A PROJECT REPORT ON

BRAND AWARENESS

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for

Master of Applied Management

Supervised by

Submitted by

LALIT SEN INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION n TECHNOLOGY

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DECLARATION

I do hereby declare that this project is submitted by me for partial fulfillment of

the Master of Applied Management; MAM UTD RGPV. The project is
exclusively prepared by me and has not been submitted to any other institution
or publishes anywhere before.

DATE

SIGNATURE

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ACKNOWLEGMENT

Success is the manifestation of diligence, perseverance, inspiration, motivation

and innovation. I DEVENDRA KUMAR SHARMA, ascribe my success to my
guide Prof. Rajesh Gupta, whos Endeavour, foresight, innovation and
dynamism contributed in a big way in completing the project, within stipulated
time.
I am also very thankful to Prof. Sushil Tiwari, Prof. Liza Jain for proper
academic guidance for making this project a reality. I also present my gratitude
for nthe success of this project to Dr. Anil Kothari (Coordinator MAM
RGPV)
This acknowledgement can never be complete without thanking to the
employees of ACC and all other people who have been associated directly or
indirectly with my project and helped me in getting it in the present form.

DEVENDRA KUMAR SHARMA

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PREFACE

Being the student of business management, I wanted to take some project related
to marketing and marketing strategies. My main reason behind this approach was
that I felt that going for a project related to marketing would lead to a better
understanding of the basic concept of

brand awareness with this

aforementioned approach in mind I started searching for a marketing project.

A PROJECT REPORT ON BRAND AWASRENESS OF ACC LIMITED

My project satisfies the aforesaid aim with the feedbacks of sample customers,
representing the market of BHOPAL Area. This project makes use of wellorganized questionnaire.

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CONTENTS

Page No.

Executive Summary
Introduction Of Topic
Companys History & Profile
Objective Of Project
Research Methodology
Graphical Presentation Of Data
Research Findings
Conclusion & Suggestion
Annexure
Bibliography

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INTRODUCTION ABOUT COMPANY

ACC (ACC Limited) is India's foremost manufacturer of cement and concrete. ACC's
operations are spread throughout the country with 16 modern cement factories, more
than 40 Ready mix concrete plants, 21 sales offices, and several zonal offices. It has a
workforce of about 9,000 persons and a countrywide distribution network of over
9,000 dealers.
Since inception in 1936, the company has been a trendsetter and important benchmark
for the cement industry in many areas of cement and concrete technology. ACC has a
unique track record of innovative research, product development and specialized
consultancy services. The company's various manufacturing units are backed by a
central technology support services centre - the only one of its kind in the Indian
cement industry.
ACC has rich experience in mining, being the largest user of limestone. As the largest
cement producer in India, it is one of the biggest customers of the domestic coal
industry, of Indian Railways, and a considerable user of the countrys road transport
network services for inward and outward movement of materials and products.
Among the first companies in India to include commitment to environmental
protection as one of its corporate objectives, the company installed sophisticated
pollution control equipment as far back as 1966, long before pollution control laws
came into existence. Today each of its cement plants has state-of-the art pollution
control equipment and devices.
ACC plants, mines and townships visibly demonstrate successful Endeavours in
quarry rehabilitation, water management techniques and greening activities. The
company actively promotes the use of alternative fuels and raw materials and offers

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total solutions for waste management including testing, suggestions for reuse,
recycling and co-processing.
ACC has taken purposeful steps in knowledge building. We run two institutes that
offer professional technical courses for engineering graduates and diploma holders
which are relevant to manufacturing sectors such as cement. The main beneficiaries
are youth from remote and backward areas of the country.
ACC has made significant contributions to the nation building process by way of
quality products, services and sharing expertise. Its commitment to sustainable
development, its high ethical standards in business dealings and its on-going efforts in
community welfare programmes have won it acclaim as a responsible corporate
citizen. ACCs brand name is synonymous with cement and enjoys a high level of
equity in the Indian market. It is the only cement company that figures in the list of
Consumer Super Brands of India

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HISTORY

ACC was formed in 1936 when ten existing cement companies came together under
one umbrella in a historic merger - the country's first notable merger at a time when
the term mergers and acquisitions was not even coined. The history of ACC spans a
wide canvas beginning with the lonely struggle of its pioneer F E Dinshaw and other
Indian entrepreneurs like him who founded the Indian cement industry. Their efforts to
face competition for survival in a small but aggressive market mingled with the stirring
of a country's nationalist pride that touched all walks of life - including trade,
commerce and business.
The first success came in a move towards cooperation in the country's young cement
industry and culminated in the historic merger of ten companies to form a cement
giant. These companies belonged to four prominent business groups - Tatas, Khataus,
Killick Nixon and F E Dinshaw groups. ACC was formally established on August 1,
1936. Sadly, F E Dinshaw, the man recognized as the founder of ACC, died in
January 1936; just months before his dream could be realized.
ACC stands out as the most unique and successful merger in Indian business history,
in which the distinct identities of the constituent companies were melded into a new
cohesive organization - one that has survived and retained its position of leadership in
industry. In a sense, the formation of ACC represents a quest for the synergy of good
business practices, values and shared objectives. The use of the plural in ACC's
original name, The Associated Cement Companies Limited, itself indicated the
company's origins from a merger. Many years later, some stockbrokers in the country's
leading stock exchanges continued to refer to this company simply as 'The Merger'.

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Awards & Accolades

National Award for Excellence in Water Management by Confederation of

Indian Industry (CII)

Outstanding Corporate Vision, Triple Impact - Business Performance Social

& Environmental Action and Globalisation for 2009-10 from Federation of
Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry

Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Award in two categories, Green Leadership and

Community Engagement by Enterprise Asia.

Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award --- by The Ministry of Environment

and Forests for "extraordinary work" carried out in the area of afforestation.

Subh Karan Sarawagi Environment Award - by The Federation of Indian

Mineral Industries for environment protection measures.

Drona Trophy - By Indian Bureau Of Mines for extra ordinary efforts in

protection of Environment and mineral conservation in the large mechanized
mines sector.

Indira Gandhi Memorial National Award - for excellent performance in

prevention of pollution and ecological development

Excellence in Management of Health, Safety and Environment : Certificate

of Merit by Indian Chemical Manufacturers Association

Good Corporate Citizen Award - by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry

FIMI National Award - for valuable contribution in Mining activities from the
Federation of Indian Mineral Industry under the Ministry of Coal.

Rajya Sthariya Paryavaran Puraskar - for outstanding work in Environmental

Protection and Environment Performance by the Madhya Pradesh Pollution.
Control Board.

National Award for Fly Ash Utilisation - by Ministry of Power, Ministry of

Environment & Forests and Dept of Science & Technology, Govt of India - for
manufacture of Portland Pozzolana Cement.

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Nationwide NETWORK

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OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

Today customers are facing a growing range of choice in the different brands of
products and servises. They are making their choice on the basis of their perception of
brand, quality servise and value. This project is undertaken :-

To find out the awareness level of customers of brand ACC.

To find out the brands with which ACC has to compete in the market.
To ascertain the scope of ACC in this region.
To study the consumer perception of ACC.
Which attribute of the product drive the potential customer to prefer the
particular product .

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Introduction to Topic
The project is undertaken to measure the brand awareness n brand perception level of
ACC in around BHOPAL, measuring the brand awareness and perception level of a
particular companys brand is of vital importance since it indicates the number of
people who are aware as well as what values they add to the particular brand in a given
period of time and it also highlights the effectiveness of the different advertising or
promotional tools used for the purpose.
Awareness and Perception are the two key metrics that any company would use to
measure their brand strength.
Awareness in simple terms - how many people know my brand? Usually, awareness
is measured through surveys that ask participants a series of questions like What
brand comes to your mind if you want to buy cement? In general, companies measure
unaided awareness- what % of survey participants mentioned the brand without any
kind of hint. It is the consumers ability to recognize or recall( indentify) the brand
within a given product category in sufficient detail to make a purchase decision. It also
means that the consumer can purpose, recommend, choose or use the brand. The
objectives of the most advertising campaign are to create and maintain brand
preference. The first step is to make potential consumers aware of a brands existence.
Perception is the values consumers attach to a brand. For example, perception for
Volvo will be safety. To measure perception of a car company, survey will have
questions like How do you rank car brands in terms of safety? And various questions
will be asked on quality, performance, or green. Outcome of the survey reveal the
brand perception. List of questions depends on what is goal for the brand and how you
want customers to think of your brand.
ACC has a unique track record of innovative research, product development and
specialized consultancy services. It is an important benchmark for the cement industry
in respect of its production, marketing and personnel management processes.
ACC is proud of its many innovations over the years and realizes that innovativeness

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is an essential characteristic of leadership.

In this project, I went into a search for details regarding the brand awareness &
brand perception of ACC.
The analysis was done with the help of the data collected through questionnaire
taking the sample size of 100 in Bhopal. I have tried to throw a clear light
towards the level of brand awareness n brand perception of ACC.

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(Formerly the Associated Cement Companies Limited)

India's No. 1 Cement Company

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
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ACC had a wide network whithin country. To anayze the report certain methodology
were used to elaborate the topic in easy way. The design of a research study is based on
the purpose of the study/ methodologies, which were used are

DATA COLLECTION

(reserch design )

Various type of data was collected from different sources. The sources of these data are
various publications, trade journals,and official website of ACC.
SAMPLING
An integral component of a research design is the sampling plan. Sample size,which
was taken for the research.
Sample size is 100.
STRUCTURED QUESTIONNAIRE
Structred questionnaire was prepared and survey was made.

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DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Customer Response To - Meaning Of Brand

When individuals were asked ,what they meant by BRAND , most of them almost 60
individuals said Quality while, some of them said it means best product available in the
market, some said brand is a standard , and 10 of them said Brand means Good
company product.

AVERAGE
80
60
40
20
0

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Customers Awareness of Different Cement Brands

When people were asked to list down few brands of the product category ( cement ),
every one said ACC n AMBUJA . Apart from these two brands few of them said
JP( Jaiprakash cement ), Ultratech , binnani, Birla, But Acc n Ambuja was common in
every individual List.

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

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Q3. What brand comes to your mind if you want to buy

cement?

Previous question specify that people are aware of many brands but when it comes to
buying then they recall Acc. Almost 50 people think about Acc when it comes to
buying,, but still Acc is in competition with Ambuja, almost 45 people think about
Ambuja.. so difference is just of 10.

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

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Q7 Are you loyal to the product you buy ?

51 individuals said Yes they stick to the same product while,39 people
said No, they keep experimenting or change the product according to
the conditions like availability of product; price; quality And, 10 people
said yes they are loyal but only for quality products..Not for
commodity.

Yes always, I stick to the same product

10

39
Never, I keep

51

Experienting new products

Only for quality products, where it is acommodity, I

choose least price products

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Q8. Are you price sensitive costumer?

79 individuals said yes they are price sensitive while, 21 individuals

are brand loyal customers.

21
Yes
No
79

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Q9. Will you stick to the same product if their price

increases?

When people were asked if theyll stick to ACC if the price goes high,
so 62 people said yes theyll buy it but if the price increases up to a
certain limit. 23 people said theyll buy it irrespective of the price
changes and 15 people said No, theyll shift to other brand.

15
Upto certain Limit
yes, irrespect
of price increase
23
62
No, I may look for different product

Most of people said theyll buy ACC Cement if the price is increased
up to certain limit,When they were asked to specify the limit
5 Individuals said

Rs. 20 (Limit)

15

- Rs. 10

17

- Rs. 5

16

Rs. 2

Re. 1

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Q10. How do you rank ACC n AMBUJA in terms of

safety ,quality and performance

Diagram showing ACC s

position
48

50

41 39

39 41

40
30

32
20
AVERAGE

20
GOOD

20

EXCELLENT

20
10
0

SAFETY

QUALITY

PERFORMANCE

Diagram showing AMBUJAs

Position

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60

56

60

45

50
40

29

30

AVERAGE

20

11

24
GOOD

20

25

30

EXCELLENT

10
0

SAFETY

QUALITY

PERFORMANCE

Q11 Do you use the product because it is mostly

available?

29
26

45

yes
no
mostly

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RESEARCH FINDINGS

Costumers are confused related to the meaning of brand some of them take brand
as a name of a good company; few of them think it means a standard product and
some of think it means a Best Product.
People are well aware of ACC brand , when they were asked to list down few brand
names of cement almost all of them recall ACC along with Ambuja. It concludes
that Acc is in tough competition with Ambuja in this Area.
Though the survey was taken in Bhopal Area but, when consumers were asked
about what brand comes to their mind if they want to buy Cement, almost 50
people said ACC n 45 of them said Ambuja so, the difference is very less keeping
in mind the survey Area.
Quality and Performance are the most important attribute of ACC which Attracts
costumers.
Overall ACC shows Excellent results when it comes to Brand awareness n Brand
perception

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LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The major limitation of the study was most of the individuals being to be loyal to
their brand didnt give exact answers. Like they didnt talk much about the answers
of the questions
Many individuals didnt fill their answers. So, the actual figures can be somewhat
different from the one I have found out.
Big area- I was unable to explore some of the customers

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CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

As I said Quality n performance are the most important attribute of
ACC which Attracts costumers but Acc should focus on its safety
measures because most of people dont find ACC Excellent in terms of
safety so, it may affect the perception of people regarding ACC.
Company is in tough competition with Ambuja cement
Suggestions
Based upon the time spend by me in the market, useful suggestions of the customers and
the findings from the survey, following recommendations can be suggested for
increasing the brand awareness and perception of ACC
Marketing & advertising services should be improved In order to improve
awareness as well as perception level of costumers. Like Trade allowances, trade
shows, wall paintings, print media etc.
What matters for the most of cement buyers is the price of cement and then the
quality and promotion while visiting to the market buyers not only look for the
price but also the personal touch matters a lot and ACC need to improve it.
Company should try to introduce new product range like various grades.
ACC should develop business status with public relations by participating in
local and international conferences, this will help to promote the brand

ANNEXURE

Questionnaire of Training at Marketing Department. In ACC

Ltd.
Dear Respondent,
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I am Devendra Kumar Sharma will be preparing a Project on

Topic Brand Awareness ACC Ltd. So, Dear respondent
please help me by filling up d following questionnaire. I will
b very thankful for your co-operation.

Q1 Name: ____________________
Q2 Designation ____________________
Q3 Address: ____________________
Q4 Phone Number / E-mail ID ____________________

Q5. Describe what does brand mean to you?

Q6 List down a few brands of the product

______________________________________________________

Q7 what brand comes to your mind if you want to buy cement ?

__________________________________________________
Q8 When u hears about product category can u recall ACC?
Yes
No

Q9 Do you know ACC?

Yes

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 No

Q10 Do you know AMBUJA?

Yes
No

Q11. I think I know ACC well

totally agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Totally Disagree

Q12 Are you Loyal Costumer to the product you buy?

Yes Always I stick to the same product
Never, I keep experimenting with new products
only for quality products. Where it is a commodity, I choose the least
price Product

Q13 Are you price sensitive costumer?

Yes
No

Q14 Will you stick to the same product if their price is increases?
Up to a certain limit in price increase

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 Yes, irrespective of price increase

No, I may look for different product,
If any limit please specify __________________

Q15 How do you rank each given companies in terms of:-

ACC
Averag
e

AMBUJA
Goo
d

Excellen
t

Safety
Quality
Performanc
e

Averag
e

Goo
d

Excellen
t

Safety
Quality
Performanc
e

Q16 which of the following, according to you, help build a good brand image?
Quality
Communication strategies
Competitive pricing
Good value
Added services
Free trails and discounts
Others
If Others, please specify _______________________________
Q17

Do you use the product because it is readily available?

Yes
No
Mostly

Q18 Do customer services have an impact on you?

Yes
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 No

Signature

BIBILIOGRAPHY

Official website of ACC www.acclimited.com\

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