Brand Audit
Group 16, Sec A, Brand Management Abhishu Rakshit FT12182 Jayawardhan FT12328 Nishtha Dewani FT12143 Siddharth Goyal FT12360 Sushant Agarwal FT12266 Great Lakes Institute of Management
0
[Pick the date]
Contents
Nokias Vision and strategy..................................................................................................................................... 3 Objective of the Brand Audit .................................................................................................................................. 3 Scope ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Approach ............................................................................................................................................................... 4 Origin of NOKIA and the Telecom Industry .............................................................................................................. 6 Rise of the Telecom Industry .................................................................................................................................. 6 Nokia goes Mobile..................................................................................................................................................
7
Nokia- the mobile industry leader .......................................................................................................................... 7 Nokias leadership is threatened............................................................................................................................. 8 Nokia changes direction ......................................................................................................................................... 9 Brand Inventory
...................................................................................................................................................
11
Brand Values ........................................................................................................................................................
11
Product Related Attributes ...................................................................................................................................
11
Brand Elements ....................................................................................................................................................
11
Brand Strategy .....................................................................................................................................................
13
POD
19
.....................................................................................................................................................................
POP......................................................................................................................................................................
19
Brand and Product Portfol io ................................................................................................................................. 20 Nokias Current Mar keting Strategy ...................................................................................................................... 22 Survey Methodology ............................................................................................................................................ 25 Consumer Analysis- Product Category Purchase Drivers ........................................................................................ 25 Brand Exploratory ................................................................................................................................................ 27 Consumer Brand Imagery Perception Personality Analysis ................................................................................. 28 Brand Reputation of NOKIA .................................................................................................................................. 29 Competitor Analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 32 Brand Equity ...................................................................................................................................................... 365 SWOT Analysis.36 Respondent Prof ile..36 Conclusion and Recommendat ion ...................................................................................................................... 388 Questionnaire40
1
Contents
Nokias Vision and strategy..................................................................................................................................... 3 Objective of the Brand Audit .................................................................................................................................. 3 Scope ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Approach ............................................................................................................................................................... 4 Origin of NOKIA and the Telecom Industry .............................................................................................................. 6 Rise of the Telecom Industry .................................................................................................................................. 6 Nokia goes Mobile..................................................................................................................................................
7
Nokia- the mobile industry leader .......................................................................................................................... 7 Nokias leadership is threatened............................................................................................................................. 8 Nokia changes direction ......................................................................................................................................... 9 Brand Inventory
...................................................................................................................................................
11
Brand Values ........................................................................................................................................................
11
Product Related Attributes ...................................................................................................................................
11
Brand Elements ....................................................................................................................................................
11
Brand Strategy .....................................................................................................................................................
13
POD
19
.....................................................................................................................................................................
POP......................................................................................................................................................................
19
Brand and Product Portfol io ................................................................................................................................. 20 Nokias Current Mar keting Strategy ...................................................................................................................... 22 Survey Methodology ............................................................................................................................................ 25 Consumer Analysis- Product Category Purchase Drivers ........................................................................................ 25 Brand Exploratory ................................................................................................................................................ 27 Consumer Brand Imagery Perception Personality Analysis ................................................................................. 28 Brand Reputation of NOKIA .................................................................................................................................. 29 Competitor Analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 32 Brand Equity ...................................................................................................................................................... 365 SWOT Analysis.36 Respondent Prof ile..36 Conclusion and Recommendat ion ...................................................................................................................... 388 Questionnaire40
1
NOKIA- AN OVERVIEW
2
Nokias Vision and strategy
y
Nokias mission is simple, Connecting People.
y
Nokias strategic intent is to build great mobile products.
y
Nokias job is to enable billions of people everywhere to get more of lifes opportunities through mobile.
Objective of the Brand Audit
The objective of the brand aud it is to conduct an in-depth examination of a major brand and suggest ways to improve and leverage that brand equ ity by providing recommendat ions to the brand concerning how the brand should be managed o ver the next 5 years by critically analyzing the brand inventory and brand exploratory.
Scope
The brand audit w ill be based ent irely on information from public secondary sources, company web sites, as well as our own profess ional experiences and insights. If possible primary research will be conducted to some extent and results from that resear ch will be studied in order to understand the brand pos itioning, awareness, planning, building and growth. Th is will also be considered in suggesting ways as to how the brand should be ma naged in coming years in order
to enhance its positioning.
3
The f inal report prof iles the positioning of the brand, its sources of brand equity and provides recommendat ions concerning how to bu ild and manage equity for the brand chosen.
Approach
As we examine our brand we will answer the following points concerning a brand:
4
NOKIA & INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
5
Origin of NOKIA and the Telecom Industry
Nokia Corporation as it is known today didnt actually start out as a mob ile device th
manufacturer. The companys history can be traced back to the mid-19 century, when it was established as a groundwood pulp m ill in 1865 in F inland. The company was formally founded in 1871, named after the town near wh ich its operations were based. In 1902, Nokia entered into the business of electricity generation and one of its major clients was a company called
Finnish Rubber Works which was also using Nokia as its product brand. Finnish Rubber Works went on to acquire the Nokia Company and a company called Finnish Cable Works which produced telephone, telegraph and electrical cables. By
1967,
the three companies were
merged into a conglomerate known as Nokia Corporat ion. This conglomerate was involved in the production of a wide variety of goods ranging from paper and plastics to tires and footwear, and from electric machinery and military equipment to consumer electronics and computers.
Rise of the Telecom Industry
Nokia has been instrumental in developing the mobile technolog ies that the world relies on. Right from the 70s through to the 90s, No kia made major breakthroughs in the f ield of communication technology and was the company responsible for bringing out the worlds f irst
mobile phone. It started in
1981,
known as the beginning of the mobile era, when Nordic
Mobile Telephone was built. This was the f irst ever international mobile phone network. No kia followed this up with the DX200, its f irst digital telephone switch in 1982. The Mobira Talkman portable phone was laun ched in 1984 and f inally the mobile phone was born in the form of the Mobira Cityman, the f irst handheld phone using NMT. In fact, Nokia also happens to ha ve 6
manufactured the equipment that was used to make the f irst GSM call in 1991. All of this was done by a joint venture between Nokia and Salora known as Mob ira Oy which was later bought by Nokia.
Nokia goes Mobile
Nokia was also instrumental in helping develop the GSM standard for mobile telephony. GSM was adopted as the new standard for d igital mobile technology by Europe in 1987. Due to the great potential of the telecommunication business, Nokia decided to consol idate all its other operations and pursue the manufacturing of mobile phones as its core business in 1992. Soon after, they launched their f irst GSM handset known as the Nokia 1011. The following years made up for a long l ist of f irsts for the iconic brand that Nokia has be come. The Nokia Tune as it is known till today was launched in 1994 with a phone called the 2100, the worlds f irst satellite call is made using a Nokia handset also. Snake, the iconic mobile phone game which is still as
popular today, was launched in 1997 with a phone known as the 6110. When the Internet f inally came to mobile phones in 1999, Nokia had already been de clared the world leader in mobile phones, and they capped this glory with the worlds f irst WAP-enabled phone known as the Nokia 7110.
Nokia- the mobile industry leader
Since 2000, Nokia has constantly innovated and maintained its position as the market leader. Right from the introduction of their f irst 3G phone to the ir N-Gage gaming platform, from the Eseries and communicator devices to the multimedia centric N-series. But Nokias main
7
stronghold has been the low-budget and basic handsets. They sold their billionth phone, a Nokia 1100, in 2005 when the global mob ile phone subscription base was a total of 2 b illion.
Nokias leadership is threatened
In 2007, Nokia was de clared as the f ifth most valued brand in the world. Later that year, the iPhone was launched by Apple, and the face of the mobile handset industry was changed
forever. Following Apples move, Google launched the open-source Android operating system which was adopted by other leading manufacturers like Samsung, LG and HTC to name a few. Nokia refused to migrate to Android and put their faith in the Symbian platform, their long standing and the most popular mob ile OS in the world. Unfortunately, they were not able to match up to the expectations of the market and have been steadily losing market share since. Even though the mobile phone market grew by 22% in 2009-10, Nokias market share dropped from almost 64% to 52.2% in just a year.
Its major competitors during this period have been Apple, Samsung, Sony, RIM, LG, HTC, Motorola and the likes. Apple has continued to surge upwards in terms of market share with a single phone, which is given new iterations every successive year, each improving on the features of the previous version. Samsung and LG ha ve launched a slew of phones in all segments from low-cost to high-end. RIM has always been the main source of competition for their enterprise services segment and their BlackBerry brand has been synonymous w ith the category. Sony and HTC ha ve been competing in the high-end segment mainly. Nokia had a
market-leading presence in almost all the categories all around the world, but quickly lost that position with the emergence of the new era of smartphones. 8
Nokia changes direction
As Nokia was outdone by Apple as the worlds largest smartphone manufa cturer in 2011, there was loss of faith and patience by the investors in the companys ability to come up with a respectable answer to Apples domination of the industry with the iPhone. In order to bring about the much needed change to the company, Nokia announced a tie-up with Microsoft for using their latest mobile OS known as W indows Phone 7 and developing an entirely line of mobile phones as a result of this partnership. Nokia also said that they would abandon the MeeGo platform they were developing jointly with Intel and would keep working on Symbian for the low-end smartphones and the low-cost categories. The initial news about the t ie-up was not received well by the investors and there was a further de cline in the stock prices of the company as Microsofts platform was in the nascent stages of its development and was not
seen as a viable enough option to give a match to Apple or Google. Since then, both Microsoft and Nokia have made major changes and Nokias future looks to be heading in the right direction right now.
9
BRAND INVENTORY
10
Brand Inventory
Nokia mobile phones have contributed in redef ining the mobile phone industry through its breakthrough technology, brilliance and eff iciency
Brand Values
We Recycle, We Create, We Energize, We Support and We Evolve
Product Related Attributes
The attributes of the Nokia mobile phones are in sync with the core business practices of Nokia namely-style, usability, robustness, expediential and relevance.
Brand Elements
Logos
Nokia in Finnish means a dark, furry animal called the Pine Marten weasel. The origin of the company name, is attributed to the establishment of the wood pulp m ill by Knut Fredrik
Idestam, on the Nokianvirta river banks in the town of Nokia. It is not clear how this logo evolved and how its meaning has changed over the years due to Nokias changing business over the years. However, this has little to do with the current business and brand image. (20 11
Corporate Brand Logo E volution, http://www.instantshift.com/2009/01/29/20-corporatebrand-logo-evolution/)
Tag Line Connecting People
Url-
www.nokia.com, www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com/, http://maps.nokia.com , store.ovi.com
Endorsements and Associations
Dallas punk rock band -Greyskull was used as the fa ce of Nokia Asia ad campa ign in 2007
1
Social networks and media
http://nokianewsletter.wordpress.com - Net Talk is a property of Nokia India. This is a monthly
news bulletin on Nokia Indias Social Media campaigns and trends in digital marketing
1
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2007/mar/26/greys kull-becomes-face-nokia-asia-ad-campaign/ 12
Brand Strategy
An analysis of Nokias promotions shows that Nokia focuses on promoting its new technologies through big advertising campa igns rather than focusing on new handsets.
Between 2004 and 2007, Nokia appointed 'Moving Bands' as the lead brand ing agency for global rebranding which involved brand strategy, identity and experience. Moving bands also redesigned Nokia's onl ine presence (Nokia.com), digital strategy and des igned the brand identity for Nokia's software and services offer (ovi.com).
In 2006, Nokia realized the need to increase market share, brand preference and customer retention and approached moving bands with the aim of becoming "World's most loved and admired brand" .
To achieve this aim if Nokia had a two-pronged approach-
This task was undertaken in the following manner-
1.
Moving brands and Nokia f irst developed the story at the heart of the brand-" very human
technology" by focusing on the new values
13
2. They then worked on injecting l ife, love and lust into the brand in order to create a stronger emotional connection with the customers.
3. They conducted an extensive global consumer research and def ine a new strategy across consumer segmentation, product segmentation and naming architecture.
4. A strategy based on current trends and future needs for customers was developed to prowhite clear strategy and creative direction for all Nokia's agencies globally.
Output -
this new identity was launched globally in 2007 and has resulted in an increase of 6% in 2
the global market share. By 2009, Nokia was number f ive in global brand rankings .
Nokia also established a division called as Nokia Design which is group of diverse people worldwide such as psychologists, industrial designers, materials experts, and anthropologists. The division uses human-behavioral research to estimate the future requirements of upto 5 to 15
years, and works on spotting and predicting megatrends and coming up with ideas on how
to align mobile design a ccordingly. The group uses large research groups to look at long-term, macro, and societal trends as well as more short-term trends around critical design factors such as - colors, fashions, and textures. They f ind out local and country-specif ic trends, and also look 3
across countr ies to identify similarities in lifestyles and global trends .
In 2007, Nokia established nine localized satellite design studios within target nations to create products reflecting the needs and aspirations of emerging markets. In India, a center was established in Bangalore. 2
http://www.movingbrands.com (Nokia's Design Research for Everyone, http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/mar2007/ id20070314_689707.htm) 3
14
By 2010 Nokia realized that brand name alone does not ma ke a brand and that it would have to enhance its market leading capabilities. It was probably losing its competitive position in relation to brands such as Blackberry and iPhone which were gaining an edge on the basis of 'perceptual sophisticated' brand wh ile Nokia was focusing on 'functional sophistication'. In other words, leadership position depends upon how market leadership is conceptual ized and what measures are used. While Nokia adopted a functional approach and led in terms of reliability and functional usage, Apple moved ahead with its brand based perceptual sophistication model which enables it to engage with the market and develop in the long run. Unlike functional sophistication, perceptual sophistication is
" Nokia is the world leader in mobility,
the
transformation and growth of the converging
diff icult to copy and/or acquire. It enables a brand to
driving Internet
and
communications ind ustries"
acquire mind space and appear 'cool' 'trendy' 4
'innovative' and 'desirable'
In 2010 Nokia undertook a changeover of the Nokia Music Store to the Ovi Music Store. It also accordingly rebranded its Comes with Music name to Ovi Music Unlimited.
5
In February 2011, Nokia signed a deal with Microsoft for Microsoft's Windows Phone 7, in order to compete with Apple's IOS or Google's Android.
4 5
(http://www.palgrave-journals.com/bm/journal/ v18/n3/full/bm201048a.html). (Nokia Comes with Music rebranded Ovi Music Unlimited; Launches in India, http://zomgitsc j.com). 15
The latest rebranding efforts by Nokia involve:.
1.
Nokia budgeted £80m for advertising as a part of a major rebrand ing effort. Nokia will embark upon a multi-country six-month long campaign with the involvement of a lot of marketing agencies. The objective is to attempt to again make Nokia devices as appealing as 6
they were some years ago
2. Discontinue the use of 'Ovi' brand (used for the service offerings since 2007) and rebranding the services as "Nokia services" because of the following reasons-
Google's Android and Apple's iPhone products have eclipsed the service despite the fact that in order to compete with Apple and Google, Nokia had been subs idiz ing developers to produce new apps on the O vi store.
Nokia's smartphone market share slumped to 24% its brand value declined by 28% over the past one year
7
The expected outcome from the exercise is that this move would allow the company to centralize its services identity under one brand instead of two and to reinforce the powerful
master brand of Nokia and unify the band architecture. The transition began in July 2011 and is expected to be completed by end of 2012 worldwide.
According to Nokia EVP and Chief Marketing Off icer Jerri DeVard, Nokia's philosophy revolves around the fact that, Our mobile experiences are tightly integrated with our devices there is no longer a differentiation". Nokia's mission remains unchanged- "work to 6
Nokia will spend £80m on a rebranding effort, http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2093188/nokia-spendgbp80m-rebranding-effort 7 (Nokia Services to replace Ovi brand, May 25, 20 11, http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com). 16
deliver compelling, unif ied mobile service offerings and next-generation, disruptive 8
technologies . This re-branding is a result of the strategic alliance w ith Microsoft according to which the Ovi app store would be rolled into Microsoft's Windows marketplace offering and Microsoft will provide development tools for these applications. However, Nokia plans to retain a branded storefront to le verage the Windows marketplace infrastru cture.
3. Said goodbye to its Nokia Sans font and introduced a new typeface and a new look for promotional materials called as Nokia pure. This font will be used for the new brand ing on billboards and devices in 2011. Thus the new font face is meant to express this new ambition
Its
a new brand image thats simpler, fresher and stronger than before the letters flow into each other somewhat, creating the impression of forward movement. - According to Nokia
9
Nokia Pure is now the primary tag line for the company. In the near future th is w ill probably
be followed by a new logo as well, w ith the eventual adopt ion of both into all future Nokia products and user interfaces
10
8
Nokia Discontinues Ovi Brand, Roadmaps Not Changed, By Sarah Perez / May 16, 2011, http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2011/05/no kia-discontinues-ovi-brand-roadmaps-not-changed.php 9 (Nokia unveils new font and branding, http://conversations.nokia.com) 17
Nokia used innovative campaigns to connect with consumers through social networking
Nokia
is
making
changes
in
its
approach to marketing, with more budget being devoted to social media and digital campaigns than above the line
campaigns.
For
instance,
it
sponsored Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) IPL campaign on Facebook with the slogan 'KKR tension mat le yaar
11
In order to attract youth, Nokia has also laun ched the Epic Dramas and Direct the Drama campaigns in 2011. Both the campaigns have been well received as they draw a connection to
real life situations and brand Nokia.
10
Nokias rebrand, http://www.brandmatters.com.au/no kia-rebrand/ http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/sectors/telecoms-and- it/%E2%80%9Cstep-change%E2%80%9D- in-marketingwill-position-nokia-for-a-bright-future/3031369.article 11
18
POD
The secret to Nokia's success as the world's lead ing mobile phone brand is the recognition of the fact that the when bas ic technology questions are solved, instead of voice quality, design becomes a more important factor. Nokia believes that design will always be as much a language as any spoken word with a conversation individually as well as socially. Thus, Nokia has typically maintained its global leadership position by using its product design as a d ifferentiating 12
competitive factor . Nokia phone generally have a h ighly recognizable packaging style and the
with the company name printed just above the screen and just below the earpiece.
Nokia also distinguishes itself through its pricing strategy and segmentation. Its product range offers options across a continuum of price ranges and technology features. It is known to follow a price skimming approach - launch a product at a premium price and then gradually de crease it substantially within a year or so.
POP
Nokia being a leader in the mobile category has basically def ined the category. Its presence across the entire price line has enabled it to connect with all the mobile segments.
12
(http://www.idemployee.id.tue.nl/g.w.m.rauterberg/conferences/cd_donotopen/ADC/f inal_paper/197.pdf) 19
Brand and Product Portfolio
Nokia includes ten different series of mobile phones, each with a subset of different models which basically def ine the whole product range: y
Nokia 1xxx (basic): These are the most basic mobile phones.
y
Nokia 2xxx (basic): More or less like
1xxx
series, the 2xxx
series are entry-level phones. These however contain more advanced features than the 1xxx series including color screens, cameras and Bluetooth. y
Nokia 3xxx (Expression): These constitute mid-range phones
targeted at the youth market. Nokia 5xxx (Active): Features are similar to that of the 3xxx series, though some of the phones feature a rugged construction or contain extra features for music playback. y
Nokia 6xxx (Classic Business Series) : This is Nokia's largest family of phones consisting
y
mostly of mid-range to high-end phones containing a high amount of features. The series is characterised by conservative, unisex designs, making this series quite popular among
business users. y
Nokia 7xxx (Fashion and Experimental) : These are targeted towards the fash ion conscious
user, primarily women. y
Nokia 8xxx (Premium) : This series stresses heavily on ergonomics and attractiveness.
Internally, the phone is quite basic; from a functionality perspective however, the physical handset appeals to users who fo cus on ergonomics. y
Nokia Eseries: This is an Enterprise series 20
y
Nokia Nseries: Mobile Computer series
y
Nokia Xseries: Multimedia series which is targeted at the trendy youth.
Nokias Product Portfolio (Last 4 years) in a chronological order
It can thus be seen that No kia had been fairly consistent in developing and releasing new models every year. However, in the last 2 years there have been lesser developments and fewer releases as compared to previous years. This, by itself may not be a cause for concern 21
but considering the growth in the industry over the last couple of years, it does reflect on the market leaders inability to foresee and adapt to re cent changes in consumer preferences.
Nokias Current Marketing Strategy
As Nokia looks to reclaim its position at the
C onsumers
will be able to instantly recognize that Nokias tone of voice has dramatically changed in its marketing. They will go wow, I cant believe thats Nokia, the new campaign will make people u s rprised and delighted that Nokia is doing something this cool
top of the smart-phone market, it has unveiled a new revitalized youthful marketing strategy, using the tagline the amazing everyday for the launch of its debut windows
- John Nichols, Nokias UK marketing director
phone. With more funds being allocated to
social media and digital marketing rather than abo ve the line campaigns and less traditional marketing channels, Nokia looks forward to d ifferentiate itself from the competitors.
Nichols emphasizes that People - not consumers - is where uniquely Nokia stands as a brand. Only Nokia can globally own that brand essence.
Nokia has planned an extens ive marketing strategy set out for all of the countries that will receive its windows smart-phones. Nokia plans to install large arch installations in malls with interactive s creens to provide information and demonstration of its new windows Smartphone
line.
The company has planned to supply stores w ith working phones that customers can play with instead of the dummy phones that irritate customers and doesnt give actual look and feel of
22
the phone. Also in plans is to install in-store large touch screen display to showcase phones features.
The latest and innovative ad format that Nokia has come up with is the vortex type display that will be displayed on the window of the store with colored glass and web like design showcasing working Nokia Mobile Phone in the centre. This is surely going to add number of passersby noticing the phone.
Giving free EA games is also one of the points of focus in the marketing plan which is expected to add excitement to the phone user.
According to the companys CEO the launch of Nokia Lumia and 710 is carried on by 3 times the marketing budget available for the other launches at Nokia in the past. The new youthful in Nokia marketing is the use of blips which is f irst of its kind to be used in the telecom industry for promotion of a product preceding a laun ch.
Also the communications around the new launches will focus on the practical uses of the phone and not on the te chnical specif icat ions by using real people as the brand ambassadors.
The company is partnering with many dailies in order to place cover wraps and other innovative advertisement formats to showcase the new models and their interface targeting to lure the customers.
23
BRAND EXPLORATORY
24
Survey Methodology
We conducted an online survey especially targeted towards the youth in the age group 23-30 years since its the youth segment which seems to have got disconnected with NOKIA . We received 45 responses out of which 43 were either existing or current users of NOKIA. The responses were analyzed using statistical tools and signif icant factors driving consumer behavior were found out. We des igned the questionnaire using mostly a 5 point L ikert Scale in order to f ind out the category purchase drivers and motivation, consumers perception of NOKIA as a brand and also w ith respect to competition , NOKIA brand personal ity, consumer associations with NOKIA and if NOKIA enjoyed resonance with the consumers .
Consumer Analysis- Product Category Purchase Drivers
The product category drivers were identif ied on a 5 point Likert scale (1-Most Dissatisf ied,2Dissatisf ied, 3-Doesnt Matter, 4-Satisf ied, 5- Strongly Satisf ied ) and following attributes were explored. The result summary is attached below -
25
Descriptive Statistics N
Minimum
Maximum
Mean
Std. Deviation
Design
45
1
5
3.04
.976
Camera
45
1
5
3.40
1.031
Video
45
1
5
3.13
.991
Music
45
1
5
3.31
.949
Software
45
1
5
2.80
.919
Connectivity
45
1
5
3.69
.874
Battery
45
3
5
4.22
.704
Availability
45
2
5
4.40
.688
Reliability
45
1
5
4.20
.919
After Sales Service
45
1
5
3.62
.936
Value for money
45
2
5
4.09
.848
Brand Reputation
45
2
5
3.84
.796
Adds prestige to image
45
1
5
2.78
1.020
Software Updates
45
1
5
2.78
1.020
Rugged
45
2
5
4.00
.853
Delicate
45
1
5
2.33
1.000
Interpretation of Descriptive Statistics for Category Drivers The above data from survey reveals that people are indifferent towards the Design and Video attributes for the Nokia Phones. The statistics result shows that people do not think that Software and its updates, Prestige Image and Delicate can be sat isfactorily associated with 26
Nokia. Drivers for which people are a bit satisf ied are Camera, Music, Connectivity, After Sales and Brand Reputation. Battery, Availability, Reliability, Rugged and Value for money are the key differentiators for Nokia as per the result of the analysis.
Brand Exploratory
In brand exploratory we researched the brand pos itioning analysis, the consumer perception analysis of the NOKIA brand and the associations the users have about NOKIA . Below is the summary of the associations that users have about NOKIA .
Performance
Imagery
Performance
Feelings
Imagery
Judgment
Feelings
Reliable Properly Advertised Easily Available
Appealing
Judgement
Smart & S tylish
Expensive
Pleasant Popular Prestigious High Quality
Mean
3.000
2.711
4.333
3.444
4.667
3.222
3.556
3.956
2.711
3.889
Standard Error
0.168
0.133
0.101
0.161
0.071
0.145
0.133
0.131
0.144
0.136
Median
3
2
4
4
5
3
4
4
3
4
Mode
3
2
5
4
5
4
4
4
2
4
Standard Deviation
1.12815215
0.894991677 0.674199862
1.077782984
0.476731295
0.974420315 0.893297 0.877899 0.96818063 0.91010045
Sample Variance
1.272727273 0.801010101 0.454545455
1.161616162
0.227272727
0.949494949 0.79798 0.770707 0.93737374 0.828282828
Kurtosis
-0.578564648 0.049619368 -0.694352159
-0.855149502
-1.534883721
-1.063725638 -0.6254 0.674605 -1.0862119 1.599858987
Skewness
0.099389294
-0.305836972
-0.731727103
0.145355963 -0.17466 -0.9658 -0.004452 -1.09768913
1.016209241 -0.517409197
Range
4
3
2
4
1
3
3
3
3
4
Minimum
1
2
3
1
4
2
2
2
1
1
Maximum Sum
5 135
5 122
5 195
5 155
5 210
5 145
5 160
5 178
4 122
5 175
Count
45 0.000
45 -2.165
45 13.266
45 2.766
45 23.452
45 1.530
45 4.172
45 7.302
45 -2.002
45 6.552
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
T value Significantly perceived
Based on our survey and data obtained on a 5-point L ikert Scale , we found out the T-statistics of the parameters in the above table. These parameters captured the consumer perception as regards NOKIA Performance, Imagery and also their feelings and Judgement about NOKIA. With a level of signif icance of 5 % and T-critical =
1.645,we
found that consumers didnt
perceive NOKIA as be ing Smart & Stylish, Appealing and Prestigious though they didnt think it 27
to be expensive also and rated it high on Reliability, Imagery, Pleasantness , Popular ity and High Quality .
Consumer Brand Imagery Perception
Personality Analysis
The survey revealed that people perceive NOKIA as a sincere brand since they rated it as being Down-to-Earth, Honest but rated it low on be ing cheerful signifying that NOKIA is not perceived as a vibrant and lively brand. Also NOKIA was ranked very low on Excitement since the repsondents didnt think NOKIA to be associated with Upper Class and Charm ing . Apple IPhone scored the highest on characteristics such as Cheerfulness , Upper-Class and Charm
signifying its popularity with the survey group . Also NOKIA was rated the h ighest on reliability and ruggednes but was rated the lowest on characteristics such as Upper-Class, Intelligence, Imagination and being Up-to-Date . While Apple scored the highest on all the personal ity elements like Excitement, Sophistication, Intelligence and Successful .
28
Brand Reputation of NOKIA
The respondents were also asked what they felt about NOKIAs reputation on a 5-point Likert Scale (1-Strongly Disagree- 5-Strongly Agree) and and the survey revealed the following -
29
I consider NOKIA as the most publicly recognized I consider I consider brand in NOKIA as NOKIA as terms of the most the most brand reputed reliable reputation. brand. brand.
Mean
3.533
3.267
3.933
Standard Error
0. 167
0. 175
0. 150
Medi an
4
4
4
Mode
4
2
4
Standard De vi ati on
1. 120
1. 176
1.009
Sample Vari ance
1.255
1.382
1.018
Kurtosi s
-0.483
- 1.368
-0.507
Skewness
-0.595
-0.022
-0.695
Range
4
4
3
Mi ni mum
1
1
2
Maxi mum
5
5
5
Sum
159
147
177
Count
45
45
45
T- Value
3. 194
1.522
6.205
Si gni f icantly Perce iv ed
Yes
No
Yes
With a s ignif icance level of 5 %, the responses were analyzed us ing T-test with T-Critical = 1.645.
The f indings show that people consider NOKIA to be the most publicly recognized brand
in terms of brand reputat ion but dont per ceive NOKIA to be the most reputed brand howe ver
they perceive it to be a reliable brand which is consistent with NOKIAs traditional image .
Further we asked the respondents about the ir perception of NOKIA with respect to competition on factors such performance, Imagery, Judgement and Resonance . The analysis of the responses are given in the graphs below
30
Judgement - Quality, Superiority
Resonance Attachment
Though NOKIA has been trad itionally known to been good on qual ity front and has been perceived as superior to competition but its the second both these attributes with Apple leading by a very wide margin. Though as regards atta chment 28.89% respondents said that they preferred NOKIA and 62.22 % said that they were loyal users of the brand . Hen ce there is scope for NOKIA to bu ild again on th is loyalty since Apple is though highly popular amongst the youth but still majority of the youth are loyal to the NOKIA brand and expect it to come up with a superior performance as always .
Resonance Engagement
Performance Worth its Price 31
Regarding engagement 31.11 % of respondents
said
they
would
recommend NOKIA phone to others but here the spread is not as w ide as in other measures and other brands like Samsung and Blackberry are also highly
Feelings- Self Respect
recommended by consumers. As regards price worth NOKIA is def initely in lead (44.44%) as it is considered a fairly good product at a low pr ice. However NOKIA scored abysmally low (8.89%)
as regards consumer feelings of pride of possessing a NOKIA phone whereas Apple clearly led at 80.00 % hence it is clear that consumers dont identify NOKIA with pride but are proud of aspirational brands like Apple .
Competitor Analysis
We have focused on three major players in the world markets as the main competitors to the Nokia brand. These are Apple, Samsung and RI Ms BlackBerry.
1. Apple
With the introduction of the iPhone, Apple has bro ken all sales re cords set by any player in any industry. In fact, they create new records with e very new product launch surpassing e ven their own
expectations. From the Mac to the iPad, Apples product portfolio consists of premium products at premium prices, and they still sell like hot cakes. This brand is clearly the apple of every consumers eye. Apart from being a revolutionary product, Apple has been able to del iver industry-leading
32
devices in terms of specif ications and des ign. It has created a very large aspirational value for itself. This is clearly evident from its scores in the Competence, Sophistication and Excitement sections. The majority of the respondents consider it to be the most imaginative (91%) and the most up-todate (60%). They also ran k it the highest in terms of an upper- class (69%) and su ccessful brand (60%). The one major area where it lags behind is in terms of sincerity and reliability/durability (ruggedness). Both these spa ces are dominated by Nokia which is perceived to be the most rel iable, tough and down-to-earth phone, thought Apple is the most cheerful (53%) of the lot, add ing further to the aspirational value quotient.
2. Samsung
They are one of the largest consumer electronics manufacturers in the world. They not only ma ke mobile phones, but an ent ire range of consumer durable de vices from refrigerators and washing machines to televisions and computers. Samsung is well known for the variety it is able to offer in all of these categories. Samsung had been ma king a wide range of phones before the laun ch of the iPhone, but after the launch they have focused mainly on bringing both low-cost and class-leading
smartphones to the mar ket at lower pr ices. They had the ir s ights f irmly f ixed at the top spot wh ich was held by Apple not too long ago, and ha ve successfully reached the top in terms of sheer volume. In terms of the brand, it is a mostly distant second to Apple, but constantly ahead of Nokia on many counts. Leading Nokia by a fair margin on the excitement front, Samsung is more daring (22%) and
up-to-date (27%). It does fairly well on the competence and sophistication counts, being rated as more intelligent and more charming (15% each) than Nokia and marginally more upper-class. But Nokia is perceived to be a more successful brand, probably ow ing to the history and presence of the brand.
33
3. BlackBerry
Research In Motion, a Canadian telecommunications f irm, can be considered to be a major success in terms of building the BlackBerry brand because the name is synonymous w ith its category and is
much more well known than RIM itself. BlackBerry is known for making mobile phones wh ich are focused on providing enterprise services to their customers. They ha ve a distinctive design which has become synonymous with the form-factor. Recently, RIM has made the foray into making devices for everyone instead of just focusing on enterprise customers. Unlike Apple and Samsung, BlackBerry does much better on the sincerity front, coming a distant second to Nokia on the basis of down-to-earth (9%) and honesty ( 15%). It is also considered to an upper-class brand (20%) ahead of Nokia and Samsung due to the premium and features and pr ices and the image of being a product used by serious professionals. It also fairs well on ruggedness and rel iability (9% each) compared to Apple and Samsung.
Overall, Nokia r ules
the roost in terms of reliability, r uggedness and sincerity. This can be attributed to
the wide range of Nokia devices in the low-cost segments, which were the first ever phones that many people had owned. In partic ular, devices like the Nokia 1100, which was a global phenomenon and still holds the title of being the single largest selling mobile phone model in the world (250 million units),
have cemented Nokias brand image as a highly d urable and r ugged device. The areas where it
lags behind are Excitement, C ompetence and Sophistication, all of which play an important role in the purchase decision of the consumer. Hence, the Nokia brand has s u ffered immensely in the past few years as it has not been able to innovate in the right direction so as to keep u p with the competition.
34
Nokias Brand Equity Rankings 2011
35
Nokias brand image has indeed suffered a setba ck in 2011 which is evident from its rankings in the current year. It managed to garner the top rank in only the All India Brand Trust Ranking. This lays stress
on the fact that Nokia is still a formidable force in India and that it is high time for it reconsider its branding strategies in order to regain the trust and faith of customers worldwide.
Respondent Profile
The respondents were mostly present NOKIA users (51.11%) though around 95 % of the users were previous or existing ones hence had a
fairly
good
idea
of
NOKIA
phone
performance.
Nokia SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis as a tool helps an organ ization understand where it stands. Condu cting a SWOT analysis of Nokia makes us understand where Nokia stands in the market:
Strengths
y
Brand Name: Nokia has a strong brand name wh ich works in its favour especially in the
event of launching new products as the brand has h igh recall value in the minds of the customers enabling strong brand asso ciation. y
Global Distribution Network: Enables easy availability of products across different
markets. 36
y
Financial Strength: It serves as the backbone for the company enabling it to concentrate
on innovations. y
Ease of Use : Nokia is known for its user friendly products which make it popular among
users irrespective of how savvy they are with gadgets. y
Varied Range: Nokia has a wide range of products which makes it an attractive brand.
Also the products have a relatively decent resale value which increases its popularity especially in markets like India.
Weaknesses
y
Price: Nokia products are priced higher as compared to other substitutes like Micromax,
Samsung and Spice, though this gets covered by the quality and reliability of its products. y
Unable to keep up with the times: Nokia has been unable to keep up with the times
and has been a follower so far as innovativeness is concerned for the better part of the last decade. y
Size: Nokia suffers from being the behemoth market leader susceptible to attacks from
emerging and established competitors. y
Difficulty of use in recent products : Nokias newer models are somewhat diff icult to use
which has caused an erosion of trust in the brand.
Opportunities
y
Identifying New Markets: Nokia can leverage its position as Market leader by expanding
to newer markets. 37
y
Changing
Price Structure: Price change can help it position itself as a more economical
option thereby enabling it to capture greater market share. y
New Product Range: A more attractive product range can bring it in sync with changing
tastes and preferences and introduce it to a new target market. y
Riding the crest of the telecommunication boom: Nokia is well suited to exploit the
global telecommunications boom to seal its position as the market leader and expand its reach and market share. y
Reputation building: Through aggressive advertisements and effective market communication thus building the brand image further.
Threats
y
Competition: Entry
of more competitors as a result of excessive growth of the industry.
y
Price War: Nokia is facing a price war from the competitors threatening its market
share. y
Growth of WLL: Nokias forte lies with CDMA technology, while WLL phones are go ing
from strength to strength. y
Innovation: Innovation on the part of the competitors threatens Nokias hold over the
market.
Conclusion and
Recommendation
NOKIA has been a top perform ing brand and a market leader by market share all along . It enjoys strong loyalty and is perceived as a reliable, value for money brand however with the 38
advent of Apple and other high end phones us ing newest technologies to woo the customers especially the youth , the market share for NOKIA has been de clining . As can be seen clearly from the results of the survey, Nokia has established itself as a reliable and rugged mobile phone brand. But these arent the only fa ctors that determine the purchase decision of the customer. With the increase in the use of mobile internet and rapid advances in mobile
technology, the customers are moving towards smarter and faster mobile phones. Smartphones, which used to be a core area of strength for Nokia in the past, have changed drastically after the introduction of the iPhone in 2007 and Nokia has not kept pace with this development. Its market share in th is segment has been completely obliterated by the iPhone and devices manufactured by Samsung and other lead ing brands runn ing on Andro id. These brands have made the smartphones more exciting, competent and sophisticated and Nokia has fallen behind. To regain its lost market share, Nokia needs to reinvent itself and introduce an entirely new range of smartphones which capitalize on Nokias strengths of reliability, which none of the other brands ha ve, and combines it with new elements which create excitement. Hence NOKIA needs to be innovative and should update the features of its phone to delight the customers and regain its market share . The brand needs to been seen as cool and happening
by the youth which are the major segment driving Apples sales in India .
39
Questionnaire- Is Nokia Connecting with the People? This survey is aimed at collecting information about the consumer perception of the NOKIA brand. Thank you for helping us.
Are you an existing or previous user of a NOKIA phone? * y
( ) Existing
y
( ) Previous
y
( ) Never Used
Which brand do you recall f irst when thinking of a mobile phone? * y
( ) NOKIA
y
( ) APPLE
y
( ) BLACKBERRY
y
( ) SAMSUNG
y
( ) Other:
If you have an intention to buy a mobile phone, which brand will you prefer the most? * y
( ) NOKIA
y
( ) APPLE
y
( ) BLACKBERRY
y
( ) SAMSUNG
y
( ) Other:
Strongly Agree
Pl indicate your
preference
()
Neither Agree
Agree nor
Disagree
Disagree
()
40
()
()
Strongly Disagree
()
Strongly Agree
Pl indicate your
preference
()
Strongly Agree
Pl indicate your
preference
()
Strongly Agree
Neither Agree
Agree nor
Disagree
Disagree
()
()
()
Neither Agree
Agree nor
Disagree
Disagree
()
()
()
Neither Agree
Agree nor
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
()
Strongly Disagree
()
Strongly Disagree
Appealing
()
()
()
()
()
High Quality
()
()
()
()
()
Pleasant
()
()
()
()
()
Popular
()
()
()
()
()
Prestigious
()
()
()
()
()
Smart & Stylish
()
()
()
()
()
Expens ive
()
()
()
()
()
41
Strongly Agree
Neither Agree
Agree nor
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Reliable
()
()
()
()
()
Properly Advertised
()
()
()
()
()
Easily Available
()
()
()
()
()
NOKIA
APPLE
BLACKBERRY
SAMSUNG
Down to Earth
()
()
()
()
Honest
()
()
()
()
Cheerful
()
()
()
()
Daring
()
()
()
()
Imaginative
()
()
()
()
Up-to-Date
()
()
()
()
Reliable
()
()
()
()
Intelligent
()
()
()
()
Successful
()
()
()
()
Upper Class
()
()
()
()
42
NOKIA
APPLE
BLACKBERRY
SAMSUNG
Charming
()
()
()
()
Tough
()
()
()
()
1
2
3
4
5
Design
()
()
()
()
()
Camera
()
()
()
()
()
Video
()
()
()
()
()
Music
()
()
()
()
()
Software
()
()
()
()
()
Connectivity
()
()
()
()
()
Battery
()
()
()
()
()
Availability
()
()
()
()
()
Reliability
()
()
()
()
()
After-sales Service
()
()
()
()
()
Value for money
()
()
()
()
()
Brand Reputation
()
()
()
()
()
43
1
2
3
4
5
()
()
()
()
()
Software updates
()
()
()
()
()
Rugged
()
()
()
()
()
Delicate
()
()
()
()
()
Adds prestige to your image
Nokia
Apple
Samsung
Blackberry
()
()
()
()
Worth its price
()
()
()
()
I prefer this brand
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
Always maintains high level of quality
I will recommend this to others
It has something that other brands don't have
It gives a feeling of sense and pride to others
I am a loyal user of th is brand
It is a very special brand
44
Nokia
Apple
and I have unique feel ings about it
Please enter your name. *
Please specify your gender. * y
( ) Male
y
( ) Female
Please sele ct the age group you belong to. * y
( ) 21-25 years
y
( ) 25-30 years
y
( ) 30-40 years
y
( ) > 40 years
Which brand of mob ile phone are you currently using? * y
( ) Nokia
y
( ) Apple
y
( ) Samsung
y
( ) Blackberry
y
( ) Other:
[Submit]
45
Samsung
Blackberry