Nokia, Tata, LG are India's most trusted brands

The Brand Trust Report 2012 lists a total of 1,000 brands that score high in terms of trust

Neha Saraiya | Delhi | January 18, 2012

The second edition of Brand Trust Report 2012, brought out by Trust Research Advisory, is out, and Indians have chosen Nokia, Tata and LG as the most trusted brands in that order. The study was conducted with 2,718 'influencer' respondents from 15 cities, and generated more than 2 million data-points from 12,000 hours of research.

Continuing from its position last year, Nokia maintained its leadership position and also a lead of 25 per cent from No. 2 brand Tata. The Korean brands LG and Samsung at 3^rd and 4^th positions have edged ahead of Japan's Sony which is at No. 5.

While the 6^th rank in the brand list is occupied by Maruti Suzuki, new entrant Bajaj, which did not feature in the top 10 list in BTR 2011, is at No. 7. The 8^th and 9^th positions are firmly held by LIC and Airtel. Reliance slipped to 10^th position this year from sixth last year.

However, Titan moved out of the top 10 list this time, slipping to 12^th.

The categories with higher brand trust include durables, fashion, telecom, print, media, Internet and personal accessories in that order. Most trusted brands in some other categories are Armani in Branded Fashion, DLF in Construction, NIIT in Education, ONGC in Energy, PVR in Entertainment, Pepsi in F&B, Dabur in Healthcare, Taj Hotels in Hospitality, Google in Internet, ACC in Manufacturing, Thomas Cook in Services, Being Human in Social Sector, Hewlett Packard in Technology, and Air India in Airlines.

Talking about the state of brands in India, Chandramouli, CEO, Trust Research Advisory, said, “The large population and domestic consumption, combined with a high growth rate, has ensured that most multinational brands have turned their India strategy into that of 'India is the strategy'. Domestic Indian brands carry the natural advantage of being on home turf with a better knowledge of the local culture and understanding of stakeholders. But international brands are giving Indian brands a run for their money.”

Chandramouli pointed out that the worldwide expenditure on brand communication last year was around $1 trillion. If the money spent on this communication is not able to build trust in brands, then the money invested is a waste.

Besides brands, the list also features 22 prominent personalities who have made a strong statement in the year by gone. Anna Hazare has gained the nation's trust ahead of Sachin Tendulkar, Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan, who feature in that order.

The report pays special attention to North India with 26 per cent of the total respondents being from this region. The five cities in North India where the study was conducted include New Delhi, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Jaipur, and Indore.

India's most trusted brand Nokia is also North India's most trusted brand. However, India's 2^nd ranked brand Tata has been pushed down to 6^th position in North India. The other brand which have been given the thumbs down by North India include Titan at 31^st rank along with Vodafone whose all-India rank is 17^th but in North India it is down to 32. Also, Raymond's all-India rank is 21 but in North India it ranks 33.

North India has also shown significantly greater trust on some brands compared to rest of India. Pepsi's North India rank is 8^th against its all-India rank of 16. Hero Honda that stands at 10^th place in the northern region has an all-India rank of 25.

Neha@BestMediaInfo.com

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