Menu

August 2017

shutterstock_image-17

Driving youth brand awareness for Burger King in Kazakhstan

In early 2016 Alassio Capital (Burger King) of Kazakhstan, commissioned BAM to provide our advice and expertise on a consultative basis and scope the student market in Kazakhstan to formulate an effective 12 month student marketing campaign.

Method

Being predominantly UK based our initial objective was to scope and understand the student market in Kazakhstan. Our 20 years in the market gave use the foundations to conduct detailed research into Kazakhstan as a country and culture and its University sector.

Student Market Research

We started our scoping at a broad country level, looked further at the University sector as a whole and then focused our attention on Universities that map to the locations that their 26 current Burger King Units were located in, discovering key facts and data and understanding the educational system.

With this knowledge under our belts our next exercise was to understand the Kazakhstan student. BAM pride ourselves on having an unparalleled understanding of UK students so using this as a basis we set out to delve into the psyche of a Kazakhstan student. Through quantitative student surveys and qualitative focus groups we gathered essential data on the behaviours and consumer habits of Alassio Capitals target audience.

Student Market Research

Having never ventured into the student market before Alassio Capital had no previous research into their brand position in the market or competitor analysis. BAM developed a series of research surveys to understand their current positioning and understand the perceptions students have of this fast food giant. One survey researched into “Food To Go” which enabled us to discover students thoughts, feelings and behaviour towards fast food. The findings would outline the areas that required improvement and reveal students motivators to buy, helping Burger King tap into this niche untouched market, setting a benchmark to track future success.

BAM segmented the data we collated, analysing patterns, identifying correlations and spotting trends to paint a picture of this market for our client.

Results

We cross referenced our findings with what we already know about students from our vast experience, combining it with our expertise in effective marketing techniques to create a bespoke marketing campaign that Alassio Capital could deliver in house. We identified key opportunities and formulated a strategy for Alassio Capital that would enable them to engage and capture students, forming a unique bond between brand and student.

Campaign Statistics

Over the last 24 months we sole marketing consultants for Alassio Capital. It has been amazing to be a part of some groundbreaking marketing initiatives in Kazakhstan, including the launch of the first ever Brand Ambassador campaign in the country, helping them to achieve their objectives that derived from our comprehensive market research.

 
Untitled-design-45

Marketing to Younger Vs Older Millennials

When the subject of millennials is brought up, many other generations give out a slight sigh, as they identify millennials as both benevolent and egocentric. Therefore, it is apparent that millennials are possibly the most complex and diverse generation to date.

Organisations are falling short when marketing to Millennials. To be successful, you must have a burning desire to understand them in great depth. Companies need to relate to the target audience by understanding how millennials see themselves, gain raw data based on their shopping habits and study advertisement campaigns that may or may not have worked, recognising why. Additionally, if companies have a concept for a marketing campaign that they believe will successfully market to millennials as a whole generation, they are sadly mistaken.

There are two  essential factors you must have knowledge of in order to move forward. Firstly age. Age is pivotal. This particular generation spans 18 years, therefore if you are targeting a 34 year old millennial you can guarantee a 18 year old millennial will not be interested, as they are at very different stages in their lives. Secondly, millennials perceive diversity differently to other generations. Diversity is considered to be the blending of different backgrounds and experiences, also known as as cognitive diversity. They believe by having a united front and the combination of these unique traits will help them overcome challenges and is a necessary element for innovation. It is important that companies wanting to attract millennials to become loyal customers, integrate this into their core values.

The younger millennials (aged 18-24) are the least frequent in-store shoppers, however they tend to spend large amounts when they do shop – therefore you need to drive footfall into your stores. This can be achieved by providing a seamless and personal shopping experience for them. Additionally, MSS Media have stated 63% of millennials would be more likely to go in-store and ‘check-in’ to a business on social media platforms if it meant they’d receive some sort of discount. This is very simple, yet generates a gateway of opportunity for free advertisement and word of mouth.

On the other hand millennials between the ages of 25-34 are reshaping the way the goods and services are being marketed by staying unresponsive to traditional marketing tactics. According to WordStream, 68% report that millennials won’t make a major decisions until they have discussed it with people they trust and other consumers. Internet platforms such as TripAdvisor and Rotten Tomatoes have allowed individuals to provide truthful feedback about their experiences – positive or negative! Businesses could discreetly and indirectly market to this generation by allowing online reviews and customer experiences on their own website.

One feature that is prominent across all millennials behaviour is that loyalty is hard to win. There is a preconceived perception that millennials lack loyalty, and in many ways this is true, so I can sympathise with brands. We are well beyond the days of investing thirty plus years with the same brand. With the internet at our fingertips 24/7 it is second nature to compare prices of brands. However this is not such a bad thing as this ensure brands keep up with the needs and wants of their target market to survive in this fiercely competitive world.

To summarise, in my opinion, millennials are internet pioneers. They do take notice of effective advertising, but you have to ensure that you identify the ages within the millennial generation you are trying to target. The value and reward that comes from advertising which connects emotionally with millennials, that shares valuable insights and informs them about new products or services which are within their interest remit are huge. Once you strip this generation back they are simple in their complexity. If you understand them you are 90% of the way there. The last 10% falls in the execution of your campaign. If you can achieve this, millennials will be your most loyal fans.

If you need help or advice on how to communicate your brand message to students, please get in touch today.

Written by: Lois Gower, Media Partnership Account Coordinator, BAM Agency Ltd

Untitled-design-59-e1519399308607

Why promo staff are key for success

You have spent weeks or probably months, planning, plotting devising and formulating your next experiential campaign, making sure it ticks every box to stimulate your target audience… the right product, the right offer, the right setting and the right amount of engagement. You are sure of success and are confident that you will see fantastic ROI. All you need is the promotional staff to execute the campaign and there is no need to devote a huge amount of time and effort into recruiting the right people for the role is there? You just need staff to run the seamless campaign you have planned, right? Wrong.

Do not overlook the importance of devoting the time and effort required to recruit the perfect candidate for the campaign and your brand. Mediocre promotional staff could have a detrimental effect on not only the success of the campaign but also your brand’s image.

After all promotional staff are the face of your brand, they are on the frontline interacting with potential or existing customers. This could be the first time someone has heard of your brand and we all know how important first impressions are, they can affect their perception of your brand for life. Or this could be an already existing customer and their experience with your promotional staff could determine whether they continue to use your brand or not.



So how do you find the right promotional staff? Start by listing characteristics of your brand as if it were a person with a personality. Is your brand cool and edgy or professional and serious? Also consider your target audience. Who are they? What age range, location, interests are you targeting? People respond better to someone they can connect with, someone they can relate to. Ensure the promotional staff you choose match your target audience to increase their chance of engagement.  As you answer the questions you will form a persona. This is the persona of your brand and so this is the persona you should be seeking in your promotional staff.

Track history is also very important. What brands have they worked for before? What have they promoted before? Do they correlate with your brand? Promotional work may be seen as a stop gap job or work for students to earn extra cash, however promotional work is in fact a skill. It takes a certain type of person to excel in this role and we have seen in our campaigns that when you hire skilled, professional promotional staff this has a direct effect on the success of a campaign. There are professionals out there who have made a career out of this work, and with typically high hourly wages, perks and bonuses we can completely understand why.

References may be hard to obtain in this industry as promo workers tend to move from brand to brand frequently. However if it is possible to obtain references from some of their most recent positions then we highly advise you to do so. Promotional staff could be dealing with large quantities of your product, responsible for your equipment, possibly handling money as well as representing your brand so you really need staff that are trustworthy and most importantly reliable. All the time and effort you have put into the planning of this campaign could turn to dust if your staff are late, or even worse do not turn up. Any agency or company who works with promotional staff will know that last minute drop outs and no shows can be commonplace and if they don’t turn up there is no campaign resulting in a loss of time, money and effort. So do your research, make sure they are reliable and have a good reputation.  

We all know that face to face is best and the same goes with recruiting promotional staff. Although telephone interviews can be the cheaper, quicker and easier option this does not mean it is the best. You can only gain a true understanding of someone when you meet them in person.


Once you have selected the best candidate/s training is essential. Yes the campaign maybe uber simple and the offering extremely straightforward but again promotional staff will be representing your brand and so if they lack the knowledge and understanding of your brand, product or offering this could have a negative impact on your brands image. The training should not just be about the campaign, you want the promotional staff to emulate your brand’s culture so teach them. Teach them your values, your missions, your goals and objectives, immerse them into your brand. Only when they feel a part of your brand and truly understand who you are and what you want to achieve will they represent the true version of your brand.

Promotional staff are a pivotal piece of any experiential campaign puzzle and they really are the difference between a good campaign and a great campaign. Engaging, professional staff will create a lasting impression on new or existing customers, not only enhancing the reputation of your brand but improving the success of your campaign.

Here at BAM we have extensive experience in recruiting, training and managing promotional staff. We recruit bespoke, to the brief of the client. We take the time to understand their brand, culture and objectives to enable us to find the perfect candidate/s for their campaign. But don’t just take our word for it, our database of staff is brimming with talent and our clients including Greggs, Wilkos and StudentUniverse continue to use our staff year on year! With over 1400 shifts already scheduled for this Freshers this is set to be another epic year for BAM staffing.

For more information on BAM staffing and how we can help fulfil your requirements get in touch today!