Brand success evaluation in selected personal care products

Abstract

Academics as well as practitioners offer opinions about brand success. For instance it is felt that Lifebuoy is a success while Crowning Glory is a failure. It is easy to identify success and failure in the above cases because Lifebuoy sells more than a lakh tons while Crowning Glory is not stocked in retail outlets. However there are instances where it is not easy to form a view on success or failure. Some brands continue with a minimal share in the market. Others do not build volume initially but grow to considerable size later. Some remain small but profitable niche brands. This brings us to the question MWhat is brand success?" To answer this question a six-year study was conducted on brand success in selected personal care products. 73 brands were chosen from four product categories in the Indian market namely shampoos, talcum powders, toilet soaps and tooth pastes. The study was conducted in 4 stages. In each stage the hypotheses about brands are refined for the subsequent stage. The fourth and final stage consisted of testing a hypothesis on brand success for each brand. In all 215 experts have been contacted of which 157 responded.