Berger ADwiz 2017

Case for Round 1

The Paint Market

Today, coatings are essential to the modern world, and are used in the most testing industrial
environments on the planet and beyond. They provide protection from corrosion - not only for
homes and automobiles, but also ships, bridges, trains and various types of aircraft. And as
industrialization spreads further across the globe at a staggeringly-high pace, the demand for paint
is also observed to climb higher and higher.

The situation is no different in Bangladesh, what with the overwhelming demand from the
industrialization fueling the double-digit growth of the country’s paint industry since the mid-2000.

In 2015, the size of Bangladesh's decorative paint market was about Tk 2,550 crore, according to a
number of paint manufacturers and Bangladesh Paint Manufacturers Association (BPMA). Average
growth was around 8 to 10 percent in the last five years. At present, annual consumption stands at
about 120,000 tonnes.

As there is still scope in the market to cater to uncaptured demand, this empty space in the market
had attracted many foreign players along with several local businesses to take an active interest.
The only notable, recent entry into the market was by UAE-based conglomerate RAK Group, which
occurred in 2010. The newly-arrived RAK Group brought with them plans to set up a BDT 50-55
crore paint factory on Bangladeshi soil. Although the entry of such a large competitor would have,
under normal circumstances, spelt trouble for the existing companies, Berger Paints Bangladesh
Limited experienced little impact due to incredible market foresight.

Asian Paints entered Bangladesh in 2002 via joint venture with Confidence Group, a local reputed
conglomerate. It’s a company with an Indian Origin and is one of the top ten paint producers in the
world and second in Bangladesh. In the beginning, they only sold imported paints. But now, the
production is managed locally. Asian Paints has entered into segments like interior wall finishes,
the exterior segment, enamels and the wood finish segment.

The Key Players

Some 40 companies operate in the country. Among them, 10 to 12 companies contribute nearly 85
percent to the market. Bangladesh is largely dependent on foreign multinationals which meet about
90 percent of the demand.

Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited is the absolute market leader. Other national major companies
are Asian Paints, Roxy Paints, Elite Paints, RAK and Pailac Paints. Moon Star Paints & Chemical Ind.
Ltd, Nazrul Brothers Paint Industries (Ujala Paint), and Al-Karim Paints & Chemicals Ltd have
strong presence in certain regional markets. Recently the market has experienced the entry of
global players such as Akzo Nobel from the Netherlands, Nippon Paint from Japan and Jotun Paints
from Norway.

Market Share

Berger Paints Asian Paints Roxy Paints Pailac

Aqua Elite Others

Current Scenario

The paint industry in Bangladesh has experienced steady, rapid growth until the beginning of 2015,
thanks to great demand from the construction sector. However, due to soaring real estate prices
and gas shortages, the growth in the private sector real estate development market has been very
sluggish, due to which, growth of the paint market was limited to only 8% in 2015. This decline in
demand for paints is expected to sustain in the coming years, as per the experts’ opinions.

According to latest market intelligence, the paint market is said to be valued at more than BDT
10,000 crore, with Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited supplying more than 50% of the market and
Asian Paints Bangladesh Limited catering to 15-20% of the market. Among the local brands (both
nationwide & regional), Elite, Roxy and Pailac covers 10-15% of the market. It is notable that, a lot
of nameless brands caters to the rest 10-15% of the market.
Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited: WeatherCoat Antidirt Longlife

When the people of Bangladesh are faced with the prospect of painting their homes and
workplaces, they find that they have a wide range of brands to choose from. However, more often
than not, decorative paint is perceived by customers as synonymous to Berger Paints Bangladesh
Limited, thanks to highly “colorful” TV commercials and infectious word-of-mouth generated by
customers upon witnessing Berger's superior quality over the years.

Although Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited would normally be the first choice for most customers,
the WeatherCoat Antidirt Longlife brand has a long way to go, recently launched in 2015 in exterior
paints category. Among the wide array of Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited’s products,
WeatherCoat Antidirt Longlife is a brand that gives customers dirt protection through its nano
additives technology & also comes with a 7 years warranty. Customers of Bangladesh are gradually
getting a taste of better quality paints and Berger has been slowly but surely upgrading them
towards the premium segment. But awareness of this brand is not as much as Berger would like.
Furthermore Berger wants customers to make an informed purchase decision about paint when
they decide to paint their house. Making the target customers aware of this fairly new brand is the
challenge right now.

The brand was launched into the market with a 360 degree marketing campaign, both using ATL
and BTL communications. The TVC was a hit among viewers, both in terms of viewership data as
well as acclaim. Activations and outdoor brandings were carried out till 2016.

Berger WeatherCoat is a household name and it has been so popular that it has become the name of
the category. WeatherCoat has a strong recall among customers and painters and that’s why Berger
had decided to use this name with the newly launched Antidirt Longlife. Recently WeatherCoat
Antidirt Longlife is facing fierce competition from Apex Ultima of Asian Paints. With its commercials
shown in TV, radio, press etc. it has started to gain pace in the market.

Users would find that, alongside having a smooth finish, WeatherCoat Antidirt Longlife has a rather
extensive range of shades that are readily available and that WeatherCoat Antidirt Longlife is no
exception to the BPBL's signature facility, the Berger Color Bank, where customers can find any
colors that meet their requirements. The Berger Color Bank machines allow paint dealers, painting
service businesses and shop boys to identify and match the color demands of the customer.

And last, but certainly not the least, WeatherCoat Antidirt Longlife offers a price premium over
WeatherCoat Smooth by 40% which is the most used exterior brand in the country.
WeatherCoat Antidirt Longlife: At a glance

All brands of Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited’s decorative portfolio can be classified into three
segments, Premium, Mid-tier, and Economy. Radiance (REX) is a brand that falls under the mid-tier
segment. The brand WeatherCoat Antidirt Longlife is a premium exterior paint. The other brands in
exterior category are WeatherCoat Smooth, REX & Durocem. The brands and their positions in the
category are given below (Table-1). WeatherCoat Smooth is the highest selling exterior paint
product in the country. Also Durocem (cement paint) is very popular in remote places or cost
conscious customers as an economy product.

Category Exterior

Premium WeatherCoat AntiDirt LongLife

WeatherCoat Smooth
Mid-Category
Radiance Acrylic Exterior
Emulsion (REX)

Economy Durocem
Table 1: Brand Hierarchy (Exterior Paints)

The Task

After having read the case, you should have an idea of the product mix of the exterior paint of
Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited. As a newly launched brand WeatherCoat Antidirt Longlife needs
to establish itself in this category through up trading & capturing market share of competition. The
unique feature of this product is its protection against dirt & dust accumulated of building exterior
over the years. In this segment, the biggest competition is Apex Ultima of Asian Paints. There are
other local & international brands as well. Now your team has been given responsibility to make
this a successful brand in the market.
You are required to develop a marketing strategy to establish WeatherCoat Antidirt Longlife
in premium segment through ATL, BTL plan directed at the ones responsible for influencing
end-users to upgrade from WeatherCoat Smooth & capture market share of Apex Ultima.
This will not be a launch campaign, but a rejuvenation campaign for further awareness of the
product.

Bear in mind the importance of identifying and directing appropriate campaigns to their designated
target groups, with the overall goal of increasing the product visibility of WeatherCoat Antidirt
Longlife to its customers/end-users. Be careful to not jeopardize or negatively affect mid-tier
products when designing your plan.