INDIAN INSTITUE OF MANAGEMENT

TIRUCHIRAPPALLI

PRODUCT & BRAND MANAGEMENT

CASE – 4
“Raga and Tanishq – Symbolic Linkages between Brands (The Indian
Context)”

Submitted To:
Prof. Suresh Paul Antony

Submitted By:
Team 01
Chetan Yadav (1701011)
Mayank Lal (1701034)
Satyam Verma (1701045)
Prabhangshu Adhyapak (1701153)
1. Positioning is the process of establishing the image or identity of a brand or product so that
consumers perceive it in a certain way. The key points about the positioning of Titan Raga and Tanishq
are compared below.

Positioning of Titan Raga Positioning of Tanishq

Classy and ethnic collection for modern young
women embellished with striking symbolism
for Indian culture.
Collections are Modern and fashionable
orientation with a contemporary dimension.
Goes against the traditional portrayal of
generation gap.
Specifically made for women and not a
downsize of Men’s watch. They are a mix of
sensuality and elegance.
Lifestyle brand that symbolizes inner beauty,
sensuality and self-concept and portray
psychographic associations.
Branded and professional-looking collection
for niche urban young women.
Collections meant for women embracing
independence and yet sticking to the
traditional values.
Portrayed as collections for women who
sought classy looks irrespective of age.
Lifestyle brand that symbolizes inner beauty,
sensuality and self-concept and portray
psychographic associations.

2. Self-concept of consumer is largely a reflection of the beliefs one holds about oneself and the
responses of others.

The brand Raga was positioned as an ethnic watch for Indian woman with striking symbolism for the
Indian culture. The brand portrayed itself as an opulent accessory for modern women. Therefore,
the self-concept associated with this consumer group was typically sophistication, affluence and
modernism with a very prominent symbolism for the Indian culture. Moreover, these set of
consumers, in fact valued beauty, sensuality and feminity.

While, the self-concept associated with this consumer group of Tanishq was professionalism along
with an adorning for traditional jewellery for rituals. Moreover, as Tanishq was perceived to be too
niche, affluence can also be considered another self-concept for the consumers of this brand.
Another striking self-concept associated with this group of consumers was classy and seekers of
beautiful looks, irrespective of age.

3. Based on an analysis of the attitudes of the surveyed customers of the two brands, these attitudes
can be broadly classified under the categories of CBBE pyramid.

3.16 3.8
Resonance Resonance

3.60 3.42 3.62 3.63

Judgements Feelings Judgements Feelings

3.77 3.09 3.87 3.51

Performance Imagery
Performance Imagery

Salience - 3.65 Salience - 3.85

Raga Tanishq
 Classifying the scores of different attitudes under different categories within the CBBE pyramid and
then averaging the scores, the following insights can be drawn

• Tanishq has comparatively higher resonance as compared to the brand Raga.

• The brand awareness or the salience about Tanishq was comparatively higher than Raga.
• Similarly, the imagery and performance of Tanishq was on higher side as compared to Raga.
• Tanishq was also on the higher side in terms if the feelings associated with the brand as
compared to Raga.
• But, the judgements about the quality and credibility of the brands are nearly similar.

4. Brand symbolism is the visual descriptions that affect attitude towards the brand. It is creating
meaning for the customers through the use of signs, symbols, colours, and object to evoke emotion
and drive their behaviour. Name, logos, colour schemes etc. are included as some aesthetic
designations of a brand. For example: Logos are the most elementary example use of symbolism to
signal customers a certain level of quality, experience, and trust.
These aesthetic designations are the visual descriptions of an organization which can be seen by the
public. Various aesthetic designations help to symbolize, aims and values of the brand. These
descriptions form opinions about the brand from what is observed. Such opinions or brand images are
based upon cultural, social and personality factors, as well as commercial stimuli like advertising,
public relations and prominence of distribution.
Apart from logos, brand symbolism can be formed through innovative designs of packaging, product,
font, etc. to convey special meaning to customers. Furthermore, marketing campaigns can also convey
the symbolism of the brand to customers. With the proliferation of technology in every sphere of our
lives, the channels of communicating symbolism are also evolving. It has become equally important
for brand managers to create an ecosystem where the customers can participate, engage, and
propagate the symbolism in the desired way. These ecosystems can be social media platforms, apps,
or participative marketing campaigns. In the end, brand symbolism is about building and
communicating the essence of the brand in an evocative and resonating way with the target
customers.

5. There are several factors that can differentiate a brand. Some of the major factors are mentioned
below.

• Emotional appeal: Not every brand has an emotional appeal to its customers. A few brands
position themselves in a way that evokes emotion amongst the customers and hence it is said
that ‘Emotion Sells’. In the case, the brand Raga had a striking symbolism for Indian culture
which can in fact, evoke lots of emotions.
• Targeting or creating a niche: Some brands create their own niche. As it can be seen in the
case of the brand Raga, it was positioned as an ethnic watch and was unique in creating a line
of watches for sophisticated Indian women. Similarly, Tanishq positioned itself as branded
jewellery which was unique to the Indian market.
• Price: Price plays an important role in differentiation. The price set should resonate with the
positioning of the brand. If a brand is positioned for a niche, it should have a price set for that
segment, as it can be seen in case of the brand Tanishq, which was positioned as a premium
brand.
• Limiting availability: Limiting availability is also another way to differentiate a brand. In case
of Tanishq, as it was a premium brand, it was mostly available or at least purchasable for
affluent customers only. They limited their availability mostly to the urban customers and
instead launched Gold Plus for the rural customers.