Amid macroeconomic headwinds and changing consumer expectations, trustworthy brands are best placed to turn adversity into opportunity

If there’s one thing marketers and brand builders know well in the age of social media, it’s how to build buzz and hype around a brand’s happenings. But cut through the hype, and it’s clear that not all brands convert promise to potential. The savviest of marketing mavens know that resilience is of the essence, tempering it against the toughest tests that might come its way. After all, there is simply no substitute to getting the basic building blocks of branding right to deliver on that heady initial promise.

Especially in the face of a galaxy of macroeconomic factors affecting growth, it is doubly important to focus on the fundamentals above all else. Beyond the bottom line of the next quarter, the best brands look to turn times of strife into outsized opportunities thanks to their innate brand equity and trust among consumers, allowing them to differentiate themselves from competitors while demanding a price premium for their perceived value. And this is equally seen across any industry, across any country; all else being equal, one always turns to a trusted or preferred brand in a given circumstance. 

Building brands better

By revising the marketing playbook rather than trying to rewrite it, a few discerning brands are scripting a new tale of success. A sharp focus on getting the brand experience right across multifarious touchpoints has helped them engage consumers in an authentic, trustful manner. This in turn has created something of a moat for brands that have proven difficult for competitors to overcome. These might well be challenging times, but those that have carved a strong brand value will weather it best, and come out on the other side of it ready to leapfrog to new growth levels. These are the Most Trusted Brands of India 2023, champions of next-generation brand-building measures that will see them recognised at an exclusive ceremony on September 24th in Mumbai.

The 3rd edition of this unique industry-led initiative has been shaped by insights drawn from an industry-wide consumer study conducted by our research partner LeadCap Ventures, with brands appraised on the following parameters:

  • Relative Importance
  • Repurchase Intent
  • Perceived Popularity
  • Innovation
  • Quality Consideration
  • Consistency
  • Uniqueness
  • Affluence
  • Value for Money
  • Advocacy

These brands have moved with urgency to answer their consumer’s critical questions in an honest and transparent manner, thereby fostering a critical trust in the brand that led to not just critical financial and emotional investments in the brand. A star-studded speaker line-up from across industries will bring trends and insights to the fore, covering topics such as why we should rethink the consumer experience through omnichannel strategies, the importance of influencer marketing, the role of brand authenticity, building brand trust in the age of the attention economy, and more.

Speakers on the day include:

  • Bhaskar Ramesh, Director Omnichannel Businesses, Google India
  • Deepak Gaur, Director, Advisory Experience Consulting, PwC India
  • Elizabeth Venkataraman, Joint President and Head of Marketing & Alliances, Kotak Mahindra Bank
  • Jayant Jain, Vice President- Marketing & Customer Services, Head Loyalty & Shopper Insights, Reliance Retail
  • Josy Paul, Chairman, BBDO
  • Manashwi Banerjee, Head of Communications for India & South Asia, Hitachi Energy
  • Shubhranshu Singh, VP Marketing – Commercial Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors

Offering his thoughts, Akash Tiwari, Co-Founder & CMO, Team Marksmen Network, stated, “The criticality of perspective and a long-term outlook cannot be overstated. If you take a short-term outlook, it compels customers to make purchase decisions, but if you take a long-term approach, it offers customers a compelling reason to return to the brand. There is a good reason why brand-builders prioritise building a meaningful brand that customers will trust well into the future, and the Most Trusted Brands of India 2023 comprises many such brands. The bond they have fostered with diverse audiences gives them ample firepower to defend against any external pressure on revenues while building long-term brand equity. The demonstrable excellence of these brands when it comes to brand-building serves as a benchmark for others to aspire to.”

The democratisation of branding has led to something of a new-age of brand building, where creating loyalty is simultaneously the greatest challenge and opportunity before marketers. Creating a flywheel centred on trust and emotional resonance has helped these brands stand out among the madding crowd. Long may their tribe increase.

To know more about this landmark initiative, write to us at [email protected].

About Team Marksmen

Team Marksmen’s mission is to bring knowledge communities to life, and help business leaders from across sectors navigate the contours of a changing world order. This is achieved through an array of bespoke industry-centric knowledge platforms, using a variety of formats, such as Roundtables, Summits & Conferences, Workshops, and Recognition Ceremonies. In this way, we help senior industry decision makers navigate through issues of critical importance and inform their world-view for better decision-making.

We engage with leading thinkers from across industries on the most pressing issues facing organisations, governments, and society, and disseminate these learnings through insight-forward, thought-provoking content pieces on our daily news and insights website, marksmendaily.com, and our quarterly business & lifestyle magazine, in Focus.