WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING
Middle Eastern shopping malls may not be facing the recession-caused catastrophe
of their western counterparts but, with malls mushrooming all over the region and
now starting to stretch beyond what the region’s demographic make-up can easily
handle, Middle Eastern marketers could learn much from the recession-led tactics
currently being adopted by UK retail marketing specialists, Toolbox Marketing.
Michelle Daniels, account director of this agency that has offices in Finland and
Sweden as well as the UK, is relishing the many opportunities thrown up by the country’s
current economic crisis. ‘It is when the chips are down and real results required,
that our creativity and expertise are really appreciated’, she says. ‘Anyone can
‘market’ to shoppers who are already on their way to the shops, but it takes real
know-how, guts and first-rate communication skills to guide the wary consumer in
to your mall retailers’.
Most important, she believes, is gaining a comprehensive understanding of your target
consumers – not just who they are, but also what makes them happy, sad, inspired
or angry, why they shop, what makes them laugh, why they cry and, crucially, how they are feeling now. Reaching far beyond the usual AB1/CD2 classifications, this
deeper understanding enables an emotional connection to be made between consumer
and marketer.
Toolbox Marketing sets about this seemingly-impossible task with enthusiasm. ‘First
off, we employ people who love shopping’ says Michelle. ‘It sounds simple, but two people with a shared interest will always have something to talk about – and their
chosen subject just happens to be our clients’ businesses!’. Similarly, the majority
of Toolbox Marketing’s 29 employees are women. ‘Research has shown that 80% of every
family’s buying decisions are made by women ¹, and that women approach shopping
in a totally different way to that shown by men – they want to create a relationship
rather than simply conduct a transaction². So when it comes to shopping, a 25 year
old woman has infinitely more in common with a lady forty years her senior than
she does a 30 year old man. The communication is just much easier and more productive
when it comes naturally.’
Talking to people in their own language – culturally as opposed to purely linguistically
– is vital. ‘We have successfully taken the Toolbox brand throughout Europe only
by thoroughly immersing ourselves in the local culture first, and then by employing
key professionals who really understand the target consumer’ says Michelle. ‘That
insight is crucial now that we are marketing in a recession; and would be relevant
if, for instance, malls in the Middle East were looking to attract western tourists.’
Requiring more legwork, but equally important to achieving that emotional connection,
is understanding what it is that motivates the target consumer. Toolbox has a team
dedicated to researching trends, news, stories, products, liaising with retailers
and so on – just so they make sure they’re talking about the things their target
consumers are interested in.
‘As the competition for consumers increases, your brand or mall must have something
that other’s do not. You will never please everybody all of the time, particularly
when times are hard or competition intense, but if an individual feels an emotional
connection with a destination they will go out of their way to satisfy it’ reiterates
Michelle. ‘It’s not uncommon for us to have shoppers on our databases phoning us
up to tell us they’ve moved house but would still like to know what’s going on in
their old shopping centre!’
David Fuller, Toolbox Marketing’s digital director, is excited by the possibilities
thrown up by the market’s exacting conditions and his medium’s capabilities. ‘We
now have the wherewithal to communicate directly with target consumers in a way
that is embraced by them.
It is up to all marketers, malls and agencies to make
full use of these technologies. Those that do not simply will not be able to compete
with forward-thinkers who adopt social media, mobile marketing, video marketing
and the like.’
The messages to be communicated to these consumers must be specifically tailored,
inspiring and motivating. Michelle says ‘western consumers are being besieged for
every pound in their pocket, whilst those in the Middle East are spoilt for choice
and correspondingly demanding. This is no time for limp and lifeless prose or floppy
images - now is the time for creative professionals to show what they’re made of!
I don’t think real creativity is inspired by money, it’s inspired by a need, a hunger,
and the desire to communicate. Already I’m seeing that here with my team who are
relishing the new challenges facing them’.
Inspired creativity and empathetic marketing is all well and good, but sometimes
raised standards must go hand-in-hand with basic level cost-saving – and 2009 is
looking like just such a time. A recession is not the time to be cutting marketing
budgets, but it is the time to be spending those budgets wisely. Agencies that will
take on a portfolio of malls are in a position to be able to deliver reduced fees
across the whole portfolio and implement savings through shared creative, media
bookings and campaigns. Toolbox Marketing typically delivers a saving of 25% for
portfolio work which can then be reallocated into alternative marketing endeavours.
Another method of getting more ‘bang for your buck’ is to prioritise retailer relations,
thereby gathering support for promotional activities within the mall and enabling
malls to work in tandem with well-funded head office marketing promotions. Increases
in event value of over 400% on marketing spend are not uncommon for Toolbox Marketing.
So whilst 2009 is looking like a tough year for many in the retail and marketing
sectors, it is by no means without opportunity. Those in Europe who are willing
and able to raise their game are succeeding. Inspiration, perhaps, for those in
the Middle East who are busy facing their own unique set of challenges for 2009?
Three major shopping festivals in Dubai, double the amount of Emirates retail space
by 2010, a burgeoning number of international-standard malls in Abu Dhabi – all
a far cry from the empty malls of a recession-struck UK, but requiring similarly
A-List marketing strategies.
¹ NFWBO (National Federation of Woman Business Owners) shows that women influence
at least 80% of all household spending. They are the primary decision makers for
consumer goods in 85% of households, and make 75% of decisions about buying new
homes.
² Martha Barletta in ‘Marketing to Women’
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