BY RAJESHWARI

SHARMA
rajeshwari.s@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
A cooperative, a
state-owned insurance
firm that was, until a
few years ago,
a monopoly, and a
multinational mobile-
phone maker are the top
three brands in India,
according to a new
study released on
Friday.
Amul, a brand owned
by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk
Marketing Federation
(GCMMF), Life Insurance
Corporation of India (LIC), and
Nokia are the top Indian brands,
according to Asias Top 1,000
Brands, a survey by media,
advertising and marketing
magazine Media, brand
consultancy Asian Integrated
Media Ltd and market research
company Synovate.
However, there are no brands
of Indian-origin in the top 100,
although several brands that
are available in India figure in
the list. It is because most
Indian brands are not available
across regions within the
country and outside, said
Harish Bijoor, a marketing
consultant.
Amuls strategy of using
umbrella branding has paid
off, according to R.S. Sodhi,
chief general manager, GCMMF.
Our strength comes from
consistency, trust and
relevance of our
products. Sodhi
claimed that
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, he added.
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,
said Shashi Sinha, executive
director, FCB Ulka, GCMMFs
advertising agency.
GCMMF, which ended
2006-07 with Rs4,200 crore in
revenues, launched more than
two-dozen products in the past
two years.
Nokia has more than a 70%
share of the mobile-phone
market in India, a country with
around 188 million mobile
telephony subscribers. Nokia
has revolutionized the way we
keep in touch, said Subhash
Kamath, CEO, Bates Group, the
companys agency in India.
Amul and LIC are heritage
brands. Its their benign equity
that makes them so enduring,
said Bijoor. If you look at any
list pertaining to brands, the
bulk of the toppers are the
lowest common denominator
brandsthe ones that have
moved from shelves and
touched lives of millions of
people, he added.
The nine markets covered by
the survey are: China, Hong
Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines,
Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore,
India and Indonesia. Synovate
interviewed people in the 15-64
years age group; sample sized
varied from 500 in all markets
to 750 in India and China.
CHINA
INDONESIA
MALAYSIA
PHILIPPINES
INDIA
TAIWAN
THAILAND
SINGAPORE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Nokia
Sony
Colgate
Coca-Cola
Panasonic
Honda
7-Eleven
Samsung
Nestl
Adidas
Brand Rank
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Yahoo!
Nike
Nescafe
Canon
Starbucks
Sony Ericsson
Pampers
Google
Darlie
Pepsi
Brand Rank
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
LG
Yamaha
Toyota
Walls
Lipton
Maggi
Shell
Wrigleys Arrow
DHL
Cadbury
Brand Rank
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
Rolex
Watsons
VISA
Sunsilk
Toshiba
Marlboro
Pantene
Sharp
Apple
Toys R Us
Brand Rank
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
Lays
Panadol
BMW
Hewlett-Packard
Huggies
Mercedes-Benz
Philips
MasterCard
American*
Motorola
Brand Rank
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
Pocari Sweat
Uni-President
FedEx
H&S
#

Seiko
Pepsodent
Pedigree
MSN
Rejoice
Nissin
Brand Rank
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
Heineken
McDonalds
Hagen-Dazs
Sprite
Acer
Close up
Singapore Airlines
Whirlpool
Magnolia
Ferrero Rocher
Brand Rank
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
100 Plus
Mitsubishi
Cathay Pacific
Suzuki
Nikon
Sanyo
Breeze
Gatorade
Hitachi
Pioneer
Brand Rank
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
KFC
Tide
San Miguel
Shangri-La
Dell
ExxonMobil
IBM
Nivea
California Fitness
Surf
Brand Rank
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
JVC
Kodak
Ponds
Caltex
HSBC
Fanta
Knife
IndoMie
Wyeth
MasterKong
Brand Rank
ASIAs TOP 100 BRANDS
Singapore
Rank Brand
1
2
3
Nokia
SingTel
Singapore Airlines
Taiwan
Rank Brand
1
2
3
7-Eleven
CPC
Uni-President
Thailand
Rank Brand
1
2
3
Nokia
Mama
Sony
Indonesia
Rank Brand
1
2
3
Aqua
Pepsodent
Honda
China
Rank Brand
1
2
3
MasterKong
Nokia
Mengniu
Hong Kong
Rank Brand
1
2
3
7-Eleven
Watsons
Coca-Cola
Malaysia
Rank Brand
Philippines
Rank Brand
India
Rank Brand
1
2
3
Amul
LIC
Nokia
1
2
3
Nokia
Colgate
Sony
1
2
3
Colgate
Mercury Drug
Sony
INDIAS TOP BRANDS
*American International Assurance (AIA)/American International Underwriters (AIU)/American International Group (AIG) Source: Synovate #Head & Shoulders ^Kentucky Fried Chicken
HONG KONG
Graphics by SANDEEP BHATNAGAR