Nokia Brand Equity Analysis

Nokia Brand Equity Analysis

PBM

2012

IILM for Higher Education

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the course Product and Brand Management

Submitted to: Monica Mor Submitted by: Pallavi Gogoi (PG20102228), Rishi Raj Bora (PG20102297)
1

Nokia Brand Equity Analysis

OBJECTIVE
The main objective of the analysis is to find out brand equity of the customer towards Nokia by using different branding tools like customer based brand equity pyramids and brand equity measurement. The analysis mainly focus on sustainability of Nokia as a brand in the volatile market of mobile brands with competing brands like I phone ,Samsung and change in technologies like androids and customer preferences, perception and trend towards the Brand. Factors like Brand loyalty, trend settings, personality perception, pricing are some of the key factors which plays vital role in influencing the Brand image. Through this few keys we are trying to understand the Brand management of Nokia in the whole analysis. The analysis lays emphasis upon what strategies can they stick to? Which group should the brand concentrates like demographic factor of age class? Where and When should create brand penetration to market for reigning as a market leader

Nokia Brand Equity Analysis

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Nokia as a brand in India has created its unique presence in the minds of Indian customers for its utility and durability. But it is also facing threats in technological advancement of competitor brands like androids of Samsung (eg wave 2 and X6 of Nokia).Other major challenge is to regular innovation of features to stop customer from diverting from Nokia brands to other brand. The fear of being obsolete can be a major hindrance to competitive Brands like Nokia. As per capita income has increased the standard of living has increased and more of youthful population trends keep changing the crowd is ready to experience blooming brands like blackberry, Iphone to suit the personalities and other uses like business. Nokia has the advantage that its products are handy in use and durable therefore majority of population still prefer Nokia Brand. But in current year these features are not enough to create brand image as number of competitors in mobile are arising in Indian market with similar features at fast rate. Therefore create positioning among customer .Perception about the Brand Nokia is that it is low cost provider so many brand conscious people may not desire Nokia as first preference to suit the personality which is one disadvantage for the brand. Blackberries are considered status symbol and Nokia as common people phone is most common saying.Nokia as a brand should remain sticking to younger population through various promotional activities depicting youth activities with the brand. The project report in the subsequent pages outlines some of the ways through which Nokia can accomplish this. Nokia has to keep a good handle on the pulse of the market and its B2B customers and end users. It must build its brand around its core competency of brand differentiation and technological leadership. Nokia also needs to bring new products to market, and, as the market is showing signs of saturation, shift its focus onto the replacement market. Finally, by forming strategic alliances with various stakeholders (viz. operators, consumers, scientist, developers and research community, government and communities), Nokia can ensure maximizing its brand awareness and brand image to the end- user. As long as Nokia is open to reworking its branding strategies, it stands a good chance of remaining the dominant player in the handset market and perhaps can regain and consolidate its lost glory in terms of high brand equity valuation.

Nokia Brand Equity Analysis METHODOLOGY: We have referred to secondary data provided by Nokia through internet research. Several concepts were taken from the book Product Brand Management R.Lehman and KLK.The data information are diagonised as per the brand equity analysis.The following are the steps1) Collecting through secondary data like internet sources 2) Compiling and brief discussion towards the datas for correct outcome 3) Diagonasis and Analysis of the data information 4) Conclusion and Recommendation

INTRODUCTION: NOKIA INDIA Nokia as a brand needs no specific introduction in India as People are highly aware of the Brand in India Nokia has played a pioneering role in the growth of cellular technology in India. Nokia started its Indian operations in 1995 and presently operates its offices in five main cities namely, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Ahmadabad. Its Indian operations include handsets and network infrastructure business in which Nokia Siemens (Nokia merged its telecom network operations with Siemens. They also agreed to merge their equipment division into a joint company) has made a significant progress in realizing business opportunities and increasing market share. The Nokia Siemens Network is a key supplier to all the top GSM operators including Bharti, BSNL, Vodafone, IDEA, BPL. Since then the Nokia brand has been steadily growing and has gained wide acceptance in the Indian market. India is the third largest market for Nokia, in terms of its net sales as of 2006. It is the most trusted brand in India and leads other cellular phone brands in terms of market share, advertising and customer service.The market share is 54.21% as per 2009 year data. Besides, Nokia was the market leader in mobile communication devices in India. The company has been carrying out sales & marketing, customer care and research & development activities in the country. Nokia considers India to be one of its most important markets. The

Nokia Brand Equity Analysis company's Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) facility is located in Mumbai and provides software and technical support to CDMA consumers in India and other Asia Pacific countries. In 2004, Nokia was chosen as the most respected consumer durables company' by Business world. The magazine wrote, This Finnish Companys debut at the top of the heap says two things. In 2005, Nokia was recognized as the Brand of the Year' by the Confederation of Indian Industry, India's apex industry association. The company was chosen for this award because of its high brand recall, well established distribution channels and being 'most preferred' by the consumers. A survey on consumer awareness was conducted by The Environment Protection and Consumer Rights Organization (ECOCON), a student body of Symbiosis Societys Law College. The survey has acted an effective tool in their attempt to understand the mind of the consumer. In the cellular phone handset category, Nokia is clearly the most preferred brand. The other comparing brands were nowhere in the foray, not even touching a double-digit figure.

Nokia Brand Equity Analysis BRAND RELATED ISSUES:

"Increasingly, smartphones will drive market growth. This means feature phone makers will either need to become smartphone dependent or consolidate that part of the market." That statement, from Kevin Restivo, IDC senior research analyst, describes the outlook for the global handset market in 2011. If he's right, and by every indication he is, Nokia will likely lose more market share during the Windows Phone transition. Perhaps more than Gartner and IDCalready have forecast. Nokia's dominance is driven by sales of feature handset and dumb phones, particularly in emerging markets. But those same markets have started adopting smartphones at brisk pace, according to IDC. The handset manufacturer's core problem is threefold: 1. Nokia doesn't have a compelling smartphone to offer customers. This week it outsourced Symbian to Accenture ahead of the transition to Windows Phone. Any Nokia smartphone running Symbian is end of life. Same can be said of any other Nokia handsets. 2. Nokia doesn't plan to release new smartphones, running Windows Phone, until 2012. At this rate, the end of the world forecast by the Mayans could come first. 3. Apple, Samsung and other handset manufacturers sell compelling smartphones now, which will gobble up Nokia market share throughout the remainder of the year.

Nokia Brand Equity Analysis That's my assessment, by the way, not IDC's, based on information the analyst firm made public today. "Feature phones have represented the majority of mobile phone shipments, but still are under tremendous pressure from smartphones," Ramon Llamas, IDC senior research analyst, said in a statement. "Even popular quick-messaging devices (phones with a QWERTY keyboard), once a bright spot within the feature phone market, appear to be losing steam as smartphones gain popularity." But he qualifies: "IDC does not expect feature phones to disappear quickly as there is still strong demand across the globe." Perhaps, but smartphones are driving handset sales in growth markets, by IDC's acknowledgement. The analyst firm described smartphone sales to China as "exceptional," for example. In December 2009, Nokia announced plans to cut smartphone production by half for 2010. In retrospect, it was a stupid retreat. Handset shipments -- for all categories, not just smartphones -- rose 19.8 percent year over year during first calendar quarter, according to IDC. Shipments reached 371.8 million units, up from 310.5 million units a year earlier. Nokia shipped slightly more units year over year -108.5 million up from 107.8 million. But the handset manufacturer bled market share (again), falling to 29.2 percent from 34.7 percent a year earlier. Meanwhile, year over year growth was 114.9 percent for fourth-ranked Apple and 45.2 percent for ZTE, which captured the No. 5 position. The manufacturers had 5 percent 4.1 percent market share, respectively. ZTE and other Chinese handset makers, some of them white label, represent a different competitive threat -- and not just for Nokia. Some of these companies are bringing innovative -- often based on imitative -- smartphone designs to market with features not available from major brand manufacturers. Dual-SIM card support is one of the more common capabilities. Nokia's first major dual-SIM model, the C2, is a feature phone, not smartphone. Nokia has a tough transition ahead. This week, the company started to move out 7,000 employees -- 3,000 transferred to Accenture, while the remainder will be laid off. The handset manufacturer is gutting its research and development operations, in favor of supporting development from Microsoft. As a former Nokia fan, the transition under way is painful to watch -- and its outcome is still uncertain. But from the vantage point today, the outlook is grim. 7

Nokia Brand Equity Analysis NOKIA AS A BRAND: Brand elements: Nokia has is customer centric and service centres like Nokia priority is for customer mobile problem removal / upgradation and Nokia Care is for brand awareness and launches of new models of Nokia. To retain the customers Nokia has gone creation of strategies like schemes of recycle with new phone to attract concerns towards environment. Strategy is to continuous innovative and productive features to create Brand identity.

NOKIA LOGO:

Nokia Corporation has been in the telecommunications business since the 1960s and has become a global leader of the industry. The Nokia logo, like the company, is synonymous with mobile technology, high-tech gadgets and new ways to communicate and explore. The Nokia logo consists of a very burly slogan that gives the brand a truly strong position in the telecommunication industry. The slogan cleverly expresses the companys mission, which is to connect people without barrier and distance. This has made the Nokia logo stand out from the rest. So when it came to designing their logo, Nokia Co. made every effort to make its logo represent the companys mission. And thus, the infamous Nokia Connecting People logo came into being. Nokia slogan 'Nokia' one the world's most valuable brand has distinct personality. The slogans We call this human technology', 'only Nokia human technology enables you to get more out of life' and 'connecting people' emphasize human side of technology, thereby resulting in brand personality of trusted friend.

Nokia Brand Equity Analysis There is a perfect image of two people almost joining hands with each other on the Nokia logo. The image has given a proper support to the logo and has brilliantly complimented the companys mission and the slogan. Nokia ringtone: Nokia has a unique ringtone which is in every phone. Nokia mobile ringtone is default in its handsets and most often it is the ringtone liked by Nokia users. Anyone can identify Nokia by just listening to its ringtone. Nokia website: Nokia website www.nokia.com is also a brand element associated Nokia. In this portal we can find information regarding new handset as well upcoming models. We can download ringtones, themes, games etc. Personality / image: Nokia was named the 5th Best Global Brand in 2007 and has been one of the 10 best global brands for almost a decade.

Nokia focused on building customer, relationship and trust. Building friendship and trust is the heart Nokia brand. Logo shows their brand personality.

As the focus is on customer relationships, the Nokia personality is like a trusted friend. Building friendship and trust is at the heart of the Nokia brand. And the human dimension created by the brand personality carries over into the positioning strategy for the brand. A powerful brand: Undoubtedly, Nokia is a powerful player in the mobile telecommunication industry. Its mobile phones and gadgets have been infiltrated globally in mobile markets and are the customers favorite. Apart from being celebrated for its mobile phones, Nokia Co. also offers its customer other corporate functions which include multimedia devices and applications, enterprise solutions and network services. This further makes the Nokia logo a common household icon.

Nokia Brand Equity Analysis

NOKIA BRAND EQUITY 1. Brand Awareness: Nokia need no introduction. Everyone in India is well aware about name Nokia. Nokia is a brand name which is alternate name for mobile. A person may not have knowledge about its all models but definitely knows brand NOKIA. And this is because Nokia is a brand that produces mobile for low, medium and high class and known for its innovative products. And Nokia is also first in giving anything new and Nokia has flooded the market with its verities of handset hence well known brand. So in short in India Mobile mean Nokia and Nokia mean Mobile. 2. Perceived quality: Nokia is known for quality. Nokia always posses grate quality. Nokia design mobile according to Indian. Nokia mobiles are highly resistible to the physical damages and do no brake easily. Nokia is known for its quality phones and it is believed that Nokia provide an economical product for the price paid. 3. Brand associations: Nokia has various things that are associated with brand and connect people to Nokia. 1st is its logo of shaking hand of child and adult which is of Nokia then its ringtone which is No.1 proffered ringtone followed by of Airtel. Nokia advertisement lines like colors of life, Nokia is like air, integral part of life this lines show that how close Nokia is associated with the life. Even Nokia advertisements tell how closely it is associated with our life. 4. Brand loyalty: brand loyalty of Nokia customers is very high. This also becomes clear from ranking of Nokia brand equity. Nokia tops in charts for consecutive 3 years. Nokia provide best quality of product and then its services are unique in nature. This led to satisfied customer and ultimately brand loyal customers. Due to unique products and unique services Nokia is able to increase its brand loyal customers.

10

Nokia Brand Equity Analysis SOURCES OF BRAND EQUITY: 1. Sports: Nokia had been the long term title sponsor for Kolkata Knight Riders. 2. Concerts: Nokia is sponsoring national and international music festivals, in contrast to any others by very unusual place to perform it every time. By using high technology, Nokia is giving maximum away from common and turn to modern and innovative. It gives such an atmosphere that everybody will remember. 3. Nokia responsibilities toward environment: As one of the major supporters of the Mobile Muster, Nokia urges it customers to recycle any old phones they have and the industry will plant a new tree for each phone handed in. The Mobile Muster is the official recycling program of the mobile phone industry. 4. Nokia responsibility toward society: when Nokia come to know the defects in its batteries Nokia replaced them all this show the care that Nokia has for its customers. This creates a powerful impact on Nokia handset users and creates a long lasting effect on users clearly shown from its brand equity rankings of 2008, 2009 & 2010. In these three years Nokia top in brand equity rankings and remain No.1 trusted brand of India. 5. Nokia Care and Priority Dealers: these are also the source of brand equity. Nokia care has largest network in India of service centers which provides best service. If any phone takes more than 3 days to repair it give a handset to use till the time the handset is not repaired. By this customer are becoming loyal to this brand hence increasing brand equity. Also Nokia Priority Dealer help customer to provide song and software according to customer needs. So customer is getting more than just a phone. 6. Nokia website and advertisement: Nokia keep on changing its website layout for its customers. Nokia provides software, games, themes, wallpapers, ringtones etc. on its site for free. Due to this users can download the new softwares and can keep themselves update. Due to this service also customers are more attached to this brand. And Nokia keep on advertisement on all famous sites visited by Indians and keep on displaying their adds for latest phone.

11

Nokia Brand Equity Analysis NOKIA CRISIS MANAGEMENT MODE OVER FACULTY BL-5C BATTERIES: On August 13, 2007, Nokia issued a warning over BL-5C batteries across the globe, stating that these batteries may get overheated while charging. It said that about 100 such incidents of overheating had been reported globally but there are no reports of the batteries being associated with any serious injuries or damage to property. A product defect related to BL-5C batteries used in many Nokia mobile phones has put Nokia in crisis management mode. The company tried to prevent any consumer confusion arising out of its product advisory with respect to the batteries. It offered to replace all the affected BL5C batteries manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006. Thereby it succeeded in maintaining its brand equity by responding in the right way in crisis situation. They had replaced the batteries through callbacks by Nokia priority centres and call support centres. Fast responses to complaints and customer centric satisfaction is basis of Nokia Brand value.

12

Nokia Brand Equity Analysis BRAND EQUITY MEASUREMENT Brand equity measurement is done on the basis of price based, market based and customer based. Nokia as a brand is affordable so majority of population can afford it but its not in category of offset brand.As per market based the brand had set many market competitive strategies to forgo the odds of compititon and set out a trend of affordable mobiles with maximum features. Customer based is in relation of brand towards every kind of customers as whole within demography, social ,cultural, financial,economicaletc.

CUSTOMER BASED BRAND EQUITY PYRAMID OF NOKIA BRAND

Sub dimensions of CBBE of Nokia Brand1) Resonance- Many rural area people shows loyalty towards Nokia as a brand due to compatible user interface and price factor but in urban area the tendency is less towards Nokia comparatively as variety and choices are more. So the Urban population may shift with preferences.

13

Nokia Brand Equity Analysis 2) Judgements- Nokia Brands undoubtly never compromise with quality of product and services. To create customer satisfaction they leave upto expectation by maintaining the quality and credibility. Superiority comes with quality of product. The BL 5c batteries (above) case is an wonderful example of judgment about Nokia. 3) Feelings-Many individual find it a brand attach to their sentiments due to durability and their first phone except Motorola and Sony Ericsson. Nokia brand is socially welcomed (households and business).The various forms like qwerty pad, touch screen key pad mobile give a satisfaction to those who cannot afford high price mobile with same features. Sense of belongingness is always related to Nokia since two generation has already used Nokia. 4) Performance-Indian population are particular about pricing and self life. Nokia Brand has created product reliability, after self services, easy to operate,bold design and low cost provider.It has been successful in performance attribute with Indian customer.Nokia Priority gives information and after services. 5) Imagery-Those who havent used Nokia still finds Nokia as a desirable brand. They conceive the brand as a competing and reliable. The History of Nokia as a brand in India creates a great impact in the mind of customers. It is doing phenomenally doing well in Indian market to create a psychological attraction towards brand. Ethics and Values are one of the component of Nokia as brand. 6) Salience-Nokia has to be greatly encourage in android development with simbian operating systems as the future is of android.T he features, applications tabs like OVI of Nokia is a good initiation for Nokia brand differentiation.

14

Nokia Brand Equity Analysis KEY ISSUES IN BRAND VALUATION

The main keys taken in Brand Valuations are1) Competitive pricing 2) Competitions with other Giants like Blackberry and I phone 3) Trend like personality suiting and variety of choices of demography-age as two generations . 4) Technological changes and innovations. 5) Quality and ethical values of brand like recycling etc

15

Nokia Brand Equity Analysis RECOMMENDATIONS 1) Nokia can use more of expert knowledge of creating Brand Equity through Outsourcing Companies. Promotional activities, Public relation, CRMs can be supported through expertise out sourcing. 2) Tie ups with well known operators can bring improvement in Brand value and also increase the brand value. Eg Airtel and Blackberry collaboration in India is creating a buzz in the market. 3) merger and acquisition can reduce competition to certain extent and.While acquiring Brand equity of aquire company should be taken into mind. 4) More variety in operating software of the brand and continuous innovations by adding new features. Upgrading technologies and avoiding obsolence has to be taken care of. 5) Developing a full fledge market influence by taking advantage of its current market share .

REFERENCES: - www.Nokia.com - www.Moneycontrol.com - HTnews - R.Lehmann and Keller books

*****************

16