Chapter 1 Introduction

Brand image is the current view of the customers about a brand. The term "Brand image" gained popularity as evidence began to grow that the feelings and images associated with a brand were powerful purchase influencers of brand recognition, recall and brand identity. Brand Image is the most significant aspect with a product. A brand on the other hand is the identity of a specific product, service, or business. A brand can take many forms, including a name, sign, symbol, colour combination or slogan. A legally protected brand name is called a trademark. The word brand has continued to evolve to encompass identity- it affects the personality of a product, company or service. Brand image is created in continuously developing brand relationships where the customer forms a differentiating image of a product or service based on all kinds of brand contacts that the customer is exposed to. Brand image is a mental image that reflects the way a brand is including all the identifying elements, the product or company personality, and the emotions and associations evoked in the mind. Brand image develops and conveys the product's character in a unique manner different from its competitor's image.

1.1 Definition of Brand

In Principles of Marketing, a brand is defined as a name, term, sign symbol or a combination of these, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers. People engaged in branding seek to develop or align the expectations behind the brand experience, creating the impression that a brand associated with a product or service has certain qualities or characteristics that make it special or unique. A brand is therefore one of the most valuable elements in an advertising theme, as it demonstrates what the brand owner is able to offer in the marketplace.

1.2 Necessity for a Brand

A brand name helps an organization differentiate itself from its competitors. In today s competitive world no product can go without a brand. Customers often build up a relationship with a brand that they trust and will often go back to time and time again. For
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example, some people may only purchase a Sony TV although there are acceptable alternatives on the market, because of a past positive history with this brand.

1.3 Brand Awareness

Brand awareness refers to customers' ability to recall and recognize the brand under different conditions and link to the brand name, logo, and jingles and so on to certain associations in memory. It helps the customers to understand to which product or service category the particular brand belongs and what products and services are sold under the brand name. It also ensures that customers know which of their needs are satisfied by the brand through its products. Brand awareness is of critical importance since customers will not consider your brand if they are not aware of it.

1.3.1 Brandnomer
A Brandnomer is a brand name that has become a generic term for a product or service, such as Band-Aid or Kleenex, which are often used to describe any brand of adhesive bandage or any brand of facial tissue respectively. This shows the unique identity of the company.

1.4 Brand Equity

How much is a brand worth? Brand equity refers to the value of the brand. Brand equity does not develop instantaneously. A brand needs to be carefully nurtured and marketed so consumers feel real value and trust towards that brand. Nike, Adidas, Coca Cola, have high brand equity. These brand command high awareness and consumer loyalty. But how much are these brands worth? It is difficult to put a value on these brands. But how much is a pair of Nike trainers worth without the logo on it? Here comes the Brand image which makes difference in price.

1.5 Brand Image

A brand image is not an "image" in the same sense that a logo is also a graphic representation. Instead it means the overall impression or feeling that comes over you when you think of the particular brand. Often it is tied to a slogan or phrase that the company uses. The recognition and perception of a brand is highly influenced by its visual presentation. A brand s visual identity is the overall look of its communications. Effective visual brand identity is achieved by the consistent use of particular visual elements to create
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distinction, such as specific fonts, colors, and graphic elements. At the core of every brand identity is a brand mark, or logo. We have taken a public survey on brand image and brand awareness which helped us a lot. We had provided the results in our survey analysis.

1.6 Factors Affecting Brand Image

1.6.1 Positive Interactions Leading consumer-oriented companies see every customer interaction as an opportunity to retain a valued customer, increase revenue, build loyalty or strengthen a brand. These enterprises look to customer relationship management solutions to help them connect with customers, anticipate customer needs and deliver the products and services customers want. For them every customer interaction counts.

1.6.2 Consistency Customers demand consistency. We will start with an example; let s say you run a restaurant. At your restaurant, you have a different chef every day. Each chef makes the menu according to their preferences. If your menu changes every day (if there s a high degree of variability ) most customers will be put off. Some people like variety and go out of their way for it, but most of us are creatures of habit. We find something we like and we stick with. So it s necessary for a company to maintain consistency in their quality, price etc.

1.6.3 Credibility Establishing credibility is one of the most critical elements in securing a new customer. The customer must see a brand as a credible and trustworthy. Elements that contribute to credibility of are track record, a list of satisfied customers, number of years in business, financial strength, business size, etc.

1.6.4 Authenticity Authenticity is the degree to which one is true to one's own personality. People like what is real and they trust it instinctively.

1.6.5 Trust Trust and sales sounds to many people like an oxymoron. Trust is something you develop slowly over time, in order to successfully sell later. You don t develop trust in order to sell you develop trust in the act of selling.

1.6.6 Loyalty It is the situation in which a consumer generally buys the same manufacturer product or service repeatedly over time rather than buying from multiple suppliers within the category. A brand which has all the above mentioned strategies will be enjoying with good brand image.

1.7 Logo:
Companies make themselves identifiable by investing a lot of time, money and effort in creating a brand image. Each brand has a story, an image and an identity. The brand becomes the face of the company. People recognize a brand and associate with them at a subconscious level. Logo of the brand which is unique represents a particular brand. Before you start thinking about designing a business card or picking colors for your letterhead, you need a logo. Featuring your company name, embellished with a little color and perhaps a few graphic touches here and there, your logo is your company's most important design element because it's the basis for all your other marketing materials: stationery, packaging, promotional materials and signage 1.7.1 Definition of Logo: Recognizable and distinctive graphic design, stylized name, unique symbol, or other device for identifying an organization. Also called logotype, it is affixed,

included, or printed on all advertising, buildings, communications, literature, products, stationery, and vehicles. The alternative term for logo is LOGOTYPE. Even if you have a good eye for color and a sense of what you want your logo to look like, you should still consult a professional designer. They know whether or not a logo design will transfer easily into print or onto a sign, while you might come up with a beautiful design that can't be transferred or would cost too much to be printed. Your logo is the foundation for all your promotional materials, so this is one area where spending a little more now really pays off later. 1.7.2 Significance of Logo: Logo gives a boost to a company s brand value. It helps it to different itself from the rest of the others and sends its message across to its targeted audience successfully. It is helpful for viewers as well. Logo helps people avoid confusion and sometimes, act as a trademark as people tend to use it to identify a business organization. A logo that bears their brand value and dictates their presence even none of the representatives of the company is physically present. It is small and unique. In short, it is an iconic presentation of an organization and therefore, you have to be a bit careful while designing it. Make sure that it appears simple and powerful enough to transmit your message to your targeted audience. Logo has an immediate effect on the viewers and speaks for the company itself. In fact, people invariably relate a company to that of its logo. As the importance of logo is skyrocketing each day, companies are now giving more attention to details when it comes to logo design. Moreover, the concept of logo design has undergone a massive change in the past few years - Modern logos are much more stylish and sophisticated than their predecessors. 1.7.3 Five Different types of Logo: If you are designing a logo, you should follow all 5 principles of good logo design. 1.7.3 A Brand mark Symbol (refer Fig.1.3) This type of symbol represents the company in a simple but bold manner. Most often represented through an abstract design. Usually, the ideas and concept behind the logo is complex, yet are represented in the simplest form possible. Examples of a brand mark include shell, Mercedes-Benz and apple. The human mind can easily remember a simple form better than a complex one. It is best to use a brand mark symbol if you plan on building a global brand and have the funds to back it up. 1.7.3 B Word mark (refer Fig.1.4)

Is a uniquely styled font type that spells out the company or brand name? Technology companies usually use this type of logo, as stylized text looks best on electronics and expresses the sophistication of a company. Examples of a word mark include Sony, Samsung and Microsoft. Other great examples are Facebook and Google, the world s most visited website.

1.7.3 C Letter mark (refer Fig.1.5) The letter mark uses the company name written out, yet has a symbol representing the company through the use of its initials or the brands first letter. Think HP, IBM and Honda. The best usage for this type of logo depends on many different variables such as; your initials can better graphically illustrate the company better than the full name, the name is too long, hard to pronounce, or is just not distinct enough to carry its own weight.

1.7.3 D Combination Mark (refer Fig.1.6) It is the combination of a symbol and a word mark. The purpose of the combination mark is to create an identity that embodies a given company through the use of a symbol and type treatment. In certain situations and with proper investment of time & money, a strong combination mark can use its symbol to represent the company without the use of text. Great examples include; Mexicana Airlines, Bank of America, and Rip Curl.

1.7.3 E Emblem (refer Fig.1.7) An emblem logo encases the company name within the design. Most notable emblem logos include; Harley Davidson, UPS and NFL.

1.8 Impact of brand image on sales: The Brand Image and sales of a product are directly related, they play the role of cousins in the market. If one have impact on the customers another raise by default. However in details there are some factor relations to the high image of brand and its impact on sale. 1.8.1 High Brand Image + High Sales: A product with high brand image and high sales can be said as a healthy brand. It enjoys the legacy of a positive image of product in the mind of the consumer leading
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to increasing in sales. The failure of such a product can be only when something happen such as adverse effect on health, environment which damages the image of the brand. For instance Coca Cola is positioned as a one of the best soft drinks in the global market. The sales of Coca Cola is increasing day by day since it has built the high brand image among its target group. Also the brand is well positioned as a usage in sports, family gathering etc. 1.8.2 High Brand Image + Low Sales: Such a brand can be termed as a product with un-realized potential. Lack of proper marketing strategy, puts the product in such a situation. However a lot can be worked out to bring such a product into a healthy product category. For example, Mac operator from Apple. 1.8.3 Low Brand Image + High Sales: Such I product is riding on golden chariot with great luck to enjoy high sales despite of a low brand image. Low brand image, here can be termed as negative brand image also. Low brand image may be because of several reasons, namely negative Image of the company, low on quality, etc. leaves the brand with low image. However this brand enjoys good sales because of its monopoly. 1.8.4 Low Brand Image + Low Sales: This is a sinking brand and need lot of special strategies formation in order to rescue its existing in market. For any reason the image of band have not attained the attention and perceived by customers as low value or less utilized brand. Hence because of low image of the brands, a product ultimately looses its hold in the market and sales starts declining gradually.

Chapter 3 Case Study

2.1 Objective:
To show the impact that a brand s image has on the sales of its products, and how important it is for a company to build a strong brand image. We have considered the case of Maggi which has a positive brand image. The case deals with the study of Maggi brand that was launched in India in the year 1983, by Nestle India Limited, which became synonymous with noodles.  To understand the influence of Maggi as a brand on consumers mind set.  To study the Brand performance of Maggi products.  To study Brand Imagery, Brand Quality perceived by c u s t o m e r s , B r a n d credibility, consideration, superiority and feelings.

2.2 Case Briefing:

Nestl India Ltd. (NIL), the Indian subsidiary of the global FMCG major, Nestl SA, introduced the Maggi brand in India in 1982. With the launch of Maggi noodles, NIL created an entirely new food category - instant noodles - in the Indian packaged food market and became a popular snack food product in India. Being the first-mover, NIL successfully managed to retain its leadership in the instant noodles category even until the early 2000s. y y The case talks about the various phases in the journey of Maggi noodles and the brand. It focuses on the various measures taken by NIL to position Maggi again (i.e. repositioning) in the minds of Indian consumers. It also discusses the various extension of Maggi brand. The case further talks about NIL s quest to reposition Maggi as a healthy product. Finally it ends with an outlook about Maggi s future competitors

y y

2.3 History of the Brand:

Ever since its launch in India in 1983, this brand has become synonymous with noodles. The bright red and yellow colours of the packet with the brilliant blue 2-minute Noodles printed on it has found a place on every kitchen. Well the history of this brand traces back to the 19th century when industrial revolution in Switzerland created factory jobs for
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women, who were therefore left with very little time to prepare meals. Due to this growing problem Swiss Public Welfare Society asked a miller named Julius Maggi to create a vegetable food product that would be quick to prepare and easy to digest. Julius, the son of an Italian immigrant came up with a formula to bring added taste to meals in 1863. Soon after he was commissioned by the Swiss Public Welfare Society, he came up with two instant pea soups & a bean soup- the first launch of Maggi brand of instant foods in 188283.Towards the end of the century, Maggi company was producing not just powdered soups, but bouillon cubes, sauces and other flavourings. However in India (the largest consumer of Maggi noodles in the world!) it was launched in 1980 s by Nestle group of companies. Maggie had merged with Nestle(This company too has a very interesting history) family in 1947.

Chapter 3 Branding Strategies

3.1 Maggi Takes the Health Route

In 2005, NIL started offering a range of new 'healthy' products under the Maggi brand, in a bid to attract health-conscious consumers. In May 2006, Nestl India Ltd. (NIL) launched a new instant noodles product called Maggi Dal Atta Noodles under the popular Maggi brand. The Dal Atta Noodles were made of whole wheat and contained pulses, and positioned as a healthy instant noodles.NIL offered a variety of culinary products such as instant noodles, soups, sauces and ketchups, cooking aids (seasonings), etc., under the Maggi brand. The Dal Atta Noodles were another variant of Maggi's healthy instant noodles proved to be a mistake, as consumers did not like the taste of the new noodles.

3.2 Promotion Strategy:

1. Through its ads, NIL positioned Maggi as a 'fun' food for kids which mothers could prepare easily. Tag lines of Maggi from their various ads which caught the heart and imagination of Indian consumer: y y y y y Mummy, bhookh lagi hai Bas 2-Minute Fast to Cook Good to Eat Health Bhi, taste Bhi It s Different

2. Promotional campaigns in schools 3. Availability in different pack sizes 4. Organizing contests, games and industrial visits for school kids to further strengthen the brand image 5. Invite Housewives to send new innovative recipes made from Maggi and introduce rewards for the same 6. Maggi focuses on wellness and nutrition 7. Changed their advertising campaign
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8. Firstly, they positioned their product as to get fast relief from hunger, but they visualized and make their product for fun and adventure. 9. They came up with their popular character of Pankaj and Javed to communicate with target audience. 10. NIL aggressively promoted Maggi noodles through several schemes like: y Distributing free samples y Giving gifts on the return of empty packs NIL's promotions positioned the noodles as a 'convenience product', for mothers and as a 'fun' product for children.

3.3 Brand Extension:

Brand Extension strategy is one in which a company uses the same Brand Name in order to products of different category. It is commonly found that, a company which has already established its brand name in the market for a specific product category, uses the same Brand Name at the time of launching a new product of different category.NIL used the brand extension strategy and offered a variety of culinary products such as instant noodles, soups, sauces and ketchups, cooking aids (seasonings) etc., under the Maggi brand name which had already established itself well.

3.3.1 Reason behind the Brand Extension: y y y y y The main reason behind the brand extension is that the families are more health conscious. They wanted to offer healthy products under the Maggi brand, in a bid to attract health-conscious consumers With the help of research NIL found that mostly Indian consumer want more value through products that are superior in taste, nutrition, health and wellness. Nestle also used the brand extension strategy for overcome the problem of declining sales Growing popularity of Top Ramen was also a big reason for Maggi to extend their brand in order to improve sales and attract more consumers They wanted a strong brand recall, the reason was that Maggi instant noodles were doing very well in the market and they were far away from competition. So, that Maggi wanted to use this positive point and went for brand extension.
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3.4 The Growth Factors:

y The demand for convenience food was increasing in India in the early 2000s. The survey also revealed that the market for branded food products was growing at a healthy rate of around 15 percent in the early 2000s. The changing lifestyles and eating habits of Indian consumers and the increasing purchasing power of the growing middle income group were thought to be the reasons behind this growth Again Maggi introduced smaller packs at lower price points looking at the value for money concept of the Indian consumer.

Targeting: y y y Kids Office Goers Working women

3.5 Competition:
During 1990s, the sales of Maggi noodles declined, and this was attributed partly to the growing popularity of Top Ramen.NIL changed the formulation of Maggi noodles in 1997. However, this proved to be a mistake, as consumers did not like the taste of the new noodles. In March 1999, NIL reintroduced the old formulation of the noodles, after which the sales revived. In the early 2000s, Maggi was the leader in the branded instant noodles segment, and the company faced little serious competition in this segment. We mentioned some of the major companies which produce same products of Maggi in Fig. 2.a.

3.6 Market Needs:

Maggi is a fun and convenience brand which sits strongly in its position as a "good to eat, fast to cook" anytime snack and is popular across different age groups. Opportunities impractically all consumption categories arise in terms of "reach" and "medium of consumption". Hence the onus is on the company to make it easily available and affordable and in different sizes, catering to different categories of users like the new Maggi chota pack conveniently priced at Rs 5 for 50gms. The Indian palate is not too adventurous
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in terms of trying out new flavours. In fact today, Maggi have settled at standard flavours such as curry, masala, tomato and chicken and not much experimentation is necessarily required in the noodles market. People prefer to have it easily available and affordable.

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Chapter 4 Maggi - India's most Valued Brand

Few ad jingles have survived 25 years. Some long-playing ones like Lifebuoy have been discontinued. Nestle's Maggi has stuck to the jingle that marked its entry in the country 25 years ago with instant noodles. The jingle has indeed helped in creating a formidable brand. Maggi s market share is well above 90 per cent. It has seen no serious rival in the years it has been around, though some FMCG companies like ITC have tried to attack its flanks by launching ready-to-eat pasta. A survey carried out by the National Council of Applied Economic Research named Maggi the country's most valued FMCG brand. In fact, the campaign designed by Nestle for Maggi's silver jubilee hopes to work on the brand's strong consumer connect through television, the Internet and print. Nestle, India's largest food products company, has decided not to litter the sky with hoardings on the occasion. Instead, the ads will play on nostalgia. Consumers who first sampled the brand as kids now run households. The campaign seeks to strengthen the association. Thus, customers will be invited to share their 'Maggi moments' with the company. If the company likes the way you prepare Maggi, you could find your photo on Maggi packs. Convenience was the unique selling proposition of Maggi when it was launched 25 years ago. For the first time, consumers got something that was hygienically packed and convenient to prepare. It was also the first fusion experiment on food in India. Instant noodles were an entirely new category in the country, but it was given an Indian twist. Maggi came in four variants: Masala, Chicken, Sweet & Sour and Capsicum. Of these, only two have survived -Masala and Chicken which sells largely in the eastern states. Masala continues to be the flagship flavor. The turning point came in 2005, when Nestle came out with Maggi atta (whole-wheat flour) instant noodles. All over the country, atta is considered healthier than maida or refined flour which the company was using from day one. This helped the company take the health platform, though Nestle General Manager (food business) Shivani Hegde insists that the product never ran the danger of being classified junk food. It was then that it added the tagline, health bhi, taste bhi . At the moment, over 90 per cent of the Maggi products in the country cannot be found elsewhere in the world. Not that all Maggi brand extensions have met with success in the past. Nestle had launched its Maggi range of pickles some years back. But the product was withdrawn. It has also experimented with Maggi soup cubes, the sales of which are now
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restricted to a handful of markets in the country. Still, the company is taking no chances and is extending its distribution reach to smaller towns and cities. Maggi happens to be Nestle's most widely distributed brand in the country. Through independent channels, it reaches those villages where the company has no presence. This is also the time that Maggi's valuefor-money pack priced at Rs 5 is expected to come handy. (The regular pack comes for Rs 10.) "Nestle's product portfolio is best suited to the Indian consumerism story. Analysts and sector experts admit that Maggi is no longer an impulse purchase like a chocolate or an aerated beverage. Indeed, much of Maggi's promotion is centered on kids. Some Maggi ads clearly show that it is targeted at all family members. Nowhere in the world does Nestle sell such large volumes of instant noodles as in India.

4.1 Future of the Brand

Brand: Maggi Company: Nestle India Limited Maggi owned by Nestle is a brand that created a category for itself in the Foods marketing India. The brand which is famous for the Noodles has evolved into the umbrella brand for Nestle in the Food segment. Nestle launched its noodles in the Indian market in the early 1980's. Nestle wanted to explore the potential for such an Instant food among the Indian market. It took several years and lot of money for Nestle to establish its Noodles brand in India. Now it enjoys around 50% market share in this segment which is valued at around 250crores.Maggi has faced lot of hurdles in its journey in India. The basic problem the brand faced is the Indian Psyche. Indian Palate is not too adventurous in terms of trying new tastes. At that time, Indian consumers were rather conservative in their food habits, preferring to eat traditional Indian dishes rather than canned or packaged food. So a new product with a new taste that too from a different culture will have difficulty in appealing to Indian market. Initially Nestle tried to position the Noodles in the platform of convenience targeting the working women. But it found that the sales are not picking up despite heavy promotion. Research then showed that Kids were the largest consumers of the brand. Realizing this, Nestle repositioned the brand towards the kids using sales promotions and smart advertising. Now Indians are the largest eaters of Maggi Noodles in the world. During 1997 Maggi changed its formulation. It was during that time that Indo Nissin a Japanese company launched its Noodles brand "Top Ramen" with lot of promotion and with SRK endorsing the brand. Top Ramen gave Maggi a run for its money. The changing taste of Maggi was a mistake. The consumers rejected the new taste of Maggi. And in 1999 Maggi re-launched Noodles with the original taste. Nestle
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was ready to accept the consumers verdict and it paid off handsomely. Top Ramen could not sustain the growth it had for long. Maggi's campaigns were revolved around its convenience to make and good to eat "qualities. Ready in 2 minutes was a proposition that was well received by the market. In 2005 Nestle made a very smart move. It knew that although kids love noodles, the parents were bothered about the health aspect of Noodles which was made of Maida. Hence Maggi launched Maggi Atta Noodles with the baseline taste bhi health bhi". Reports suggest that after 10 months of the launch, the product has been well received by Indian consumers. Maggi noodles are an example of a brand that knows the customer and willing to learn from the mistakes. Maggi also tried to leverage the success of the Noodles to other food products like sauces, tastemakers, soups, etc. Maggi sauces need special mention because it is another success story. Maggi have a market share of 45% in the 180crore ketchup market in India. Maggi leveraged the brand equity very effectively. The product quality was good and the communication was excellent. The brand was positioned as a "Different" sauce with the baseline It s different . Customers were intrigued as to what is different about the brand and were curious to try the sauce. The ads featuring Javed was superb and funny. Maggi after its long and tough journey is enjoying its well-deserved success. Maggi Noodles is a marketing success story.

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Chapter 5 Methodology

In order to know about the brand image of the Maggi we prepared a questionnaire and we proceeded for public survey .We prepared another questioner to know the brand s which have high brand image in the particular categories. We provided that two questionnaires next page.

Place of survey: TOTAL mall, Sarjapur, Bangalore. Spencers, J.P Nagar, Bangalore.

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5.1 Questionnaire 1:

We are conducting a survey about Maggi and would like to know your views and opinions. Q1. What comes first to your mind when you hear the word Maggi? Noodles .. Fast food .. Snacks .. None of these ..

Q2. How frequently do you eat Noodles? Daily 2-3 times a week Once a week Less frequently Once a month

Once every three months

Q3.

Which brands of Noodles have you heard of? Top Ramen Smith n Jones Sunfeast

Maggi None of these

Q4. How would you rate Maggi compared to other brands overall? Maggi is a lot better the same Others (Specify) . ..... .. : Little better Lot better Maggi is a little better They are about

Q5.

How did you get to know about the brand? T.V Advertisements Heard from friends/family Print Ads (magazine, newspaper) None of these Billboards

Q6.

How would you rate Maggi compared to other brands on

a. Expertise (competent, innovative) : Very good Good Average Bad Very Bad

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b. Trustworthiness (Dependable & keeps customer's interest in mind) :

Very good Good Average Bad Very Bad

c.

Liability (Fun, Interesting) : Very good Good Average Bad Very Bad

d. Taste : Very good Good Average Bad Very Bad

Q7.

Rank the following Maggi products on a scale of 1-5 a. Maggi noodles 1 2 3 4 5

b. Maggi Ketchup 1 c. Maggi soup 1 2 3 4 5 2 3 4 5

d. Maggi pickles 1 2 3 4 5

Q8. In future if the brand looks into chocolates, salted potato chips, fruit juices etc. Would you try them? yes maybe never

Your Age Please: Gender: Male

15-24 Female

25-34

35-44

45-54

55+

*******************
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5.2 Questionnaire-2:

We are conducting a survey about brand image opinions.

and would like to know your views and

Your Age please :

15-24 55+

25-34

35-44

45-54

Gender:

Male

Female

Name which brand comes to your mind (first) when you hear about the below listed categories : 1. Foot wear :

2. Soft drinks :

3. Wrist watch :

4. Social networking :

5. Newspaper :

*******************

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Chapter-6 Survey Analysis

The various graphs in the report are a result of the survey conducted on Brand Image of Maggi . The survey included some sample questionnaires to know the brand image of Maggi.

6.1 What comes to your mind when you hear about Maggi? (Refer Fig 6.1) The graph shows that 90% of the people think about Noodles when they hear about the brand Maggi while 7% of the people think about snacks.
Nestl India Ltd (NIL) offers a variety of culinary products such as instant noodles, soups, sauces and ketchups, cooking aids (seasonings), etc., under the Maggi brand. Of these, instant noodles had been NIL's main product category in the culinary segment since the launch of Maggi 2 Minute Noodles (Maggi noodles) in 1982. Over the years, Maggi noodles became a popular snack food product in India. In fact, the word "Maggi" has become a common term for any brand of noodles in India.

6.2 How frequently do you eat noodles? (Refer Fig 6.2)

Around 60% of the people who took part in the survey eat Maggi once a week. There are several reasons for this change in Indian food habits: the country's young demographic profile, increasing family income, accelerating urbanization, the cosmopolitization of major urban centers, unprecedented interstate migrations, increasing number of working couples, time constraints, shortage of household help, global travel, increasing exposure to global cuisine and so on.

6.3 Which brands of noodles have you heard off? (Refer Fig 6.3) The graph indicates that 44% of the people knew about the brand Maggi, 32% of the people had heard about Top Ramen, 20% of the people knew about Sunfeast while only 4% of the people knew about Smith and Jones noodles. From this can conclude that Maggi have good brand awareness than other brands.

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6.4 How would you rate Maggi compared to other brands on the following: 6.4.1 Expertise (Refer Fig 6.4.1) The word expertise meant about how competitive and innovative was the brand Maggi. Out of 40 members, 22 of them told that Maggi was good at Expertise, 11 of them opted for very good for the same reason.

6.4.2 Trustworthiness (Refer Fig 6.4.2) The question was asked how Maggi considered customers interest, there was an active positive response where 30 people out of 40 told that they had a good trust in the brand.

6.4.3 Liability (Refer Fig 6.4.3) The values in the graph indicate that around 75% of the people who took part in the survey would continue to remain as loyal customers of the brand.

6.4.4 Taste (Refer Fig 6.4.4) The values in the graph illustrate that 17 people found the taste to be very good and 19 people opted that Maggi had good taste and 3 people for tasting average.

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6.5 How do you rate Maggi compared to other brands? (Refer Fig 6.5) The graph shows that 72% of the people believed that Maggi brand was lot better when compared to other brands.
Maggi Noodles came with a tantalizing promise -- ready to eat in just two minutes. The combination of convenience and taste proved to be potent. Over the years, other brands likes Top Ramen from Indo Nissin, Ching's Secret from Capital Foods and Wai Wai from CG Foods also wooed the space. But all of them played a distant fiddle to Maggi and could not make a dent in its overwhelming 90%plus market share. The brand has a strong costumer base in the country.

6.6 How did you get to know about Maggi? (Refer Fig 6.6) According to the statistics collected from the survey about 83% of the population are aware of the brand Maggi due to TV advertisements.
Few ad jingles have survived 25 years. Some long-playing ones like Lifebuoy have been discontinued. Nestle's Maggi has stuck to the jingle that marked its entry in the country 25 years ago with instant noodles. The jingle has indeed helped in creating a formidable brand. Maggi s market share is well above 90 per cent. It has seen no serious rival in the years it has been around, though some FMCG companies like ITC have tried to attack its flanks by launching ready-to-eat pasta. The ads featuring Javed was superb and funny. Through its ads, NIL positioned Maggi as a 'fun' food for kids which mothers could prepare easily. Tag lines of Maggi from their various ads which caught the heart and imagination of Indian consumer: y y y y Mummy, bhookh lagi hai Fast to Cook Good to Eat Health Bhi, taste Bhi Its Different

Aggressive advertising campaigns increased awareness of the brand.

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In future if brand looks into chocolate , salted potato chips ,fruit juices etc. would you wish to try them: (Refer Fig 6.8) Enter into other product category like Biscuits, Chips and Snacks: To enlarge its domain, NIL should enlarge its product segment. It would spread economies of scale to customers in the form of price. The question asked was In future if brand looks into chocolates, salted potato chips, fruit juices etc.; would you wish to try them?

6.1 Findings:

Strengths:      Market leader in their segment Strong brand loyal consumer base Wide range of distribution channel Product according to the need of Indian consumer Innovative product

 Established Family Brand  Strong Global Corporate Brand ( NIL )- Nestle symbolization of warm, family & shelter  Specialization in food processing category marketing and distribution in Urban market  Research and Development Division in India

Weakness:  Product dependent on single flavor  Not so much presence in rural market

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Opportunities:  Increasing number of working youth  Product has been acceptable in youth category  Shift to rural market     Growing package and canned food market in India by 15% annually. High brand awareness of Indian consumer Other product category like Biscuits, Chips and Ready to Eat Market still unexplored. Opportunity to be substitute to other snacks category of food products.

Threat:       Price war with competitors Strong presence of regional competitors Single product focused competitors like Heinz sauce and Wai Wai Noodles. Less Entry Barriers in the Market segment for product category ITC s strong base in Indian Market. Substitute Product to Product Segment

6.2 Best Course of Action

Introduce different new brand or acquire emerging brand in biscuits, chips and snacks category. Maggi though has been able to differentiate itself from other Noodles; Maggi being taken as generic to Noodles is hampering other extended product category. Competitors have high grounds to capture the market differentiating them from being Maggi. It makes other possible product category vulnerable if lunched under Maggi. So to avoid proliferation of brand and introduce new products to capture opportunities in other snacks and ready to eat product category NIL has to introduce new branding strategy. As pasta of ITC has been seen as products capturing the market of noodles and Maggi failing to launch pasta under Maggi brand also support the argument for new brand introduction by NIL. As Indian Market is Brand conscious, other competitors are coming up with more Indianized brand of products, and as Indian being more aware of their culture and large segment being typical and conservative about their culture, there care more chances that NIL would be successful if it creates a brand close to Indian culture in wording to positioning. As India is
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growing, Old Indian Brands are also regaining momentum worldwide; NIL could catch the trend of market. By doing so, NIL could avoid the draw backs associated with the Maggi brand. It could position new brand in competition with other competitor s brand where there is no fit of product with the Maggi brand.NIL other option is acquiring products manufacturers of different products like biscuits, chips and snacks as it is very essential for it s market leader position. Other companies have advantage of such products. ITC has biscuits to it, Hindustan Lever has tea to it. India is huge market where distribution advantage plays major role and economies of scale pays back. So it s is important for NIL to concentrate on other ready to eat category to benefit consumers from economies of scale reflect in price

6.3 Changing Social Trends

There are several reasons for this change in Indian food habits: the country's young demographic profile, increasing family income, accelerating urbanization, the cosmopolitization of major urban centres, unprecedented interstate migrations, increasing number of working couples, time constraints, shortage of household help, global travel, increasing exposure to global cuisine and so on. "The localization of cuisines to match customer tastes regionally has played a major role in the acceptability of different cuisines in the country. Take the fast food chain KFC from the U.S.-based Yum Brands. When KFC first set up operations in India in 1995, it not only raised hackles because the chain's use of monosodium glutamate (popularly known as MSG, a flavor-enhancing ingredient) was three times more than was permitted by the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, but also because its offerings simply failed to tickle the Indian palate. KFC then went in for a makeover and now offers more options, including many vegetarian items crafted specifically to suit Indian tastes. In India Yum currently have 400 outlets in India, of which KFC accounts for 107. The first global player to try to change the way Indians eat their breakfast was perhaps the U.S.-based cereal major Kellogg's, which came to India in the early 1990s. But it soon found that getting a place on the breakfast table was no cakewalk. Indians traditionally prefer a hot breakfast and pouring hot milk on cereal simply made it soggy. But Kellogg's persisted, and in recent years has been steadily gaining acceptance in Indian homes. Kelloggs launched Special K as a means of weight management for women. Mid last year, Kellogg's also launched its Heart-to-Heart Oats in India. With this product, Kellogg's is not

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only looking to tap into the growing awareness among Indians of the importance of a healthy breakfast, but also to cater to their preference for a hot one.

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Chapter 7 Conclusion

Brand Equity
The concept of brand equity has been the subject of a number of studies and has been viewed from a number of perspectives. It has been described frequently as the value a brand name adds to a product. Generally, brand equity results from all the activities needed to market the brand. Therefore, it can be viewed in terms of the brand-focused marketing effects of those activities. It has received a great deal of attention recently for several reasons, the foremost of which is the increasing strategic pressure to maximize marketing productivity. The literature on brand equity shows two major focuses. Some authors have focused on the financial aspects of brand equity, more pertinent to determining a brand s valuation for accounting, merger, or acquisition purposes. Others have focused on the consumer behavior effects specific to a particular brand. For marketers, the consumer effects are the appropriate focus and include a number of cognitive effects.

Consumer Memory
The underlying basis of brand equity is consumer memory. Various authors have described brand equity in terms of components of brand knowledge. Of all the definitions, the most relevant treats it as the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand. Brand equity represents a condition in which the consumer is familiar with the brand and recalls some favourable, strong, and unique brand associations. This definition focuses on the individual consumer and the consumer s reaction to the marketing of a particular product. In addition, it is described as what consumers know about brands and what such knowledge implies for marketing strategy. Before completing a definition of brand equity, it is important to explore its foundation. Company s first job is to create and enhance brand awareness, then build on this foundation and craft a salient image composed of a group of positive associations about the brand. The typical marketing tools used to create brand image include the choice of advertising budgets, messages and media, as well as packaging, pricing and distribution channels. Proper management of these elements helps to create a level of awareness in the target audience, and careful creative activities can form a brand s identity in the consumer s mind its brand image.

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Brand Awareness
There are several levels of brand awareness depending on the ease with which a consumer can recall the brand. Consumers exposed to advertising, word of mouth, and other promotions, which are able to recall the brand only with some kind of cue, achieve a low level of brand awareness, recognition, also called aided recall. Aided recall is insufficient to generate a consumer choice by itself, since the consumer is unable to generate a picture of the brand. A consumer would have to encounter the brand and recognize it as a potential purchase choice. The associative memory model would describe the strength of association between the brand and the situation as relatively weak. However, since the consumer can recognize the brand when confronted by it, the marketing efforts may still have a positive effect. If consumers make decisions in the store for a group of products, recognition will be very important in shaping the purchase of those products.

Brand recall is Critical for Success

Consumers who are able to recall a brand name without aid achieve a high level of brand awareness, often termed unaided recall. In this situation, the associative model of memory would describe the strength of association of a brand name with a situation as strong. In the classic consumer behaviour model, consumers who recognize a problem and engage in internal search can use unaided recall to generate alternative product choices, or even to engage in routine product choice. Because recall determines which alternatives are generated, those not recalled cannot be part of the consideration set of products, the subset of products that receive serious consideration for purchase. Thus, for many products, brand recall is critical for success. Brand awareness is important for other reasons besides its role in generating a consideration set. For some low involvement products, brand awareness is sufficient to create sales. Since consumers spend little time or effort on the consumption decision of low involvement products, familiarity with the brand name may be enough to determine purchase. The most important aspect of brand awareness is the formation of information in the memory in the first place.

A Strong Brand Image is Essential

After creating brand awareness, a manager must create a set of positive associations of the brand in the consumer s mind. This task is the essence of creating a positive brand image.
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Brand image can be defined as the perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory. Moreover, there are three important aspects to brand image which determine the different consumer responses to different products. The dimensions are the favourability, strength, and uniqueness of brand associations. A positive brand image is vital for defining a target market, determining a product s position, and measuring market response.

Brands have a Personality

Consumers recognize attributes in products and with many product categories, especially shopping goods, actively compare alternatives. The non-productive attributes have little to do with product function, but may serve as important cues to help create further associations. For example, consumers often associate price with quality. It is likely that, in their minds, they may group products in a category by price. Packaging usually does not affect product function, but serves as a cue to product quality. Quality products are usually sold in quality packages. Associations with the other two non-productive attributes can be formed by consumer observation, and often can reflect some consumer inferences. Often brands have a personality, like rugged , dependable , or youthful . The brand personality can result from creative advertising, and/or consumer inferences about the user or usage situation.

Brand Association can Vary

Even the best marketing programs will not be able to achieve a clear set of brand associations with all consumers in a segment. In fact, as the number of competitors in a segment increases, it becomes very difficult to distinguish a unique set of associations. Like clutter in advertising, too many competitors can cause blurring of the brand image among brands.

Brands are Important Assets of A Company

Successful brands are the most important assets of a company. Specifically, those assets represent the knowledge created in the minds of consumers as a result of all of the marketing programs executed for those brands. In one sense it can be viewed as the result of the total resource investment in marketing the brand. All the marketing activities including product development, market research, advertising, promotion, distribution,
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sampling, and others act to create a brand image in its target audience. Firms may choose from among three main branding strategies which link products to the company. One strategy employs individual brand names for different products without an explicit connection to the company or to each other. Procter & Gamble has employed this branding strategy with brands such as Tide, Bold, Cheer and many others. Each brand has its own brand identity and can develop its own brand equity. In the unlikely event of a Procter & Gamble product catastrophe, each brand would be rather insulated from adverse publicity. Indeed when toxic shock syndrome claimed users of one of Procter & Gamble s brands, there was virtually no link to the company s unrelated brands. One difficulty is that the company s identity is so removed from individual brands that a consumer looking for Procter & Gamble quality might wonder whether Fab (Colgate-Palmolive) or Dash (Procter & Gamble) is a Procter & Gamble brand. A second strategy involves umbrella or family brand names in which the company name is on every product. Black & Decker have chosen this strategy, which has benefits and risks. When the company name connotes quality, dependability and value, each new product gains immediate positive brand associations. However, an unfavourable product issue, accident or recall might taint the entire line. Black & Decker experienced a special problem with family branding. The firm, noted for its quality power tools, developed many brand associations with quality, masculinity, dependability, ruggedness, and use in construction. Black & Decker used its family brand strategy for its newly acquired General Electric small appliance line which included hand mixers, toaster ovens, and other kitchen appliances. Kitchen appliances like hand mixers convey a less rugged image, which clashed with power tools. Black & Decker s experience serves as another example of the need to assess brand associations carefully.

The third strategy, a combination of the first two, is a sub-brand strategy in which a company name is combined with an individual brand name. Thus Kellogg s Raisin Bran is distinct from Post Raisin Bran or a local food retailer s Giant Raisin Bran. Family and combination branding can leverage positive associations consumers feel for the company. The sub-brand strategy allows differentiation and the opportunity to create specific brand beliefs.

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Brand Attributes
1. Always maintain a high level of quality. 2. It is worth the price it commands 3. It is the one Brand that I would definitely consider if I have to buy that product/service 4. It is very popular 5. The band is unique and has something that no other brand has 6. It evokes a feeling of confidence and pride among its users 7. It is special brand with unique feelings associated with it

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. Logos http://www.google.com.co.in/ 2. Brand-Wikipedia-Free encyclopaedia < http://www.en.wikipedia/Nationbranding> 3. Brand Image <http://www.brand image.com> 4. Brand awareness <http://www.scribd.com/doc/483064/Brand-awareness> 5. Nestle India http://www.nestle.com 6. Maggi noodles <http://www.en org wiki Maggi noodles> 7.Birkin, Michael (1994). "Assessing Brand Value," in Brand Power 8.Logo maker-Logo design http://www.logomaker.com 9.Logo Wikipedia free encyclopaedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo>

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