India's Top 50 brands reflect changing consumer and new opportunities

The growing opportunity of India and the changing Indian
consumer challenges all brands to remain relevant and different.
Every brand has its story.
To watch short individual videos about each of the BrandZTM
Top 50 Most Valuable
Indian Brands stories and unique content about India scan the QR code or go to:
www.BrandZ.com/stories

6 7
TOP 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2014
India enters new period of
widely shared optimism
Timing is everything.
Just a few months ago, India experienced
a transformative moment when voters
overwhelmingly rejected the national
ruling party in favor of a challenger who
promised to reenergize the economy and
promote a culture of new possibilities and
inclusive opportunity.
Now we’re inaugurating the WPP
BrandZ™ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian
Brands 2014, a groundbreaking study
that ranks these accomplished brands,
analyzes their success, and points out
important similarities and differences
among the BrandZ™ brand valuation
rankings in India, China, Brazil, Latin
America, and the BrandZ™ Top 100 Most
Valuable Global Brands.
The BrandZ™ Top 50 Most Valuable
Indian Brands 2014 is the first edition
of an annual study that will chart
and anticipate the rapidly changing
environment for brands in India and the
changing value of India’s most valuable
brands. Whether you’re an Indian
company or international company,
already doing business in India or
considering it, I promise that in this report
you’ll find knowledge and insights to help
create and grow brands in India more
effectively.
On page 22, Take Aways provide
succinct action-oriented prescriptive
recommendations from our analysis
for brand success. We’ve also included
summaries of India’s Top 50 most
valuable brands. Brand experts from
WPP Companies across India share their
market wisdom in sharp insights and
extensive thought leadership and best
practices essays. And we’ve presented
all this with stunning photography and a
vibrant design as colorful as India itself. As
you read the report, consider this:
- India’s consumers like brands and
Indian companies are sophisticated
brand marketers. In India, 86 percent
of brands are private. In China, 45
percent of brands are state owned.
- India is home to all kinds of brands.
Global brands and national brands
thrive, but so do innumerable regional
brands that are targeted specifically
to particular segments of this diverse
country. And because India is home
to 1.25 billion people, even a regional
brand has scale.
- India is both old and young. India is
one of the world’s oldest civilizations
but a young nation, independent
since 1947. The median age of the
population is 27, compared with close
to 40 in the UK and US. Ecommerce
is beginning to boom in India, and
the leading global Internet and social
media brands are active.
- Valuable Indian brands provide solid
shareholder ROI. A portfolio of the
BrandZ™ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian
Brands significantly outperformed
India’s SENSEX Index over the past
five years.
There are challenges, of course. The
pace of change is more deliberate
and slower in India than in China,
for example. That’s in part a
consequence of India’s democratic
heritage, a fact that also ensures a
high degree of political stability.
Our timing was
not coincidental
At WPP, the global communications
services leader, our companies
have been engaged in India for over
85 years. Today, 13,000 people
including associates work across
India in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru,
Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and
many other cities. We provide
advertising, marketing, insight,
media, digital, shopper marketing
and PR expertise. It’s part of our
global presence in 110 countries.
By linking all this talent, creativity,
wisdom, and horizontality, we
amplify global trends and insights
that help our clients in useful and
unique ways. We invite you to access
our unrivaled BrandZ™ resource
library. Along with the new BrandZ™
Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands
report, the library includes these
annual studies: BrandZ™ Top 100
Most Valuable Global Brands,
BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable
Chinese Brands, and BrandZ™ Top
50 Most Valuable Latin American
Brands.
To download these and other
reports, please visit www.BrandZ.
com. For the interactive BrandZ™
mobile apps go to www.BrandZ.
com/mobile.
The backbone of all this intelligence
remains the WPP proprietary
BrandZ™, the world’s largest,
consumer-focused source of brand
equity knowledge and insight, and
WPP’s proprietary BrandZ™ brand
valuation methodology. First we
analyze relevant corporate financial
data and strip away everything
that doesn’t pertain to the branded
business. Then we take a critical step
that makes BrandZ™ unique and
definitive among brand valuation
methodologies.
We conduct ongoing, in-depth
quantitative consumer research
with more than 170,000 consumers
annually, across more than 30
countries, to assess consumer
attitudes about, and relationships
with, over 10,000 brands. Our
database includes information
from over two million consumers.
It reveals the power of the brand
in the mind of the consumer that
creates predisposition to buy
and, most importantly, validates a
positive correlation with better sales
performance.
At WPP, we’re passionate about
using our creativity to create and
build strong, differentiated brands
that deliver lasting shareholder value.
To learn more about how to apply
our experience and expertise to
benefit your brand, please contact
any of the WPP companies that
contributed expertise to this report.
Turn to page 214 for summaries
of each company and the contact
details of key executives. Or feel free
to contact me directly.
Sincerely,
David Roth
WPP
droth@wpp.com
Twitter: davidrothlondon
Blog: www.davidroth.com
Conditions ripe for brand building
Welcome
Brand Selection
Criteria
Our proprietary BrandZ™ brand
valuation methodology makes the
Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands
the definitive study of brands in
India. The uniquely consumer-facing
BrandZ™ methodology combines
extensive and on-going consumer
research with rigorous financial
analysis. (See page 206 for full
methodology.)
We gathered brand perceptions
from consumers across the Indian
market, in both urban and rural
areas, and asked about brands with
all kinds of ownership structures:
individual private brands, Indian
family owned conglomerates, MNCs
(Multinational Corporations), and
SOEs (State Owned Enterprises).
We selected brands that met these
three qualifying criteria:
- They reported positive earnings;
- The brand or corporate brand
owner was publicly traded in
India; and,
- In the case of banks, at least 25
percent of revenue came from
retail business.
This approach produced a carefully
conceived ranking of brands in 13
consumer-facing categories, such as
automobiles, home care, personal
care, soft drinks, and food and
dairy. The ranking does not include
any business-to-business brands,
regardless of value, because they are
outside the scope of this report.
To learn more about the BrandZTM
valuation methodology, please
contact: Elspeth Cheung, Global
BrandZ™ Valuation Director,
elspeth.cheung@millardbrown.com.

8 9
Part 1.
Introduction
Overview
Themes 12
India Top 50 Portfolio 13
Insights 16
Highlights
Key Results 18
Cross Category Trends 20
Take Aways 22
Background
Economy and Demographics 28
History 30
Market Structure 34
Media Spending 36
BrandZ™ Analysis
Categories and Brands 38
Brand Ownership 42
Brand Age 44
Brand Contribution 48
Brand India 50
Part 2.
Thought Leadership
Emerging Consumers 54
by Divya Khanna, JWT
Millennials 56
by Upasana Roy, Ogilvy
Premiumization 58
by Mythili Chandrasekar, JWT
Retail Revolution 60
by Rajan Zachariah, Smollan
Rural Mindset 62
by Soumitra Patnekar, Grey Worldwide
Value 64
by Shaziya Khan, JWT
Part 3.
The India Top 50
India Top 50 Ranking 68
Category Summaries 70
Brand Profiles 1-10 78
Our Insights 98
Our Insights 120
Our Insights 144
Our Insights 166
Our Insights 190
Part 4.
Brand Building
Best Practices
Brand Experience 194
by Gazala Vahanvati, Landor
Total Consumer Experience 196
by Vivek Das, Blue Hive
Expanding FMCG 198
by Urmi Saha, Millward Brown
The Next Generation 200
by Devang Raiyani, Grey
Bridging Cultures 202
by Ganapathy Balagopalan, Ogilvy
Part 5.
Resources
BrandZ™ Valuation
Methodology 206
BrandZ™ Reports,
Apps and iPad Magazines 210
WPP Resources
WPP Company Contributors 214
WPP Brand Building Experts 218
BrandZ™ India Top 50 Team 220
BrandZ™ Valuation
Contact Details 222
WPP in India 223
Contents

Total Value of BrandZTM
Top 50
Most Valuable Indian Brands
= $70 billion50Brands
13Categories
Brands formed since
liberalization total
the greatest value...
%ofTotalValueofBrandZTM
Top50MostValuableIndianBrands
Rank:1
Value:US$9,425Mil.
Rank:2
Value:US$8,217Mil.
Rank:3
Value:US$6,828Mil.
Rank:4
Value:US$3,536Mil.
Rank:8
Value:US$1,882Mil.
Rank:9
Value:US$1,721Mil.
Rank:10
Value:US$1,636Mil.
1991
1947
19% 37% 44%
Brandsestablished
beforeIndependence
Brandsestablished
afterIndependencebut
beforeliberalization
Brandsestablished
afterliberalization
FMCG brands
lead Brand
Contribution
The Brand Contribution leaders
have long heritage in India.
BRAND CONTRIBUTION measures the influence of brand
alone on earnings, on a 1-to-5 scale, 5 highest
Strong brands
outperform the market
The BrandZ™ Indian Top 50 Portfolio significantly
outperformed India’s SENSEX over the past five years.
201%
74%
09
0%-250%
10 11 12 13 14
BrandZ™IndianTop50Portfolio SENSEXIndia
16% 17%
33% 34%
SOEs MNCs Indianfamilyconglomerates Privateindependents
Brand ownership among the Top 50 includes private independents,
Indian family conglomerates, MNCs (Multinational Corporations) and
SOEs (State Owned Enterprises).
Top50MostValuableIndianBrands
Family conglomerates and
private independents dominate
BrandContributionValue
BrandContributionRanking
5
5
5
5
5
5
5 4 4 4
Alcohol - 4.7%
Automobiles - 12.2%
Banks - 35.8%
FoodandDairy-8.3%
Home Care - 3.3%
Insurance - 1.1%
Jewelry - 1.3%
Lubricants - 1.8%
Motor Fuels - 3.5%
Paints - 4.7%
Personal Care - 5.3%
Soft Drinks - 1.2%
Telecoms - 16.9%
Top
50MostValuableIndianBrands
7 of the Top 10 brands come from the Service sector

Part 1 // Introduction - Overview
India is on the cusp of new
optimism and brand growth
The BrandZ™ Top 50 Most
Valuable Indian Brands 2014
totals $70 billion in value. Service
sector brands, banks and telecoms
primarily, drive that result.
Consumer product brands also
contribute, powered by Indian
family conglomerates and MNCs
(Multinational Corporations). The
value of the India Top 50 reflects
the efforts of these brands to serve
the rising middle class and those
who aspire to it, both in India’s
cities and countryside.
Brand value growth is taking place
as India experiences a resurgence
of hope following the election in
May of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, and a shift from the Indian
National Congress party, which
ruled India much of the time since
independence in 1947. Indians from
diverse backgrounds expressed
dissatisfaction with the status quo,
and their desire for a society based
on equal opportunity rather than
stratification and entitlements.
The immediate impact for brands
seems to be that a country market
that’s been hospitable is about to
become even more supportive
and welcoming. And the potential
is enormous. Perhaps the world’s
oldest civilization, India is among
its youngest nations. Its population
totals 1.25 billion, with a median age
of 27, around 10 years younger than
the US, UK, and even China.
There is this caveat. As an ancient
civilization, the birthplace of
Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism,
and Sikhism, the home of 22
regional languages, a place
where cultural traditions can
change village-by-village, the
only definitive statement about
India is that nothing is simple. The
country has been on the cusp
of change before. The optimism
following independence ended
in failed economic policies and
political trauma, including the
assassinations of two prime
ministers.
Change happens slowly in India,
modulated by the competing
interests of the country’s
democratic polity, and an Indian
view of time and progress that
respects the past while embracing
the present. Daily life unfolds in
this duality. India is not a teardown
nation where infrastructure
appears almost overnight even
if heritage is obliterated in the
process. It’s a place that attempts
to advance with material and
spiritual needs aligned. If the
pace of growth is slow, it’s also
inexorable and relatively stable.
Growing brand
confidence
Indian entrepreneurs have become
more sophisticated and focused on
brand building. Leadership of the
Indian family owned conglomerates
has moved from the entrepreneurial
founding generations to younger
family members and professional
managers with extensive business
education.
To satisfy the demands of Indian
consumers, Indian brands perfected
their value-for-money propositions.
And the presence of competitive
MNCs forced Indian brands to
innovate, certainly in FMCG (Fast
Moving consumer Goods), but also
in categories like cars, where the
Indian brand Mahindra leads the
SUV segment.
The mobile phone category
illustrates the growing confidence of
Indian brands. After initially offering
low priced imitations of global
smart phone brands, Indian brands,
such as Micromax, Karbonn, and
Lava, improved functionality and
gained credibility, in part by using
international celebrities as brand
ambassadors to suggest parity
between Indian and global brands.
Micromax scaled up to sell phones
internationally at a competitive
price.
Similarly, Indian motorcycle
brands, like Hero, Bajaj, and TVS
are expanding into Southeast
Asia, Africa, and other developing
markets where the experience of
Indian brands prepares them to
serve the needs of value-focused
consumers. For categories, like
wellness, Indian brands offer the
additional advantage of heritage.
Examples include the Parachute
brand of Marico and the ayurvedic
offerings of Dabur, like its flagship
Vatika hair care brand.
The Indian family conglomerates
most clearly demonstrate the
potential power of Indian brands.
Having developed respected
master brands across disparate
categories in India, these dynastic
organizations are building
international presence. The Aditya
Birla Group operates industrial
businesses in 36 countries. Over
time, Tata companies have acquired
brands as different as Jaguar Land
Rover and Tetley Tea.
14 15
Overview // Themes
May 09
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
May 10 May 11 May 12 May 13 May 14Nov 09 Nov 10 Nov 11 Nov 12 Nov 13
BrandZ™ India Top 50 Portfolio outperforms India’s SENSEX
The strong stock growth of the India Top 50 confirms that valuable brands deliver solid
shareholder returns, our BrandZ™ analysis shows.
We created a stock portfolio of the BrandZ™ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2014 and
compared its performance over the past five years with the performance of India’s SENSEX.
Between May 2009 and May 2014, The BrandZ™ India Top 50 Portfolio appreciated 201
percent compared with a rise of 74 percent for SENSEX.
The BrandZ™ India Top 50 Portfolio includes all the brands in BrandZ™ Top 50 Most Valuable
Indian Brands. SENSEX is a weighted Index of 30 stocks listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Confirming the connection between strong brand power and positive stock market performance, the
BrandZ™ India Top 50 Portfolio significantly outperformed India’s SENSEX over the past five years.
Sources: BrandZ™/ Millward Brown, Bloomberg
201%
74%
BrandZ™ India Top 50 Portfolio
SENSEX India

16 17
Overview // Themes
Trends and
countertrends
These developments unfold
in an Indian way. Trends meet
countertrends and change
happens in this tension, as these
current examples suggest:
“Premiumization”/Inclusiveness
Driven by rising aspirations and
income, brands across categories
are introducing more premium
products and services. But
premium is only a narrow band
of the potential. The move to
premium alone accrues only short-
term results. The larger opportunity
is in achieving inclusiveness by
making most brands more available
and affordable.
National/Regional Because
of India’s rural character, with
languages and traditions that
sometimes change within short
distances, brand preferences
change too. Especially in FMCG,
multiple regional brands compete
successfully with national brands.
Smart local consumers purchase
the local brand over the national
when they believe they’re getting
similar benefits at a lower price.
Brands face two clear and
opposing opportunities: growth
by consolidating regional brands
into powerful national brands; and
growth by developing regional
brands which, in India, can have
economic scale.
Talent Drain/Talent Pool No
consumer technology brands
appear in the BrandZ™ India
Top 50. In contrast, several of
China’s most valuable brands are
in technology. This absence of
valuable technology brands in India
is striking because of the presence
of so many Indian entrepreneurs in
major tech companies worldwide,
but it’s easily explained. Global
consumer technology brands –
Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
– operate relatively freely in India,
so there’s no gap in the market.
The recent rise of India tech
brands, particularly in ecommerce,
indicates that Indians who may
have pursued their technology
ambitions abroad in the past, are
increasingly contributing their
talents at home, a development
that should have tremendous
impact for the technology category
and brands going forward.
An expanding
opportunity
Influenced by the Internet
and social media, Indians with
widely different income levels
share similar aspirations. But
the affordability gap remains.
Although India is becoming
wealthier, even in rural areas,
almost 30 percent of the
population lived below the poverty
line as of 2010, according to the
World Bank.
Many brands support efforts
to help create a country that’s
economically and socially inclusive.
As a democracy, India depends
on organic cohesiveness, rather
than imposed order, to keep the
nation whole. It has experienced
traumatic periods when
cohesiveness wore thin.
The determination to achieve
inclusivity is in the DNA of India’s
leading brands across all sectors.
They don’t treat CSR (Corporate
Social Responsibility) as an
add-on, but rather as a relevant
business function. FMCG brands
that produce laundry products
often become involved in hygiene
and water conservation initiatives.
Banks expand into underserved
rural areas where initial ROI may
not be significant but the potential
of the unbanked is great.
Finally, there’s the Indian Diaspora.
While 1.25 billion Indians live in
India, perhaps another 22 million
Indians, almost the population
of Australia, live in other parts of
the world. These people form a
receptive audience for exported
Indian brands. And many of them
live abroad only temporarily, for
study or work, returning to India
with knowledge to contribute,
money to spend, and brand
sophistication that will influence
purchasing.

Key factors differentiate India
and impact brand development
Service sector
brands dominate
in value
Service sector brands – the
banks, insurance companies, and
telecoms – account for the largest
proportion of value in the BrandZ™
Top 50 Most Valuable Indian
Brands 2014. Many of these brands
are relatively young, formed in
the last 25 years after the market
liberalization of the 1990s. They
have invested tremendously in
building brand and scale.
The strength of this sector is
not particular to India. Because
financial institutions and telecoms
are fundamental to the growth
of nations, the service sector
generates high brand value across
the BRIC countries. However, in
India, service brands account for a
rising proportion of GDP growth,
formerly driven primarily by
agriculture. And distinctive to India,
these brands primarily are privately
owned, not SOEs (State Owned
Enterprises).
Because of the nature of their
businesses, and because they
understand that opportunity in
a land of 1.25 billion inhabitants
is not limited to the expanding
middle class – as significant as that
is – these brands also organize
their offerings to meet the needs
and aspirations of the broadest
possible market, as they expand
both in urban and rural areas.
Banks, in particular, articulate
the need for inclusiveness, and
advance a progressive, and
commercially viable, social
agenda to meet the needs of the
unbanked. Telecoms promote
programs to make their services
widely affordable. While building
scale, however, the service sector
brands have not sufficiently
developed deep relationships with
their customers.
BRAND IMPLICATIONS
Having built scale, the service
sector brands are salient, a
BrandZ™ measurement of being
familiar on a top-of-mind basis.
They’ve have had a meaningful
impact on improving the lives
of many Indians, opening bank
branches in remote regions and
empowering small vendors with
mobile phones.
Consumers, however, don’t see
these brands as meaningfully
different. Meaningful (meeting
functional needs and cultivating
emotional attachment) and
different (being distinguished,
even a trend setter) are, along with
salient, the BrandZ™ components
of brand equity.
Service brands
need to invest in
building customer
relationships.
They need to
evolve from
being providers
of products and
services to being
trusted service
partners. Having
said that, Indian
service brands
have been relatively innovative.
Three banks appear in the India
Top 5, and each scores high in
brand contribution, the BrandZ™
measurement of brand influence
alone, when all other factors,
including financial power, are
stripped away.
FMCG brands
excel in brand
contribution
Of the Top 10 Indian
brands in brand contribution,
nine are in FMCG (Fast Moving
Consumer Goods) categories.
While these brands lack the near
monopolistic influence of the
service category brands, they
score well in the BrandZ™ MDF
(Meaningful Different Framework)
of brand equity. And the brands
are salient, well known to the point
that they come easily to mind.
These brands achieved MDF
strength in a variety of ways, some
of which pertain to brand age and
brand ownership. Brand age in
India divides into three periods:
before independence in 1947;
after independence but before
market liberalization in 1991; and
post liberalization. In contrast to
the service brands, mostly formed
post liberalization, the FMCG
brands came into
being much earlier.
Many have long
Indian heritage.
They’re all private.
Individual Indian
entrepreneurs
formed a few of the
brands. Some brands
fit under the master
brand of an Indian
family conglomerate
with a portfolio of brands across
categories. Others are brands that
MNCs (Multinational Corporations)
introduced to India which, over
decades of marketing, have
become Indian brands in the
consumer mind.
BRAND IMPLICATIONS
Although these brands have
achieved strong brand equity,
they lack the scale of the service
sector brands, in part because the
nature of their categories requires
reaching market segments rather
than the full mass market. Their
strong equity enables these brands
to build scale without sacrificing
their meaningful difference, an
important advantage. However,
these brands haven’t fully
leveraged their equity to pursue
new business opportunities and
increase earnings.
Private brands
comprise most of
the India Top 50
Brand ownership reveals one
of the key distinctions between
India and other BRIC markets. Over
85 percent of the India Top 50
most valuable brands are privately
owned. In China,
valuable brands
are much more
likely to be state
owned. While
private brands
predominate in
Brazil, ownership
is not the
determinative
brand success
factor that it is in
India.
The difference in India is the
presence of Indian family
conglomerates and MNCs.
The family owned conglomerates
have succeeded where
conglomerates often fail, creating
master brands that convey trust
and reliability across disparate
categories, while at the same
time accruing economies of
scale. Additionally, the family
conglomerates have succeeded
where family businesses often
fail, in transmitting a sense of
mission and business acumen
to successive generations.
Similarly, the MNCs have achieved
an elusive goal of multinationals.
MNCs in India have
combined the
advantages of global
scale and expertise
with the need to
gain deep local
market insight and be
perceived as a local
brand.
BRAND
IMPLICATIONS
The family owned conglomerates
need to continue do what they do
best, build businesses using their
respected master brands. But they
need to consider potential shifts in
consumer attitude toward master
brands. While young people
respect tradition, they’re also more
inclined look beyond it, for new
ideas and experiences.
At the same time, the family
conglomerates need to prepare for
audiences where the master brand
has little or no currency – outside
of India. Having built
world-class marketing
competence, some
of the family owned
conglomerates
are ready for new
growth stages, with
expansion abroad
and the acquisition of
international brands
for introduction in
India.
The MNCs have
done an excellent job of building
valuable brands. Of the Top 50
most valuable Indian brands, 34
percent are owned by MNCs. The
MNCs now have an opportunity to
build scale, in part by leveraging
their market presence to rapidly
reach groups of consumer who
desire – and for the first time
can afford – their products and
services.
Brands face
greater potential
and competition
India’s history, culture, and
democratic values make it a
tolerant country
open to new
ideas. It’s also a
country that’s
hospitable to
brands. Indian
consumers like
brands. They have
long experience
with brands.
These conditions
make the market
fertile for new brand entries.
But it also makes the market
competitive. The relative lack of
SOEs and the predominance of
privately ownership, mean that
Indian brands have significant
brand building experience. In
the BrandZ™ Power Index, a
measurement of brand equity, the
India Top 50 most valuable brands
score virtually the same as the
Global Top 50.
Both new entrants and existing
Indian brands face similar market
opportunities. These include:
reaching the growing number of
consumers now able to purchase
products and services; and
communicating both to the mass
market and to market segments,
which have economic scale in India.
BRAND IMPLICATIONS
Until now, salience has been
important. Many Indian brands
build top-of-mind awareness with
celebrity brand ambassadors,
often movie stars or sports stars.
Those tactics will go only so far
as the Indian market evolves.
Consumers will look for brands that
promise and deliver meaningful
and differentiating benefits that
improve life in some way.
In part because of government
policies, some sectors have been
more protected than others from
foreign competition. The absence
of significant overseas competitors
in retailing, for example, has meant
that the manufacturer brand
owner drives brand building. In
countries with more developed
modern retail sectors, the brand
owner and retailer share brand
building power, or compete for it.
18 19
Overview // Insights
1 2
3
4

India Top 50 reaches
US$ 70 billion in value
The combined value of the BrandZ™ Top 50 Most
Valuable Indian Brands reached almost US$ 70 billion.
Brand equity is strong
In creating a consumer predisposition to purchase,
Indian brands performed better than comparable
brands in Brazil or China, and equal to the top brands
globally. In the BrandZ™ Power Index, a brand equity
measurement, the India Top 50 scored 222, compared
with a 221 score for the Global Top 50. The average
score for all brands worldwide is 100.
Mega brands dominate
The Top 5 brands account for 45 percent of the total
value of the BrandZ™ India Top 50, or US$ 31 billion.
This concentration of value at the top of the ranking
is similar to other BRIC markets. In contrast, the Top
5 brands in the Global Top 50 account for only about
a quarter of the ranking’s total value.
Financial services sector
leads in brands represented
Financial service brands – banks and insurance
companies – represent almost a quarter of the
brands ranked in the BrandZ™ India Top 50. That
level of representation exceeds the proportion of
financial services brands in the BrandZ™ Brazil
and China rankings, and is equivalent to the Global
Top 100. Financial service brands are typically well
represented in BrandZ™ rankings because the sector
is fundamental to economic health.
Banks are the most
prominent category
Banks are the most prominent
category in the BrandZ™ India
Top 50, both in number of brands
and total brand value. Ten banks
account for 35.8 percent of the
brand value of the Top 50.
HDFC Bank ranked
most valuable brand
With a brand value of US$ 9.4
billion, HDFC Bank is India’s most
valuable brand. When established
in 1994, following India’s financial
reform, HDFC Bank became one of
India’s first private banks.
Telecoms exhibit
high brand value
With only three brands in the
BrandZ™ India Top 50, telecoms
are number two in total brand
value, making up 16.9 percent of
the ranking’s total brand value.
Airtel ranked second
most valuable brand
Ranked the second most valuable
brand in the BrandZ™ India Top
50, with a brand value of US$
8.2 billion, Airtel is part of Bharti
Enterprises, an Indian family
conglomerate, and operates in
20 countries.
FMCG brands lead in
brand contribution
Nine of the Top 10 brands in brand
contribution are from FMCG
categories. A BrandZ™ metric,
brand contribution measures
the impact of brand alone on
earnings. The result reflects that
India has long been is a hospitable
market for brands. Many FMCG
brands started before India’s
independence in 1947. They’ve
flourished in a democratic and
relatively open market economy.
Food and dairy,
and personal care
brands are well
represented
Food and dairy, and personal care
brands each comprise 14 percent
of the brands in the BrandZ™
India Top 50. That’s a high level
of representation relative to other
BRICs. Personal care comprises
only 2 percent of the brands
ranked in the Brazil Top 50 and
China Top 100. The contrast
suggests strong Indian interest in
personal care. The food and dairy
representation in part indicates
MNC (Multinational Corporation)
success in introducing and
developing FMCG brands.
Most of the BrandZ™
India Top 50 brands
are private
Unlike China, where SOEs (State
Owned Enterprises) dominate the
BrandZ™ ranking of most valuable
brands, private brands comprise
86 percent of the BrandZ™ India
Top 50. Indian entrepreneurs
and Indian family conglomerates
together own over half of the
private brands. Others are owned
by MNCs. Both the conglomerates
and the MNCs have effectively
leveraged significant resources
and world-class marketing
expertise to build scale and
develop meaningful brands.
Master brands
exert influence
The Indian family conglomerates
have developed powerful master
brands that confer trust and
authority across categories
while simultaneously accruing
economies. Unlike many
conglomerates, they’ve built brand
equity across disparate categories.
And unlike many family businesses,
they’ve established continuity
of mission and competence in
successive generations.
Brand age tells
a lot in India
You can tell a lot about a brand
by its age in India. The younger
brands tend to be banks or
telecoms that rapidly achieved
scale since market liberalization
in the 1990s. They enjoy high
market value and salience but
consumers are less likely to see
them as meaningfully different.
Older brands, formed before
liberalization, and even before
Indian independence, in 1947, often
are well known and appreciated
FMCG brands. Some started
originally in India, while others
were established elsewhere and
introduced in India by MNCs.
Top 50 brands seen
as entrepreneurial
In a BrandZ™ brand personality
analysis, the characteristic
“adventurous” distinguished the
India Top 50 from the Brazil, China
and Global Top 50, suggesting
that leading Indian brands are
viewed as more entrepreneurial.
Part 1 // Introduction - Highlights
Findings and analysis frame
opportunities and challenges
Highlights // Key Results
20 21

Current forces can propel
or disrupt brand growth
Rural expectations
are changing
Brands are moving into rural
and semirural areas of India.
Banks are opening branches and
establishing a presence. HDFC
Bank opened mini-branches
staffed by only a couple of people.
Hindustan Lever is increasing small
town penetration of its FMCG
(Fast Moving Consumer Goods)
products. The trend is similar to the
brand expansion into China’s lower
tier cites. The difference is that the
Indian government has not, literally,
paved the way.
People are
moving to cities
People from India’s rural areas
are moving to the country’s cities
seeking opportunity. Growth of
the urban migrant population
is the same phenomenon as
happened in China. And there’s
another similarity. People from
rural areas who become urban
dwellers don’t abandon their roots.
When they return to their small
towns and villages they potentially
become ambassadors for brands
they experienced in the city.
This possibility is important for
brands because in rural areas the
recommendations of local leaders
can carry more weight than media
messages.
Value drives
consumer spending
Chastened by the global recession
and the slowdown in the growth
rate of India’s economy, Indian
consumers are purchasing more
thoughtfully. Similar to many
of today’s Chinese consumers,
Indians prefer to purchase value
rather than status. For those
who can afford a luxury car, the
badge is still important, but not
as important as the drive. Less
well off Indians have traditionally
sought value. That’s one reason for
the abundance of regional brands
that compete with national names,
which usually are more expensive.
Premium gains
middle class
attention
Some consumers are willing
to pay a premium for certain
products, such as healthier foods
and beverages. Consequently,
companies like Hindustan
Unilever, Procter & Gamble, ITC,
and Cadbury are adding more
premium offerings to their product
portfolios. Two leading paint
brands, Asian Paints and Berger
Paints, introduced initiatives
to inspire more elaborate and
upscale home decoration. Banks
are increasing their focus on
wealth management. Even some
commodities, like rice, are branding
to suggest a qualitative difference
that deserves a premium.
Affordability
reaches across
the economy
Members of India’s rising middle
class, and those who aspire to
move up into that group, share
the Indian dream, to prosper
individually and as a family. Across
the economic spectrum people are
eager to have that dream realized
sooner rather than later. Brands are
responding with schemes to make
their products and services more
accessible. Buying on installment
is available both for inexpensive
products and luxury cars.
Consumers link
brand with identity
Indian consumers increasingly
consider the brands they choose
as expressions of who they are
as individuals. The connection
between brand and identity
extends to experiences, as
people consider holidays abroad
to more aspirational destinations,
like Europe.
Young generation
has different
priorities
The median age of India’s
population is 27. In contrast, people
of median age in the US and UK
are almost 40. This generational
difference is significant for brands.
India’s young people were born
in the 1990s, post liberalization in
a free market period that drove
economic growth. Unlike their
parents, their priority is not saving
for a rainy day. They want nice
things. But they’re also struggling
to balance their desire to advance
with the tug of family and tradition.
That’s part of what motivates
young people to move to the city.
It limits the tensions at home.
Brands need to communicate in
new ways to reach them.
More opportunities
open for women
The presence of more women
in the workplace influences
brand products and services and
communications. Motorcycle
brands have introduced sub-
brands aimed at women. Ads
for Hindustan Unilever’s Fair &
Lovely skin treatments emphasize
themes of women’s empowerment,
achievement, and transformation.
22 23
Highlights // Cross Category Trends

Insights and actions for building
valuable brands in today’s India
Highlights // Take Aways
Meet desire with
affordability
In India, if you can create a product
or service, you can find a market
for it. You need to create desire and
deliver an affordable price. Don’t
assume your market is limited
to the wealthy. It’s not only the
middle class in the cities who have
aspirations. Less well off people in
both the cities and rural areas are
eager for the good life. Figure out
a way for them to afford the piece
of the good life that you’re selling.
Hair coloring is a big business, and
not just for the wealthy. Mobile
phones, cars, innovative consumer
products, and healthcare are just
a few of the categories where
marketers need to match product
and service affordability with
consumer desire. India may be
one of the few markets where a
consumer can purchase an iPhone
with installment payments.
Build scale
and depth
It’s not one or the other in India.
With 1.25 billion inhabitants, India
clearly offers scale. But to fully
realize that opportunity, it’s also
necessary to achieve depth, to
connect emotionally. Indian service
brands, like telecoms, are excellent
at building scale. FMCG brands do
a better job developing depth or
emotional connection. To achieve
meaningful differentiation, build
both scale and depth. This dual
focus is particularly relevant in
India because of the diversity of
the country. Building scale requires
serving the particular interests and
tastes of many different consumer
segments. For international
brands, it’s useful to think of India
as Europe, a large geography
with states that are both unified
and distinctive. For Indian brands,
achieving both scale and depth can
help sharpen the competencies
necessary for overseas expansion.
Understand the
special role of
master brands
In many of the world’s markets
diversification hasn’t been the
optimum path to brand success
because too often it diffuses focus,
producing more inefficiencies than
synergies. That assumption doesn’t
work the same way in India, where
some of the most successful
brand builders are the family
owned Indian conglomerates.
Their master brands, symbolizing
efficacy and quality, enable these
companies to expand across
dissimilar categories, IT to FMCG,
generating consumer trust and
accruing economies of scale. These
conglomerates have achieved
these results over time and with
the advantage of Indian heritage,
so master brands are not a formula
for instant success. However, major
MNCs (Multinational Corporations)
have demonstrated that master
brands, when accompanied by
deep market insight and patience,
can create brands that Indian
consumers view as Indian even if
the actual provenance is not.
Seek insight in
contradictions
Indians live surrounded by the
artifacts and traditions of their
ancient civilization. They also live
in the same day-to-day reality
as the rest of the developed
world. Indians constantly mediate
between these realities. The same
person may wear contemporary
clothing one day and traditional
dress another. The balance
between old and new depends
on time and circumstances. It’s
a factor in many purchasing
decisions. This balance also means
that Indians are receptive to
accepting brands whether they
are old (Bank of India , established
in 1906) or new (Airtel, established
in 1995).
Set the clock
on Indian time
This duality of embracing the past
while living in the present is one
of the reasons, along with political
differences, that the pace of
change in India is relatively slower
than in China, where until recently
infrastructure construction took
priority over preservation, and
consumers faced the future
with less equivocation. Brands
need to set their expectations in
India according to a clock that
spans millennia. Paradoxically,
progress that seems slower may
be faster. When change happens
deliberately and incrementally,
society’s material, communal, and
spiritual needs are more likely to
remain aligned. The result can be
long-term growth and stability at a
deep level.
Study the young;
view the future
India is a young country
demographically. The median
age is 27. In contrast, the median
age in the US and the UK is more
than 10 years older. Young people
desire the newest and shiniest
products. And they’re more likely
to purchase them – even with lay
away plans – than their parents.
The older generations lived
through difficult economic periods,
without an elaborate social safety
net, when the prevailing mentality
was about saving for a rainy day.
Young people are less risk averse.
But there’s a caveat. Although
young people are more likely than
their parents to challenge tradition,
young Indians share with their
parents the need to balance the
old and the new and don’t reject
tradition totally.
Question Basic Assumptions
1
2
3
4
5
6
24 25

“Indianize”
Drive Brand Power
“Indianize”
Don’t expect to simply repackage
a global product and sell the
same formulation successfully
to 1.25 billion Indians. That’s a
thrilling idea. But it usually fails.
The international brands that have
experienced the greatest success
in India – and there are many –
took the time to understand Indian
needs and tastes and adapt to
them. When Nestlé introduced
Maggi instant noodles, in 1982,
it gave them a Masala taste, and
today Indians generally think of
Maggi as an Indian brand. Even
the most iconic of global brands,
McDonald’s, did not fully succeed
in India until it introduced Indian
flavors and vegetarian menu
options that would seem out of
character for the world’s largest
hamburger chain. Along with
adapting to the mass market,
“Indianizing” can involve another
step, understanding the myriad
regional and cultural variations
within the mass market. That
knowledge unlocks possibilities for
more focused offerings that, given
the overall size of India, can still be
produced at economic scale.
Think and act
regionally
Managing India’s diversity remains
a challenge for marketers. What
sells in one part of the country
might not sell well in some
other part, so marketers have
to constantly customize their
offerings for regional needs, taste
and sentiments. While people in
the north tend to believe claims
made by ads, in the south they
look for reasons to believe. Even
celebrities enjoy different levels of
popularity and appeal in various
parts of the country. Taste varies
immensely from east to west and
north to south – in food habits,
media consumption or any other
way of life. Marketers need to
keep in mind these differences in
their efforts to create successful
national brands in India. The
message may be national, but the
communication needs to be local
market specific. With possibly one
exception. Conventional marketing
wisdom holds that two things unite
the billion-plus people of India –
movies and cricket.
Maintain focus on
traditional retailing
Marketers need to distribute in
the modern retailing sector, which
is expanding slowly as the Indian
government incrementally relaxes
market entry restrictions. But today,
Indian retailing still is dominated
by traditional retailing – the local
kirana shops, the independently-
owned neighborhood general
stores, chemists, footwear shops,
apparel shops, shops selling paan
(betel leaf) and beedi (tobacco),
the hand-cart hawkers and
pavement vendor. While marketers
must use the modern trade format
for promoting their brands and
gaining distribution efficiencies,
they need to continue refining
their distribution and promotion
strategies through the traditional
route – because the modern sector
accounts for only about 7 percent
of Indian retailing.
Define and
deliver good
value
Indian consumers are extremely
value conscious. Well travelled
and educated, they’re aware of
what’s available in the West. They
want the latest, most modern
technology at a reasonable price.
Marketers need to innovate and
keep up with the consumers’
constantly changing interests and
desires. Perceived good value
is pivotal. But the consumer’s
understanding of good value
varies by category and brand.
Marketers need to decode
consumer behavior and define
good value by category and
brand – and deliver it.
Help the
consumer
feel smart
While the details of value differ by
category and brand, this much is
consistent: value no longer means
cheap. Consumers are discerning.
Especially in poorer rural areas,
household budgets require
purchasing products that work
well the first time and for a long
time. That’s why regional brands
proliferate in many categories.
They offer enough quality at a
good price. Consumers feel they’re
getting their money’s worth. They
feel smart. Offering traditional
price discounts and sale periods
may help attract these value-
driven consumers. But not as much
as providing an honest product or
service at the right price.
Be Meaningful
In today’s India, where consumers
know what they want and are
aware of the different brand
offerings, being meaningful and
relevant is imperative. As the
preference for branded products
increases, consumers seek
more relevant and personally
significant brands. Building
affinity, an emotional connection
with the consumer beyond the
transactional relationship, is critical
for marketing success. Some
brands, like the bakery and dairy
brand Britannia, have connected
so strongly with consumers, that
in the minds of many Indians the
brands actually represent not just
particular product ranges, but
entire categories.
Differentiate
Indian consumers today have a
strong sense of identity and they
want to stand out in the crowd. A
me-too brand is not acceptable
anymore. A brand needs to
have a meaningful USP that
differentiates it from competition.
Differentiation does not
necessarily mean developing a
new offering. Marketers can look
at differentiating with service,
brand experience, ambience
or anything else that suits their
brand.
Build trust
Trust and reliability are the most
critical attributes for a brand
to possess in India, relative to
other country markets, research
suggests. Closing any gap
between the brand promise
and the delivery of the promise
builds trust. While legacy brands
like Tata and State Bank of India
have built trust over many years,
global brands like McDonald’s
and Nokia have also cultivated
trust by, over time, finding the
right localized approach. For
heritage and global brands, the
common factor is being true
to the consumer and providing
authentic products and services.
7
8
9
10
11 12 13 14
26 27

Market Creatively
Crack the
value code
Consumers have many choices.
Find something that makes your
brand or service locally relevant,
different, and necessary. Make
something about your offering
– the functionality, delivery, or
emotional appeal – superior to
the competition. Or make your
offering more accessible. And
execute effectively.
Get social
India is the world’s second largest
market for social networking sites.
Major social media brands, such as
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn,
operate relatively freely in India,
in contrast to China. Facebook
has approximately 100 million
users in India. The country has the
world’s third largest Internet base,
with 210 million Internet users,
according to the Internet and
Mobile Association of India. Social
networking in India helps improve
brand engagement. Social media
platforms, detailing the user’s
demographics, preferences, social
connections and behavior, provide
an attractive proposition for
advertisers. The high granularity
of information allows advertisers
to target consumers much more
effectively.
Get mobile
India ranks third among
countries for mobile device users.
Around 84 million Indian Facebook
users access the website using
their mobile devices. Mobile
marketing is the next big platform
for brands in India. Especially
in rural areas, where illiteracy
and erratic electricity supply
sometimes hamper traditional
marketing platforms, marketers
need to leverage mobile’s
advantages. Missed-call ads –
ringing and leaving a message to
save the recipient the cost of the
call – have proved successful for
some leading brands in India. With
the increasing number of utility
transactions – like paying bills,
banking, and booking tickets –
being made on mobile phones,
the medium has huge potential.
Implement
clever
ecommerce
strategies
Increased trust, low price offers,
and the ability to transact 24/7,
drive ecommerce growth in India,
where there are over 25 million
online buyers and over 210 million
Internet users. Marketers must
explore the ecommerce route
more aggressively and adapt it
to the particularities of the Indian
market. For example, because
credit card ownership is limited
and customers hesitate to pay for
merchandise before receiving it,
many ecommerce brands have
successfully adopted a cash-on-
deliver strategy.
Optimize
media
spending
The media industry has changed
significantly, driven by the
changes of 2001, when liberalized
government regulations invited
more competition in print,
television, radio and eventually
social media and out-of-home.
Add in the numerous variables
like geography, language, religion
and socio- economic status, and
the Indian media market becomes
very complex and challenging for
advertisers and media planners.
Consumers don’t consume media
one medium at a time anymore.
They browse websites on mobile
devices while watching TV, or
notice an out-of-home ad while
browsing through the pages of
a magazine. Marketers need to
optimize their media mix to get
the highest ROI.
Simplify
the route
to market
Having an efficient route-to-
market strategy helps consumer-
facing businesses gain market
share at an optimal cost. But the
route that a product or service
needs to travel before reaching
its end user remains complex in
India. Marketers need to develop
more creative strategies to
reach the consumer. Combining
bricks and mortar retailing with
ecommerce is probably the
starkest example of this creative
thinking. Other strategies include:
using unconventional channels,
like self- help groups in rural
markets; using mobile technology
to reach every consumer; and
focusing more on modern trade,
a less complex channel.
15 16 17
18
19 20
28 29

Part 1 // Introduction - Background
Key Facts and Figures
30 31
Background // Economy and Demographics
Bangalore
Bhopal
Mumbai
Amritsar
Hyderabad
Nagpur
New Delhi
Agra
Population
Total population
1.25 billion
Rural population
as percent of total
population
68%
Population below
the poverty line1
(2010 estimate)
29.8%
Population by age1
Median Age 1
(2014 estimate)
Figures from the World Bank and for 2013 unless otherwise noted
1
CIA World Fact Book 2014 estimate
Figures from the World Bank and for 2013 unless otherwise noted
2
Internet and Mobile Association of India
65 years and over
55-64 years
25-54 years
15-24 years
0-14 years
5.7%
7%
40.6%
18.1%
28.5%
27yrs 30.7yrs 36.7yrs 37.6yrs 38.7yrs 40.4yrs
Economy
US$ 24 billion
US$ 76.1 billion
US$ 295.6 billion
US$ 50.6 billion
Foreign Direct Investment
GDP Per Capita
(around the same as Yemen)
US$ 1,499
GDP Rate of Growth
5%
71%
89
135
153
Mobile Subscriptions
per 100 people
46
213 million
(141 urban/72 rural)2
Total Internet Users
Internet Users
per 100 people
15 6152
Geography
3.1 million sq.km./
1.2 million sq.mi
Land Area
(world’s seventh largest nation,
about one-third the size of the US)
GDP
(about equal to Canada)
US$ 1.9 trillion
Ease of Doing Business
134
(on a scale of 1 to
189, 1 being the most
business friendly)

3332
Recent findings suggest that India is possibly the world’s oldest
civilization. Compressing this extensive history into a brief timeline
produces a limited and inexact glimpse into the formation of a
nation. But the summary knowledge is a useful introduction for
any brand trading, or contemplating trading, in India.
Ancient civilization absorbs diverse
influences, inspires major religions
Background // History
Pre-History
The Dravidians, a group of people
who shared a common language,
were among the earliest inhabitants
of the territory of modern India,
starting perhaps 4,000 years ago.
But in 2002, scientists discovered
an enormous city, dated to 7,500
BCE, 100 feet deep in the Gulf of
Cambay, off of the India’s west
coast, near Gujarat. The discovery
suggests that civilization in India
may have formed much earlier.
The Beginning
4000 BCE
Historians generally believe that the
populations of India and much of the
West are rooted in the same place,
around the Black Sea, with the
Indo-European people, who spoke
similar languages and lived perhaps
in the area of modern-day Turkey
or Ukraine. Some of these people
moved west into Europe and others
migrated south through what is now
Iran, arriving ultimately in India.
The Indus Valley
Civilization
2500 BCE to 1700 BCE
In the migration south, the Indo-European
language evolved into Indo-Iranian and
then Indo-Aryan. Along the Indus River, in
what is now Pakistan and northern India,
the Indo-Aryans came in contact with
what’s considered the largest civilization
of the ancient world, with a population
exceeding that of Egypt or neighboring
Mesopotamia. These people introduced the
Vedas, collections of devotions to various
gods, written in Sanskrit. A collection of
Vedas called the Upanishads influenced the
development of Hinduism. The Dravidians
may have populated the Indus Valley.
The Axial Age
800 BCE to 200 BCE
This period of history marks a radical
transformation in human consciousness,
with the emergence of a new sense
of self that changes how people view
morality, life, and death.
In inventing the term Axial Age, German
philosopher Karl Jaspers noted that this
change happens almost simultaneously
and independently in different parts
of the world. In Iran, Zarathustra
establishes Zoroastrianism. Hinduism
evolves from the earlier Vedic texts.
Jainism appears. The Buddha is born.
Confucius is born in 551 and Laozi, the
founder of Daoism, a few years later.
The Hebrew Bible is redacted during the
exile in Babylonia. In Greece, Socrates,
Plato, Aristotle and others establish the
foundation of western philosophy.
Successive empires advance human knowledge
Conquest and
Unification
500 BCE to 185 BCE
When the king of Macedonia,
Alexander the Great, set out to
conquer the known world, he
followed roughly the same route as
the Indo-European migration south.
After conquering the Persians, who
had extended their empire into
the area that today is Pakistan and
Afghanistan, he reached the Hydaspes
River in Punjab. But after defeating
the Indian armies led by King Porus,
Alexander, his troops exhausted,
ended his conquest of India.
The Golden Age
320 BCE to 550 CE
Subsequently, the Maurya Dynasty
unified India under the rule of
Ashoka the Great. Buddhism
flourished during this period. And
maritime trade with Rome began.
For about three hundred years,
much of India enjoyed peace and
prosperity during the Gupta Empire.
During this period, Hinduism became
the major religion and Indians made
major advances in science and
mathematics, inventing the concept
of zero and the decimal system.

Background // History
Empires and Invasions
500 to 1500
With the end of the Gupta Empire, India fractured into
several kingdoms. Arab Muslims conquered Persia and
then the areas now Pakistan and Afghanistan, but Hindu
rulers repelled advances further south. Later, Turkic
and Afghan invaders established the Delhi Sultanate in
northern India and exerted influence in other parts of
the country, adding Islam to the mix of religions.
Mughal Era
1500 to 1857
Mughal invaders defeated the Muslim rulers of northern
India, adding more elements to the country’s cultural mix.
Turkic-Mongols from central Asia, the Mughals traced
their lineage to Genghis Khan. During the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries they controlled most of India. A Mughal
emperor, Shah Jahan, built the Taj Mahal. In 1499, Portuguese
explorer Vasco da Gama discovered a new sea route to India,
around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. The Dutch East India
Company was established in 1602. Subsequently, the Danish,
French, and Portuguese set up similar mercantile businesses.
Britain established its East India Company in 1612.
British Rule
1858 to 1947
With these developments, India became
not only a trading partner for the
Europeans, but also another theater of
war. Following Britain’s victory in the
Seven Year’s War, which broke out in
1756, its East India Company controlled
most of India for about a century, until
an Indian rebellion against the company
in 1857. Then the British government
asserted control. It installed modern
governance institutions, helped build the
economy, and encouraged an emerging
middle class. At the same time, much of
India remained impoverished. By the early
1920s, the Indian National Congress called
for self-government. Relying on principles
of non-violent protest, Mahatma Gandhi
led a movement for independence.
Independence
1947 to 1991
In the global geo-political reorganization
following World War II, India achieved
independence, on August 15, 1947, and
Jawaharlal Nehru became the nation’s
first prime minister. Britain partitioned the
land into a Muslim state, Pakistan, and a
predominately Hindu state, India. Massive
migration and violence ensued. Tensions
between India and Pakistan deteriorated
to the point of war several times. Internal
divisions resulted in the assassinations
of two prime ministers, Indira Gandhi in
1984, and her son Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
India’s economy neared default in 1991.
This trauma forced the government to
advance more inclusive policies and
loosen its central control of the economy.
Rising India
1991 to Today
Some sectors, such financial services
and telecommunications, experienced
reform, while other sectors lagged.
Having nationalized banks in 1966, the
Indian government allowed more private
ownership, in 1996. Regulatory reform
of insurance, in 2000, attracted foreign
investment. For similar reasons, the telecom
sector grew exponentially. In contrast, the
retail sector remains highly protected and
fragmented. Although GDP grew by over
10 percent in 2010, the economy slowed
to half that rate in 2013. The overwhelming
rejection of the long-time ruling party, and
the vote in favor of Narendra Modi, in India’s
national election, in May 2014, signaled
impatience with the pace of reform and
affirmed a desire for greater opportunity.
3534
Centuries of dynastic and
colonial rule end with
independence and democracy
Modern India strives for inclusive opportunity

Background // Market Structure
3736
Indian family conglomerates
own many valuable brands
In a distinctly Indian phenomenon,
family conglomerates own 26
percent of the BrandZ™ Top 50
Most Valuable Indian Brands, and
a significant number of India’s
other leading brands across
most categories, from industrial
products to FMCG.
Most of the Indian conglomerates
were formed over 65 years ago,
before the establishment of
India as an independent nation,
during the period of British rule,
at a time when India’s middle
class first expanded and local
entrepreneurs found ways to
align with the government’s
nation-building agenda.
When conglomerates worldwide
often failed to produce productive
synergies among their many
holdings, many Indian family
conglomerates expanded their
holdings and built master brands
that confer authority across
disparate categories while
accruing economies of scale.
They’ve also succeeded where
many family businesses fail,
transmitting a sense of mission and
entrepreneurialism to successive
generations.
There are around 40 prominent
Indian family conglomerates.
The largest include: Adani
Group, Aditya Birla Group, Bharti
Enterprises, Essar Group, Godrej
Industries, Mahindra Group, O.P.
Jindal Group, Reliance-ADA Group,
Reliance Industries, Sahara Group,
and Tata Group.
Indian family conglomerates
overall score significantly higher
than MNCs (Multinational
Corporations) in brand power, the
BrandZ™ measurement of brand
equity and a brand’s ability to drive
market share. Factors driving this
result include:
Dynasty
Prior to British rule, India
experienced centuries of
dynastic leadership. These family
conglomerates adapted India’s
traditional governance structure
and applied it to commerce.
Over time, they leveraged their
privilege, knowledge of the
system, and access.
Family
Family is the primary social unit
in India, perhaps more than in
many other nations. Until recently,
individual prerogatives were
secondary to the needs of the
family. The family dynasties match
this cultural characteristic.
Trust
Trust plays and important role
in Indian society. A family name
on a product or service assures
consumers with promises of
quality and reliability even across
unrelated categories.
Mission
The conglomerates are
not building family wealth
alone, although they’re often
tremendously wealthy. They’re
also building businesses to serve
a nation. This mission provides
guidance and continuity for
successive generations.
Local Roots
Local knowledge and connections,
important factors for success in
any market, are especially critical
in India because of complexity and
diversity. Success requires getting
the subtleties right.
Professionalism
In culture, Indian conglomerates
respect tradition and family; in
operations, they adopt the most up-
to-date, global best practices. This
duality is part of what makes them
successful and particularly Indian.
Prominent Indian Family Conglomerates
Adani Group
Established in 1988, the Adani
Group focuses on developing
infrastructure, logistics and
energy to meet the needs of
a more prosperous India. The
company’s businesses include
coal mining, development and
operation of seaports and
railways, and electric power
generation and delivery. The
Adani Foundation promotes
inclusive growth by focusing
on these areas of concern:
education, community health, job
development for people in need,
and rural infrastructure.
Aditya Birla Group
Outside of India, Aditya Birla
is best known for its industrial
products, including copper,
aluminum, cement, and fertilizer.
Indians think of it for fashion,
telecommunications, financial
and retail. Its brands in India
include Idea Cellular. The Aditya
Birla Group was formed in 1857,
in the village of Pilani in the
Rajasthan desert, where Seth Shiv
Narayan Birla started a cotton
trading business. Today, the
Group’s operations extend to 36
countries.
Bharti Enterprises
Bharti operates businesses in
telecom, insurance, retail, digital
TV and foods. The telecom
business is present in 20
countries across Africa and Asia,
and includes a joint venture with
Japan’s Softbank. Bharti’s retail
operation included a six-year joint
venture with Walmart. Founded
in 1976, by Sunil Bharti Mittal,
the company developed first as
a manufacturer of bicycle parts,
and started in telecom services
by launching a mobile services
business in Delhi, in 1995.
Essar Group
Essar Group operates primarily
in steel, energy, infrastructure,
shipping, ports and logistics,
and services, including tele-
communications, in over 25
countries. The company was
incorporated in June 1976.
Godrej Industries
Established in 1897 as a lock
company by inventor Ardeshir
Godrej, Godrej Industries today
includes: real estate; FMCG,
particularly home care and personal
care products; chemicals; and
agribusiness, with products such
as animal feed and palm oil. As
advocates for inclusive growth,
Godrej operates its “Good & Green”
program to help more low income
people find productive employment
and to make more affordable
and environmentally responsible
products available to them.
Mahindra Group
Mahindra has a presence in
a wide range of industries,
including: aerospace, agribusiness,
automobiles, automobile
aftermarket, construction
equipment, defense, energy, farm
equipment, finance and insurance,
industrial equipment, IT, leisure
and hospitality, logistics, real
estate, and retail. Two brothers,
J.C. Mahindra and K.C. Mahindra,
and Malik Ghulam Mohammad,
incorporated the original
company, Mahindra & Mohammed,
in 1945, in Punjab, to trade steel.
The company entered automobile
manufacturing in 1947. Today, the
company is especially well known
for its SUV brands and tractors.
O.P. Jindal Group
An industrial conglomerate, O.P.
Jindal Group maintains interests
in steel, cement, mining, and
power. Founder O.P. Jindal
opened the company’s first steel
plant in Hisar, in northwestern
India, in 1952. The company’s
operations today span the globe.
Reliance–ADA Group
Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani
Group is present in many sectors
including: communications,
infrastructure, financial services,
entertainment, power, healthcare,
technology, cement, real estate,
food, and logistics. The group
formed in 2005, when the
two brothers running Reliance
Industries split that company into
two entities.
Reliance Industries
The business interests of
Reliance Industries include:
retail, telecommunications,
and petrochemical exploration,
refining and production. The wide
range of retail holdings includes
Reliance hypermarkets, specialty
stores in both food and non-food,
and relationships with major
international brands. Founder
Dhirubhai Ambani incorporated
Reliance Textiles Industries
Private Limited in 1966. After an
IPO (Initial Public Offering) in
1977, the company focused on
vertical integration, connecting its
textile business in polyester fibers
to the petrochemical business.
Sahara Group
Sahara India Pariwar interests
include: infrastructure and
housing, sports, finance, retail,
power, manufacturing, IT,
media, entertainment, tourism,
healthcare, dairy, hospitality, and
power. The Group owns several
sports teams and major interests
in London’s Grosvenor House
Hotel and New York’s Plaza Hotel.
Tata Group
The Tata Group operates
over 100 companies, across
the world, in seven business
sectors: communications and IT,
engineering, materials, services,
energy, consumer products, and
chemicals. Among the companies
are: Tata Motors, with brands
such as Jaguar Land Rover;
and Tata Docomo, the telecom.
Formed from a trading company
that Jamsetiji Nusserwanji Tata
established in Bombay, in 1868,
the company entered its first
major industrial business, in 1874,
with the establishment of the
Central India Spinning, Weaving
and Manufacturing Company.
Over time, the Group entered
the airlines and automobile
businesses. And it 1952, it created
the first popular Indian cosmetic
brand, Lakmé, now owned by
Hindustan lever.

Background // Media Spending
3938
Digital gains growing share
of an expanding media pie
Digital advertising investment
in India is predicted to grow 35
percent in 2014, following a 30
percent increase a year earlier.
This growth would give digital
just under 8 percent of total
media spending. Digital already
is the third largest media sector
investment, less than TV and print
but higher than out-of-home,
radio, and cinema.
As digital gains as a percentage
of total spending, the share of
some traditional media declines.
Although print is expected to
claim a strong 38 percent of total
media spending in 2014, that’s
down from 53 percent in 2005. In
contrast, TV investment increased
over the same period to 44
percent of total media spending
from 37 percent.
Driven by India’s economic
expansion and the brand building
requirements of a market
economy, the total media pie
expanded between 2005 and
2013, even as the slices changed
in relative size. And in actual
spending, investment in all media
increased during this period,
even for magazines, which
are experiencing the greatest
pressure.
Total media spending is expected
to reach 430.6 billion rupees (US$
7.2 billion) in 2014, up from 386.0
billion rupees (US$ 6.4 billion) in
2013, and from only 156.3 billion
rupees (US$ 3.6 billion) in 2005.
FMCG leads media spending...
Representing 29 percent of all media spending, FMCG led all
sectors, with significant investment also in retail and auto.
Media Spending by Sector
Ad Spending by Media
Source: GroupM and others
...With more spending going to digital
Digital spending continued its steady growth, with print investment,
especially magazines, predicted to again decline.
Source: GroupM and others
FMCG 29%
Real Estate 4%
Services 4%
Consumer Durables 5%
Financial Services 5%
Telecoms 6%
Others 22%
Retail 12%
Automobiles 8%
Education 6%
2005
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2007 2009 2011 20132006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Estimated
TV Print Digital OoH Radio Cinema

The value of the BrandZ™ Top 50
Most Valuable Indian Brands 2014
is concentrated at the top of the
ranking, among a limited number
of categories.
Two categories – banks and
telecoms – comprise more than
half of the brand value of the
India Top 50. Banks are the
most represented category, with
10 brands. Only three telecom
brands appear in the Top 50, but
they’re highly valued and each
ranks in the Top 10.
The Top 5 brands alone – three
banks, a telecom, and an
automobile brand – produce 45
percent of the Top 50’s total value.
The brands are HDFC Bank, State
Bank of India, and ICICI Bank,
along with Airtel and Bajaj Auto.
In counterpoint to the
concentration of value and the
limited number of categories at
the top of the Indian ranking,
the rest of the Top 50 is more
category diverse, with food and
dairy, personal care, and home
care also well represented.
The value of bank, telecom,
and automobile brands results
from a couple of factors. Market
liberalization, particularly changes
enacted in 1991, encouraged more
private ownership and resulted
in new brands. Heritage and
consumer appeal drove growth of
existing brands.
For example, Punjab National
Bank opened in 1895. After
several changes in ownership and
brand name, the current State
Bank of India was established in
1955. Bajaj Auto was formed in
1959. Tata Motors began in 1945.
Part 1 // Introduction - BrandZ™ Analysis
Value is concentrated at the top,
similar to other BRIC markets
BrandZ™ Analysis // Categories and Brands
40 41
Top 50 ranking by brand value Top 5 ranking by brand value
Brand value is concentrated at
the top of the India Top 50...
The Top 5 brands account for 45 percent of the total value of
the India BrandZ™ Top 50.
Source: BrandZ™/ Millward Brown Source: BrandZ™/ Millward Brown
Source: BrandZ™/ Millward Brown
Top 5 Ranking 6-20 Rankings 21-50 Rankings
HDFC Bank 30%
Airtel 27%
State Bank of
India 22%
ICICI Bank 11%
Bajaj Auto 10%
Top 50 by brand value Top 50 by number of brands
...Banks dominate in value, number of brands
Banks are the most prominent category in the BrandZ™ India Top 50, both in brand value and number of brands.
Banks - 35.8%
Telecoms - 16.9%
Automobiles - 12.2%
Food and Dairy - 8.3%
Personal Care - 5.3%
Alcohol - 4.7%
Paints - 4.7%
Motor Fuels - 3.5%
Home Care - 3.3%
Lubricants - 1.8%
Jewelry - 1.3%
Soft Drinks - 1.2%
Insurance - 1.1%
Bank - 10 Brands
Food and Dairy - 7 Brands
Personal Care - 7 Brands
Automobiles - 5 Brands
Home Care - 4 Brands
Telecoms - 3 Brands
Motor Fuels - 3 Brands
Alcohol - 3 Brands
Paints - 2 Brands
Soft Drinks - 2 Brands
Insurance - 2 Brands
Lubricants - 1 Brand
Jewelry - 1 Brand
Value concentration
consistent with
other BRICs
The concentration of brand value
at the top of the BrandZ™ India
Top 50 is consistent with the
results in other BRIC markets. In
fact, the Indian market, with the
Top 5 brands representing 45
percent of total Top 50 value, is
somewhat less concentrated than
Brazil (48 percent) and China
(50 percent). In contrast, only 27
percent of total brand power is
concentrated in the Top 5 brands
in the BrandZ™ Global Top 50.
The dominance of banks in the
India Top 50 is also consistent with
BrandZ™ rankings across other
BRIC markets, where the number
of financial services brands
exceeds other categories.
The Top 5 brands of the BrandZ™ Indian Top 50 account for 45 percent of
total value, which makes brand power in India a bit less concentrated than
in other BRICs.
% Value - Brand value share of top 5 brands
The concentration of brand power is consistent
across the BRICs...

Financial services brands comprise
24 percent of the brands ranked
in the BrandZ™ Indian Top 50
compared with Latam (26 percent),
and Brazil (12 percent) in other
BrandZ™ Top 50 studies. Financial
services brands comprise 15
percent of the China Top 100 and
23 percent of the Global Top 100.
Similar to other BRIC markets,
India also has a strong telecoms
category. Unlike other BRIC
markets, the Indian automobile
category accounts for a significant
portion of total brand value. And
unlike China, the technology
sector does not account for a high
proportion of brand value in India.
Several factors account for this
technology finding, which seems
counter intuitive given the large
presence of Indian entrepreneurs
active in technology worldwide.
Most significant, the major global
technology players like Google,
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
operate without restriction in India,
so there is no gap in the market.
Also, during difficult economic times
Indian entrepreneurs fulfilled their
ambitions outside of India. With
economic improvement, Indians
are finding greater opportunity
at home. Consumer technology
brands are rapidly developing,
particularly in ecommerce. (These
brands are not publicly traded
and therefore do not meet the
criteria for inclusion in the BrandZ™
India Top 50, although many have
achieved high value.)
BrandZ™ Analysis // Categories and Brands
42 43
Sector
India
Top 50
Brazil
Top 50
China
Top 100
Latam
Top 50
Global
Top 100
Automobiles 10% 0% 1% 0% 6%
Alcohol &
Soft Drinks
10% 8% 13% 18% 4%
Food & Dairy 14% 8% 7% 6% 0%
Financial Services 24% 12% 15% 26% 23%
Oil & Gas 6% 2% 2% 8% 5%
Personal Care 14% 2% 2% 2% 3%
Retail 2% 20% 1% 26% 8%
Technology 0% 2% 7% 0% 18%
Telecoms 6% 8% 3% 8% 11%
Others 14% 38% 49%* 6% 22%
...Financial services are pivotal in all economies...
...The value of automobile brands distinguishes India
In the BrandZ™ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands, as in other BrandZ™
BRIC rankings, the financial services category dominates in the number
of brands represented. Food and dairy and personal care brands also are
well represented in the Indian ranking.
Unlike other BRIC markets, local automobile brands rank in the India Top 50.
India has no technology brands in its Top 50 ranking, in contrast to China.
Financial Services
TelecomsTechnology
Automobiles
Category comparisons across country rankings
Implications
for brands
The structure of the
Indian market, with a few
categories and brands
dominating in brand
power, is consistent with
the situation in other
BRIC markets.
The concentration
is partially category
driven. The service
brands, financial services
and telecoms, which
are fundamental to
national infrastructure,
drive scale, often with
government support.
The distinction in India
is that the banks and
telecoms are mostly
privately owned.
And FMCG brands
generally are part of
the brand portfolio of
an MNC (Multinational
Corporation) or an Indian
family conglomerate.
These well-funded
organizations are
capable of driving high
brand value.Source: BrandZ™/ Millward Brown Source: BrandZ™/ Millward Brown
Note: 49 percent Others in China mainly comprises real estate, apparel, and home appliances.
Financial services dominates
in number of brands ranked
India
China Global
Brazil
Latam
12.2%
36.8%
24%
14.7%38.4%
22.8%
12.6%
1.1%
28.9%
16.9%
4%
0.2%
11.9%19.5%
3.4%
15.8%

Most Top 50 brands are private,
although ownership type varies
BrandZ™ Analysis // Brand Ownership
44 45
Valuable Indian Brands are
predominately private, reflecting
a complicated and distinctively
Indian brand ownership structure.
In all BRICs, including India, high
value brands are either SOEs
(State Owned Enterprises) or
they’re private. In India, however,
private ownership includes at least
two, and possibly three, variations.
Independent entrepreneurial
brands drive about half the value
of Indian privately owned brands.
Family conglomerates, an Indian
phenomenon, drive the other half
of the value of private brands.
In addition, MNCs (Multinational
Corporations), essentially private
organizations, drive significant
brand value. Although MNCs, by
definition, are present worldwide,
they have an unusual presence in
India, where many of their brands
are considered local.
Private brands –entrepreneurs,
Indian family conglomerates, and
MNCs – comprise 84 percent of
total brand value and 86 percent
of the brands in the BrandZ™
India Top 50. SOEs make up
16 percent of the value and 14
percent of the brands.
In contrast, ownership of the China
Top 50 is 45 percent SOE and
55 percent private. Ownership in
Brazil is overwhelmingly private
(94 percent), but the Brazilian
private sector is monolithic
compared with India’s. Several
differentiating factors drive India’s
more complicated ownership
structure:
Democracy and
free-market economy
State ownership doesn’t fit
India’s democratic ethos. In the
early 1990s, India loosened its
centrally controlled economy,
enabling private brands to emerge,
especially in banking and telecoms.
Trading history
European powers arrived during
the Age of Exploration. MNCs
came to India early with brands
they deeply embedded in India
as local brands. Nestlé set up a
factory in 1912. Hindustan Unilever
formed in 1933.
Dynastic rule
Prior to the period of British rule,
a series of dynasties governed
India. Many large Indian families
adapted that model of governance
for commerce, establishing family
master brands that cross many
categories.
Implications for brands
India is a competitive market. The high
percentage of brands owned either by
Indian family conglomerates or MNCs
means that marketing sophistication
is high. The success of both the Indian
family conglomerates and the MNCs
provide valuable lessons for achieving
success in ways that defy usual
assumptions.
Although conglomerates too often
don’t achieve expected efficiencies
and synergies, the Indian family
conglomerates created strong master
brands that confer trust across
categories while accruing marketing
efficiencies. The MNCs successfully
introduced existing brands, “Indianizing”
them so that consumers presume that
the brands originated in India.
Nestlé established a new category in
India when it introduced Maggi instant
noodles, in 1982. Horlicks, a chocolate
malt drink began in 1873, in Chicago, and
became a household name in the UK
before it’s Indian market entry, in 1930.
Indian consumers consider both of these
market-leading brands Indian.
India is rich in private brands, particularly
in FMCG categories, because both
the Indian family conglomerates and
the MNCs have scale across diverse
businesses, reach deep into the Indian
market, and implement effective brand-
building strategies.
Brand ownership is more complicated in India...
Brand private ownership in India includes entrepreneurs, Indian family
conglomerates, and MNCs (Multinational Corporations).
$70bn
67% of Total Value
26 Brand in Top 50
16%
17%
7
17
US$ 23 bil.
US$ 11 bil.
Private
Private with MNCs 84% of Total Value
Private 52%
US$ 12 bil.
US$ 24 bil.
Total Value
of Total Value
of Total Value
Brands
in Top 50
Brands
in Top 50
Indian Conglomerates
State Owned
MNCs
Independent brands
India China Brazil
...SOEs play a larger role in China and private ownership dominates in Brazil...
India’s complicated ownership structure distinguishes it from China and Brazil.
Ownership structure - by number of brands
SOEs
14%
SOEs
6%
Private
55%
Private
94%
Independent Brands
26%
Indian
Conglomerates
26%
SOEs
45%
MNCs
34%
Ownership structure - by brand value
Private with MNCs 86%
of Total Number of Brands

Age of an Indian brand indicates
its challenges and opportunities
BrandZ™ Analysis // Brand Age
46 47
The age of every Indian brand
corresponds to a particular period
in India’s political and economic
development. These periods
influenced the brands in their
formative years and continue
to shape them and define
their potential challenges and
opportunities.
Brands under age 23 were
established since 1991, after India’s
economic liberalization. Brands
age 23 to 67 emerged prior to
liberalization. And brands older
than age 67 came into being
during the period before Indian
statehood, in 1947.
Of the Top 50 brands, 14 were
formed after liberalization
and 15 were formed before
independence. Although roughly
the same in number, the brands
formed after liberalization account
for 44 percent of total brand value,
more than double the percentage
value generated by the older
brands.
Twenty-one Indian brands, the
greatest number, fall in the middle
group, formed in the period
after independence but before
liberalization. In comparison with
other BRICs, the greatest number
of Brazil Top 50 brands were
formed over 64 years ago, while
around three-quarters of the
Chinese Top 100 were created less
than thirty-five years ago.
Two reasons explain the relative
youth of Chinese brands. First,
the “Reform and Opening Up,”
started in 1978, stimulated growth
and brand development. Second,
the BrandZ™ China analysis
includes the Top 100 brands, and
the brands ranked 51 to 100 are
younger.
Brands formed since liberalization
total the greatest value...
The 14 brands formed since liberalization generate 44 percent
of the total value of the BrandZ™ India Top 50.
$70bn
14 Brands in Top 50
21 Brands in Top 5015 Brands in Top 50
US$ 31 bil.
US$ 26 bil.US$ 13 bil.
Total Value
Brands established
after liberalization 1991
Less than 23 years old
Brands established
before liberalization 1991
23 - 67 years old
Brands established
before Independence 1947
Over 67 years old
The brands formed during this period entered competitive sectors
relatively free of protective regulation. They have brand building
experience. As more competition enters these sectors, and more
sectors open to competition, the need for branding skills will
increase. Market liberalization happened over time and today some
categories, like telecoms, are more open than others, like retailing.
If liberalization can be slow, it also seems inexorable, which means
that opportunities await brands as more categories open.
Two cataclysmic events shook
India’s economy and politics
in 1991. Until then, the Indian
government had depended on
centralized economic control to
drive development and protect
Indian businesses. The approach
limited Foreign Direct Investment
and growth.
By 1991, India verged on default.
The country also was in the midst
of contentious elections that
intensified ethnic and religious
divisions. Assassins killed Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi while he was
campaigning.
Emerging from this trauma, India
began to implement reforms
to encourage a market-driven
economy and a more inclusive
polity. Brands formed after
1991 developed in this robust
outward-looking India working
to find strength in its diversity.
Economic change evolved slowly,
however, with its effects felt
unevenly across sectors.
Brand examples
Recognizing the importance
of telecommunications to
national development, the Indian
government opened the sector
to competition in 1994. Several
brands formed soon after: Airtel
(1995), Idea (2002), and Reliance
Communications (2003).
The insurance sector opened
to international investment in
2000, enabling joint ventures that
combined global best practice
experience with local insight
and access to rising middle class
consumers. That same year,
several UK and Indian financial
services companies created HDFC
Life and ICICI Prudential.
After liberalization in 1991 -
Under Age 23
37%
44%
19%

BrandZ™ Analysis // Brand Age
48 49
Implications
for brands
Brands introduced during the last half of the past century often
are well entrenched in the Indian market and experienced at
promoting both the functional and emotional benefits of their
products. Many of the brands rely on brand ambassadors, often
leading Hindi and local language movie stars. They face the key
challenge of success: complacency. Consumers are changing.
More women are entering the workforce. Young consumers
are challenging societal traditions. In a freer market with more
competition, complacency can be fatal.
Brands with this kind of
heritage probably have
more to teach than to
learn. With that said, these
brands market today much
differently than they did
when they were formed.
That past adaptability is
key to their future vitality.
As this ancient civilization, with a
recent colonial past, transformed
into an independent state in 1947,
India faced the enormous challenge
of building a modern economy
able to sustain its population and
compete with other nations.
Central control of the economy
characterized the first 40 years, but
government ownership didn’t reach
the same level as in China. Other
than the State Bank of India, which
dates to a predecessor brand
formed early in the nineteenth
century, most financial institutions
operated privately until 1969, 22
years after independence, when
the government nationalized the
largest commercial banks.
In other sectors, many new brands
emerged during this period, driven
by consumer desire. These brands
usually were not established by
SOEs (State Owned Companies),
in contrast to China. Instead,
they typically were powered by
the financial strength of large
conglomerates, sometimes Indian,
sometimes MNCs (Multinational
Corporations).
This activity created a richer brand
landscape across many sectors,
with some sectors open and
others, such as insurance, banking,
and energy, tightly controlled or
regulated. Many local FMCG brands
flourished. Because regulations
prevented most international
retailers from operating in India,
local brands faced less pressure
to cut margins or compete with
retailer private labels.
Brand examples
Maruti Suzuki, an Indian-Japanese
joint venture, changed the car
market when it introduced the
Maruti Suzuki 800, in 1982. United
Breweries Group, an Indian
conglomerate, founded in 1857,
launched Kingfisher, its flagship
beer brand, in 1978. The Indian
FMCG conglomerate Hindustan
Unilever, started in 1933, introduced
Fair & Lovely, a leading skin
lightening product, in 1975.
The period before independence
covers the years of British rule,
from 1858 to 1947. Several
bank brands were established.
Less expected, perhaps, is the
emergence of brands in FMCG
and other categories that are not
about establishing fundamental
institutions but rather reflect the
desires and tastes of ordinary
consumers.
One of the earliest brands, Punjab
National Bank, was established
in 1895. But Britannia, a maker of
popular biscuits, cakes, and dairy
products, started in 1892. It’s
owned by Wadia Group, an Indian
conglomerate formed around the
time that the British East India
Company arrived in India, in the
eighteenth century.
The longevity of the brands
established prior to India’s
independence suggests that
if their survival was aided by
government regulation or limited
competition, it probably was not
due to those factors alone but
also the brands’ ability to build
deep and enduring bonds with
customers.
Brand Examples
Some brands arrived in India
during this period, having been
founded earlier in another part
of the world. Established in the
US, in 1873, Horlicks, a chocolate
malt drink become popular in the
UK and arrived in India in 1930.
Lever Brothers launched Lux
soap in 1899 and introduced it to
India in 1905. Other brands began
in India, such as Asian Paints,
formed in 1942, and Tata Motors,
which began in 1945.
Before liberalization in 1991 -
Ages 23 to 67
Before Independence in 1947 -
Over age 67
Based on the BrandZ™ China Top 100, Brazil Top 50, and India Top 50.
...The Brazil brands are older
and the Chinese younger
Comparing the BrandZ™ BRIC country rankings, China has more younger
brands and Brazil more older brands, with India in the middle.
Age of Brands - China vs Brazil
Age of brand (% value share) - India
74% of brands
44% - 14 Brands
26% of brands
12% of brands
19% - 15 Brands
36% of brands
14% of brands
37% - 21 Brands
38% of brands
Less than 35 years old 35 - 64 years old Over 64 years old
Less than 23 years old
23 - 67 years old
Over 67 years old
China Brazil

Consumer goods brands
lead in brand contribution
BrandZ™ Analysis // Brand Contribution
50 51
Brand contribution measures the
impact of brand alone, without
financials or other factors, in the
mind of the consumer. A high
brand contribution score – on a
scale of one to five, five being the
highest – suggests that a brand
is resilient and likely to produce
strong future earnings.
India’s Top 10 brand contribution
leaders are mostly in FMCG
categories. FMCG brands operate
in highly competitive, often
fragmented sectors and generally
lack the level of dominance that
can approach the monopolistic
levels of service brands. However,
FMCG brands often enjoy high
brand equity.
And many FMCG brands have
been present in India for at least
50 years, starting with brand
contribution leader, Lakmé
(personal care, 1952), and including,
Lipton (beverages, 1898), Colgate
(personal care, 1937), and Surf
Excel (home care, 1959).
In contrast, many Indian service
brands formed relatively recently,
after the economic liberalization
in the 1990s. They have rapidly
and effectively built scale but
not the emotional connections
to consumers that drive brand
contribution.
Valuable Indian Brands 2014
scored an overall brand
contribution average of 3.02, only
a moderately strong result, in
part because of the dominance of
service brands that score lower in
brand contribution, with financial
results driving value.
However, the brand contribution
results of the service brands
are nuanced, with the banks
generally scoring higher than the
telecoms. The Indian BrandZ™
Top 5 most valuable brands
scored an average 3.6 in brand
contribution because three
banks outperformed category
expectations.
State Bank of India scored 5, and
HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank each
scored 4. Indian financial services
brands as a group score higher in
brand contribution than Brazilian
or Chinese brands. Indian
telecoms score lower.
In strengthening brand contribution, the FMCG
brands and the banks and telecoms face
different sets of challenges. The service brands
have outspent FMCG brands on brand building,
in part because they’re newer to the Indian
market and needed to build scale.
The service brands introduced product
innovations that have meaningfully changed the
way Indians live their lives. However, consumers
don’t see these brands as meaningful. The
brands have not transitioned from product
providers to trusted service partners.
In contrast, FMCG brands, often long
established in India, have cultivated emotional
affinity with consumers and enjoy consumer
trust. But many of these brands have not
adequately leveraged those accomplishments
for commercial advantage.
In terms of the three BrandZ™ components of
brand equity, service brands have built salience
(top of mind awareness) but are less likely to
be seen as meaningful (meeting functional and
emotional needs) and different (distinguished
and trendsetting).
The FMCG brands are strong in the three brand
equity components. They need to leverage
their strong equity to pursue new business
opportunities and to increase earnings. As
FMCG brands continue to strengthen equity,
they’re better able to build scale and salience
without losing the meaningful difference that
accrues from serving discrete market niches.
Source: BrandZ™/ Millward Brown Source: BrandZ™
Brand Contribution measures the influence of brand alone on earnings, on a 1-to-5 scale, 5 highest
FMCG brands lead brand contribution ranking... ...Indian financial
service brands
outscore Brazil, China
...The India Top 5 score well in brand contribution...
The brand contribution leaders have long heritage in India.
Indian financial services brands
score higher in brand contribution
than Chinese or Brazilian brands.
The BrandZ™ Top 5 score better in brand contribution
than the India Top 50 overall.
Top 10 by Brand Contribution
Rank Brand
Brand Value
(US$ Mil.)
Brand
Contribution
1 Lakmé 297 5
2 Lipton 208 5
3 State Bank of India 6,828 5
4 Berger 451 5
5 Surf Excel 778 5
6 Saffola 450 5
7 Castrol 1,264 5
8 Asian Paints 2,812 4
9 Horlicks 1,018 4
10 Rin 302 4
Top 50 Top 5 Ranking 6 - 20 Ranking 21 - 50
5
4
3
2
1
0
3.02
3.60
2.73
3.07
BrandContributionIndex
Financial Services
Telecoms
Automobiles
2.8
1.3
2.0
India
1.9
3.3
China
1.0
2.6
1.0
Brazil
2.6 2.6
3.3
Global Brands

53
Brand India’s personality differs
from other BRIC country brands
BrandZ™ Analysis // Brand India
52
Brand India is similar to the
national brand personality of two
other BRIC countries, Brazil and
China. It’s also different from both
in significant ways. Understanding
the differences is useful for brands
competing in India and for Indian
brands with overseas growth
aspirations.
BrandZ™ country personality
profiles are compiled from the
descriptions local consumers
form of a country’s most valuable
brands, using a vocabulary of
20 personality characteristics.
Brand India, in other words, is
the cumulative impression that
consumers have of the country’s
Top 50 most valuable brands.
Because they’re based on the each
country’s most valuable brands,
these constructions of Brand India,
Brand China, and Brand Brazil are
especially relevant for competing
in these country markets.
A country brand personality helps
brand owners understand how
a particular brand fits into the
consumers’ general view of brands
across categories. For exporters,
country brand comparisons
identify the potential areas of
advantage or disadvantage, where
a country brand can help propel or
slow international expansion.
While India, Brazil, and China are
remarkably congruent in brand
personality characteristics, there
are some tonal differences. India is
more brave, adventurous and wise,
for example. Adventurousness, in
particular, points to a degree of
entrepreneurialism. The character
distinctions are consistent with
brand ownership structures in the
three country markets.
The overwhelming majority of
the most valuable Indian brands
are privately owned. In contrast,
45 percent of the most valuable
Chinese brands are SOEs (State
Owned Enterprises), not known
for being brave or adventurous.
Although Brazil’s most valuable
brands are usually privately
owned, they’re relatively older.
In addition, the private Indian
brands are predominately owned
by Indian family conglomerates or
MNCs (Multinational Corporations).
Both kinds of organizations have
boldly built brands. The Indian
family conglomerates have
developed master brands that
cross categories and in a way form
the basis of Brand India.
Rebelliousness is the one
characteristic that’s relatively
less evident in Brand India, not
surprising in a country that
values its cultural heritage, and
where people constantly mediate
between the tug of tradition and
the demands of modernity.
Brand India differs
from Brand Brazil
and Brand China
The three BRICs – Brazil,
China, and India – are
similar in brand personality,
but Brand India differs in
certain ways. Being seen
as adventurous suggests a
level of entrepreneurialism
for Brand India.
Caring
Brave
Fun
AdventurousCreative
KindDifferent
WiseRebellious
IdealisticIn Control
InnocentAssertive
FriendlyGenerous
StraightforwardPlayful
SexyTrustworthy
Desirable
India
China
Brazil

India's Top 50 brands reflect changing consumer and new opportunities

India's Top 50 brands reflect changing consumer and new opportunities

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