Escape routes

Innovation, product development, expansion of distribution channels, authentic communication without cost reduction – this is how we can sum up what has been said by participants of the Marketing Forum held by Karrier és Stílus Tanácsadó Kft. on 5. February about the way out of the crisis. “Regional and/or local marketing” was the title of the forum but its agenda was more diverse than originally intended as a result of the economic crisis. – Innovation and creativity has never been more important than it is now – emphasised dr. Klára Kovács, managing director of Karrier és Stílus Tanácsadó Kft. Tünde Turcsán, CR director of Nielsen examined successful brands. She pointed out the fact that apart from discounts, supermarkets and drugstores also produced faster than average growth in 2008. Last year, private labels accounted for 21 percent of total sales in terms of value of the 90 food categories monitored by Nielsen. She identified innovation as the main reason behind the success of manufacturers’ brands. The balance between regional and legal marketing activities was the topic of the presentation held by Miklós Ostermayer, regional director of Bonduelle. He also spoke about the repositioning of their products. The successful use of „Celebrity endorsement” was the topic of the presentation held by Renáta Draskovich, regional marketing manager of SSL Magyarország Kft. – Is there such a thing as an Eastern European consumer? – was the question asked by dr. Mária Töröcsik from Pécs University. She spoke about the similarities and differences in the behaviour of consumers in different countries. She also mentioned general trends like growing Internet use, growing popularity of discounts, growing ecological consciousness and new fears. She pointed out that change is too fast for consumers whose behaviour is getting increasingly unpredictable. Rita Németh, brand manager of Douwe Egberts Senseo spoke about the 360 degree introduction campaign of a new brand. Mrs. Schreiber deputy director of the National Consumer Protection Authority spoke about details of their activities. Andrea Szabó, marketing director of Budapest Bank brought a useful example of the importance of internal brand building. A roundtable discussion was also held about marketing methods used for PL products, with Kornél Saltzer, purchasing and marketing director of Spar Magyarország Kereskedelmi Kft., Péter Boros, sales director of Co-op Hungary Zrt. and Mariann Józsa, purchasing and marketing director of dm.