Hindalco Everlast : Branding a Commodity

Brand : Everlast
Company : Hindalco

Brand Analysis Count : 309

Everlast is the brand of aluminium roofing sheets from Aditya Birla Group. Hindalco from the Aditya Birla Group is India's largest manufacturer of aluminium products in India.
Aluminium is a commodity driven basically by the price. While there are many marketers who brand the consumer products made of aluminium like vessels and utensils, Everlast can be called the first branded roofing sheet.

Everlast was launched in 2002 after much research. The purpose of launching a brand in this commodity business is to add value. Branding a commodity is a difficult task especially when the customer does not see any significant differentiator between products from different manufacturer. But for a marketer, Brands often translates into more premium and also insulates the company from price competition.
Aditya Birla group is not new to branding commodities. We have seen the high profile rebranding of L& T cements to Ultratech which showcased the branding ability .

Everlast had two pronged approach towards building the brand . First task was to establish the brand name by increasing the awareness. This was done by extensive campaign through print media and hoardings. The brand also was positioning itself as a durable product. Television commercial was used to promote the positioning of the brand which was further reinforced by the brand name ' Everlast'.
Second task was to increase the popularity of aluminium roofing sheets. Now Everlast is running a series of campaigns highlighting the various benefits of having an Everlast roof. The brand is now targeting the urban households.
The campaign of Everlast is interesting because the brand recognizes that it cannot replace the RCC roof. Hence the brand aims to popularize itself as a roof over RCC terraces. The new campaign tells the customer that by covering the open terraces using Everlast, one can use that space for various purposes like Party Area, Garden, Exercise , drying clothes etc. Infact the biggest use of Everlast roof is that one can use the terrace for drying clothes especially during rainy season.
The consumer also gets the benefits of additional closed space without spending too much money on building another roof.
Everlast comes in various colors and hence does not compromise the beauty of the house. The brand highlights the following qualities like
Durability
Corrosion Resistant
Easy to Maintain
and also the trust of Hindalco.
Along with the consumer promotion, the brand also had below the line promotion aimed at the influencers like masons, contractors , architects etc.

Everlast rightfully is reaping the benefits of the first mover advantage in this commodity business. Through heavy promotion, the brand had already established its presence in the market and is in course of establish a strong presence in the market.