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Project No.: 2 (Part 1) BRAND TRACKER A report submitted to Prof. S. Govindrajan In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the course Product and Brand Management On 20 th August 2009 By Atul Saboo Sourabh Dhariwal Tarun Daga Uma Balakrishnan 1

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Page 1: Frito Lay's Brand Tracker

Project No.: 2 (Part 1)

BRAND TRACKER

A report

submitted to

Prof. S. Govindrajan

In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the course

Product and Brand Management

On 20th August 2009

By

Atul Saboo

Sourabh Dhariwal

Tarun Daga

Uma Balakrishnan

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...........................................................................................................................3

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL......................................................................................................................4

LAY’S OVER THE YEARS..........................................................................................................................5

CONSUMER SURVEY..............................................................................................................................8

QUESTIONNAIRE..................................................................................................................................11

VARIABLES STUDIED IN QUESTIONNAIRE............................................................................................14

RESULTS AND FINDINGS......................................................................................................................16

NET TAKEAWAY...................................................................................................................................27

BIBLIOGRAPHY.....................................................................................................................................30

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This study focuses on the study of the brand Lay’s Chips. We traced the brand from its inception to its current position in India. The BAV model was used to find out Brand Strength and Brand Stature of Lay’s, in comparison with the competitors. A questionnaire methodology was followed with a sample size of 40. Responses were evaluated on the basis of the four pillars of the BAV model. Lay’s was found to have the highest scores on all four factors. It emerged as the leader among snack food brands like Uncle Chipps’, Kurkure, Pringles and Bingo.

We also used the Reynold and Gutman’s Laddering method. 8 individual personal interviews were conducted. Means-End chains were explored for this segment. This method was considered the most appropriate because it would aid in revealing consumers’ cognitive structure related to purchase and consumption of chips. The objective of the study is to understand how the consumers relate a distinctive attribute of chips to obtaining higher values in life.

Results revealed that values attained by the consumption of chips are primarily Positivity, Self-Control, Independence, Accomplishment and Belongingness. The consequences preceding the values were saving time, socializing, experimentation, limiting the waste of food, feel fresh, change from the regular monotonous food habits etc. these were derived from attributes of chips, both abstract and concrete.

The study helped us understand the patterns behind purchase of chips and what psychosocial benefits one derives from them. Also, it helped track where Lay’s stood in the eyes of consumers.

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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

Praxis Business School

20 August 2009

To Prof. S Govindrajan

From Atul Saboo

Sourabh Dhariwal

Tarun Daga

Uma Balakrishnan

Subject: Brand Tracker- Lay’s

Dear Prof. S. Govindrajan,

We are enclosing a report which involves an analysis of the brand Lay’s. We have discussed the evolution of the brand and consumer perceptions regarding the brand Lay’s and its competitors. Through two models, BAV and Laddering, we have also analyzed the brand’s image.

Regards,

UMA BALAKRISHNAN

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LAY’S OVER THE YEARSINCEPTION

1932- Herman W. Lay started a snack food operation in Tenessee

1938 – Herman Lay buys a potato chip manufacturer, naming it “HW Lay and Company”

1944- It was shortened to “The Lay’s Company”.

It was the first snack company to launch TV advertisements with lines like “So crisp you can hear the freshness” and “de-Lay-cious”.

1961- It merged with the Frito Company to form the Frito-Lay Inc.

1965- The company became a part of PepsiCo and is now its food division.

1993- FritoLay comes to India, launching Lay’s under the name of Ruffles Lay’s

It has various brands under this division, from potato chips and cereals to baked snacks and dips and salsas.

THE INDIAN SNACK FOOD MARKET

A snack is usually described as a small quantity of food eaten between meals or in place of a meal. Snacks are considered a part of Consumer Convenience/ Packaged Foods segment. Snack food generally comprises bakery products, ready-to-eat mixes, chips, namkeen and other light processed foods.

In India, snacking options come aplenty, be it fried snacks like samosas and pakode or chaklis, murhi and the like. Regional specialties and delicacies add to the flavor of such variety. These are items mostly prepared at home, especially during festivals or when one has guests at home in the evening. But the tastes and needs of the Indian market have changed over the past decade. Due to the large number of expanding nuclear families and the number of female professionals, India has witnessed a significant rise in the demand for ready-to-eat snacks. In India, though there is no particular time for snacks, normally they are consumed at teatime. The branded segment is growing at around 25% per annum. This is due to various reasons like the growth of multiplex-goers and people snacking at home.

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According to the ministry of food processing, the snack food industry is worth Rs 100 billion in value and over 4,00,000 tonnes in terms of volume. The branded snacks are sold at least 25% higher than the unbranded products.

Apart from traditional "unbranded" snacks, Indian consumers today have a variety of "branded" savories to choose from. While FritoLay dominates the branded snacks market with its Kurkure and Lays’ brands, there are a host of other players in the market including local players and unbranded snacks.

LAY’S IN INDIA

Lay’s was first known to India as Ruffles Lay’s. Subsequently known as Lay’s from FritoLay of PepsiCo, it has become the leading brand of snack foods in the country. FritoLay has the various other brands in India, namely:

Lays (potato chips) Cheetos (extruded snacks) Ruffles Uncle Chipps Kurkure Quaker Oats (breakfast cereal)

There are other players like Haldiram’s and newer entrants like Amul’s Munch Time, Parle’s Hippo and ITC’s Bingo, which are scrambling for a share of the snack pie. Yet Frito Lay commands a remarkable market share of 45%, followed by Haldiram’s at 27% and ITC at 16%.

The Frito Company and the Lay’s Company both started separately in 1932 which merged to form FritoLay. In 1944, it became the first snack food manufacturer to purchase airtime for commercials, using a mnemonic called Oscar the happy Potato. In 1963, the company started using another slogan “Betcha Can’t Eat Just One”. In 1965, comedian Bert Lahr began appearing in ads in which he attempted--always unsuccessfully--to eat just one Lay's chip. Annual revenues for Frito-Lay exceeded $180 million by 1965, when the company had more than 8,000 employees and 46 manufacturing plants. 1969 saw the brand go national. During the 1970s, the Lay's brand was challenged not only by more aggressive regional brands but also by such newfangled chips as Pringles and Chipos.

In 1991, Lay’s chips were reformulated to cater to the taste buds of the age, which preferred less salty chips. The sodium content was reduced. Promotions for this new version of the country’s favourite chip were backed by the line “Too Good to Eat just one!” In 1998 Frito-Lay began selling its “Wow!” line of low-fat and no-fat versions of Lay’s and other brands of

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chips under it. They also had intermittent changes in its taglines like “Lay’s. Want some?”. In 2009, Lay’s is planning to promote Lay’s internationally under the tagline “Happiness is Simple” and “Simply Made. Simply Good.” In India, the brand is being marketed by Saif Ali Khan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Others like actors Preity Zinta and Rahul Khanna were also used from time to time. The slogan the Indian arm uses is “Be A Little Dillogical”. This is in keeping with Lay’s efforts to blend with the local market it caters to, be it in Greece, China, India or Lithuaina. The flavours of the brand are also tweaked to suit the local palate.

SAMPLE PROFILE:

BRAND ASSET VALUATOR (BAV) SURVEY:

Number of Respondents: 40

Age: 21-28

Qualification: Post-graduate students

REYNOLDS’ AND GUTMAN’S LADDERING METHOD:

Number of Respondents: 8

Age: 21-28

Qualification: Post-graduate students

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CONSUMER SURVEYTo test our objective of analyzing the brand Lay’s, we have chosen to study it through the following two models:

Brand Asset Valuator (BAV) Model Reynold and Gutman’s Laddering Method

BRAND ASSET VALUATOR (BAV) MODEL:

BAV is a database of consumer perception of brands, created and managed by Brand Asset Consulting, a division of Young & Rubicam Brands. It provides information to enable firms to improve the marketing decision-making process and to manage brands better.

BAV provides comparative measures of the equity value of thousands of brands across hundreds of different categories, as well as a set of strategic brand management tools for planning brand extensions, joint branding ventures, and other strategies designed to maintain and grow brand value. BAV has also been linked to a unique set of financial analytics, which allows determining a brand’s contribution to a company’s intangible value.

There are four key components of brand health in BAV. Each of these is derived from various measures that relate to different aspects of consumers’ brand perceptions and that together trace the progression of a brand’s development. These four components for determining brand value are:

1. Differentiation2. Relevance3. Esteem4. Knowledge

But the disadvantages of this model prevent one from using it in all accuracy. Firstly, the model is proprietary to Young and Rubicam and can be used in entirety only by them. Secondly, the four factors may not be relevant across a wide number of product categories and they tend to remain abstract in nature.

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DIFFERENTIATION

Differentiation is the ability for a brand to be distinguished from its competitors. A brand should be as unique as possible. Brand health is built and maintained by offering a set of differentiating promises to consumers and by delivering those promises to leverage value. Differentiation is a measure of how distinct the consumers perceive a particular brand to be. It is this difference that enables the brands to charge a premium.

RELEVANCE

Relevance is a measure of the actual and perceived importance of the brand to a large consumer market segment. This gauges the personal appropriateness of a brand to consumers and is strongly tied to household penetration. Relevance is simply a measure of how well suited the brand’s offering is to the consumer’s life.

ESTEEM

Esteem is the perceived quality and consumer perceptions about the growing or declining popularity of a brand. Does the brand keep its promises? The consumer’s response to a marketer’s brand building activity is driven by his perception of factors like quality and

popularity. Both vary by country and culture. It is a function of positive brand communication and brand experience. It shows us the regard that the consumer has for the brand.

KNOWLEDGE

Knowledge is the extent of the consumer’s awareness of the brand and understanding its identity. The awareness levels about the brand, and what it means, shows the intimacy that consumers share with the brand. True knowledge of the brand comes through building of the brand.

Together, these factors give us the two major aspects on which a brand is judged. They are brand stature and brand strength.

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BRAND STRENGTH

This is a combination of Differentiation and Relevance. As these pillars are indicators of where the brand is likely to shape out in the future, Brand Strength is a leading Indicator.

BRAND STATURE

This is a combination of Esteem and Knowledge. It gives a sense of the brand’s present and past. Brand stature tends to, over time, mimic brand strength and is thus a lagging indicator.

Brand strength and brand stature are then plotted against each other on a high-low matrix called the Power Grid. The position of the brand on the Power Grid shows the current status of the brand as well as its future potential. The BAV theory can, with this construct, map out the typical life cycle of brands.

APPLICATIONS

It can be used to study:

The health of a brand in comparison to the category health Future direction that a brand is likely to take Key image drivers of the category Specific image and personality perceptions across consumer segments Definition of the problematic, key and future opportunity target audience for the

brand Power brands Brand portfolios Feasibility studies for new markets and segments Positioning / Repositioning exercises Archetypes Understanding target audience landscape The key brand task

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QUESTIONNAIRE1. When you think of snacky food (chips etc.) which 5 brands come to your mind.

a. b. c. d. e.

For the following parameters, please rank each brand in order of how it stands (1 being highest and 5 being the lowest)

CHARACTERISTIC/ BRAND Lay’s Kurkure Bingo Uncle Chipps’

Pringles

2. Crispness/freshness3. Variety4. Quantity in pack5. Taste6. Availability

7. Please mention any 5 advertisements of snacky foods/chips you remember?a.b. c. d. e.

8. Which of the brands do you think is the market leader? Please rank as 1 being the highest and 5 being the lowest.

Lays Kurkure Bingo Uncle Chipps’ Pringles

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9. Please identify which brand each of the following taglines belongs to. You need not confine to only the 5 brands discussed above.

No fun...without desipann Once you pop, you can’t stop So fresh, every munch packs a bigger crunch Har program ka main food No confusion. Great combination Be a little dillogical Khake Mast Bole Mere Lips No one can eat just one

10. Name the brand which you would associate with the following attributes. You can tick more than one brand.

Lay’s Kurkure Bingo Uncle Chipps’

Pringles

CoolClassyImaginativeTrustworthyMischievousAlso pick one of these 5 words which describe you best.

11. Name one brand out of the above you would recommend to others. Why? Lay’s Pringles Bingo Uncle Chipps’ Kurkure

12. Which of the following brands do you feel caters best to the market? Lay’s Pringles Bingo Uncle Chipps’ Kurkure

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13. Identify the logos with their brands.

14. Which of these brands would you like to associate yourself with? Lay’s Pringles Bingo Uncle Chipps’ Kurkure

RESPONDENT DETAILS: Name: Age: Sex:

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VARIABLES STUDIED IN QUESTIONNAIRE

DIFFERENTIATION

In the questionnaire administered, we have five questions which pertain to differentiation. They are Q2, Q3, Q4, Q5 and Q6. These gauge the importance of characteristics of a chip like freshness, taste, variety etc. These factors act as differentiating factors when one purchases a particular brand of chips.

RELEVANCE

We have three questions pertaining to the relevance of the brand in the eyes of the consumer. They are questions 10 and 12. Q10 asks consumers to categorize each brand with personifying adjectives (cool, classy, imaginative, trustworthy and mischievous). Also, they had to choose which adjective describes them the best. We have tried developing a personality-brand fit.

Q13 is about which brands cater to the market’s needs best. This clearly points out if the brand is appropriate to the consumer or not.

ESTEEM

Questions 8, 11, 12 and 15 will reveal the esteem held by the brand Lay’s in the consumers’ eyes. Q8 asks which brand the consumers feel is the market leader. The perception will show us whether people only perceive their favourite brand as market leader. It would show the respect consumers have for Lay’s. Q11 asks which brand they would recommend to others. It would show the trust people place in the brand. Q14 asked which brand the consumers would like to associate themselves with which again reveals if they hold it in high enough regard to be associated with.

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KNOWLEDGE

Questions 1, 7, 9 and 14 are to reveal the amount of knowledge consumers have about brands. Q1 and Q7 clearly test top-of-mind recall for the number of brands in the category one can remember as well as five advertisements of chip brands. Q9 asks consumers to identify taglines to their respective brands. This would show if the mental association between the brand and its taglines/ads is strong or weak. In Q13, we showed them logos of the brands and asked them to identify the brand they belong to.

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RESULTS AND FINDINGS

BRAND ASSET VALUATOR MODEL

Lay’s by far, was unanimously seen to the brand with highest scoring on all four pillars of the BAV model.

DIFFERENTIATION

To calculate the differentiation factor among various brands, we quizzed the respondents on certain attributes related to the product category- snacky packaged foods/chips etc. The question which was asked was-

Q2- Q6. For the following parameters please rank each brand in order of how it stands on a scale of 1-5; 1 being the highest and 5 being the lowest

A. CrispnessB. VarietyC. Quantity in a packet(with respect to the price)D. TasteE. Availability

METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS

To analyse the data, we assigned certain weights to each rank. Rank 1 was given a weightage of 5, rank 2 was given a weightage of 4, rank 3 was given a weightage of 3 and so on. The total number of responses for each rank for a particular brand was multiplied with the respective weightage attached, to derive the total score of that particular brand. Scores for other brands were calculated on the same basis. This analysis was done for all the 5 above mentioned attributes. The score of each attribute of respective brands were added up to derive the final score of each brand. This particular finding is reflected in the graph below.

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The graph above shows that our product ranks 1st on the differentiation factor, followed by Kurkure, Bingo, Uncle Chipps’ and Pringles. Lay’s has been able to differentiate itself due to crispness of its chips, variety, taste and easy availability. However, it doesn’t score well on the basis of the quantity available in a pack. But this shortcoming is well taken care by other differentiators available. Hence, we can conclude that Lay’s is a highly differentiated product compared to its competitors.

Also, since it is a low level-of-involvement (LOI) product priced nominally at Rs. 10-Rs. 20, people do not mind the fact that they are not “getting their money’s worth” from Lay’s. The number of varieties offered by Lay’s has close competition from the offering of FritoLay, Kurkure, while ITC’s Bingo is inching closer to the big two. Lay’s suits the tastes of Indian consumers for something tangy and ‘chatpata’ which plays with their tongue and not their tummy. Not a single respondent felt that Uncle Chipps’ caters best to the market, while Pringles scored just one.

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RELEVANCE

To check if our brand Lay’s is relevant to its consumers we asked the following questions to the respondents-

Q. Name the brand/s with which you would associate the following attributes-

A. CoolB. ClassyC. ImaginativeD. TrustworthyE. Mischievous

Here, after this question we also asked the respondents to name one attribute which they themselves relate to or the one which suits their personality the best. This was done to check what the personality of a respondent is and which brand according to him/her has the same attribute. Hence, this would provide us with the information about the brand which relates best to the consumer.

Q. Which one brand (out of the five mentioned) do you feel caters best to the market.

METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS

In the first question we did not restrict the respondents to choose only one brand for a particular attribute. They were free to choose more than one brand. For the first question, the score was given to the brands which fell under that attribute which the respondent chose for his own personality. Eg. If a respondent chose Classy as an attribute which suits him the best and under classy he/she chose Lay’s and Pringles then both Lay’s and Pringles score one point each. This was the approach followed to derive the scores for this question for all the brands.

For the second question, we asked the respondents which brand they feel caters best to the market. In this, the brands scored simply on the basis of the number of times they were chosen as the brand which caters best to the market.

Both of these scores were then added up to derive the final score of each brand for the relevance factor. The graphical representation for relevance factor is shown below-

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The graph shows that 42% of the respondents relate to Lay’s and even here it comes out to be the No. 1 brand. This is probably because Lay’s has got various varieties to match all taste buds and its positioning, advertisements etc. appeal not just to a certain segment, but to masses. Hence, we can safely conclude that Lay’s is the most relevant brand to the customers under the product category of snacky packaged food/chips. It is followed by Kurkure, Bingo, Uncle Chipps and Pringles.

ESTEEM

To gauge the esteem level of our brand Lay’s we surveyed with the help of the following questions:

Q.1. Which of these brands (out of the five brands mentioned) do you think is the market leader? Rank all the brands on the scale of 1-5; 1 being the highest and 5 being the lowest.

This question was asked to find out the perception of the respondents for each brand. This showed us the perceived stature of each brand in the eyes of the respondents.

Q.2. Name one brand which you would recommend to others.

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It is normal that we recommend the best thing to others. Hence this question was asked to find out that, when it comes to recommending a brand to others, which brand scores the most. Hence, this will inform us which brand is the best in the eyes of the respondents.

Q.3. Which one of these brands (out of the five brands mentioned) you would like to associate yourself with?

This question again was asked to find the perceived stature of all the brands in the eys of the consumers.

METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS

Even here, for the 1st question, to analyse the data we assigned certain weightage to each rank. Rank 1 was given a weightage of 5, rank 2 was given a weightage of 4, rank 3 was given a weightage of 3 and so on. The total number of responses for each rank for a particular brand was multiplied with the respective weightage attached, to derive at the total score of that particular brand. Scores for other brands were calculated on the same basis.

For the 2nd and 3rd questions the score was given to all the brands on the basis of the number of times each brand was chosen by the respondents.

To derive the total score on the esteem factor the scores of all the three questions were added up. The graphical representation of the same is shown below-

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Here, Lay’s once again tops the lot. This clearly indicates that Lay’s enjoy very high brand esteem in the market compared to its competitors. Kurkure, Bingo, Uncle Chipps and Pringles follow Lay’s in the same order.

KNOWLEDGE

To calculate which brand is the most known brand in the market we quizzed the respondents on the following questions:

Q.1 When you think of snacky food/chips which brand comes to your mind? Name five.

Q.2 Please mention any five advertisements of snacky foods/chips which you remember.

Q.3 Please identify which brand each of the taglines belong to. You need not confine to only the mentioned five brands.

Q.4 Match the logos to their brands.

These four questions were asked to find out the top of the mind (TOM) recall for the brands available in the market. Also, to find out if the respondents can recognise the brand logos and if they can remember the advertisements. The brand which scores the best on these parameters can safely be regarded as the brand which has maximum visibility and which is known the most.

METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS

Even here, for the 1st and the 2nd question, to analyse the data we assigned certain weightage to each rank. Rank 1 was given a weightage of 5, rank 2 was given a weightage of 4, rank 3 was given a weightage of 3 and so on. The total number of responses for each rank for a particular brand was multiplied with the respective weightage attached, to derive at the total score of that particular brand. Scores for other brands were calculated on the same basis.

For the 1st and the 2nd question, we assigned certain points on the basis of the brand and advertisement recalls. In the 1st question the brand which was recalled 1st was given a weightage of 5, second brand recalled was given a weightage of 4 and so on. Hence we found out which brand was recalled 1st, which was recalled 2nd and so on for all the 5 brands. After this we multiplied the number of recalls with the respective weightage attached to it so as to arrive at the score for each of the brand. In the 2nd question also we followed the similar methodology.

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For the 3rd question we mentioned 9 taglines (there were multiple taglines of same brand also) and asked respondents to identify the brands for each taglines. The number of correct identifications for each brand stood as the score for each brand. Same was the approach for the 4th question where the respondents were asked to identify the logos of different brands. One thing which needs to be pointed out here is that in the 3rd question, as there were multiple taglines for 3 brands, to arrive at the correct identifications and thus to arrive at the score for each brand, we took the average for those brands. Eg. There were 2 taglines for Uncle Chipps, one of the taglines was identified by 32 respondents out of 40 and the other was identified by 6 respondents out of 40. So to estimate the number of correct identifications, we took the average of correct identifications for each tagline. Hence, the correct identifications for Uncle Chipps stand out to be 19 out of 40 and hence 19 is the score grabbed by Uncle Chipps’.

The graphical representation of the findings for the knowledge factor is shown below-

As shown in the graph Lay’s tops in the knowledge factor as well. Lay’s has high awareness among the respondents and also when asked to recall the brands in the product category, the first top of mind recalls in maximum cases was Lay’s.

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LADDERING TECHNIQUE

The Means-End Theory, with its accompanying laddering research technique, is an integral way to study relationships between consumers and products. It focuses on consumers’ perceived quality about products. It specifies that a consumer’s subjective knowledge about product categories is stored in associative networks or schema, which are organised as means-end chains.

Traditionally, means-end chain data are gathered through a qualitative interviewing technique, called laddering. Laddering refers to an in-depth, one-on-one interviewing technique used to develop an understanding of how consumers translate the attributes of products into meaningful associations with respect to self, following Means-End Theory.

The first part of the interview elicits attributes that are important to the consumer, and the preferences within attributes are established. Then, by subsequently raising questions about why issues are important to the consumer, benefits and values are identified. Laddering is a useful method of eliciting the higher-order benefits and values offered by the brand beyond immediate product-, user- or usage-related attributes. It brings out the importance of elicited associations and the importance of elicited benefits. In other words, attributes convert to consequences which, in turn, bring about value satisfaction.

“Why is that important to you?” is the standard question used, with the express goal of determining sets of linkages between the key perceptual elements across the range of at-tributes (A), consequences (C), and values (V). These association networks, or ladders, referred to as perceptual orientations, represent combinations of elements that serve as the basis for distinguishing between and among products in a given product class.

It is these higher-order knowledge constructs that can be used to process information relative to solving ‘problems’ which, in the consumer context, is represented by choice. Basically, distinctions at the different levels of abstraction, represented by the A-C-Vs, provide the consumer with more personally relevant ways in which products are grouped and categorized. Thus, the detailing and subsequent understanding of these higher level distinctions provides a perspective on how the product information is processed from what could be called a motivational perspective, in that the underlying reasons why an attribute or a consequence is important can be uncovered.

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STEPS FOLLOWED

Step 1: Respondents were asked to describe why they buy a product like Chips. It also detailed the characteristics of Chips that they consume.

Step 2: Once the respondents named a list of characteristics, we asked questions which emphasize the ‘Why’ behind both concrete and abstract attributes.

Step 3: The respondents were probed further to find out what they derive from the characteristics mentioned

Step 4: Based on the preference in the above step, we then asked what importance those feelings elicit in them, in order to arrive at values.

Step 5: For a few further questions, consequences kept leading to other consequences

Step 6: Inquiry was continued by asking ‘Why is it important’ or what in the aspect mentioned appeals to them.

Step 7: This process was continued till values were reached beyond which one cannot proceed

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HIERARCHIAL VALUE MAP

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VALUES

Accomplishment Belonging

IndependencePositivitySelf-Control

CONSEQUENCE

Provides Energy Within BudgetFeel Fresh EnjoymentLimits Wastage

Quality of Ingredients

Experimenting Saves Time

Change from Monotony

Socializing Kills TimeEntertaining

Light/Readymade Snack

PackagedFreshness Variety Attractive design

Quality Low Price Natural

Flavour

Crunchy SoundSmell of Chips ATTRIBUTES

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This method was considered the most appropriate because it would aid in revealing consumers’ cognitive structure related to chips purchase and consumption. The objective of the study is to understand how the consumers relate a distinctive attribute of Chips to obtaining higher values in life. Results revealed that values attained by the consumption of Chips are primarily Positivity, Self-Control, Independence, Accomplishment and belongingness. The consequences preceding the values were saving time, socializing, experimentation, limiting the waste of food, feel fresh, change from the regular monotonous food habits etc.

RESULTSFrom the above we can clearly see that Positivity is the most important value attached to buying Chips as the maximum number of consequences reach this value. Attributes such as smell of chips, freshness and packaged food product lead to a change from monotony. This could mean doing the same activity over a prolonged period and also having the same food over and over again. Different flavours and designs induce the consumer to experiment with the product. Being inexpensive, the product also reduces the cost of trial.Since it is a light snack, it saves us from the trouble of preparing it and is a time saver. It is also consumed primarily to kill time when one does not have much else to do. People also feel that they do not waste chips since he amount itself is limited as compared to homemade or ready food which one tends to waste. Spending Rs. 10 to Rs. 20 on a packet of chips also brought out the consequence of feeling that one is within budget and increasing the likelihood of experimentation. The value derived from this was that of self-control, as well as the feeling of independence and having the power of spending money wisely. One also feels a sense of belonging or fitting in when one socializes ith a bag of chips in their hands. Accomplishment is also derived from having a light and less fattening snack.

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NET TAKEAWAYThe above survey was conducted using the BAV as well as the Laddering method. The BAV was administered to 40 respondents. The findings have been described below:

Lay’s as a brand was consistently ranked high on a large number of parameters. Its crispness, variety and availability were found to be quite strong. Also, it enjoys a significant top-of-mind recall among consumers.

It enjoys a score of 800 on differentiation, as compared to the next best competitor Kurkure scoring 718. Pringles scored the lowest at 446, though very close to Uncle Chipps’ scoring 462.

In terms of relevance also, Lay’s has the highest relevance at a response score of 42. Relevance scores are in the range of 0-50 as compared to scores of the other three pillars whose scores are in the range of hundreds. This is because the questions pertaining to relevance were direct and the number of responses was simply counted. The other questions were ranking questions where weights were assigned to each rank to arrive at an appropriate score. Uncle Chipps’ scored the lowest at 3.

Knowledge also is revealed to be quite high in the case of Lay’s. It scored an astounding 468, where Kurkure which is second to it scores almost 150 points lower at 327. Pringles saw the lowest score of 83.

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Esteem also saw Lay’s ranking the highest at 231 where Kurkure stood at a score of 185. Pringles scored the lowest at 71, in spite of it being a product priced higher than its competitors and positioned as a premium snack.

The ranks assigned to each factor, namely differentiation, relevance, knowledge and esteem, were then converted to percentiles to arrive at brand strength and stature.

When it comes to brand strength (also called brand vitality), Lay’s scored the highest. Kurkure came second while Bingo was third, Uncle Chipps’ and Pringles ranked equally on brand strength. This shows that they are both not differentiated much in spite of dissimilar positioning platforms. Relevance to the Indian palate, which is characterized by spice and variety, is where Pringles scores low while most respondents were of the perception that Uncle Chipps’ is no longer a player in the snack food market.

When it came to brand stature also, similar results were observed. Lay’s ranked on top, followed by Kurkure and Bingo. Here, Uncle Chipps’ was found to have better brand stature than Pringles. Knowledge is quite high for Lay’s, Kurkure and Bingo, especially because they have been introducing new flavours in regular intervals. Uncle Chipps’ was found to have better knowledge and esteem as it is an old and trusted Indian brand. Pringles did not seem to have succeeded in connecting with the Indian consumer. This could also be due to the fact that P&G’s Pringles has minimal advertising in the Indian market and does not invest in promotional activities. The brand also does not tinker with its positioning.

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Page 29: Frito Lay's Brand Tracker

From the graph above, one can clearly see where the five brands stand as per the Brand Asset Valuator. Lay’s ranks the highest in brand strength as well as brand stature. Kurkure follows on second position while Bingo, though a new entrant in the market is third. Uncle Chipps’ and Pringles both would have to work at achieving high brand stature and brand vitality. Any competitor would have to work hard to reach the position that Lay’s occupies currently as well as to displace Lay’s from its secure position. For itself, Lay’s has to maintain its position as market leader and face off competition from Bingo and Kurkure, both of whom are aggressive with their promotions.

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Page 30: Frito Lay's Brand Tracker

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