COVER final - brandequitymagazine.com

import your database with mobile
numbers construct the message
and click ‘send’
The system is flexible and comes
with options You may choose to
communicate with female
customers only make changes to
the database at your time
compose messages and change it
anytime send messages at a
predetermined date and time
Happy birthday!
But the topofmind issue is
perhaps cost given that some of
these services and their
possibilities
may
seem
overwhelming to the uninitiated
A basic module from MNC
requires an investment of RM
and a monthly fee of RM The
package comes with free
SMS messages Anything more
and the meter chugs along at to cents per SMS
‘Numerous retailers use our
system as well Their data is
maintained on excel format The
information can be imported into
our module and the usual is done
to send messages’ explained
Jasmine
And of late the increasing interest
in interactive solutions has MNC
spoton in the arena ‘TV
commercials aid brand exposure
while interactive is more tactical
and can be used to make TVCs
work harder and deliver’ said
Jasmine
For instance a graphical
embedded in a TVC may
encourage viewers to SMS to a
number (or short code) for a mini
recipe or vote for their favorite
artist or receive health tips and so
on The possibilities seem limitless
but creativity is called for to take
advantage of opportunities
24
‘One of our tools ‘ GO!ITV’ helped
viewers to chat on TV during
Euro ’ said Jasmine
Times are certainly going to
change and brand builders need to
be up to speed about them
Jasmine explained that MMS or
multimedia messaging services is
the area that is set to explode
‘SMS accounts for of
business generated within the
mobile marketing environment
By the end of the year we expect
this to be : in favor of MMS
And with MMS we are already
talking about realtime classified
ads picture catalogues and more’
said Jasmine
Perhaps its about time brand
builders asked themselves if they
are up to speed on the limitless
possibilities offered by the mobile
marketing environment
Jasmine can be contacted at
jasmine@mnccommy
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A Sampling of Mobile Marketing
Possibilities by Industry
(Supplied by MNC Wireless)
Financial Services
* Consumers can access their bank
accounts anywhere anytime
* Transfer funds between
accounts request for cheque
book status
* Get daily account notifications
balances and recent transactions
* Cross sell products by offering
text quotes to customers
* Keep customers informed on
progress of mortgage
applications
* Inform customers of monthly or
annual premium amounts
* Drive customers to their web
site
* Keep customers energised with
regular text to win competitions
Car Dealers / Manufacturers /
Service Centres
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Car ready for collection
Service reminders
Courtesy/thank you messages
Questionnaire followup
Sales lead generation
Part in stock
Tyres are probably due to be
changed now
stating what they are looking
for their budget and if and when
a property corresponding to
their requirements comes onto
the market they will
automatically be informed via
SMS giving brief details of the
property
* The system will automatically
revert with lots of info about the
house that’s available
* Send customised SMS and
images to your targeted buyers
right away!
Recruitment Agencies
* Within a few minutes of a job
being made available a text to
top candidates inviting them to
apply can be sent
* Send new Job alerts
* Database cleansing eg ‘Are you
still looking for work? To receive
instant text alerts for future
positions reply ‘job’ to this text
and we’ll keep you informed of
all the latest opportunities’
* Day to day client contact
* Drive applicants to web site to
apply for positions online
Real Estate / Property Agencies
Hospitals
* Buyers can SMS to obtain
additional information anytime
* Agencies can dedicate precious
time to a genuinely interested
public
* Alert services are ideal for clients
looking for investment
properties
* Potential buyers will be able to
view property in a relatively
short period of time by simply
* Remind patients about routine
outpatient and scan
appointments
* Sexual health clinics allowing
patients to get advice without
having to talk facetoface about
sensitive issues including
abortion contraceptives and
sexually transmitted infections
* Hospital can use SMS to protect
its staff members If they are on
house calls and they don’t
respond to an automatically
generated text message within
a certain amount of time an
alarm is raised
* Doctor can send daily SMS
update especially for intensive
care unit cases where patient’s
designated contact relative
receive information about
patient’s condition how he or
she was responding to
treatment and what tests were
scheduled later in the day if any
* Patients can schedule
appointments and reserve out
patient service in advance
through SMS They can then
visit the doctor at the reserved
date and time
* Doctors can cut down waiting
times for medical results by text
messaging to communicate with
patients
Leisure Sector
* Text alerts Send text bulletins
and offers to existing customers
* Text clubs Create a text club
that offers members special
offers bulletins and unique
benefits
* Text to win competitions Enhance response to your
campaigns by offering text to
win prizes
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25
GO!SMS(tm)
A DIY SMS marketing tool that
includes
* SMS Broadcast for sending mass
SMS messages anytime or in a
recurrent manner with
personalised messages or brand
your SMS messages by replacing
the short code with your brand
name
* SMS Mailbox to receive and
automatically manage all
information sent by your
customers The info can be
personal details contest entries
* SMS IOD to provide customers
with information / via an
informationondemand service
such as movie schedules
The MNC
Repertoire
GO!ITV(tm)
A cost effective measurable and targeted
SMS marketing tool that enables
viewers
* Post their opinions on air via
SMS
* Vote their favorite music videos
* Support their favorite game
shows
* Participate in contests
* Take part in fully animated
interactive games
GO!CPA(tm)
A SMS gateway solution that allows
aspiring content providers to start
lucrative premium SMS businesses
without the need to manage the
complexities of connecting to the mobile
network operators’ billing infrastructure
GO!CONTENT SUITE(tm)
An ASPbased (application service
provider) content management platform
that enables content developers without
technology knowhow to embark on a
mobile content and services business
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By Seelen Sakran
In fact this marketing services
company aligned with advertising
powerhouse
Leo
Burnett
Worldwide recently established
its AsiaPacific office in down town
KL to initiate its combined
Charles Cadell
Multidisciplinary
ROI-centric
Communications
ContemporaryCommunications
THE HOLY GRAIL THESE DAYS
in marketing communications is
the ability to provide onestop
marketing solutions for the clients
business problem that maximises
business results and return on
investment
Chicago
headquartered Arc Worldwide’s
(Arc) believes it has the answer
A r c Wo r l d w i d e r o l l s o u t a s l e w o f
communication disciplines to deliver
potent results for aspiring brands
marcom
(marketing
communications)
specialist
services offering
These are event and promotional
management direct marketing
interactive marketing and Shopper
Marketing all under one roof
Arc’s AsiaPacific President
Charles Cadell who is also Leo
Burnett Malaysia’s CEO feels that
the Arc model is the solution
‘Separated or siloed specialist
marketing companies are the
current model but this model is
broken Clients are looking for
integrated marketing solutions
that utilise all the required contact
points and this is best served by a
company that has all the
specialists working under one roof
against a central objective and a
central idea’
Cadell went on to point out that
Arc is the only company in the
world to offer such specialised
services together ‘Specialisation
should not mean separation but
unfortunately for most Clients it
does Fundamentally successful
marketing is a result of great ideas
brilliantly executed through the
range of required contact points
Having this centrally managed and
controlled ensures a maximisation
and efficiency in Client budgets as
well as a greater control over the
end product
Perhaps most important is the
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27
Australia Malaysia Philippines
and Taiwan
how we should be talking to our
customers’
Cadell believes there is immense
opportunity for Clients to
maximise the collection of their
marketing spends ‘I find it strange
that while Asia Pacific boasts the
best media platforms and
emergent technology available
we so rarely ever see world class
integrated campaigns come from
Asia instead it is the US and
Europe that are lauded The big
ideas here seem to be so often one
dimensional for the majority of
marketers such as TV print and
maybe a promotion and some
interactive But few are really
using all contacts points to make
the big ideas come alive and
taking it all the way down to the
store level’
Cadell is especially excited in the
Shopper Marketing discipline a
new concept to many Asian
markets but a discipline that is of
vast focus in the US and England
Cadell explains that with Shopper
Marketing Arc is able to help
marketers turn shoppers into
profitable brand buyers
‘A truly integrated approach in
engaging customers across all
contact points is where the
opportunity lies and we feel Arc is
able to accomplish this The
changes that are going to affect us
all as marketers in the next few
years are going to be tremendous
old rules will cease to apply We
all need to buckle up for the ride
ahead’
examples and case studies of best
practice ‘But we also rely on
them’ he adds ‘In the marketing
services field the best ideas can be
globally shared and quickly
reapplied and we ensure that
each month we track and share the
world’s best examples in each of
the disciplines across all our
offices’
Arc is no new kid on the block
however It has been formed by
taking global specialist entities in
DM Promotions Shopper and
Interactive and merging them
together They boast over Clients across Asia Pacific with
centres of excellence in Singapore
28
Cadell cites some examples of the
changing world ‘We now know
that if given a choice teenagers
would rather have a mobile phone
than a television We know that
over of all SMS marketing
messages are read and a reponse
rate of approximately is
common We know that some
internet sites and brands are more
trusted by their customers than
their own family (Google /
Amazon / ebay) and we know that
approximately of all purchase
decisions in the FMCG category
are made in store We know a lot
the question is what are we as
marketers doing about it since the
implications are enormous for
‘The potential is enormous’ he
says ‘Marketers in the FMCG
category on average spend about
of their total marketing
budget in the trade This may be
on promotions discounting or
simply buying facings Yet they
have virtually no idea how this
money is working for them Take
this against the say they may
spend on Television advertising
that is often researched and
measured to death and it makes no
sense There is an art and a science
to understanding the customer in
the store environment and
ensuring all elements of the mix
are syncronised to get our product
in the basket versus our
competitors This is what Arc
offers through our Shopper
Marketing specialists’
Why? Cadell further explains ‘The
research is staggering in this field
Product advertising plays a very
very small role in the actual
purchase decision when that
customer gets in front of that
shelf There is a very discrete path
to purchase that a consumer
treads in each of the different
retail
environments
and
communication must be adapted
at each point of the way This
requires good understanding and
insights of the shopper the
category they are buying in and
the retail store type’
Cadell believes that Malaysia is still
relatively young with only about
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of trade is done via the
modern trade ‘However if you
look at the retail explosion in
Shopping centres especially in
Kuala Lumpur there is much to be
done Shopper marketing is not
just about working with products
to promote in store it is also about
working with retailers to improve
store layout and design to
maximise total sales’
“There is still much to be done in
Malaysia The shopper ‘experience’
which is so vital for sale
maximisation is poorly understood
as a discipline We work with
Carrefour WalMart Tescos and
Sainsburys on a global basis as well
as doing store design for the likes
of McDonalds Even while they are
the largest in their fields they also
have much to learn’
‘I find Shopper Marketing the most
interesting To garner the insights
we conduct our own independent
research using in store cameras
and home interviews of shoppers
pre and post shop and it is
fascinating The stark differences
in how we all shop dependent on
age sex and outlook is deeply
human and for most people the
choices and actions are hidden
deep within the subconscious It is
more a study of psychology than
marketing’ he notes
Incidentally Cadell has been
working with Leo Burnett for the
last years covering various
markets and positions including
group brand director brand
management director in Bangkok
and Hong Kong His clients
included both multinational and
local companies across the Asia
Pacific region such as McDonald’s
Procter & Gamble and Kellogg’s
Cadell started his career in London
in where he has worked with
Kraft Pepsi and Mercedes Benz
Currently Arc has more than employees in offices in countries In Malaysia its smart
partnership with Leo Burnett has
culminated in clients such as
Malaysia Airlines Petronas
McDonald’s YTL Corporation
Procter & Gamble and Bumiputra
Commerce Bank
Virgin Credit Card
Arc in Australia delivers for Virgin’s new credit
card with a bang
OBJECTIVE
To generate accounts
within months at $ Cost Per
Account The singleminded focus
was to acquire new accounts at a
minimal cost per acquisition
STRATEGY
It was crucial to monitor and
adjust all the communication
mediums in order to maximise
reach and efficiency to meet the
set objectives
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29
This involved:
* Testing all elements of
communication prior to roll out
* Monitoring all activities to
ensure that the cost per account
did not exceed $
* Adjusting media and channel
scheduling targeting and
creative work on a weekly basis
as the campaign unfolded
WORK
An integrated campaign was
launched using DM television
press & magazine inserts and
radio
Each
piece
of
communication carried a strong
and compelling call to action
Work maintained Virgin’s brand
values (irreverent humour) while
ensuring a strong sell The concept
employed took tongueincheek
approach to elicit the interest of
the target audience
RESULTS
a) Business
The launch of the Virgin Credit
Card succeeded across all media
b) Industry
* John Caples International
First Prize
* Echo Direct Marketing
Diamond Award Campaign of
the Year
* Echo Direct Marketing
Gold Award
* ADMA DM Grand Prix
* / Australian DM
Awards
* Media Asia Brand
Effectiveness Best Idea
* Cannes Gold Lions (x)
Direct Marketing
* Won Report Most
Awarded Global DM Campaign
* TV beat objectives by * Press by * Mail results by Campaign targets were exceeded
by with over cards
issued in the first months
To paraphrase the Virgin Money
Managing Director ‘another
amazing milestone customers; the fastest rate of
growth ever for a new card in
Australia; the most successful month period for any card ever
with two months to spare and no
previous customer base!’
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By Benjamin J Thompson
BrandLaw
THIS ARTICLE WHICH WILL BE
the final article on copyright we
will continue examining the
boundaries of protection afforded
by Copyright law to better
understand how copyright can be
used to protect your brand
identifiers or product features
How much of a person’s work can
you imitate or adapt without
actually
infringing
their
copyright? To further understand
let’s look at just a few of the
exceptions under the Copyright
Act in more detail
Presenting the ninth in a
series for defending
brand value right from
creation
&
Copyright
Consequences
Exc eptio n “fair dealing for the purposes of
nonprofit research private study
criticism review or the reporting
of current events SUBJECT to the
condition that if such use is public
it is accompanied by an
acknowledgement of the title of
the work and its authorship
What is ‘fair’ dealing? As can be
imagined this is a very subjective
term The factors which are often
taken into account in deciding if
an action falls into the ambit of the
exception are:
The purpose and character of
the dealing eg was it used for
nonprofit research or one of
the other purposes set out in
the Copyright Act?
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* Whether it is of a commercial
nature or for nonprofit
educational use eg was it
used by a trainer to avoid
having to make his own
materials for a seminar or used
by a study group at a university
for one of their study sessions?
* The nature of the copyright
work eg literary work artistic
work musical work etc;
* The amount and substantiality
of the parts taken eg were
many quotations taken or was
it just a single but definitive part
of the work which was taken?
* The effect of the dealing on the
work eg did it impact the
value of the work or the ability
of the copyright owner to
profitably deal with it
subsequently; and
* The availability of the work in
the market eg was it
something widely available or a
work that was out of
circulation?
Similarly other terms such as
“private study” have been
interpreted according to the
circumstances of each case
One other thing must be borne in
mind An exception does not arise
just because a particular industry
practice or custom has for many
years ignored copyright
That means even if you think that
no one in your industry has been
sued for copyright infringement
despite a particular method of
dealing with the works of third
parties it does not mean that their
use is excusable or accepted ‘fair
dealing’
It
could
be
copyright
infringement and if you are
unfortunate enough to be sued for
unauthorised use in this manner
it will not matter that ‘everyone
else is doing it’
Exception “the doing of any of the acts by way of parody pastiche or
caricature”
‘Parody’ is defined in the dictionary
as ‘a composition in which the
characteristic turns of thought and
phrase of an author are mimicked
and made to appear ridiculous
especially by applying them to
ludicrously inappropriate subjects’
Obviously since a parody is based
on or derived from an existing
work to come within the scope of
the exception the new work must
indeed fulfil the quality of a
parody If not it will not be able
to claim the exception and the
work will be an infringement
Exception “the
reproduction
and
distribution of copies of any
artistic work permanently situated
in a place where it can be viewed
by the public”
If you recall from the previous
articles artistic works include
graphic works photographs
sculptures buildings and works of
artistic craftsmanship This
exception therefore allows any
one to say take photographs of
the Twin Towers or the Mona Lisa
painting (assuming it is
permanently situated in a place
where it can be viewed by the
public) and sell those photographs
without reference to the owners
of the copyright
So we can see from the above that
there are specific areas into which
a person’s copyright will not
extend As an owner of a brand
identifier protected by copyright
it is important for you to know
which exceptions apply to your
own case
If you have a situation and would
like to know whether you fall into
any of the exceptions under the
Copyright Act it is a good idea to
get the advice of a copyright
lawyer
He will be able to provide you with
definite advice after performing
research on the way Courts have
interpreted the application of the
exceptions in situations such as
yours
We shall commence discussion on
a new topic on how to protect
your brand identifiers or product
features in our next instalment
EDITOR’S NOTE:
We apologize for the error in last
issue’s article which resulted in the
article being wrongly headed
“Protecting Industrial Designs” The
actual title which appeared correctly
in the index was “Copyright &
Consequences” We apologize to
readers for the confusion it may have
caused
NOTE:
This article is merely intended to
create awareness of Intellectual
Property rights It should not be relied
on without the benefit of specific
advice from an Intellectual Property
practitioner Logos and graphics
displayed are for illustrative and
educational purposes only and are the
Intellectual Property of their
respective owners
Ben Thompson is a Registered
Trademark Patents & Industrial
Designs Agent
Feedback
is
welcome
at
brandlaw@thompsoncommy
Readers who would like the column to
discuss particular Brandlaw issues are
welcome to write in
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33
Marketers on numerous occasions
has been corrected once the
results are available and the
programs’ success has been
measured
By Salim Khubchandani
WHEN ASKED TO COMMENT ON
the subject we Direct Marketers
invariably end up talking about the
fact that it is ‘measurable’ This is
indeed
one
important
characteristic of Direct which also
makes it such an interesting
subject and a science
For soon after the communication
has gone out we wait with bated
breath to receive the responses
and evaluate the success of the
program dissect and analyze the
results to try and improvise for
subsequent programs
Marketers on the other hand often
comment on it being ‘too
expensive’ This perception of
This article tries to look at some
of the various parameters and
metrics for measurement of Direct
Marketing
programs
and
highlights the importance of such
parameters
for
different
programs can be measured
differently for success depending
on the objectives
Depending on the objective of the
program there can be various
parameters towards measuring its
success More importantly
unfortunately while it is not often
practiced it helps greatly to
outline action standards or
program measurement metrics
before commencement of the
exercise
This helps to evaluate the degree
of success of the program as
against methods that may have
been practiced before the program
was executed
For example in the case of a Bto
B program wherein the sales force
may have been making cold calls
as a part of the sales process the
role or objective of the program
may be to actually support sales
in their job and generate qualified
leads for them In such a case it
would help immensely to do a
calculation of the current cost per
lead through the cold calling
process
This does require the organization
to do a fair bit of number
crunching by taking into account
average time spent before a lead
is generated and costing out the
time However the effort and
time taken does pay off in the long
run
Once we have the ‘cost per lead’
generated through the cold calling
process when embarking on a
Direct approach we already have
a benchmark set which needs to
be bettered in order to claim
success for the Direct Marketing
exercise And metrics agreed as
part of the brief even helps the
agency
in
its
strategic
recommendations with regard to
the media vehicles offer etc
In evaluating the strategy and
before embarking on the program
one obviously then takes the
approach which is most efficient
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RelationshipMarketing
The Proof of
the Pudding
5/17/05, 2:27 PM
35
with regards to the ‘cost per lead’
metric Where the program uses
various media vehicles or offers to
achieve what it had set out to do
and in such cases we can test the
various messages media or offers
and determine what works better
through the measurement
metrics
Just as we have discussed cost per
lead as a possible parameter
above there are several other
metrics for measuring the success
of Direct Marketing programs
Cost per conversion: Often the
role of the Direct program could
extend towards conversion In
such cases it helps to take into
account the cost towards the
offer fulfillment costs etc to
ultimately arrive at the cost for
each conversion
Once we have the cost for each
conversion comparing this or
calculating what percentage it
forms of the cost or contribution
of the product we can actually see
for ourselves whether it makes the
program worthwhile and whether
the product would be able to
support the program
Cost per Member and Lifetime
Value: The latter part of the
Relationship Marketing Cycle
deals with retention and
development
of
acquired
customers Loyalty programs are
one of the more commonly used
tools towards retention whilst
there may also be other methods
at hand
As discussed in one of the earlier
articles loyalty is not a ‘one night
stand’ and needs to be looked at
from a more long term
prospective In such a case
obviously the investments
required may be substantial and
it is best to ascertain them even
before embarking on the loyalty
36
journey We therefore evaluate
the total cost of the program over
a period of time and also the cost
per customer retained or cost per
member
This could even dictate the
strategy to a great extent whereby
the numbers may go to indicate
segmentation of customers as
heavy medium or light with
different levels of investments and
approaches for the three different
types of customers In fact in case
of a segment of retained
customers being seen as non
profitable over a period of time
exit or ‘leavethemalone’
strategies may be charted out
In evaluating whether it is worth
embarking on a retention
program the ‘cost per member’
metric may not be considered in
isolation An additional important
factor to be taken into account is
the customer’s ‘Lifetime Value’ To
arrive at the lifetime value of the
customer we take into account
estimated value of consumption
over a reasonable period of time
based on realistic consumption
patterns
Furthermore should there be
opportunities to crosssell across a
basket of products from the same
brand or manufacturer it may be
reasonable to even take into
account additional consumption
values out of the crosssell to
determine the Lifetime Value
Comparing the cost per member
metric against lifetime value gives
a much better idea as an indicator
whether the retention program
appears feasible or not
As emphasized earlier the
measurement criteria is largely
dictated by the objectives of the
program and the role that Direct
is to achieve Importantly the
results must be measured in the
right context to help ascertain
whether the activity has delivered
For example cost per member
seen in isolation and in absolute
terms may appear high but needs
to be measured in comparison to
the lifetime value before a
judgement is made whether it
appears high or low
The above are only some of the
more standard parameters and
there could be numerous other
metrics towards measuring the
success of programs It is indeed
most appropriate if these
parameters and their action
standards can be agreed upon at
the commencement of the
program
It must be borne in mind that there
are several intangibles that a
Direct Marketing program could
impart
through
a
communication’s strategy and the
various contact points
Having the action standards
however sets a finite goal post as
ultimately in Direct we often
proclaim that the proof of the
pudding lies in its eating
Salim Khubchandani is a
Relationship Marketing
practitioner with almost two
decades of experience in the
field both with clients as
well as agencies
Currently Salim runs his
own outfit and is
contactable at
salim@myontargetcom or
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Brand Ambassador
It’s All
In The Stars
‘Branding is after all, a mind game. A
brand, whether it is a product or country
brand is a collection of perceptions. This
is why he feels brand ambassadors in
general are worth investing in’
By Seelen Sakran
JUST FLIP THE NEWSPAPERS
Chances are you will get to see
local actresses like Joanna Bassey
or singers like Siti Nurhaliza on its
pages in various sensational poses
Not the fact that their pretty faces
splashed across the pages raises an
eyebrow or two but the fact that
they have become the latest icons
or buzz themes to products as
brand ambassadors
38
So what is the fuss about this new
rising trend among our local or
international
product
manufacturers
on
brand
ambassadors?
In actuality the fuss is not about
their faces per se but rather if the
huge amounts of ringgit spent on
them is worth the return on
investment for these companies?
Or even if it is worth the
investment does the brand
ambassador’s face make any
difference or creates value for the
product such that a consumer
wants to purchase the product
without questions asked? Or
does a star’s appearing on
behalf of more than one
product have a negative
effect on the products
itself? Or if a star falls
into scandal does it affect
the product brand itself?
Brand Equity magazine
takes a look at the
issues at hand
Incidentally in trying
to find out how much does it cost
to sponsor a brand nobody is
telling but it is believed stars like
Nurhaliza can easily command a
cool RM million for becoming a
brand ambassador of a particular
product What is the then the
contract duration of a brand
ambassador for a particular
product? It’s usually for two years
In any case ‘before one addresses
the issues at hand about brand
ambassadors one has to look at the
concept of branding itself and how
it is a major force in making or
breaking a product’ says Hong
Kongbased Victor Jeffery the
chief executive officer (CEO) of
Superbrands International a
leading independent arbiter on
branding in an interview with
Brand Equity magazine
He could be right because multi
national corporations place so
much emphasis on brand
management Some countries
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even go to the extent of
establishing brand councils to
oversee the promotion of products
of a country ‘Branding is after all
a mind game A brand whether it
is a product or country brand is a
collection of perceptions This is
why he feels brand ambassadors in
general are worth investing in’
notes Jeffery
Perhaps also as to why Bharat
Avalani communication channel
manager with Unilever Malaysia
Holdings Sdn Bhd the Anglo
‘Stars have always endorsed Lux
Credibility is important Both the
brand and the brand ambassador
should complement each other
and not dilute the image of each
other’ adds Avalani
So far Unilever Malaysia has had
its Lux soap well represented by
many local stars Over the years
local singercumactress like Amy
Mastura to Erra Fazira have been
chosen to be the ambassador for
Lux products
of their pocket’s reach in the first
place’
To which Alex Lim creative
director at Leo Burnett
Advertising feels likewise ‘It all
depends how a particular brand
uses the ambassador The
ambassador should encapsulate
the particular brand and create
value for it If done well the brand
ambassador will work wonders for
the brand A consumer is no fool
He will know when a brand
ambassador has failed a product’
says Lim of Leo Burnett
But having said this Superbrand’s
Jeffery feels sometimes there is no
such thing as a perfect fit all the
time for a particular product He
cites the example of Jackie Chan
‘Does he represent Hong Kong
itself? It’s just that he is popular
action hero globally and he has
been chosen to represent his
country That’s all!’
Dutch headquartered company
that is all too familiar with the
concept of branding views brand
ambassadors as crucial in brand
building
On the question of the right
candidate as an ambassador for a
product Avalani adds ‘it is
important that the brand
ambassador is relevant to the
(particular) brand There should be
a good connection between the
brand ambassador the brand
essence and (ultimately and
importantly) the consumer itself
I am also of the belief that the
brand ambassador should be
uniquely associated with the
brand eg Tiger Woods &
Accenture a global management
consulting and technology
services company’
Kenneth Lim creative director
with CD Advertising agrees with
Avalani by saying ‘the fit must be
right A good example is Maxis
Communications Bhd’s Hotlink
prepaid service with the singers of
Astro’s Akademi Fantasia You
have young radiant singers who
are mobile hip and they quite
nicely promote a mobile service
which is popular with the young
these days’
Lim opines a bad case of a brand
ambassador would be with
Nurhaliza promoting Samsung
liquid crystal display computer
monitors ‘Her fans are varied
some are even staying in non
urban areas or small towns What
difference would it make to them
if Nurhaliza epitomises the
product the product might be out
Jeffery does have a point Consider
Shell
Malaysia’s
brand
ambassadors an oddly row of
ambassadors consisting of TV
personality Asha Gill and Datuk
Michael Chong the Malaysian
Chinese Association’s Public
Complaints’ Bureau chief
On the issue of a brand
ambassador’s ‘downfall’ having an
effect on the product Leo Burnet’s
Lim explains our companies
cannot blindly follow like what is
happening in Hollywood ‘If a
company happens to choose a
wrong ambassador and if
something goes wrong with his or
her personal life the brand goes
down the drain as well’ Case in
point: If Michael Jackson were to
endorse a product what would
become of that product now?
Food for thought!
Lim adds a good example of a
company that chooses the right
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39
‘
Lim adds a good
example of a
company that
chooses the right
people is Nike
Nike which
selects only top
notch sportsmen and
sportswomen
‘
Similarly TAG Heuer watches’
ambassadors include Tiger Woods
Formula One drivers Kimi
Raikkonnen and David Coulthard
an assortment of Bollywood
movie stars and Malaysia’s perky
itgirl Asha Gill who have
propelled the brand and lent it an
aesthetic ruggedness and flair to
its name
celebrities are chosen for their
commitment to excellence and a
willingness to surpass themselves
On the issue of a brand
ambassador representing more
than one noncompeting brand
while the general feedback is that
it does not really matter
Unilever’s Avalani has this to say:
‘It is quite common to see brand
ambassadors
in
Malaysia
endorsing many brands across a
wide category This creates
confusion in the mind of the
consumers As a result it also
creates wastage of money to the
company’ In the final analysis as
Superbrand’s Jeffery says there is
a bright future for brand
ambassadors with consumers
becoming more discerning these
days
As Tag Heuer’s regional financial
controller Woo Mun Hoo said the
In fact it may even go onestep
further Like at USbased
people is Nike which selects only
top notch sportsmen and
sportswomen
40
Honeywell a manufacturer of civil
and military avionics and other
aerospace products integrator
and also service provider which
states in its annual report that
every employee is a brand
ambassador in itself At Honeywell
generations of Honeywell
employees have built its powerful
brands with their hard work spirit
of innovation passion for quality
and commitment to customers
Perhaps as to why USbased
management guru Dr Janelle
Barlow says with sufficient
training human resource
departments can develop staff as
a strategic element for branding
and business success and become
a company’s best branding tool
One thing is for certain This move
would certainly save a company a
couple of million ringgit!
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CustomerLoyalty
AUTHOR’S NOTE: THIS PIECE IS
the first in a series of articles that
takes a critical look at some of the
commonly held beliefs about
customer loyalty which are often
based on conflicting notions and
inconsistent reasoning The goal
is to gain a clear understanding of
the why’s and how’s of the
evolution of these myths and to
bring out the realities behind
them
By Matt Hasan PhD
Truly Loyal
Customers
do not Have
to be Bought!
Myth: Companies should do the
most for their most loyal
customers
Many companies in a wide variety
of industries have what are known
as ‘loyalty programs’ This practice
which is based on rewarding
frequent buyers started with the
airline industry almost two
decades ago was then adopted by
other members of the travel
industry such as hotels and rental
cars has now spread to industries
ranging from telecommunications
to retail trade
42
Although each industry’s program
has its nuances the basic structure
is common to all of them: award
miles or points to customers based
on their ‘spend’ Almost all of them
allow customers to earn rewards
at a higher rate by achieving
higher levels of usage such as silver
and gold or premier and elite etc
The foundation for these
programs is the myth that
providers should do the most for
their most loyal customers
The first issue that needs
clarification in this myth is what
is meant by customer loyalty since
the term is used quite loosely and
takes on a wide range of meanings
As used in this context loyalty
means that a customer continues
to do business with a company
The second issue that needs to be
looked at is that the myth seems
to be implying that customers
have to be rewarded at increasing
rates to keep them loyal to the
company This contradicts the
meaning of the word loyalty
which is an unconditional and
unwavering attachment to
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establish winwin relationships
with each customer based on an
understanding of their internal
loyalty intensity In this approach
the most loyal customers are the
ones with the highest inherent
propensity to stay with their
current provider
Author Bio
Dr Matt Hasan is Managing Principal at Sigillum Corporation a New
Jersey USA based management and technology consulting firm focusing
on customer centric enterprise transformation Prior to Sigillum he held
various marketing and CRM positions at Deloitte Consulting AT
Kearney IBM and AT&T For more information on this and related topics
he can be reached via email: m ha sa n @sigillu mco r po r a tio n co m
something In plain language if it
has to be bought it is not loyalty!
Some might say that the issue is
one of semantics There is some
merit in that When providers
make statements like ‘we value
and reward our loyal customers’
they are trying to reinforce a
positive trait and elicit desirable
action from the customer
On the face of it this would be fine
if it was simply an issue of
semantics with no repercussions
for making effective business
decisions Unfortunately that is
not the case Companies are
allocating substantial resources to
reward ‘loyalty’ in customers
which is actually incenting the
opposite behavior Customers
who stay for rewards also leave
for rewards Only the ante keeps
rising!
frequent flyer program was just
another desirable product
attribute And as every other
airline started their programs the
initial differentiating value
disappeared and the quest for
‘loyal’ customers became a contest
based on the reward structure eg
number of miles required to
redeem awards types of awards
available number and type of
program partners etc
When customers’ demand for
redeeming awards reached a point
where the airlines could not meet
them restrictions such as blackout
dates and designated flights with
award seats were imposed To wit
the chances that a program
member will get an award seat on
a flight to a desirable destination
at a convenient time is very slim
This is tantamount to giving with
one hand and taking away with
the other
To gain an understanding of the
seriousness of the above
mentioned phenomenon one
needs only to look at the state of
the oldest of the ‘loyalty
programs’ ie those offered by
the airlines When the first
frequent flyer program was
introduced it was a probably a
source of differentiated value for
the passengers of that airline It
may have incented some
customers to make that airline
their carrier of choice
In fact most of these programs are
dormant financial time bombs; if
every program member demanded
everything they are promised by
the program at the same time
these programs would be
completely overwhelmed and may
have no other option but to shut
down The essence of all of this is
that the ‘loyalty programs’ have no
relation to customer loyalty and
are neither good for customers nor
the providers
This however had nothing to do
with the loyalty of customers The
In order to have true loyalty
programs companies need to
Research including mine has
shown that this internal loyalty
intensity can be measured via the
application of appropriate
statistical and neural methods on
carefully defined and compiled
customer attribute data
This propensity is based on their
internal attributes consisting of
psychoeconomicdemographic
characteristics for consumers and
culturetraditionhistory
structure characteristics for
businesses The complex inter
relationships between these
characteristics determine the
implicit cost of switching for any
given customer
The higher the implicit switching
cost the more likely it is that that
customer will continue to do
business with the current provider
From this it follows that
customers who are intrinsically
most loyal need the least amount
of rewards or incentives from their
provider
So the reality is that companies
have to do the least for their most
loyal customers!
In order for ‘loyalty programs’ to
be truly effective companies
should determine the inherent
loyalty propensity of each
customer and allocate rewards to
them on the basis of their ‘true
worth’ which is calculated from
their loyalty intensity score
lifetime revenue stream and all
direct and indirect costs incurred
in serving them
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43
A research
MarketResearch
agency with
extended arms
offers a potent
tool to track
brand equity
Steve Murphy
Tracking Brand
Performance
By R Venkateswaran
THE KEY DRIVER OF THIS PIECE
has everything to do with brand
owner behavior of the weighty
type; in particular the types that
are tracking the performance of
their brand repertoire
44
The tracking concerns deliverables
that goes beyond the ubiquitous
bottomline Rather it’s about the
value that the brand has earned in
the customer’s mind
Enter Synovate a research firm
that operates on the maxim
‘Research Reinvented’ But there’s
this aboveboard logic to the name
Synovate; and it has a lot to do
with two key drivers against which
its repertoire of research services
are delivered to clients Synergy
and Innovation
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Brand Equity met up with Steve
Murphy the managing director of
Synovate
Malaysia
who
articulated his views on
‘BrandVision’ a tool that measures
brand value and performance over
time
companies to determine if the
intended message has reached the
right audience in addition to its
general impact
The last of the four paths is
ongoing
tracking
which
According to Steve typically respondents are interviewed per
week which aggregates to per year Since the data is primarily
quantitative the output provides
macro as well as micro level
details Generally the sample is
T h e Mom en t u m En gin e
identifies the customers with the most potential to increase their
spending. And shows you how to reach them.
B r a n d Vision
The core of BrandVision includes
a fully integrated brand and
advertising research program
which provides comprehensive
and actionable insights tailored to
the market and the brand
The tool traverses four paths of
measurement during a given
phase and these are implemented
in ways that work best for each
brand building organization
The paths include brand
assessment which measures the
strength of the brand’s equity and
customer relationships using a
variety of proven techniques
image analysis which is the
consumer’s perception of a
particular brand and competitive
brands and communications
evaluation which evaluates
exposure memorability and
clarity of advertising and non
advertising
market
communications thus helping
incorporates key inmarket
performance indicators of brand
awareness usage and satisfaction
When all of these are done over a
period of time the data collected
will deliver a proven result on the
impact of the brand in the
consumer’s minds
Putting this continuous tracking
mechanism in place enables the
company to have a pulse on the
market at the same time getting
indepth feedback from the
advertising arena on all various
media It is designed to indicate
what works and what doesn’t
Methodology
When a BrandVision project is
commissioned all key areas such
as brand awareness awareness of
TV advertising association of
image with the brand are factored
in a questionnaire that is
developed in partnership with a
client
relatively broad but usually
reflective of users / potential users
of the relevant sector
A comparison is done on a month
tomonth basis against the same
profile of people but not the same
respondents This according to
Steve Murphy gives a more
accurate picture of the brand and
sector dynamics over specific
timeframes which would not be
the case if members of the same
panel
were
interviewed
throughout the year
Tools of the trade
The Momentum Engine is an
important part of BrandVision
enabling brands to identify high
potential customers as well as
coax them to purchase This tool
adds a powerful dimension to
brand equity research which is
the ‘potential to purchase’
The success of the Momentum
Engine stems from the fact that it
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45
is grounded in empirical studies of
decision making patterns and is
effective across all cultures and
countries
It’s taken a lot of resources
brand where it is today.
And where exactly is that
to position your
By providing companies a
roadmap to harness customers’
potential it helps to translate
research into an effective sales
strategy
Impact of BrandVision
While the results of the
research does not always
reconcile with the actual
sales figures at that
moment in time key
performance indicators
can place the financial
results into context and
are often indicative of
future sales trends As
Steve succinctly put it
‘The Voice of the
Customer does not
automatically tally
with the financial
results but is a key
indicator of the
brand’s
health
nevertheless’
The continuous
nature of the
tracking over
time remains a
key reason for
the success of Synovate’s
BrandVision Trend lines can be
drawn from accumulated data
giving instant feedback at any
point in time The tracking
mechanism also facilitates future
projections crucial for companies
planning their sales and marketing
well ahead
L o c a l Presence
A significant number of local
brand custodians have taken
positively to brand tracking
measurement systems across all
sectors Many of the leading
46
companies in Malaysia have
already subscribed to Synovate’s
brand tracking service
In promoting BrandVision in the
Malaysian market place Steve
Murphy opines that ‘Malaysian
companies are refreshingly open
about management issues and
they share a great deal of
information with their research
partner In fact they are more
open about bringing a research
agency as part of their core
decision making process than
many other markets in Asia’
As a wide spectrum of sectors including fmcg petroleum
financial telecommunications and
automotive embrace the practice
of concerted market research it is
apparent that tracking brand
performance is becoming a key
task that brand building firms will
increasingly subscribe to
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ADVERTISE! PROMOTIONS! SELL! ADVERTISE! PROMOTIONS! SELL!
a typical business war cry from SMEs in trying to outwit each other and their
competitors to gain larger marketshare for themselves In a highly
commoditized price sensitive less affluent less service and product quality
conscious markets these strategies have high probabilities to succeed
However the markets have changed since then
SMEBranding
INCREASING
MARKETSHARE AND
PROFIT MARGINS:
SALES-CENTRED TO
BRAND-CENTERED
COMPANY
By Cseng Lim
Business
and
consumer
communities are more sensitive
towards brands and are more in
touch with themselves above the
fundamental levels of the Maslow
Hierarchy These markets used to
exist in pockets within our
community; today they thrive and
will continue to make their
presence felt in the future
Therefore the way companies
approach marketshare building
must also change to be relevant to
the markets they served
Businesses and consumers are now
willing to pay more to own
products and services that are
branded which allow them to own
a share of novelty that they
perceived difficult to be valued
48
purely in monetary terms Some of
these novelty can come from the
point of owning a piece of a legacy
to become part of the affluent
community to improve self
esteem to have felt that he/she
has done his/her part in
contributing to a cause and many
more
All of these are branding
dimensions that are not part of the
traditional saledriven dimensions
of a business product or service
Therefore companies need to
focus on more branddriven
strategies to building marketshare
than to compete with each other
like ‘pasar malam’ stalls out to gain
the attention of their customers in
order to succeed in the new Asian
and global marketsThere are
differences between salesdriven
approaches compared to brand
driven approaches
Brand strategies are more pull
driven than pushdriven but this
principle is not hard cast in stone
for every products services or
situations
Brand strategies are also more
aligned founded and guided
within the context of structured
brand identities and qualities
compared to traditional pull
marketing The following table
describes the difference between
salesdriven approaches compared
to branddriven approaches to
building marketshare:
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Common Marketing
Startegy
Sales-Driven Approach
Brand-Driven Approach
Advertises the products or services
being sold directly to the market.
The typical ‘Buy Me’ persuasion
spread all over the ad piece
Leverage on a association startegies to co-brands
brand identities, and others brand elements to
create a total brand appeal.
Instead of selling the product / service the ads
sells the value or the ads sells the value or
the brand image.
‘Be Apart of Me’ or ‘I am You’ is the more
common form of persuasion spread found in a
typical ad piece.
‘No need lar’ Waste of money
PR Events are organized to allow markets to get
to know and experience the brands.
These events are typically not designed to
realize sales but to position the products or
services or company.
‘No need lar’; The product / service
is sure to sell since we are the
cheapest and customers need
it anyway.
Clearly set out brand proposition being offered
that is beyond just price. The brand proposition
takes into account a clear positioning
compared to its competitors.
We are the cheapest in town and
will continue to offer the cheapest
price so that we can realize sales.
Price = Cost + Profit
Our pricing represents our customers’
experiential, social and psychological value
statement.
Price = Cost + Profit + Psychological Value +
Experiential Value + Innovation Value
People and Selling
Approaches
Sales people trying to make a living
off sales commission.
‘Anything Goes’ policy for sale
approaches.
Sales people represent the living elemeent of the
brand and there are guidelines to be followed,
style to go, training to undergo and
professionalism to approaching customers.
Customer Lifetime Value matters! Brands invest
heavily in knowing how their customers
are segmented, who are the profitable ones
and plans are put in place to keep them
coming back.
Sales Business Process
“What does it have to do with
building market share or selling?”
Customers buy, we invoice then we
collect - that is the process.
A well designed process that takes into account
the total branded sales process from the
customers’ first contact with the brand right
through to actual sales experience then further
to post sales loyalty management.
Merchandising and Store
Atmospherics
So long as they are a lot of varieties
for customers to choose and cosy
atmosphere will do just fine.
Distribution
Products are distributed in any
channel at any locale so long it
ended up in sales.
Packaging and
Aesthetics
So long as it is presentable.
No need to spend money on this.
Advertising
PR
Positioning
Pricing
Without a doubt the branded
approaches to building market
share are far more complex and
requires high level of strategic and
implementation capabilities than
common salesdriven approaches
In the branded approach we are
looking beyond just realizing sales
and securing marketshare but
Carefully designed merchandising plans that are
locale-specific and invest in the branded
atmospheric experience guided by the brand’s
identities.
Distribution channels are carefully assessed based
on several criteria but the more important
criteria are chnnel profitability and
brand-channel association relevance.
Customer experince and emotional
attachment is important. Packaging and
aesthetics are designed to deliver the
brand image.
more importantly to protect the
market share that have been built
by establishing barriers for
competitors
These barriers are not just prices
product/service features size of
distribution channels alone but
also constitute emotional
psychological and experiential
barriers that are harder to be
copied and transcended by
competitions
Branddriven strategies in building
marketshare are not just efforts to
satisfy
quarterly
sales
performance and accountability to
shareholders They are efforts that
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49
build and seal the market from its
competitors
and
provide
opportunities for the company to
increase profits by selling
intangible values to the products
or services be it emotional
psychological or experiential to its
customers
For a branddriven business
marketshare can no longer be
define in generic terms which
many SMEs still practices An
example:
A
machinery
manufacturer will probably define
its market as any manufacturing
industries that use the types of
equipment manufactured by the
company Thus its goal is to own
the largest marketshare in those
manufacturing industries
For a branddriven business
marketshare
has
to
be
characterised by the following
factors:
Profitability per percentage
share of the market
Brand power that it can gain
per percentage share of the
market; Brand power are
powers that will strengthened
the brand in the market and
offers the brand leverage to
move up or expand outside its
existing market An example of
a brand power is pricing
premium
Probability of success that the
brand can become the icon /
point of reference for the
market An easy way to assess
this situation is to ask ourselves
whether the segment market
has already an established
benchmark brand or de facto
brand
Thus the marketshare for a brand
driven business is strategically
oriented to ensure that the brand
not only profits considerably from
its share but also sets itself as the
identity for the market It is no
50
longer purely about how much we
own but also how strongly we
plant ourselves in the market as
well as how profitable we can
become
A real business example to
illustrate what we have talked
about is the markets owned by
Apple and Microsoft respectively
It is common understanding that
Apple users will never or very
unlikely switch to become a loyal
Windows user simply because
Apple owned seal and plant itself
as the icon of the market it served
Apple is able to sell not only to
loyal Apple users but also
Windows users high value
products such as the successful
iPod With the new Mini Mac
Apple is beginning to encroach on
the Windows marketshare by
offering competitively priced
product that offers the unique
Apple brand experience and
values
Another consideration for
marketshare is margins earned
from sales There is little point in
owning a large market share but
only realized small profit margins
from it compared to another
competitor that owns smaller
market share but profits
considerably from its share With
higher profits the competitor has
far more cash and thus power to
encroach and build its market
share at the expense of its
competitors
High margin per unit sale cannot
be readily realized by depending
on lowering cost (simply because
there is only so much one can
lower) features and other
tangibles related to the product or
services being sold Nonbrands
can never justify a higger price to
command high margin no matter
how
beautiful
is
their
advertisement and how extensive
their sales promotions are High
margins is only possible when the
company is selling intangibles value propositions of the brand
the brand’s image the brand’s
associative values the experience
the customer emotional social
and selfconnections etc
The catch to achieve that is
companies must first realize the
difference between selling a
product and selling a brand
Secondly companies must have
the knowhow to define the brand
Thirdly they must be able to
design and implement a
systematic brand management
processes to support and deliver
the brand in the market And
fourthly they must be able to
measure its performance from
many angles apart from sales
performance alone
SMEs must move away from a
salecentered company to become
a brandcentered company in
order for them to find success for
their company in the current
market The truth is that not every
company will become as successful
as a Samsung or Sony but to
achieve success as a powerful and
strong local ‘Samsung’ or ‘Sony’ is
far more gratifying than becoming
just another unknown constantly
struggling with pricing profit
margins
and
managing
competitions
Cseng Lim is the Managing Director of
EAST & URBAN Sdn Bhd a Brand
Systems Company that assists Malaysian
companies to implement
businesssensible operationallycentred
and pragmatic branding solutions that
meet their brand building objectives
All comments are welcome and can be
directed to info@easturbancom
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PersonalBranding
by William Arruda
Branding is the hottest concept in marketing today
and it’s an idea that is not just for the deeppocketed
highly glossed CocaColas and Nikes of the world An
increasing number of independentbusiness owners are
embracing branding as the guiding philosophy for
building their companies
Small Business Branding:
The Personal C
BUSINESS IS BECOMING MORE
and more competitive Small
Business is the fastest growing
segment of business in most parts
of the world And thanks to the
internet your competitors are no
longer just the businesses down
the street
They are the businesses in the next
town the next country and even
on the next continent So as the
leader of a small business how do
you succeed in a dynamic world of
52
increasing complexity with a much
larger set of competitors? The
answer seems too easy to be true:
Be Yourself
To succeed with your small
business and keep it on the right
track use your personal brand your unique promise of value
Because in the world of small
business the corporate Brand is
the personal brand of its leaders
These brands are inextricably
linked You need only look at
successful entrepreneurs like Ben
and Jerry Richard Branson and Bill
Gates to see that entrepreneurial
ventures take on the values and
passions of their leaders
According to Nation’s Business
Magazine “Branding is the hottest
concept in marketing today and
it’s an idea that is not just for the
deeppocketed highly glossed
CocaColas and Nikes of the world
An increasing number of
independentbusiness owners are
BRAND
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5/17/05, 2:29 PM
embracing branding as the guiding
philosophy for building their
companies”
Being true to your personal brand
ensures that your business stays
on course and remains highly
differentiated and valuable to
your target market Christopher
Ginisty Managing Director of the
Communications Firm Rumeur
Publique says “Buyers are putting
their trust not only in a company
but in the leaders of that company
For small businesses the leaders
are often even more important It
is critical to ensure that the leaders
are an integral part of the
corporate
communications
strategy and that their personal
::: About William Arruda :::
Dubbed the ‘Personal Branding Guru’ by the media and clients alike
William Arruda works with individuals and organizations to build
strong memorable brands Combining his years of international
branding expertise with his passion for people he founded Reach
(http://wwwreachcccom) the world’s first branding consultancy
(http://wwwreachcccom)
focused on the human side of branding William has appeared on
BBC TV the Discovery Channel and Radio America He has published
numerous articles in publications ranging from the Wall Street
Journal to the brandchannelcom and he has written for the
American Marketing Association the Chartered Institute of
Marketing and PR News William is also author of the upcoming
personal branding book BulletProof Your Career He is a member
of the International Coach Federation holds a Master’s Degree in
Education and speaks regularly to audiences around the world
l Connection.
brands are clear relevant and
accurate”
your values your passions and
your goals
Building your business around
your brand also enables you to
obtain the highest level of
satisfaction and fulfillment from
your hard work The first and most
important step in brand building
involves uncovering your unique
promise of value
Once you have a clear
understanding
of
your
differentiation and its relevance to
your ideal target audience you can
build a brand communications
plan to get your message out to
those who will make your business
a success These communications
need only be focused on your
target market If your target
market is everyone in the world
you will need a communications
budget the size of Coca Cola’s
That’s why focus is the key
Although it seems counter
intuitive the smaller you make
your target market the greater
your chances of success
This helps you to identify what is
truly important to you what
makes you unique and what values
will drive your business decisions
Understanding your true personal
brand enables you to stay on
target with your business and
make strategic and tactical
decisions that are consistent with
Like with all strong brands once
you have established an authentic
and differentiated brand that is
relevant to your target audience
you must ensure that all aspects
of your business are reinforcing
this brand message Developing
brand guidelines that clearly
describe what is on and offbrand
for your business will help guide
you as your business grows
So when developing a branding
strategy for your small business
take a good look at your personal
brand And through the clear and
consistent expression of your
unique promise of value your
business will thrive
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53
ShopperTrends
Malaysian
Shopping Habits
ACNielsen’s tracking activities gives a bird’s eye view of
shopping trends & nuances in Results were categorised into
sections that include spending
behavior profile of shoppers as
well as channel trends
Spending Trend & Profile of
Shoppers
Steve Mitchell (MD) & Barry Ooi
AM BARRY OOI THE
executive director of ACNielsen’s
retail measurement services took
the floor at a conference hall of a
leading hotel to address over seasoned marketing professionals
from various fmcg categories
ACNielsen organizes such regular
meetings to deliver updates about
happenings in the Malaysian
shopping environment The
intention is to share top line
54
findings about shopper behavior
as well as supplementary
information that impacts key
elements of brand building
The data was obtained from face
toface interviews with households located across all
major towns in Peninsula M’sia
that has hypermarket presence
Target respondents were from all
races and included both genders
aged between and * Shoppers are spending more on
grocery and household
shopping mainly as a result of
higher disposable income In
particular consumers spent
more on groceries; an increase
of was recorded
* A higher proportion (
) is
spent on groceries household
and personal care products in
comparison to fresh foods
* A third within a household
claim that they play an
influential role in the shopping
decision dynamics As such
influencers need to be given
importance in planning brand
communications
* Household and grocery items
are no longer the domain of
women; males are actively
participating in household
purchase decisions
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* Malaysian’s approach to health
is through eating ‘healthy’ and
less through exercise A
significant majority do not
exercise regularly
* A significant percentage at
about rarely or never
consume health supplements
* A majority are not planning to
lose weight; those that harbor
the desire offered cutting back
on fats sugars and chocolates
as the preferred options
Channel & Price Trend
Trade Sector Purchase Behavior &
Private Label Trend
* Shoppers have increased their
frequency of visits across all
channel types More store
openings and proximity of
location to home accounts for
the mix of retail establishment
visits
* Consumers spend most of their
shopping money at
Hypermarkets and
Supermarkets; fuelled by the
opportunity to ‘bulk buy’
* Higher income consumers
spend most of their money at
Hypermarkets and
Supermarkets Traditional
outlets get their highest share
ofspend from the lower income
group Therefore offering the
appropriate product line across
channels is important to
maximize sales and inventory
efficiency
* There are shopper profile
differences between
Hypermarkets Personal Care
stores and Convenience outlets
For instance the Chinese
community accounts for of sales of personal care
products within the modern
trade The to age group
become the group to target for
convenience stores ( of all
age groups) Therefore
matching brand profile against
the channel profiles will
enhance brand relevance and
distribution efficiency
* Private Labels are gaining in
popularity even though its
share position is still small And
incidences of buying private
label brands is higher at
Hypermarkets and
Supermarkets as compared to
Personal Care stores
* Hypermarkets and
supermarkets are the fastest
growing trade channel
However brand builders can’t
undermine the importance of
traditional stores and in
particular provisions stores A
dual distribution system is
required for adequate market
coverage
* Food prices are on an increase
whereas nonfood categories
are showing lower prices In
addition it remains tough to
impose higher prices on normal
regular items Innovation is
needed to justify higher prices
On the whole consumer
sentiments remain positive despite
lower GDP growth Yet the battle
for mind space through
advertising is getting intense with
higher spending
Barry specifically pointed out that
strong brands backed by higher
investment
in
brand
communications are able to
command high levels of
spontaneous awareness
Health Diet & Exercise
* The Malaysians’ selfperception
of dietmost believe that they
adopt a healthy diet
* They are concerned about food
safety and their purchase
decisions are influenced by it
He also pointed out that the
average number of households in
Malaysia is Average
household spend remains at
RM That delivers RM
Billion; which is the size of the
Malaysian grocery market
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55
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57
MediaSpecialist
The Media
Maverick
By Seelen Sakran
TAPPING INTO A NICHE
market That is what Images
Corporation Sdn Bhd is all about
Having given birth last year this
little company is all gungho about
its foray into outdoor advertising
via a concept called directional
road signage
And the man behind all this
excitement is none other than
Hassan who has been given the
moniker Mr Media Owner by
some people in the industry to
which he shrieks and says ‘scary’
In fact Hassan is so optimistic
about this business that he
believes that this venture will rake
in a turnover of RM a board
58
At an average of boards a
month being placed in KL alone it
would amount to RM But
Hassan is not resting on his laurels
He has other plans as well He
intends to conquer the nation with
at least boards a month
translating that to about RM
million
So has Hassan reinvented the
wheel then with this new
venture? ‘Not quite exactly’
comes his reply I am only
exploring an option that has not
been fully tapped into’ Hassan
feels there is a huge market out
there to tap into ‘All the market
needs is a bit of education They
have been so used to advertising
tools such as unipoles
spectaculars that it will take some
time for them to know the
benefits of our system’ Why?
Hassan says via directional road
signages clients can have their
products advertised within the
city quite unlike billboards which
can only be placed on the outskirts
of a city like KL ‘We spent
educating prospective advertisers
for three months before they
understood what we meant’ he
says with a sign of relief
Thus far Images has penetrated
cities like KL Ipoh Johor Baru
Kuantan They are working on
cities like PJ Putrajaya and
Penang ‘Once we are satisfied
with our achievements in busy
cities of the West Coast we will
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look into the East Coast as well as
Sabah and Sarawak’ How were
the city officials convinced?
‘Simple’ remarks the affable
Hassan ‘All we had to do was to
present them with the idea that
they do not have to fork out any
money that our signages can
benefit tourists and motorists
alike and that our signages can
actually beautify the city They
were sold!’
While Hassan does not reveal the
actual cost of the signages he does
indicate the ‘investments are
heavy’
‘The best part is that the city
officials have been so convinced
that they have allowed us to have
a licence for a minimum period of
years (the maximum being )
unlike billboards which need to be
renewed on a yearly basis’ Hassan
remarks ‘Even if the city officials
wish to take down the signages
they have to wait for years’ he
laughs
k
‘The key aspect about these signs
is that although they are small but
an advertiser can benefit from the
numerous places that he can place
an ad within heavy traffic areas
The other thing is that it’s
inexpensive’ Hassan adds that his
advertisers consist of small
retailers like supermarkets to the
big
boys
like
the
telecommunication companies
Apart from cities Images has
also penetrated schools Up until
now the company has penetrated
about
schools
nationwide with the help of a
company called Omega Channel
Sdn Bhd ‘We have placed the signs
at the main entrances of the
schools The purpose is dual the
outside is to advertise products
while the inside (which faces the
school) is convey important social
messages’
So how did it all start for Hassan?
From humble beginnings as a
sportsman! ‘I started with the
Malaysian Under
then
represented the Selangor state I
then played professional rugby for
the Malayan Banking Group
Though it was interesting I knew I
would not go anywhere with an
oblong ball’ Hassan quips
So only after eight months Hassan
left ‘I headed for the New Straits
Times (NST) where I was
appointed as an executive with the
marketing services department I
learnt a lot from NST for which I
am very thankful They thought
me for what I am made of now’
he adds proudly At NST Hassan
learnt
about
advertising
marketing and research which he
regards as very important
input’ All it took was to hear
Hassan
input The TV
management decided to promote
him to senior executive the very
next day ‘I was shocked but
pleased’ Hassan blushes
‘We started fresh with no peer TV
stations to guide us or offer us
competition We some how
managed and persevered’ A few
months later Hassan was
promoted to assistant commercial
Not only did Hassan learn well at
NST he also found it rewarding
Within five years he had a number
of promotions up until his last
position as field sales manager ‘I
was in charge of the best selling
newspapers of the NST Group Berita Harian and Berita Minggu’
But as the turn of events would
have it Hassan changed careers
from print media to television He
left NST in to join TV the
first private television station in
the country
manager He stayed on for six
years at TV His last designation
was marketing manager Where
did he head to? It’s everyone’s
guess to start Images
‘But from a manager I went down
to being an executive (and he’s not
telling why) but only for one day
I still remember it was Valentine’s
Day On that day I attended a
strategy meeting and gave my
But why such a peculiar name? His
answer: ‘ is the year I and my
other two partners were born One
partner has left though’ ‘We
started out with one event’ The
rest as they say is no turning back
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59
By R Venkateswaran
NielsenMediaResearch
HAS BEEN A BULLISH YEAR
for the media Ad spend registered
its biggest jump yearonyear over
the last two years It is indeed
significant that adex has registered
an overall growth rate of almost double that of the previous
year And interestingly this trend
has shown a constant doubledigit
growth across all the major media
barring magazines
Danyal Abdul Malik the executive
director of Nielsen Media
Research gave Brand Equity a
copious update about this
phenomenal growth and the
reasons behind the increase
General Trend
The Government,
a dogfight for
eyeballs and
mindspace
as well as the
presence of new
media propels adex
to significant levels
Among the various media that
have reflected doubledigit
A Bullish Adex Hera
60
growth for the whole of last year
television stands out with the
biggest jump of yearon
year Among the key reasons
attributed for this drastic increase
is the introduction of two freeto
air channels which have garnered
a significant share of new eyeballs
without affecting the existing
networks
contributed a lion’s share to the
till
with a consistent expenditure
throughout the year
The increased coverage of sporting
events such as the hugely popular
Euro as well as the Athens
Olympics in the later part of the
year boosted the ad spend that
witnessed the highest growth
since Among others key activities such
as the Government’s sustained
campaign in the preelection phase
followed by the general elections
itself the ‘Tak Nak’ campaign
eschewing smoking the Formula
One Grand Prix and the coronation
of the Sultan of Selangor had
Newspaper followed TV as the
biggest media to register double
digit growth in the process
continuing the trend from
previous years where they
recorded the highest adex
contribution across all media
types
Increased Government spending
on the National Service the
multiple festive seasons especially
with Deepavali and Hari Raya
falling one after the other and the
Family Comes First campaign
ensured that the Government was
the biggest advertiser last year
Classifieds yet again continued to
be the predominant contributor to
the newspaper adex space to
occupy pole position among the
top categories of advertising
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Danyal Abdul Malik
Heralds Confidence
Quarterly analysis
As can be seen from Figure showcasing the change in adex
YOY from to the first
two quarters of registered
phenomenal growth bucking the
trend from years past where the
pattern of spending always
showed an increase in the latter
half of the year
The growth of in the first
half of is a clear indicator of
this pattern This could be
attributed to the key events
mentioned earlier besides the
advent of two new channels TV
and Channel which started to
report adex figures commencing in
the first half of Top Category
Together mobile interactive and
line services have made a
significant presence in this
category with their growth rate
The increasing use of mobile
phones PDAs and combo devices
have spawned the increasing
transmission and use of ringtones
sms messages and games The
result showcases a whopping increase in the advertising of
interactive services and a increase in adex for mobile line
services
The rise in adex can be attributed
to the multitude of aggressive
campaigns targeted at the tech
savvy young population whose
numbers show an exponential
increase almost on a daily basis
While classifieds continue to
register a perennial increase
personal care and grooming
products remain in the top slots
Government institutions (local)
and credit card companies follow
in this illustrious lineup while
cinema advertising seems to have
registered a high growth with a
more than increase from
The airline industry and
recording studios round off the
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61
Top 10 Category
2003
2004
RM 000’s RM 000’s Changes
Rank Category
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Classifieds
Mobile Interactive Services
Mobile Line Services
Residential Estate
Hair Shampoo & Conditioner
Face Care-Woman
Government Institutions-Local
Credit Card
Cinema Advertising
Airline
Recording Studio
535,756
100,392
139,432
106,882
71,225
87,648
69,579
65,016
41,846
37,270
56,803
582,740
234,045
233,330
114,029
110,638
105,248
90,935
81,917
73,928
64,804
63,465
8.8%
133.1%
67.3%
6.7%
55.3%
20.1%
30.7%
26.0%
76.7%
73.9%
11.7%
Top 10 Advertiser
2003
2004
RM 000’s RM 000’s Changes
Rank Advertiser
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Maxis
Procter & Gamble
Celcom
Digi
Nestle
Unilever
KFC Holdings
Citibank
Malaysia Airlines System
Petronas
80,385
56,782
61,691
45,027
45,410
55,642
38,390
23,562
16,997
44,826
144,463
102,945
89,628
80,468
60,534
60,294
40,789
35,717
35,199
35,100
79.7%
81.3%
45.3%
78.7%
33.3%
8.4%
6.2%
51.6%
107.1%
-21.7%
Top 10 Brand
2003
2004
RM 000’s RM 000’s Changes
Rank Brand Group
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Maxis
Celcom
Digi
Citibank
Malaysia Airlines
Petronas
Telekom Malaysia
Tourism Malaysia
KFC
Pantene
80,385
61,691
45,027
23,562
16,973
46,397
25,601
25,755
28,273
20,176
144,463
89,628
80,468
35,717
35,199
34,342
33,703
30,757
29,734
29,457
79.7%
45.3%
78.7%
51.6%
107.4%
-26.0%
31.6%
19.4%
5.2%
46.0%
top categories with residential estate
advertising and classifieds being the only single
digit growth items for Top Advertisers
It is also interesting to note that of the top advertisers across all media were the
telecommunications companies which
registered increases of more than over the
previous year FMCG advertisers did show an
increase in adex but the rate of growth was
significantly lower than in previous years while
in the banking sector Citibank led the way by
securing a place in the coveted list
The large scale publicity and promotions
exercised through the MATTA fair presented
MAS the opportunity to register its biggest
Newspaper followed TV as
the biggest media to register
double-digit growth, in the
process, continuing the trend
from previous years where
they recorded the highest
Monthly AdEx
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
2004
2003
RM 000’s
2004
RM 000’s
275,465
219,626
298,643
279,051
299,814
297,344
313,853
353,424
343,270
357,328
367,688
380,157
3,785,662
313,802
304,920
359,152
346,982
367,525
385,629
366,709
402,066
376,895
411,447
379,373
408,565
4,423,065
Changes
Changes
RM 000’s
%
38,337
85,294
60,509
67,931
67,711
88,285
52,856
48,642
33,625
54,119
11,685
28,408
637,403
13.9%
38.8%
20.3%
24.3%
22.6%
29.7%
16.8%
13.8%
9.8%
15.1%
3.2%
7.5%
16.8%
adex contribution across all
media types.
spend level to date; recording a whopping
jump over The competition it
faces from a slew of budget airlines in the
region has seen the national carrier pull out all
stops to retain its market share in the regional
and international airspace
Quarterly AdEx
Q
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
2003
RM 000’s
2004
RM 000’s
793,734
876,209
1,010,547
1,105,173
977,874
1,100,136
1,145,670
1,199,385
Changes
Changes
RM 000’s
%
184,140
223,927
135,123
94,212
Source : Nielsen Media Research
Note: Advertising Expenditure Based on Rate Card
62
23%
26%
13%
9%
Top Brands
The top ten brands advertised across all media
correspond to the top ten advertisers for last
year Telcos such as Maxis Celcom and Digi
occupy the top rungs while the list
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AdEx Growth
RM 000’s
Total
YOY
Television
YOY
Newspapers
1998
2,179,960
1999
2,474,287
13.5%
771,351
10.2%
1,471,031
16.5%
85,077
29.9%
9,665
-9.3%
10,918
12.4%
2000
3,078,200
24.4%
935,665
21.3%
1,866,193
26.9%
101,961
19.8%
9,650
-0.2%
9,377
-14.1%
2001
3,156,857
2.6%
878,115
-6.2%
1,936,372
3.8%
119,675
17.4%
11,387
18.0%
2,764
-70.5%
2002
3,450,453
9.2%
921,777
5.0%
2,188,450
12.9%
144,141
20.4%
9,739
-14.5%
nil
nil
2003
3,785,662
9.7%
999,248
8.4%
2,366,783
8.1%
152,526
5.8%
12,561
29.0%
nil
nil
61,847
2004
4,421,012
16.8%
1,300,702
30.2%
2,669,804
12.8%
169,330
11.0%
13,994
11.4%
nil
nil
68,936
699,664
YOY
Radio
YOY
Cinema
65,509
1,262,469
YOY
Video
YOY
Outdoor
YOY
9,711
10,651
11.5%
Source : Nielsen Media Research
Note: Advertising Expenditure Based on Rate Card
AdEx Share of Voice
Television SOV
Newspapers SOV
Magazines SOV
Radio
SOV
Cinema SOV
Video SOV
RM 000’s
Total
1998
2,179,960
699,664
32.1%
1,262,469
57.9%
111,328
5.1%
65,509 3.0%
10,651 0.5%
9,711
0.4%
1999
2,474,287
771,351
31.2%
1,471,031
59.5%
104,108
4.2%
85,077 3.4%
9,665 0.4%
10,918
0.4%
2000
3,078,200
935,665
30.4%
1,866,193
60.6%
131,171
4.3%
101,961 3.3%
9,650 0.3%
9,377
0.3%
2001
3,156,857
878,115
27.8%
1,936,372
61.3%
182,577
5.8%
119,675 3.8%
11,387 0.4%
2,764
0.1%
Outdoor SOV
2002
3,450,453
921,777
26.7%
2,188,450
63.4%
158,060
4.6%
144,141 4.2%
9,739 0.3%
nil
nil
2003
3,785,662
999,248
26.4%
2,366,783
62.5%
159,035
4.2%
152,526 4.0%
12,561 0.3%
nil
nil
61,847
1.6%
2004
4,421,012 1,300,702
29.4%
2,669,804
60.4%
165,431
3.7%
169,330 3.8%
13,994 0.3%
nil
nil
68,936
1.6%
Source : Nielsen Media Research
Note: Advertising Expenditure Based on Rate Card
The increased coverage of sporting events
KFC barely holds a spot in the Top
elite company in spite of being
the only single digit growth brand
Petronas has decelerated in
adspend by just over such as the hugely popular Euro 2004 as
Overall Summary
well as the Athens Olympics in the later
It’s obvious that aggressive
competition in particular the
telecommunications sector has
made a mark on the direction of
adex in the past year
part of the year boosted the ad spend that
witnessed the highest growth since 2001.
accommodates Telekom as well
Citibank and MAS round off the
top spot while Petronas in spite
of a severe drop in adex still
retained its place in the list
A single fmcg brand (Pantene)
found its way into the list despite
the fact that fmcg categories
have found a place within the Top
category list Fast food giant
In particular the participation of
Government institutions in
weighty activities and their
subsequent participation within
the marketing communications
arena have also propelled numbers
to inspiring levels
It remains to be seen whether
will showcase a rerun
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63
Asians the World’s
Greatest Fast Food Fans
consumers can make their
purchases
Among the markets studied
across three regions consumers in
these three markets had a higher
percentage of adults than
Americans () who eat at fast
food restaurants
The latest ACNielsen Consumer
Confidence and Opinion Survey
was conducted over the Internet
in countries across Asia Pacific
Europe and the US interviewing
more than consumers over
the Internet
According to the ACNielsen
survey percent of Asia Pacific
adults eat at takeaway
restaurants at least once a week
slightly behind fast food fans in
the US () At the other end
of the scale however just percent of European adults eat
takeaway at least once a week
On a marketbymarket basis
nine of the top markets
globally for weekly takeaway
consumption hailed from Asia
Pacific No European markets
were among the top ten
Top Global Markets for Weekly
Fast Food Consumption Market
Percentage of Adult Population
Perhaps we’ll begin to see drive
thru windows at grocery stores or
at least more convenient instore
prepared food sections with
dedicated registers”
That Eats at TakeAway
Restaurants at Least Once a
Week Hong Kong Malaysia
Philippines Singapore
Thailand China India US Australia New Zealand Source:
ACNielsen
“Fast food appears to have
become a staple of our diets in
Asia Pacific including Malaysia”
said Steve Mitchell managing
director ACNielsen Malaysia
“Busy lifestyles and ease of access
to a wide variety of fast food
restaurants have proven to be a
powerful combination
Where fastfood restaurants still
have a significant advantage
though is the ease with which
Despite the obvious popularity
and convenience of takeaway
dining there are consumers that
continue to resist Across the
region percent of Europeans
and percent of Asians eschew
the ‘takeaway’
Led by the Danish Swedish and
Italians Europeans are the least
tempted by a takeaway lifestyle
when compared to consumers in
the US and Asia Pacific
With nearly one fifth of
Europeans () claiming never
to patronize takeaway outlets
nearly half claim to visit only once
a month or less
In Asia Pacific despite percent
claiming never to eat fast food
the region has the most take
away addicts with percent
reportedly eating take away
every week led by people in Hong
Kong () Malaysia () and
the Philippines (
)
“The state of one’s health has
consistently been among the top
concerns for consumers according
to previous ACNielsen surveys
but it doesn’t seem to affect the
way consumers choose to eat”
said Mr Mitchell “For many city
dwellers these days it’s all about
convenience
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ACNielsenUpdate
IT DOESN’T MATTER WHERE
in the world you are or how well
off the fast food culture has
become a way of life for all of us
According to the latest findings
from ACNielsen the world’s
leading market research firm
nearly all Filipino ()
Taiwanese and Malaysian ()
adults eat at takeaway
restaurants
5/21/05, 12:45 PM
65
Europeans are less interested in
takeaway dining perhaps largely
due to a prevailing culture of meal
times being a social or family
occasion rather than simply a
need to satiate ones hunger while
for people in Hong Kong
Malaysia and United States eating
fast food has become a part of
their life”
The ACNielsen survey found that
dinner was the most popular
occasion for consumers to opt for
a takeaway meal Americans
considered takeaway an option
for both lunch () and
dinner (
)
globe Specifically “Type of
Cuisine” was most important for
Indonesians
()
a
“Convenience Location” meant
more for Nowegians () and
“Price” was most important
among the Japanese () In
Malaysia however “Convenient
Location” (
) and “Good
Hygiene Standard” () are
more important to the
consumers
“A fast food culture has shaped
the lifestyles of us all” Mr
Mitchell added “And with fast
A takeaway breakfast was
less common although percent of Malaysians nearly
two thirds of Hong Kongers
and Thais would opt for a
‘takeaway’ breakfast; in Filipinos Chinese and
Singaporeans have takeaway
lunches; and percent of
Australians percent of the
Kiwis and percent of
Vientamese have take away
dinners
“The fast food business has
become
increasingly
competitive with various
multinational fast food chain
operators expanding into new
geographies daily along with the
emergence of new players new
types of cuisines and new menu
choices “ continued Mr Mitchell
“Smart consumer packaged goods
manufacturers are tapping into
consumers’ need for convenience
by offering a wider assortment of
prepared and easytoprepare
meals than ever”
As the fingings revealed “Type of
Cuisine”
“Price”
and
a
“Convenient Location” were
found to be the most important
choice criteria across around the
66
food operators introducing
healthier options in the form of
salads and low carb meals in the
face of growing concerns for
rising obesity levels consumers
today have greater choice than
ever before”
While building a good brand
image is close to the heart of most
marketers it’s worth noting that
brand image appears to have little
influence on consumer’s choice of
take away restaurants Across the
three regions “Brand Image”
ranked least important among all
respondents from as low as in Germany to a high of in
Taiwan only
Among the international fast
food chains and local operators
McDonalds was the most popular
of all takeaway options with
of Americans of
Europeans and of Asians
picking it as the first choice for
take away food
Remarks: () Survey in Vietnam
was conducted Face to Face ()
countries surveyed include
Australia China Hong Kong
India Indonesia Japan Korea
Malaysia
New
Zealand
Philippines Singapore Taiwan
Thailand Vietnam US Austria
Belgium Denmark Finland
France Germany Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Portugal Spain Sweden and
UK
About ACNielsen:
ACNielsen a VNU business
is the world’s leading
marketing information
company Offering services
in more than countries
the company provides
measurement and analysis
of marketplace dynamics
and consumer attitudes
and behaviour
Clients rely on ACNielsen’s
market research
proprietary products
analytical tools and
professional service to
understand competitive
performance to uncover
new opportunities and to
raise the profitability of
their marketing and sales
campaigns
For further information
please visit
http://wwwacnielsencomhk
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Taking the
Mystery
Out of
Mapping
IN ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE
category consumers have images
of brands and the people who use
them Brand mapping is a tool
marketers can use to delve
beneath the numbers and obtain
a rich yet easyto understand
picture of how consumers see the
market
Questions Brand Mapping Can
Answer: As a marketer you’re
often faced with questions like
these:
• How is our brand perceived by
consumers?
• Does this differ from how we
perceive it?
•
Is our brand sufficiently
differentiated
from
competitors/our
other
brands?
• Are there gaps in the market
we can exploit?
• What aspects of its image do
we need to change to
reposition our brand?
Brand mapping can help give
these insights
How Does it Work?
In brand image research we
typically ask consumers to rate
brands on several attributes
relevant to that product or service
underlying dimensions are
identified dimension “scores” can
be computed and the attributes
and brands plotted on these
dimensions usually in a scatter
plot Thus you have a picture of
consumer perceptions of the
category that are easier to
interpret than cross tabulations or
simple graphics and usually more
meaningful as well
category or ask them to indicate
which attributes they associate
with which brands These data can
then simply be shown in cross
tabular form or plotted in a line
graph but there are two main
disadvantages to either of these
approaches:
There is a lot of information
to absorb If say you have brands and attributes that’s
numbers in a table or
points in a line graph to look
at!
It is not always easy to tell
how the ratings are related to
each other
This second drawback leads us to
the essential idea behind brand
mapping which is to show
findings in a graphical way which
can best highlight the key insights
in the data in a clear and
uncluttered manner In other
words get to the core of the
findings so you can see the wood
despite the trees and other
associated flora
There are a variety of statistical
methods that can do this but the
basic notion is known as “data
reduction” in the jargon Once the
There are approaches to brand
mapping specifically and
ACNielsen will select the one our
experience tells us is best suited
to your needs Perhaps the most
widelyused
today
are
Correspondence Analysis and Bi
plots While it is true that some
mapping exercises can become
quite complex and interpretation
can be difficult in most cases if
you follow these three basic rules
for interpreting brand maps you
will gain the most:
Brands that are close to your
brand are the ones consumers
think are most similar to it;
Attributes located near your
brand are the ones consumers
feel characterise it the most
(relative to other brands);
those far from it are those
they least associate with it;
and
Attributes near the edges of
the map differentiate brands
the most; attributes which do
not differentiate ie that could
be consideredgeneric to the
category are situated near the
center of the map
A further benefit of creating the
map charting out the positioning
of the brands is that consumer
segments to whom those brands
may be targeted can also be
placed on the map So long as you
get a similar read on the attributes
from the consumers usually in
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67
terms of the attached importance
or relevance to the consumer you
can see if the targeted segment
motivations align with the
attributes of the brands aimed at
them (You don’t even have to use
all the attributes the key ones
alone will allow this)
thus inferred to be a generic
attribute ie marketing a cereal
product on a convenience
platform is not likely to bring
about much differentiation from
other brands “Is mainly for
snacks” is more discriminating as
it is placed on the edge of the map
An Example
Let’s take a look at an example
from an actual (heavily disguised)
study on Chart below Here we
have substituted the original
category with breakfast cereals
However just because something
is discriminating does not mean
you would necessarily want to
position using that “benefit” In
this case positioning as a snack
could limit consumption volume
and maybe undermine nutritional
messages
We can see in this case that SLIM
SPECIAL and BRAN PLUS are seen
as healthy and good for a diet but
as with many “health” food
products the taste is seen as
boring
“Convenient to prepare” is found
near the centre of the map as is
In the study four key consumer
segments were identified linked to
the life stages and needs and as
can be seen in this case their needs
and drives align with brand
promises
Summary
Mapping makes understanding
the way consumers perceive the
market and what they want from
a category easier and simpler and
can help provide a more
actionable and insightful view of
their perceptions But a few words
of warning – almost any data set
will generate a map There are a
few tests for statistical rigour but
generally if it does seem to make
sense the most common reasons
are that the attributes have been
poorly chosen the market is more
complex and cannot be
summarised in dimensions or
one atypical brand is skewing the
whole map
Are Online Surveys
as Accurate as
Offline Surveys?
MANY MAJOR CORPORATIONS
are turning to the Internet to
measure consumer and business
attitudes perceptions and
intentions At the same time
some companies are reluctant to
trust online research and replace
traditional telephone research
tracking and ad hoc projects with
online alternatives Many
companies comfortable with their
legacy of telephone doorto
door or mail research have
resisted even considering online
research based on a vague notion
68
that “it just isn’t as accurate” or
“online respondents are different
from my customers” However
whether pushed by budget cuts or
the fear of falling behind the
younger
generation
of
researchers many research
department
heads
must
eventually take a long hard look
at online research and ask: will
online research work for my
company?
Online research has been used in
savvy research markets with high
Internet penetration for over a
decade now During that time a
lot of lessons have been learnt
about when to use online research
and when to avoid it And during
that time the global Internet
landscape
has
changed
dramatically with a steady
increase in Internet usage in
developed countries as well as
huge increases in many
developing markets Today online
research is available in over countries
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Most of the large successful
consumer products firms (as well
as those in almost every other
field) are using online research
But other companies should not
jump into online research simply
out of peer pressure It is
important to evaluate the
advantages and disadvantages of
online research
The Benefits of Conducting
Surveys Online
The primary advantages of online
surveys versus phone surveys are:
• Online surveys eliminate
interviewer bias: telephone
interviewers
can
have
different
effects
on
respondents’ answers if they
are male/female or cheerful/
droll or fast/slow Online
research eliminates variations
They are usually lower cost:
internet surveys involve pop
ups on websites or the
emailing of invitations and
after that the respondents
complete the questionnaire
Faster fieldwork:
telephone interviewers can
only speak to one person at a
time while hundreds of online
respondents can all answer at
the same time Sometimes
more accurate responses:
online respondents can read
the questions and possible
responses
themselves
resulting in higher quality
responses
Greater
recall:
online
respondents do not feel
pressured into giving quick
answers so they are likely to
think of more to say or more
brands etc before moving on
to the next question
Telephone respondents feel
more pressure to answer or
move on because the
interviewer is waiting
Sometimes more detailed
70
responses: since online
respondents have more time
to think their replies to open
ended questions are often
more thoughtful and detailed
Telephone respondents feel
pressure to begin responding
quickly (often before they
have had a chance to think
much) and they cannot
doublecheck their responses
for accuracy
Pictures sound clips and video
clips can be included in
surveys: this enables online
research to do as much as face
toface research at a lower
cost and with a much greater
geographical spread Easier to
target lower incidence
populations: relatively hard to
get at respondents (such as
doctors or users of a certain
brand) can be targeted
through specialised panels or
simply
larger
email
approaches
Some of the Disadvantages
The primary disadvantages of
online surveys compared to
phone surveys are:
You are less able to doublecheck
the identity of the respondent:
a respondent may not be
truthful about who they really
are Online respondents can
more easily lie about their
gender and age than can other
respondents
Professional survey takers: some
online respondents try to go
through the survey as quickly
as possible without really
reading or thinking about their
answers However ACNielsen
has implemented procedures
so that such respondents can
be identified based upon their
responses and eliminated from
the results
You can’t explain questions: if the
respondents
do
not
understand the question an
online survey cannot clarify
like a telephone interviewer
can This can be corrected by
making your questions clear
and concise
You can’t ask followup questions:
an online survey cannot ask a
specific respondent to clarify
their answer if it does not
make sense or if it goes off on
an interesting tangent This
can be done via online focus
group approaches
Conduct a Parallel Test and
Compare
The only way to find out how an
online survey compares to
your current survey approach
is to try it! This can be done
most directly through a
parallel test—ie running the
survey using both methods
simultaneously and then
comparing the results
Although the results are rarely
identical (for the reasons
mentioned previously) it is
important to see if the core
metrics line up
The following metrics should be
the same if the online research
is to replace another type of
research:
Is the topofmind ()
mention the same using both
methods?
Is the rating of products or
concepts at a similar level
using both methods?
Is any market movement
equally indicated using both
methods?
Are
stated
behaviours
(previous brand usage
previous
category
involvement) similar using
both methods?
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These metrics may differ between
online and offline research
but may actually indicate that
online is MORE accurate than
offline:
Unaided awareness: because
online respondents generally
take more time to think about
their responses they will
generally be able to recall
more brands more ads more
experiences etc This can
make the results MORE
accurate
than
other
approaches
Complex questions: because
online respondents can read
and reread questions they are
more likely to respond
accurately
In
other
approaches respondents
rarely ask the interviewer to
reread the question for them
(Note: this can be eliminated
in either case if the questions
are kept very simple)
Detailed questions: because
online respondents do not feel
the time pressure to give an
answer they may actually
investigate the answers before
they respond For example in
a recent survey regarding
credit cards a large number of
online respondents actually
walked away from their
computers to find their recent
credit card statements in order
to give exact dollar figures—
telephone respondents rarely
do this
A Parallel Test Case Study
In a typical example of a parallel
test the world’s largest apple
juice producer wanted to test
whether they could move
their telephone tracking (of
usage and attitudes) from
telephone to online surveys in
the US ACNielsen conducted
an online survey of N
respondents in cities for the
company at no cost in order to
check the viability of switching
methodologies The telephone
survey
was
N
respondents Only the core
metrics were tested: topof
mind awareness unaided
awareness aided awareness
and the results were as
follows:
• Top of mind awareness was
almost identical between the
two samples at a national and
a city level
• Unaided awareness was higher
for each brand in the online
survey since respondents took
more time to think about what
brands they knew However
the order in which they
mentioned the brands was
nearly identical between
online and offline Online
respondents were generally
able to remember some of the
smaller brands that telephone
respondents did not
• Total awareness was identical
between the two samples
Such an exact match is
extremely rare even if two
identical telephone surveys
are conducted so the data had
to be doubly verified
As a result of the test the
manufacturer decided to
switch their U&A tracking to
online and has saved almost
of the annual project
cost while at the same time
getting faster results
they do not Some brief
examples of parallel tests that
upheld or refuted the case for
switching to online:
Digital cameras in four Asian
markets and three European
markets(online vs telephone):
not recommended for online
because of potential inherent
bias since online respondents
were more likely to own and
use digital cameras since they
are associated with sending
images online
Sanitary protection in Asia
Customer Satisfaction survey
among current users (online vs
mail): recommended to use
online since satisfaction levels
were nearly identical Online
users were more detailed in
describing problems
Household cleaners in Asia
Usage Patterns (online vs
telephone): recommended to
change to online since
attitudes and usage patterns
were similar Claimed usage of
brands was higher by
telephone though this was
determined
to
be
overstatement (so online was
more accurate)
In conclusion moving research
from telephone or mail or
facetoface to the Internet
can increase speed add
accuracy and save costs But
each case should be evaluated
carefully preferably with a
parallel test to make sure that
it truly merits the switch
ACNielsen has conducted a
number of similar parallel tests
in different categories and
different countries and found
that while most of them show
that online surveys yield the
same results on key metrics as
offline surveys sometimes
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71
If clear objectives have been set in advance it is possible to monitor the success of a trade fair
By Dr Heike Langneer GfK BB and Trade Fair Research Germany
Monitoring
TradeFairResearch
Trade Fairs ?
T
RADE FAIRS ARE AMONG THE MOST
important marketing tools particularly for the
manufacturers of industrial goods As a result of
their multifunctionality they can be used for a
wide range of objectives both financial and non
financial But at the same time exhibiting at a
trade fair is associated with relatively high costs
and requires care in making choices in planning
and management if the results are to be optimised
In order to support this process of selection
planning and management and to optimise the
planning of exhibiting at future trade fairs a
number of market research tools are available
which are provided by GfK Marktforschung under
the name of GfK * TRADE * FAIR * CHECK The
most important of these tools and their
applications are described in the text below
However banal the title of this
article may initially sound it
seems fully justified considering
that it has been established that
only one in three companies has
formulated in advance clear
objectives for exhibiting at a trade
fair Hand on heart: the decision
for or against participation in a
trade fair still comes far too often
“from the top of the head"
Reasons for exhibiting which must
serve to justify the budget for a
trade fair include: “we have
always been there" “because our
competitors are there" “because
our customers expect it"
74
The results are even less
frequently
systematically
monitored and assessed to see
whether the objectives however
they may have been formulated
were actually met The “success"
of the performance at a fair was
often measured by “there was
always lots going on at the stand"
“there were lots of people at the
bar" or “a lot was offered to the
visitors"
Considering the unquestionably
high costs of exhibiting at a fair which are deplored ever more
often and ever more loudly this
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situation is shocking And one
should really not be surprised if
the company's controllers put the
question in an increasingly
sceptical form as to “whether the
fair really does the business" This
question is justified! And those
with responsibility for fairs would
do better to think about tools for
monitoring the success of a
company's performance than
complaining about the “illwill of
the controller"
Figure 1
Corporate objectives
objectives for trade fair participation
quantitative objectives
quantitative objectives
• objectives for contacting
• sales objectives
• etc.
• image and positioning objectives
• presentational objectives
• communications and information
objectives
checking extent to which objectives met
Monitoring yes but what?
Agreed: since there is no other
marketing tool which can be used
for so many different purposes
and to achieve so many different
objectives the monitoring of the
success achieved at a fair is a
challenging task
This begins with the question of
defining objectives: since a fair is
a multifunctional marketing tool
the objectives which themselves
are to be derived from the
company's goals must also be
formulated in a multifunctional
and multidimensional way (see
Fig ) It is therefore all the more
important to determine in
advance the number of objectives
for participation in a fair and then
to quantify them so that they can
be measured The statement “We
wish to launch product XY" is
insufficient It is instead necessary
to express the objective in
concrete terms: “We must show
and explain our new XY product
to at least people personally
who are from relevant business
areas and have the authority to
buy"
This provides the basis for
determining whether the
objectives of exhibiting in other
words its success both in
quantitative and qualitative terms
can be assessed In doing this it is
not sufficient just to undertake a
posthoc assessment (“was
participation in the fair
worthwhile") Also it is very
important for a company to be
able to answer the question how
in future performance at a fair can
be optimised
Monitoring yes but how?
For both questions the posthoc
assessment
and
future
optimisation various research
tools are available which make it
possible to measure whether both
financial/quantitative objectives
and nonfinancial/qualitative
objectives were met As a result of
the increasing pressure to justify
trade fair budgets models for
assessing
quantitative
particularly financial success are
very much in fashion The options
run
from
standardised
measurement tools such as for
instance that of AUMA Ausstellungs
und
Messeausschuss der Deutschen
Wirtschaft (The Exhibition and
Trade Fair Committee for the
German Economy) through to the
socalled balancedScorecard
Model (from the Trade Fair
Institute at the Technical
University of Chemnitz) and they
are largely based on the analysis
of available internal data Such
models though can give
insufficient attention to medium
or longterm issues in the area of
communications objectives and
conclusions and data on future
opportunities for optimisation are
not available
This is where it is necessary to
work with external partners who
can collect and analyse the
necessary information and can
also provide special tools which
are designed to measure the
success of the performance at a
trade fair (see Fig ) The most
important which are offered by
GfK for instance in the form of a
building block system under the
name of GfK TRADE*FAIR*CHECK
are briefly described in the text
below
Enumeration of the visitors to the
stand: ascertaining the number of
visitors
The simplest and in contrast to
the other research tools the most
frequently used survey method
comprises counting all the visitors
to the stand If this number is
compared with the number of
visitors to the trade fair
concerned then it is possible to
confirm to what extent it was
possible to interest the visitors to
the fair in a company's stand or in
the company itself (relative
penetration) In Germany one
company (FKM Gesellschafl zur
freiwilligen Kontrolle von Messe
und AussteHungzahlen) counts
the total number of visitors at
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5/17/05, 2:32 PM
75
almost all the large German fairs
The data is normally recorded at
the level of day time and position
so that “visitor peak periods" can
be precisely identified and the
appropriate planning of stand
personnel resources can be
undertaken
With such a count it is important
that not only leads (ie contact
reports by stand staff) but also all
visitors to the stand are recorded
This is in other words simply a
quantitative analysis which says
nothing about the quality of the
visitors
Visitor surveys (“stand impact"):
question on impressions made by
performance at fair
The purpose of interviews of
visitors to the stand is mainly to
assess the quality" of the visitors
and also to form an important tool
for planning and designing an
exhibit to reflect the needs of
target groups Together with
surveys which take place after the
fair they generally form the key
element
in
qualitative
assessments of the success of an
exhibit Typical questions which
are asked of visitors within the
framework of a representative
survey on the spot (or in part after
the fair) cover for instance
• when you visited the stand
what objectives expectations and
information needs did you have;
• how long did you spend on the
stand and on what subjects did
you gather information and were
your information needs met;
• to what extent did you go onto
the stand with concrete intentions
in terms of purchase and
investment or will they result
from the visit;
• how do you assess the
exhibitor's stand/performance at
the fair also in comparison with
competitors;
• what is the basis of your
76
Figure 2
Monitoring of success of trade fair participation
Trade fair planning
and preparation
trade fair
participation
(realization)
trade fair follow-up
• target group definition
• invitations, client contacts,
appointments
• press relations
• number of visitors to stand (total/in
relation to total number of visitors)
• types of visitor
• visitor activity
• visitors’ information requirements
and purpose of visit
• visitors’ purchase/investment
intentions
• assessment of trade fair
participation from visitors’
standpoint
• comparison with competition
• Process of leads
• follow-up; despatch of literature
offers etc.
• impact in image terms of the
stand
76
stand visits
stand impact
path analysis
mystery visits
visual audits
post-trade fair-tests
quantitative and qualitative assessment of participation
lessons for next trade fair.
relationship with the exhibitor
(customer potential customer
supplier etc)
• where are you from (region
business etc) and (with business
visitors) what is your job and
what authority do you have in
your company
to give just a few examples
Additionally concrete questions
can be discussed on the products
and services on show and in this
way the likely takeup of a new
product can be assessed The
results of these surveys therefore
provide important information
about the strengths and
weaknesses of a company's
performance at a fair
Exhibitors already receive either
during the fair or shortly
afterwards
concrete
recommendations whether and to
what extent they have reached
certain target groups and how
they can achieve greater success
at future fairs
Postfair tests: stable assessments
and valid comparisons with the
competition
Surveys among stand visitors
shortly after the end of a fair
supplement and provide more
detail than the stand survey and
handle the results more
objectively and therefore provide
the second key component in the
systematic assessment of the
success of performance at a fair:
time pressures at a fair permit
only short mainly structured
questionnaires which can be
supplemented within the
framework of a postfair test
Secondly views expressed spon
taneously at a fair may be
modified later in the visit to the
fair particularly when visiting
competitors' stands or placed
within a broader framework
Surveys after the fair provide
more stable results and also more
valid comparisons with the
competition Additionally lasting
impressions and results from the
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pre-trade fair tests
5/17/05, 2:32 PM
visit to the fair can only be
assessed retrospectively (“What
positive/negative aspects of your
visit to the stand do you still
retain?" “What impact did your
visit during the fair have on your
purchase decisions and on your
image of the company?" etc)
Therefore shortly after the end of
the fair (usually a few days later)
a sample of stand visitors is re
contacted (their agreement and
address were collected during
their visit) by email in writing or
by telephone This enables for
instance the performance at the
fair of the company concerned to
be assessed retrospectively views
to be expressed for instance on the
competitive environment and
decisions on planned purchases or
on investments to be described
The results in combination with
the results from the stand survey
provide a comprehensive picture
on whether and to what extent
the company reached its target
groups met their information
needs and whether their
performance at the fair could be
regarded as successful from the
visitor point of view
the exhibits be where are
advisory staff needed? etc
Path analysis: recording the
actions of visitors on the stand
Path analysis is a littleknown and
up to now infrequently used
research tool Unlike with a
completely quantitative visitor
count a path analysis measures
the individual routes followed by
visitors and as a result the footfall
in the individual areas of the
stand and also the products which
were of interest to visitors For
this purpose the visitors are
followed or observed This makes
it possible to ascertain where the
visitors made a stop and for how
long and what precisely they then
did
Mystery visits: assessment of
stand personnel
This technique is derived from
mystery shopping methodology
and serves primarily to evaluate
the stand staff The objective is to
identify suggestions for improving
the way that the stand staff can
provide its advisory function more
effectively and can optimise its
activities For this purpose
specially trained personnel of the
research company conduct
conversations with stand staff
following guidelines which had
been previously prepared and
then evaluate the various
important
characteristics
(friendliness helpfulness putting
over an argument etc) The
results can for instance be used as
a basis for training courses and
workshops with (future) stand
personnel so that presence and
conduct on the stand can be the
subject of focused training The
main emphasis here is on what are
called “soft skills" and much less
The results which are usually
presented in visual form (see
example in Fig ) can be
particularly helpful in planning
stand designs the placing of
exhibits and in planning how the
stand personnel can be used: what
subjects and which exhibits should
be located where how big should
Figure 3
Monitoring of competition at trade fair - example of results
exhibitor
stand activities and
visitor frequency
(weight=35%)
observation
AAA
BBB
78
stand always well staffed,
many visitors, business
discussions continously
taking place
no business discussions
at any time, youthfulness
of staff noticable
CCC
many visitors particularly
during shows; shows
dominated stand
activities; too few staff
DDD
few, but some serious
business discussions;
hardly any visitor on
Tue/Thur
main message
(weights = 25%)
score
observation
presentation
atmosphere
(weights=15%)
stand design
(weights = 25%)
score
8 “AAA - we design factories”, 6
clear simple message,
but lacking in detail
observation
professional, lighting
colours and materials well
matched, but lack
of “activity’
score
observation
score
7
rather distant but
professional; worked
better on technical
than emotional level
6
695
1
“BBB goes global”
meaning only clear to
clients, inappropriate
as message
3
confused; innovative
materials and LED
displays; videos
6
impact “cool’ rather
arrogant - > uninviting,
innovative, but
uninformative
5
335
4
no clear main message
0
stage for shows was
centre-point exhibits
were relegated to
background; not
enough displays
6
large number if visitors;
too full; otherwise
conventional amateurish,
lack of signs/displays
4
330
cold and unwelcoming;
dominated by technology 3
470
5
“we are leaders in
innovation” - message
easily understood, but
not well realized
throughout
6
disorganized impression;
no info-bars; no special
identity created; good
mix of materials
4
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78
total score
(weighted)
5/17/05, 2:32 PM
Figure 4
Conclusion
Fairs have a unique position in the
marketing mix For many
companies particularly in capital
goods industries they are without
doubt the most important
marketing tool The high costs of
exhibiting at a fair mean though
that careful choices planning and
monitoring of performance at the
fair are necessary This requires:
entrance 1
PATH - ANALYSIS - example of results
information 1
information stand 1
terminals
5>
2>
1><1
1>
<1
1><1
discussion forum
4>
4>
11>
4>
3><1
5>
1>
1><3
1>
1>
entrance 2
3D display
lottery, prize
draws
etc.
<2
1>
<2
2>
demonstration area
1><3
information 2
information stand 2
5><1
connecting walkways
<2
7><2
<1
1>
1>
4>
1>
video
projection
information desk
1><2 4>
1>
aquarium
1>
<1
2>
8>
5>
exit
1><1
4>
4>
1>
web-terminals
on the technical competence of
the stand staff which with
complicated products and services
which need a high level of
explanation cannot really be
checked
Competitive analysis (visual
audits): neutral observers analyse
the competition
Fairs provide one of the best
opportunities for competitive
analysis since there on the spot
not only can current products and
so lutions be analysed but also the
main competitors'marketing mix
in terms of communications
prices and distribution
The opportunities this provides
are usually underestimated The
true situation is that often the
monitoring of the competition is
reduced to two or three members
of the staff dashing over to the
stands of the competition just
shortly before the fair closes and
collecting some brochures
The company is therefore leaving
important
opportunities
unexploited which would benefit
from a more professional
picture gallery
approach: within the framework
of avisual audit" as it is called a
fully briefed neutral observer with
relevant experience is despatched
into the halls with a previously
prepared checklist Using this
checklist the performance at the
fair of the various exhibitors is
documented analysed compared
and assessed (usually the most
important of the client's
competitors) The objective of this
competitive analysis is to assess
the performance of the individual
firms from the point of view of an
(objective) third party in terms of
key message content and type of
presentation as well as of the
activities on the stand
The task is to determine how the
performance of the client at the
fair is assessed in relative terms
(see Fig ) The results of this
analysis which are usually
supplemented
with
a
comprehensive record using still
photos and videos help the client
to
develop
a
detailed
understanding of the marketing
communications
of
his
competitors as well as to optimise
his own performance at the fair
defining the objectives for
exhibiting at the fair
measuring whether these
objectives were met and
analysing the results of the
evaluation
of
whether
performance was satisfactory and
assessing them in terms of
exhibiting at future fairs
For this purpose a range of
research tools are available which
can make it possible to measure
the success of performance at the
fair in both quantitative and
qualitative terms These research
tools are still being used far too
infrequently part of the reason
for which is that there is certainly
far too little understanding of the
wide range of modern research
tools which are available for
measuring the success of
exhibiting at a trade fair
Finally to return to the subject of
costs: a systematic assessment of
the performance at a trade fair
using the research tools described
above naturally costs money But
in comparison to the total costs of
participating in a trade fair which
depending on the size of the
stand can easily reach a six digit
Euro figure the costs of the
research at three to five per cent
of total fair costs are relatively
small But if the costs can provide
wellbased answers as to whether
a fair does the business and on
how exhibiting at fairs in future
can be optimised then the costs
are more than justified
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