The Hindu Business Line : Y&R tool looks to make market research dynamic

GIVEN that categories as defined by manufacturers no longer exist, and marketers have to fight for their share of wallet against products from across categories, market research today needs to be more dynamic.

That is what Young & Rubicam's proprietary Brand Asset Valuator (BAV) promises: it has studied brands worldwide since 1993, and was recently introduced in India.

The BAV demonstrates how brands gain and lose strength, based on the strength of the perceptions that consumers have about brands. So it can be used to evaluate how a brand is doing in relation to the entire universe of brands, and not just in relation to similar products. Its database comprises 13,000 brands as perceived by 90,000 consumers across 32 countries; it is conducted every two to three years.

In India, the fieldwork was done in the first quarter of the year across 3,000 respondents in eight centres for about 1,400 brands. It will help marketers understand the brand in totality, at a "diagnostic, analytical and predictive level," and evaluate brands against actual competition, for a better understanding of the maturity of the market and the product life cycle, said Mr K. Subramanian, Planning Director, Rediffusion DYR.

"And, since it operates in a category-neutral scenario, Colgate toothpaste and Aamir Khan can be compared to evaluate how well they fit, or if ICICI Bank and Hutch are perceived to be similar, it might provide the direction for future brand alliances."

The BAV measures all brands on a set of 48 image and personality parameters on a seven-point semantic scale (`agree,' `strongly agree'... ). These attributes are then correlated to four key parameters: differentiation, or, how distinct the brand is; relevance, or how appropriate the brand is to the target consumer; esteem, or how highly the consumer regards the brand; and knowledge, or how well the consumer knows the brand.

In the Indian context, Kaun Banega Crorepati was a success because it was different from the saas-bahu soaps. Strong brands such as Colgate and Dettol are relevant to all segments. Amul, Maruti and Raymond's are respected brands, while knowledge about State Bank of India and Bata is high because of the relationship consumers have with them. Amitabh Bachchan is among the top Indian brands, as perceived by consumers.

The BAV then constructs a power grid that plots Emerging Brands (strong differentiation), Unrealised Potential (strong differentiation, with increasing relevance and esteem), Declining Leaders (with decreasing differentiation and esteem), and Eroding Potential (low on differentiation and relevance).

In India, there is a proliferation of brands, so the successful ones are those that are adapting quickly; the sampling for BAV also included younger consumers, who are more open to new brands. "Indian marketers also need to look at what India means to consumers around the world," said Mr David Jenkinson, Regional Strategy Planner, Y&R Australia/New Zealand.

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