The big freeze

By Marylou Andrew

Walk down the frozen food aisle in your supermarket of choice and take in the number of products available – everything from raw chicken (in a variety of cuts), frankfurters, seafood, shami kebabs, gola kebabs, koftas, chicken nuggets and burger patties to frozen fruit and vegetables, parathas, rotis, diet rotis, and then finally the ice-cream and frozen desserts. Think back to 10 years ago when practically none of these products were available in their frozen form and you will realise that the Pakistani frozen foods industry has come a long way in a little less than a decade. And yet, Pakistan’s industry is only the tip of the iceberg when viewed in the context of the global market.

A study by Research and Markets (a market research resource) titled ‘Global Frozen Food Market Analysis – Trends and Forecasts (2010-2015)’ predicts that the global frozen foods market, which was worth $218.4 billion in 2010, is expected to grow to $261.5 billion by 2015, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.7%. This growth is significant and is driven by two factors: the first is recessionary pressures which have forced consumers to eat more at home; and secondly, frozen foods brands have introduced more wholesome and nutrient-rich options making them more attractive to increasingly health conscious consumers.

In spite of this predicted growth, however, a research report by IRI titled ‘Why is frozen growth thawing out’ found that although growth remains positive (over three percent), it is a good deal lower than the previous growth rate of over five percent. One of the major reasons for this is the growth of private label brands (brands offered by retailers) which, because of lower prices are accounting for an ever growing share of grocery purchases in general and frozen foods in particular.

The local market

As with most categories, the value of the local frozen foods market is almost impossible to quantify. Salman Tariq, Director, Seasons Foods (owners of the Seasons Menu brand) says part of the reason for this is that the frozen foods category is “massive, covering everything from meat, French fries, processed foods to vegetables and ice-cream; and there is no single organisation or body that combines them all.”

However, various estimates and educated guesses exist.

A source at Food Mart says that the category (excluding ice-cream) is worth Rs 50 million. This is a far cry from the estimate given by Zafar Mehmood Khalid, GM Marketing, PK Meat and Food Company, which has recently launched the PK brand of frozen chicken, mutton and beef. Khalid says that the frozen poultry and meat category alone is worth five to six billion rupees; however he declined to offer an estimate about the total market.

Whatever the real figure is, two things are certain: the first is that at least in terms of the numbers, the growth in the Pakistani market seems to have closely mimicked that of the global market. According to Datamonitor, the local frozen foods market grew at an annual rate of 6.6% between 2004 and 2009; however it has slowed down to roughly 3.4%. Secondly, frozen meat products, and more specifically poultry account for 47% of the market (of which chicken burgers and nuggets account for a staggering 60% of all consumer purchases).

The growth

Part of the reason why frozen food wasn’t on the shelves before the late 90s was because of the very common Pakistani perception (which exists in some circles to this day) that frozen food is not fresh and therefore inherently unhealthy. Two brands (Bibi Jan and K&N) took on the pioneering role of educating consumers about the difference between domestic and commercial freezing – the latter uses the ‘quick freeze’ process to freeze freshly prepared food within 20 minutes of cooking, at a temperature of minus 20 degrees. In contrast, domestic freezers have a minimum temperature of minus 13 degrees.

Both brands started by offering raw chicken, all the while emphasising that not only was frozen chicken as healthy as its freshly slaughtered counterpart,

it was also cleaner and more convenient. It took a few years to hammer the message home, but the change became apparent from 2001 onwards when the frozen food market grew by over nine percent (Source: Datamonitor). The focus on chicken as a starting point was obvious as it was the cheapest and therefore the most consumed meat in Pakistan, in addition to the fact that the poultry industry has an average annual growth rate of between 15 and 20%.

Once frozen chicken took off as a ‘safe and healthy’ (K&N’s tagline) alternative, more traditional poultry businesses got into the game with Quick Food Industries (owners of the Mön Salwa brand) being the most notable player. As the competition in frozen meat began to heat up, the big players tapped into the fact that the metropolitan cities were seeing a change in the family structure with the nuclear family in the ascendant and a larger number of women entering the workforce. Catering to these lifestyle changes, they began to offer a range of ready-to-cook, frozen meat products, each trying to outdo the other in terms of product range and the taste.

Frozen products were clearly gaining traction but not everyone had deep enough pockets to set up a back end poultry operation from scratch. But not everyone needed to do so. Dawn Foods, a household name in Pakistan, expanded its line of traditional bakery products to include frozen parathas and puris. Yet another player, Mahi, traditionally a seafood exporter, expanded into a range of frozen seafood products. Several others followed suit.

However, four factors have helped in propelling demand for frozen foods: the Pakistani market’s mass shift towards branded, packaged foods; the consumers’ demand for quick and convenient food products; the competitive pricing of frozen foods and most importantly, greater acceptance of frozen foods as healthy options to supplement meals and snacks.

One frozen food expert says that the greater level of consumer acceptance is obvious from the way in which the target market had expanded over time.

“In the beginning it was mainly consumers from the upper classes but then we started to see an excellent response from middle class areas where there were a lot of working women; and now the level of awareness is such that even people from SEC C and D will occasionally buy frozen foods, although for them it this is usually for special occasions.”

The slowdown

In spite of the many positive developments, growth is slowing down, although the reasons locally are completely different from those impacting the international market. Perhaps the most telling fact in this regard is that every frozen food manufacturer interviewed for this story said it would be impossible for their business to survive without a strong export initiative. The reason for this struggle to survive is the power crisis. Prolonged power outages have forced manufacturers to invest massive amounts of money in their cold chain, in better freezers for retailers, backup generators and improved packaging, all of which have reduced profitability.

In spite of these measures, at the end of the day the manufacturer has very little control over what will happen to the product once it is in the shop.

A source at Food Mart complains that most retailers and their shop assistants have little knowledge of how to handle frozen products, often leaving products out of the freezer for an hour or so, on the pretext of ‘cleaning the freezer’. Others will overload branded freezers with smaller brands in order to make a quick buck. And worst of all, he explains, Pakistan is the only country in the world where retailers will accept ‘returns’ of frozen foods, a loss that must ultimately be borne by the manufacturer.

The net result is that it is very difficult for frozen foods manufacturers to consistently offer a quality product to their consumers, resulting in poor brand image and occasionally a lack of repeat sales. Most manufacturers have mitigated the extent of the problem by thoroughly vetting each retailer before giving him a branded freezer. Although retailers are generally vetted to ensure that they attract the kind of consumer who will buy frozen products, manufacturers also tend go for larger, modern trade outlets which are more likely to ensure that the merchandise is handled with care.

The future

Most frozen foods manufacturers are somewhat pessimistic about the future saying that the power crisis, rising energy costs and high levels of cold chain investment are making it less and less profitable to operate in the local market and many are focusing a large part of their energy on their export business.

Others say that while the short term forecast is grim indeed, once the power crisis is sorted, things will start to look up again. Still others, like Zeeshan ul Haq Khan, GM Operations, Quick Food Industries, are extremely optimistic.

“The market is growing quickly and steadily. In the next couple of years I believe that giants like Unilever and Engro Foods will also want a share of the pie. The power crisis has made no difference to our sales.”

Whatever happens next however, one thing that remains certain is the growing consumer demand for frozen food products. That in itself is reason enough for hope and optimism.

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.

Box - Ice ice baby

It is impossible to talk about Pakistan’s frozen foods market without a look at the frozen desserts and ice-cream category, which by virtue of its longevity and the experience and investment of the players involved, is one of the most well developed in Pakistan.

Adeel Rasheed, Marketing Manager, Wall’s at Unilever Pakistan says that Pakistan’s frozen desserts category is worth close to 100 million euros (approximately Rs 12 billion). Salman Ali, Group Brand Manager, Omoré at Engro Foods estimates the total volume of the branded ice-cream segment to be between 70 and 75 million litres. Although these figures may seem substantial, Rasheed says that per capita annual consumption of ice-cream in Pakistan is between 0.2-0.5 litres only, which when compared to Turkey’s four litres or the USA’s 17 litres, is next to nothing.

There are many reasons for low per capita consumption. Firstly, ice-cream is to a great extent an impulse driven category, which is obvious from the fact that of the two major consumption categories – out-of-home and in-home – the former accounts for 60.3% of sales in Pakistan (Source: Euromonitor). Secondly, branded ice-cream in particular is very much an urban and semi urban enterprise due to it being a cold chain intensive category. This is not to say that there is no ice-cream in rural markets, but it is mostly unbranded and artisanal in nature and therefore largely undocumented.

The low per capita consumption also translates into a vast potential market for Pakistan’s ice-cream brands. The major players, Wall’s and Omoré currently account for 71% and 20% of market share respectively (Source: MEMRB’s Retail Audit), whereas players such as Igloo, Yummy and Hico have strong pockets of loyal consumers in different regions.

There is certainly a clear move by the major brands towards expanding into new markets. For Igloo, Omoré and Wall’s, it involves moving in to capture a slice of the premium ice-cream market. Igloo launched its premium ice-cream brand – Moments – last year, Omoré has very recently launched two premium flavours of ice-cream, whereas Wall’s has also recently launched the Selection Gold range (a revamp of its Expert’s Choice line).

Rasheed says there are two major reasons for this:

“There has always been a gap at the top of the ice-cream market in Pakistan which has been filled by premium foreign brands. In addition, in almost every category in Pakistan, the premium product is doing better than the mass product.”

However, the premium market in Pakistan is limited to about eight to 10% of the population, which means that brands such as Cornetto and Jet Sport are still the most popular sellers, and women (particularly in the 18-30 age group) and children account for the lion’s share of ice-cream consumption.

Like the rest of the frozen foods market, ice-cream manufacturers have also been severely hit by the energy crisis, inflation and supply chain issues, leading to lower profit margins. However this has not hampered the growth of ice-cream, which according to Rasheed has been the one of the fastest growing sub-categories of the snack and fun money market in Pakistan for the last two years. – MLA

The revolution will be frozen

Sara Amjad Qureshi on the liberating power of frozen foods.

Imagine you have managed to procure a time travelling capsule somehow (never mind exactly how) and used it to journey back to a simpler time. Naturally, you will encounter and interact with people from that time – which is a bit like either watching your favourite medieval movie for the tenth time (for us it would probably be Mughal-e-Azam) or engaging in a particularly enthusiastic round of LRP.

Now imagine explaining the concept of frozen food to them. No, really. Where would you start? How would you get the basics across? Most importantly, how would you convince your sceptical audience that such a thing isn’t the result of dark magic, but of constant, innovative evolution?

Even today, frozen food is far from straightforward. There is still some stigma there, stemming from its unnatural makeup: food isn’t supposed to last for weeks or months! The very perishable nature of it denotes freshness, nutrition and quality. Food that has been frozen must be devoid of any health or nutritional benefits. So why should I spend good money on something that won’t do me any good?

Constant communication, greater awareness and the demands of modern living have rendered such ideas and questions largely irrelevant. Today frozen food is a huge category, encompassing all sorts of ingredients, flavours, cuisine styles and price ranges. And it’s growing locally too, as more people turn toward convenient, time-saving solutions. So, the source, quality and process stigma seems to have been dealt with to a large extent.

But there is another aspect to it, particularly when we look to our culture. Let’s get some facts straight:

Food is paramount: In Pakistan, there isn’t anything we love more than food. Nothing gives us more joy, excitement, passion, grief and disappointment. ‘What are we eating today?’ is a question reverberating across the nation, three times a day, every day. From homes to schools to offices, the single most vital issue to be settled revolves around food. Don’t believe me? Come check out my workplace at 12:15; the precise time a cacophony of food-related suggestions and refusals breaks out.

Women are the guardians of the kitchen: Seldom was there a vocation less crucial, more fraught with stress and the highest stakes imaginable. Because women are in charge of ensuring everyone else gets to eat delicious, healthy, gorgeous food, morning, noon and night. A woman’s sweat/blood/tears in the kitchen equals her worth in life. Yes, this is irrefutable. We have all seen this, on TV and in real life. A dedicated woman slaving away tirelessly in the kitchen from dawn until dusk, peeling, cutting, slicing, dicing, stirring and kneading… on and on, until the end result decorates the table, a silent and glorious testament to what a perfect mum/daughter/wife she is. A woman who can’t put the required time, diligence and enthusiasm into cooking isn’t much of a woman in the end.

Frozen food flouts all these musts, gleefully and smugly.

Observe: Time? Who has it? Why would anyone want to spend all day in the kitchen when they actually need to spend about half an hour a day in there? After all, there is more to life.

Woman equals kitchen? Why on earth should she be solely responsible for everyone else’s stomachs? Why should she slave away when she doesn’t need to? Why can’t she pop this nice, neat little bag into the micro and serve a perfectly edible meal to her family in 10 minutes? Saving time means she’s smart, not lazy! See?

It’s working too, by the way.

A short trip to Naheed Store verifies this claim. There are brands of all sorts; you can find seafood, chicken, pizzas, burgers and even fries. Heck, you can get frozen parathas if you have a yen for something fatty and oily but lack the inclination to actually make it. This profusion of variety indicates a pretty healthy demand and I approve. Anything that helps women get some time for themselves or encourages them to work on things like developing their identities as individuals (rather than only wives/mums/ daughters) gets the seal of approval from me. The fact that husbands and children, and hopefully even grudging mums-in-law, are getting comfortable with easy-to-make, non-fussy frozen food is heartening.

This is what has an impact on me, the fact that something as basic as frozen food has the ability to revolutionise homes and lives in small yet meaningful ways. The idea that a young married woman living in a joint family can opt for something that enables her to dispatch a part of her duties with brisk and (dare I say it) impersonal efficiency, so she can spend more time watching her favourite drama, is uplifting. Maybe even a touch rebellious, in the nicest way. 

The downside? I don’t think we have progressed to this stage yet, but I can envision it. Thousands and thousands of people sitting on their couches eating the same generic, identical frozen food/TV dinners day after day, until their lives become as bland and formulaic as what they consume. This phenomenon can certainly be seen in developed markets and to be honest, it’s understandable. Yet, however time consuming and difficult cooking is, the excitement and magic of making something from scratch, with your own unique style and flair, to create food that is original, has its own charm. It’s what separates artistry from manufacturing, creation from replication.

So I won’t endorse frozen food without a caveat and that is: it shouldn’t be all that is stocked in your kitchen. Frozen food makes most sense when used as a backup, an emergency, a shortcut when you lack time or ingredients or enthusiasm – or when you are just plain lazy. 

And one should also be mindful of things like health and ingredients and calories.

We have seen too many images of obese people in developed countries who have grown up and grown wide on a generous diet of frozen food. At the end of the day, frozen might be easy and convenient and simple and belly-filling, but I am willing to wager there are different advantages to pure, home-cooked meals too.

As for me, I have always been hopeless in the kitchen.

I told myself I could dedicate my time and attention to one of two areas: academia or housework, and I opted for the former with no hesitation. Decades later,

I find myself in the position of being able to hire a decent cook and hence ensure a certain standard of edible nutrition in my home. However, I will confess to trying my hand at cooking during my college years, with dismal results.

The most recent attempt actually involved a well known frozen food brand, in fact.

I bought it, opened it, and attempted to follow the simple-enough-for-toddlers-instructions on the back panel. It didn’t work. I don’t know how I failed or why or whether it’s even possible to fail while transferring a box of frozen food from pack to micro to plate. But I managed it. My husband’s expression of silent terror was verdict enough.

I binned the mess and never repeated the error. Thanks to my faithful cook and a return to the old ways of peeling, slicing, dicing and stirring, we have managed to overcome the dreadful spectre that was me-in-the-kitchen.

But that was an aberration. All said and done, I would definitely advise everyone else to try it.

Sara Amjad Qureshi is Senior Planner, JWT. sara.qureshi@jwt.com

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.

Defrosting Don Draper

By Faraz Maqsood Hamidi

Everybody knows Don Draper. The marble-handsome, stone-hearted, steely-eyed anti-hero of the AMC hit series, Mad Men, whose consummate assembly of words entitled him to own every conversation and articulate his way into influence, money and creative success.

Here’s a small, but endearing, account of his insights:

On advertising

“Advertising is based on one thing: happiness. And do you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It’s freedom from fear. It’s a billboard on the side of a road that screams with reassurance that whatever you’re doing is okay. You are okay.”

On adaptability

“If you don’t like the conversation, change it.”

On salesmanship

“Well, it wasn’t a lie. It was ineptitude with insufficient cover.”

On regret

“When a man walks into a room, he brings his whole life with him. He has a million reasons for being anywhere; just ask him. If you listen, he’ll tell you how he got there. How he forgot where he was going, and that he woke up. If you listen, he’ll tell you about the time he thought he was an angel or dreamt of being perfect. And then he’ll smile with wisdom, content that he realised the world isn’t perfect. We’re flawed, because we want so much more. We’re ruined, because we get these things, and wish for what we had.”

On infidelity

“This never happened. It will shock you how much it never happened.”

On writing

“Just so you know, the people who talk that way think that monkeys can do this. They take all this monkey crap and just stick it in a briefcase completely unaware that their success depends on something more than their shoeshine. ‘You’ are the product. You – feeling something. That’s what sells. Not them. Not sex. They can’t do what we do, and they hate us for it.”

On creativity

“Just think about it deeply, then forget it... then an idea will jump up in your face.”

On deliverance

“We’re gonna sit at our desks and keep typing while the walls fall down around us because we’re creative, the least important, most important thing there is.”

On productivity

“You came here because we do this better than you, and part of that is letting our creatives be unproductive until they are.”

On accounts

“The day you win a new client is the day you start losing them.”

On positioning

“People tell you who they are, but we ignore it because we want them to be who we want them to be.”

On serendipity

“I keep going to a lot of places and ending up somewhere where I’ve already been.”

On deadlines

“The world continues without us; there’s no reason to take it personally.”

On existentialism

“I have been watching my life. It’s right there. I keep scratching at it, trying to get into it. I can’t.”

On marketing

“The reason you haven’t felt it is because it doesn’t exist. What you call love was invented by guys like me, to sell nylons. You’re born alone and you die alone and this world just drops a bunch of rules on top of you to make you forget those facts. But I never forget. I’m living like there’s no tomorrow, because there isn’t one.”

On power

“I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.”

On desires

“Jacqueline Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe. Women have feelings about these women because men do. Because we want both, they want to be both. It’s about how they want to be seen by us, their husbands, their boyfriends, their friends’ husbands. Here’s the idea, very simply. The bra is called the Harlequin. In fit and form, it should be your very best. It comes in black. And white. Jackie. Marilyn. Same incredible fit, two different women. And the beauty of it is, it’s the same woman. Same model.”

On motivation

“Fear stimulates my imagination.”

And finally, on success

“Success comes from standing out, not fitting in.” n

Faraz Maqsood Hamidi is CE and Creative Director, The D’Hamidi Partnership.

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.

The money is on the table. But where are the takers?

Market research companies in Pakistan are strangely oblivious to the fact that there is money to be made in the telecom sector, writes Kamran Moeen.

Consumer research is generally the most independent and representative way via which the customer’s voice reaches the boardroom. If a company wants to be commercially driven and more specifically, customer-centric, then all that needs to be done is to listen to the customer and tweak decisions accordingly in light of organisational objectives and realities.

In certain categories, consumer data and insights are more readily available than others. For example, detailed customer feedback on a promotion/offer would be more swiftly available to the telcos (via data warehouse – DWH) than it would to a biscuit manufacturing concern which has to rely on the sales and distribution system to provide the information, with time lags and lots of ifs and buts in between. Does this mean telecom companies should rely on DWH as their only means of acquiring consumer insights? Unquestionably not!

Although the information will come speedily, DWH will only tell you what is happening, the ‘why’ part will always come from investigative consumer research. For the complete picture, it is necessary to amalgamate the objective and subjective data. Some would say, ‘pretty basic stuff’; to an extent, yes, but this has its challenges. Because I work for a telco, I will try to explain the issues, challenges and thought processes from that perspective.

The rate at which we have witnessed telecom growth in Pakistan was unthinkable and unprecedented. Even the pundits of the telcos were awestruck witnessing such progression. Remember the days when the major operators were stumped by a demand they had not forecast to be so high? Those were sales driven years. At that time there was little reliance on research as the results were coming, and every day a new record was being set. Now that the industry growth has decreased and exit barriers are becoming lower, the people at the helm want to know the ‘why’. A question research is best suited to answer.

Unfortunately, while these billion dollar companies are looking for answers, Pakistan’s research industry is not equipped to provide the answers, in terms of their organisational efficiency, understanding of the category, quality of HR and their ability to challenge the norms.

As a result, the telcos are increasingly looking to the Middle East, Europe and even India to satiate their consumer and retailer insight needs. One has the impression that the local research industry is satisfied merely by collecting data and handing it over to Middle Eastern and European consultants to bring clarity. I am not entirely sure about the reasons for this learned helplessness, but I suspect it is because of the quality of their HR and their lack of understanding of the category. Maybe this lack of understanding can be attributed to their experience with few specific industries. I can recall times when I told the research agencies that I could sense ‘FMCG’ in their presentation, a category they have been analysing since their early days. Although they went after a new category, they forgot to wipe out their boards and start afresh.

I would not completely blame them for this as the research industry has learnt by sitting in the lap of the FMCG companies, something the latter should be proud to have initiated in Pakistan.

I mentioned the HR factor. It is important to highlight that quality is missing across all levels, including that of the research data collectors. Off the record, some research agencies have shared their issues about this, mostly attributing the problem to low educational qualifications and remuneration. Research companies have to realise the value of hiring better qualified people, as this will add to the output chain and make a tangible difference.

Researchers should do their pre-planning before presenting the data, because unlike FMCG companies, telcos have instant access to the usage data via DWH, so whatever they present must be category savvy and logically put together in close collaboration with the research custodian at the company end, otherwise they will put their credibility at risk. And such collaboration should be proactive rather than reactive.

Another important aspect of working with telcos is speed. Without getting into details about why speed is crucial, the sheer amount of advertising undertaken by these companies is a good enough barometer of the competitiveness, and that requires speed. For example, it is difficult for telcos to pre-test an ad (something unthinkable for FMCGs), which is why they rely more on post-testing. If agencies are willing to invest in the systems and processes required to undertake pre-ad testing for this industry, they will make a real difference.

For market research investors, both current and potential, the equation should be reasonably simple. Look at the telco revenues and see where this industry is in the ‘lifecycle stage’. I am confident they will see the value, and from a telco point of view, there is money on the table for whosoever is willing to invest in the system, processes and resources. The quest is on.

Kamran Moeen is Head of Market Research, Mobilink. kamran.moeen@mobilink.net

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.

Are agencies social?

Nida Akhlaq on why agencies still need to ‘get’ social media.

Social media has become the principal tool used by marketing and advertising professionals the world over; mainly because it enables them to tap into the one demographic that is both relevant today and will be their key audience for many years to come – the young.

However, the question is, has the potential of social media, been fully recognised and utilised in Pakistan? Brian Solis, a prominent thought leader and published author in new media has this to say about social media:

“Evolution is evolution – it happened before us and will continue after we are gone. But, what is taking place now is much more than change for the sake of change. The socialisation of content creation, consumption and participation is hastening the metamorphosis that transforms everyday people into participants of a powerful and valuable media literate society.”

It is worth noting that although the internet has been accessible in Pakistan since the 90s, looking at it from a 2011 perspective, one can’t help but think that it was social media which has truly transformed the way people consume information.

The most popular social media site is Facebook, with 13,320,000 online users, closely followed by YouTube, with 2,775,000 users, while Twitter is the social media site that is registering the highest growth rate of online users.

Pakistani agencies are starting to cotton on to the importance of social media and it seems as though Facebook and YouTube have become the darlings of the agency people.

According to Ruby Haider, CEO, IAL Saatchi & Saatchi, “YouTube is used tied in with Facebook, where brands have their own channels and videos are posted and then linked to Facebook.”

“Social media is the new medium of the age; it is relevant, contemporary and accountable,” says Masood Hasan, CEO, Publicis Pakistan.

As for Shahnoor Ahmed, CEO, Spectrum Communications, social media “is a new and more personalised medium. We find it easy to communicate directly to a bundle of segmented users. When we want to reach certain age groups, social media helps us do this effectively and at a lesser cost, unlike conventional media which has more of a shotgun approach.”

So agencies get it – or at least it seems so. However, the key mistake agencies in Pakistan make is failing to realise that social media is not about simply putting a message out there, it’s about conversations. Posting something on Facebook or tweeting is only the first step. The challenge is to engage with the audience, and it is by doing just that that some campaigns managed to achieve the success they did.

T-Mobile did this with its flash mob campaign, which has now become a YouTube phenomenon (garnering far more views online than the original TVC). The campaign got T-Mobile users to actively engage with the brand – not only in the flash mob itself, but also by sharing the videos they made on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and different forums.

It is only through conversations that brands can harness the full potential of social media; yet most agencies still tend to approach it as a one-way medium.

“We don’t communicate with our clients unless we feel a particular need to; but we share ads and new ideas, as and when these pop up,” says Hasan.

On reflection, this is not surprising. Advertising has traditionally been one-way communication aimed at large groups of consumers, whereas social media requires two-way communication, which encompasses listening, speaking and persuading the audience to react. So it is not surprising that most agencies still prefer the phone as a way to engage with their clients (potential and existing), rather than having online conversations.

Although many agencies in Pakistan have started to include social media in their campaigns, most play it safe by sticking to Facebook and YouTube – with a just a few opting for Twitter.

In Haider’s opinion, “Twitter is not so popular at this point in time.” Publicis uses YouTube and Facebook, but a closer look reveals that Facebook remains their preferred social media platform.

It appears the challenge is for agencies to actually engage rather than merely broadcast.

Although the phone has played a key role in creating networking possibilities, agencies need to tell the phone to ‘move over’. The sooner agencies realise that social media is not an alternative but an essential medium, the sooner will they catch up with what is going on in the rest of the world. Remember, it is the agencies that teach clients the art of marketing. Not vice versa.

A common misconception among agencies is that social media is limited to social networking. Yet social networking is only one facet of social media – social media is any place online where people come together to have conversations; this includes blogs, forums and even the comments section on websites.

In a world where perceptions are made and changed though web clicks and where word of mouth does not actually need a mouth to spread, surviving requires a proactive approach to current as well as prospective clients. A blog is a perfect tool to do this; it opens up a window of confidence through which clients can gain trust in return for honest feedback.

Red Communications seems to get ‘social media’. Sabene Saigol, Chairperson, Red Communications is the brains behind ‘Red Lipstick and the Art of Seduction’, a Facebook group dedicated to the Pakistani advertising and marketing industries. With close to 500 members, the group has become a public forum where agencies and clients chat about campaigns and ideas.

According to Shakeel Khokhar, CEO, Red Communications, “Our teams and our clients literally hang out together using social media. It removes mobility issues and provides various platforms where related parties can come together.”

However, having a blog is not enough, especially if it ends up being just another page on a website. The nature of an agency’s interaction with its clients should be in real time.

A blog cannot be static; it has to be a dynamic medium which establishes the importance of the agency’s opinion and feedback. Although the control of the communication is in the hands of the agency, yet the flow should be handled with such finesse that it appears to be with the client. This is why Twitter can be such a powerful tool for engagement.

Another problem with using social media in Pakistan is that users have a hard time with content creation. Not only should social media content be regularly updated, it must also be relevant.

Agencies must realise that social media can be a solution provider and can be key in enhancing the image of the brand and the agency. Although traditional methods should continue to be used, there is a need for proper research-based reports on what social media has to offer, so that the case for using social media to further marketing efforts can be strengthened.

Nida Akhlaq is Account Executive, Latitude. nida.akhlaq@gmail.com

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.

Content marketing, the new advertising

Salma Jafri on how content marketing can make your business smarter.

This article is not about bashing traditional advertising, nor is it about proclaiming that content-marketing is a superior form of advertising. Instead it is about understanding how content can be used to power sales and other business functions in addition to, alongside, or in place of traditional advertising strategies.

Content, as we are endlessly told, is king. But what we often overlook are the various uses, formats and diversity of content that come together to become a powerful knowledge-based advertising platform. For example, content marketing can be text on a website or a conversation-inducing blog entry. It may take the form of a presentation or an online webinar; it could be a print magazine or a printed newsletter. It can happily transform into a social Facebook page or a community discussion forum. It can be a YouTube video or an e-book or a research report. Content marketing can take any shape or form, use any format, be presented in any way. It all serves the same purpose: to market and advertise your business.

Who can benefit from content marketing?

There is a myth that only start-up firms, cash-strapped entrepreneurs and small businesses use content marketing as an advertising strategy. Let’s dispel this myth. When the CEO of Blendtec started his wacky, ‘Will it Blend’ videos, they instantly positioned his blenders as the market favourite. When Whole Foods started their ‘Whole Story’ blog, they became the go-to place for healthy, organic recipes and produce. When CNN started accepting and airing news reports from citizen journalists, they instantly tapped into the power of user-generated content.

Companies of all sizes and strengths can use and benefit from content marketing. However, companies often struggle with the question of whether to produce content in-house or outsource it.

It depends on the company’s strengths and resources. According to a 2010 study conducted by Marketo.com, 52% of the companies polled chose to equally divide content production in-house and outsource. This is because content marketing generally works best when it contains a combination of insider perspective and outsider technical expertise.

How are companies using content marketing?

Some of the biggest challenges faced by companies today are to produce engaging content, produce enough of it and produce it as frequently as the market needs it. Content marketing can be used to generate qualified leads using a form. It can be used to attain a position of authority via a blog. And it can be used as the basis of building trust so that buyers feel they are making the right decision by taking your company’s advice.

Let’s bust another myth here: ‘content marketing is only useful for promoting online products.’

I have a client who sells silver jewellery. When we produce articles for print and online magazines about the benefits, aesthetics and value of wearing silver jewellery, that is as powerful (in my opinion, more powerful) as placing an ad in that same magazine for jewellery products.

Another example: a company we work with produces nutritional supplements. Every month, we take news stories on health and fitness (such as obesity and malnutrition) and produce content (in the form of case studies and white papers) to show how our client’s product alleviates those health concerns, while citing the news story as a reference.

So you see what’s happening here. Original and repurposed content is being used to serve as an advertising mechanism for these companies. Generating content is not only a form of advertising, content is advertising. This is because content serves to pull people in, drive website traffic, increase magazine subscriptions, escalate video views, etc. All these things – subscriptions, readers, traffic – are business drivers.

Using content as an advertising tool

As there are so many content delivery channels, your business must develop the right content and promote it to the right market. The Content Marketing Institute provides a handy checklist of content creation. According to this checklist, your content should be findable (for search engines); readable (short, to the point, easy to scan); understandable (contextual, reader-appropriate, format-appropriate); actionable (contains a call to action, call to share, etc.); shareable (provokes emotion and easy to share characteristics)

Once you have developed your content using this checklist, your business needs to find the right delivery mechanisms for it. This includes:

Mobile content, which is the way forward when you know that users primarily access your content on-the-go. Ensure that your content for mobile users is actionable and can be used immediately. For example, if a user needs to know the location of a restaurant, he should ideally be able to access not only the location, but the opening hours, phone number, menu and reviews of that restaurant from your website. Consider developing a mobile application for your service.

Social media content, which is best suited to fun, engaging content with a people-intensive element to it. Games, contests, quizzes, videos are a great content strategy for social networks primarily because of their interactive nature.

Video content is an excellent tool to use to explain concepts, show experiments and tell a visual story. Would you rather read a MythBusters experiment or see it on video? Textual content is best when there is a need to inform and educate. Case studies, whitepapers, articles, newsletters and e-books are just some of the ways your business can establish itself as a trusted resource.

Blog content is a great strategy when you need to provide an interactive forum for discussion. Blogs are great conversation starters and if you work in an industry where there is plenty of room for dialogue, a blog is a great tool to use. For example, a local greeting card company uses its weekly blog content to discuss the celebratory and controversial nature of various holidays.

Content marketing is not about building an online business per se; it is about using the internet to conduct business – any business. Content marketing, as a form of non-interruption marketing seeks to persuade, inform, educate and speak directly to your target market.

It makes your consumers smarter and smarter consumers tend to reward you with their loyalty and ultimately their business.

Salma Jafri is founder and CEO, WordPL, a content marketing firm. salma@wordpl.net

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.

On the shelves

S. Hyder on what works and what doesn’t on the shelves.

Art directors spend hours slogging over it. Countless foreign items are bought as ‘references’ and consumed later by hungry creatives on that all important all nighter before the presentation. And of course many a client service executive is admonished soundly for daring to comment on the size of the logo or the choice of colour. The finished options are then beamingly presented to the client. And in due course the chosen ones are tweaked and teased for final approval by a group of eight people sitting in a room with a double-sided mirror. Unless of course the client’s boss’s boss decides he knows what is best for the shelves.

Yes, indeed, it is the bane and equally the dream assignment of any agency; the packaging.

Stroll down the aisles of any supermarket and you will see products clamouring for the attention of the hapless consumer. The mum, the wife, the perplexed husband sent out with a hieroglyphic list, make their way through these aisles throwing essential items into their basket in autopilot mode, while occasionally pausing  at something that catches their eye unexpectedly or tempts their indulgence. The point is that most agency folk appear to believe that these people all shop at Agha’s or H. Karim Buksh. The modest kiryana shop is all but forgotten. Also forgotten is the fact that the average consumer is a woman who often does not do the grocery shopping herself, but sends her husband or son out with a list instead.

What is interesting about the shelves these days is the abundance of multinational brands. (They appear to outnumber the home-grown alternatives.) Their packaging is regionally developed and simply reapplied. Like your average burger. They all look the same, with mild variations no matter who the manufacturer is. And they all look good.

However, locally developed packaging is also becoming interesting. Take Olper’s. A class act when it comes to packaging. A vivacious logo rests against a vibrant red background with a cheeky splash of milk to balance it out, instantly giving the brand a youthful, modern and optimistic look. At the same time firmly rooted. Red is the traditional colour of joy and optimism, as well as the colour of matrimony. This design sensibility extends to their cream and low-fat milk sub-brands. Olper’s Lite retains the same basic structure with the addition of a slim glass and a measuring tape. More than the agency, the client needs to be applauded for having the guts to fly with this packaging. 

It may be argued that it is easier to develop unconventional packaging for a new brand. There is less baggage, more eagerness to break the mould and go for something unexpected. But what about long established brands with dated packaging? Hey, if it’s selling, why change?

Therefore next up in the honour roll of packaging is National Foods, a company with unexciting packaging that sold well. So why fix something if it ain’t broke? Well they fixed it and went laughing all the way to the bank. It takes guts for a well-established brand to go in for a makeover. The entire range! The recipes and spices range now has mouth watering product shots, a clean layout and colour coding to distinguish the segments. There is a cohesion between all the items in the carton range. Jam and jelly bottles stand out on the shelves. Their new brand, Fruitily, holds its own between the Tangs of the world. With one swoop, a very conservative client evolved and reinvigorated its brands.

Mön Salwa is one brand that could really take a leaf from NFL’s book. The yellow packs have the potential to stand out on freezer shelves compared to any other brand. (K&N as well. But the latter has the advantage of an extensive product line-up and good top of mind recall thanks to consistent communication.) Mön Salwa could benefit from a visual transformation. Keep the yellow, make it brighter. And better food shots. Maybe a change of shape to make it more compact and cost efficient. And dare I say it? A bigger, brighter logo.

On the other hand there are old brands which should never change. The Pakolas and Apple Sidras. There was something comforting about the outdated packaging. They are like that quirky aunt or uncle; somewhat eccentric, unique and utterly charming. This is why Pakola and Apple Sidra didn’t need to change. There is no other electric green, sickly sweet soda or strong fizzy cider in the market. Okay, maybe there are alternatives for the latter, but none that taste quite the same. They should have embraced that outdated look and flaunted it with pride. So much more reassuring than the geometric mess sported by the brand now. When you are like no one else in character, why on earth would you want to look like everybody else?

Nestlé Fruita Vitals recently reinvented itself with great success. The switch from boxy to taller, better looking cartons is a smart move with a very functional benefit; they fit in the fridge better leaving more space for other things. The black ground adds to the sophistication. The new juices are more expensive, but they look it. And boy do they stand out on those shelves.

Speaking of black, there is Bisconni’s new Zeera variant. Again, a smart move by the brand. Zeera is a mature flavour, favoured by adults as an accompaniment to their afternoon tea. The product shot against the black background with the delicate gold logo of the variant name elevates a humble tea snack to something more worthy. A brave move by the brand team. And it goes to show that food packaging doesn’t have to be restricted to bright or white.

Rose Petal is another interesting exercise in packaging. This is a product which needs to look good on the shelves as well as in your living room. Rose Petal’s designs range from the discreet to the bold and bright. At least you don’t have to hide these boxes under bamboo and plastic covers.

Another good example of packaging in a somewhat challenged category is cooking oil; usually consigned to the back shelves in both shops and kitchens. On the jerry cans there isn’t much room for design on the little strip around the middle. Most brands cram far too much in that little space; from pictures to descriptions of the health benefits which set their brand apart from the rest. Soya Supreme is a great example of what works. They understand that with shelf space constraints and clutter issues, the brand name needs to be clearly established. A simple font against a green ground. It works.

Back to the consumer. Consumers are not stupid. They are reasonably educated with a fairly decent sense of aesthetics. They do not approach life with blinkers on; rather they are eager to absorb everything that is out there. Trends, colours, styles, etc. So anyone who still thinks that the consumer needs to be force fed with information on the packaging to be coaxed into a sale is wrong. Or that gola ganda colours need to be used to attract attention. Take a leap of faith. Good package design can be bang on brand equity and stylish and yet appeal to the consumer.

S. Hyder works for an advertising agency in Pakistan.

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.

Digital countdown

Companies must absolutely get into digital practice, otherwise they will be left behind very soon, writes Aamir Rauf.

Over the last two years we have heard a lot about ‘digital’ within the advertising and marketing community. BMs, ABMs and BBMs are all talking about what to do with digital media.

If you look at the online marketing landscape in Pakistan, you will find many brands which have at least some sort of ‘presence’ – I use the term ‘presence’ very loosely as in most cases that is truly all it is; just a couple of pages online that haven’t been updated in about three months.

But this article is not about the problems that exist within digital media or the lack of understanding of the medium across the marketing and advertising industry. Like anything new it’s going to have teething problems, but they will be worked out soon enough. This article is about the absolutely massive potential that digital media has in a country as big as ours.

First off for those of you who don’t spend your lives plugged into a computer at all times, digital media means, wait for it, the internet! Just kidding, sort of…

When we talk about digital media we are talking about a spread of tools such as the internet (not kidding this time), SMS, MMS, IVR (you know, that robot lady on the phone who keeps telling you that the account number you entered is invalid) and mobile phones. The latter is probably the most appealing for marketers and currently has the widest reach; everyone has a mobile phone, it’s now a matter of how to get your message across to that device.

Before we start on what you can do, we should go over some statistics. Let’s talk about how many internet users we have, please remember when we talk about users we mean anyone who has access to the internet either at work or at home or by stealing their neighbour’s Wi-Fi connection – we are not talking about the number of connections!

According to the CIA’s The World Factbook, we have over 20 million internet users and according to the World Bank we had 18.5 million internet users in 2009. Local research presented by several local research agencies puts the figure somewhere between five and six million. As you will notice there is a gross discrepancy between those figures, and I believe that we are somewhere in the middle of those two. Why? Because of Facebook!

Anyone who has a Facebook account has the ability to use Facebook’s marketplace advertising engine, that is why the ad platform is so successful; it’s the most accessible ad platform in the world. Now if you go into the engine and select ‘Pakistan’ as your target country, it will display the estimated reach for your ads, a figure which is about 4.5 million. If we truly had five million users that would mean that Facebook has a penetration of 90% of all internet users in Pakistan! Even for Facebook that’s highly unlikely.

Now if we look at 20 million users it would mean that roughly 11.5% of the entire country has access to the internet, although I would like to believe this, it is also unlikely.

We can estimate that anywhere between 12 and 15 million people in Pakistan have access to the internet. This number is only going to increase, so if you don’t side with me on my estimate, just wait a year or so and we will get there. How do I know we will get there? Because the cost of connectivity is becoming cheaper and cheaper by the day. You can get a Wi-Max connection for Rs 650 per month or use unlimited internet on your mobile phone for Rs 400 per month. This is cheaper than buying a large pizza once a month or driving from the airport to the FTC in Karachi! Suffice to say the internet is cheap and it’s going to grow!

When you think digital, think digital 360, as most internet users will follow a trail of platforms if you give them enough reason to. Make sure that you incorporate a mix of social media, websites, SMS and even IVR to keep people engaged. You must remember that digital media is a two-way conversation; allow people to comment on your content, create content and give them a chance to be heard. Most people are satisfied just to know that brands are actually listening to them.

For example, if you create a campaign, don’t just ask a web development firm to build a website and then expect millions of hits just because it is there. You have to work for traffic and the key to traffic is a mix of good content, engagement and advertising. If you set up a set of social media platforms, make sure that they are supported by a brand website; somewhere to keep people engaged in the long run, somewhere where people can come for information. There are tons of ways to capitalise on the traffic you get on a larger platform by sending visitors from there to where you need some extra traffic. An example would be to announce a sale on your Facebook page with 150,000 fans and ask them to go and print out the coupon located on the front page of your website to get an extra 10%. Traffic can flow any way you want it to, provided you have something to entice visitors with.

How do you entice people? Competitions are one way, but they are short term traffic drivers, a good way to get things rolling, but to keep people engaged you need to make your platforms useful and informative. A great way to do that is by creating custom content; this can be anything from creating your own blog (groan, I know you hear that all the time, but you have to do it right for it to actually work), to having your own TV show, which you only show online! Imagine that! Be sure to include useful information about your products and services and give consumers the tools they need to make purchase decisions right there on your website; pages of text and stock photography are boring – remember when you create a campaign online you are competing with every digital campaign that has ever been done, the internet is wide open and people know what other brands in other markets are doing.

Great, right? There is a whole bunch of things you can play with online, that’s great if your product or service was only sold online! The real trick is to use digital to create engagement and action in the real world, to get consumers to buy your products and use your services. So when you think digital 360, don’t only think digital.

Truth be told, digital media is just another medium (granted, the dynamics and mechanics are different) to add to your communication mix and it should be treated that way. Make digital a part of your ATL campaigns from the start, build it in as an integral part of your message and call to action. Do the same on digital by pushing people to traditional media and BTL activities.

Let’s talk short term for a minute. Imagine if you had a competition that revolved around ATL, BTL and digital; true 360 engagement and communication. Your competition would require people to interact with print, TV, outdoor, radio and digital media. Here’s how it would flow. You see a TVC with a web address on it, it leads you to watch a piece of custom content which directs you to an address where you find a billboard with a QR (quick response) code on it, you scan the code and it gives you a password, you enter the password into the brand website and it tells you to look for a picture in next Sunday’s print communication; and we can go on and on…

The idea is not what the mechanics or the prize of this integrated campaign would be, it is about the practice of adding digital media into your communication mix and understanding that if you don’t have a digital backbone now, you are going to get left behind by the smaller brands who are using digital to a much greater extent and reaping the benefits.

Digital in Pakistan is there for the taking and there’s no shortage of ideas or space

for everyone.

Aamir Rauf is Manager, Lowe Digital. aamir.rauf@lowerauf.com

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.

What's your story?

By Sana Saleem

My writing and I are in an abusive relationship. The overpowering, dominating type that takes over everything at times and sometimes disappears for days. If that is too intense for your liking, let’s just call it verbal diarrhoea. Bad imagery? I admit it. But if there’s one thing I cannot write about, it’s about myself and my work.

But I do have a story to tell that goes beyond me and my work.

It is the story about the power of social media.

It’s through social media that I found a space where I could do what I have always loved doing; share my thoughts about anything and everything I feel strongly about.

So here I was (thanks to WordPress) writing to my heart’s content. The best part about having your own space is being independent of editorial control (FYI, I love all my eds). It allows one to bypass censorship and write about matters that often do not bypass editors (like how I want to name and shame a certain anchor for hate mongering). It was this little step that allowed me to share my thoughts with a wider audience. Most importantly, it connected me to people who have been of great help in turning words into action.

From slactivism to activism

Lately, we have all been hearing about the social media revolution. Thanks to the Egyptian revolution, there has been a huge leap in citizen journalism, which is both great and damaging. Great, because it amplifies conversations, allowing the world to see events beyond the lens of the mainstream media and connect with people on the ground. Damaging, because this sense of being able to connect, to be updated in real time and visualise experiences of conflict and revolution has overwhelmed our senses. When conflicts happen, social media allows us a peek into the ground realities, although that should not take away from the fact that it is the people who are the driving force. Social media only offers tools, strong ones at that.

In May 2010, I attended the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit in Santiago, Chile. Given my love for social media, this was no less than a pilgrimage. Let me elaborate. Global Voices is a community of 300 bloggers from across the world. What can be better than hearing about the impact of social media in Madagascar, or how online translation tools are helping preserve a rare language? It was there that I met some incredible social media enthusiasts, activists and techies. We spoke at length, brainstormed and learnt from each others’ success and failures. It was there that I realised that the journey from slactivism to activism is rather smooth. The magic of curating, aggregating and amplifying campaigns to fuel on-ground activism.

We too have witnessed this. It was Facebook which allowed people to connect and organise protests during Musharraf’s media crackdown. It was Twitter that enabled activists to amplify what was happening to the flood survivors and it was Ushahidi and Google Maps that drove in the funds by enabling people to see the impact. Social media is a global village connected through various tools.

Far and beyond

Experiences (our own and those of others) allow us to learn and improvise. It’s so much better and faster if done in 140 characters. It’s fascinating to the point of being scary how 140 characters can build perceptions about people or allow us to have a peek into their perception of events. It was through Twitter that I met my partner extraordinaire, Naveen Naqvi, a broadcast journalist, and we later decided to start a project, our brainchild: Gawaahi. If I were to define Gawaahi.com, I would say it’s a product of our collective experiences, my love for social media and my partner’s expertise in merging social media and mainstream news.

It is also a culmination of all that I have learnt from the world of social media, a platform that carries over stories of people; stories that are usually not heard above the din of terrorism and politics. Stories of resistance, abuse and survival.

Storytelling is a powerful process. The way in which stories can make an impact is diverse. Now, anything and everything that I feel passionate about can be changed into a digital story, making the impact greater. Most of my written work focused on violence against women, paedophilia, rape, minority rights and social and other issues that are often ignored. Now, I and many others can narrate our stories, even without having to reveal our identities, and connect to people. Using stories to connect victims to survivors or victims to other victims and break the ‘I am alone in my suffering cycle.  

The end is just the beginning.

I am lucky to be able to pursue the things I feel passionate about. It’s not very often that one has the opportunity to be a part of change; no matter how small. Four years ago, when I started my own space, my virtual rant box, I did not think for a moment it would enable me to connect to so many passionate change-makers who have influenced my life. Yet, despite my love for social media, I am also a fan of what I call the social media ‘hiatus‘ or ‘detox’ to be more apt. I feel that this buzzing world of global citizens can often turn into an echo chamber. Sure it allows one to share our thoughts and reach out but it also allows people to blow things out of proportion. The fetish for breaking news and the quick stairway to fame has invaded the world of citizen journalism.

In the end it depends on how we choose to use these tools. We live under the global spotlight, even the smallest of stories can turn into a headline for a global audience.

In times like these, stories about our survival are worth sharing and will allow global audiences to see Pakistan beyond the stereotypes. Whether it is social campaigns, political opinions or Zoe Viccaji’s appearance on Coke Studio, hop on over and join the global conversation. Share your stories! n

Sana Saleem is Co-founder & Director, Gawaahi.com. sana@gawaahi.com

First published in the July-August 2011 issue of Aurora.