Head & Shoulders tops survey on brands promoting health and happiness

Complete Wellbeing, a magazine, recently commissioned a pioneering survey to identify the role of brands in the two most important pursuits of a consumer's life-health and happiness. For the survey, respondents were asked to vote for brands they perceived as representing only health, only happiness, and finally, both health and happiness.

Procter & Gamble's Head & Shoulders [H&S] emerged the winner, attracting maximum votes in the comprehensive category, Health-and-Happiness. Parachute from Marico Industries bagged maximum votes for its association with Health, while Wills Lifestyle from ITC Group received highest votes for the happiness category.

H&S can be called the Sachin Tendulkar among brands. Last year, Indians chose Tendulkar in a similar survey conducted by Complete Wellbeing to identify India's role models of health and happiness. By receiving the maximum votes in the health-and-happiness category, H&S has bagged the same honour.

When asked why Indian consumers associate health and happiness with H&S, Sonali Dhawan, director of P& G Beauty said, ''H&S gives everyone the freedom to be themselves by trying to fight dandruff and preventing visible flakes from coming back while ensuring that hair remains beautiful.''

Conducted by global research company Synovate for Complete Wellbeing magazine, the Complete Wellbeing Health and Happiness Brand Survey 2009 engaged respondents in the SEC A category from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru-three cities that best represent urban India's lifestyle choices.

''Consumers buy brands for their intangible value propositions. As health and happiness emerge as the top propositions that consumers seek, brands are increasingly weaving them into their brand promise,'' says Manoj Khatri, editor-publisher of BRand Complete Wellbeing explaining the rationale behind the survey.