Time for local brands to rise to the occasion

WEB EDITION :: Media & Marketing

Time for local brands to rise to the occasion
by Abhinav Sharma

WITH erstwhile resilient economies in recession, and brands once worshipped for both their prowess and profitability clocking in unprecedented losses, marketers are left wide-eyed, helpless and stunned.
And with global demand shrinking more rapidly than icicles in spring, the well of marketing solutions to kick-start economies is all but running dry.

It’s frightening to say the least. There is no denying that things are going to change like never before.

Many brands and businesses we once thought would last forever will be lucky if they survive 2009.

While trying to save global brands and businesses is one complicated financial waltz, home-grown brands in individual markets may just stand to gain from all this upheaval and uncertainty.

With recession comes the inevitable downward movement of consumer spending. It’s not that people stop buying entirely. But they do start cutting corners and considering cheaper options.

I know at least five people who have curtailed their overseas holidays to America and Europe this year. That may not be startling news but the news is that they are still travelling. Just not to the more expensive America or Europe.

A lot of spending isn’t going to get cancelled. It’s just going to become modest. And therein lays an opportunity.

Although not an absolute rule, global brands tend to sell at a premium to their local counterparts.

After all, being able to charge that premium is partly why a marketer would spend to create that brand in the first place; brand strength is often equated with higher margins.

With consumers tightening their belts, less familiar (read as in many cases local) brands don’t seem to look all that unappetising. That which was once considered premium, now starts looking "indulgent" as the price begins to pinch.

This mindset starts off the purchase postponement cycle. The "postponement" in many cases turns to "purchase" when people start re-evaluating brands they once considered cheap and low in quality because of a lower price tag; cheap starts to look affordable.

And that is the new mindset that local brands need to exploit. This is an opportunity in waiting. But it’s not as easy as upping promotions or slashing prices even further.

Let the big, international brands worry about promotions or price cuts as they struggle to make consumers believe that there is more value in their purchase.

Local brands need to focus on what consumers are going to be looking from them; quality, service and technology.

This is the time for local brands to feed consumers, who are slowly coming around with information and ideologies that make them seem more like their international competitors.

This is the time to up the ante on service standards, technical standards and quality standards.

We need to remember that in boom times, these initiatives might have gone unnoticed because of the sheer influence of some of the international brands.

People buy things as much for quality as they do for brand image. And if there is no dearth of money, brand image often drives that purchase over other parameters.

And that’s true for cars, rubber bands and nasi lemak (most of us wouldn’t mind paying that little extra and even going a little out of our way for the nasi lemak at Kampung Tunku or Bukit Antarabangsa).

But with doubt in the minds of consumers, the anvil is now hot enough to change that game in the favor of local brands.

Brands like AirAsia, now have the chance to garner an even higher share of the air travel pie, by blurring the lines of service between budget airlines and legacy airlines.

If you own Old Town White Coffee House (OTWCH), now is the time to get all those Coffee Bean customers to willingly walk in and make a new home for themselves in OTWCH.

It doesn’t really matter if you’re a local bank or the neighbourhood food stall, or a big car-maker. People are going to be giving a lot of things a second look over the next few years.

In many cases, it may well be the same old stories you’ve been telling consumers but to no avail. And that’s because their attention was somewhere else. This time around, they will be more receptive to listening.

Consumers are looking for reassurance. They want to be able to buy you. They just need reasons. So if you have stories on quality, technology and service, bring them out, dust them off and take them to market.

The recession will produce a deluge of consumers that are ready to embrace a whole new world. Whether they remain loyal over the longer term depends on the marketing initiatives these emerging brands embark on.

So, while my five friends aren’t entirely excited about having to downgrade their holidays to Asia, their local experience could well persuade them to make Asia their destination for many more holidays to come.


Abhinav Sharma is head of strategic planning at McCann Worldgroup. He can be reached aat Abhinav.Sharma@ap.mccann.com


Updated: 09:45AM Thu, 26 Feb 2009
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