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Exposed to international experiences, the Indian decisionmaker seeks higher standards of living. Gone forever from his lexicon are plain whitewashed walls.
Now the evolving Indian is much more open to experimenting with contemporary furniture, modular kitchens, double glazed windows and bright washrooms fitted with modern amenities. Paints in their different textures and finishes play an impor tant par t in this new scheme of things. In fact, they play a significant role in getting the right look for the interiors and superior long-lasting protection for the exteriors.
Leading this revolution of colours and decoration is Dulux. With over 80 years of global leadership in product technology and aesthetics, it today adorns the homes – and literally the lives – of millions of Indian households.
Dulux has been at the leading edge of innovation. The brand has to its credit several technologically advanced products, consistent channel activations and distinctive communications. In 2013, Dulux’s superpremium interior product Velvet Touch redefined the category of high-end emulsion. It invigorated the segment with a fresh concept – Fashion
Trends for Walls. To add fur ther zing to the effor t, Dulux Velvet Touch par tnered with India’s leading fashion designer, Manish Malhotra and the versatile actor/style icon, Farhan Akhtar.
Today, Dulux is the only brand in the emulsion category which boasts of more than 1 million followers on
Facebook.
Dulux received the
Gold Award at the
Reader's Digest
Trusted Brand 2012 event in the paints category. Its parent company, Akzo Nobel
India, was featured in
The Economic Times
Top 500 companies while Forbes 500 featured it in its 2013 listing.
Since inception, the company has had a vibrant and colourful history. Manufactured for more than 80 years, Dulux paint has an enviable and established reputation for quality. In recent years, the brand’s remit has expanded to offering not just high-quality paint but also inspiration, suppor t and reassurance throughout the home decoration process.
Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) came to India in 1911 and soon established a strong pedigree. In 1976, the ICI Research and Technology
Centre was established in Thane,
Maharashtra. The objective was to create and introduce innovative products and meet the needs of the evolving customer.
In 2008, the company became a member of Akzo Nobel N.V. – a
Dutch multinational active in the field of decorative paints, performance coatings and speciality chemicals.
Headquar tered in Amsterdam, the company has operations in more than 80 countries with an employee base of 50,000.
Akzo Nobel is a highly responsible company that has developed sustainable and environment-friendly products. The company’s long-standing reputation as a leader in the field of sustainability is evidenced by its consistently high ranking on the influential Dow Jones
Sustainability Index (DJSI).
Dulux has a strong product por tfolio in both interior and exterior product categories. In the super premium range – it has Dulux Velvet
Touch Pearl Glo. This is an ideal paint for surfaces that require a soft sheen and simultaneously the smooth touch of velvet.
On the other hand, the Dulux Velvet Touch
Signature Finishes and Trends range is perfect for people who prefer to express their imagination through their homes.
The company recently launched Dulux Super
Clean – a breakthrough solution that ensures stain-free walls. Dulux Super Clean offers superiority above all the other washable emulsions across the category in its unique stain repelling technology. The technology results in beading of stains so they roll off the wall – leaving them pristine and clean. In other words the wall itself fights and resists the stains – minimising the damage and the effor t to clean up.
For exteriors, the Dulux Weathershield franchise has a por tfolio of demonstratively superior products for all kinds of exterior surfaces. Dulux
Weathershield Max is a premium, flagship exterior emulsion with Crackproof technology. This exceptional paint uses an elastomeric latex film that provides it with long-lasting protection, bridging hairline cracks and preventing water ingress into the walls.
It fights dampness, algae and fungus to keep walls looking good for years.
Another revolutionary paint in the exterior range is Dulux Weathershield
SunReflect. This innovative exterior paint provides walls with a protective coating that helps keep homes cooler by up to 5 degrees.
In its endeavour to be a full-range decor solution provider, Dulux recently introduced
Dulux WoodGuard – a water-based range of high-performance wood coatings. Based on the unique ‘Core Shell Technology’ it not only enriches the appearance but also enhances performance against scratches, water and impact to make sure it looks good as new even after daily use.
Paints and coatings make up only a comparably small propor tion of all substances and technologies that determine the environmental footprint of a building or a new construction project. Despite this, Dulux makes a leading contribution to cer tification and is committed to developing materials and technologies that offer fur ther clear sustainability benefits to customers.
Being a responsible organisation, Dulux develops products that are low in VOC (volatile organic compounds) and are sustainable and environment-friendly. All products by Dulux are eco-friendly and have the ECOSURE label, which cer tifies the content of the paint and confirms that the paint meets international standards.
Not so long ago a consumer was content with merely specifying the colour or shade. But globalisation and easy internet access has gradually changed the painting decision to a high involvement one. Today, this evolved consumer is no longer just a spectator but a highly opinionated campaigner. Dulux is sufficiently equipped to address the heightened expectations of these new-age house owners.
Its international designer finishes in the Dulux
Velvet Touch range – Irish Linen, Persian Silk,
Italian Marble and NY Metallics – reflect the tastes of the modern client. These finishes, inspired by fashion styles of different destinations of the world, offer an absolutely unique feel.
They bring a world, which, until now remained unseen, alive through walls.
Dulux Weathershield
Max is now powered by Crackproof technology. This exper tise offers superior crack-bridging proper ties and resists water ingress, preventing dampness not only in the exteriors, but also the interiors of the house. This wonder product comes with a truly unique UV cross-linking technology that hardens the top molecular layer of the paint film to give superior dust resistance.
For customers, Dulux has become a household name and a brand that signifies quality and innovation. Over the years, Dulux adver tising has created impressive brand awareness, highlighting what the brand offers and has consistently brought all of it to bear in an easyto-understand format to the customer.
However, the outreach effor t does not end there. The brand listens to its customers and develops campaigns that respond to their queries, answer their concerns and react to their needs.
Dulux Velvet Touch’s new campaign ‘Fashion
Trends for Walls’ is an ideal example of the coordination between customer and company at work. When research suggested that today’s young, top-end client sees his home making a fashion statement Dulux responded with a campaign that talks of bringing fashion alive on the walls.
Not underestimating the impor tance of functional benefits in the category of exterior paints, the new integrated campaign for
Weathershield Max door se sundar, kareeb se solid (Beautiful from afar, tough from close up) hits hard on the need for a product that not just renews the exterior walls, but is also resistant to harsh weather conditions. The campaign weaves in the core philosophies and sense of innovation unique to
Dulux as a brand.
Dulux has recognised the impor tance of communicating with and involving key players who influence the final brand choice. Dulux also has in place robust initiatives to engage with channel par tners, contractors and painters. The company focuses on them by initiating and developing innovative activities and promotions. This not only helps build the
Dulux brand but also ensures a high degree of personalised service and professional guidance for consumers.
For instance, the pan-India engagement activity,
Colour Guru Mela , has become paramount in educating contractors about the Dulux Advantage in an innovative and demonstrable manner. At the mela , products are highlighted and showcased and contractors and dealers are given an oppor tunity to feel the different tools and colour cards. This helps in competitively benchmarking
Dulux products in order to prove their superiority, both on the walls as well as to the contractors.
Dulux is synonymous with quality, innovation and aesthetics. It also sees itself as being much more than just paint on walls. It attempts to strike an emotional chord with its consumers by understanding their emotional needs. It acts as a vehicle to bring out the different facets of people’s personality and their desires.
As a friendly exper t, Dulux has huge technical knowledge but its for te lies in being able to clearly explain how its exper tise improves everyday lives. Dulux delivers knowledge through products, advice and communications in the most encouraging and friendly way. The brand adds colours not only to consumers’ homes but to their lives as well. In this way, it uses knowledge to inspire and spark a positive emotional change.
It is this approach that has led to the opening of doors of countless homes to the colourful, wonderful world of Dulux.
Akzo Nobel, Dulux’s parent company is the world’s largest paints organisation
Think of a usage for paint then simply find it in the Dulux range – including specialised paints for wood and metal surfaces
Dulux was one of the first brands to talk about stylising homes and bringing alive the concept of fashion designers providing ideas for home decoration
The company has a state-of-the-art research and technology centre in India
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