Identifying the congruence among the presumed, communicated and perceived brand positioning strategies of Indian automobile brands

The incidence of congruence among presumed, communicated and perceived positioning strategies off our Indian car brands (WagonR, Santro, Spark and Figo) is examined. The triangulation research methodology (pilot survey, secondary data and content analysis) is applied to examine the three populations (expert views, advertising strategies and consumer perceptions) considered in the study. The results reveal the popularity of two positioning strategies i.e. “Visual Artistic” and “Basic Features” in case of three car brands whereas Figo stands on the positioning of “Cost and Finance.” Regarding the congruence among experts’ presumed strategies and the communication tactics employed by selected car brands, it is observed that all the communicated strategies are not presumed and thus ambiguities prevail in the process. This paper also calls the corporate attention to the fact that even positioning strategies perceived by the customers are not presumed by experts and hence there is need to re-assess the brand positioning strategies to curtail these ambiguities. However, the positioning activities highlighted in communications are successfully recognized by the target customers to some extent. The paper concludes with the discussion on managerial implications and limitations.