Abstract

This case is about how a multinational company, Japan Paints, is faced with the task of arriving at a brand positioning for the Indian market. A market leader in other parts of the world, the company needs to reinforce that status while addressing the large and competitive players in the Indian industry. The Indian consumer is also becoming more aware and demanding in her lifestyle and this is reflected in her expectations from the paint category. The low differentiation among Indian paint brands and a far from pleasant retail purchase process are some other aspects to be considered.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• How to arrive at an approach for brand positioning in a competitive category — Indian paints.
• How do various aspects — consumer perception of brands, dealer equity, brand’s standing in other parts of the world, etc. — affect Brand Positioning
• Part of launch entry marketing strategy
• What are the kinds of research/ market understanding required before the brand positioning task is embarked upon?

Keywords

Brand positioning, Market entry, Market launch, Brand essence, Paint industry positioning, Japan Paints