Brand Management of HUL

Importance Of Branding in FMCG
Introduction Brands are like human beings. They are born, fed and nurtured, made strong and responsible so that they can be faithful friends of the people (customers), form mutually beneficial and satisfying relationships with them and become their companions for life. Such brands, make their parents (organization or corporate) proud of them. The best brands are the ones who help in forming and sustaining strong long term parent-brand-people relationships. These brands form the potential for present growth and future expansion. They help the organizations conquer peaks at the time of booms and stay afloat and swim at times of depression. We come across a number of brands in our daily lives. Our morning starts with using a toothpaste (Colgate, Pepsodent or Close-up), using a bathing soap (Lux, Fairglow or Cinthol) and shampoo (Clinic All Clear or Vatika), wearing clothes ( Allen Solly, Levis or Raymonds), breakfast bread (Britannia or Modern) and butter (Amul) or jam (Kissan), lunch and dinner (Nature Fresh or Pillsbury flour and Safal vegetables), morning and evening tea and coffee (Tetley, Nescafe or Bru), going out in a car (Hyundai Santro, Honda Accord or Mercedes Benz). Talking on the cell phone (Motorola, Nokia, Siemens or Samsung), watching television in the evening (LG, Sony or Philips) or listening to music (Philips or Apple) etc. But how often do we think of what all a company does to put a positive imprint (fight for a shelf space) in the mind of the customer? Today nearly all the companies are focusing more and more on building strong brands. The concept of brand equity and its management has come to the fore like never before. More and more companies are refocusing on select strong brands. This project is thus a timely stuffy of the importance of brands, what it takes to build them, what benefits do they give to different stakeholders (organization, distributors and customers), how can they be leveraged, what is the impact of modern technology on branding, branding on the web, branding in mergers and acquisitions etc. examples have been given and cases discussed at every suitable point to bring out an application oriented understanding of building and managing brands.
1.2 Project Aims and Objectives Importance of understanding branding and its impact on modern day markets is vital to the health and growth of most industries. The aim of this report is to put into perspective the functional values of branding as well as assess its role in the consumer purchase decisionmaking process. Understanding the concepts of branding and consumer behavior.
To study the effect of brands on consumer buying behavior in relation to Readymade garments.
To analyze the branding strategies adopted by some of the companies in the readymade garments to woo the consumers into buying their products. To do a comparative study of the branding strategies adopted by the companies in the readymade garments.
A well-executed brand strategy helps drive profits. Authentic brands don't emerge from marketing cubicles or advertising agencies. They emanate from everything the company does... A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well. Jeff Bezos The future of John Morgan branding is marketing with people, not at them.
You cannot charge large If your brand is just like a tyre in a garage Build your brand, enlarge and take charge If your brand is always dead as a smart phone battery, start now. recharge Rhymesonny For the sake of your dreams, don't create negative brands for yourself, else you scare away opportunities that are meant to be your turning point! Israelmore Ayivor
When positioning a brand, aggressively avoid becoming a "me too" by assertively being a "who else? Crystal Black Davis
What is brand management the activity of supervising the promotion of a particular brand of goods Brand management is a communication function that includes analysis and planning on how that brand is positioned in the market, which target public the brand is targeted at, and maintaining a desired reputation of the brand. Developing a good relationship with target publics is essential for brand management. Tangible elements of brand management include the product itself; look, price, the packaging, etc. The intangible elements are the experience that the consumer takes away from the brand, and also the relationship that they have with that brand. A brand manager would oversee all of these things
In 2001 Hislop defined branding as "the process of creating a relationship or a connection between a company's product and emotional perception of the customer for the purpose of generation segregation among competition and building loyalty among customers." In 2004 and 2008, Kapferer and Keller respectively defined it as a fulfillment in customer expectations and consistent customer satisfaction History The origin of branding can be traced to ancient times, when specialists often put individual trademarks on hand-crafted goods. The branding of farm animals in Egypt in 2700 BC to avoid theft may be considered the earliest form of branding, as in its literal sense. As somewhat more than half of companies older than 200 years old are in Japan, (see: List of oldest companies), many Japanese businesses' "mon" or seal is an East Asian form of brand or trademark. In the West, Staffelter Hof dates to 862 or earlier and still produces wine under its name today. By 1266, English bakers were required by law to put a specific symbol on each product they sold. Branding became more widely used in the 19th century, through the industrial revolution and the development of new professional fields like marketing, manufacturing and business management.[1] Branding is a way of differentiating product from mere commodities, and therefore usage of branding expanded with each advance in transportation, communication, and trade. The modern discipline of brand management is considered to have been started by a famous memo at Procter & Gamble[2] by Neil H. McElroy.[3] Any list of brands would be necessarily incomplete, but purely for example, Interbrand's 2012 top-10 global brands are Coca-cola, Apple, IBM, Google, Microsoft, GE, McDonald's, Intel, Samsung, and Toyota. The split between commodities/food services and technology is not a matter of chance: both industrial sectors rely heavily on sales to the individual consumer who must be able to rely on cleanliness/quality or reliability/value, respectively. For this reason, industries such as agriculture (which sells to other companies in the food sector), student loans (which have a relationship with universities/schools rather than the individual loan-taker), electricity (which is generally a controlled monopoly), and so on have less prominent and less valuable brands. Brand value, moreover, is not simply a fuzzy feeling
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of "consumer appeal," but an actual quantitative value of good will under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Companies will rigorously defend their brand name, including prosecution of trademark infringement. Occasionally trademarks may differ across countries.[5] Among the most highly visible and recognizable brands is the red Coca-cola can. Despite numerous blind tests indicating that Coke's flavor is not preferred, Coca-Cola continues to enjoy a dominant share of the cola market. Coca-cola's history is so long that a folklore has sprung up around the brand, including the (refuted) myth that Coca-cola invented the reddressed Santa-Claus[6] which enjoys currency in less developed regions of the world such as the former Soviet Union and China, and such brand-management stories as "Coca-Cola's first entry into the Chinese market resulted in their brand being translated as 'bite the wax tadpole').[7] Brand management science is replete with such stories, including the Chevrolet 'Nova' or "it doesn't go" in Spanish, and proper cultural translation is useful to countries entering new markets. Modern brand management also intersects with legal issues such as 'genericization of trademark.' The 'Xerox' Company continues to fight heavily in media whenever a reporter or other writer uses 'xerox' as simply a synonym for 'photocopy.'[8] Should usage of 'xerox' be accepted as the standard English term for 'photocopy,' then Xerox's competitors could successfully argue in court that they are permitted to create 'xerox' machines as well. Yet, in a sense, reaching this stage of market domination is itself a triumph of brand management, in that becoming so dominant typically involves strong profit.
Brand orientation[edit] Brand orientation refers to "the degree to which the organization values brands and its practices are oriented towards building brand capabilities (Bridson & Evans, 2004). It is a deliberate approach to working with brands, both internally and externally. The most important driving force behind this increased interest in strong brands is the accelerating pace of globalization. This has resulted in an ever-tougher competitive situation on many markets. A products superiority is in itself no longer sufficient to guarantee its success. The fast pace of technological development and the increased speed with which imitations turn up on the market have dramatically shortened product lifecycles. The consequence is that productrelated competitive advantages soon risk being transformed into competitive prerequisites. For this reason, increasing numbers of companies are looking for other, more enduring, competitive tools such as brands.
Brand curation[edit] Brand curation is a business field related to branding that brings concepts from the cultural and artistic management, such as the Art Curation, to the brand creation and management processes. The brand curation organizes and provides sense to every message or image delivered intentionally or unintentionally by a company. The person in charge of it is called Brand Curator and it is responsible for cooperating with the company in the conscious management of the image and culture attached to it.
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The brand curation understands that the brand community members (traditionally called clients or users) are an active part of the brand image and therefore any action proposed by the company has a global effect amplified and influenced by them. It works from the knowledge about nowadays successful brands profiles, that are those who are really aware about the culture that they represent, and are able to incorporate the resonances about the brand in its environment knowing that it is a continuous and moving transformation process, a work in progress. In order to obtain the results proposed by the Brand Curation, design must be placed among the most strategic decisions of the company and it is necessary to draw an organic map (alive and moving) of the companys brand architecture. Besides Brand Curation believes that the brand culture construction is linked to the internationalisation of the company. It pleads that every company is already globalized, active or in a passive way, and that it is not possible to take part of the world without knowing it. Following this philosophy for the brand culture management, internationalisation is seen as a conscious cultural fact, as an action of previous self hearing that allows the company learning the language of the foreign countries in a broad sense of the word. It speaks of language as the words, symbols, iconographies and their meaning. It understands the internationalisation process as a return journey, where the experiences lived become a part of the brand image in a natural process (authentic, not fake) that favours the company position. Justification[edit] Brand management aims to create an emotional connection between products, companies and their customers and constituents. Brand managers may try to control the brand image.[1] Approaches[edit] "By Appointment to His Royal Majesty" was a registered and limited list of approved brands suitable for supply to the Royal British family. Some believe brand managers can be counter-productive, due to their short-term focus.[1] On the other end of the extreme, luxury and high-end premium brands may create advertisements or sponsor teams merely for the "overall feeling" or goodwill generated. A typical "no-brand" advertisement might simply put up the price (and indeed, brand managers may patrol retail outlets for using their name in discount/clearance sales), whereas on the other end of the extreme a perfume brand might be created that does not show the actual use of the perfume or Breitling may sponsor an aerobatics team purely for the "image" created by such sponsorship. Space travel and brand management for this reason also enjoys a special relationship. "Nation branding" is a modern term conflating foreign relations and the idea of a brand.[9] An example is "Cool Britannia" of the 1970s.
Brandings Influence on Consumer Purchasing Behavior The preceding section of this literature reviewed has sought to define the term branding and explain its functions and values as an instrumental marketing tool used in attaining differential and competitive advantage. The following section of this literature review will seek to enlighten the impact branding has on the consumer decision-making process. First however, one must gain clear insight into the definition of consumer buying behavior in order to understand the impact branding has on it. In defining consumer buying behavior, one may refer to Assael (1987) who distinguishes four types of consumer buying behaviors. He bases these four consumer types on the varying degrees of involvement and the degree of differentiation amongst the brands in question.
Consumers who are described as displaying complex buying behavior will expand their beliefs regarding a particular product as a starting point. This stage will eventually lead them to develop positive attitudes regarding the product. These intermediary stages lead them to the final stage of their behavioral pattern, where they consciously make the choice of purchasing the product. Referring to the Assaels model; one will notice this type of consumer engages in highly involved purchasing experiences being fully aware of the range of brands available and their levels of differentiation. Assael (1987) classifies consumer who exhibit Dissonance-reducing behavior as consumer who are highly involved in the purchasing experience, however see few differences between brands. For this reason, the consumer will seek information on the differentiation of the
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product offerings and will not be particularly price sensitive when seeking functionality. In the event that this consumer finds him or herself in a market that displays low levels of differentiation, the consumer might result to purchasing influenced by convenience. Like consumers who display complex buying behavior, consumers with dissonance-reducing behavior will seek to establish personal beliefs regarding the product. If fostered adequately, these beliefs with eventually transform into attitudes regarding the product offerings. These attitudes, if favourable, will lead to a thoughtful purchase. Assael (1987) considered consumes displaying habitual buying behavior as consumers who did not experience the same sequence as the previous two behavioral types. Instead of basing their decision-making process on seeking product information pertaining to functionality or characteristics, this type of consumer will purchase based on information gathered passively, via the companys promotional efforts, by it through the medium of television, radio or print advertising. This behavioral type, as can be seen on Assaels (1987) model, with low-level involvement products. Differentiating this consumer type is the fact that they being the process with beliefs already embedded in their mind, which they have learnt passively, rather than actively. Variety-seekers are the last behavioral type contained in Assaels (1987) model. Their typical buying situation is summarized by low-level involvement in a market that displays high levels of product differentiation. Common to this type of consumer, is brand switching, in order to satisfy their need for diversification. In order to fully ascertain the effects that branding has on the consumer decision making process, the Howard-Sheth Decision-making model by Howard and Sheth (1969) is used that explains not only the process of consumer decision-making during purchasing activities, but one that facilitates the understanding of pre and post purchasing activities as well.
The models core assumption lies in that the key to determining behavior exhibited by consumers is to fully understand the consumer thought process. The Howard-Sheth model illustrates that cognitive decision-making is the process in which consumers mentally process information that influences his or her selection of brands. Impact on The Consumer Learning Process At its most basic definition, one can define the consumer learning process as being a time period in which a customer is heavily exposed to the branding process of a product or service. The branding process can include any aspect of the promotional strategy, including audio/visual forms of promotion. By learning from this information, whether it is a conscious process or not, the consumer will develop strong feelings towards a brand. For marketers, branding has a vital effect on the learning process, because it is self-growing. Once consumers start to purchase product, others will vicariously learn from them. Vicarious learning is when consumers begin to copy the behavioral patterns of their peers by making changes in their own lives to reflect what they have vicariously learnt. In searching for a more academic view on consumer learning, one can understand the process as modifications to a consumers behavioral patterns that are the direct consequence of either past experiences or information gathered during all aspects of the purchase decision-making process. These modifications are caused by information that has essentially been saved as a set of meaningful associations in the consumers mind. These above-mentioned associations provide the consumer with link to the brand image of offerings in respects to the promotional
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tools used to further this brand image. These tools include both physical characteristics of the product as well as pricing policies. All the elements that are retained by the consumer stem from what they have been exposed to during their individual learning process. This is ultimately, what will shape their views and attitudes in regards to brands. It has been found that the learning process discussed above acts as a catalyst in creating emotional and evaluating responses. These responses are embedded in the consumers memory span, which will be recalled when faced with a purchase decision-making process. Thus, understanding the learning process is the key to marketers who seek to efficiently use promotional methods to influence consumers, because the imprints they create in the mind of consumer will later on be recalled when selecting a product or brand. Impact on Consumers Attitudes Towards Brands An attitude can be considered to be either positive or negative, depending on the outcome of their learning and evaluating process. The evaluation of consumer attitudes towards brands has quickly become a major part in conducting marketing research. The development of positive attitudes towards brands can lead to not only the sustaining of competitive advantage, but in the bettering of the financial health of a company. Branding has been found to be a key in formation of positive attitudes towards products, especially those involving low-levels of consumer involvement. However it has been noted that there are factors that might negate the effects of the formation of positive attitudes. One being that the effects of positive attitudes can dissipate should the consumer not purchase the product within a certain timeframe. Another factor that might negate the effects of positive attitudes might be an overtly high pricing policy, which might have a contrary effect to the consumers positive attitudes towards the brand and result in a non sale. In considering attitudes towards brands, one must ponder whether these attitudes all remain at a conscious level, or whether branding can instigate attitudes at a sub-conscious level. Sigmund Freuds theory that individuals are rarely aware of how their own psychology shapes their visual behavioral patterns which suggests that at an unconscious level, consumer might have beliefs that shape their attitudes towards products. By acknowledging Freuds theories, one can conclude that branding can be used to target sub-conscious desires that rest at a primal level. 2.4 Positioning Various authors have given different definition of Positioning. Some are:Beckman, Kurtz, Boonee Product positioning refers to the consumers perception of a products attribute, use, quality & advantages & disadvantages in relation to competing brands.
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Berkowitz, Kerlin, Rudelius Product positioning refers to the place an offering occupies in the consumers mind on important attributes relative to competitive offerings.
2.4.1 Usefulness of Positioning As competition intensifies & brands proliferate, consumers tend to differentiate between brands in their own way. Positioning is a conscious attempt on the part of the marketer to accentuate this natural tendency & in the process, impart a distinct identity to his own brand to make it stand out among the competitors. The basis on which this differentiation is achieved reflects consumer preferences or attitudes. The marketer, through his diverse & coordinated actions, tries to influence this process. The concept of positioning is also important in various other aspects of the marketing strategy. Once one is clear about the position one wants, the other marketing decisions like product design, packaging, pricing, method of distribution, etc., become clearer. 2.4.2 Brand Positioning It should be remembered that positioning is more a reflection of a product and that it stifles the rich meaning of the brand without taking into account all its potentialities. Positioning applies to the process of emphasizing the brands distinctive and motivating attributes in the light of competition. It is based on the analysis of response to the following four questions. POSITIONING Why? For whom? When? Against whom?
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2.4.3 Elements of Positioning Evidence has shown that there are four distinct variables that affect the position of a given product. These are:a) b) c) The product itself, The company behind it, The competition,
1. The Product: - How important the product is or what meaning it has for the consumer & how he relates to it. The fact that a product involves better ingredients or processes is a matter of indifference unless this knowledge offers distinct advantages to the consumer.
2. The Company: - A product comes from a company & every company has its own history. Generally, the stronger the companies profile the better the image of its products. For instance, consumers may perceive a better the image of a product if it comes from a reputed house like Tatas.
3. The Competition: - Product positioning is invariably done in relation to various competitive offerings. In most cases, the consumers have a tendency to judge a product in comparison to the dominant brand, e.g., all photocopiers are compared with Modi Xerox, all PCs with HCL, toothpastes with Colgate & so on. Leading brand enjoys some edge over others.
4. The Consumer: - It should be reiterated that positioning is essentially based on consumer perception rather than factual evaluation. Hence, it becomes necessary to examine how the consumer views a product. Here, it becomes necessary to examine how the consumer views a product. Here, the consumers self-perception comes into play along with his cognitive & connotative factors.
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How to Manage Your Company's Brand BY BRENDA PORTER-ROCKWELL Your brand is your mark of distinction. Here's how to construct a brand management strategy that will inspire trust in your company. 196 SHARES Your company brand is your mark of distinction; it's what sets you apart from your competitors. When you establish and adhere to a brand management strategy, your level of commitment reassures consumers, suppliers, and anyone else that your company does business with that they can trust you. Brand management is so important that Reputations Corporation, a Vancouver-based consultancy group, reports that 72 percent of consumers say reputation influences their buying decisions; 80 percent of employees will accept less pay to work with a company with an excellent reputation; while another 89 percent say reputation is a tiebreaker between equal products. Whether you're trying to influence key decision makers or attract and retain top talent, you'll want to consider the following tips on managing your company's brand. How to Manage Your Company's Brand: Finding the Right Marketing Vehicle There are many marketing vehicles that can drive home your brand message, including: Public relations and publicity Trade shows Phone directories Online (your website, blog, social media such as Twitter and Facebook, advertising) Broadcast media (television, radio) Print media (newspapers, magazines, specialty publications) Print displays and direct mail (brochures, fliers, signage) Professional assistance (consultants, designers, and agencies) It's best to choose the communications vehicle that you're comfortable implementing and that will reach your intended audience, says Kirsten Dixson, a Boston-based Personal Branding Strategist. Otherwise, "If you don't enjoy the mediums you use for marketing, you won't use them often enough to keep your brand top of mind," she warns. Another aspect that business owners often overlook, Dixson says, is to think about how to maximize those brand communications activities that you currently use. For example, if you are going to be speaking at a conference, how can you use social media to publicize that event, get
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feedback on the content your audience would like to hear, and use that content in an enduring way after the live event (like video clips)? "What happens most of the time is that we show up at the event, deliver our speech, hand out a few business cards, and cross our fingers that it turns into something more," says Dixson. Dig Deeper: How to Build Your Personal Brand
How to Manage Your Company's Brand: Utilizing New Media Ed Roach, founder of The Brand Experts, a brand management consultancy in West Leamington, Ontario, goes further to suggests that even if you're not 100 percent comfortable with social media you should make an effort to learn it. Branding strategies have expanded to include smartphones and phone apps, mobile websites and mobile ads as well as social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and Ning. "Social media has one very important perspective to share with brand management - the conversation. Like branding, social media is all about the conversation and building effective relationships. They are perfectly suited to one another," says Roach, the author of The Reluctant Salesperson, a free e-book available at www.thebrandingexperts.ca. The rules for brand messaging through new media versus traditional channels haven't changed, but "the game sure got better and more interesting," says Roach. It's not enough to have a Facebook page or a Twitter account, you must participate in the conversation by making regular posts and replying to direct messages from your customers. Ron Smith, president and founder of S&A's Cherokee, a public relations and marketing firm in Cary, North Carolina, agrees, adding that you'll want to stay on top of what people are saying about you and your brand online. "Monitoring social media is a must for all companies. Social media has shortened the time frame for company responses to complaints or accusations. These days, companies need to acknowledge any issues and control the messaging in a matter of minutes instead of hours or days," says Smith. Dixson adds, "In the past, if a customer had a gripe, their recourse would have been to write a letter or call customer service. Now, he can Tweet his concerns for all the world to see." Dixson suggests that the most basic thing is to have a website that serves as a mashup of a consulting site, a portfolio with proof-of-performance content, and blogs from company leaders
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packed with relevant key words. The website should be powered by TypePad or Wordpress for easy manageability, and the domain name should include the name of the business. With a strong domain name and consistently new content from blogs, the company should rank high in search engine results. "Search engine optimization strategies are a constant exercise. It's important to keep information flowing and to harness key search words that can lead searchers to the brand. Like any advertising media it's all about awareness," says Roach. Dig Deeper: 6 Tools for Monitoring Your Reputation
How to Manage Your Company's Brand: Always Keep a High Profile S&A Cherokee's Smith says your brand must be visible in good times and bad. "The foxhole mentality of waiting out economic downturns will put you behind your competitors when things start turning around. Trying economic times can also be opportunities to fully engage your creativity and explore alternate means of generating revenue. If you don't like the way the game is played, change the rules," says Smith. Smith offers several tips for keeping your brand top of mind in the marketplace during trying times: Network with your local Chambers of Commerce and professional associations. You never know when an acquaintance or colleague will pass along a lead to you. Barter with companies for exposure. For example, co-exhibiting at an expo or negotiating a trade of your service for ad space. Encourage your staff to become active in local charities and boards of directors. Again you never know where that next lead will come from. Hold webinars for free or for minimal fees. Share knowledge and promote your company as an industry leader. Dig Deeper: How to Network Effectively
How to manage Your Company's Brand: Establish Brand Consistency Whether, it's your company website, your ranking in search engine optimization, or your Facebook and Twitter pages, you should strive for consistency in image and reputation in managing your brand. It will save you money and eliminate any confusion about what your
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brand stands for in the marketplace, says Roach. "Look at your competition," advises Roach. "Are their images and positioning strategy different than yours? Do you all blend in - same colors, same slogans, same offers?" If so, Roach says you may want to reevaluate your strategy. According to Sam Waltz, founder and president of Sam Waltz & Associates Business and Communications Counsel of Wilmington, Delaware, most audiences are way too sophisticated to get distracted by flashy drawings that designers tend to hold in front of executives as being what branding is all about. "It's about finding, creating, and perpetuating a resonant win-win relationship with your critical stakeholders," says Waltz. To stand out, Dixson adds, you need to have an understanding of your competitors and peers. "If you are strongly known for somethingbecause you are very clear and consistent with that messagethen the people who benefit from your offering will come to you instead of your competitor," says Dixson. She recommends doing a same-different analysis of the competition initially in the personal brand discovery phase and then doing quarterly or biannual check research of your competition. "Too much concern over what the competition is doing isn't productive. You aren't moving forward as fast when you are constantly looking over your shoulder," Dixson says. A good example of this strategy is UPS, says Roach. "Most delivery companies' color palettes are bright. UPS on the other hand is brown. They own brown in their category so much so that their color icon has become their slogan 'What can brown do for you today?'" Ultimately, you should be prepared to develop, monitor and constantly push your brand message in the marketplace. Your message should be simple and as consistent as possible in every marketing venue you choose to ensure that when people think of your brand that their perception is inline with your perception of your company
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Why is Branding Important? In todays fast-paced world, it is more important than ever to promote recognition of a product or service. If you're remembered as a quality provider, then you will be encouraging repeat business. Branding is a great way to promote this recognition because people are busy and tend to adhere to familiarity. If consumers recognize a brand that they have previously used and they remember being satisfied with it, then they are more likely to choose that product or service again. This is especially true in the tremendous hodgepodge of advertising going on today. Branding Strategy Brand identity is a vital part of a business, and it should be incorporated into many key aspects and areas. Company name, logo, or slogan Company letterhead Company forms Marketing materials and advertising Signage Web sites Uniforms
Branding is an integral part of the business building process. Large corporations spend hundreds of millions of dollars building their brands, and theres a reason: Brands enable customers to remember your product-service. Brands build customer loyalty and lead to repeat purchases. Brands make it easier for current clients or customers to refer you to others. Brands send a message as to what your customers can expect. Brands convey an emotion. Brands add value.
We use brands as shorthand to make our trips to the grocery store easier; we use brands to reassure us about our purchasing decisions; we even use brands to define ourselves in society. Remember: a brand is a promise. With a brand, you set customer expectations. When someone buys your product or service, they count on those expectations to be fulfilled.
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What is the Importance of Branding in Marketing? Posted on February 16, 2012 by manderson
Importance of Branding in Marketing Once you realize that every successful business is grounded on its unique and appealing brand, theres no denying theimportance of branding in marketing. The goal is to make it easy for consumers to relate your brand to a specific product or service. In this way, your company name, logo, and brand are not just symbolsthey are the face of your company that customers picture when they require the product or service you offer. Here are 4 reasons why you should work with a promotional marketing company to create a face for your business, no matter its size or scope. Deliver Your Message Clearly Branding acts as a way of communicating with your customers. Without expensive advertising, you can deliver a message through your well-designed brand. Because of this, the importance of branding in marketing is clear if you want to connect with your customers without going broke in the process. If you can customize your brand according to the needs of your customer base, you will be well on your way to the success you crave for your business. Create Business Credibility If you can continually associate your brand with quality products and services, soon they will be one and the same in the minds of your customers. This credibility is not built overnight. You must prove that your business can continually innovate to provide top-notch customer service as well as products and services that are dependable. Connect the Customer to the Product You probably feel a connection withand even a loyalty toyour favorite brands. They have helped you be successful in various aspects of your life. Products are the backbone of
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humankinds success, and every successful product is backed by a recognizable brand and a trustworthy company, which are the traits you need to create for your own business. Motivate the Buyer When the connection between the customer and the product is strong, the brand becomes a motivator for the customer to continue buying products, even if they have never used that exact product before. Your customer places trust in your brand and its quality so they know buying another product from the same brand is likely to deliver similar satisfaction.The most clear-cut way to be successful in a business endeavor is to recognize the importance of branding in marketing and use it to your advantage. To work with a promotional marketing company that can transform the success of your business
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FMCG Marketing: How Do FMCG Brands Get Value Out of Online Marketing?
So why would you market a FMCG brand on the internet - isn't this a niche medium that targets only a small percentage of consumers Well here's one theory... You need to market FMCG products on the internet because these are brands that rely on therelationships they have formed with their consumers. When you buy your favourite brand of peanut butter, yoghurt, milk, washing up liquid - it is often because you feel a familiarity with your chosen brands - it is a relationship based on trust developed out of years of quality delivery. You might say these brands have become like familiar friends you wouldn't want to lose. The challenge is for FMCG marketers to develop and maintain these relationships with their loyal consumer base and not to let them stray to other brands that may be perceived as cooler, more innovative or new brands on the block. The role of different media in FMCG marketing Each media has a role to play in FMCG marketing, the important thing is to look at the big picture and integrate these media* to achieve your ultimate marketing objective:

TV/ radio/ print, outdoor - selling your product to a mass audience that fits your demographic, driving the consumer to the store. Instore Marketing - making sure you grab the consumer in the aisle and close the sale at point of purchase Online marketing: Establish, reward, and revitalise your relationship with consumers Create exciting, surprising content taking advantage of the freedom of the internet - market this content extensively online. Drive consumers to engaging platforms online with all your offline marketing - consumers often want to find out "what's behind the ad" Interact with them sincerely and appreciate their feedback Treat loyal customers as VIPs offering them the first chance to try new variants, creating "expert tester" panels for new products, appreciating and implementing their suggestions *simplified overview of FMCG marketing mix
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Why do FMCG brands have websites? Lets be honest - there really is no point in FMCG brands spending money on driving traffic to a website if there is no purpose to the visit. Helpful website tools and free services are novel and may warrant a few return visits but are not engaging the consumer long term. A broader online strategy should be considered by FMCG marketers that includes:

Using existing social media platforms to meet their needs (instead of expensively developing custom platforms that meet the same needs) Creating surprising & impactful content - video, rich media, pictures, articles Maximising content sharing sites and social media to market this content extensively Implementing integrated campaigns that target consumers off and online with the end objective of making an impact on the consumer and then maintaining that relationship over the long term.
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The Importance of Company Branding by Miki Markovich, Demand Media Company branding is the most efficient way to show potential customers what your business is about. It is reflected visually via the logo and company design elements as well as through verbiage in marketing materials, slogans and informational copy. According to Fast Company magazine, The brand is a promise of the value you'll receive. Ads by Google Entrepreneurship Courses Learn More About Business Startups Come To Cambridge Open Day 4 March! www.cfel.jbs.cam.ac.uk/OpenDay Uniqueness Utilize your branding to set yourself apart from your competitors. To do this, analyze what you do best and consider you target demographic. Use graphics and word choices that clearly reflect your business to your target audience, hence your brand. Use your branding to deliver clear messages. Target Audience Done correctly, your brand can assist you in getting a stronger foothold in your niche market. Define your unique selling position and consider methods to communicate key messages to your desired audience. Use specific images or phrases to encourage the feel of inclusivity. Let them know the reason your company exists and how it can fulfill their needs. This can connect you to your target audience, engage them and motivate them to buy. Related Reading: Corporate Branding vs. Product Branding Emotional Connections According to a 2010 study conducted by the worlds largest public relations firm, Edelman, the Y Generation, also known as the Millennials, consider brand identification almost as important as religious preference and ethnic background when defining themselves online. The power of branding has successfully melded into that of personal identification and emotional connection. Message Delivery Having strong branding can evoke trust from your niche market. This can translate to your newsletters, emails and advertisements garnering a greater response, hence increasing sales. As people will already be vested in your brand, they will be confident that they will receive value for time spent reading your messages or researching your product. Consistency Focus on your long-term branding efforts to keep your business consistent. This consistency should transcend messages, product lines and audience appeal. It should enhance your business, adding depth to your companys presence. This should allow you to grow and keep a loyal following.
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Importance of Symbols in Branding Symbols convey emotion and corporate messages
Rob Frankel, a branding expert and author, believes the goal of branding isn't just to make customers consider doing business with your company; rather, it makes them want to do business only with your company. Branding creates an image of your company in the mind of your customer. It differentiates your company from your competition, portraying it in a way that is worth more than just the services and products you supply. It is the visual and emotional representation of your mission statement. McDonald's and Color Branding is not just a logo, but the logo is important. It gives a subtle image to the brand. McDonald's golden arches are an example. They form the M for McDonald's, reinforcing the name. They are yellow in color but are called "the golden arches" giving them a value, evoking the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow -- the arches being shaped similar to a rainbow. The colors of the logo -- red, white and gold -- are bright and traditional quality colors that are also seen in the Cartier logo, Dunhill cigarettes, Johnny Walker scotch and in many royal emblems. Kroc's Concepts Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's, envisioned a restaurant chain that would be famous for food of consistently high quality and uniform methods of preparation -- burgers, buns, fries and beverages that tasted just the same in Alaska as they did in Alabama. His restaurants presented a quick way to get a good meal, often without leaving your car, and the golden arches made his restaurants immediately recognizable. They were a destination for people seeking value and a good burger. Nike Swoosh The Nike swoosh is so recognizable it often appears instead of the name, yet people know it means Nike. The shape evokes an image of speed, and paired with Nike's tag line "Just do it!" gives it the image of serious athletic shoes that help you perform better. This is the goal of branding: to create an image of your company. To do this, write your mission statement and translate it into a graphic image. Nike's mission statement is "To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world." The swoosh has definitely become a simple expression of athletic inspiration.
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Rainbow Apple The first Apple logo was an etching of Isaac Newton sitting under a tree -- presumably about to be hit in the head by an apple. The tag line was: "Newton ... A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought ... Alone." This was replaced in 1976 with the Rainbow Apple, with a bite out of it. Many theories attempt to explain how the logo came into being, but the symbol has come to represent Apple's simplicity of operation and excellent graphics ability. In 1998, in keeping with a marketing campaign that featured silhouetted dancing figures with white iPods, the Apple logo itself became a black silhouette of an apple with a bite out of it.
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Importance Of Branding in FMCG The Importance of Branding a Logo Design
by Gregory Hamel, Demand Media Businesses go to great lengths to convince consumers to try their products and services and to continue to purchase those offerings in the future. Branding is a common marketing practice that businesses use to retain customers. It involves creating a distinct company image or theme that forms a link between the company and quality products and services in the minds of consumers. Logos are a common type of tool that companies use in the branding process. Consider how logos and branding can help market your small business.
Basics of Logos and Branding A logo is a symbol, word or combination of the two that a company uses in conjunction with its products or services. Many well-known companies have iconic logos. For example, McDonald's uses a large golden "M" as a logo and Apple uses a stylized image of an apple with a bite taken out of one side. Designing and displaying logos is a way that business get consumers to remember and recognize their products and services. Companies can register logos as trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; trademark holders are granted the exclusive right to use a registered mark. Product Visibility
One reason that designing and displaying a logo is important is that logos can make a business more visible to consumers. For instance, when a customer is driving in an unfamiliar city looking for a place to eat, logos of familiar restaurants tend to stand out. If the driver associates a familiar logo with food that he likes or places that have a good reputation, it might convince him to stop rather than frequent an unfamiliar restaurant. Related Reading: The Best Free Online Logo Design Software Creator
Consumer Loyalty
The ultimate purpose of branding and designing logos is to create a sense of loyalty among customers. If a customer is satisfied with certain company's products, he might eventually come to favor its products over competitors, even if he has not tried the competitors products. Logos can act as a stamp or seal of quality that loyal customers seek out. In some cases, customers might be willing to pay more for a product branded with a logo that they associate with quality, even if the product itself is actually no better than the products offered by competitors.
Rebranding
If a business fails to create a successful logo design, it may consider "rebranding." Rebranding is the process of replacing a stale company image with a new one, which often involves creating a new logo. Rebranding can help keep companies relevant and rid themselves of unfavorable attitudes consumers may harbor toward certain product lines or images associated with the company.
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Company Branding Examples by Miranda Brookins, Demand Media From athletic products to coffee houses, branding plays an important role in how companies are perceived, the types of customers they attract, the tactics they use to generate business and the way they achieve stature in their respective industries. Branding is more than just the visual representation of your business. "Entrepreneur" magazine describes it as your promise to your customers.
Business Name The name of your business is usually the first way a customer hears about your brand. Some companies select business names that are relevant to the types of products and services they offer, such a Build-a-Bear, a children's toy company, and Kentucky Fried Chicken, a fast-food restaurant specializing in chicken. Other companies, such as Apple, Go Daddy and Google, have business names that are seemingly unrelated to what they sell or employ made-up words. Company Colors
The implied rules of branding state that the colors your select to use in your business logo also should appear on your company website and as a part of any marketing collateral you produce for your business. This includes everything from your email newsletter template and store signage to brochures and letterhead. Choose your colors carefully, paying close attention to the meaning and emotions behind the colors, as outlined by The Color Association. Fast-food restaurant McDonald's primarily uses red and yellow, while Tiffany's, a high-end jewelry store chain, uses its custom-made robin's-egg color and black as company colors.
Logo
Logos are the most common example of how companies brand themselves. By working with a skilled graphic designer, firms develop logos that act as visual representations for their brands and give insight into the products and services they offer. Some logos are designed solely with a company's name, while others only use a graphic representation. Many include both a graphic and words. Consumer software and electronics company Apple uses a bitten apple as its logo. Delivery company FedEx's logo includes text, as well as a hidden arrow, found between the "E" and "x" in "Ex," which symbolizes speedy delivery.
Slogan or Tag Line
Tell customers what your business does by adding a tag line or slogan to your company's branding toolkit. A tag line generally is a short phrase that gives your potential customers a snapshot of your business and what they can expect. Your tag line can focus on quality, efficiency or affordability, or simply can be a catchy phrase. Athletic company Nike has one of the most recognizable tag lines, "Just Do It." Seafood restaurant chain Red Lobster uses the tag line, "For the Seafood Lover in You," while fast-food restaurant Burger King uses "Have It Your Way.
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Importance of Branding and Advertising Branding is often discussed in esoteric terms that obscure its real importance. Simply stated, a brand is a veritable money machine. It "authorizes" you to command premium prices for what you sell, because your "brand" is the added value that justifies premium pricing. Your customers willingly pay higher prices because they trust your brand's promise of a superior experience that is not available elsewhere. Types of Persuasion It is commonly accepted that the function of advertising is to persuade people to buy something. Persuasion can take two forms: rational persuasion and irrational persuasion. Rational persuasion uses logical, fact-based arguments to guide audiences in making "informed" decisions. Irrational persuasion taps into audience emotions at the intuitive level to drive demand based on how audiences "feel" about a brand. Rational persuasion certainly plays a prominent role in advertising and is used quite often, especially in combination with emotional appeals. Branding, however, connects brands with users through the deeper bonds of emotions. These emotional ties manifest in the subconscious mind and not in the conscious mind. Consequently, irrational persuasion is required in advertising for branding to take effect. The Branding Process Branding is fundamentally a pact between advertisers and consumers that is grounded in a promise of satisfying experiences from the brand usage. Experiential promises are validated only in the minds of users based on their internal perceptions about the brand. Internal perceptions function on trust. Users trust brands. They internalize promises that are associated with brand usage. Moreover, brand experiences are almost impervious to competitive challenges. Consequently, strong brand names are somewhat analogous to impenetrable fortresses. When a brand is imbedded in consumer psyches, dislodging the brand typically proves to be a prohibitively costly and unrewarding undertaking. Because brands are relatively immune to competitive assault, they can command premium prices with impunity and are therefore generally more profitable. A Valuable Asset Your brand name is a storehouse of value. Companies in possession of powerful brand names always sell at a premium over their book values because of their brand names. For instance, the "Coca Cola" brand name alone was estimated to be worth $78 billion by global brand consultancy Interbrand in its 2012 annual ranking of the top 100 global brands."Gap" made the cut at 100 with a brand name worth $3.8 billion. Your powerful brand name might be worth more than the combined value of all the other assets on your balance sheet. Because of the values intrinsic in brand names, marketers sometimes argue that the primary goal of advertising "is" branding. Branding Small Businesses Branding is achievable for all businesses regardless of size, thanks to the Internet and digital marketing techniques. Mass advertising historically has been the route to building brand names and is still practical if your budget permits. Large corporations, however, are recognizing the potency of the Internet and are incorporating digital marketing techniques
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into their marketing tool kits. As a small-business owner, you can follow suit. You can start simply by collecting information from online social network services, such as Twitter and Facebook, to learn how their services help to grow small businesses.
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What Are the Benefits of a Company With a Well-Executed Branding Strategy? A company with a well-executed branding strategy gains important competitive advantages over its rivals. An effective branding strategy creates a clear and consistent identity for your products, based on qualities that are important to the market. Your branding strategy positions your products clearly in the minds of customers and prospects, and differentiates your products from competitive offerings. A well-executed branding strategy builds on the strengths of your brand by communicating brand values clearly and consistently. The measure of a well-executed branding strategy is immediate recognition by your target audience with consequent impact on your sales success. Purchasing A well-executed branding strategy makes it easier for your customers to make purchasing decisions about your products. They have a clear perception of the performance, benefits and quality of your products. The confidence that the brand will continue to meet their expectations minimizes customers risk in purchasing your product. A strong brand helps you build long-term relationships with your customers. Customers continue to buy from companies they trust, so it is important to continually reinforce the brand values that are important. Distribution You can also strengthen your presence in retail outlets and distributors through a wellexecuted branding strategy. Retailers feel confident in stocking a product with a strong brand, because they know there is strong consumer demand for that product. Your brand strategy can help you sell into retailers and build retail sales by stimulating demand. Encouraging distributors to use your branding material in their communications can also help to build business by giving customers confidence in the service they receive from the distributor. New Products A strong brand makes it easy to introduce new products that carry the same branding. The new product could be a range extension -- a different size, color or version of an existing product. In the minds of customers, the new product will have the same qualities as the existing range because of its association with the existing brand. Value A well-executed branding strategy ensures that your brand makes an effective contribution to profitability through increased revenue, improved distribution and growth through new products. This, in turn, creates greater value for shareholders, making it easier for your company to attract investment and fund future growth.
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Importance Of Branding in FMCG Corporate Branding vs. Product Branding
by Vicki A. Benge, Demand Media Corporate branding involves marketing various products or services under the name of a company. Product branding, on the other hand, is a marketing strategy wherein a business promotes and markets an individual product without the company name being front and center in the advertising campaigns or even on the product labeling. Management strategies for choosing which avenue to pursue or a combination of the two in branding vary by business and each approach produces results.
Identification
An article in the July 2005 issue of the "Journal of Marketing" describes the labeling of individual products as "stand-alone" for a separate brand name, "monolithic" when using just the corporate brand name, and "endorsed" or "dual" when using both a brand name for the product along with the corporate brand. Some companies that manufacture or sell multiple products may use the endorsed means of promoting a certain number of goods while using a stand-alone approach for other products. In addition, a company may use only the corporate brand on all goods and services.
Product Branding
A well-known example of a major U.S. company that utilizes product branding is Procter & Gamble with corporate headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. They make beauty, personal care and household products, and many of the company's popular brands each have a dedicated website. Each product carries individualized symbols or logos and some have advertising slogans associated with the product alone, not mentioning the corporation or the P&G brand except in labeling.
Corporate Branding
In the Yale School of Management's magazine "Qn," John Hayes, Chief Marketing Officer of American Express was asked how to market a corporate brand, in this case, the global marketing of the American Express brand. Hayes explained in the interview that for his company, the brand means basically the same thing worldwide. Although the corporation does offer financial products such as gift cards, the major offerings of American Express are service-oriented. According to Hayes, his company's global branding evokes a sense of trust and an expectation of high quality among consumers, a marketing concept attached to the corporate brand.
Benefits
Businesses can reap a number of rewards for marketing and maintaining strong brands through both the approach of corporate brand promotion, product branding, or a combination of the two. A company's rewards for possessing strong brands include name recognition that builds trust in the product or corporate brand. This sense of trust builds consumer loyalty that affects final choices in purchasing, establishing a repeat customer base. Garnering a niche of
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a particular market share then permits the business more leeway in increasing pricing on preferred products.
The Importance of Branding Your New Business

By AllBusiness.com Published: March 17, 2009
Early branding of a small or emerging company is key to business success. It is the quickest way for your company to express what it is and what it can offer. Inaccurate branding of a new business can make it difficult for people to grasp why the business exists in the first place.
For startups and small businesses, branding can often take a backseat to other considerations, such as funding and product development. This is a mistake, as a company's brand can be key to its success. Dollar for dollar, it is as important and vital as any other early steps. One software management company, temporarily named TallyUp, decided to invest in a branding overhaul. Its flagship product, a software suite that tracks and runs bonus incentive plans, needed a clear identity and platform to appeal to its target audience -- primarily financial executives. The name TallyUp, while somewhat descriptive, didn't capture the level of sophistication needed to attract the appropriate clientele. TallyUp hired a branding consultant, who recommended the name Callidus (Latin for "expert and skillful") to effectively communicate its positioning in an instant. The new name communicated a similar concept but on a completely different level. Callidus positions the software product correctly. A brand is a company's face to the world. It is the company's name, how that name is visually expressed through a logo, and how that name and logo are extended throughout an organization's communications. A brand is also how the company is perceived by its customers -- the associations and inherent value they place on your business. A brand is a kind of promise. It is a set of fundamental principles as understood by anyone who comes into contact with a company. A brand is an organization's reason for being and
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how that reason is expressed through its various communications media to its key audiences, including customers, shareholders, employees and analysts. A brand can also describe these same attributes for a company's products, services, and initiatives. Apple's brand is a great example. The Apple logo is clean, elegant, and easily implemented. At a certain point in time the company began to use the apple logo monochromatically (as opposed to the rainbow stripes), signaling a new era for Apple. Smart branding allowed the company to clearly communicate a change in direction while continuing to build its reputation. Think about how you've seen the brand in advertising, trade shows, packaging, and product design. It's distinctive and it all adds up to a particular promise: quality of design and ease of use.
The Role of Brands in Consumer Markets Brand names offer consumers information and consistency in a complex market. JULY 01, 1993 by WILLIAM G. STUART William G. Stuart is a sales executive living in Cummaquid, Massachusetts. One criticism of the modern consumer democracy is the plethora of brands and products. Self-appointed consumer advocates compare brand-name products to generic products and determine that the difference in performance does not justify the price. Their conclusion: The brands represent a colossal waste of resources in packaging identity, promotion, and advertising. These critics fail entirely in understanding the vital roles that brands serve in the modern, consumer-driven economy. Consumers continue to purchase branded products not out of misguided or manipulated habits, but rather because the brand name provides them with two attributes critical to their mission as consumers: product information and consumer protection. Brands as Sources of Information Imagine a consumer who wants to purchase an automobile in a market in which automobiles do not have brand names. There is no Taurus, no Cutlass Ciera, no Acura. Instead, her options are among a lot full of automobiles that have no manufacturer identity or brand names. She seeks information to aid her in making her purchase. Some of the information she can gather quickly; she can, for example, look at the various cars on the lot and determine which vehicles meet her preferences for size, style, and color. Most of the other information, though, she cannot gather by sight alone. How reliable will the vehicle be over time? To answer this question, she must hire a mechanic to inspect the vehicle to determine how mechanically sound it is. The mechanics summary will tell her how sound the car is today, but he can only guess as he projects how it will perform over timeafter all, he has no industry reports about the long-run performance of specific automobile brands.
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Our consumer cannot gauge other aspects of vehicle performance, such as quality of the ride over varying road surfaces and fuel consumption, without experiencing the car firsthand. Thus, she must take an extended road test (perhaps three or four hundred miles) to estimate fuel economy and experience vehicular performance in different driving conditions. The decision that she ultimately makes will be more of an art than a science. She simply will have inadequate qualitative and little quantitative information on which to base her choice. She may make a good choice, but that outcome will be more a matter of luck than of a solid conclusion based on sufficient evidence. By contrast, let us shift to the current world, one in which vehicles are branded and positioned to appeal to a certain market segment. As our consumer ponders the decision to replace her car, she begins to notice print and television advertising of automobile brands. As she assesses her needs, she is able to exclude many brands and models from consideration and focus on a few alternatives. Advertising, far from being the manipulative tool that its critics claim, actually transmits important information to her. Advertising places the vehicle in a context (an economy car, a passenger van, and a four-wheel drive vehicle are positioned very differently in advertising) and exposes the consumer to important information about the car (fuel economy, handling, special features). Her next step may be to review literature in the popular press, including consumer magazines, to determine how the vehicle performs, how it holds up over time and how economical it is to operate. She can find qualitative information (such as the impressions of professional test drivers) and quantitative information (statistical surveys of repair histories and fuel economy) of that brand. This information is statistically accurate but impersonal. She may then choose to speak with a mechanic who services the brand and survey several friends who drive this vehicle brand to obtain their more personal testimonials. All of these information avenues are available to her because the vehicles are branded. If there were no brands, nobody could compile information accurately. Consumer surveys would be impossible, since there would be no way to distinguish one automobile from another. A mechanic would have no way of distinguishing his impressions of one vehicle from another. And it would be difficult to determine whether a friend or neighbor has the same vehicle as a potential buyer, since it would be difficult to distinguish among cars. The larger the dollar amount and the more complicated the product, the more important the role that information plays. A consumer purchasing rolled oats, for example, is far less interested in information than is a car buyer. Beyond the basic question of whether the oats are free from contaminants, the purchase is not complicated; a mistake results in a small monetary loss or less enjoyment than anticipated. In contrast, a poor decision about a computer, automobile, house, or business results in greater degrees of consumer discomfort or pain.
Brands as Consumer Protection
A century ago, branding was in its infancy. At that time, people still made most of the products that they consumed (such as food, soap, and clothes) or purchased them directly
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from producers who were their friends and neighbors. People had faith in the quality and safety of the products because they knew the people who made them. As our economy became more specializeda trend that, as Adam Smith predicted, created an unprecedented degree of wealthconsumers were more removed by both distance and time from producers. The introduction of labor-saving machinery, which increased productivity markedly, also dictated the concentration of producers in a manufacturing area. Thus, the village silversmith or baker or cobbler was replaced by a factory that produced a high quality product at a more competitive price. Consumers valued the potential quality consistency and savings, but they no longer knew the people who made their products. Similarly, as individual consumers became more specialized in their roles as producers, they themselves made even fewer of the products they consumed and relied increasingly on other specialists to meet their material needs. In a large market, consumers do not care who makes their products. In this sense, the market is the great equalizer, as producers of all races, ethnic origins, religions, and genders unleash their creative energies to meet the needs of consumers. While consumers do not care who makes the products, they care very much how the products perform. They want to know that the product they purchase will meet their expectations. In this consumer environment, brands play a critical role. When consumers first started purchasing more food and raising less themselves, they purchased items from a bulk bin. They had no information about what ingredients the products contained, how safe they were, and how they would perform. Branding created the protection that consumers demanded. The brand name signified a level of quality and consistency consumers could trust. Thus, Quaker Oats, Ivory Soap, and Levis instilled in consumers a degree of confidence that their unbranded competition did not.
Defining Brand Expectations
Brands are effective only when the product delivers a consistent level of quality from product to product. McDonalds delivers the same level of quality regardless of location or time of visit. A consumer may choose not to dine there for a particular meal, but that decision is not a rejection of branding. Rather, it is an informed decision not to consume that expected level of quality on a particular occasion. Consumer confidence in brands varies with the type of product. Typically, confidence in branded goods such as automobiles, detergents, movies, and clothing runs extremely high. After all, standards can be defined and controlled strictly when the product is produced entirely in one central location and can be inspected before being presented to consumers. These brand names deliver the highest level of consumer confidence. The consumer may accept or reject the product; in either case, the decision is made with a clear expectation about the performance or level of quality of the goods. Confidence in a product that is composed of a combination of both good and service is somewhat reduced because part of the output cannot be controlled in advance. A McDonalds hamburger, bun, lettuce, and tomato can be inspected before they arrive at a particular
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franchise, but other inputsthe actual cooking and preparation, the attitude of workers, the cleanliness of the facilityare presented live to consumers. The challenge the McDonalds manager faces in making his product the same from day to day and consistent with every other restaurant in the chain is the same challenge that the theater director faces making his live production uniform from show to show and consistent with other presentations of the play elsewhere. The managers who master this challenge reap the spectacular reward of a valuable brand identity, while those who do not perform so well find the brand image tarnished. For every example like McDonalds, which has mastered this challenge, there are many restaurant or lodging chains whose quality is not consis tent over time and location and thus whose brand name in consumers eyes represents a range rather than a fixed point. Products whose consistency varies from unit to unit have brand names of more limited value to consumers seeking confidence. Republican, for example, is a brand name about which consumers (voters, contributors, activists) can make some generalizations, but candidates running under the Republican label may have very different perspectives on problems and very different approaches to solving them. The trend toward branding is expanding. Buoyed by the success of poultry marketers, beef companies and egg producers now are branding their products. More and more produce is wrapped and branded. Similarly, grocery stores that once sold generic, no-brand products (packed in white packaging with black lettering) are now applying their store name as a brand on more and more house brands. These moves, far from being the wasteful, price-raising schemes that critics contend, are a response to needs that consumers in a more complex environment demand: information and consistency. The trend toward branding products, identifying certain characteristics with the brand, and striving toward uniform brand quality will continue as long as consumers continue to seek confidence in the purchase decisions that they make. Brands continue to offer selfregulating, informed consumers both the information and level of quality that they demand in the free market.
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FMCG
Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) or Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) are products that are sold quickly and at relatively low cost. Examples include non-durable goods such as soft drinks, toiletries, and grocery items. Though the profit margin made on FMCG products is relatively small, more so for retailers than the producers/suppliers, they are generally sold in large quantities. FMCG is probably the most classic case of low margin/high volume business. Many of the players on the retailer side such as Walmart, Carrefour, Choithram, Tawseel, Sheel, Walgreens or Metro Group and supplier side are among the largest and most recognized global companies. Fast-moving consumer electronics are a type of FMCG and are typically low priced generic or easily substitutable consumer electronics, includingmobile phones, MP3 players, game players, and digital cameras which are of disposable nature. Global leaders[opinion] in the FMCG segment include Johnson & Johnson, ColgatePalmolive, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Henkel, Kellogg's, S.C. Johnson,Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Beiersdorf, Mars Inc., Heinz, Nestl, Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, L'Oral, The Coca-Cola Company,General Mills Inc., PepsiCo, Mondelz and Kraft Foods. Recent Developments in FMCG
The FMCG Sector in India has witnessed a range of recent developments. Tax deductions on various items, rise in the penetration levels and per capita consumption are some of the major developments in FMCG
FMCG Sector in India - A Brief Note The FMCG Sector in India is the fourth largest sector in the Indian economy. As per the reports of the 2005-06 financial year, the market size of the sector was registered as USD 13.1 billion. The FMCG Sector in India involves a strict competition between the organized and unorganized sector of consumer durables. India offers an abundance of raw materials, low-priced labor costs, and also has a presence across the entire value chain. The market size of the Indian FMCG Sector is expected to reach USD 33.4 billion by the year 2015. Some product categories such as jams, toothpaste, skin care products, hair care products, etc have experienced a low per capital consumption as per a report presented in 2006. As per the recent developments in FMCG it is assumed that the consumption of the FMCG products will have a satisfactorily growth with the rising income level of Indian populace in both the rural and urban areas. Around 200 million people are expected to become the
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consumers of processed and packaged foods by the year 2010. The major activities of the food-processing sector are permitted 100% foreign equity or 100% NRI and Overseas Corporate Bodies (OCB) investment to meet the rising demand of the consumers.
Recent Developments in FMCG Sector in India
Finance Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram declared several tax sops for the FMCG sector in India along with putting due emphasis on the infrastructure developments in the same The usual growth drivers such as penetration, per capita consumption, population, and household income were quite strong in 2007 and also the consumption of the FMCG products has been increased outstandingly in 2007 Biscuits worth ` 50 per kilogram are fully exempted from excise duty, customs duty on food processing machineries were reduced from 7.5% to 5%, excise duties on food mixes were reduced from 16% to 8%, and taxes were reduced on edible oils. ITC, Dabur, HUL and Marico were directly benefited from these The consumption of health and personal care products in FMCG sector has increased in the recent past with rise in disposable income especially among the youth group in India FMCG Market in India The components of the FMCG Market in India are Cosmetics This is one of the most popular segments. This includes products like color cosmetics (lip, eye, face, and nail care products), talcum powder, perfumes, and deodorants. Toiletries Toiletries are an essential part of the human life. These products are classified as oral care products, hair care products, skin care products, personal wash products, etc. Detergent The detergent market is mainly concentrated in the urban areas but the level of penetration in the rural for the past few years has been good. Shoe Polish The shoe polish market is worth around Rs 110 crores, out of which the kirana stores are worth around 80 crores.
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Ice Cream In India, the per capita consumption of ice cream is extremely low, around 300 ml per annum, in 2010, in comparison to that the international per capita consumption is around 2 liters. Packaged Food This is an important part of the food processing industry in India, as convenient foods have become an essential part of the middle class kitchen. Chocolate The volume of chocolate produced in India in a year is around 30,800 tons. Chocolate Market in India is concentrated in the urban areas.
Top FMCG Companies in India Below is a list of the top FMCG Companies in India Hindustan Unilever Ltd. Nestl India Cadbury India ITC (Indian Tobacco Company) Asian Paints (India) Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care AMUL Dabur India Britannia Industries Marico Industries
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FMCG Brands in India - Major Companies
1. Hindustan Unilever Ltd. - Lux, Lifeboy, Brookebond, Kawality Walls, Surf Excel, Pepsodent, Close Up, Vaseline, and many more 2. ITC (Indian Tobacco Company)- W. D. & H. O. Wills, Insignia, India Kings, Classic, Gold Flake, Navy Cut, Scissors, Capstan, Berkeley, Bristol and Flake 3. Nestl India - Kitkat, Milkmaid, Milky Bar, Maggie, Nescafe, Nestle Slim Milk, Barone, And Nestea 4. GCMMF (AMUL) - Amul Kool, Masti Butter Milk, Kool Cafe, Amul's sugar-free ProBiotic Ice-cream, etc. 5. Dabur India - Hajmola, Real, Vatika, Nature Care, Lal Dantmanjan, Chyawanprash, Pudin Hara, Amla, Etc. 6. Asian Paints (India) 7. Cadbury India - Gems, 5 Star, Perk, Celebrations, Eclairs, And Dairy Milk 8. Britannia Industries - Tiger, good day, 50-50, treat, milk bar, and nutra choice 9. Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care - Vicks Action 500+, Vicks VapoRub, Vicks Cough Drops, Vicks Formula 44 Cough Syrup and Vicks Inhaler 10. Marico Industries - Parachute, Saffola, Mediker, Silk-n-Shine, Revive, Hair & Care, Sweekar, Nihar, Manjal, etc
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Competition in the FMCG Sector An Overview on the Growth of FMCG Sector in IndiaThere is stiff Competition in the FMCG sector in India and the competition is expected to increase in the coming years. FMCG sector in India is most likely to witness more than 50% growth in the semi-urban and rural areas in India by the year 2010 according to the reports of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) of July 2005. The sector is estimated to grow by 10% per year and reach a market size of ` 100,000 crores by 2010 from ` 48,000 crores in 2005.
Competition in the FMCG Sector in IndiaIndia's huge population has always been a significant factor for the growth of FMCG sector in the country. Between 1950 and 1980, the consumption of FMCG products were relatively low due to the low per capita income. The post-liberalization era in India has witnessed a massive growth in the selling of products in the domestic market. The Indian market also imported loads of products from overseas markets which made increased the competition between the organized and the unorganized sector. The easing of the trade barriers encouraged the MNCs to invest in the Indian market to cater to the needs of the consumers. The living standards rose in the urban sector due to high disposable income along with the rise in the purchasing power of the rural families which increased the sales volume of various manufacturers of the FMCG products in India. The large-scale companies such as HLL, Godrej Consumer, Marico, Henkel, Reckitt Benckiser and Colgate have targeted the rural consumers and have also expanded their retail chain in the mid-sized towns and villages. On the contrary to this, Nestle has always targeted the market of urban India and focuses largely upon the value added products for the elite class or upper middle class population.
Future of Indian FMCG SectorThe consumers today are endowed with a wide range of options to make their pick in FMCG products. There is a lot of competition in the FMCG sector as a number of factors are to be considered while selling the products. This precisely denotes that only the innovators can survive this tough competition. The investors must be very proactive to the market needs and also build strong and powerful distribution channels.
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HUL (HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED) Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is an Indian consumer goods company based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is owned by Anglo-Dutch companyUnilever which owns a 67% controlling share in HUL. HUL's products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. HUL was established in 1933 as Lever Brothers India Limited and, in 1956, became known as Hindustan Lever Limited, as a result of a merger between Lever Brothers, Hindustan Vanaspati fg. Co. Ltd. and United Traders Ltd. It is headquartered in Mumbai, India and employs over 16,500 workers, whilst also indirectly helping to facilitate the employment of over 65,000 people. The company was renamed in June 2007 as Hindustan Unilever Limited. Lever Brothers first commenced operations in India in the summer of 1888, when crates full of Sunlight soap bars, embossed with the words "Made in England by Lever Brothers" were shipped to the Kolkata harbour and it began an era of marketing branded Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Hindustan Unilever's distribution covers over 2 million retail outlets across India directly and its products are available in over 6.4 million outlets in the country. As per Nielsen market research data, two out of three Indians use HUL products
Unilever makes and sells products under more than 1,000 brand names worldwide. Two billion people use them on any given day. Here is a selection of our top brands
Hindustan Unilever Limited is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) company. It is present in Home & Personal Care and Foods & Beverages categories. HUL has over 16,500 employees, including over 1500 managers
Leadership HUL has produced many business leaders for corporate India, including Harish Manwani, the non-executive chairman of HUL and currently the chief operating officer of Unilever. He is also a member of Unilever Leadership Executive team (ULE), which comprises the company's top management and is responsible for managing Unilever's profit and loss, and delivering growth across its regions, categories and functions. Mr. Sanjiv Mehta was appointed as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HUL with effect from 10 October 2013. He has also been appointed as Executive vice-president, South Asia, Unilever and is also the executive head of the South Asia cluster for Unilever. HUL's leadership-building potential was recognised when it was ranked 4th in the Hewitt Global Leadership Survey 2007 with only GE, P&G and Nokia ranking ahead of HUL in the ability to produce leaders with such regularity. A study conducted by Aon Hewitt, The RBL Group and Fortune in 2011, ranked the company number six in the list of 'Top Companies for Leaders 2011 Study Results'.The company was awarded the CII- Prize
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for Leadership in HR Excellence at the 2nd CII National HR Conclave 2011 held on October 2011. Awards and recognition Hindustan Unilever Limited was recognised as the Conscious Capitalist of the Year at the 2013 Forbes India Leadership Awards. HUL won 12 awards overall with 4 Golds, 4 Silvers and 4 Bronzes at the 2013 Emvies Awards. HUL ranks number two on the on Fortune Indias 2013 50 Most Admired Companies list. Hindustan Unilever Limited has emerged as the No. 4 Most Respected Company in India in a survey conducted by Business World in 2013. As per the latest Nielsen Campus Track-Business School Survey released in February 2013, Hindustan Unilever Limited has emerged as the No.1 employer of choice for B-School students who will graduate in 2013, across functions. HUL also retained the 'Dream Employer' status for the 4th year running and continues to be the top company considered for application by B-School student in India. In 2012, HUL was recognised as one of the world's most innovative companies by Forbes. With a ranking of number 6, it was the highest ranked FMCG company. Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) won the first prize at FICCI Water Awards 2012 under the category of 'community initiatives by industry' for Gundar Basin Project, a water conservation initiative. Hindustan Unilever Limited won 13 awards at the Emvies 2012 Media Awards organised by the Advertising Club Bombay in September 2012. The company bagged four awards at the Spikes Asia Awards 2012, held in September. The awards included one Grand Prix one Gold Award and two Silver Awards. HULs Chhindwara Unit won the National Safety Award for outstanding performance in Industrial Safety. These awards were instituted by the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment in 1965. HUL was one of the eight Indian companies to be featured on the Forbes list of World's Most Reputed companies in 2007. In July 2012 Hindustan Unilever Limited won the Golden Peacock Occupational Health and Safety Award for 2012 in the FMCG category for its safety and health initiatives and continuous improvement on key metrics. Pond's Talcum Powder's packaging innovation has bagged a Silver Award at the prestigious 24th DuPont Global Packaging Award, in May 2012.The brand was recognised for cost and waste reduction. In May 2012, HUL & Star Bazaar bagged the silver award for 'Creating Consumer Value through Joint Promotional and Event Forecasting' at the 13th ECR Efficient Consumer Response Asia Pacific Conference.
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In 2011, HUL was named the most innovative company in India by Forbes and ranked 6th in the top 10 list of most innovative companies in the world. Hindustan Unilever Ltd received the National Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance 2011 of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) for excellence in corporate governance In 2012, Hindustan Unilever emerged as the No. 1 employer of choice for B-School students who will graduate in 2012. In addition, HUL also retained the 'Dream Employer' status for the 3rd year running. Hindustan Unilever ranked No. 2 in Fortune India's Most Admired Companies list, which was released by Fortune India in partnership with the Hay Group. The company received the highest scores for endurance and financial soundness HUL was ranked 39th in The Brand Trust Report (2011) published by Trust Research Advisory. Seven HUL brands also featured in the list: Lux, Ponds, Dove, Lakme, Axe, Sunsilk and Pepsodent. HUL emerged as the top 'Dream Employer' as well as the top company considered for application in the annual B-School Survey conducted by Nielsen in November 2010. This was the second successive year that HUL has been rated as the top 'Dream Employer' in India. HUL has also emerged as the top employer of choice among the top six Indian Institutes of Management (IIMA, B, C, L, K and I). HUL won three awards at the 'CNBC Awaaz Storyboard Consumer Awards in 2011 Most Recommended FMCG Company of the Year; Most Consumer Conscious Company of the Year and Digital Marketer of the Year. The company was felicitated in April 2010 for receiving the highest number of patents in the year 2009 at Annual Intellectual Property Awards 2010. In 2007, Hindustan Unilever was rated as the most respected company in India for the past 25 years by Businessworld, one of India's leading business magazines. The rating was based on a compilation of the magazine's annual survey of India's most reputed companies over the past 25 years. HUL is one of the country's largest exporters; it has been recognised as a Golden Super Star Trading House by the Government of India
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Research facilities
Unilever R&D Centre in Bangalore The Hindustan Unilever Research Centre (HURC) was set up in 1967 in Mumbai, and Unilever Research India in Bangalore in 1997. Staff at these centres developed many innovations in products and manufacturing processes. In 2006, the company's research facilities were brought together at a single site in Bangalore
Sustainable Living Unilever launched Sustainable Living Plan in on 15 November 2010 at London, Rotterdam, New York and New Delhi simultaneously. The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan has three major goals, which Unilever aims to achieve by 2020:

Help more than one billion people improve their health and well-being Halve the environmental impact of their products Source 100% of their agricultural raw materials sustainably
The plan also sets out over 50 social, economic and environmental targets. In 2012 Hindustan Unilever featured in BSE's Greenex India's first environmental friendly equity index the first environmental friendly equity index, which will enable investors take more informed decisions in the green theme of India. Water The company has reduced water usage in manufacturing operations by 10.1% when compared with 2010 and by 21.5% compared to 2008 baseline. Rainwater harvesting has been implemented in more than 50% of units. More than 75% of the company's manufacturing sites are zero discharge. HUL has also been working for more than a decade in the area of water conservation in locations which face acute water shortage. By 2015, the Company expects hundred billion litres of water to be harvested through the projects they have undertaken. One million people
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in 180 villages across India will benefit. Most projects are expected to see a 50% rise in crop production. India Water Body In May 2011, the company launched the India Water Body, an initiative aimed to address the challenge of water scarcity in India. HUL has been working in the area of water conversation for more than a decade and has initiated projects in several states across India with the aim to create capacity towards conserving more than 50 billion litres of water in the next four years (by 2015).Water conservation has been a focus area for the company across its value chain. The company has not only reduced water consumption in its operations but also developed product innovations such as Surf Excel quick-wash that helps consumers use less water while washing clothes. Marketing Initiatives Khushiyon Ki Doli The company launched a multi-brand rural marketing initiative called Khushiyon Ki Doli, in 2010 in three states Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Through this initiative more than 10 million consumers were contacted directly in more than 28,000 villages across these three states. Through this initiative, the company also reached out to 170,000 retailers in these villages.Through this initiative HUL engaged with 25 million rural consumers in media dark areas in 2011. In 2011, HUL extended this initiative to cover five states West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, covering over fifty thousand villages across these five states. In 2012, Kushiyon Ki Doli has been extended to Karnataka to cover a total of six States: Maharashtra, UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The initiative aims to cover over Fifty five thousand villages in 2012. Various personal care and home care brands of HUL have participated in this initiative including: Wheel, Surf Excel, FAL, Sunsilk, Vim, Lifebuoy and Closeup. The module follows a three-step process, starting with awareness, moving on to consumer engagement and finally retail contact. The first step of spreading awareness is achieved through a team of promoters who head to each village and invite the villages to what is known as Mohallas to make them aware of the company and its products. In every village, there are about 45 teams that conduct these events in local language for small focused groups so that it allows for greater engagement and involvement for the consumers. During this activity, brands are introduced with the help of TVCs that are played continuously. And the promoters by way of live demonstrations bring alive the hygiene benefits of using such brands and improving the quality of daily life. To increase the fun element and enhance involvement, promoters also conduct simple quizzes and games around the brands and daily hygiene habits. As part of this activation,the company offers schemes both for the participating consumers and also local retailers for generating trial among consumers as well enhancing availability at retail. Post the mohalla activity, the promotes go home to home
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and conduct consumer home visits to generate trial where they offer attractive promotions to the consumers. Similarly, there is another team which visits all the shops in the village which ensures improved availability and visibility of HUL brands. Technology has been used to advertise and market HUL's brands. At the same time, the company has utilised traditional symbols to bolster Public Relations. For example, the brand films and hygiene messages are shown to the consumers through the use of Palki. Lessons in Marketing Excellence The company tied up with CNBC TV18 in 2009 to launch a television show titled, 'Lessons in Marketing Excellence', a marketing case-study competition for management students in India. Some of the participating institutes include: IIM Calcutta, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Lucknow, Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, IIM Indore, XLRI, Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research and National Institute of Industrial Engineering. The show has completed four seasons and a fifth season will air soon. Perfect Stores The Perfect Stores initiative was launched by HUL in May 2010 with the aim to increase the availability and visibility of its products in retail stores across the country. In May 2010, four thousand HUL employees from across functions launched the initiative through 'Project Bushfire' and created 16,000 'Perfect Stores' in 130 towns in India in a span of 6 days. The employees not only laid out various products on the stores shelves but also dusted them, thereby increasing the public appeal of the stores retailing their brands. The company is constantly increasing the number of stores included in the 'Perfect Stores' programme. Technology has played a key role in this initiative. The company's salesmen have been provided with a hand held terminal called iQ, which gives customised recommendations for each store which products to sell, when to sell them and in what quantity. The salesman just has to sync the iQ device when visiting the distributor and download data from the centre to retrieve information on the market. To strengthen this initiative, HUL launched POPeye an initiative that puts the power of iQ in the hands of the employees. When an HUL employee visits an outlet and finds the company's product out of stock, he can log stock calls either by logging on to the POPeye site, or report the information by phone or email. Headquarters Hindustan Unilever's corporate headquarters are located at Andheri (E), Mumbai. The campus is spread over 12.5 acres of land and houses over 1,600 employees. Some of the facilities available for the employees include a convenience store, a food court, an occupational health centre, a gym, a sports & recreation centre and a day care centre. The campus received a certification from LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold in 'New Construction' category, by Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), Hyderabad, under license from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) The company's previous headquarters was located at Backbay Reclamation, Mumbai at the Lever House, where it was housed for over 46 years.
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Direct Selling Division HUL also runs Hindustan Unilever Network (HULN), a direct selling business arm. Under HULN, health products are marketed by Ayush Therapy in collaboration with Arya Vaidya Pharmacy, Coimbatore; beauty products by Aviance; home products by Lever Home; and male grooming by D.I.Y. There are also premium products for beauty salons and others. HUL brands top the Most Trusted Brands Survey in India 1More Sharing ServicesShare Share on twitterShare on emailShare on printShare on favorites 28-09-2011 : Six HUL brands have been ranked among the top 15 brands in Indias Most Trusted Brands Survey conducted by Nielsen . Three HUL brands feature in the top 10 with Lux at number two and Lifebuoy at number four and Closeup at number 10. Fair & Lovely, Clinic Plus and Sunsilk closely follow and bring the total to six HUL brands among the top 15.
There are 17 HUL brands overall in the 100 most trusted brands list in this survey. This year's survey rankings were announced at an awards function held on September 27, 2011 at Mumbai. The Most Trusted Brands from HUL in the top 100 list (their rankings in brackets) are: Lux (2), Lifebuoy (4), Closeup (10), FAL (12), Clinic Plus (14), Sunsilk (15), Ponds (18), Surf (26), Pepsodent (34), Rin (49), Rexona (51), Vim (56), Dove (60), Pears (75), Vaseline (78), Wheel (80) and Annapurna (99). Pureit has been ranked as the most trusted water purifier in the country and has been ranked among the top 3 brands in the overall kitchen appliances segment. HUL brands have consistently featured and have dominated the list of Indias Most Trusted Brands. Conducted by Nielsen on behalf of Brand Equity, The Most Trusted Brands survey is the largest of its kind in India with a design sample of 8,160 respondents across socio-economic classes, age, income and geograph.
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SUSTAINABLE LIVING CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS REVIEW OUR APPROACH

In a world where temperatures are rising, water is scarce, energy is expensive, sanitation is poor in many areas, and food supplies are uncertain and expensive, we have both a duty and an opportunity to address these issues in the way we do business. DELIVERING SUSTAINABLE GROWTH Our vision is to double the size of our business while reducing our environmental footprint and increasing our positive social impact. As well as being the right thing to do, there is a strong business case for this approach. In our experience, sustainability drives growth. Consumers want it, retailers want it, it fuels innovation, helps develop new markets, saves money and inspires our people. THE UNILEVER SUSTAINABLE LIVING PLAN The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan sets out how we will achieve our vision. The Plan, which we launched in November 2010, will: help more than a billion people improve their health and well-being halve the environmental footprint of our products. allow us to source 100% of our agricultural raw materials sustainably. The Plan sets out a range of targets to achieve by 2020. Regular, transparent updates show we are meeting or exceeding our goals in many areas. There has been excellent progress in sourcing our agricultural raw materials sustainably. We have increased the use of renewable energy in our factories, purchased more climate-friendly (HFC) ice cream freezers and taken steps to ensure our food brands have a better nutritional profile. However, in some areas we are finding it difficult to make progress and will need to work with others to find solutions. This applies, in particular, to the targets which require consumer behaviour change. We are embedding sustainability into our business in many ways, from putting it at the heart of our business strategy to working with our customers to help shoppers choose sustainable brands. . Much remains to be done but businesses like ours no longer have a choice. Sustainable, equitable growth is now the only acceptable form of growth. WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP We cannot create a sustainable global business alone. To deliver concerted, cross-sector change, we work with other organisations, such as the Consumer Goods Forum, the World Economic Forum, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, NGOs and governments. We also receive guidance from the Unilever Sustainable Development Group (USDG) of external experts. In the end we will only succeed if we engage with consumers to encourage them to use our products sustainably, by helping them to take small actions everyday which add up to a big difference.
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OUR BUSINESS STRATEGY With 7 billion people on our planet, the earths resources can be strained. This means sustainable, equitable growth is the only acceptable model of growth for our business. We believe growth and sustainability are not in conflict. In fact, in our experience, sustainability drives growth. By focusing on sustainable living needs, we can build brands with a significant purpose. By reducing waste, we create efficiencies and reduce costs, which helps to improve our margins. By taking a long-term view, we can reduce risk, for example securing raw material supply through sustainable sourcing. And we have found that once we start looking at product development, sourcing and manufacturing through a sustainability lens, it opens up great opportunities for innovation. Our product category and functional teams are playing a central role in driving sustainable growth. They review progress against their targets quarterly. And in 2012 we asked our businesses in our largest markets to identify a small number of priority areas where they can harness the Plan to drive growth, such as handwashing with Lifebuoy soap in India and the Dove Self-Esteem Project in the US. We are linking progress to reward with sustainable business goals in the remuneration of a growing number of managers. This includes the CEO and several members of the Unilever Leadership Executive. We have sustainability champions covering every key function, category and country. BRANDS AND INNOVATION We are accelerating the integration of sustainability into our brands. Brands are developing their own USLP ambition for example Knorr has chosen sustainable sourcing. Our Brand Imprint model enables us to take a 360-degree view of the social, environmental and economic impacts of brands and - among other outputs - triggered Lipton's decision to source its tea sustainably. We are now applying the methodology to help brands make a sustainable business contribution in line with their positioning. Similarly, our Five Levers for Change methodology is helping our brands prompt consumers to adopt new behaviours. Innovation is critical to achieving our sustainable living goals. We are committing a significant proportion of our R&D budget to finding sustainability-led technologies. We are also supporting the commercialisation of innovative technologies through our investment arm, Unilever Ventures. In 2012 our Open Innovation team launched an online system which offers outside experts the chance to work with Unilever on research projects in a number of areas that will promote sustainable living, such as cold-water wash laundry products. We have received 150 submissions ranging from packaging design to energy-efficient processes. We have updated the tools we use to evaluate the environmental impacts of new products and packaging, known as Innovation Process Management. We use a simple traffic light system to compare the potential impacts of an innovation with the products we currently market as well as the impacts on our category portfolio. THE MARKET PLACE Many retailers have sustainability goals. For the last three years we have worked on A Better Future starts at Home, a joint shopper programme with Tesco. It combines advice on sustainable living with promotions of sustainable products. Nine countries from the UK to China have run the programme.
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In 2012 we launched a joint programme with Walmart, The Living Project, that will help 200 million shoppers every week make sustainable choices. So far it has been implemented in Brazil, China and the US. WORKING WITH OUR SUPPLIERS In 2011 Unilever launched a programme called Partner to Win, to work more closely with its key suppliers, including on sustainable practices. In particular, we are developing partnerships with our agricultural raw material suppliers to achieve our 100% sustainable sourcing goal. For example, we established the Knorr Sustainability Partnership Fund to support vegetable suppliers on complex sustainable agriculture projects that they are unable to tackle alone. PEOPLE Our vision of creating a sustainable business is motivating for employees, but it is not always clear to them how to apply it to their role. We integrate sustainability into existing training and have created bespoke training, for example, new brand managers engage in a week-long sustainable marketing challenge during their foundation course. COLLABORATION WITH PARTNERSHIPS Global issues such as deforestation, water scarcity and under-nutrition are too complex for any single organisation to tackle alone. We are engaging governments to create an environment in which the big sustainability challenges can be tackled. At the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio in 2012 we urged collaboration to agree Sustainable Development Goals to succeed the Millennium Development Goals. Our CEO was subsequently invited to join the UN Secretary Generals High Level Panel to review the post-2015 Development Agenda. We recognise the scale of change that is needed and we are stepping up our engagement in 1multi-sector and cross sector stakeholder groups, such as the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, Refrigerants, Naturally! and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. We take part in initiatives such as the World Economic Forums New Vision for Agriculture and the UNs Scaling up Nutrition (SUN) and Zero Hunger Challenge which tackle the challenge of high levels of under-nutrition and hunger in the world.
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Unilever Sustainable Living Plan helping to drive growth

22-04-2013 : New Delhi, 22 April 2013 - Unilevers commitment to put sustainable and equitable growth at the heart of its business model is helping to drive increased sales while reducing costs and risks, according to the second Unilever Sustainable Living Plan Progress Report published today. Globally, brands that have made sustainability central to their brand proposition or product innovation have accelerated sales during 2012:

Lifebuoy soap, which has increased its hand washing education programmes, has seen double digit growth in each of the last three years; Dry shampoos such as TRE Semmand Dove, which result in 90% less greenhouse gas emissions compared to washing hair in heated water, grew by nearly 20% in 2012 Calorie-controlled Max and Paddle Pop childrens ice creams grew high double digit in 2012. Unilever isalso accelerating the integration of sustainability into the heart of many of its biggest brands. For example Dove, its largest personal care brand with sales of over 3 billion, redesigned its self esteem programme for young people in 2012 to further strengthen its engagement with consumers by helping them look and feel their best. Last week Dove launched a new Real Beauty campaign and just in a couple of days the video reached over 10 million views on YouTube. Another example comes from Unilevers biggest brand, Knorr, which launched its first product with a sustainably grown label on pack, with more to come. At the same time, eco-efficiencies in Unilever factories from reducing energy, water, materials and waste have enabled the company to take over 300 million out of the system since 2008. Unilever has also reduced risk at a time of volatility in food commodity prices by increasing its purchases of agricultural raw materials from sustainable sources from 14% in 2010 to 36% in 2012.
Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever: Sustainability is contributing to our virtuous circle of growth. The more our products meet social needs and help people live sustainably, the more popular our brands become and the more we grow. And the more efficient we are at managing resources such as energy and raw materials, the more we lower our costs and reduce the risks to our business and the more we are able to invest in sustainable innovation and brands. Unilever Sustainable Living Plan 2nd Year Progress In 2010 Unilever set three big goals, all to be achieved by 2020: 1) Help more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being; 2) Source 100% of agricultural raw materials sustainably; 3) Halve the environmental footprint of its products across the value chain.
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Two years in to its ten-year Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, Unilever reports solid progress on two of its three big goals. Help more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being Unilever has reached 224 million people worldwide with programmes to reduce diarrhoeal disease through hand washing with soap, provide safe drinking water andthrough other health and well-being initiatives. Lifebuoy soap reached 71 million people in 16 countries in 2012 five times as many people as in 2010. In India, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has reached over 47 million people since 2010 through Lifebuoy Hand washing programmes. In 2012, Lifebuoy reached 17 million people in India. In partnership with UNICEF and the Government of Madhya Pradesh, HUL reached out to three million people by the end of the first quarter of 2013 with its rural school contact programme to inculcate the habit of hand washing in children. Source 100% of its agricultural raw materials sustainably Unilever now buys over a third (36%) of its agricultural raw materials from sustainable sources, with particular progress in palm oil, sugar, cocoa, vegetables and sunflower oil. We have also now helped to train 450,000 tea farmers in sustainable practices, of whom over 300,000 have achieved Rainforest Alliance certification. By end of 2012, HUL sourced 69% of its raw materials sustainably in India. In 2012, 100% of palm oil sourced by HUL was covered by Green Palm certificates. Halve the environmental footprint of its products across the value chain Globally, between 2008-2012 greenhouse gas emissions from energy in manufacturing have been cut by nearly a third and manufacturing waste has halved for Unilever. Over half of Unilever's 252 manufacturing sites around the world now send zero non-hazardous waste to landfill, and the company has set itself a new target of extending this to all its factories by 2015. In its manufacturing operations, HULhas reduced CO emissions by 22%, water usage by 29% and waste by 77% against the 2008 baseline. In India, 31 out of 38 factories are now 100% zero non-hazardous waste to landfill. However, its own manufacturing impacts account for only a small part of the total environmental footprint of Unilevers products in the total value chain just 4% of its greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint for example. The majority of Unilevers product footprint is in the sourcing of raw materials (25% of its GHG footprint) and in the way consumers cook, clean and wash with the products (68% of its GHG footprint). One of our biggest challenges remains how we encourage our consumers to use our products more sustainably at home. Looking ahead Although there is considerable progress, Unilever also faces challengeswhich it cannot solve alone. To reach its goals and achieve large scale change, Unilever believes even more collaboration is needed between companies, governments, NGOs and consumers. Among the areas where the company would welcome more cross-sector collaboration are: reducing and eliminating deforestation associated with soy, palm oil, beef, pulp and paper by 2020;
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integrating hygiene behaviour change into national health policies and education curricula; linking more smallholder farmers into food supply chains; and building infrastructure to promote waste recycling and recovery. Helping consumers change their behaviour to live more sustainably is also key. In the absence of major framework changes by governments, Unilever is tackling this in a number of ways, from driving habit change through packaging solutions, such as single dose laundry detergent capsules which make it easier for consumers to dose accurately, to working with others such as retailers and civil society organisations to encourage shoppers to make sustainable choices at the supermarket and in the home. In addition, Unilever is leveraging its scale and reach to work with its many suppliers across the value chain to instil sustainable practices. Nitin Paranjpe, CEO, HUL said, Last year, we brought to market, innovations like Magic water saver and Comfort 1 Rinse to help cut water usage by our consumers while using our products, where a large part of our footprint lies. Many more such solutions are needed to drive change. We need to work with more partners and help bring the fruits of sustainable growth to society. And above all else, we have to enlist the support of people to influence behaviour change at the consumer-end because only then can we make an impact across the value chain. This remains a big challenge.
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About Hindustan Unilever Limited

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods company touching the lives of two out of three Indians. HUL works to create a better future every day. We help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. For more information about HUL and its brands, please visit www.hul.co.in. Sustainable Living Plan - India Highlights:

Over 17 million people reached through Lifebuoy Handwashing programmes in 2012, taking the total to 47 million people reached since 2010. More than 45 million people gained access to safe drinking water from Pureit globally by end of 2012. CO2 emissions per tonne of production in India reduced by 22%, water use by 29% and waste by 77% compared to 2008*. (*per tonne of production in 2012 over 2008 baseline) More than 30,000 climate-friendly freezers with Hydrocarbon technology deployed in India till date. Out of 38 HUL factories, 30 became zero-discharge sites by 2012. HUL factories with 100% zero non-hazardous waste to landfill increased to 31. 100% of palm oil products sourced in 2012 are backed by sustainability certificates. Number of Shakti entrepreneurs scaled up to 48,000 in 15 states across India; Shaktimaans scaled up to more than 30,000 across India.
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UNILEVER LAUNCHES PROJECT SUNLIGHT A NEW INITIATIVE TO MOTIVATE PEOPLE TO LIVE MORE SUSTAINABLY
20/11/2013, MUMBAI, 20TH NOVEMBER 2013. UNILEVER IS FOLLOWING UP ITS SUSTAINABLE LIVING PLAN WITH THE LAUNCH OF UNILEVER PROJECT SUNLIGHT, A NEW INITIATIVE TO MOTIVATE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE TO ADOPT MORE SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLES. PROJECT SUNLIGHT AIMS TO MAKE SUSTAINABLE LIVING DESIRABLE AND ACHIEVABLE BY INSPIRING PEOPLE TO LOOK AT THE POSSIBILITIES OF A WORLD WHERE EVERYONE LIVES WELL AND WITHIN THE NATURAL LIMITS OF THE PLANET. Project Sunlight, which is being launched today, on Universal Childrens Day, in Brazil, India, Indonesia, the UK and the US, is designed to appeal to people everywhere, and in particular parents, encouraging them to join what Unilever sees as a growing community of people who want to make the world a better place for children and future generations. To mark the launch of Project Sunlight on Universal Childrens Day, Unilever will be helping 2 million children through its ongoing partnerships, providing school meals through the World Food Programme; supporting Save the Children to provide clean, safe drinking water; and improved hygiene through UNICEF. As part of this campaign, Unilever in partnership with Unicef aims to reach out to 500,000 school children in 3,500 schools across India and set up handwashing facilities. HUL CEO & MD, Sanjiv Mehta said, The launch of Project Sunlight is a significant milestone in the history of our company. We believe that large companies like ours have to be part of the solution to the problems the world is facing. Adopting sustainable lifestyles and people using their purchasing power to make consumption choices that are good for them and good for the world are important factors in the drive to reducing social inequality and averting the worst climate change predictions to make sustainable living commonplace. Unilever Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Keith Weed, explains: Project Sunlight aims to galvanise and build momentum behind a movement that is already happening. We know people all over the world want to adopt more sustainable behaviours, but need these to be easy and to fit with the way they live their lives. As a global consumer goods company, we have the means to help people realise this ambition. We have extensive experience and research into what drives and what limits mass behaviour change. From this experience, we know that parenthood creates a profound shift in peoples view of the world and what the anticipated future will mean for the lives of their children. In the first stage of Project Sunlight, we are inviting people to take three simple actions. We want to help people SEE a brighter future; in order to do this, we are inviting people to watch a film online which aims to inspire and motivate people. We want to encourage them to ACT by doing small things which, added together, contribute to a better society and environment. Ultimately, we want people to JOIN the movement and become part of a growing community of likeminded people and organisations who all want to play their part in building a brighter future, adds Weed. The film, especially commissioned by Unilever and directed by Academy Award winning director Errol Morris, will inspire people to see the future in a more positive and optimistic way. The film can be watched atwww.youtube.com/ulprojectsunlight(Link opens in a new window).
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Project Sunlight will initially go live on an online hub www.projectsunlight.com(Link opens in a new window) which brings together the social mission stories of Unilevers brands across the world, and invites consumers to get involved in doing small things which help their own families, others around the world and the planet. Some of the brand programmes featured include Lifebuoy soap, which helps protect millions of children in Asia, Africa and Latin America from pneumonia and diarrhoeal disease, which kill 2 million children under five each year; Dove, which helps girls across the world improve their selfesteem; Omo, Persil and Surf, whose detergents help families cut their utility bills and CO2 emissions; Comfort One Rinse, which helps families in water-scarce countries in Asia including India reduce their water use; and Lipton, Magnum and Knorr, whose use of sustainably grown ingredients helps small farmers grow better crops and improve their livelihoods. Project Sunlight has been informed by the wealth of Unilevers consumer insight, including a new international piece of research commissioned by Unilever. This shows that children are key to motivating adults to want to adopt more sustainable lifestyles and a powerful influence on parents changing their behaviour. 9 out of 10 parents say childrens natural optimism and enthusiasm inspires them to make the world a better place, and 7 out of 10 parents say their main motivation for wanting to live in a greener way is their childrens future. The research also shows that there are key child-related moments, particularly around the birth of a first child, when people are more open to changes in their own behaviours and lifestyles. We chose the name Sunlight as a tribute to our founder William Lever, whose audacious vision 130 years ago to make cleanliness commonplace with Sunlight soap inspired Unilevers equally ambitious purpose today: to make sustainable living commonplace. Sunlight also reflects the sense of possibility and optimism which characterises Unilevers approach, adds Weed. Tim Hunter, UNICEF Deputy Director of Fundraising, concludes: Unilevers support to UNICEFs sanitation programmes has already made a lasting impact on the lives of thousands of children, and the funding from this new initiative will help reach a further 500,000 children. By supporting us in providing handwashing facilities and promoting group handwashing programmes across 3,500 schools in India, Project Sunlight will be helping these children to have a healthy start in life.
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UNILEVER SUSTAINABLE LIVING PLAN

The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan was launched in 2010. It has three ambitious goals, all to be achieved by 2020: 1. To help more than a billion people take action to improve their health and wellbeing 2. To halve the environmental footprint of our products across the value chain, not just those relating to manufacturing or within our direct contro 3. To source 100% of their agricultural raw materials sustainably
By the end of 2012, two years in to our 10 year plan, Unilever has: Reached 224 million people with safe drinking water and behaviour change programmes. These are helping to reduce diarrhoeal and respiratory disease through handwashing with soap, improve oral health, and improve self-esteem among young people Reduced greenhouse gases by 6% across the value chain Sourced 36% of their agricultural raw materials sustainably, training around 450,000 smallholder farmers in the process SUSTAINABLE LIVING PLAN - INDIA HIGHLIGHTS BY THE END OF 2012:
Over 17 million people reached through Lifebuoy Handwashing programmes in 2012, taking the total to 47 million people reached since 2010. More than 45 million people gained access to safe drinking water from Pureit globally by end of 2012. CO2 emissions per tonne of production in India reduced by 22%, water use by 29% and waste by 77% compared to 2008*. (*per tonne of production in 2012 over 2008 baseline) More than 30,000 climate-friendly freezers with Hydrocarbon technology deployed in India till date. Out of 38 HUL factories, 30 became zero-discharge sites by 2012. HUL factories with 100% zero non-hazardous waste to landfill increased to 31. 100% of palm oil products sourced in 2012 are backed by sustainability certificates. Number of Shakti entrepreneurs scaled up to 48,000 in 15 states across India; Shaktimaans scaled up to more than 30,000 across India. Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods company touching the lives of two out of three Indians. HUL works to create a better future every day. We help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others.
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'HUL's strategy is to build great brands'

Hindustan Unilever reported good numbers for the fourth quarter and for 2011-12, despite commodity inflation and currency fluctuations. During a media interaction, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Nitin Paranjpeoutlined the company's strategy over the coming quarters when the environment around is expected to remain volatile. Edited excerpts: Inflation remains a concern. Will you continue with your policy of price increases? Inflation is not new. It has been around for some time. But the consumer demand has been quite resilient during this period. And, market growth has been good. Having said that, categories such as soaps and detergents had seen significant commodity inflation, resulting in a situation where the overall growth was good, but led by price, not volume. Personal products, on the other hand, had seen volume-led growth. This had been on account of growing consumer aspiration, which had led to an increase in consumption, resulting in double-digit volume-led growth. Our strategy is not to increase prices. Our strategy is to build great brands and offer value visa-vis alternate products around. In that space, innovation plays a key role. Right pricing has a key role, too. And at times, in a high commodity cost situation, we have to take up prices.
Are you seeing 'downtrading' in some categories due to inflation? What are those and how are you dealing with the situation? In a market like India, there are multiple forces in action at the same time. There are some consumers who are downtrading and there are some who are uptrading. If you were to ask me to call out one secular trend, then it would be uptrading. There is more uptrading happening than downtrading. And, we have seen this in various categories. What has been the growth in rural markets, given that you have trebled reach in those areas?
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It has been faster than urban and overall growth. The other channel that is driving growth for us is modern trade. The latter is largely on account of the expansion of stores happening in that segment. This, in turn, benefits us because we can reach that many more people through this channel. As far as the rural market is concerned, this is largely because of the expansion in coverage that we have undertaken in the past two years. Growth has improved as a result of this.
You said innovation would play a key role in your overall strategy... In the past year, 60-65 per cent of our business would have been touched by a relaunch or a new activity to strengthen or refresh our brands. That is the impact of innovation and the intensity with which we are treating innovation. There are also categories that we have identified for the future: segments that are small today, but will be big tomorrow. This includes face wash, hair conditioners, premium skin lightening and fabric conditioners. We are investing in these categories for the future.
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Unilever takes HUL strategies like small packs, cheaper variants to developed markets
Kala Vijayraghavan, ET Bureau Sep 28, 2012, 11.12AM IST
MUMBAI: During a 2009 India visit, Paul Polman, CEO of Anglo-Dutch consumer goods major Unilever, couldn't conceal his delight with the Indian subsidiary's strategy of offering brands with multiple price and packaging options, helping consumers trade down or up depending on the state of the economy. "If we had that (such options) in the United States, there is no reason why we would be hit in a recession. We have seen that we tend to do well in markets that have a wide portfolio of brands in a category. So, we are trying to do the same in other markets," Polman had said. Three years on, the Unilever CEO's words are ringing true in developed markets. The home & personal careand foods giant is now dipping into the sales strategies being deployed by outposts in developing and emerging (D&E) markets, such as India's Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), to appeal to recession-ravaged consumers in the US and Europe. These include selling smaller pack sizes, affordable variants of best-selling brands for the developed world's bottom of the pyramid consumer, and single-serve sachet variants. Company officials say consumers in developed markets plagued by unemployment and shrinking disposable income are displaying similar habits of thrift as those in developing markets. The maker of brands such as Axe, Dove, Knorr and Lipton is selling small packs of its brands in markets such as Spain, Greece and the US. In Spain, for instance, Unilever sells Surf detergent in packs offering five washes, and offers mashed potatoes and mayonnaise in small packages in Greece. It has also launched a low-cost brand for tea and olive oil for the euro markets. Confirming the move, a Unilever spokesperson said: "We have 'reverse-engineered' products from D&E markets - where we have big, long-established businesses - starting with a price point that people can afford and then working our way backwards along the supply and manufacturing chain to make sure that we can make it a profitable business model. We know that this works as a way of meeting the needs and aspirations of consumers who struggle to make ends meet - be that through low-price sachets of shampoos or basic bouillons."
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Across Europe, Unilever has noted that the recession drives more consumers to packed lunches and home-baking. The company has now introduced new baking products like Stork baking liquid as an option to the more expensive butter as well as in packs that can be re-used as lunch boxes. The spokesperson also points out that Unilever runs marketing campaigns on mayonnaise that seek to inspire people to make the most of their leftovers. "Groups of consumers see value differently. The 'cash strapped' are really about spending the least out of pocket as possible; whilst 'smart shoppers' might be looking for the best price per portion; and 'bargain hunters' the best possible promotional deal," explains the spokesperson. One way Unilever is trying to meet consumer needs is by positioning specific brands as value-for-money alternatives. Example: the spreads portfolio has 'I can't Believe it's not Butter' in the United Kingdom, Homa in Germany and Delma in Poland. Unilever is also rolling out Saga, a strong value-formoney tea brand in central European markets. The consumer goods giant has also dramatically increased the number of products that retailers can choose to sell at euro 1 or 1. In tea, for instance, there's PG Tips One-Cup and in dressings there's a 450-mg jar of Hellmann's Salad Mayonnaise.
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Research discoveries Drinking black tea may reduce your blood pressure
According to new research, drinking a cup of black tea three times a day may significantly reduce your blood pressure. First study of its kind A Unilever study has shown, for the first time, that drinking black tea may significantly reduce your blood pressure which, in turn, could lessen the risk of stroke and heart disease. The study, carried out by Unilever R&D in collaboration with the University of Western Australia and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, was designed to examine the long-term cardiovascular effects of regular consumption of tea-derived flavonoids. Three cups a day -The clinical trial took six months to complete. During that time, 100 mildly hypertensive participants those with slightly raised blood pressure were asked to drink either three cups of Lipton Yellow Label black tea a day or three cups of a caffeinated, flavoured and coloured placebo drink. The participants blood pressure was measured at the start of the study, after three months of consuming the drinks and then again after six months. Small but important change Analysis of the results showed that the Lipton Yellow Label tea drinkers had lower systolic and diastolic* blood pressures at three and six months compared with those who had drunk the placebo. Blood pressures were on average 23mmHg** lower in the tea drinking group. Although this reduction is small, it is significant, particularly when viewed across a whole population. More than a billion people in the world drink tea and it is the second most consumed drink in the world after water. Exciting development According to Jane Rycroft, Senior Nutrition and Health Manager, Unilever R&D: This is a hugely exciting development for us. It is further evidence to suggest that tea and its natural ingredients can help people become healthier. While a 23mmHg decrease is a small change to an individuals blood pressure, its tantalising to think what positive impact this could have on reducing the risk of heart disease among the general public. The evidence is mounting More research is required to understand better how tea can reduce blood pressure, although earlier studies by the same Unilever team at Vlaardingen reported a potential link between tea consumption and the improved health of human blood vessels.
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*When your heart beats, it contracts and pushes blood through the arteries to the rest of your body. This force is called systolic blood pressure. Diastolic blood pressure indicates the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats. mmHg (millimetres of mercury) is the unit used to measure blood pressure
Linking blood sugar levels with youthful looks

Long term exposure to high levels of glucose causes people to look older than they really are, new research suggests. The higher the levels, the older we look New research from Unilever R&D and Leiden University Medical Center has uncovered a new side-effect of high blood glucose (sugar) levels. The study shows a relationship between a persons blood glucose level and their perceived facial age. The higher the concentration of blood sugar, the older they appear to look. Subjects tested & photographed The team assessed the blood glucose levels of 670 50-70 year-olds. The subjects were categorised into four groups according to their blood glucose level one of the groups was made up entirely of confirmed diabetics and 60 independent assessors then examined their photographs to give a value for perceived age. Incremental increase The study found that for every 1mmol/litre increase in blood glucose levels, perceived facial age increases by five months. It also showed that diabetics who suffer long-term exposure to high levels look older than non-diabetics. These results remain even after taking into account known influencing factors such as smoking and sun exposure. Study is first of its kind David Gunn, a senior Unilever scientist, explains: "While theres extensive research showing that high blood sugar levels are bad for health, this is the first time that the link with facial ageing has been made. There are known routes through which high glucose could influence facial ageing, but we need further research to identify the true underlying cause. Increased motivation? The results from this study reinforce how important regulation of blood glucose levels is for well-being and health in advanced middle age, says Diana van Heemst, associate professor at the Leiden University Medical Center. The associated benefit of looking younger might provide an extra motivation to bring about healthy lifestyle changes in 5070 year olds. Further information This study published in the Journal of the American Aging Association (AGE) was conducted as part of the Netherlands Consortium for Healthy Ageing initiative which aims to understand how health can be preserved as individuals age.
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Brand strategy of Hindustan Unilever Ltd
UMBRELLA BRANDS The 1980s witnessed a revolution in the understanding of the working of the brands. Marketers depict brands as a reflection of customers own personalities, so that they can relate to their products well. In fact the distinguishing aspect of the modern marketing has been its focus upon the creation of differentiated brands and using them as weapons for launching multi-level attacks on competition. Market research has been used to help identify and develop bases of brand differentiation. A brand identifies a product and its sources, but it does even more. Along came brand extension. Today brand extension strategies are widely employed because of beliefs that they build and communicate strong brand positioning, enhance awareness and increase profitability. Brands are often extended beyond their original categories to include new product categories. Research has proved that the success of brand extension depends on the transfer of parent brand awareness and associations to the extension. The transfer of these quality perceptions is the key in umbrella branding. An umbrella brand is a brand that covers diverse kinds of products which are more or less related. It applies also to any company that is identified only by its brand and history. It is contrasted with individual branding in which each product in a portfolio is given a unique identity and brand name.
Mr. K.R.Senthilvelkumar, a professor at Jansons School of Business offers the most pragmatic of reasons behind an umbrella brand strategy, with scarce financial resources, firms cannot afford to allocate huge budgets for building and maintaining several brands. Nowadays consumers have become quite unpredictable in their newspaper-reading or TV-viewing habits, it is very difficult to assure the reach of messages to the target audiences. The advertiser has to use many broadcast and print media with high frequency to create the desired effect for every 65
Importance Of Branding in FMCG brand, which ultimately puts huge burden on the budget. Hence, companies consider it wise to maintain a minimum number of brands in their portfolio so that they can do justice to each by effectively distributing their investment for promotion purpose. Yes, umbrella branding is widely practiced. The Confederation of Indian Industry's second FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) conclave in 2003 almost declared that umbrella branding was the way to go in a competitive market environment. In an interesting anecdote, R S Sodhi, GM Marketing (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation l), compared the umbrella brand and individual brands to an Indian family, where in umbrella brands - like the Indian family, the father is the head, looking over the children. When they grow up and become independent, they hold the umbrella for the family. Individual brands on the other hand are like a western family, who grow up fast and leave the father behind. Amuls strategy of using umbrella branding has really paid off. Amuls advertising and marketing spend has never exceeded 1% of its revenues. Most other food companies spend 6-7% of revenues on advertising and marketing. They (GCMMF) are not big spenders compared to Britannia or Nestle. Despite a limited budget, Amuls creativesin the form of billboards or the Taste of India campaignhave always managed to evoke a larger-than-life brand feel, consistency and spirit of Indian culture in a contemporary way. Companies phase out the brands which have become redundant and retain one or two umbrella brands for every category with necessary variations under each. For example consumer goods major Reckitt & Colman India Ltd. chalked out an expansion strategy to introduce 20 new brands in the year 1999-2000. The strategy also involved repositioning its existing brands and consolidating subbrands under its main umbrella brands - Dispirin, Dettol, Harpic and Cherry Blossom. The strategy was designed to vault Reckitt & Colman, in terms of sales, into the big league. With the launch of new brands and the repositioning of its existing brands, the company aimed to achieve expected sales growth. The strategy worked well as Dettol as an antiseptic lotion provided brand support to Dettol soap, which was re-launched in a fragrant form called Dettol Fresh to take on HLL's Liril. Cherry Blossom acted as a mother brand for several easy-to-use home products. Hindustan Unilever Ltds (HUL) beverage brands have been amalgamated under two umbrella brands Brooke Bond and Lipton and in the fabric wash category, the company has retained only Rin, Surf and Wheel, HUL has withdrawn brands such as Sunlight, 501, Dalda and Nihar; it plans to withdraw some more brands and group them under a few umbrella brands. HUL is currently focusing on 35 power brands. Nivea cosmetics brand has a presence in huge number of product categories and countries. Once upon a time Nivea's performance prompted a yahoo.com news article to name it the 'Queen of Mega Brands.' This title was appropriate since the brand was present in over 14 product categories and was available in more than 150 countries. Nivea was reportedly believed to be a brand of local origin - having been present in them for many decades. This fact went a long way in helping the brand attain the leadership status in many categories and countries. According to analysts, the brand was the single largest factor for the 4.4% increase in the company's (Beiersdorf) revenues ( 4.74 billion) and 10.7% increase in after-tax profit ( 290 million) for the year 2002. Beiersdorf never tried to disturb the umbrella branding of Nivea and got fruitful results. Today as organized retailing is gaining popularity, we can see that popularity of private labels owned by retailers. Retailers do not feel the need to develop many brands for various categories because it is the loyalty towards their store name which draws and retains the customers. Hence it is the umbrella retail store name which will be the brand for various product categories and not individual 66
Importance Of Branding in FMCG names for each. Customers prefer these brands over that of manufacturers, due to the fact that they address their functional needs well. The retailers also enjoy high margins for private labels. Today a retail chain like Shoppers Stops 20% apparel section is driven by private labels. There are others like Trent from the TATAs which has developed its business model purely on private labels. From Asian Paints in 2003 to Electrolux, Onida and Airtel in 2004, they have all made a move from individual product branding to umbrella branding. Just a few year ago Bharti Televentures had brand Airtel for mobile services, Touchtel for land line and India One for long distance calls. But with Airtel dominating the group's ad spends, the company figured that the other brands were hardly making their presence felt. The unified licensing regime in December 2003 - which means that only one license is required to offer fixed, mobile and other services - acted as a catalyst (new Airtel logo/ Airtel outlets). So come September 2004 and the company started selling all its services under one brand name - Airtel. It claims that the move not only upped brand visibility but also charged up its distribution network. No doubt, umbrella branding has a number of advantages over individual brands in terms of low promotional costs and easy acceptance in trade but umbrella branding imposes on the brand owner a greater burden to maintain consistent quality and brand equity. If the quality of one product in the brand family is compromised, it could reduce sales of all the others. Single umbrella branding works relatively better for services like telecom; it may not be feasible in cases where there is a lesser degree of cohesion between categories, product values and target customers. So, maintaining a few umbrella brands is better option. For instance, suppose LG, a tech brand as far as Indian consumer is concerned, wants to sell you talc or toothpaste or detergent under that name. Consumers would find it very difficult to say what is transferred value from LG TV sets which theyre now going to put on their skin. Nokia, a moralist for single umbrella branding dropped their single umbrella brand strategy in 2006 in naming its products. The company believed it needed to have a look at its competitors book. After the roaring success of the Moto RAZR, PEBL, SLVR and ROKR series, the Finnish mobile handset manufacturer felt that consumers found names easy to remember compared to the usual mundane numbers. Even LG launched its popular Chocolate range of phones under the Black Label series. For Nokia, barring few exceptions, numbers have been the only way its phones have been branded so far - remember 1100, 2600, 3310, 6020? In 2006 they launched Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition (a mixture of names and numbers). Nokia introduced this approach to make it easier for customers to navigate across their range of phones. They also launched E-series phones (which serve business users) and N-series (which have multimedia features). While some players say that the naming trend will be restricted to the high-end, feature-led phones(for example- LG is also banking on the name game but in that case it is confined to the highend range of designer phones), others like Motorola are banking on names irrespective of price slabs. Motorola believes that consumers don't look at these names in an abstract manner and therefore names convey a message to consumers. A few umbrella brands or individual brands? According to experts, independent brands only make sense when the product clearly has a different proposition from the company brand; like Lexus from Toyota and Swatch from Omega. In the case of Asian Paints, there were so many sub-brands, there was a reduction of media weights for advertising each entity. Then, the company shifted to a brandcentric portfolio, which involved a change of logo, product names, packaging and advertising. But 67
Importance Of Branding in FMCG the response from the trade and consumers has been positive, overall brand synergy and shop presence have increased, and the advertising is more effective. Most probably in near future the media environment will make it impossible to create newer brand names and the conditions at the consumer level, as well as the environment. So unless the product is clearly different in the mind of the consumer, umbrella branding is the way to go. Umbrella brands are going to rule!
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Marketing Mix
It is not your customer's job to remember you. It is your obligation and responsibility to make sure they don't have the chance to forget you.
7P's of the marketing mix

Marketing professionals and specialist use many tactics to attract and retain their customers. These activities comprise of different concepts, the most important one being the marketing mix. There are two concepts for marketing mix: 4P and 7P. It is essential to balance the 4Ps or the 7Ps of the marketing mix. The concept of 4Ps has been long used for the product industry while the latter has emerged as a successful proposition for the services industry.
The 7Ps of the marketing mix can be discussed as: Product It must provide value to a customer but does not have to be tangible at the same time. Basically, it involves introducing new products or improvising the existing products. Price Pricing must be competitive and must entail profit. The pricing strategy can comprise discounts, offers and the like. 69
Importance Of Branding in FMCG Place It refers to the place where the customers can buy the product and how the product reaches out to that place. This is done through different channels, like Internet, wholesalers and retailers. Promotion It includes the various ways of communicating to the customers of what the company has to offer. It is about communicating about the benefits of using a particular product or service rather than just talking about its features. People People refer to the customers, employees, management and everybody else involved in it. It is essential for everyone to realize that the reputation of the brand that you are involved with is in the people's hands. Process It refers to the methods and process of providing a service and is hence essential to have a thorough knowledge on whether the services are helpful to the customers, if they are provided in time, if the customers are informed in hand about the services and many such things. Physical (evidence) It refers to the experience of using a product or service. When a service goes out to the customer, it is essential that you help him see what he is buying or not. For example- brochures, pamphlets etc serve this purpose.
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Brand executive at Hindustan+unilever+ltd

Meha Parekh
Brand Executive at Hindustan Unilever Limited Mumbai Area, India | Marketing and Advertising Current: Brand Executive at Hindustan Unilever Limited Past: Brand Executive at Eureka Forbes Ltd, Marketing Executive at Lifestyle International Pvt Ltd (MAX Retail Division), Brand Executive at Emami, Sum... Education: IBS Hyderabad, Calcutta University
Heemanish Midde
Marketing and Branding Mumbai Area, India | Marketing and Advertising Current: Brand Executive at Hindustan Unilever Ltd Past: Marketing Executive at Anchor Health & Beauty Care Pvt. Ltd., Summer Intern at Edelman, Team Leader Creative Department at Indomin InfoTech... Education: Xavier Institute of Management & Research, St. Xavier's College, Don Bosco High School Summary:
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A vision to take the organization to its pinnacle, through challenging assignments particularly in fields of imagination and innovation SOME KEY ...
Rehaam Shaikh
Brand Executive at Hindustan Unilever Ltd. Mumbai Area, India | Marketing and Advertising Current: Brand Executive at Hindustan Unilever Ltd Past: Management Trainee at Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Brand Service Manager at Lintas, Apprentice at Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Summer Trainee at Orchard Ad... Education: MET Institute of Management, HR College of Commerce and Economics, HR College of Commerce and Economics Summary: An enterprising individual, possessing good communication and interpersonal skills Self-motivated, highly flexible and result-oriented Efficie... 1Alok Ranjan
Sr. Brand Executive, HUL Mumbai Area, India | Marketing and Advertising Current: Sr. Brand Executive at Hindustan Unilever Limited Past: Sr. Executive, Media (handling Mahindra Two Wheelers and Nerolac) at Lodestar Universal Media, Deputy Manager, (Head) Marketing at Aroma Telecom ... Education:
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University of Mumbai, Delhi University, DAV Public School, Hehal, Ranchi, Netarhat, Netarhat Residential School, Netarhat Summary: -Currently gaining the insights of Media Planning & Buying and evaluation of any Brand Building Exercise - while working on Mahindra Two Whee...
Prerna Mehra Brand Executive at Hindustan Unilever Limited Mumbai Area, India | Marketing and Advertising Current: Brand Executive at Hindustan Unilever Limited Past: Brand Manager at Bates141, Client Manager (Trainee) at Fitch, Assistant Manager- Marketing at Aqua logistics, Management Trainee at Bharti Axa Li... Education: Symbiosis institute of Management Studies, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, University of Mumbai, Jamnabai Narsee School
HUL (Hindustan Unilever Limited) Parent Company Category Sector Tagline/ Slogan USP Unilever Limited Consumer Products, Food & Beverages FMCG Small Actions, Big Difference India's largest fast-moving consumer goods company STP
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Segment Target Group
Products and services for daily needs Every Indian household especially the middle class Being the largest FMCG company , their little efforts make a huge difference in the lives of people Product Portfolio Consumer Products 1. Active Wheel 4. Domex 7. Vim 10.Ayush 13.Close Up 16.Hamam 19.Liril 2000 22.Pepsodent 25.Sunsilk Food & Beverages 1.Brook Bond 4.Kissan Jam 7.Kwality Walls 2.TajMahal 5.Kissan Squash 8.Kissan Ketchup 3.Bru 6.Lipton 2. Cif 5. Rin 8. Aviance 11.Clear 14.Dove 17. Lakme 20.Lux 23.Ponds 26.Vaseline 3. Comfort Fabric 6. Surf Excel 9. Axe 12.Clinic Plus 15.Fair & Lovely 18.Lifebuoy 21.Pears 24.Rexona
Positioning
Brands
SWOT Analysis 1. HUL is a part of the Unilever group, hence strong brand equity 2. It has over 15000 employees 3. Reach 6.4 million retail outlets which includes direct reach to over 1.5 million retail outlets 4. Two R&D centres in India in Mumbai and Bangalore 5. Products with presence in over 20 consumer categories with over 700 million Indian consumers using its products 6. As a part of CSR, HUL has initiatives like project Shakti, plastic recycling, women empowerment etc 1. Market share is limited due to presence of other strong FMCG brands 2. HUL products has stiff competition from big domestic players and international brands
Strength
Weakness
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Opportunity
1. Tap rural markets and increase penetration in urban areas 2.Mergers and acquisitions to strengthen the brand 3.Increasing purchasing power of people thereby increasing demand 1. Intense and increasing competition amongst other FMCG companies 2.FDI in retail thereby allowing international brands 3. Competition from unbranded and local products Competition 1. Marico 2. L'Oral 3. Nirma Ltd 4. ITC 5. Colgate-Palmolive 6. Procter and Gamble 7. Dabur
Threats
Competitors
MEDIA CONTACTS Email:mediacentre.hul@unilever.com(Link opens in a new window). Telephone: Prasad Pradhan - 022 39832429, R Ram - 022 39832413 ABOUT HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED India: Hindustan Unilever Limited Unilever House, B. D. Sawant Marg, Chakala, Andheri (E), Mumbai - 400 099. T: +91-22-39830000 F: +91-22-22871970
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Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance of Symbols in Branding Symbols convey emotion and corporate messages

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG The Importance of Branding a Logo Design

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG Corporate Branding vs. Product Branding

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

The Importance of Branding Your New Business

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Defining Brand Expectations

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Recent Developments in FMCG Sector in India

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

FMCG Brands in India - Major Companies

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

SUSTAINABLE LIVING CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS REVIEW OUR APPROACH

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Unilever Sustainable Living Plan helping to drive growth

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

Importance Of Branding in FMCG

About Hindustan Unilever Limited

Importance Of Branding in FMCG