Brands Who Spend Billions to Market to India

A recent brand awareness report found that foreign lifestyle brands, from clothes to casinos, are some of the most widely recognizable throughout India. More reports show that companies spend billions on marketing campaigns in the country, finding that locals won’t use brands that aren’t specifically catering to them. 

Many companies have failed to launch in the India/Asia markets, especially when they refuse to divert from their Western campaigns. For example, the first time worldwide brand KFC opened in Bangalore, the company failed to adjust their menu, continuing to serve American chicken. They nearly had to close for lack of interest. It wasn’t until they began serving a new menu of items, only available in India, that they became popular. Now, they have over 200 locations and focus on providing a variety of vegetarian options, wraps, rice, and chicken fried with traditional local spices.

Companies have taken their lesson from KFC. Among the most recognized brands is Levi’s, the jeans company, which continually has excellent financial quarters in the country.  Levi’s managed to make younger generations want to shed traditional clothing for every day by targeting young and stylish people in their ads. They use local celebrities and influencers, taking out magazine ads and billboards, which are traditionally the most popular ways to advertise. 

“Brands that establish their relevance with customers do well,” says Shripad Nadkarni, director of MarketGate Consulting, a Mumbai-based marketing and brand consultancy. Before the 1990s, foreign goods were sought after simply because they were foreign. Now, as production quality increases in the country, locals are shifting their views. Only products that they find “useful” make it in the market. Companies that understand Indian audiences do particularly better. The middle-class is not as strong as other places, and companies have to decide whether they will appeal to lower-income families or higher-income families – sometimes both if they can be really creative. 

Dafabet, Bet365, Betway are casino companies that have become some of the biggest known brands in the country, according to this brand awareness report. Despite being banned in some states, online casino popularity is growing in the country. The most recognizable brands provide services in Hindu, Tamil, and sometimes others, while promoting local card games as well as foreign ones. Some have even gotten celebrity ambassadors to promote the casino brands or talk about online gambling in general. These businesses have managed to walk the middle ground and appeal to all of India’s classes. 

Nestlé’s Maggi brand is also one of the most recognized in the country. In other places, Nestlé sells soups, sauces, and packaged items. In India, the Maggi brand is known as instant noodles. Flavourful and popular, these aren’t your average Asian noodles. When they entered the market, Maggi created a spicy masala flavour that sold to households like no other instant soup brand. Selling packaged food in India has been difficult over the years for American and European brands trying to expand into the country. The older population opposes them, and eating packaged or fast food wasn’t ingrained in the culture – until about 20 years ago. Although younger generations are more willing to eat and buy these brands, that doesn’t mean their tastes have changed – food brands in India are recognized only when they can adapt to the population’s tastes. 

Other most recognized clothing brands include designers like Versace, Dior, Coach, and Michael Kors. These are recognizable and considered the type of “foreign quality” that is welcome in the country. However, plenty of smaller and cheaper brands are also becoming well-known in India, like Forever 21 and Pepe Jeans. However, this is harder as India has a textile industry of its own that goes back thousands of years. 

Other well-recognized brands include Jack Daniel’s, Ford Motors, Maybelline New York, among others. What all of these brands have in common is that they’ve realized that the key to the Indian market is localization, personalization, and enough forethought to conduct the necessary market research.