TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Acknowledgements. 2. Introduction 3. Objectives. 4. Limitations. 5. Research Methodology. 6. Results and analysis 7. Findings. 8. Conclusions. 9. Appendices. 10. References. INTRODUCTION The rapid pace of change and intense competitive pressure in today's marketplace demand that brands continuously innovate and reinvent themselves to maintain their relevance and market position. In this context, brand repositioning and other revitalization strategies have become a business imperative for battling brand erosion. The appeal of brand repositioning is further heightened by the rising costs and high risk associated with launching a new brand. Brand repositioning has received little attention in the marketing literature and has mostly been treated as a variation of brand positioning. Biel, for example, has defined brand positioning as "building (or rebuilding) an image for a brand". The goal of positioning and repositioning strategies relates to the management of consumers' perceptions. However, positioning focuses on the creation of brand associations - consumers' perceptions of the attributes that differentiate the brand from competitive offers – while repositioning also implies managing existing brand associations. The unique challenge of a repositioning strategy, thus, lies in rejuvenating the brand image to make it relevant in an evolving environment, while honoring the brand equity heritage. Repositioning can be required as the market changes and new opportunities occur. Through repositioning the company can reach customers they not intended to reach in the first place. If a brand has been established at the market for some time and wish to change their image they can consider repositioning, although one of the hardest actions in marketing is to reposition a familiar brand. According to Solomon, position strategy is an essential part in the marketing efforts because companies have to use the elements in the marketing mix to influence the customers understanding of the position. During the movement from something less attractive and relevant towards a more attractive and relevant position several of strategic choices has to be made. The ones responsible for the repositioning have to evaluate why a reposition is necessary, and if the offer is the one who will change or just the brand name. There are several risk factors that have to be taken into consideration when preparation for a repositioning of the offering or the brand. During repositioning, the risk of losing the credibility and reliability is high and the need for a thorough strategy is therefore necessary to avoid this occurrence. Some analyst argue that to successfully reposition a establish brand name is almost impossible because repositioning of a brand can make the most loyal customer to switch brand. But, in some circumstances a repositioning is necessary to gain credibility if the brand is eroded. Whenever a reposition is in question it has to be of relevance from a customer perspective, is this achievable? Some brands will on no account be thought on as a luxury brand and therefore an attempt to reposition will only damage the brand image or the actual company. Numerous failed attempts at brand repositioning testify to the difficulty of developing and implementing such a tactic. For example, while the soft drink brand, Mountain Dew has remained relevant to the youth market through continuous repositioning in its thirty years of existence, Levis' Jeans has been losing market share to newcomers such as The Gap, despite numerous campaigns designed to reposition the brand as trendy. The strategic importance of brand repositioning in preserving and enhancing brand equity, coupled with the mixed results of repositioning attempts, underscores the need to develop a better understanding of the dynamics of brand repositioning. Specifically, questions of whether, when and how brands should be repositioned need to be addressed. Research into brand repositioning is relevant not only to the development of brand management theory, but also extends to corporate strategy through an examination of corporate brands. Indian Automobile Industry The automotive industry in India grew at a computed annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.5 percent over the past five years, the Economic Survey 2008-09 tabled in parliament on 2nd July’09 said. The industry has a strong multiplier effect on the economy due to its deep forward and backward linkages with several key segments of the economy, a finance ministry statement said. The automobile industry, which was plagued by the economic downturn amidst a credit crisis, managed a growth of 0.7 percent in 2008-09 with passenger car sales registering 1.31 percent growth while the commercial vehicles segment slumped 21.7 percent. Indian automobile industry has come a long way to from the era of the Ambassador car to Maruti 800 to latest M&M Xylo. The industry is highly competitive with a number of global and Indian companies present today. It is projected to be the third largest auto industry by 2030 and just behind to US & China, according to a report. The industry is estimated to be a US$ 34 billion industry. Indian Automobile industry can be divided into three segments i.e. two wheeler, three wheeler & four wheeler segment. The domestic two-wheeler market is dominated by Indian as well as foreign players such as Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto, Honda Motors, TVS Motors, and Suzuki etc. Maruti Udyog and Tata Motors are the leading passenger car manufacturers in the country. And India is considered as strategic market by Suzuki, Yamaha, etc. Commercial Vehicle market is catered by players like Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Volvo, Force Motors, Eicher Motors etc. The major players have not left any stone unturned to be global. Major of the players have got into the merger activities with their foreign counterparts. Like Maruti with Suzuki, Hero with Honda, Tata with Fiat, Mahindra with Renault, Force Motors with Mann. Key Facts: • India ranks 12th in the list of the worlds top 15 automakers • Entry of more international players • Contributes 5% to the GDP • Production of four wheelers in India has increased from 9.3 lakh units in 2002-03 to 23 lakh units in 2007-08 • Targeted to be of $ 145 Billion by 2016 • Exports increased from 84,000 units in 2002-03 to 280,000 units in 2007-08 OBJECTIVES • To understand the market potentiality for TATA Motors. • To determine the acceptable price of the product. • To determine the requirements and needs of the potential customers. • To know what people perceive and thinking about Tata Motors and its products. • To analyze the brand repositioning strategies of Tata Motors. • To study consumer awareness and perception about the brand repositioning strategies of Tata Motors. • To find out the satisfaction level of people. • To find out the awareness level of customer. • To find the satisfaction amongst the customers of TATA Motors. LIMITATIONS • The study is confined to Rourkela area only. • There is possibility of sampling errors in the study. • The responses of the consumers may not be genuine. • The questions included in the questionnaire may not be comprehensive. • Continuous and reliable information was not available. • Some of the information was confidential so much information was not revealed. • The time span of the survey was short and hence only major aspects were considered. • Information provided by the respondent in terms of their fuel usage and their expense could not be very accurate. • Availability of the respondents amidst their busy schedule did not permit detailed study. • This study will be limited to only some areas of Rourkela. • Lack of professional approach since researcher is a student. • The sample size is only 50 so the sample may not be truly representative of the Rourkela population. COMPANY PROFILE TATA MOTORS LIMITED Tata Motors Limited is India's largest automobile company, with consolidated revenues of Rs.70, 938.85 crores (USD 14 billion) in 2008-09. It is the leader in commercial vehicles in each segment, and among the top three in passenger vehicles with winning products in the compact, midsize car and utility vehicle segments. The company is the world's fourth largest truck manufacturer, and the world's second largest bus manufacturer. The company's 24,000 employees are guided by the vision to be "best in the manner in which we operate best in the products we deliver and best in our value system and ethics." Established in 1945, Tata Motors' presence indeed cuts across the length and breadth of India. Over 4 million Tata vehicles ply on Indian roads, since the first rolled out in 1954. The company's manufacturing base in India is spread across Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Pune (Maharashtra), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) and Dharwad (Karnataka). Following a strategic alliance with Fiat in 2005, it has set up an industrial joint venture with Fiat Group Automobiles at Ranjangaon (Maharashtra) to produce both Fiat and Tata cars and Fiat powertrains. The company is establishing a new plant at Sanand (Gujarat). The company's dealership, sales, services and spare parts network comprises over 3500 touch points; Tata Motors also distributes and markets Fiat branded cars in India. Tata Motors, the first company from India's engineering sector to be listed in the New York Stock Exchange (September 2004), has also emerged as an international automobile company. Through subsidiaries and associate companies, Tata Motors has operations in the UK, South Korea, Thailand and Spain. Among them is Jaguar Land Rover, a business comprising the two iconic British brands that was acquired in 2008. In 2004, it acquired the Daewoo Commercial Vehicles Company, South Korea's second largest truck maker. The rechristened Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicles Company has launched several new products in the Korean market, while also exporting these products to several international markets. Today two-thirds of heavy commercial vehicle exports out of South Korea are from Tata Daewoo.

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