brand management

1. Positioning of
Asian Paints
Utsav
Nikita Agarwal (2013171)
Brand Management
Prof. Rajeev Kamble
By

2. 1
ASIAN PAINT’S UTSAV
Asian Paints, the largest paint company in India, realized that the potential of rural paint market
was grossly underutilized and therefore provided an excellent market opportunity for growth.
Asian Paint's Utsav brand which has been pitched specifically at the rural segment contributes
about 10% of its total paint volumes and 2-3% in value to Asian Paints. It is the brand which is
targeted to lower income people as well as rural customer which was developed conducting
extensive market research among the rural consumer, focusing on their needs, buying preferences,
and behavior.
BRAND PERSONALITY
The brand name UTSAV denotes the seasonal and festival oriented relevance of the product,
therefore it was positioned as a part of celebration. For the same reasons communication for this
was done before major festivals like Diwali and Pongal, keeping tone of the advertisement warm
and emotional.
Brand icon “Gattu” is very popular in rural areas and associated with quality and reliability. The
very design of the logo is such that rural audience can relate to it. This brand icon is very easily
recognizable and rural consumers who cannot read English and do not even know the brand name,
are able to distinguish it from other paint brands. As the paint has provided a satisfying experience
in the past rural consumers are continuing with it for decades.

3. 2
CORE VALUES & VALUE PROPOSITION
UTSAV is much better looking and long lasting than white wash on one hand and also it is very
cost effective than any other normal paint. It is in the middle of the price range and fills the gap
with an offer like of which did not existed before and this opened up huge market for it. This value
proposition was very attractive for the consumer especially in rural market and non-metro market
where it created a market for itself by making the consumer use this paste who otherwise would
have been satisfied with the white wash only as they were not in position to afford paint.
PERFORMANCE
According to industry estimates the rural market which forms about 20% of the Rs 6,000 crore
total paint industry has an untapped potential of Rs 4,000 crore with an additional Rs 2,500 crore
market in the semi-urban areas.
UTSAV proved to be a breakthrough product for Asian Paints and helped gain a head start over
its competitors in the untapped rural market.
Dealers of Paint majors:
Company Numbers
Asian Paints 14,500
Goodlass Nerolac 7000
Berger 4500
ICI 4000
BRAND’S PRODUCT PORTFOLIO
Under `Utsav' brand aimed at the rural market, Asian Paints will be launched two products making
it the umbrella brand. They launched Utsav Acrylic Distemper and Utsav Enamel.

4. 3
1. Utsav Snythetic Distemper is a water based pouch distemper that gives a smooth, beautiful,
matt finish to the walls at an affordable price. It does not come off on the hands or on clothes like
“chuna” thus ensuring bright colorful walls all year long.
2. Utsav Enamel is an affordable solvent based paint, which gives a long-lasting, glossy finish. It
includes:
 Utsav Primer (ST) is a solvent based primer that can be used on cement as well as wooden
surfaces.It is an undercoat that provides good adhesion to the surface, thereby increasing the
life of the entire paint system.It has good sealing properties,which leads to lower absorption,
ensuring a uniform deposition of top coats. It is a quality product available at an economical
price.
 Utsav Primer (WT) is a water based wall primer that can be used in interior masonry surfaces.
It has good whiteness, good coverage and flow and levelling properties.
LINE EXTENSION STRATEGY
Asian paints launched UTSAV, an oil based distemper at about half the price of enamel paints.
UTSAV brought a major branded paint within the reach of the price-conscious rural consumer.
Keeping in mind that users had mostly small houses, the distemper was introduced in 1kg pack.
Being sensitive to the colour preferences of rural consumers, the distemper was offered in 8
different shades. In order to overcome distribution problem, company’s salespeople enrolled small
traders and even grocers in the villages for selling paint and these outlets were serviced by
company’s 1500 strong dealer network. This also ensured UTSAV was present at convenient
outlets when the consumer was shopping during the festival time.
BRAND STRATEGY APPLIED TO COUNTER COMPETITION
Promotion Strategy: UTSAV was launched during pre Diwali season. Salesmen selected the
opinion leaders in villages and painted the village post office, library, or the house of the Pradhan
to demonstrate that paint does not peel off. Salesmen organized meets at local dealers where
villagers were invited.

5. 4
Thus, the benefit of product was exhibited to the rural consumers to have the feel of the superior
finish of the product, which was priced very competitively.
Distribution Strategy: UTSAV sold in rural market. As no other organization of the time was
focusing on the rural market, UTSAV was able to create very strong distribution network for semi-
urban and rural markets, which is its main strength and the envy of its competitors. It has the first
mover’s advantage which is very difficult to beat by competitors easily.
Place Strategy: It hired vans to penetrate interior villages. It took along 3 companies, which were
not competing with its product for selling their products in same rural market for sharing the van
cost.
Pricing Strategy: UTSAV targets economy section. Since there were only 2 options available for
painting walls, one was “chuna” priced at Rs. 9 per kg and other was enamel paint costing Rs. 50.
UTSAV priced its products in between of these two options to target rural and semi-urban
consumers.