Brands are very human. Ignore them and they shrivel. Keep them engaged and they blossom. Brands, by nature are fragile, hurt easily and when they fall, it takes some doing to get them back on their feet.
The space in which brands operate is very unforgiving– and memories in the market long. This explains why brand guardians have to be constantly on their toes, inventing and re-inventing their charges, listening to market nuances and responding with novel ideas using speed and alacrity as their vehicles.
A Superbrand is a rich amalgam of many things: energy to exploit the market, relevance to consumer needs, an ability to stay young and contemporary, research to help make sense out of market vagaries – and gut feel; these are the ingredients that make a Superbrand.
When all these come to a boil, the trick would be to keep the heat on.

Indians have traditionally been more attached to their brands than people in most other parts of the world. Over the years, multi-country studies on attitudes to brands have repeatedly demonstrated this, and retail audits have confirmed that the brand leaders in India command larger shares and retain their leadership for longer than elsewhere. This is changing significantly, with the opening up of the economy and the enormous increase in competition. But it is still true that once a brand gains the trust of the Indian consumer, it becomes difficult to dislodge without a competitive offer that is dramatically better on the value proposition. On this count, many Indian Superbrands are giving international Superbrands a tough time here. So in India trust and value is what success in branding is all about.

There are brands and then there are brands. At the pinnacle of the brand pyramid lie a few superbrands. Brands which inspire trust, belonging, identification, nostalgia. Brands which go beyond mere utility and strike a chord deep within the consumer to become one with her. Superman is not just a comic book character; he exemplifies every child’s innermost fantasy: to be able to fly.
The successes of superbrands don’t lie in fulfilling the traditional functions of the category they belong to. Hollywood has and will continue to produce scores of sci-fi movies. But there will only be one Star Wars and one ET. Because at the heart of these films, they don’t merely satiate the desire to see the universe beyond our grasp, they represent enduring friendship, hope, oneliness, courage, fear, truth. Closer to home, the Bachchan phenomenon is no longer just a fan following or the angry young man. Amitabh Bachchan, with his aura intact, has endured the whole gamut of experiences that make up life. AB, the superbrand, has turned his consumers (audiences) into advocates – enthusiastic, unpaid “salespeople” to influence the world around him and further increase his sphere of influence.

If you observe many of the world's most powerful brands, you will realise that apart from emphasis on top quality most of these brands have spent a great deal of time putting personality into their brands. For instance, when one thinks of Mercedes Benz, It’s not just another quality car but one that reflects class and is considered a status symbol all over the world. For any brand to become a Superbrand, it needs to identify the attributes that define its personality. Like in human relationships, when the brand grows, it is the emotional dimension that tends to become dominant. And brand personalities give consumers the emotional reason to develop that long-term relationship.
A case in point is Raymond, which has personified ‘the complete man’ with attributes of Excellence, Quality and Leadership over the years, to develop a lasting relationship with the consumer. Quality and innovation take a brand leagues ahead of the competition; however, it’s the emotional experience of the brand that facilitates trust and loyalty. And
through this consistent nurturing of the brand - consumer relationship a Superbrand evolves.

Imagine a day without one’s favourite brand of toothpaste, coffee, newspaper or television channel and one realises that these are not merely brands but ingrained habits. These brands transcend rational behaviour as they have become part of our collective consciousness.Welcome to the world of Superbrands: the new superstars of the marketing world. Anchored in powerful consumer insights, these brands go beyond mere functional promises as they trigger deeply embedded emotional chords. At its soul is a clear vision and an inspiring mission which sets the road map for its exciting journey.
Superbrands are Big Ideas. Big Ideas which create an enticing world by constantly redefining our sense of identity thereby transforming us into interesting people.They provoke us to explore the realms of our dreams and inspire us to live life king size.Thus they become an indispensable part of our lives. Superbrands exist to delight consumers. In fact the Superbrands that thrive in India are the ones that wear the consumers’ shoes every waking moment. They forge strong relationships by being relevant, consistent and persistent.

The Indian sage, Vatsyayana, author of the famous Kama Sutra, best explains the definition of a Superbrand and its relationship with consumers. He says, “The enjoyment of appropriate objects by the senses of hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling, assisted by the mind together with the soul is called Kama.” I believe this is at the core of any superbrand’s promise. A Superbrand enjoys an on-going relationship with its consumers as described by this wise sage: “Kama Sutra is the entire relationship between a man and woman (read “brand” and “consumer”), at the heart of which lies that coming together, which is not just physical but emotional and spiritual.” Basically, it bonds at both, a physical and emotional level.
Superbrands to me have intuitive intelligence. They have the ability to invent and re-invent the category whilst romancing their consumers and continuously creating that all-important emotional surplus.

An Indian Superbrand...
What does it take to create a Superbrand in India? I would think these are the essentials: First, truly understand who exactly the brand is meant for. One size fits all rarely works in a country like ours. Then tailor your product and your communication for them and for them alone.
Cut across the country and see the millions of different ways your brand is being used, and the millions of uses that it is being put to. So that when you are communicating to them, you will not simply adapt theories and creative ideas from the West and wonder why they are not working here.
And make sure that you are delivering value, every step of the way. There is hardly an Indian consumer who is not conscious of value.
And then do it consistently, day in day out. Not an easy task by any means!
But then, that’s why there are millions of brands in the country and only 101 Superbrands in this book.

“A brand that captures your mind, gains behaviour. A brand that captures your heart, gains commitment.”
Superbrands make profound consumer connections. They are all about key insights into the way people lead their lives and about providing unique solutions to making lives better. They are about a loyal consumer base, demonstrating unflinching commitment to the brand.
Superbrands are everlasting.They evolve with the changing consumer, and often reflect and catalyse societal change. This is not fortuitous, as these brands constantly innovate to stay in-line with emerging trends.They nourish the perceived difference that has made them great in the market place. Superbrands are wealth generators. Their market value exceeds their book value several times.
Almost half the market value of Fortune 500 companies is tied up in intangibles – the consumer valuation of their brands.
Microsoft, IBM, Pepsi, Nirma and Wills are living illustrations of Superbrands. This book, I am sure, will provide illumination to many more….

Staying power is perhaps the first pre-requisite for a brand to be termed a Superbrand. Staying power that enables a brand to be relevant, refreshing and endearing to its users who keep changing over the years. A Superbrand has the ability to withstand seduction of new brands that offer price cuts or tout innovation. Though a Superbrand is largely associated with its original manifestation, it must have the ability to lend its success to other related products or services. A Superbrand should be able to attract the respect and awe of not only its users but also those who are exposed to it.

Successful brands are definitely well managed brands, but creating ‘Superbrands’ and retaining that status requires that the brand custodians make that leap from brand management to brand leadership. While brands today are unequivocally recognised as the corporate world’s most precious asset, the creation of Superbrands still remains in the domain of part science, part inspiration and part judgement. In today’s competitive markets, while it may be relatively easier for an organisation to match the latest technology of its competitors, the strength of the brand can provide that truly long term competitive advantage – simply because you cannot write down the formula to create a superbrand, the way you can do to develop technology.
Yet after looking at Superbrands across diverse categories, there seem to be some common thumbrules that their creators have followed: clarity and consistency, an organisation that ensures an edge in business technology, distribution and supply chain. Superbrands offer consistent quality and always remain relevant for the consumer. Finally successful brands always project leadership.

What makes a Superbrand?
Over the years, the Indian marketplace has been witness to the emergence of a wide variety of Superbrands. Many have followed the ‘standard rules’ of becoming a Superbrand: great product, great marketing including great advertising, consistent application of adequate resources and imaginative and consistent commitment to promoting and enhancing core brand values. Others, however, have been maverick Superbrands breaking almost all the rules except the most important one of bonding with consumers. One of the most successful brands, Nirma, offered a value-for-money proposition reaching out to attract new consumer segments for whom a packaged, branded and widely advertised affordable washing powder was a distant dream.The key element that made the difference: high profile ‘quality’ advertising. A number of other local players have mastered this art of creating Superbrands using various elements of the marketing mix to sneak up and capture consumer mindshare and sales market share.