“Share a Coke” campaign – a must-watch

An excellent interactive marketing campaign by non other than Coca Cola using cross-channel, experiential and social marketing to get up and close with customers. Check it out here.

Enjoy the campaign and let us know what do you think by commenting here.

P.S. Though I like the Coke marketing idea and its execution, I am not trying to promote drinking Coke or any carbonated drinks. 

Super Bowl 2012 Commercials

Many of us watch Super Bowl more for the commercials than the game per se, especially if the teams are not one of our favorites. If you missed out or want to watch the whole line up of Super Bowl 2012 commercials, click at the link below and enjoy.

SUPER BOWL 2012 COMMERCIALS

Which ones are your pick of the commercials?

The AMA Roundtable on the Emerging Ethnic Markets in Canada

It was good to see a full-house in the AMA round-table discussion on The Emerging Ethnic Markets in Canada: The Pioneers of Multicultural Marketing held in Toronto last week. It highlighted the interest in the multicultural and new-Canadians markets.

The panellists for the discussion were from the CPG, Market Research, Telecommunications and Banking sectors. Panellists shared their multicultural marketing approach that differed from each other based on the industry / category they represent. Rubicon Foods primarily focuses on other drivers than ethnicity to expand in Canadian market. Rogers caters to all major ethnic segments with cable TV as TV watching differs across cultures. The RBC engages new-Canadians and also promotes multiculturalism within for continued customer satisfaction and engagement.

There was also discussion on how marketers are still trying to get the multicultural marketing on the map. I think “multicultural marketing not on the map” is an effect and feel that it would be useful discussing the cause to this effect. Why the multicultural marketing has not received the recognition yet? Is it because,

My Popular Marketing & Business Articles

So far I have written more than 80 articles and posts on this and the CMA blog. A visitor to this blog asked which ones were the most visited / viewed. Following are the top five articles by number of visits. Click on the titles to read and do let me know what do you think about the ideas discussed in these articles by providing your comments here.

• Putting Multicultural Marketing On The Fast Track
• Highly Effective Communication Model
• SACHIN- A market to grow with
• Workplace Dynamics
• Designing Better Ads

Happy Reading and cheers,

Thank You & Happy New Year

Thank you for visiting and re-visiting this blog.

Happy New Year

The number of visits were much more last year compared to 2010, though due to my preoccupation with a new business venture, I wrote fewer articles and posts in 2011. I will recap with the top five posts on this blog next. So stay tuned.

Thanks, once again, and do keep coming back and provide with your viewpoint on the topics discussed here by commenting on the posts.

Wishing you and your loved ones the best of health, happiness and prosperity in 2012.

Stay Simple, Stay Focused

Taking a leaf out of Steve Job’s commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005, I have a marketing mantra, Stay Simple, Stay Focused. 

It is easier to lose focus, get tactical and into a trial and error mode amid the changed marketing landscape with fragmented media, tight marketing budgets, increasingly empowered consumers and treadmill-economies. Advertisers are concentrating on quick sales, reducing costs per se, keeping up with the Joneses (competitors) and then firefighting. I think these short-term approaches wouldn’t cut it. Instead, starting with a well thought-out, step by step annual marketing plan to reach end-objectives and then sticking to it keeps it simple and focused, with the eyes on the prize.

The key to success is to research your market, segment it, present differentiated and relevant products / services, take a calculated (not necessarily the shortest) route to market and communicate your offer solves the problems or adds value better than the competitors’. Market segmentation is imperative because consumers are closer (like a tribe) and more opinionated than before, thanks to the social media. Moreover, marketing implementation has to be step by step, like building a high-rise. As you can’t sow the seeds until you plow the field, similarly you can’t sell until you develop brand awareness, recall, trial and loyalty.

Fourth Anniversary of Marketing Mirror

Last month marked completion of four years for the Marketing Mirror. It also marked four years of self-expression and my two-cents’ worth on an area that I like to add value via big ideas and better practices. During this period I wrote 72 posts and articles for this blog (contributed few for the CMA blog and other publications as well) and received 122 comments. Several readers subscribed to Marketing Mirror during last few months.

Hats off to you, who visit this blog and provide comments on my articles. Imagine if you wouldn’t have provided comments and feedback, would I still be writing? Perhaps I would be , but surely I would not be one happy camper.

Media Habits & Attitude Study Among South Asian-Canadians

Are You Effectively Reaching & Connecting With Your Customers?

Find out by knowing recent insights on Media-consumption Habits & Attitude Among South Asian-Canadians:

• The Media South Asian-Canadians most-often engage with
• Popular TV and Radio Programs, Publications and Websites
• Best Times to Advertise and Print Sections to be in
• Media Ratings
• Media consumption by sub-segments; Age, Gender, Income, City, Ethnicity & Time in Canada

The study was conducted in August 2011 and includes men and women of South Asian origin, 18 years and older, residing in the GTA and the GVA.  This research helps in market and media segmentation for effectively targeting, reaching and connecting with your market. It will facilitate in achieving higher ROMI and satisfied customers / clients.

Please click here to visit us

Hyper-segmentation – a Caveat

We know from Marketing 101 that Marketing and market segmentation go hand-in-hand. Marketers start by segmenting the market to reach and connect with the customers with relevant products, communication, messages and media mix.  However, if the market segment is too broad, you lose the focus and relevance of the brand. If you cut it too tight, you lose the opportunity, economies of scale and profitability. Thus market segments should be balanced to be relevant and profitable.

Market segmentation is of jugular importance in multicultural marketing and there are 101 ways to segment multicultural markets. Few of these are: culture, language, religion, ethnicity, time in country, country of origin and more, and then sub-segmentation on the basis of age, gender, income, family size and education so on and so forth. This at times lends to hyper-segmentation, which I believe is expensive, time-consuming, prone to pitfalls and ineffective.

Most South Asian-Canadians Shop at No Frills

We conducted a market research in May 2011 on Grocery Shopping Habits of South Asian-Canadians. It was done through an online survey for a CPG brand. Composition of the target groups mirrored 2006 Census data on key demographics; gender, ethnicity and place of residence.  Target respondents were Canadians of South Asian origin, age 21 and older, principal grocery shoppers, living in the GTA. 289 responses were collected.

I share few non-proprietary top-line findings and insights below.

Grocery Shopping:  57% South Asians usually buy groceries at No Frills and 36% at Food Basics, based on the responses we received for this survey. Wal-Mart is a close third at 33% and Freshco fourth at 24%. Wal-Mart improved its ranking, as only 27%  respondents mentioned that they shop for groceries at Wal-Mart in a similar survey done earlier. Please see the table for data on other grocery stores in the GTA.

Take a short survey – You may win a $100 Gift Card.

We are conducting an online survey on media preferences and usage by South Asian-Canadians. If you are a Canadian of South Asian origin, 18 years or older, living in the GTA or the GVA, please click at the link below to take part in the survey. Your opinion will help in bringing relevant product and service information to you.

http://opal.checkboxonline.com/SA%20media%20monitor.aspx

Enter code # 608.

All completed responses will be entered in a draw for $100 gift cards. Also, we would share top line findings with you, upon request.

This Survey has ended!

Canadian Muslims – Another market segment to grow with (via Marketing Mirror)

Market segmentation is the foundation for developing sound marketing strategies and successfully implementing marketing programs. It is especially vital for marketing in Canada that thrives on diversity, mosaic and multiculturalism. Anecdotally, immigrant groups in Canada retain their identity and likes & dislikes longer than in other countries, like the USA and Australia.  South Asians, East Asians and Afro-Canadians are some of the discrete … Read More

via Marketing Mirror

The Joy of Giving

We conduct online market research and give out gift cards to respondents through draws. Usually, we inform the winners first and then mail out the gift cards by registered post.

During one of the research projects, we thought to have a close look on how people actually feel to receive gifts, when there is much of a mistrust due to false intimations for winning lotteries, tours, gifts etc. Thus we asked a lucky winner of a recent survey, if the gift

What we do for living?

You asked what we do for living?

We have a Brain Bazaar,  Simple.

We start our Brain Bazaar every morning at 8:30am and use brains, lots of it, to come up with ideas and implementation to help fly our clients’ products & services off the shelf and showrooms. Our ideas are marinated in cultural flavors. We close our Bazaar at 5 pm but our brains keep working long after…

In-language, we are a Sodaagar (So`daa’ gar, سوداگر).  Sodaagar of Ideas ||

We try to to be unique in marketplace. To us uniqueness is being Innovative, Nimble, Courageous & Happy

Putting Multicultural Marketing On The Fast Track

Though Multicultural Marketing a.k.a. Ethnic Marketing is in vogue for years, its potential hasn’t been harnessed yet. Primarily due to short-term approach, heavy focus on paid-for advertising and lack of measurement. I wrote on putting multicultural marketing on the fast track for the Canadian Marketing Association blog. You can click here or on the CMA icon to learn more.

Please let me know what do you think by providing your comments.