OMS bags estimated Rs 13-15-crore ICI Paints AOR

Optimum Media Solutions (OMS) has won ICI Paints' media business in a straight pitch against Maximize, MediaCom and Carat India. "Optimum Media Solutions has been awarded the business because it deserves to win," Hina Nagraj, general manager, marketing, ICI India, told agencyfaqs! while confirming the news of OMS' appointment. The account is estimated to be worth Rs 13-15 crore in annualised billing. (An earlier story on this website announcing ICI Paints' decision to call for a review of its AOR had mentioned the business to be worth Rs 7-8 crore, a figure based on conservative market estimates. agencyfaqs! has subsequently learnt that the company has upped its media spends to match its aggressive growth expectations.)

For the record, prior to the review, the ICI Paints AOR was with Universal-McCann, but Nagraj reveals that Universal did not participate in the pitch as per an agreement it had with ICI Paints. As far as the creative duties go, RKSwamy/BBDO continues to be ICI Paints' creative agency.

As for OMS, the ICI win is great news, indeed. "I am delighted about the win," Sandeep Vij, president, OMS, is ecstatic. "ICI Paints, which is a global leader, is indeed a prestigious win for OMS. While it may sound like a dichotomy, the low-involvement nature of the paints category certainly excites us and makes the work challenging."

Challenging it will be, given the way the competition stacks up in the paint industry, which can be classified into two segments - decorative and industrial. According to industry figures for the calendar year 2002, the organised sector in the decorative segment is valued at Rs 4,300 crore. Asian Paints leads this segment with 45.5 per cent share. Berger Paints is a distant No 2 with 12.9 per cent, while Goodlass Nerolac claims 11.3 per cent of the market. ICI Paints is ranked fourth with a market share of 8.4 per cent.

However, in the premium sub-segment of the organised decorative segment (which is estimated at Rs 880 crore), ICI's premier paint brand, Dulux, ranks No 2 with a market share of 13.3 per cent. (Asian Paints is the leader in this sub-segment too, with a share of 42.2 per cent. Goodlass Nerolac and Berger Paints have 11.6 per cent and 10.3 per cent of the market, respectively.) In fact, Dulux is the only brand from ICI that enjoys considerable brand recall. Other ICI brands such as Maxilite, Supercot, Farco and Ancillaries have largely been confined to the periphery.

For the country's fourth-largest paint company in the decorative and industrial segments, the agenda for 2004 is clear - get aggressive to beat the competition. That's easier said than done, considering Asian Paints' media spends alone is to the tune of Rs 40 crore, and Goodlass Nerolac has made its intentions clear by signing on Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador. ICI Paints, in comparison, has a much smaller share of voice. Nagraj assures that ICI Paints will do a lot more. "And yes, we'll have a better media impact," she adds. © 2004 agencyfaqs!