14 theSun | THURSDAY FEBRUARY 26 2009

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, mar-
keters 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
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 “postpone-
ment” 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
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 con-
sumers, 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.
t h e
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 go-
ing 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 some-
where else. This time around, they will
be more receptive to listening.
Consumers are looking for reas-
surance. They want to be able to buy
you. They just need reasons. So if you
have stories on quality, technology and
r i g h t p i t c h
service, bring them out, dust them off
and take them to market.
The recession will produce a del-
uge 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 down-
grade 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

Unlimited data roaming

downward movement of consumer
spending. It’s not that people stop
buying entirely. But they do start cut-
ting corners and considering cheaper
options.
I know at least five people who
have curtailed their overseas holidays
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.

for Celcom subscribers

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 opportu-
nity.
Although not an absolute rule, global
brands tend to sell at a premium to their
local counterparts.
After all, being able to charge that
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.
Kitaro by Hemananthani Sivanandam value,” said Celcom CEO, Datuk Shazalli
returns to newsdesk@thesundaily.com Ramly.
Genting With this tie-up, customers will auto-
CELCOM is offering its postpaid customers matically be able to use the data service while
pg 21 the benefit of unlimited data roaming within roaming with these operators and enjoy im-
participating OpCo’s (Operating Companies) mediate benefits, hassle-free and without the
of TM International Berhad (TMI). need to worry about costs.
With Celcom’s Data Roaming Tariff (DRT), “This service caters to the increasing de-
customers can now surf the internet, check mand of internet usage, especially for custom-
e-mail and access their business network ers with heavy data roaming consumption,”
while away in countries such as Singapore, he said.
Cambodia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka Shazalli said in December 2008
and Bangladesh for a flat rate of alone, statistics show that about
RM38 per day. For more information, log on 59% of Celcom’s 3.4 million or
to www.celcom.com.my
The promotion is a joint an average of 167,000 monthly
initiative with TMI umbrella outbound customers travelled to
of operating companies such as these five countries.
M1 in Singapore, Hello in Cambodia, XL in This service is open to Celcom postpaid cus-
Indonesia, Dialog in Sri Lanka and Aktel in tomers until July 31. Customers must ensure
Bangladesh. that they are roaming within the participating
“As a member of TMI group, Celcom networks to enjoy this promotion.
is always looking for opportunities to work No subscription is required, as all custom-
together with our fellow OpCOs to offer our ers need to do, is to activate their roaming
customers the best services at the very best services prior to using it.

Rapp Collins is now Rapp

IN a move to emphasise its position in the direct strengthens business plans.
marketing network, Rapp Collins Malaysia recently Recently appointed executive creative direc-
announced its change of name to Rapp, in line tor, Noel Orosa, from the Philippines, joins Rapp to
with Rapp Worldwide’s new branding position. head the creative department, develop innovative
The new branding is a manifestation of Rapp’s targeted programmes, to cut across communica-
point of view about the future of direct market- tion channels and take advantage of the growth
ing. of digital and social media.
“As a result of the digitisation of content and Rapp garnered 28 accolades at the recent Kan-
communications channels, all marketing is direct cils Awards 2008 where Rapp Malaysia received
marketing,” said Rapp Malaysia’s newly one “Rebel Idea of the Year”, 13 merits, five
appointed chief operating officer, Lim silvers, and nine bronze accolades overall.
Wai Yee. Rapp Malaysia also bagged one bronze
“We have built the platforms, at the Caples, “A Leader Award at Echo”
tools and processes that would and five bronzes and five merits at the
help us provide sophisticated recent DMAM 2008.
insight, and ultimately allow us The data-driven marketing
to provide our clients with com- agency started 43 years ago and
pelling consumer experiences, recently merged data with “ana-
executed across all relevant lytics” creating a data hub which
touch points,” she said. can be leveraged across regional
“This is who we have networks.
become and this is what Beyond strong client retention
the new Rapp repre- and unprecedented new business
sents”, she added. units, Rapp’s offerings have
Rapp Malaysia has been rewarded with Advertis-
also placed its general ing Age’s number one direct
manager, K.C. Lee, at marketing ranking, three years
the helm of its data running from 2004 to 2006.
and call centres to
translate data into
insight and actions
with measurable re- Lim ... all
sults, while strategic marketing has
planning director, gone on direct
Nick Khoo, further mode.