A StudyOn

Brand Awareness & Brand Perception

Completed in

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)

Supervised by Submitted by

Mr. Manoj Sharma Miss. Swati Verma ( Faculty Mentor) Roll No. - 6962 Mr. Aniesh Kundel ( Marketing Manager at ACC ) Session 2010-2013

Teacher’s Signature

LALIT SEN INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION n’ TECHNOLOGY

DECLARATION

I do hereby declare that this project is submitted by me for partial fulfillment of

the bachelor of business administration; maharaja Lakshman Sen Memorial

College, Himachal Pradesh university. The project is exclusively prepared by me

and has not been submitted to any other institution or publishes anywhere before.

DATE SIGNATURE

ACKNOWLEGMENT

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Success is the manifestation of diligence, perseverance, inspiration, motivation

and innovation. I the projectee, ascribe my success to my guide MR.Aniesh

kundel, whose Endeavour, foresight, innovation and dynamism contributed in a

big way in completing the project, within stipulated time.

I am also very thankful to Mr. Manoj Sharma HOD of Lalit Sen Institute of

Business Education and Technology for proper academic guidance for making this

project a reality.

This acknowledgement can never be complete without thanking to the employees

of ACC and all other people who have been associated directly or indirectly with

my project and helped me in getting it in the present form.

Swati verma

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PREFACE

Being the student of business management, I wanted to take some project related

to marketing and marketing strategies. My main reason behind this approach was

that I felt that going for a project related to marketing would lead to a better

understanding of the basic concept of brand awareness’ and perception , with

this aforementioned approach in mind I started searching for a marketing

project. Meantime I got a chance to do my summer training under the

organization like ACC. My project titled as

“BRAND AWARENESS n BRAND PERCEPTION IN PART OF

BILASPUR ”

Mr. Aniesh kundel immensely helped me to carry out this project. My project

satisfies the aforesaid aim with the feedbacks of sample customers, representing

the market of Barmana, Bilaspur Area. This project makes use of well-organized

questionnaire.

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CONTENTS

Page No.

Executive Summary

Introduction Of Topic

Company’s History & Profile

Objective Of Project

Research Methodology

Graphical Presentation Of Data

Research Findings

Conclusion & Suggestion

Annexure

Bibliography

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Progress is a continuous process. It is relative and absolute. We can’t stop at a

certain destination and declare that target has achieved and we need not go

further

The summer training programs are designed to give the manager of the

future, a fell of the corporate happening and work culture. These real life

situations are entirely different from the simulation exercise enacted in an

artificial environment inside the classroom and it is precisely because of this

reason that this summer training is a bridge between the institute and

organization. Summer training program made us to understand how theoretical

knowledge will be applied in practical field.

It exactly in this context that I was privileged enough to join ACC, on 11th of

May 2012, as a summer trainee. ACC Limited is India’s foremost cement

manufacturer with a countrywide network of factories and marketing offices.

Established in 1936, ACC has been a pioneer and trend-setter in cement and

concrete technology. Among the first companies in India to include commitment

to environment protection as a corporate objective, ACC has won accolades for

environment friendly measures taken at its plants and mines, and has also been

felicitated for its acts of good corporate citizenship. ACC is the most preferred

cement brand name in India. ACC is now part of the worldwide Holcim Group.

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The experience that I have gathered over past six to eight weeks has certainly

provided me with an orientation, which I believe, will help me, and shoulder any

assignment successfully in future.

In today’s market where the customers are playing a major role and it’s

extremely necessary for an organization to see that their product provides

complete satisfaction to their customer by fulfilling their needs. During this

project I had done market survey, to know the awareness & perception of the

customers about ACC in local market.

All the information in the project was not only collected by surveys and visits

but also by discussing with different managers in marketing department of ACC.

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INTRODUCTION

TO

TOPIC

Introduction to Topic

The project is undertaken to measure the brand awareness n brand perception

level of ACC in around Barmana, measuring the brand awareness and perception

level of a particular company’s brand is of vital importance since it indicates the

number of people who are aware as well as what values they add to the

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particular brand in a given period of time and it also highlights the effectiveness

of the different advertising or promotional tools used for the purpose.

Awareness and Perception are the two key metrics that any company

would use to measure their brand strength.

Awareness in simple terms - how many people know my brand? Usually,

awareness is measured through surveys that asks participants a series of

questions like “What brand comes to your mind if you want to buy cement? In

general, companies measure unaided awareness- what % of survey participants

mentioned the brand without any kind of hint.

It is the consumers’ ability to recognize or recall( indentify) the brand within a

given product category in sufficient detail to make a purchase decision.

It also means that the consumer can purpose, recommend, choose or use the

brand. The objectives of the most advertising campaign are to create and

maintain brand preference. The first step is to make potential consumers aware

of a brand’s existence.

Perception is the values consumers attach to a brand. For example, perception

for Volvo will be safety. To measure perception of a car company, survey will

have questions like “How do you rank car brands in terms of safety? And

various questions will be asked on quality, performance, or green. Outcome of

the survey reveal the brand perception. List of questions depends on what is goal

for the brand and how you want customers to think of your brand.

ACC has a unique track record of innovative research, product development and

specialized consultancy services. It is an important benchmark for the cement

industry in respect of its production, marketing and personnel management

processes.

ACC is proud of its many innovations over the years and realizes that

innovativeness is an essential characteristic of leadership.

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In this project, I went into a search for details regarding the brand awareness &

brand perception of ACC.

The analysis was done with the help of the data collected through questionnaire

taking the sample size of 100 in Barmana. I have tried to throw a clear light

towards the level of brand awareness n brand perception of ACC .

Company’s HISTORY

&

PROFILE

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(Formerly the Associated Cement Companies Limited)

India's No. 1 Cement Company

[ History ]

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ACC was formed in 1936 when ten existing cement companies came together

under one umbrella in a historic merger - the country's first notable merger at a

time when the term mergers and acquisitions was not even coined. The history of

ACC spans a wide canvas beginning with the lonely struggle of its pioneer F E

Dinshaw and other Indian entrepreneurs like him who founded the Indian

cement industry. Their efforts to face competition for survival in a small but

aggressive market mingled with the stirring of a country's nationalist pride that

touched all walks of life - including trade, commerce and business.

The first success came in a move towards cooperation in the country's young

cement industry and culminated in the historic merger of ten companies to form

a cement giant. These companies belonged to four prominent business groups -

Tatas, Khataus, Killick Nixon and F E Dinshaw groups. ACC was formally

established on August 1, 1936. Sadly, F E Dinshaw, the man recognized as the

founder of ACC, died in January 1936; just months before his dream could be

realized.

ACC stands out as the most unique and successful merger in Indian business

history, in which the distinct identities of the constituent companies were melded

into a new cohesive organization - one that has survived and retained its position

of leadership in industry. In a sense, the formation of ACC represents a quest for

the synergy of good business practices, values and shared objectives. The use of

the plural in ACC's original name, The Associated Cement Companies Limited,

itself indicated the company's origins from a merger. Many years later, some

stockbrokers in the country's leading stock exchanges continued to refer to this

company simply as 'The Merger'.

[ PROFILE ]

ACC (ACC Limited) is India's foremost manufacturer of cement and concrete.

ACC's operations are spread throughout the country with 16 modern cement

factories, more than 40 Ready mix concrete plants, 21 sales offices, and several

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zonal offices. It has a workforce of about 9,000 persons and a countrywide

distribution network of over 9,000 dealers.

Since inception in 1936, the company has been a trendsetter and important

benchmark for the cement industry in many areas of cement and concrete

technology. ACC has a unique track record of innovative research, product

development and specialized consultancy services. The company's various

manufacturing units are backed by a central technology support services centre -

the only one of its kind in the Indian cement industry.

ACC has rich experience in mining, being the largest user of limestone. As the

largest cement producer in India, it is one of the biggest customers of the

domestic coal industry, of Indian Railways, and a considerable user of the

country’s road transport network services for inward and outward movement of

materials and products.

Among the first companies in India to include commitment to environmental

protection as one of its corporate objectives, the company installed sophisticated

pollution control equipment as far back as 1966, long before pollution control

laws came into existence. Today each of its cement plants has state-of-the art

pollution control equipment and devices.

ACC plants, mines and townships visibly demonstrate successful Endeavour’s in

quarry rehabilitation, water management techniques and ‘greening’ activities.

The company actively promotes the use of alternative fuels and raw materials

and offers total solutions for waste management including testing, suggestions

for reuse, recycling and co-processing.

ACC has taken purposeful steps in knowledge building. We run two institutes

that offer professional technical courses for engineering graduates and diploma

holders which are relevant to manufacturing sectors such as cement. The main

beneficiaries are youth from remote and backward areas of the country.

ACC has made significant contributions to the nation building process by way of

quality products, services and sharing expertise. Its commitment to sustainable

development, its high ethical standards in business dealings and its on-going

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efforts in community welfare programmes have won it acclaim as a responsible

corporate citizen. ACC’s brand name is synonymous with cement and enjoys a

high level of equity in the Indian market. It is the only cement company that

figures in the list of Consumer Super Brands of India

Awards & Accolades

National Award for Excellence in Water Management by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

Outstanding Corporate Vision, Triple Impact - Business Performance Social & Environmental Action and Globalisation for 2009-10 from Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry

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Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Award in two categories, Green Leadership and Community Engagement by Enterprise Asia.

Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award --- by The Ministry of Environment and Forests for "extraordinary work" carried out in the area of afforestation.

Subh Karan Sarawagi Environment Award - by The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries for environment protection measures.

Drona Trophy - By Indian Bureau Of Mines for extra ordinary efforts in protection of Environment and mineral conservation in the large mechanized mines sector.

Indira Gandhi Memorial National Award - for excellent performance in prevention of pollution and ecological development

Excellence in Management of Health, Safety and Environment : Certificate of Merit by Indian Chemical Manufacturers Association

Good Corporate Citizen Award - by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry

FIMI National Award - for valuable contribution in Mining activities from the Federation of Indian Mineral Industry under the Ministry of Coal.

Rajya Sthariya Paryavaran Puraskar - for outstanding work in Environmental Protection and Environment Performance by the Madhya Pradesh Pollution. Control Board.

National Award for Fly Ash Utilisation - by Ministry of Power, Ministry of Environment & Forests and Dept of Science & Technology, Govt of India - for manufacture of Portland Pozzolana Cement.

Nationwide NETWORK

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OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

Today customers are facing a growing range of choice in the different brands of

products and servises. They are making their choice on the basis of their

perception of brand, quality servise and value. This project is undertaken :-

1. To find out the awareness level of customers of brand ACC.

2. To find out the brands with which ACC has to compete in the market.

3. To ascertain the scope of ACC in this region.

4. To study the consumer perception of ACC.

5. Which attribute of the product drive the potential customer to prefer the

particular product .

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METHODOLOGY OF STUDY

ACC had a wide network whithin country. To anayze the report certain methodology

were used to elaborate the topic in easy way. The design of a research study is based on

the purpose of the study/ methodologies, which were used are

DATA COLLECTION (reserch design )

Various type of data was collected from different sources. The sources of these data

are various publications, trade journals,and official website of ACC.

SAMPLING

An integral component of a research design is the sampling plan. Sample size,which

was taken for the research.

Sample size is 100.

STRUCTURED QUESTIONNAIRE

Structred questionnaire was prepared and survey was made.

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ANALYSIS n’ INTERPRETATION OF DATA

Customer Response To - “Meaning Of Brand “

When individuals were asked ,what they meant by “BRAND “, most of them almost 60

individuals said Quality while, some of them said it means best product available in the

market, some said brand is a standard , and 10 of them said Brand means Good

company product.

QUALITY BEST PRODUCT

STANDARD GOOD COMPANY

0

20

40

60

80 AVERAGE

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Customers Awareness of Different Cement Brands

When people were asked to list down few brands of the product category ( cement ),

every one said ACC n AMBUJA . Apart from these two brands few of them said

JP( Jaiprakash cement ), Ultratech , binnani, Birla, But Acc n Ambuja was common in

every individual List.

ACC

AMBUJA JP

ULTRARECH

BINNANI

BIRLA0

102030405060708090

100

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Q3. What brand comes to your mind if you want to buy

cement ?

Previous question specify that people are aware of many brands but when it comes to

buying then they recall Acc. Almost 50 people think about Acc when it comes to

buying,, but still Acc is in competition with Ambuja, almost 45 people think about

Ambuja.. so difference is just of 10.

ACC

AMBUJA JP

ULTRATECH

BINANI

BIRLA05

101520253035404550

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Q7 Are you loyal to the product you buy ?

51 individuals said Yes they stick to the same product while,39 people said No, they keep experimenting or change the product according to the conditions like availability of product; price; quality And, 10 people said yes they are loyal but only for quality products..not for commodity.

5139

10 Yes always, I stick to the same product

Never, I keep Experienting new products

Only for quality products, where it is acommodity, I choose least price products

Q8. Are you price sensitive costumer ?

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79 individuals said yes they are price sensitive while,21 individuals are brand loyal customers.

79

21

YesNo

Q9. Will you stick to the same product if their price increases ?

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When people were asked if they’ll stick to ACC if the price goes high, so 62 people said yes they’ll buy it but if the price increases up to a certain limit. 23 people said they’ll buy it irrespective of the price changes and 15 people said No, they’ll shift to other

brand.

6223

15Upto certain Limityes, irrespect of price in-creaseNo, I may look for different product

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Most of people said they’ll buy ACC Cement if the price is increased up to certain limit…,

When they were asked to specify the limit ,

5 Individuals said - Rs. 20 (Limit)

15 “ - Rs. 10

9 “ - Rs. 2

17 “ - Rs. 5

16 “ - Re. 1

Q10. How do you rank ACC n AMBUJA in terms of safety ,quality and performance

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Diagram showing ACC ‘s position

SAFETY QUALITY PERFORMANCE0

1020304050

20 20 20

4148

393932

41

AVERAGE

GOOD

EXCELLENT

Diagram showing AMBUJA’s Position

SAFETY QUALITY PERFORMANCE0

102030405060

1124 25

60 5645

2920

30 AVERAGE

GOOD

EXCELLENT

Q11 Do you use the product because it is mostly available?

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45

26

29

yesnomostly

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RESEARCH FINDINGS

Costumers are confused related to the meaning of “ brand “ some of them take brand as a name of a good company ; few of them think it means a standard product and some of think it means a Best Product.

People are well aware of ACC brand , when they were asked to list down few brand names of cement almost all of them recall ACC along with Ambuja. It conclude that Acc is in tough competition with Ambuja in this Area.

Though the survey was taken in Bilaspur n’ Barmana Area but, when consumers were asked about what brand comes to their mind if they want to buy Cement, almost 50 people said ACC n 45 of them said Ambuja so, the difference is very less keeping in mind the survey Area.

Quality and Performance are the most important attribute of ACC which Attracts costumers.

Overall ACC shows Excellent results when it comes to Brand awareness n’ Brand perception

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

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The major limitation of the study was most of the individuals beingto be loyal to their brand didn’t give exact answers. Like they didn’t talk much about the answers of the questions

Many individuals didn’t fill their answers. So, the actual figures can be somewhat different from the one I have found out.

Big area- I was unable to explore some of the customers

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Conclusion & suggestions

As I said Quality n performance are the most important attribute of ACC which Attracts costumers but Acc should focus on its safety measures because most of people don’t find ACC Excellent in terms of safety so, it may affect the perception of people regarding ACC. Company is in tough competition with Ambuja cement

Suggestions

Based upon the time spend by me in the market, useful suggestions of the customers and the findings from the survey, following recommendations can be suggested for increasing the brand awareness and perception of ACC

Marketing & advertising services should be improved In order to improve awareness as well as perception level of costumers. Like Trade allowances, trade shows, wall paintings, print media etc.

What matters for the most of cement buyers is the price of cement and then the quality and promotion while visiting to the market buyers not only look for the price but also the personal touch matters a lot and ACC need to improve it.

Company should try to introduce new product range like various grades.

ACC should develop business status with public relations by participating in local and international conferences, this will help to promote the brand

ANNEXURE

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Questionnaire of Training at Marketing Department. In ACC Gagal Cement Works.

Dear Respondent,

I am Swati Verma will be preparing a Project on Topic “ Brand Awareness & Brand Perception in ACC Gagal Cement Works Ltd.” So, Dear respondent please help me by filling up d following questionnaire. I will b very thankful for your co-operation.

Q1 Name: ____________________

Q2 Designation ____________________

Q3 Address: ____________________

Q4 Phone Number / E-mail ID ____________________

Q5. Describe what does ‘brand’ mean to you?

Q6 List down a few brands of the product

______________________________________________________

Q7 what brand comes to your mind if you want to buy cement ?

__________________________________________________

Q8 When u hears about product category can u recall ACC?

☐ Yes

☐ No

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Q9 Do you know ACC?

☐ Yes

☐ No

Q10 Do you know AMBUJA?

☐ Yes

☐ No

Q11. I think I know ACC well

Totally agree ☐

Agree☐

Neutral ☐

Disagree☐

Totally Disagree ☐

Q12 Are you Loyal Costumer to the product you buy?

Yes Always. I stick to the same product ☐

Never, I keep experimenting with new products ☐

Only for quality products. Where it is a commodity, I choose the least ☐ price Product

Q13 Are you price sensitive costumer?

☐ Yes

No☐

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Q14 Will you stick to the same product if their price is increases?

Up to a certain limit in price increase ☐

Yes, irrespective of price increase ☐

No, I may look for different product☐ ,

If any limit please specify __________________

Q15 How do you rank each given companies in terms of:-

ACC AMBUJA Average

Good

Excellent Average

Good

Excellent

Safety SafetyQuality QualityPerformance

Performance

Q16 which of the following, according to you, help build a good brand image?

Quality ☐

Communication strategies☐

Competitive pricing ☐

Good value ☐

Added services☐

☐ Free trails and discounts

☐ Others

If☐ Others’, please specify _______________________________

Q17 Do you use the product because it is readily available?

Yes☐

No☐

Mostly☐

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Q18 Do customer services have an impact on you?

Yes☐

No☐

Signature

BIBILIOGRAPHY

Official website of ACC – www.acclimited.com\

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