Each morning, I go for a walk which sort of ends at a small semi-permanent tea + cigarette + kirana stall, about a hundred meters from my house.
I stop there, get myself a cup of tea and smoke a cigarette and hang around there till both the cigarette and the tea are done. That’s about five minutes.
In these five minutes, a number of taxi drivers, autorickshaw drivers and watchmen join the party. All of them have a cup of tea, some have a cigarette and most – yes, most, have some form of tobacco/guthka.
And they don’t just buy any packet; they ask for the brand by name.
And there are zillions of brands in the category.
A few days ago, I attended an event to reveal Brand Equity’s Most Trusted Brands.
None of the brands that my fellow tea drinkers opt for was on the list.
They’ll never make it; most of these brands will have a strong local franchise and loyalty.
Like, when I was young, Hindustan Motors’ Ambassador enjoyed in what was then Calcutta, knocking the daylights out of the Premier Padmini.
Or how Torino was the leading carbonated orange drink in Bangalore, miles ahead of Fanta.
Or how Delhi was Campa Cola land when Chennai belonged to Thums Up.
You would see a lot of this in categories like innerwear (underwear-banian, if you don’t get it), soft drinks, water, biscuits and the like.
Where a local player may be numero uno in a small geography, trusted by millions, but would never make it to BE’s Most Trusted Brands list.
Perhaps there’s an opportunity for regional language newspapers to figure out their region’s very own most trusted brands list?
Most trusted brand in Chattisgarh, anyone?
