Being Nose Up!

           Being ‘Nose-up’ is Not Viable Marketing Wisdom!

This is only my second piece in Zambia, while still learning how things work here at ground zero! My first take after a few interactions with ‘people in business’ has been that only a minority actually understand the meaning and essence of ‘Marketing’ out here -- leave aside practicing it. Anyone from a mature market would get baffled to know that many actually misjudge “Sales” function to be Marketing and Selling encompasses all. I don’t blame them, actually that is what is experienced all around here, selling. Excepting a few  names -- including the homegrown ones, who have managed to pop up their heads with pride, when one screamed, “Marketing”! 

By virtue of spending long professional career in markets thriving with brands of the world, where brand battle is a daily occupation -- I needed to retract my thoughts a bit – before embarking on a subject which should be of understandable interest to the local business community and students of marketing alike.

Being Nose-up or “brand arrogance” as we name it, has been a prime brand image killer and in many cases wipes out the brand itself. There are so many instances that a brand failed because of this ego and “I known it all” attitude since the advent of modern marketing science in the late nineteenth century almost coinciding with the great industrial revolution. It is hard to believe that many renowned and respected names in business still keep making the same mistake the world over – i.e. imposing their big attitude on ‘targeted audience’. Brand arrogance has different aspects at different levels like for instance; at retail sales, customer service, customer relationship marketing (CRM) etc. however here we’ll talk only about new product development; also to keep the general readers’ interest intact! 

A brand, after it is established over a period of time, forms its own “personality” & appearance in certain specific way in the ‘minds’ of its audience. Just the same way that we recognize certain personalities who have acquired fame on the basis of occupations they are intimately associated with. Tiger Woods with Golf, Michael Jackson as pop star, Sachin Tendulkar with Cricket or Obama as Politician. They are not known in any other way. Just the same way Cosmopolitan is known as a lifestyle magazine, Coca Cola is a cola soft drink, Colgate is for toothpaste or dental care and the list goes on. Whenever an established brand tried to “impose” itself on its audience with ‘anything’ but the way it is known in public domain – it failed. Yes, some brands succeeded in putting through a new line of product or service under the same name -- of course after in depth market research. Upon close examination one would find that these successful diversifications have had some relation with the parent line of business. We call it related diversification. However all those “nose up” brand custodians, whenever they tried to introduce anything (unrelated line extensions) without a proper understanding of their audiences, have failed miserably.

To illustrate in a better manner for our readers, let us go by a few real examples. Since 1983 when Coca Cola’s market share was sliding with the advent of the new brand Pepsi Cola, it decided to change its formula and introduced as the ‘new Coke’. Even though Coca Cola’s marketing department had done intensive objective feedback research before embarking on the new formula – they had terribly missed something! The unimaginable emotional connection of their consumers with brand Coke! So the day it was launched with a big hype, it immediately flopped. There were even public protests! An immediate turnaround to re-launch the classic coke only saved the reputed company from complete annihilation by Pepsi Cola. The new formula was abandoned and Coca Cola publicly said “sorry” to its consumers!

There are others who failed while trying to “impose” on their audience by something they are not known for. Cosmopolitan – the 36 language publication giant tried to launch Cosmo Yoghurt thinking it would appeal to its health & beauty conscious audience to cut down on body fat. Instead it had to withdraw the product almost immediately. Pepsi tried to launch Crystal Pepsi – a coffee substitute in late eighties and failed. Tata Motors in India, who have always been famous for heavy utility vehicles failed miserably with their initial attempts at launching 4x4 vehicles like  Sierra and Safari. What TATAs did later on was after gradual preparation of their launching ground over a period of time, through hardcore marketing activities targeting their core audience, to bring in successful acceptance levels.

It is not that unrelated diversification is a ‘taboo’ for any brand, NO! However it needs to be planned after extensive and in-depth  study of their existing as well as prospective audience to gauge possible acceptance levels. But a “dumping” approach is definitely a prescription for failure. There are many examples of diversified brand extensions done successfully, for instance look at the Virgin Group. They have been diversified over the years from airline to music to finance to media to commercial space travel et all. It is another matter that they too had failed with Virgin Cola in the mid nineties not getting sufficient acceptance levels from the targeted consumers in the UK. Bottom line is, one needs to prepare the ground for any brand extension ---and “more extensively so” for the unrelated ones.   

With these thoughts in mind, it would be interesting to see how Coca Cola Company fares with its new  venture into branded milk market in the USA this new year (2015) with a high end brand named Fairlife!

Marketing A Nation!

 Marketing A Nation!

When I had landed at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport on my first visit to African Continent in the afternoon of Zambian summer in 2012, my first take was its calm and quiet green environment. Being in the field of marketing Communication and brand building for past over 2 decades in India as well as the United Arab Emirates working for a diversified range of brands cutting across categories -- my natural antennas stood up trying to catch many visible marketing communication efforts along the road from the airport, while inhaling the very fresh & clean air from the car window. It didn’t really feel like it was summer!

In spite of the many negatives I kept hearing since then from fellow expatriates as well as Zambian colleagues at work, I feel that something is wrong somewhere. Yes, the general everyday crimes do fill up the second and third pages of all three prime Zambian dailies but is it too uncommon for any urban city in many parts of the globe? Is it not that crimes far graver than these thrive in alleys of most metropolis from Sao Paolo to Beijing on a daily basis? Or is it that we just don’t see it because news channels in those countries remain busy with much more interesting news items including corruption at highest offices or the many middle east crises for that matter? Well, the point is not to justify the ills of public social life by comparing it with that of another country – by no means, NO! But as a nation it is definitely missing on something – that is a proper marketing of brand Zambia to the world outside. 

Zambezi National Park

Need a Road Map: The nation of Zambia needs a Marketing Road Map to establish and position itself in a progressive and concerted manner (brand building does not happen overnight!) at all possible touch points in communication, while at the ground level all good work actually takes place to support such brand building exercise. The connection between the what is there and what is being spoken about is so very important, as an adage goes in my native language “one cannot sell sour mango twice!” 

   Victoria Falls

                                                       South Luwangua National Park

Looking for Positives: Manuals in Public Relations (one of the tool within  marketing communication) might tell that “any news is good news” in terms of remaining in contention or to grab the public nay the Target Audience’s mind share on a continuous basis. This could be true for a Broadway or Hollywood actor who mostly have nothing to lose from even negative publicity, as it is their acting which matters more and not their many scandals. In fact these stories help them keeping afloat in public memory. But for a nation? It needs to be a different approach altogether. Negativities whichever are there have to be managed or addressed in a truthful manner while focus need to be on the positives. Just to give a hint, the “fact” that this country has had a very peaceful existence for past fifty years, in spite of turbulence in countries very next door -- itself could be a big positive as a selling point or ‘talking point’ from a PR perspective. The general gentle nature of people in public life and the respect that is shown to fellow human beings in day to day interactions – there could be so many such positive aspects which might not be visible to people otherwise as these have become almost part of a nature of the people. It is noticed by ones who are new to this region.

                                                                                   Capital City: Lusaka

                                       

Lower Zambezi National Park

Educamp for Zambian Kids

Going by an example: By virtue of being in Dubai for nearly one and half decades, seeing it grow from just a small city to a modern metropolis – I take it to be a perfect example to cite as to “How to market a Nation”. However it is needed to be kept in mind that Dubai did such an overdrive in brand positioning and marketing as a preferred location for investment, business, leisure and sports  -- until today many people from far flung countries think Dubai to be the capital of UAE! From about 1996 within more or less 8 years period it built up the city with all modern civic attractions facilitating investors across the globe. Nevertheless, it is a perfect example to show how a city could be marketed with the right ingredients in action and a strategized marketing plan.  

Dubai Strategy: City of Dreams

Its real estate projects were sold like in a share markets -- an unprecedented phenomenon never seen anywhere in the globe. Licensing processes have been simplified so much that the convenience of opening a business became as easy as one could only imagine. Numerous free zone centres have been laid out with composite facilities within where investors just got pulled in. Dubai became the unchallenged role model in the gulf peninsula which made others in the region follow suit like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar et all --- when they took this marketing route to their positioning and success. Even their airline Emirates has been marketed so well that people feel it to be the UAE’s flag carrier, which factually it is not. The way the world largest unmanned metro system has been unveiled with a strictly followed time line in project completion, added to the build up of the desired image for the city. Until the great global recession in the last quarter of 2008, which hit Dubai with a severe blow with most of its real estate markets crashing, the city had an unimaginable growth and perhaps was the only city in the world which could attract such levels of foreign investments in a very short period in time. UAE having a local population between 17 to 25 percent with over 60 percent being from the Asian subcontinent, an achievement like this, engineered through well strategized marketing and positioning plan supported by the visionary rulers is un-paralleled in the history of modern marketing era. Currently Dubai is trying to regain its envious position as a sought after destination, by regrouping its marketing activities while fighting the negative facts with a bold positive PR outlook. They are not shying away from the hard facts rather are addressing them upfront by using communication experts at work, taking a 360 degree approach in utilizing all possible tools in marketing communication. That’s the way to go!   

Brand ambassador or Spokes person: While embarking on this notion of marketing the nation it calls for spokes persons who would take the brand message forward. The appointed leaders apart, it becomes almost an unique public duty to throw out the good word. When the leaders follow a strategic plan in communication while of course actually getting things done at ground level, a general positive environment is formed, where everyone feels proud to be part of this nation. Communication hand in hand with achievements is the key to creating such an environment. Once that is done the citizens and residents alike feel like talking about those positives and unconsciously become brand representatives through the “word of mouth” that is generated. It might be skeptical  for some, but marketing grammar tells us it is quite possible, provided there is a “will” to go for it.

Writer at Parey's Farm in Lusaka

Need of the hour: Time does not have an alarm bell, it waits for no one -- in marketing particularly. The decision makers at the helm of affairs should brainstorm, debate and come to a conclusion on a decisive marketing plan to market this nation with so many good vibes around it, in spite of the proverbial dollar fluctuation!