When one talks about Nerolac, the legendary jingle of the brand, ‘Jab ghar ki raunak badhaani ho…’, is the first thing that comes to one’s mind. Kansai Nerolac India received its name in 2006 after Kansai Paint Co. of Japan took over the entire stake of Tata Forbes Group, following which Goodlass Nerolac Paints became a wholly owned subsidiary of Kansai Paint Co. But its erstwhile jingle has been carried forward as part of the brand’s marketing legacy.
In an exclusive chat with Everything Experiential, Rohit Malkani, Chief Business Officer – Decorative, Kansai Nerolac outlines how the brand has been integrating experiential marketing into its strategy to enhance customer engagement and brand experience.
“Considering the category and the things that consumers look at solving, firstly, it is the choice of colour. Secondly, if it is about a certain issue/problem - they reflect on how to solve it.
Typically, now it's the monsoon. So, the problems are about waterproofing and the like. From our perspective, when we talk about experiential marketing, we are trying to answer these through a bit of show and tell. There are ways in which we can demonstrate the capability of our products. Most of this is in-store or it is through collaborations with celebrities and influencers.”
Malkani stated that painters and painting contractors, in a way, are decision makers too, and they tend to influence a lot of the painting decisions. This means that along with working with end consumers and how they perceive the brand’s products and solutions, the people who are finally delivering the product to the consumer’s house are also a part of this process.
Product demos, he mentioned, are executed in a unique manner. “For instance, we use sieves (which are used for straining tea) - we coat it with a waterproofing product and pour water through it, to depict to the consumers about how the product’s features and functions. We build this across our retail formats, contractor interactions and expo meets.”
Malkani pointed out that about building experiences, Kansai Nerolac usually focuses most of its activities at the point of sale. “When it comes to colour selection, we've deployed about 200 stores in the country where we have an interactive tool that is powered by AI, which functions more like a colour detection lens. Whether it is about the material of the consumer’s sofa, their carpet, or their curtains, based on that we will recommend colours to the consumer, through the AI detection tool.”
The AI engine also provides recommendations based on the trends that are in vogue, based on the consumer’s location. There is a certain colour preference in certain markets, and the choice of colours in South India vs North India is very different. Keeping those in mind, the AI engine offers consumers local recommendations as well as generic recommendations. “We are also powering some of these with vaastu recommendations,” he added.
Kansai Nerolac offers a wide range of products based on varied price points, usage and needs of consumers. The first thing that a consumer typically encounters in a store is a shade card which showcases about 100 - 120 colours on that card.
It is about a selection at two levels – one, is the product selection process and the second is the colour selection process. Consumers spend most of their time, approximately 80 per cent of their time on colour selection, and the remaining time on deciding upon the appropriate product, revealed Malkani.
There are architect and interior designer shows that take place where the brand works on the pop-up format, as well as conventional exhibitions format. Kansai Nerolac also takes part regularly in the India Design Week, one of the largest and most coveted exhibitions which showcases the latest and upcoming trends and innovations by leading brands in the design industry.
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