We all have heard about the famous saying, “Life is like a blank canvas, it's up to you how you want to paint it”. Prasun took it seriously and thought of literally painting his dreams with the colors of Asian Paints. A mechanical engineer from Birla Institute of Technology, fresh from college was amazed with the diverse experiences and learnings offered at IIMB where he pursued his MBA. The two years spent there helped him develop a keen interest in the domain of consumer behaviour, brand management and strategy. It is here that he made up his mind about making a career in the domain and thus took up Asian Paints to be the preferred company to work with.
Asian Paints puts the fresh graduates in a 4.5-months of management trainee stint. After completion of the same, Prasun was offered a role directly as the Brand Manager for ezyCR8, a do-it-yourself range of Asian Paints. Direct to brand as the first role without a sales stint is rare in the industry, however Asian Paints believes in grooming individuals in the ‘AP way’. Handing 10+ brands, multiple channels, end-to-end communication and promotions, NPD, intense market, and consumer research etc., Prasun is working to lead the DIY category as the torchbearer in the segment currently.
A typical day in life of a Brand Manager at Asian Paints involves a high amount of collaboration and alignment with multiple stakeholders which allows a high degree of exposure, agility, and multi-tasking. From keeping a daily check on the on-going agendas to shaping futuristic strategies for the brand, a lot of creative thinking, quick decision making and streamlining goes behind the creating and sustaining a brand.
With the nascent DIY culture in India, consumer immersions are an interesting part of the role where you get a peek into the mind of the consumer to draw futuristic inspirations for the brand. Product and performance feedback from the customers become an enriching experience, in terms of finding newer use cases, improvements which add to expanding the horizons for the brand. For a brand manager, unbiased customer opinions on products are vital and you need to fall back on them again and again.
Is this role for you?
Well, that’s something you need to decide. If you are looking for a role that provides an exposure and learning, not only in marketing but diverse domains such as sales, supply chain, production etc., then this is the right fit for you. The cross-functional collaboration upskills one heavily in terms of people and stakeholder management which is one of the most important skills expected to have from a leadership perspective. Core functional learning, people management along with always remaining close to the consumer are shining highlights for the role of Brand Manager at Asian Paints.
So, if you are looking for a career that promises you growth and learning at the same time, this is the right place to be.
Click here to know more about the MT program at Asian Paints!