The Tribune

By D’Arcy Rahming

My son and I love eating at Bamboo Shack. It is our ‘go to’ outing once a week, and we relax in the car looking out at the sea and talking about any and every subject. More often than not, we bring along another well-known Bahamian brand of adult beverage (we never open them until we are fully parked). The point is that you do have very recognisable Bahamian brands. And they were built by tying them to experiences.

I can truly say that we have similar experiences with international brands. These, too, have become part of our routine, and this has led to loyalty and repeat purchases. The main point of this article is to explain how to build a brand for the mass market. You still have to target it at different groups who may use the product differently.

I write a lot about direct marketing. That is finding a large market, then breaking it into smaller targets and, finally, setting up a great product for that market. Segmenting, targeting, then positioning. Marketers have long recognised that this is key for determining marketing strategy. Yet no one can deny the impact from huge brands who mass market. I am talking about products such as Coca Cola, Starbucks, Apple and, of course, the Olympic Games. Those who use those products all have individual experiences with them.

And therein lies the problem with Bahamian businesses trying to copy larger brands without focusing on the experience side. They often waste a small fortune blasting a brand and a slogan out there before they get it right. If you have deep, deep pockets, this type of brand marketing may eventually work for you. But the better method is focusing on the experience side.

Some brands are naturally aided by television commercials from our US neighbours. That can be to the detriment of Bahamian brands, because international ones will seem superior, even though they may not be. There are local companies selling international brands but they, too, overly rely on foreign advertising. They often make the mistake of using the international commercials without tying it to a Bahamian experience.

This creates a loss of market share because some people are actually turned off by some of the international marketing, or simply cannot relate to it. So the take away here is even when mass marketing, you should try and tie it to local experiences. This local touch is especially important if your product is available from numerous competitors, not just your business.

NB: D’Arcy Rahming holds an MBA from the prestigious Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. A lecturer at the College of the Bahamas, Mr Rahming has clients in general insurance, retail, the health and medical fields, sports federations and financial services. To receive his marketing newsletter FREE go to http://darcyrahming.com.