By Sanjeev Kotnala
JSW Paints’ new campaign, Any Colour One Price featuring brand ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana, was just waiting to happen. As a consumer, I can relate to and appreciate the thought.
When you decide to paint your house, many variables creep in; colour, shade combinations, price, design, features, and quantity. JSW Paints tries to make one variable redundant.
In recent times, paint companies have tried to provide product or marketing solutions to evolving needs of the consumers. With time, we have started wanting more and more from paints. Just like we want more and more from our mobile phones. Well, not really comparable, but you get the drift.
PAINTING WAS NEVER MERELY A SHADE CHOICE.
The era of Mera Waala Pink is over. Now you can get to the place and mix the paint to your comfort. The feature like long-lasting binding, easy to wipe, low maintenance, dirt, sun, water-resistant has been democratised. Even claim to remove harmful pollutants from the air! There is paint consultancy on offer and visualisation tools to see how the shades compliment each other or what would work best in your home. There is even on time painting promise. A few times, the brand even checked if you saw the colours right- as colour means a lot. Most good paints offer you the same.
The consumer still appreciates the emotions associated with home and painting. ‘Har Ghar Kuch Kheta hai’ and ‘Jab Ghar ki Raunak badani ho’ still remains relevant. But, now it seems plausible that har paint kuch kehta hai and reflect or enhance your status in society.
NEXT MOVE IN FEATURE DEMOCRATISED MARKET.
So, when technology and features get democratised, what is left is to break the biases and differences. Make it easier for the consumer to make a choice. So, in this inclusive era – where we are talking of One Nation- One Rule, One Nation- One Price- the leap to One brand- One Price or rather Sachche Rang – All Colour- One Price seems natural.
What is surprising to me is why did this not happen earlier. And then I think because no consumer ever questioned this differential pricing.
JSW PAINTS DO IT WELL.
JSW Paints need to be appreciated for this counter move. The brand Ambassador Khurrana continues from the last campaign, ‘har rang har kisi ka’ that laid the foundation. There they presented how the colours been dividing, whereas they should unite. And they shared the range of 1808 colours under the theme of making India beautiful. Enjoy behind the scene of the making of this video.
Post this, the new campaign ‘All Colours One Price’ seems so logical. I also love the way the films have been made. That is a hint of q subtle younger-elder brother interplay and hitting at another brand and taking away the need of even the paint calculator.
There is a format that makes Khurana suggest the answer compellingly. The price transparency is registered completely, though I felt that the brand association needs to be enhanced somewhere.
JSW SAME PRICE AN ADVANTAGE.
Though the brand questions the unfair industry practice of differential prices. I am unsure if JSW itself had differential prices earlier.
If they did, then strategically, they have been brilliant in taking a step-by-step approach and I am surprised other brands did not see it coming.
If they have bridged the gaps to make All colour- One price a reality, then too, JSW paints win as they are first to say it.
Whatever may be true, it is advantage JSW Paints. The consumer doesn’t ask such questions. Now, it is for the other brands to evaluate the impact and justify differential pricing for red-blue-green in the same sub-brand. How Tera wala pink could be differentially priced from Mera wala pink.
WHAT NEXT.
The campaign will impact the market. It will make customers rethink, question the price disparity and maybe push other brands to follow.
If JSW wants to take such decisive, bold steps and question what they term as unfair practices to make a mark; they will have to score again. I will be waiting for the next bullet from their arsenal.
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If you have got your house painted in the recent past – and here past would mean pre-covid era- do you recall different colours priced differently? Was that an issue with you? Do you think JSW is making a mountain out of a molehill, or this All Colour One Price is an open space to play?
JSW Paints has signed actors Alia Bhatt and Ayushmann Khurrana as brand ambassadors and is set to release its first ever TVC along with a marketing campaign featuring the duo that will be rolled-out across the company’s current markets in South and West India.