An

Assignment of

Advanced Marketing Management

On

Asian Paints India Ltd.

Submitted by

Sandeep Mishra, Roll no 161

(T.Y.B.B.A)

As requirement of fulfillment of assignment

of 6th semester

Submitted to

Prof. Baxis Patel

Navnirman Institute of management

Surat.

Asian Paints (India) Limited

Introduction

Asian Paints is India's largest paint company and Asia's third largest paint company,

with a turnover of Rs 54.63 billion. The group has an enviable reputation in the corporate

world for professionalism, fast track growth, and building shareholder equity. Asian Paints

operates in 20 countries and has 28 paint manufacturing facilities in the world servicing

consumers in over 65 countries. Besides Asian Paints, the group operates around the world

through its subsidiaries Berger International Limited, Apco Coatings, SCIB Paints and

Taubmans.

Aim / Vision / Mission

“ Asian Paints aims to become one of the top five Decorative coatings companies

world-wide by leveraging its expertise in the higher growth emerging markets.

Simultaneously, the company intends to build long term value in the Industrial coatings

business through alliances with established global partners.”

Paint industry Paint industry estimated at Rs. 135bn. Unorganized sector accounts to 35% of paint market.

Volume growth estimated at 15%. India’s share in the world paint market is 0.6%. Per

capita consumption of paint in India is 1.2kg/annum. Paint industry

History

• 1st February, 1942

Champaklal H. Choksi, Chimanlal N. Choksi, Suryakant C. Dani and Arvind R. Vakil get

together to manufacture paint in a garage on Foras Road, Bombay. They name their

company 'The Asian Oil & Paint Company.

• 1945

Asian Paints touches a turnover of Rs. 3,50,000, with an innovative marketing strategy "to

reach consumers in the outmost corners of the country with small packs."

1954

Paints mascot, Gattu, the mischievous kid, was born. Asian

1957 - 66

The family-owned company makes the shift to a professionally managed organization.

Asian Paints embark on an ambitious mass marketing campaign, pertaining with

thousands of dealers in small towns all over India.

1967 -Asian Paints emerges as India's leading paint company ahead of any international

competition.

1973 -AP becomes public ltd company

2002- AP was a market leader of Indian Decorative Paints with market share of 4

Asian paints today

• Asian Paints becomes the 10th largest decorative paint company in the world

• Asian Paints is more than twice the size of its nearest competitor.

• It is one of the most admired companies in India

manufacturing locations.

• Asian Paints aims to become the 5th largest decorative paint company in the world.

Founders of company

NS (Subba) lyre General manager

Sudipto Mandal Senior HR Manager

Salil Chinghore Works Man

Jagannt.B. Production Manager

Nilay Verma Marketing Manager

Abjit Bhattacharya Training Manager

Asian Paints becomes the 10th largest decorative paint company in the world

Asian Paints is more than twice the size of its nearest competitor.

It is one of the most admired companies in India - Present in 22 countries with 27

manufacturing locations.

Asian Paints aims to become the 5th largest decorative paint company in the world.

Founders of company

NS (Subba) lyre General manager

Sudipto Mandal Senior HR Manager

Salil Chinghore Works Manager

Jagannt.B. Production Manager

Nilay Verma Marketing Manager

Abjit Bhattacharya Training Manager

Asian Paints becomes the 10th largest decorative paint company in the world

Present in 22 countries with 27

Asian Paints aims to become the 5th largest decorative paint company in the world.

Marketing strategy (4 P’s)

Products

Asian Paints Apex

Apex Weatherproof Exterior Emulsion is a water-based 100% acrylic, exterior

wall finish. A high performance, long-lasting exterior paint specially formulated to

withstand extreme tropical conditions of high rainfall, humidity and heat, Apex provides

excellent resistance against the growth of algae and fungi on the walls. It offers excellent

protection against alkali and UV degradation too.

Asian Paints Apex Ultima

Asian paints apex ultima advanced anti algal weather proof emulsion is a water-

based,modified acrylic, anti algal, high performance exterior wall finish. It incorporates the

latest state-of-the-art technology to provide long-lasting exterior performance even in the

most extreme tropical conditions of india. Its unique advanced anti algal chemistry ensures

that exterior walls are provided with power-packed resistance aganist algae and fungi

growth. Its has very good dirt pick up resistance and dirt cleaning properties

Asian Paints Dura cast Fine Tex

Asian paints duracast fine tex is a 100% acrylicd water based exterior product

specially designed as an intermediate coating. It facilitates excellent adhesion of

subsequent coats . Its unique texture pattern has distinctive appeal. 1. Asian paint duracast

fine tex is a rollable product which will provide opacity in single coat without any sagging

2. It serves as an undercoat which will not only provide protection but also decor for a

variety of exterior & interior surfaces 3. It promotes adhesion of subsequent coats 3. It

hides surface undulation & fine cracks

Asian Paints Tractor Acrylic Distemper

Tractor acrylic distemper is water-based, interior wall paint and gives walls a

delightful, attractive, matt finish that lasts for ages. A time-tested formulation with acrylic

copolymer binder, its special formulation ensures shade retention for a long time and its

fast drying property facilitates quicker completion of painting jobs.

Asian Paints Utsav Acrylic Distemper

Utsav acrylic distemper is a water-based, interior wall paint. It is a value-for-

money brand that makes it possible for consumers to have beautiful walls at affordable

rates. Being an acrylic finish, it offers a smooth and matt finish. The shades retain their

brightness for a longer time. White can be tinted with apcolite universal stainer to obtain

customized shades. cost range: economy finish: matt availability: across all colour world

dealers.

Asian Paints Deco prime Wall Primer St

Asian paints deco-prime wall primer (st) is suitable for use as primer for

masonry topcoats like distempers, emulsions, luster & matt wall finishes. It helps in

providing a suitable surface for application of subsequent coats of putty & finish paint. It

seta fast, has good sealing properties, good resistance to wall alkalinity, moisture & fungus.

Asian Paints Duracast Swirltex

Cost range: premium finish: rich sheen availability: across all colour world

dealers.

Asian Paints Exterior Wall Primer

Asian paints exterior primer is water-based wall coating suitable for application

on exteriors as an undercoat to exterior emulsions. It has a good opacity & whiteness,

which helps improve the appearance of the emulsion top coat. Exterior wall primers

doesnot chalk & can be applied on freshly plastered surfaces that are adequately cured. It

doesnot require any water curing.

Place

Online marketing for urban customer: Asian paint online marketing system is

helping. The company in lot of ways, providing all the necessary information to the

customer.

Sales in both areas urban as well as rural. Following are countries are in which

company sales its product is as follows.

1) Canada

2) USA

3) India

4) China

5) Malaysia

6) Singapore

7) Europe

8) Australia

9) UAE

10) UK

11) Japan

12) Nepal

Promotion

Distribution is one of the main strategies of Asian Paints.

Advertising Methods- Radio, TVCs, Print, Internet, OOH, POP, Retail Outlets, Seminars,

Workshops.

Company is using different techniques such as advertising Campaign, sales promotion,

personal selling, direct marketing and public relation to increase sales.

A total amount of 85 crore is spent on the ad campaign by Asian paint. Their particular ad

campaign ‘Mera Walla Blue” “har ghar kuch kehta hai” are being liked by the customer.

Distribution (for all products)

Elements of Asian Paints Distribution Strategy:

* AP bypassed the bulk buyer segment and want to indi0vidual consumers of paints.

* AP went slow on urban areas and concentrated on semi-urban and rural areas.

* AP went retail

* AP went in for an open-door dealer policy.

* AP voted for nationwide marketing/distribution.

Though this segment was dominated totally by foreign companies and their wholesale

distributors, a new entrant to the business like AP would normally have rushed to this

segment and tried to garner a share of it. AP, however, had a totally different game plan

seeing that this segment was not a growth segment, though it was certainly the major

segment at the point of time. AP, decided to ignore this segment for the present and go to

individual consumers. And that was a crucial decision. It influenced every subsequent

decision AP took in the realm of distribution. Over time, AP proved to the paint industry

that there existed a large and bottomless segment in the paint business of India, outside the

bulk buyer segment, comprising of individual consumers.

AP’s distribution strategy had its associated implications. AP had to take due of them and

face them squarely.

Going to Individual Consumers Implied Wide Product Range and Complex

Distribution

Had AP concentrated on the bulk buyer segment, it could have managed with a limited

product range, at least, in the initial years. But, AP’s decision to turn to the individual

consumers necessarily meant a wide product range. In the nature of things, the individual

consumer segment involves a very wide choice in terms of products, materials, shades and

pack sizes. On top of this, AP believed in making products based on the preferences of

consumers. It gathered feedback from the consumers and turned out products, shades and

pack sizes on the basis of such feedback. This policy resulted in a further burgeoning o the

product range.

Smaller Packs proliferated the product depth further:

At the time of AP’s entry, paint companies were supplying paints in containers of 500 ml or

larger. AP saw that there was a felt need in the market for paints in smaller packs. All end

uses did not require a large quantity. Moreover, it was common practice for consumers to

buy paint initially in a larger quantity and supplement and shared supplying its pacts in

small packs – in 200ml, 100ml and 50ml packs. This proliferation in pack sizes also

contributed to AP’s growing product range. AP was by now manufacturing and marketing

as many as 2,000 distinct items of paints none of which was strictly a substitute for the

other.

Wide Product range Implied Expensive distribution:

The policy o having the widest range of products colors and pack sizes had its implications

on AP’s distribution. When 2,000 different items had to be made available to the

consumers, it automatically meant that the company had to be prepared for high inventory

holding in its various depots/retail outlets. Accounting and sales arrangements had also to

be provided for on a matching level. Naturally, distribution was becoming more complex

and expensive for AP.

The decision to go to the semi-urban and rural markets instead of confining to the urban

markets also meant enlargement of the distribution function. AP had to go in for more

dealers in order to serve the scattered semi urban and rural market. The decision also meant

that AP could not opt for a simple, centralized distribution of its products from its factory.

It had to go for a decentralized, field focused distribution, which a network located all over

the country/marketing territory. Without such extensive and intensive distribution network,

it would to have been possible for AP to cover the semi urban and rural markets.

Going retail Implied Deep Involvement in Channel Management:

Through its decision to go retail, AP was getting deeply involved in physical distribution

and channel management. In the system chosen by AP, the physical cum channel

management task was far more demanding compared to the wholesaler oriented system

practiced by the other paint companies. While, for companies that embraced the wholesale

oriented system, it was enough to service a handful of distributors. AP had to service a

network of thousands of retail dealers. Having taken the decision to go retail, AP

necessarily had to create and service a vast dealer network It also had to crate the physical

distribution facilities required for servicing such a large network.

National Marketing necessitated nationwide organization:

Extent of marketing territory and complexity of distribution organizations are interrelated.

The moment AP voted for nationwide it was getting into intensive as well as extensive

physical distribution and channel management AP thus had to create a nationwide

distribution cum marketing organization.

Main steps in the Implementation Process

1. AP crated a large network of dealers

2. It established a network of company depots to service the dealers.

3. It created a marketing organization that matched its distribution.

4. It successfully resolved the cost service conflict in distribution.

(a) A strong commitment to distribution cost control without compromising service level.

(b) Effective inventory management.

(c) Erective control of credit out standings

(d) IT initiatives in distribution cost control.

Target market

Asian Paints Apex(Exterior)

Segments – Houses & buildings builders,

Middle-Class families,

Industries,

Rural & Urban areas,

Paint contractors

& all exterior paints need.

Asian Paints Apex Ultima(Exterior)

Segments - Houses & Bungalows builders,

Rich class families, &

Urban areas.

Asian Paints Dura cast Fine Tex(Exterior Coatings)

Segments – Automobile industries,

Furnishing wooden coating Industries &

Iron & mining industries.

Asian Paints Tractor Acrylic Distemper(Interior)

Segments – Houses & buildings builders,

Middle-Class families,

Industries,

Rural & Urban areas,

Paint contractors &

All interior paint needs.

Asian Paints Utsav Acrylic Distemper(Interior)

Segments - Houses, buildings & Bungalow Builders,

Rural & Urban Area,

All classes ( middle & rich)

Paint contractors &

All type of paint needs.

Asian Paints Deco prime Wall Primer St (Interior)

Segments – Hotels & bungalows,

Urban Area &

Paint contractors.

Asian Paints Exterior Wall Primer (Exterior)

Segments - Hotels & bungalows,

Urban Area &

Paint contractors.

Differentiation strategies

Product differentiation

Exterior walls

Asian Paints offers a range of emulsion paints for your exterior walls. You can choose

from ACE, Apex, Apex Ultima, Apex Duracast and more, based on the specific demand of

surface area.

Interior walls

Distempers offer strong performance to the interior wall surface in terms of protection and

adhesion. Tractor Acrylic Distemper, with better durability, is one of the best performing

distemper made by Asian Paints.

EmulsionsInterior emulsions are advanced water based paints with better quality and shade range.

Adhesion to wall surface, anti fungal properties and durability is more in emulsions.

Check out products range for more information.

.TextureRoyale Play textures brings design and visual appeal to otherwise plain walls and gives

them dimension, gives them life. In its new Avatar, the Royale Play range is far richer

and has something on offer, for every dream wall

METAL SURFACESSuitable for metal surfaces, this enamel product brings a suitable effect. With different

surface preparation and undercoat system, read the directions for usage carefully

before application.

WOOD SURFACESClear Finish

Clear Finishes act as protective coatings providing a high degree of resistance from

water, dirt, grime, chemicals and abrasion, along with enhancing the natural beauty of

the wood.

Opaque Finish

Wood Palette, the range of opaque wood finishes from Asian Paints brings you a high

gloss, tough scratch proof coloured wood finish that brings new style and

sophistication that’s beautiful and stays that way under heavy usage.

These are essentially enamel paints suitable for wood surfaces. With different surface

preparation and undercoat system, read the directions for usage carefully before

application.

Marketing differentiation

Asian Paints Home Solutions

• Launched in six main cities

• 6780 sites painted by APHS in FY’05 till Oct’ 08

• Response has been good and consistent across cities

• Close linkages with applicators is helping to enhance the

Knowledge base on paint application practices

Direct marketing by Project Sales aiding growth in exterior segment

Brand Rejuvenation

New look for the Asian Paints brand & packaging:

– Transition to a corporate centric Brand Portfolio, to make Asian

Paints among the more salient brands

– To contemporize the brand Asian Paints & the packaging

New advertising campaign:

– Increased interest in home décor - a definitive social trend

– More involved urban home makers; smaller towns also

Catching up

– “Homes are high involvement but painting is not”

– Homes involves a lot of emotions

– Have been successful in appropriating the emotions relating to

Creation of home décor

Rural marketing strategies of Asian paints.

• Rural segment not mature enough to appreciate service related offerings

• Strategy should be product related.

• Customer up gradation strategy should be adopted. It should be Implemented in two

parts.

1. The penetration of the rural segment has to be achieved by offering a basic product well

tailored to match the low willingness to pay of the rural consumer.

2. After basic penetration levels have been achieved the rural consumer can be offered a

“higher” range of products with a view to up grading the consumers.

Product strategy

The first decision to be made in product strategy in the rural context is whether the product

that is sold in the urban market can be supplied to the rural market as it is, or whether it

must be adapted. It depends on the situation and the nature of the product. In many cases

some adaptation will be advantageous. Basically the firm must find out what kind of product

is actually required by the rural consumers and then decide if it make an altogether distinct

product or adapt the existing product.

Economic and income realities of the market should certainly be considered while

developing the product strategy for the rural market. In addition, socio-cultural realities

should also be considered. When products are designed reflecting both these influences the

chance of success is greater.

Lower priced product versions do help in many cases in the realization can be made in this

regard. Many companies try to reduce the prices of their products for the rural market by

creating smaller size or by decreasing the equality the approach works sometimes and with

some products all times with all products.

Specifically designed Products:

Specifically designed products do help in many cases:

The tractor/trailer: The tractor/trailer is an apt example.

It is product specifically designed for the rural market. It is designed as a replacement for

the plough as well as vehicle for transporting both men and material in the rural areas.

Color variants:

The rural consumers differ from their urban cousins in color preference. In the case of some

products, color may matter very much. Firms can exploit this fact to their advantage. For

example in the paint business, Asian paints understood the substantial difference between

the urban and rural buyer in color preference. AP introduced paints with bright colors for the

rural markets. AP also communicated the features well through its communication

campaigns.

Different products/Models, Different Brands Packing, Pricing and different

positioning:

By and large the rural market can be tapped better through different products/models,

different brands, different packaging and different positioning.

Package Design and Pack Size:

In some cases, the product can be the same, but the package and pack size may have to be

different of the rural target group. Package design and color help identification based by

rural buyers. Many rural consumers are not quite conversant with the various brands. All the

same, they manage to pick the brands that they want. They recognize the brand by its

packaging. This is the reason why a number of local brands in rural areas imitate the

packing of big national brands.

Product life cycle

The title of the project is “Data Analysis & Management of Demand Generation and

Competitor Market Potential “.

Demands are wants for specific products that are backed by the ability and willingness to

buy them. Demand for a product can be either by the end user or its intermediaries. In the

paint market the network is as follows:

This simple network of Asian Paints shows that there can be either a pull or a push

strategy. If the company adopts a push strategy it will not be successful in the long run if

there is no end demand, i.e. by the end customers.

A pull is created when demand is created in the market and is the most beneficial. To

implement such a strategy we have to first assess the needs of the market, judging the

perception of customers and contractors and finding out new locations and convert them

into new dealers so that there is more availability of the product in the market.

Opportunity analysis can be done by analyzing

the construction sites to generate demand for the product by making the concerned aware

of the benefits and wide range of products available for all possible segments.

Assessing competitor market and developing a strategy to kill or overcome competition is

the second part of the report. The way to increase market share is by making sure that

your product is available whenever and wherever needed. Opening new dealers in the

market will take care of this. Expanding the dealer network helps in market penetration.

All the effort will be a waste if there is no demand from the end consumer of goods. The

end customer is influenced by painters, contractors, advertisements, friends and family.

So the main demand is generated by the end customer. The perception of the end

customer is judged in the third part of the report. This shows the acceptance level of

Asian Paints in the market.

The report finally gives recommendations to the company for future so as to improve its

operations in the region as well...

Life cycle stage of products

Asian Paints Apex - Maturity stage

Asian Paints Apex Ultima - Maturity stage

Asian Paints Royal emulsion - Growth stage

Asian Paints Tractor Acrylic Distemper - Growth stage

Asian Paints Tractor Acrylic Distemper - Maturity stage

(Utsav)

Growth Strategy of Asian paints

The story of the evolution of Asian Paints as a brand is interesting. The brand now has an

iconic status in the industry thanks to some blockbuster big ideas from O&M. The brand once

positioned as a mass market brand has evolved itself to a higher plane.

Indian paint industry can be broadly divided into two segments

a).Decorative segment which constitutes the wall paints : exterior and interior, wood paints etc

b).Industrial segment which consists of automotive paints, and paints for industrial sector.

Decorative segment constitutes around 75 % of the total paint industry and Asian Paints is the

market leader with around 44% share. In the Industrial segment, Nerolac is the market leader.

In the decorative segment, it is interesting to see how Asian Paints have changed the buying

process of the product like paints. Paints are usually considered to be a low involvement

product. In earlier times, the decision of the brand was taken by the builder/contractor and the

home owners do not involve much in the process may be the decision of color rest with the

house owners.

Asian Paints realized the need for brand building even during sixties. But at that point of time,

the company had a wide range of brands/sub brands. The focus of the company was on product

innovation and service network and managing quality proposition. The brand focused on mass

and rural market. Asian Paints had a mascot called Gattu who was created by the celebrated

cartoonist R K Laskhman.These efforts made the brand a leader during the late sixties.

Then the company realized that although volume justified the leadership position, share of

mind for the brand was very low. That was the result of the mass segmentation adopted by the

brand. Rightly so because the industry was driven by channel driven promotions, building a

brand at that time was" uncommon sense". During 1983, the company tried to reposition the

brand as a premium brand. Asian Paints initiated the corporate campaign aimed to position the

company as the number one player in the industry.The objective was to upgrade to a more

margin premium product marketer .The corporate campaign " Spectrum of Excellence" was

aimed to increase the Salience of the brand in a quiet market.

But this campaign failed to inspire any interest in the consumers and the company felt that the

market is moving towards a commodity market where price is the most important differential.

Asian Paints undertook a consumer research aimed at understanding the perception of

consumers about the product category. The research revealed lot of interesting insights.

Consumers felt that paints could change the mood of the space and it was a sign of festival and

plenitude.It could make a gloomy place bright and pleasant. From this insight came the

campaign of Asian Paints associating itself with festivals. Research also confirmed that

customers tend to repaint their houses on the occasion of festivities. Thus born the campaign

"Celebrate with Asian Paints". The campaigns were carefully crafted and there were different

campaign for different regions. These campaigns effectively enhanced the brand equity of

Asian Paints and established itelf as a premium brand. More than that , these campaign ensured

an emotional connect with a brand in a low involvement category.The brand also phased out

many subbrands and rest of the subbrands was brought under Asian Paint's umbrella brand.

During the late nineties the brand had to be reinvented. Because no longer festivities formed an

important part in ones life. Since many brands went after festival seasons,the positioning

platform has become cluttered.More over the consumer buying behavior has changed. The

category was becoming less seasonal. People started associating more importance to home

decor and interiors. The choice of color became a high involvement decision. From a low

involvement category, paint was increasingly becoming a high involvement category.

The brand also went in a brand overhaul. The logo was changed to a contemporary upmarket

one designed by Entreprise IG based in Singapore.The logo/design was to convey self

expression, sophistication and Technology.Thus came the birth of a wonderful positioning

strategy created by O&M. The insight was that the brand is about people and homes and homes

reflect the people living in it. Hence " Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai" translated to " Every Home

has a story to tell". This campaign is a perfect example of a brand laddering up and connecting

to a higher level in the mind of the customer. The campaigns reinforced the brand as a premium

emotional brand.

Bibliography

Links

http://www.google.co.in/#sclient=psy-

ab&hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=differentiation&psj=1&oq=Differen&aq=7&aqi=g10

&aql=1&gs_sm

http://www.asianpaints.com/#

http://www.slideshare.net/search/slideshow?searchfrom=header&q=rural+marketing+starteg

ies+of+asian+paints

http://www.asianpaints.com/applications/decorative.aspx

http://www.asianpaints.com/products/tractor_emulsion/index.aspx

http://www.indianjournalofmarketing.com/April2009.pdf