2010: Trends and realities, Part II

2010: Trends and realities, Part II

Gulf Marketing Review magazine offers some insights that marketers might find handy to use in the New Year, Part II.

January 6, 2010 1:54 by Precious de Leon

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In the middle of these changes, marketers are always in conflict with whether to focus on delivering what works now or focus more on what will be.

This year, guerilla marketing is expected to feature strongly. Linked more with youth and sports brands, viral or guerilla marketing is finding its way into other categories. BMW, for instance, is planning to increase its guerilla marketing budget this year, according to James Crichton, sales and marketing director.

On the digital front, “real time search” is a strong trend. Search through mobile phones is expected to open up opportunities to reach consumers in real time.

Sustainability has been on the agenda since before the crash. While it doesn’t feature as prominently in corporate governance right now, it is still high on the agenda, as Hossein Hassani, GM’s divisional marketing director for the Middle East, points out.

And Sachin Goel, Middle East head of confectionary at Nestlé, agrees. “Integrating sustainability in our process is always a given.”

Goel points out that brands can look longer term and consider that a currently young region will eventually have a large older population. This gradually ageing population opens up opportunities for regionally relevant products for an older segment.

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Tags: 2009, 2010, brands, Financial Crisis, gcc, marketing, new year