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MUMBAI: CNBC AWAAZ Consumer Awards 2009 was held in Mumbai today to felicitate India‘s most preferred brands. The award ceremony, presented in association with ICICI Bank was presided over by esteemed luminaries like Digvijay Singh - General Secretary, All India Congress Committee, Chanda Kochhar - MD & CEO, ICICI Bank, Nitin Paranjpee - MD & CEO, Hindustan Unilever and O P Bhat - Chairman, State Bank of India.
Leading research organisation, The Nielsen Company conducted the research across 12 cities spanning 11 states in India, a total of 2066 consumers were approached covering all strata of society, presenting a comprehensive analysis of consumer preferences. The research was conducted via the random sampling method to ensure proper representation of the universe in the North, East, Central, West and South zones of the country.
The precursor to the award ceremony was a panel discussion hosted by Mr. Sanjay Pugalia to understand today‘s consumer trends. Mr. Digvijay Singh, General Secretary, All India Congress Committee commented on the significance of rural India in the consumer market. To explain the consumer scenario, Mr. Singh cited a Chinese adage, ‘Don‘t give them fish but give them the skill to fish‘, which explains the crying need to educate consumers rather than forcing them towards the products. He reiterated how the Congress, since the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru era, has always focused on the agricultural community which, even though, has been perceived as weak, has proved to be India‘s economic growth driver in today‘s scenario. Ms. Chanda Kochhar, MD and CEO, ICICI Bank brought to light the responsible and balanced approach of the Indian regulatory environment that has helped significantly in maintaining debt at a manageable level. Mr. Nitin Paranjape, MD & CEO, HUL mentioned that the FMCG sector has not been hit despite the slowdown. He also advised that the companies should not compromise on quality to save costs. Ad Guru Piyush Pandey stressed the importance of going down to the grass-root level to understand the exact needs of the consumers.
As per the research conducted for the awards, the consumer continues to be the ‘king‘ despite the economic slowdown. He is empowered not only with monetary purchasing power but also with a variety of choices at his disposal that keep increasing year on year. In order to simplify the decision process for prospective consumers and honour the achievement of brands that have made it big, ICICI Bank presented CNBC AWAAZ Consumer Awards 2009.
Commenting on the CNBC AWAAZ Consumer Awards, Mr. Neel Chowdhury, Vice President, Marketing CNBC-TV18 and CNBC AWAAZ said: "Over the years, CNBC AWAAZ- Consumer Awards have proven to be the unequivocal voice of the consumers. The awards, fifth year in running will salute those brands that millions of Indians have chosen to buy, experience and own."
Consumers today are well - informed of the choices available to them in the market hence brand building has become much more vital and competitive. Brands are evolving everyday and trying different avenues to cater to the changing preference of today‘s consumer. Keeping in mind the current Indian scenario, CNBC AWAAZ has arrived at a list of the "Most preferred Brands" (as perceived by the end-consumer) for each of the product categories covered in this study. Financial Services, FMCG, Consumer Durables, Telecom, Automobiles, Retail are the categories that the research covered.
