Brands & Consumer Behavior

1. Report on
How do Consumers Choose Brands
A report submitted for internal assessment of
Brand Management
Prepared By
Roll
no.
Name Section Group No. Signature
03 Mrs.DeepaChandrasekar
SA - 1 2
04 Mr. Ekta Yadav
10 Ms. Nitika Daihya
12 Ms. Parameswari Dayal
24 Mr. Suman Devi
IIPM
IIPM TOWER,
GURGAON.

2. How do consumers choose brands?
The choice of brands depends on various factors both internal
and external.
1.Demographic – Geographic – Psychographic
2.Social Class
3.Family Life Cycle
4.Reference Groups & Family Influences
5.Internal Factors – Perception , Attitude, Personality
These major factors influence a consumer to choose the brand.
Buying Behaviour is influenced by
1.Price
2.Free- Discounts- Sale
3.Visual Appeal- Packaging
4.Bundling
5.Just noticeable difference
6.Point of difference
7.Day – 2 – Day Remedies
8.Features – Benefits - Attributes
9.Umbrella Brands
10.Brand Name – Jingles - Logo
11.Consideration Set
12.Brand Ambassdors
13.Instant Easy to use ready made
14.Health Related products

3. 1.0.Price
Six of Fortune's 2006 Most Admired Companies price their products as
follows:
1. Starbucks “Highly-Expensive”
2. Southwest Airlines “Low-Priced”
3. Fedex “Highly-Expensive”
4. Dell “Low-Priced”
5. P&G “Highly-Expensive”
6. Toyota “Low-Priced” & “Highly Expensive”
Toyota wants to sell cheap stuff to attract economic buyers. But, they
also want to sell luxurious stuff to grab rich buyers. Toyota saw good
opportunities in both.
Toyota sells their trucks and cars on the lower-end under their parent
brand name. For luxury cars they sell under a different brand “Lexus”.
Now, if Toyota sells their Lexus line under the "Toyota" brand name,
they'll send messed-up signals to consumers. As, people associate
symbols with certain brands using their pricing structures. It is
because of the pricier buyers, who are infatuated with the status a rich
brand name brings. When Buyer Bill buys a rs150,000 Porsche 911
Turbo, he doesn't want his car to be associated with a rs12,000
automobile. If it does, he'll seek another brand name that will comfort
him with the exclusivity he wants.
If a company is targeting two different markets, they should distinguish
their luxury products from the cheaper ones as much as possible

4. 2.0.Offers & Discounts
Offering items at a sale price is a very tempting
tactic. In the short term, it drives traffic and sales. What the
company loses in margin is made up in volume. This may result in
a new set of problem.
In reality the company is eroding their long-term margins and their
long-term sales. This is especially true if the company you run a
business based on quality and value versus being a low-price
provider.
The problem with discounts is that customers don't see the price
drop the same way the company do.
The moment the company discount, the customer re-calibrates the
perceived value of products/services. Selling something for rs 200
today, and discounting for rs150 tells the customer that the
company is making more money on the rs200 version and still
making money on the rs150 version; so the rs200 version was over-
priced. The new perceived value is rs150.

5. Starbucks Coffee used to host their Annual Brewing Sale at the
stores. Each spring they would put coffee and espresso machines
on sale. "Lowest Prices of the Year!" the signage declared. The
customer would save between rs50 to rs200 on a brewing machine.
So instead of being priced at rs250, the brewer was on sale for
rs200. Instead of being rs700, the automated espresso machine
would be rs500.
The customer perception changes, if Starbucks could sell items for
the lower price of rs200 and rs500 that must be their value.
Customers stopped buying year-round and waited to buy ONLY
when Starbucks had the sale.
While the ring of the cash register sounded good, Starbucks made
no more money in the rush of machines sold at SALE prices than
they did selling them at a fixed prices all year.
To counter the above mentioned problem, instead of giving away
money, strategically provide add-on services or products. Instead of
discounting the price of a hair cut at the salon, give away a bottle
of that great shampoo that made customer’s head tingle and hair
smell so great.
This accomplishes two things;
1. We don't erode the cost of the base product.
2. We have created a strategic win-win. The customer feel good for
receiving something of extra value and as a business, we got the
customer to try something new. The customer may start buying
that shampoo on a regular basis.
Discounting lowers the perceived value of your offerings, and in the
long run erodes your brand. Once you start offering discounts, the
only way to get that rush the next time, is to discount more. If this
cycle continues, your margin is gone, your prices are bargain
basement, and your brand has reduced value.

6. Exchange Culture in india
As Indian's we hold a lot of value for the
'old', maybe it is also culturally driven where
we have been asked to respect 'old' rather
than look for new. Though this is
changing very fast especially among the
younger generation of consumers, but it
will take a lot of time before we actually
catch up with our western counter
parts
Most of us have an uncle who would
proudly show of his old watch, " I have
been using this watch for the last 30
years , this was gifted to me when I was
in class 10" . This is a nightmare come
true for a marketer, if every consumer
were to use his watch for eternity
then......
Similarly most housewives collect the
used containers of flour, ghee ,,, which
she would clean and use it to store
cereals , and other items in the kitchen
and so on till it is sold to the scrap
dealer .

7. 3.0.Visual Appeal
Packing
How packaging helps to establish the Cadbury brand identity
Design is very
important in all
areas of life.
Consumers are
becoming more
design conscious
and expect a box
of chocolates to
look as good as it
tastes!
Cadbury has always been at the forefront of
packaging design and brand development and recognizes only too well
the importance of this in retaining its leading position in its marketplace.
Consumers can continue to observe its ongoing investment in innovative
packaging design with each new product launch and each new change
made to the packaging of existing design.
The role of Cadbury’s packaging
Cadbury’s packaging must be able to perform both a functional and
marketing role:
 On a functional level the pack must be structurally sound to
protect the product Quality in distribution and storage conditions.
 At a marketing level, however, it should be attractive to look at and
handle, communicating to consumers the essence of the Cadbury
brand identity.

8. Colors and Designs
Research continues to show that consumers will purchase what
they "want" far more rapidly than what they "need". Most of us will
admit to having, at some point, delayed purchasing something that
we needed, so that we could buy something that we "wanted"
today.
Visual appeal can, and does, play a significant role in
creating a desire to purchase a product or service today.

9. Packing – Easy to store & Easy to Use
If it is packaged attractively then the consumer will not worry
about the cost!
If it is a business to consumer product and especially a fast moving
consumer good or a snack or a soft drink, packaging has got to do
something with the way consumer sees it. There are some seeds of
perception that are planted into the consumers mind when the idea of
packaging evolves for these kinds of products.
Let say for example there is a new lime fresh perfume, what should
the bottle or the packaging look like? The tagline is lemony lime fresh
and the bottle is a deep purple colour. The very first look of this
combination puts a doubt in the consumer's mind that is looking for a
fresh scented perfume, that this might not be the one. On the other hand
if it were in a lime green colour bottle, people automatically associate it
with the freshness.

10. 4.0.Bundling
Microsoft Corporation dominates about 90% of the operating system
market with Windows, the most popular operating system in the
computer industry. Also, Microsoft controls 75% of the market
“productivity application software” including word processors, spread
sheets, and databases. Microsoft used a clever strategy to bundle all the
PC productive software namely, Word, Excel, Power Point and Access as
a suite called “Office”. The price of the office is less than half of the prices
of different component separately. In this way, Microsoft stole the market
share from Lotus and Word Perfect and as a matter of fact , this strategy
has made Microsoft a big dominant firm in the software market.

11. 5.0.Features Benefits & Attributes
Associating a product with an attribute, a product feature or a consumer
feature. Sometimes a product can be positioned in terms of two or more
attributes simultaneously. The price/ quality attribute dimension is
commonly used for positioning the products.
A common approach is setting the brand apart from competitors on the
basis of the specific characteristics or benefits offered. Sometimes a
product may be positioned on more than one product benefit. Marketers
attempt to identify salient attributes (those that are important to
consumers and are the basis for making a purchase decision)
Consider the example of Ariel that offers a specific benefit of cleaning
even the dirtiest of clothes because of the micro cleaning system in the
product.
 Colgate offers benefits of preventing cavity and fresh breath.
 Promise, Balsara’s toothpaste,
could break Colgate’s stronghold by
being the first to claim that it contained
clove, which differentiated it from the
leader.

12.  Nirma offered the benefit of low
price over Hindustan Lever’s Surf to
become a success.
Maruti Suzuki offers benefits of maximum fuel efficiency and safety over
its competitors. This strategy helped it to get 60% of the Indian
automobile market.
Sony – Technology & Quaity

13. 7.0.Just Noticeable Difference
Just Noticeable Difference is the minimal apparent difference between
two products as observed by the consumer. Otherwise we can say -"The
just noticeable difference (JND) is the smallest
difference in intensity between two stimuli that
a person can detect."
Psychological concept applied to consumers'
purchasing patterns that holds that consumers
are more likely to purchase products based on
the perceived differences between products than
they are to purchase based on the attributes of
one product or another. In marketing there are
two valuable concepts to follow. However, they
sometimes use indiscernible stimuli that are
just below a consumer’s threshold so as to
influence him. This is called subliminal
message.
For e.g. If an unbranded detergent cost 5
percent less that consumer is regular brand, the
consumer ma not notice the difference.
However, if the same unbranded product costs
less than 30 percent less than he is definitely
going to notice the difference.
Weber’s Law states that the stronger the
stimulus,
The greater the change required for the
stimulus to be seen as different. The most
important application of this law is in price. One
critical implication is that the higher the
original price of an item, the greater the
markdown required to increase sales. For e.g. If
price of a Mercedes Benz S class is reduced by
25000/-, it will not have any impact on sales
because the basic price is in several Lakhs that
a difference of Rs25000/- may not be noticeable
for consumers. On the other hand a price
reduction of even Rs5000/- for a Maruti 800 is

14. seen to push sales substantially because of its low original price. Another
example, if the price of a car is increased by Rs.1000/-/- it would
probably not be noticed i.e., the increment would fall below the J.N.D. it
may take an increase of Rs.5000/-/- or more before a differential in price
would be noticed. However even an one rupee increase in oil price would
be noticed very quickly because it is a significant percentage of the initial
amount So an additional level of stimuli equivalent to the J.N.D. must be
added for the majority of people to perceive a difference between resulting
stimulus and the initial stimulus.

15. 8.0.Cathy Name – Mantra – Jingles
A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design or a combination of
theory intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group
of sellers and to differentiate them form those of competitors. Brand
identifies the seller or maker. A brand is essentially a seller's promise to
deliver a specific set of features, benefit and services consistent to the
buyers.
A tagline is one of the most cost effective ways to express the value of a
brand. The advertisers of the past knew the art of the tagline and spent
time, money, and research in developing a short and easy way to
communicate a brand message.
Eg., Big Bazaar : “Isse sasta aura cha kani nahin”
Now a days, brand managers are using the taglines effectively to redefine
the brand abbreviations. LG the name born out of the abbreviation of
Lucky Goldstar is now associating its tagline “Life’s Good” with the letters
LG. HP uses the tagline “Hit Print” in its recent ad campaign for its print
business.
Brands and memorable jingle!
Even today, with multiple interactive avenues in advertising, role of jingle
is unquestionable.. Though jingles started for radio advertising, they still
form an important part of marketing mix even in age of online gaming.
Jingle of Parachute oil – “Pyaar mein… Gorgeous Hamesha’” was not just
aired on TV and radio, was hosted on their website, on portals, on

16. YouTube and hosted as ringtones across many sites. On Reliance Mobile
World, this jingle was deployed under the Romantic Hits category. I have
heard my friends listen to this time an again on their laptop!
As a country, we not
only love pleasant and
soothing tunes, but even
voices of our actors and
actresses, and any brand
that uses a famous celebrity
voice to promote its
products has met with
success. Amitabh Bachhan,
Naseeruddhin Shah and
others have been famous
not only for acting, but even
for amazing voice quality!
Jingles which were melody
based, with the brand name
mentioned multiple times
increased brand recall and
became a synonym for the
industry. Am linking some amazing, old and new jingles with their
Brands…do add links for others incase you find them.
These brands are best remembered for their music! Enjoy!!!
 Britanni
 Hamara Bajaj
 Nirma
 Airtel
 Titan watches
 Vicco Tumeric cream
 Frooti

17. 9.0.Point Of Parity & Point of Difference
Points of Difference & Points of Parity
Point of difference (POD) is a term used for an outcome of product
differentiation. In business economics, differentiation is seen as an
important strategic move for companies to make. Because of an
overwhelming variety of products and services on the market, those that
stand out in some manner are better noticed by consumers. There are
various (positive and negative) ways of being different compared to
competitors in the same market. Differentiation is the term given to the
positive way in which a company's product differs from its competitors.
Points of difference (PODs) describe the individual factors of
differentiation.
The key points of difference of a company are synonymous with its
unique selling proposition (USP), and are critical in defining its
competitive advantage and branding strategy. They must be attributes
or benefits that consumers strongly, uniquely, and positively associate
with the company's brand; and not with any competing brand. Once
points of difference have been clearly communicated to consumers, the
company and its brand are set apart from its competitors. Brand loyalty
depends upon the ability of the company to establish and maintain
clarity of communication with the consumer regarding their brand; and
to maintain and expand the points of difference that defines the brand.
Points-of-parity (POP) are driven by the needs of category membership
to create category of POPs and the necessity of negating competitors’
Points of Difference (POD) to create competitive POPs. In choosing points-
of-difference, two important considerations are that consumers find the
POD desirable and that the firm has the capabilities to deliver on the
POD.
There are three key consumer desirability criteria for PODs,
1.Relevance:
Target consumers must find the POD personally relevant and important.
The Westin Stamford hotel in Singapore advertised that it was the world’s
tallest hotel, but a hotel’s height is not important to many tourists.
2.Distinctiveness:
Target consumers must find the POD distinctive and superior. When
entering a category where there are established brands, the challenge is
to find a viable basis for differentiation. Splenda sugar substitute

18. overtook Equal and Sweet ‘n Low to become the leader in its category in
2003 by differentiating itself on its authenticity as a product derived from
sugar, without any of the associated drawbacks.
3.Believability:
Target consumers must find the POD believable and credible. A brand
must offer a compelling reason for choosing it over the other options.
Mountain Dew may argue that it is more energizing than other soft
drinks and support this claim by noting that it has a higher level of
caffeine. Chanel No. 5 perfume may claim to be the quintessential
elegant French perfume and support this claim by noting the long
association between Chanel and haute coutre.
There are three key deliverability criteria.
1.Feasibility:
2.Communicability:
3.Sustainability:
Marketers must decide at which level (s) to anchor the brand’s points–of-
differences. At the lowest level are brand attributes, at the next level are
the brand’s benefits, and at the top are the brand’s values.
Thus marketers of Dove soap can talk about its attribute of one-quarter
cleansing cream; or its benefit of softer skin; or its value, being more
attractive. Attributes are typically the least desirable level to position.
First, the buyer is more interested in benefits. Second, competitors can
easily copy attributes. Third, the current attributes may become less
desirable.
Research has shown, however, that brands can sometimes be
successfully differentiated on seemingly irrelevant attributes if
consumers infer the proper benefit. Procter & Gamble differentiates its
Folger’s instant coffee by its “flaked coffee crystals, “created through a
“unique patented process. In reality, the shape of the coffee particles is
irrelevant because the crystals immediately dissolve in the hot water.
Saying that a brand of coffee is “mountain grown is irrelevant because
most coffee is mountain grown.

19. 10.0.Family
Family branding is a marketing strategy that involves selling several
related products under one brand name. Family branding is also known
as umbrella branding. It contrasts with individual product branding, in
which each product in a portfolio is given a unique brand name and
identity.
There are often economies of scope associated with family branding since
several products can be efficiently promoted with a single advertisement
or campaign. Family branding facilitates new product introductions by
evoking a familiar brand name, which can lead to trial purchase, product
acceptance, or other advantages.
ITC
Family branding imposes on the brand owner a greater burden to
maintain consistent quality. If the quality of one product in the brand
family is compromised, it could impact on the reputation of all the
others. For this reason family branding is generally limited to product
lines that consist of products of similar quality.

20. Airtel Limited
Branding is the in-thing today as anything goes branded, from salt, to
eggs even chicken are packed on cellophane with manufacturer's or
distributors name or label. Generics products are unbranded, plainly
packaged, less expensive versions of common products such as paper,
towels, spaghetti, salt etc. which were offered at lower quality or
standard and price at as much as 20% to 40% lower than advertised
brand. This lower price is made possible by lower quality ingredients,
lower cost labelling and packaging and minimal advertising
Branding helps the segment markets. The seller can offer the same
generic product in different brand names e.g Procter & Gamble sells a
simple detergent in eight different brands each formulated differently and
aimed at specific benefit seeking segments.
Unilever

21. 11.Consideration Set
Consideration set is the subset of brands that consumers evaluate when making
a purchase decision. A consumer has a limited information processing abilities
and limits the comparison to a subset of brands that is termed as consideration
set.
In the frequent purchased product category such as groceries, consumers mostly
face information overload and may engage in strategies to minimize the cost of
information search (utility comparison or cost-benefit trade-off). Also, frequent
purchased products are characterized by frequent price promotion of varying
depths of discounts; a consumer faces significant uncertainty about the prices of
brands. Consumers may limit their attention and evaluation to a subset of
available brands to simplify the purchase decision.

22. 13.Brand
Ambassadors
Advertising is always
keen to take the less
risky route of Brand
Ambassadors to endorse.
These ambassadors
would differentiate and
influence the brand.
Product categories and
numbers are even on the
rise and differentiation
has become tough, for
marketers. Believable
rarity and ambassadors
are one easy way to
achieve it. Most of the
Researches reveal that
customers are more
likely to buy products
and services, which are
endorsed by the
celebrities than those
with out them. But for
differentiation to be successful there must be an element of
differentiation. The effectiveness of differentiation is not maximized,
unless the selected brand ambassador stands above the rest in the
minds of the customer and offers a significant point of difference form his
or her peers.
These people attract the attention and provide instant recognition to the
brand. They posses some qualities, which are considered to be dynamic,
for this reason celebrities have to be used imaginatively and cautiously.
Even celebrities make commodities look smart and elegant. The increase
in the product sales and brand image would certainly depend on the
credibility and image of the brand endorser.
Brands ride on the celebrity appeal, credibility and get some of the
positive image transferred to it. No doubt Credibility of the ambassador is
the most important aspect in that would influence the success of the
campaign.

23. Attractiveness of the celebrity would help the brand by having a positive
impact on the customer evaluation of the product. Even there are cases
where endorsers may not make any impact at all.
Brand uniqueness is the most important positive feature to a company or
organization and is the face of a company. If Brand positioning is done
correctly it can propel the business to new heights. Thus, positioning a
brand is very important in terms of gaining people’s confidence and
winning the brand race. For this brand ambassadors are of great help in
positioning a brand.

24. 13.Day to day Remedies
OTC Market in India
Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are
medicines that may be sold without a
prescription, in contrast to prescription
drugs. These items can be found on the
shelves of grocery/ cosmetic stores and
bought like any other packaged product
in some countries or in others may be
bought "over the counter" from the
pharmacy, while prescription drugs are
sold at a pharmacy counter.
Moov -Iodex

25. There are different categories under OTC, out of which here is a list of
categories which have spent maximum in brand building through on TV are as
follows:
1. Rubs/ Balm - Moov, Iodex, Himani Fast Relief, Emami Mentho Plus,
Amrujanjan Joint Ache Cream
2. Analgesic/ Cold Tablet - Dcold, Stopache, Crocin, Disprin
3. Digestives - Eno, Hajmola, Pudin Hara, Dabur Hingoli
4. Medicated Skin Treatment - Itch Guard, Krack, Ringguard, Clearasil
5. Cough Lozenges - Strepsils, Halls
6. Vitamin/ Tonic/ Heath Suppliments - Horlicks, Complan, Boost,
Chawanprash - Dabur, Sona Chandi, Himalaya, Calcium Sandoz, Jeevanprash
7. Antiseptic Cream/ Liquids - Borosoft, Boroplus, Dettol
8.'Cipla I-Pill' a new brand was the most advertised brand on TV during January-
September 2007.
Mortein
Pampers

26. 14.Health
A variety of societal factors are driving consumers to increasingly
seek out unique and differentiated products that fit their lifestyle.
Consumers purchase of green or sustainable organic products are
not just motivated by the produces themselves but by the values
they represent.
We can change non-organic consumers minds to make them believe
that organic products are better in different ways-for the taste,
health or the environment and demonstrate that people who are
important to them, whether it’s people who are related or not, such
as celebrities, if they buy and consume organic product, then we
might be able to move these consumers into the organic market.
Saffola
Multi grain bread – atta – biscuit
Sugar free

27. Horlicks Lite
Women’s Horlicks

28. 15.Instant – Fast to cook Good to eat !
Instant Food/meals is one of the fastest growing segments with the changing
lifestyles and growing number of nuclear families, which actually reflects the
buoyant growth expected in the coming future.
The complexities of urban life have greatly encouraged the emergence of
the class of foods called Ready-to-eat (RTE) and Ready-tocook (RTC).
Foods that fall in the rapidly expanding RTE category include p r e - c o o k e d
non-vegetarian and vegetarian preparations, microwavable meals, frozen non-
vegetarian and vegetarian foods. However, while the development of the
segment has made regional favourites, such as Chettinad Chicken and available
to consumers across the country.
Maggie Instant & Pasta
Kitchen of india & MTR
Kissan sauces/jam