BRAND - THE MOST INFLUENTIAL CHOICE OF LIFE

Brand – The most influential choice of life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The brand Apple is No.1 leaving behind Google and Facebook to No.2 and No.5 positions respectively as per Forbes global best brand 2016 annual study and research.  

 

A brand is a name given to a product and/or service such that it takes on an identity by itself.  A brand is a distinguishing symbol, mark, logo, name, word, sentence or a combination of these items that companies use to distinguish their product from others.   Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising.

The standard of living of an individual is determined by the brands which are in use in his/her day to day life.  Since childhood a person is introduced to various brands for example, Colgate for tooth brush and tooth paste, the brand of toilet soap, talcum powder and the perfume he/she uses in his/her morning chorus during his/her growing up years.  The brand of tea/coffee, the hot beverages he/she uses on his/her breakfast table along with oats, bread and nutritious protein drink which he/she drinks with milk and also the brand of corn flakes may be Kellogs,  he/she mixes with the hot milk for consumption everything inkling towards brand preference. 

When an adult he /she makes his/her own choice of clothes, perfumes and accessories brand.  The brand of his/her car becomes his/her status symbol.  What to say his/her choice of brand of shoes and sandals even talk about his/her taste and flair.  

The jewelry and watches and not to say least about the builder of your “home sweet home” all are branded and your choice of the same is as per your favorite brands. 

 

                  

                     

 







 


 

  

       










Life is full of rich choice that evaluates one’s personality in social circles.  Although, the availability of major and famous brands in galore makes his/her choice bit difficult, finally he/she make up his/her mind to prove his/her royal blue blood.  The rich inheritance or monetary status mostly determines the status symbol of brands used by a person.  However, it is not entirely that money alone determines a person’s favorite brands.  His/her social circle may mostly influence his/her selection of brands and encourage him/her to compete with neighbors and friends from his/her own social strata.

 

 A brand name may manipulate a buyer’s perception about the product. Brand names are often useful in establishing an overall product concept. Occasionally, a brand name becomes a generic name of that product. Some of the brands have become synonymous with the products. In the early 1970s brand names like Surf and Dalda used to be synonymous with detergents and vegetable oil. Likewise, Colgate and Maggi are synonymous with toothpaste and noodles.  Customers here seem to buy the total symbolic meaning or the “image” which the brand conveys.

Facebook page of Maggi 

It is interesting to examine a recent example of brand loyalty in India.  Nestle has been asked to recall packets of Maggi from across the country after Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found dangerous levels of lead in the instant noodles. Even the MSG content was beyond the permissible limit. While this should have been good news for rival brands in the market like Horlicks and Sunfeast, which also sell instant noodles, in all probability could hit their business. The reason cited for this was that Maggi has become synonymous with instant noodles in India. So more often than not you are bound to hear, “let’s make maggi” than “lets’ make noodles”.

In a country like India where literacy is low, the brands play a vital role in selling a product.  A brand name with a single word which is easy to remember is often preferred by a customer.  A customer who is used to a particular brand continues to buy it and exhibit a brand loyalty.  Unless and until through advertisement or mouth to mouth to publicity he/she gets introduced to another brand it is unlikely that a person will switch to another brand.  The advertising of a brand is vital in a highly competitive market where MNCs tries to penetrate the brand-width and capture the established brand markets.

The major international brands :

The Forbes has started global brand valuation from 2010. Forbes is an American business magazine. Published bi-weekly, it features original articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. Forbes also reports on related subjects such as technology, communications, science, and law.

Apple is the number one brand since 2010 in Forbes research and study.  Forbes’ annual study of the world’s most valuable brands shows that Apple is still in a class by itself with a value of $154.1 billion, 87% more than second-ranked Google GOOGL +1.43%.   It is the sixth straight time Apple has finished first since Forbes began valuing the richest brands in 2010.

I would like to give below top 20 global brands according to Forbes Research and Study :

 

    

 

    

 

                                            














                                                        

                                                      
       

                                                 









                                          
                 

                                                 

                                                       

                                                              

   







                                                    

Interbrand, UK office

Interbrand, a division of Omnicom, is a brand consultancy, specializing in areas such as brand strategy, brand analytics, brand valuation, corporate design, digital brand management, packaging design and naming.  Its head quarter is in United States of America. Interbrand is founded by John Murphy in 1974.

Interbrand publishes their rating of brands prevailing in different countries of the world like India, Japan, Korea etc.

The top 10 most trusted Indian Brands 2015 rated by World’s leading Brand Consultancy firm INTERBRAND is as follows:

TOP 10 (TEN) BRANDS IN INDIA:
                                                

                                                                                                                   

 

        

                             

                              

                                                           

 

 






                                               








The top 10 Global brands rated by Interbrand :

The brand of sports shoes, sports goods and energy drinks are also available in the market for you to make your special choice.

The brand preference reveals the personality of an individual and also his/her financial status. 

The brand ambassadors carefully chosen by a firm to go in line with their organizational culture is order of the day for many marketers.  The celebrities are the most preferred brand ambassadors.

The most valuable brand is Apple and biggest gainer (Facebook) and biggest loser (IBM).

The success story of Apple and other mind-boggling brands of the world prompted me to choose the topic of Brand valuation in JOHNNY’S BLOG.