We don’t drink coffee. We sip Nescafe. If we get the flu, Kleenex is a must. Yes, yes, we know those are tissues. So what? Nobody plays video games. They’re addicted to PlayStation or Nintendo. Our French fries get washed down with Coke, Pepsi, 7Up or Mirinda — definitely not soda!
Brands are a part of everyday life and they’re big business. The individual brand values of top global names is greater than $1 billion. As WTO membership becomes a reality in the Middle East, local brands are realizing that they have to be more creative to compete on a larger scale. Plus, international brands are finally getting the message that localizing their image is necessary to match regional consumer tastes.
Saudi Aramco was one of the first of the Kingdom’s firms to focus on the importance of re-branding. Now other progressive local companies, mostly in the consumer sector, are moving in the same direction. Last year Zamil Air Conditioners (ZAC) had a successful re-launch of their international brand, Cooline.
Originally founded as Arabian Refrigeration Industries nearly three decades ago in Dammam, ZAC was initially involved in the local assembly of internationally branded air conditioners. According to Himanshu Vishishtha, ACNielsen AMER, in Gulf Marketing Review, ZAC, as the mother brand, developed extensions such as “Zamil Classic,” which has been quite successful throughout the Middle East. However, the brand experienced difficulty in penetrating overseas markets beyond the Arab World. To accomplish that purpose, “Cooline” was introduced. Cooline succeeded in becoming a global brand, in part because it was perceived that any air conditioner that worked well in Saudi temperatures would cool wonderfully anywhere else.
Facing increasing international competition, ZAC decided to reposition Cooline based on intense consumer research. The new positioning statement promised consumers to “Stay Cool with Cooline.” The new brand slogan was reinforced with marketing images showing consumers involved in modern activities of a relaxing nature.
“Cooline has truly become a fine example of a local yet global brand,” wrote Vishishtha. “Cases of homegrown brands that compete successfully with established international brands and gain a dominant market share are rare enough to be applauded.”
Another Middle Eastern brand, which has stepped up its activities in response to increasing international competition, is Swistar. This UAE brand has millions of customers all over the world. From its Middle East base, the brand spread out to South Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. Now, part of its marketing emphasis is on expansion throughout the Far East. Swistar had a strong presence in the Brand Name Gallery at the 2003 Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair.
“We are working to capture overseas buyers,” said Suboor Ahmed, marketing manager, Aimable International, authorized distributor of Swistar watches in Hong Kong. “We started out exhibiting at this show to capture the local market and now we have done that with 45 outlets in Hong Kong. So our goal at this time is to move even more aggressively into China and the Far East.”
Ahmed explained that Swistar is basically a Swiss watch. The movement in Swistar timepieces is Swiss-made. However all decisions in regards to the brand are the province of International Syndicate Group in the UAE.
“Swistar’s first market was the Middle East and our watches still are extremely popular there because the branding is very suitable to Middle Eastern consumers,” explained Ahmed. “Middle Eastern consumers know Swistar and feel confident in all aspects of the brand from design to after-sales service. Expatriates brought their admiration for our watches back to the whole of the Indian subcontinent and the Swistar brand is thriving there, too. I believe that a reputation for quality is what really makes a brand a global success and we have that in Swistar.”
Even a company that has spent millions on a brand over the years sometimes finds that the brand needs a new direction because it no longer resonates well internationally. That is exactly what happened with McDonald’s.
Last month the company launched a worldwide brand campaign under the theme “i’m lovin’ it.” The new theme is the unifying element in a marketing effort aimed at speaking with one voice to customers in more than 100 countries. McDonald’s claims that it is more than just a new tagline or ad campaign. The theme is the focus of a new marketing approach designed to invigorate, revitalize and energize the McDonald’s brand worldwide.
McDonald’s stated that the unified global marketing strategy does not change its decentralized management philosophy. Rather, the borderless approach to marketing enables the company to take advantage of the depth of creativity and talent found within advertising agencies around the world. The new theme was the culmination of a “competition of ideas” held in February among McDonald’s top international advertising agencies to provide a new brand attitude and direction.
The execution of the new worldwide brand creative direction will still require the collective input and collaboration of McDonald’s marketing staff and agencies from around the globe. For the future, creative teams working on McDonald’s business throughout the world will execute the creative direction including style, musical approach and the theme-line in their local markets.
In the Middle East, all McDonald’s restaurants are independently owned by local businessmen. Ali El-Hajj, managing director, Fakhro Restaurant Company, owners and operators of McDonald’s restaurants in Bahrain, was recently elected to head the coordination between McDonald’s restaurant owners in all the GCC countries, and leads the effort to introduce best practices in all the initiatives developed in the service of their customers. “McDonald’s owners in the Middle East share the commitment to this campaign with all other McDonald’s owners worldwide,” said El-Hajj. “The spirit of collaboration between McDonald’s owners in the interest of best serving our customers has always translated in our ability to serve them with the best standards of quality, service, cleanliness and value.
This brand campaign is a perfect example of how we share what we learn and what we know, and to find new ways to reach our customers in ways that are relevant to their lifestyles.”