Abstract

“What are the nuances that link brand positioning, brand associations and brand equity related aspects of a brand performing successfully in the market?” especially in an emerging market such as India is a question that triggers many approaches among academics and practitioners.

Head &Shoulders brand from Procter and Gamble is a multinational brand that had grown rapidly in the Indian context after displacing a well-entrenched brand of shampoo.  The brand’s effective positioning had struck a chord with consumers and had sustained its success over a period of time.

With several competitive brands entering the well-advertised category of shampoos, the brand manager for Head &Shoulders felt that its positioning though effective cannot last forever and wanted to find out if the brand’s positioning could be strengthened. Besides the analysis of thr regular brand positioning strategies, the company felt that a study on consumer behavior could provide useful pointers to the alternatives of brand positioning with respect to Head &Shoulders when studied with its competitive brands. The results of the study provided interesting but challenging results that made brand repositioning more complex than what the brand manager had assessed. The case study highlights the importance of consumer behavior when brands decide to reposition themselves in a dynamic environment. Furthermore, the case also draws on the implications of brand positioning and consumer behavior on the qualitative dimensions of brand equity.

Learning Objective 

 * The objective of the case is to highlight the importance of consumer attitudes towards brand positioning/repositioning and brand equity in a dynamic marketing environment.

 *The case also illustrates the importance of cognition and emotion in analyzing brand-related associations.