MARKETING SPECIAL...Water Brands: Not Just About Taste

Water Brands ...Not Just About Taste

India has come a long way since the days when buying bottled water was considered a wasteful luxury; today, the bottled water industry stands at . 8,000 crores and is projected to grow by 25% by 2014. Given our huge population and growing pressures on urban infrastructure, this industry shall only grow further in the years to come. Moreover, the entry of new players in the industry has expanded the category beyond just bottled water to packaged water, natural mineral water, and fortified water—whatever to suit your palate. But is there a trend to be uncovered or is it all a matter of taste? To explore this question, we can look at the Brand Asset Valuator (BAV)®, a proprietary brand diagnostic tool from Rediffusion-Y&R.

Not surprisingly, the BAV shows us that Bisleri is the leader in the category. Indeed, Bisleri has become synonymous with “bottled water,” and is placed high in the commitment space, a long way ahead of its nearest competitor Himalayan.

This is interesting also because Himalayan is a relative new comer and a more expensive brand. Kinley from Coca Cola comes in fairly below the other two in the Commitment quadrant. Aquafina, one of the market leaders, is placed in the Fatigue quadrant, implying that while it has successfully built some regard (Esteem) and saliency (Knowledge) around the brand, Aquafina has failed to maintain a reason to stand out (Differentiation) and be relevant to the consumer.

    Bailey’s from Parle-Agro has generated intrigue and curiosity around itself and it remains to be seen if the brand can be counted amongst the market leaders in the near future. Tata Water Plus launched a new product, fortified water in this category; it is yet to build sufficient differentiation and relevance with the consumers. Note also how these relative positions impact the preference for these brands. As illustrated in the Preference & Loyalty graph, Bisleri is the clear leader in Brand Preference. Which means, given a choice, people are more likely to pick up a bottle of Bisleri than any other brand. In fact, its Preference numbers are twice those of its nearest competitor Kinley. The BAV also reveals that Bisleri enjoys the highest commitment and loyalty in this category. The other brands have not yet managed to position themselves within the preference array for the consumer. Therefore, how would a brand like Aquafina, for example, change this situation and become a preferred brand of choice?

The answer, obviously, is not straightforward; however, it can be useful to begin with an examination of a brand’s imagery. Brands are complex amalgamations of both projected and understood imagery. By sifting through the 48 imagery metrics that the BAV throws up, we can examine the key imagery attributes associated with Preference in the bottled water category and draw up some preliminary conclusions.

Comparing the metrics of “trustworthy” and “reliable” across each of the brands, we see that Bisleri enjoys significantly higher levels of trust. Aquafina scores far behind Bisleri, after Kinley and Himalayan. A brand cannot build esteem without generating trust, which in turn leads to greater regard and loyalty. There are multiple routes to building trust with consumers, for example, by communicating purity of content (Kinley, Aquafina), focusing on the source of the water (Himalayan), or the beneficial effects of its composition (Tata Water Plus). The key is to identify and communicate the right narrative on trust that also fits well with the brand’s identity, which may help it succeed in the marketplace.TPI 121228