Brand | Asian Paints – Redefining The Concept of Paints

Asian Paints is India’s largest and Asia’s third-largest paint company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The company deals in the manufacturing and selling of all kinds of paints, such as automotive, industrial and decorative paints, coatings, ancillaries, and products related to home decor, bath fittings, and related services. The company, along with its subsidiaries, is operating in 22 countries globally, with 27 manufacturing facilities servicing customers in 65 countries through brands such as Berger International, SCIB Paints, APCO Coatings, and Taubmans.

The company has manufacturing facilities in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Haryana. As of 2015, it has the largest market share, with 54.1% in the Indian paint industry.

History of Asian Paints

Asian Paints set up shop when Britishers still ruled India. It all started in 1942 when four friends viz. Chimanlal Choksi, Champaklal Choksey, Arvind Vakil, and Suryakant Dani assembled at a garage in Gaiwadi, Girgaum area of Mumbai to start the company amid a ferocious fight for independence.

The company was established on February 1, 1942, by the name of ‘The Asian Oil & Paint Company’, a name that was picked from the telephone directory.

In the year 1965, the company changed its name to ‘Asian Paints (India) Pvt. Ltd‘.

In the year 1972, the company underwent a significant modernization process to streamline the paint production facilities by replacing old pieces of machinery with the more advanced ones, improved the layout of machines, and adding new types of equipment.

The company became a public limited company in the year 1973.

The journey of Asian Paints foraying into international markets.

The company forayed internationally by forming two joint ventures, named Asian Paints (South Pacific) Ltd. in Fiji, and in1990, Asian Paints (Tonga) Ltd. It also formed other joint ventures by the names of Asian Paints (Nepal) Ltd. and Asian Paints (S.I.) Ltd.

In the year 1993, they set up a joint venture unit along with their overseas subsidiaries in Queensland, Australia, for the manufacturing of paints, enamels, and varnishes.

Subsequently, the company set up another joint venture in the Republic of Mauritius in 1995 for the manufacturing of paints and varnishes.

In 2002, the Asian Paints revamped its international operations by transferring shares in its subsidiaries in Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands, and other global ventures to Mauritius based subsidiary Asain Paints International.

It also acquired a controlling stake in Singapore-based Berger International for Rs. 58 crores.

Brand Equity

Asian Paints Ltd. was ranked 8th by Forbes in the list of World’s Most Innovative Companies in 2017. It was ranked 9th amongst the Top paint companies in the world by Coatings World in 2019.

Asian Paints was included in Forbes Asia’s list of BEST OVER A BILLION companies in the Asia Pacific in September 2019. Asian Paints won the ‘Outstanding Company of the year’ award for 2016 – ‘CNBC TV18 – India Business Leader Awards’.

It was complimented as one of the Most Impactful Companies of the Decade by CNBC Awaaz in Jan 2015.

Competitive Edge in the Marketing Strategy

Impressive Product Portfolio:  Its product portfolio comprises a wide range of paints for different purposes such as Enamel Paints for Wooden and Metal Surfaces, Interior & Exterior Wall Paints, along with Waterproofing, Adhesives and Wall Coverings, Industrial Paints, Home Decor and related services.

Strong Presence: Asian Paints operates in 22 countries and has 27 paint manufacturing facilities in the world, servicing consumers in over 66 countries. Asian Paints distributes its products in nook & corner of the country by making its products with varied SKU’s available on the shelf of the stores, which creates high visibility of the brand.

Supply Chain Management: Innovation is at the core of the supply chain management of Asian Paints. With an annual manufacturing capability of over a billion liters, they have State-of-the-Art manufacturing facilities, some of them amongst the largest globally, having complete automation of operations.

Marketing campaigns: The company has always been an excellent player in throwing out awestruck marketing campaigns. It has continued its association with Saif Ali Khan over the years and had also roped in Soha Ali Khan for a beautiful campaign.

Recently, Deepika Padukone has been chosen as their brand ambassador for Asian Paints Royale Play. In 2019, they set up a new campaign with Ranbir Kapoor for “Lamination Wala Ultima Protek”. Their brand mascot – ‘Gattu’ has been very famous too and is one of the renowned brand mascots of India.

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Branding Campaigns

A celebrated cartoonist named R.K. Laxman created a mascot for the brand called “Gattu” in 1954. Gattu, a mischievous brat with a paintbrush in his hand and can of paint, was introduced and discovered its fan base in India’s middle-class population. Gattu assisted in bringing the commodity-led business of painters to the actual end-users of home-owners.

At a time when paints were merely advertised as industrial products, Asian Paints focused on reaching every house and became a consumer-friendly brand. It reached out to legendary cartoonist R.K. Laxman for creating a character that can resonate with the masses.

Now having got their mascot, the next question for Asian Paints was the name of it. Since none of them had any ideas, they subsequently decided to run a ‘Give Me a Name contest’, offering a prize of INR 500 for the best name. Forty-seven thousand entries poured in, and the winning name, of course, was ‘Gattu,’ a playful boy with his soft wave of black hair perpetually dangling over his right eye, suggested coincidentally by two people ~ Mr. Rele from Girgaum and Mr. Aras from Sion. Mischievous Gattu touched the sentiments of people across the country and became so popular that the company sales increased tenfold.

After R.K. Laxman, Asian Paints collaborated with Ogilvy & Mather to institute a new marketing strategy by focusing on festive occasions with their tagline “Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hain” (Every home says something). Ogilvy’s creative minds with the brand team amassed on festivals like Diwali and Pongal, occasions like marriages and childbirth to take the iconic Gattu’s familiarity and brand image to the next level.

The insight was an instant hit and thus born the ad campaign for ‘Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai’ proposition. The company advertised it as an occasion to paint homes by connecting on a soul-stirring level. The tagline encapsulated the pride one takes in showcasing a magnificent and spirited home defining the 21st-century personalities.

The promotions done by the brand are always related to family values, homes, and relationships. Their campaigns still have an emotional edge, which makes this brand very special.

Social savvy since the early days

Asian Paints has always been a pro in making optimum utilization of Youtube as a social communicating platform since the early days of Internet penetration in the country. Without any surprise, the communication has been so impactful that the videos have managed to garner millions of views on the platform, which were also cross-promoted via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

According to a Google case study, Asian Paints implemented a YouTube-first strategy to reinforce its relationship with existing customers and to attract a wider audience interested in do-it-yourself projects and home decor. The company wanted to create an emotional connection with people through inspiring long-form video content. Moving ahead, the brand targeted YouTube viewers specifically interested in home decor as a hobby with a series of online videos featuring Indian celebrities in their homes.

Featuring stars like legendary late Sushant Singh Rajput, Radhika Apte, John Abraham, and Kajal Aggarwal, Asian Paints’ “Where the Heart Is” web series allowed audiences to find design inspiration by virtually visiting celebrity homes.

To ensure continued engagement throughout the series, the company spread out the publication of each video. Throughout the series, Asian Paints garnered more than 43 million views (around 22% from organic traffic). The brand thus experienced a brand lift increase of more than 20%.

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Do Asian Paints eye beyond paints?

In August 2013, Asian Paints acquired a whooping 51% stake in Sleek International, a company specializing in modular kitchen space with a pan India presence in Mumbai.

In June 2014, it picked up a 100% stake in Ess Ess bathroom products, a prominent player in the bath, and the wash business segment. Asian Paints now handles the full sales, marketing, and distribution of this business.

In January 2016, Asian Paints introduced a premium range of bath fittings “Royale”.

It also launched Smart Kitchens with a unique design-to-manufacture concept and recently introduced wardrobes as well.

Asian paints have thus stepped into the entire home reinventing itself as a home decor company means taking on specialist brands, with their fan base and loyalists. Leadership in its category is something that Asian Paints is used to. How it performs in these other spaces will finally determine if Asian Paints’ journey from the walls to the rest of the ghar is something worth watching and noticing.

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