Shalimar Paints’ ROI-driven strategies to navigate a disruptive 2024

The Indian paints industry witnessed unprecedented disruption in 2024, with the entry of several major corporations challenging the traditional oligopolistic structure.

Amidst this shifting landscape, Shalimar Paints, a legacy brand with over 120 years of history, implemented a comprehensive marketing strategy focused on sustainable growth and deeper consumer connections.

The entry of new players such as Birla Opus, Astral Paints, and Haisha Paints has intensified competition, compelling established brands to reassess their market positions.

"The category has become very aggressive, with every brand and marketer having unique challenges to address, as each strives to carve out its own position and space in the industry," says Varun Malik, head of marketing at Shalimar Paints.

Strategic marketing initiatives

For Shalimar Paints, 2024 marked a year of transformation and growth. "As a company, we've been growing consistently for the past three years, expanding our product portfolio and enhancing consumer experience, which has translated into positive market sentiment and increased brand recall," notes Malik.

The company implemented a comprehensive three-pronged strategy focusing on consumers, influencers, and dealers.

"In our category, influencers—which include dealers, painters, and paint contractors—play a pivotal role. This is a category driven by recommendations and inputs from trade and channel partners," Malik explains.

He elaborates on the strategy, outlining the three core focus areas as follows: First, drive awareness among consumers to build brand awareness and connect emotionally with them. Second, engage and educate painters and influencers to foster loyalty and encourage them to recommend our products.

Finally, expand our network through dealers for wider market presence and convert them into loyalists.

This approach has been particularly crucial in this Rs 70,000 crore market where a few players traditionally dominate. "As smaller or emerging players, we must adopt mindful, ROI-driven strategies rather than taking a scattergun approach," Malik emphasises. 

"This three-pronged approach has been at the core of every activity we've undertaken, and it's working effectively."

Innovative campaigns and consumer connect

We recognised that post-pandemic, people are actively upgrading various aspects of their lives—education, cars, homes, and lifestyles. We challenged them to consider upgrading their paints as well.

Varun Malik, Shalimar Paints

For Shalimar Paints, the year began with an unconventional Valentine's Day campaign titled Pyaar Jo Kabhi Badle Na (Love that never changes). Breaking away from traditional romantic narratives, the campaign celebrated enduring bonds with domestic helpers, resonating deeply with audiences across social media platforms.

Following this emotional narrative, the company launched its 'Upgrade Kiya Kya?' campaign.

 "We recognised that post-pandemic, people are actively upgrading various aspects of their lives—education, cars, homes, and lifestyles. We challenged them to consider upgrading their paints as well," says Malik.

This campaign introduced the new Shalimar Hero range, including interior emulsion, exterior emulsion, and primer. Notably, the brand positioned itself in the affordable luxury segment.

"We priced our products competitively. For example, products typically priced at Rs 800 per litre were offered at Rs 250-290 per litre, making premium features accessible without straining consumer budgets," Malik reveals.

Media strategy and investment

We skewed our budget heavily toward offline channels, focusing on ROI-driven investments. With transit media emerging as a key focus area, particularly visible across Delhi NCR through branded Uber and Ola cabs and an innovative deployment of backlit auto-rickshaw advertisements.

Varun Malik, Shalimar Paints

Shalimar Paints allocated approximately 75-80% of its budget to offline channels while maintaining a strategic 20-25% presence in digital media.

"We skewed our budget heavily towards offline channels, focusing on ROI-driven investments," explains Malik. This offline-first strategy manifested across various innovative implementations, with transit media emerging as a key focus area. 

The brand's presence was particularly visible across Delhi NCR through branded Uber and Ola cabs and an innovative deployment of backlit auto-rickshaw advertisements.

In a cost-effective innovation, the company pioneered the extensive use of wall wraps—outdoor hoardings placed on building exteriors.

"With a smaller budget, we could secure a lot more wall wraps instead of fewer traditional OOH sites, enhancing our visibility in Tier-2 cities and interior markets," Malik says. 

The brand's entertainment strategy included significant investments in cinema advertising and movie integrations.

"We partnered with films like Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, Singham Again and Baby John and worked with celebrities such as Ajay Devgn, Varun Dhawan, and Karthik Aaryan," shares Malik. 

The company maintained visibility across 1,500 cinema screens nationwide, ensuring a consistent presence during major film releases. 

These partnerships extended beyond traditional advertising to include integrated promotional materials, digital content, and branded merchandise, with consumers having opportunities to win movie tickets through contests.

In sports marketing, the brand took a measured approach. While major properties like IPL and the World Cup dominated the advertising landscape in 2024, Shalimar Paints opted for more targeted interventions.

"Our strategy remains focused on ROI-driven initiatives. While platforms like IPL offer immense visibility, we've prioritised more targeted interventions, such as cricket branding during the India-Bangladesh series," Malik explains.

This association with cricket, coinciding with the festive season, included strategic stadium branding visible to both in-stadium audiences and television viewers nationwide.

The brand also maintained a strong presence on television news channels, particularly through programmes like Sudhir Chaudhary's 'Black and White', leveraging strategically placed L-bands during prime time. 

Looking ahead, Malik indicates a potential shift in strategy regarding major sporting properties: "When the time is right, we'll consider larger platforms." 

In the digital space, the focus remained on social media activations, brand engagement, and performance marketing.

"Short-format testimonial videos were particularly effective, with Cost Per Lead (CPLs) as low as Rs 20 and video through-rates of 15-20%," shares Malik. These digital campaigns proved particularly effective in lead generation and dealer conversion efforts.

Trying out influencer marketing

2024 also marked a significant shift in the company's approach to influencer marketing, an avenue Shalimar Paints had not explored prior to this year.

"Until a year ago, we were not engaging in influencer marketing. However, recognising its growing importance, we made a decisive shift this year to focus on authentic and credible associations", Malik explains.

The company deliberately avoided generic lifestyle influencers, instead collaborating with category-specific experts like interior designers and paint contractors.

"What we found particularly impactful was the performance of influencers with smaller but highly authentic followings. These individuals often outperformed larger influencers in terms of ROI," notes Malik. 

Distribution & innovation

Distribution innovations played a crucial role in Shalimar Paints' 2024 strategy, with the company implementing a comprehensive approach that balanced market penetration with geographic expansion. 

The company's market strategy in 2024 reflected a careful balance between consolidating existing strongholds and exploring emerging opportunities. Its extensive market research and sales data analysis led to a focused approach in key regions, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, and West Bengal.

"These areas not only contribute significantly to category volumes but also present opportunities for expansion, driven by infrastructure development and growing consumer demand," says Malik. 

The selection of these markets represents a strategic mix of established territories and growth regions, each chosen for its unique market dynamics and growth potential.

To support this geographic expansion, the company implemented targeted distribution initiatives.

"We've conducted over 500 painter meetings monthly and deployed mobile training vans across these regions", shares Malik. These mobile units serve multiple purposes: engaging painters at labour hubs, providing product education, and conducting trials at dealer locations.

This grassroots approach has proven particularly effective in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, where traditional marketing channels might have limited reach.

The company has also expanded into e-commerce with an Amazon brand store, while maintaining its focus on general trade.

The company's e-commerce initiatives, including partnerships with platforms like Infra.Market, have helped bridge geographic barriers, particularly in regions where physical distribution networks are still developing. Infra.Market is a construction materials platform which operates in experiential retail stores, and large format stores.

"While general trade remains our primary channel, modern trade and digital platforms are emerging as supplemental avenues that help us reach consumers across different geographies," says Malik.