In February 2024, the Aditya Birla Group entered the paint industry with the launch of Birla Opus. Committed to expanding its paints business, the company plans to establish six manufacturing facilities nationwide by 2025.
The company, which is housed under Aditya Birla Group’s Grasim Industries, recently released its first thematic communication. The film brings to life the brand philosophy of Birla Opus articulated through the tagline ‘Make Life Beautiful’. With this new thematic communication, Birla Opus showcases its focus on helping create a more beautiful world.
MediaNews4U caught up with Inderpreet Singh, CMO Birla Opus. At Birla Opus he endeavours to build a world class organisation with consumer at its heart; to earn the love of every Indian. He has 21+ years of experience in building organizations, scaling nascent categories and leading established businesses’ in FMCG, Consumer durables, Home Décor and Retail across South Asia, Southeast Asia, China and Latin America.
Having completed his graduation from Delhi University, Singh did his MBA from IIM Calcutta and proceeded to work with Hindustan Unilever for 15 years and for four years with Mondelez thereafter, before joining Birla Opus.
Q. Earlier in the year, Grasim Industries launched their paints brand – Birla Opus. In the first year of the brand, what goals have been set for it from a marketing and brand perspective?
We unveiled Birla Opus to the world in February 2024, and since then we have been majorly focusing on achieving some key objectives. The first is to be able to successfully launch our complete portfolio. We have developed 145+ products, 350+ formulations, and 1200+ SKUs, our priority is to make this accessible to consumers across markets.
We also aim to uphold superior quality across the portfolio, all products have been developed from scratch to deliver superior competitive performance, with the help of specialised in-house technology and have been tested and validated at our R&D Laboratory.
Maintaining our brand saliency and top-of-mind recall is also imperative for us, this is possible when we consistently deliver on our brand promise while continuing to expand our network, strengthen our distribution and engage with the trade ecosystem.
And, in doing so, we strive to build a deeper bond with our customers, a relationship beyond just transactional conversations, aiming to form an emotional, compelling, loyal association with the brand, resulting in brand love.
Q. The brand targets a new India. What does this consumer segment expect?
New India is increasingly looking for convenience. They want a brand to make life easier for them and address all their customised needs. They represent a generation of young and aspirational homeowners who prioritise quality perhaps over popularity or price. Quality and superior performance is of utmost importance to this demographic.
Increasingly, they seek paints that enhance their living spaces largely for individual consumption. They want their space to reflect their personality, an extension of their individuality. In fact, we believe in inspiring people to create their own masterpiece and to find hope, happiness, and beauty around them while exemplifying our brand name of Birla Opus. New India also wants to be empowered, they want to be part of the decision-making process and in control. They are keen to know in-depth details on what goes behind manufacturing and marketing any product. With tech innovations, we enable this, helping them make an informed decision.
Q. Birla Opus had a digital presence during the recently concluded T20 World Cup. Was the ROI satisfactory given that some matches were played early in the morning?
Our T20 World Cup campaign was a resounding success. With strong conviction in our brand and proposition of ‘Make Life Beautiful’, we launched our TVC campaign during the T20 World Cup, which had more than 53 million peak concurrent viewers during the finals*. We believe that cricket brings families together and through a play of animation and storytelling along with a combination of insightful lyrics and the melodious tune of ‘Duniya Ko Rang Do’, our campaign film was able to spread happiness and joy amongst the audience. Be it early morning or late-night matches, our digital and media planning strategy ensured we reached our target audience throughout the tournament.
Despite not having a celebrity onboard, our campaign became one of the most recalled ads during the Cricket World Cup 2024 as reported by the The Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB). The campaign also delivered a significant boost in brand awareness, website visits, and positive interactions. Quite a remarkable feat by a brand in less than three weeks into the launch and with much more planned in the next few months, we are positive that we will continue to create waves in the industry.
Q. What role will sports play in the company’s marketing mix?
While we started off with a successful campaign during the T20 World Cup, we are exploring potential avenues to further connect with our audience and sports will definitely play an important part, especially considering the massive following that each sport enjoys in our country.
While sustained communication is important to a young brand like ours, sports, festivals and entertainment truly unites Indians, and we will always be looking to engage innovatively with our audiences on such special occasions.
Q. Will Bollywood and film also be an important marketing vehicle through areas like brand endorsements, movie tie-ups, content integration, etc?
Cannot comment on this currently, but if there is a project which perfectly fits our brand and creative messaging, we wouldn’t mind exploring the same.
Q. How did the idea for the campaign ‘Make Life Beautiful’ come about?
Considering it was our first ad campaign that introduced our brand, we wanted it to be impactful yet relevant.
We wanted to inspire people to discover the beauty and possibility surrounding them, using their homes as a canvas for self-expression, we aimed to forge deeper connections through our creative TVC that was crafted along with our agency partners – Leo Burnett India and Zombie Studio Brazil.
The ‘Make Life Beautiful’ campaign perfectly embodies our brand spirit and with its captivating animation and storytelling, beautifully underscores our message and helps in awakening people to the realisation that beauty makes a difference in how we think, feel, and act. The combination of Ram Sampath’s insightful lyrics and the melodious tune further elevated the experience, urging viewers to embark on their transformative journey, embracing beauty with purpose.
Q. How will using 3D animation in the campaign set it apart from other ads in the paints category?
With the ‘Make Life Beautiful’ campaign, we took a truly differentiated approach. We opted for a never done before stunning Hollywood level animation which was not just about grabbing attention but about creating a visually appealing experience that resonates deeply. It is first of its kind in the Indian paint industry where a brand has utilised the Hi-Definition, 3D feels of animation with realistic silhouettes in its TVC campaign. This innovative approach reflects our commitment to pushing boundaries and creating a truly differentiated brand experience for our customers.
Q. Will Birla Opus follow an omnichannel marketing strategy where both traditional and digital media are equally important? Kindly elaborate.
Absolutely! We leveraged both cutting-edge digital media and the trusted reach of traditional channels as part of our marketing plan to build a strong brand presence. To market such a brand, we will also be visible across touchpoints to engage with TG across demographic and geographies. This multi-pronged approach will allow us to bring Birla Opus paints to every home in India.
Q. Earlier this year Leo Burnett India was appointed as the creative and strategic agency for Birla Opus. What is the agency’s mandate?
We work with two agencies, Leo Burnett India and DDB Mudra. Leo Burnett handles our master brand and two sub-brands, while DDB Mudra handles four of our sub-brands. Leo Burnett India has conceptualised the communication for the ‘Make Life Beautiful’ campaign, which has resonated deeply with our target audience.
Q. Birla Opus is aiming for Rs. 10,000 crore revenue within three years. What factors will drive growth?
Our three factories in Panipat, Ludhiana, and Cheyyar are running at full speed and once we start operations at the other three, we will have full capacity in due course and will be able to distribute the entire mix of products and SKUs more systematically, meeting the demand and expanding our reach in the market.
Another factor that will complement us in meeting our goals lies in our product superiority itself, our range offers exceptional quality, durability, and aesthetics across categories, addressing varied consumer requirements, weather conditions and painting needs. This unwavering focus on quality will build trust and brand preference among discerning consumers.
Next, we are focussing on rapidly expanding our reach across the country. Our goal is to ensure Birla Opus Paints are readily available in over 6,000 towns by the end of the next fiscal year. We will prioritize exceptional customer service, offering expert advice and innovative solutions to meet the unique needs of every homeowner. By combining these strategic pillars, we are well-positioned to become a formidable player in the Indian paints industry and achieve our promised targets.
Q. What role is AI playing for Birla Opus from product creation to marketing and advertising?
At Birla Opus, we are constantly exploring innovative technologies to enhance our product and customer experience. Our AI led innovations will soon enter the market too.
