Home-grown Companies Dominate the 2018 List of Most-attractive Brands in IndiaAccording to TRA Research's India's Most Attractive Brands 2018, technology and consumer electronics brands dominated the consumer subconscious this year

Neither Xiaomi nor Apple but Samsung is the mobile brand which attracted Indians the most in 2018. With the New Year just around the corner, Trust Research Advisory (TRA) - a brand intelligence and data insights provider has unveiledIndia's Most Attractive Brands 2018-syndicated primary research based on the proprietary 36 attributes of attractiveness.

TRA has been conducted the study for past 5 years and this year's research was conducted among 2,474 consumer-influencers in 16 Indian cities. With Samsung returning to its position as India's most trusted brand, it seems that the smartphone maker has overcome the temporary setback it faced in the past two years. While Korean brand has topped the list, home-grown brands have been quick to catch up.

India's Dominance

India's largest Automobiles company, Tata Motors has secured the runner-up position. The automaker has jumped 179 places from year to achieve the commendable feat. With 49 Indian brands appearing in the top-100 with only 18 American, 6 South Korean, 6 Japanese and 2 Chinese brands, home-grown companies have indeed established their market dominance.

"It is extremely gratifying to see that Indian brands have the maximum presence among the top 100. Such brands have intense magnetic power over the consumers," expressed N Chandramouli, CEO of TRA Research. The three-year-old Reliance Jio, which has disrupted the telecom space in India, emerged as the fourth most attractive brand.

Clash of the Titans

The home-grown brand which has become the third largest mobile phone network in India also tops the Mobile Telephony Category unseating last year's leader, Airtel. The year also witnessed the technology and consumer electronics brands dominating the public conscious as American mobile giant Apple jumped 89 ranks to reach the 3 positions as the most attractive brand in India whereas China-based Oppo came 12th.

Chandramouli further defined attractiveness or desire as the response to a sense of longing for anything - a product, brand, person or an outcome. When brands score high on TRA's Brand Attractiveness research, they have successfully created similar subconscious pull, he added.

Categories & More

The report lists 286 categories under 34 super-categories. Among other category leaders are Google (Internet Search), Amazon (Online Retail), Ola (Taxi Aggregation), ICICI Bank (Bank - Private), HSBC (Bank - Foreign), Taj Hotels (Hotels – Premium), Jet Airways (Airline – Private), Visa (Credit /Debit card), and more.

Chandramouli added, "Categories of Gadgetry, Mobile Services, Automobiles and Consumer Electronics have the largest average Attractiveness Index this year. All these Categories are highly driven by individual personalities and this shows a rise in the Self-Awareness – a growing sense of Purpose and Social-Worth of the Indian consumer."