Asian Paints

Asian Paints is India's largest paint company and ranks among the top ten decorative coatings companies in the world today, with a turnover of Rs.25.6 billion (around USD 585 million). The company has an enviable reputation in the corporate world for professionalism, fast track growth, and building shareholder equity.

What makes a strong brand?

Ability to retain its core values and purpose with time Manifestation of these might change from time to time depending on internal and external factors

Asian Paints
Asian Paints is a shining example of this truth The brand Asian Paints has stood for different things at various points of time without ever compromising on its core values and core purpose

Core Values
Commitment and Integrity in dealing with internal and external customers A strong belief in individual ability and creating an environment in which entrepreneurial spirit is encouraged Ownership and Responsibility

Core Purpose
To continuously rejuvenate every living and working space of people and bring joy to their lives

Brand Leadership
The Brand Leadership model is based on various actions taken over a period of time

Brand Leadership
a)1942-1967 Evolution Phase b)1967-1982 Extension and Consolidation Phase c)1982-1986 The years of Excellence d)1987-1997 Moving Closer to the Consumer

e)1997-1999 Changing rules of the game

f)1999The new Asian Paints

The Evolution phase

Stiff competition from MNCs Product innovations Reaching rural Seeding relationships Quality Products Ensuring service to network

All this leading to leadership status in 1967

Brand Leadership
a)1942-1967 Evolution Phase b)1967-1982 Extension and Consolidation Phase c)1982-1986 The years of Excellence d)1987-1997 Moving Closer to the Consumer

e)1997-1999 Changing rules of the game

f)1999The new Asian Paints

Extension and consolidation

Extension of the brand across borders. International presence Consolidation of gains/leadership status Product Innovation in new categories The core value getting strengthened by a series of investment into systems to ensure better product delivery

Brand Leadership
a)1942-1967 Evolution Phase b)1967-1982 Extension and Consolidation Phase c)1982-1986 The years of Excellence d)1987-1997 Moving Closer to the Consumer

e)1997-1999 Changing rules of the game

f)1999The new Asian Paints

The Excellence Years

Launch of New technology in terms of tinting which gave a huge fillip to shade selling Product innovation Connectivity with the sales set up

The Excellence Years

Despite leadership over a decade Asian Paints, mindshare was perceived to be far lesser It was the largest manufacturer of paints in Asia and the sixth largest in the world. However, this was not perceived by the consumer Asian Paints also seen to be a company that made paints such as distemper, ordinary enamel and emulsion paints, for the masses.

The Excellence Years

In 1983, the first corporate communication Objectives (i) establishing Asian Paints as the leader in the paint category (ii) presenting it as a manufacturer of premium paints (iii) establishing high salience for Asian Paints in what was inherently a low interest category

The Excellence Years

Launched a campaign Spectrum Of Excellence
a series of Press Advertisements talking of excellence in AP products

The Excellence Years

The campaign increased saliency of the AP Brand In a otherwise quiet scenario, the increase in saliency itself resulted in higher intention to purchase

Brand Leadership
a)1942-1967 Evolution Phase b)1967-1982 Extension and Consolidation Phase c)1982-1986 The years of Excellence d)1987-1997 Moving Closer to the Consumer

e)1997-1999 Changing rules of the game

f)1999The new Asian Paints

Moving Closer
The excellence campaigns didnt increase consumer feelings towards the brand Consumer research showed Paints are seen to rejuvenate and brighten up a gloomy place, and give a room a more spacious look. Painting signifies festivity, life and plenitude

Asian Paints
The investment that a consumer makes is between Rs 25,000 Rs 1 lac depending upon the paint quality, surface area covered. It is on par with a high value consumer durable The consumer involvement with paint is very low

Asian Paints
Traditionally the consumer outsourced the painting decision to a contractor (the consumer involvement has been limited to the cost of the paint and colour) and tends to follow the recommendation of the contractor Despite the cost involved the paint holds no badge value to the consumer because the final product does not hold a brand name that can be flaunted

Asian Paints
The real challenge for Asian Paints is to de link paint from the concept of routine maintenance. To engage the Indian consumer in a way that she views paint as something she can see and feel something that can transform her immediate surrounding for the better.

Asian Paints
In the nineties the company made an aggressive push in emulsions and low end distempers segments to drive growth Tractor, Apcolite, Utsav, Royale. During this period the ratio of spends on brands tilted in favour of its brands.

Asian Paints
The company commissioned an intensive nationwide study The Asian Paints brand personality was perceived to be warm but fuzzy and lacking in sharpness and contemporariness. The brand enjoyed the image of a leader but did not have a contemporary hi tech image. This called for a repositioning of the brand and a new visual identity

Asian Paints
Changes in the consumers motivational triggers Festival were somewhat less important to consumers. A host of brands across categories linked themselves to festivals. The clutter around the festival platform was increasing

Asian Paints
Painting was becoming less seasonal and more occasion driven and need to seek out a new emotional peg for Asian paints was imperative The solution lay in appropriating the role that painting played in the social trend of homemaking and home dcor as opposed to mere painting as maintenance.

Asian Paints
The brand was to become apart of the emotion that drove home dcor creation and in the process cement the relationship between painting and home dcor. The result was har ghar kuch kehta hai campaign.

Asian Paints
The study also threw up the fact that Asian Paints needed to address its brand architecture and create a company centric brand portfolio. Despite having promoted its various brands at the retail level the company brand was dominant factor in purchase

Asian Paints
The cost of building individual brands in a category where the consumers contact with the brand is limited to once every three or four years was disproportionately high. The company put a new brand architecture in place by grouping the bulk of its existing brands and sub brands under the corporate brand

Asian Paints
Utsav, Royale, Tractor and Asian Paints umbrella branding exists in the consumers mind. Utsav economy brand at the unorganised user Royale targets a more premium audience and has a lifestyle usage Tractor has 60% share of the distemper segment

Asian Paints
the objective at Asian Paints was to give consumers a reason to paint their homes. Research established that painting signified festivity, life and plentitude and this led to the theme Celebrate with Asian Paints It ventured to help people think of the joy that follows painting rather than the tedium of the process

Asian Paints
The idea was to get consumers to think ahead about the joy that follows the paint rather than dwell on the grind of getting it done This led to a huge competitive edge with brand top of mind

Moving Closer
It established Asian Paints as a paint for all surfaces, a paint that delivers lasting beauty through its durability and good quality It also created advertising that related to specific festive occasions in each part of the country delivering regional empathy Asian Paints associated with festive events across the country

Moving Closer
By the end of this period,the brand Asian Paints achieved very high salience as well as a highly favourable disposition Asian Paints also seen as a manufacturer of premium paints. Above , there was a warmth which people felt for Asian Paints Established Asian Paints top of mind with a huge competitive edge

Moving Closer
During this phase the process of product innovation continued Two launches one in rural and the other in Exteriors gave a fillip to the overall image of the brand A series of brand building efforts were undertaken in lower market share geographies A lot of excitement was created by investing into communication for other brands

Brand Leadership
a)1942-1967 Evolution Phase b)1967-1982 Extension and Consolidation Phase c)1982-1986 The years of Excellence d)1987-1997 Moving Closer to the Consumer

e)1997-1999 Changing rules of the game

f)1999The new Asian Paints

1997-99 Changing rules of the game

There was a revamp of various Management processes through a restructuring exercise This helped in bringing more focus to the corporate brand and aided the process of innovation in products and services A series of initiatives launched bringing the brand more closer to the user

1997-99 Changing rules of the game

The initiatives included: Launch of a Asian Paints Helpline,a service to fulfill the information needs of any person planning to paint Launch of retail shops offering a series of decision making tools and shade options along with a communication campaign to create the excitement

1997-99 Changing rules of the game

Investing in technology to improve supply chain efficiencies and giving a platform to enter into some CRM initiatives

Brand Leadership
a)1942-1967 Evolution Phase b)1967-1982 Extension and Consolidation Phase c)1982-1986 The years of Excellence d)1987-1997 Moving Closer to the Consumer

e)1997-1999 Changing rules of the game

f)1999The new Asian Paints

Asian Paints
The communications for all other existing brands is driven by the corporate brand. Asian paints has made a brand out of a commodity by creating a strong consumer pull through a series of brand building initiatives. The involvement of the consumer with the category is much higher

Asian Paints
The idea was to get consumers to think ahead about the joy that follows the paint rather than dwell on the grind of getting it done This led to a huge competitive edge with brand top of mind Sales in 2003-4 has been 1,725 crores

Threats
Aggression from existing players The external environment saw an entry of a lot of multinationals trying to attack us on various segments

Brand Personality
Current brand personality was warm but fuzzy Didnt have the kind of sharpness that one expects in a leader It also lacks certain desirable values in terms of contemporariness and global outlook In this environment, risk of Asian paints losing the high ground

The Desired Brand Personality

First activity done in initiating change was to redefine the brand personality Where do we want to be?

Desired Brand Personality

Male,28 years;Contemporary education and skills Pioneering and path breaking Experimentive and adventurous Individualistic,succesful,has quality Global outlook but is an Indian Sociable and has integrity Kind of person who takes complete responsibility for what he does Always on time;he is a friend,pholosopher and guide to people who are known to him

 This manifested in 4 essential changes

New brand Architecture Re-positioning of Asian Paints New Visual Identity Service offering

New Brand Architecture

New Brand Architecture

A new company-brand centric portfolio There are 4 basic reasons behind this :
Buying Behaviour Synergy Clarity in Offering Media Environment

1.Buying behaviour
Study across country reveals consumers almost always bought into company brand
Asian ka . Company Brand is hence the dominant factor

Followed up by surface for which the paint is required

Asian ka Wall Paint etc.

3.Clarity of Offering
Product descriptors used were complicated and confusing
Super-Acrylic Emulsion, Poly Urethane finish, Nitro Cellulose finish

Didnt help consumer on basic aspects such as surface of application, Interior /Exterior use etc.

4. Media Environment
Cost of brand building very high in current environment
Esp. in category like paints, where contact with brand is once every 3 or 4 years

Need to have an optimum number of brands to maximise effectiveness of media spend

New Brand Architecture

As a result, a new Brand Architecture in place Most sub-brands phased out and grouped under the Asian Paints Corporate Brand

Re-Positioning of the Brand

The Changing Environment

The consumer has changed . Festivals have less important in the overall scheme of things Too much clutter around the festival platform reducing the uniqueness of the proposition The painting itself becoming less seasonal

Home Decor
Increased consciousness about home dcor, much more involved homemaking Home dcor also on the way up - a definitive social trend More involved urban home makers, even smaller towns the trend catching up

Home Decor
Asian Paints to be a part of this high voltage emotion of home dcor creation This would also serve in increasing the role of painting in the creation of home dcor

Core thought
Asian paints is about people who invest emotional energy in creating their homes Asian Paints is about homes which reflect the taste and love of their owners/residents

New Visual Identity

Change in Visual Identity

A revamp undertaken in the entire packaging and the overall visual identity of the brand

A new packaging to give it image of being contemporary and international

Change in Visual Identity

Service offering

Home Solutions
Added the service dimension to the brand Unique offering by where Asian Paints finally delivers ,not just paint, but a painted home

Path Ahead
Many more initiatives planned which will help us achieve our objectives and help us in further strengthening the brand

 Sticking to the core values of the company

To Summarize

Ensuring product quality and improving on the same. Innovation in products and services to preempt competition/MNC entry.

To Summarize
Introduction of high technology products in line with the desired Brand Personality.

Continuous investment in systems so as to keep pace with times

To Summarize
Pro-active Management of the corporate brand in light of the changing preferences of the consumer and at the same time make it more international and contemporary Excellence in execution of various initiatives

To Summarize
Shift towards the ultimate consumer with a range of services

Shifting the brand to a higher moral ground so as to ensure connect with the customer at the emotional level