

7. Indian Oil

8. Hutch/Vodafone

9. ICICI Bank

10. Bank of India

TOP 5 BRANDS ACROSS CATEGORIES:

(Chocolates & Confectionery): 1. Dairy Milk 2. 5-Star 3. Kit Kat 4. Hajmola 5. Cadbury Gems

(Food Products): 1. Tata Salt 2. Britannia 3. Parle Biscuits 4. Maggi 5. Dabur Foods

(Automotive): 1. Hero Honda Splendor 2. Hero Honda Passion 3. TVS Scooty 4. Bajaj Pulsar 5. Tata Sumo

(Personal Care): 1. Pond's 2. Lux 3. Dettol 4. Lifebuoy 5. Fair & Lovely

(Fabric Care): 1. Rin 2. Surf 3. Ariel 4. Tide 5. Wheel

(Footwear): 1. Bata 2. Action Shoes 3. Reebok 4. Liberty Shoes 5. Nike

(Insurance): 1. LIC 2. ICICI Prudential Life 3. SBI Life 4. HDFC Standard Life 5. Bajaj Allianz Life

(Apparel): 1. Raymond 2. Vimal 3. Peter England 4. Reid & Taylor 5. Allen Solly

(Food Services): 1. Pizza Hut 2. Café Coffee Day 3. McDonalds 4. Dominos Pizza 5. Barista

(Beverages): 1. Pepsi 2. Tata Tea 3. Glucon-D 4. Horlicks 5. Bournvita

(PSU Banks): 1. State Bank of India 2. Bank of India 3. Indian Bank 4. Central Bank of India 5. Bank of Baroda

(Foreign Banks): 1. Citibank 2. Standard Chartered Bank 3. HSBC 4. ABN-AMRO Bank 5. American Express Bank

(Airlines): 1. Indian Airlines/Indian 2. Kingfisher Airlines 3. Jet Airways 4. Air Sahara/Jetlite 5. Spicejet

(Mutual Funds): 1. Reliance MF 2. SBI MF 3. HDFC MF 4. ICICI Prudential MF 5. UTI MF

(Consumer Durables): 1. Titan 2. Videocon 3. Sony 4. Philips 5. Onida

(Retailers): 1. Reliance Fresh 2. Subhiksha 3. Big Bazaar 4. Vishal Megamart 5. Pantaloon Stores