Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services ($45.5 billion) is the new number one ‘most valuable Indian brand,’ claiming the top spot from HDFC Bank (number two, $ 32.7billlion) which had held the position since the first ranking was unveiled in 2014, as per the latest Kantar BrandZ report on ‘Top 75 Most Valuable Indian Brands.’ TCS’s brand value has been accelerated by global demand for automation and digital transformation following the pandemic.
India’s strongest brands have bounced back from the pandemic to increase their brand value by a massive 35 per cent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) since 2020, when Covid -19 hit the country, according to the report.
India’s top 75 brands are worth a combined $393 billion, equivalent to 11 per cent of India’s national GDP. Moreover, the growth rate of the 'Kantar BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable Indian Brands’ outpaces the rate of growth being posted in other major markets around the world.
‘The Top 10 Most Valuable Indian Brands’ together contribute just over half of the ranking’s total value. There has been significant movement at the top, in addition to the two most valuable brands switching positions. There are two new entrants – Infosys ($29.2 billion) which has rocketed up to the third spot from the 12th position, and ICICI Bank ($11 billion) which has climbed two places to number nine. State Bank of India ($13.6 billion) has also risen four places to sixth position.
There are brands from 23 different categories in the 2022 Indian Top 75. There are a total of 14 newcomers, from 11 categories – including online gaming, education, apparel and real estate, reflecting the diversity and dynamism of the Indian economy.
Technology and banking brands account for over half of the total value. Six B2B tech brands and 11 consumer tech brands contribute 35 per cent to the total value of the ranking, reflecting the rise of tech India. Overall, B2B brands (tech and payments) are on average almost three times as valuable as B2C brands, reflecting the fact that many of the B2B brands play on the global stage while B2C are more focused on the domestic market. Six banking brands deliver 19 per cent of the total value. Also notable for their performance are insurance brands, which have performed well as the pandemic increased consumers’ focus on the protection of life and health and telecom providers, led by Airtel (Number four; $17.4 billion) and Jio (Number ten; $10.7 billion), which took full advantage of growth opportunities as everything moved online, from education to work to parties.
Key newcomers to the ranking include Vodafone Idea (VI) (No.15; $6.5 billion); formed from a merger between VI, Byju’s (No.19: $5.5 billion), the educational technology brand that has become India’s most valuable education brand and Adani Gas (No.21; $4.5 billion).
Kantar - South Asia's insights division executive managing director Deepender Rana says, “India’s leading brands have grown at an exceptional rate, despite global economic headwinds, putting the disruption from COVID-19 behind them. Indeed, they have both driven and benefited from the transformation in consumer and business behaviour as a result of Covid-19, especially where it relates to the use of technology. The challenge now is to sustain momentum as inflation bites worldwide and consumers and businesses adjust to the new normal. Brand owners will need to work harder to identify and build on what makes them worth paying for and ensure ROI on their marketing expenditure to avoid a margin squeeze.”
The pillars of brand building in India
Kantar BrandZ has identified four fundamentals responsible for powering brand growth: function, convenience, experience and exposure. India differs from other markets around the world, however, in that a brand’s sustainability credentials and purpose matter more.
Overall, 65 per cent of Indians feel anxious about climate change, and 64 per cent believe businesses must play their part. The highest-ranking brands in the Top 75 are clear on purpose and have a relevant sustainability agenda. These include the services platform Zomato (No.30; $3.1 billion), which offsets the carbon footprint of its deliveries and packaging. Swiggy (No.20; $4.8 billion) elevates the quality of life of consumers with the speedy delivery of meals, groceries and healthy items, as does Flipkart (No.12; $8.9 billion), while also helping smaller local brands to connect with consumers via its platform.
Kantar's insights division managing director Soumya Mohanty says: “Purposeful and sustainable brands are rewarded. Indian consumers look further than the brand attributes that affect them personally – they want brands to improve people’s lives and have a positive impact on wider society. They vote with their wallets, choosing brands they see as ‘doing the right thing.’ Indian brands should have a clear view of their purpose, connect strongly with it by embedding it in their culture, talk about it in creative and powerful ways, and deliver on it – without fail.”
Salience – the ability of brands to spring quickly to mind when a consumer has a need – is also vitally important. India’s Top 10 brands are far more salient than their counterparts in most other countries. However, for growth to be supercharged, brands must have a strong meaning. They should have functional meaning – doing a good job of fulfilling a need – but also a layer of emotional meaning. The Kantar BrandZ India Top 75 far exceeds other Indian brands on all of these vital predictors of success.
Other key highlights from the analysis include:
57 of the brands in 2022 Top 75 have been in the ranking since 2018, while 19 have moved up the league table.
The share prices of companies behind strong brands are protected in a ‘bear’ market and recover more quickly. Between August 2014 and June 2022, the sensex India Index gained 63.8 per cent, while a portfolio of the most valuable Indian brands rose 81.8 per cent.
There are 11 consumer tech brands in the Top 75, reflecting the increasingly digital way Indian consumers live, which is 11 per cent of the total brand value. The four most valuable brands in this category are Flipkart (No. 12; $8.9 billion), Byju’s (No. 19; $5.5 billion), Swiggy (No. 20; $4.8 billion) and Nykaa (No. 25; $3.7billion).
Kantar BrandZ Top 10 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2022
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