Direct marketing wins new clout in Asia
Major companies see growth potential in region as customers take to face-to-face contact
Taipei: For hundreds of diners in Taiwan, 22-year-old Sheena Tsai is the billboard for Carlsberg, a Danish company vying for a slice of Asia's competitive drinks market.
The university student brings drinks straight to tables at packed Taipei seafood restaurants with handy facts about Carlsberg's origin and flavour.
"Some don't know about it," said Tsai, who wears a branded blouse to local seafood joints. "They like to meet sellers face to face. This kind of promotion is useful."
Carlsberg isn't the only one in Asia.
As major companies see growth potential in the region, many more are seeking a marketing strategy to suit it, giving new clout to the ages-old tool of bringing products directly to consumers.
Dozens of companies, from consumer goods maker Hindustan Unilever to delivery firms such as FedEx, are now using direct marketing methods to sell their products in increasingly crowded and competitive markets.
Direct marketing, broadly defined, covers any sales technique from pop-up stores and commercial gift bag giveaways to free sample handouts that puts sellers directly in touch with target customers, compared to indirect marketing such as advertising, product placement or sponsorships.
Safe avenue
Asian consumers, long accustomed to doing business with trusted family or friends to avoid scams, see contact with direct marketers as safe avenues to get to study a product in a world of commercial uncertainty, experts say.
"People still reply to direct mail. They want to be marketed to," said Dominic Powers, Asia-Pacific senior vice-president with marketing firm Epsilon International.
"Relationships are very strong, more so than in America, and they get things done."
Every major firm active in Asia uses both direct and indirect marketing, with the direct portion growing.
Last year direct sales in Asia increased five per cent to $40 billion (Dh147 billion), up from a 0.4 per cent increase in 2007, largely due to expanding markets such as China and India, according to data from market research firm Euromonitor International.
Big in Asia's direct marketing are alcoholic beverages such as Carlsberg and Glenmorangie Scotch whiskey, Coca Cola's Glaceau Vitamin Water, delivery firms such as Fedex with pre-existing address databases and common household goods sold by the likes of Amway.
And there's still room for more.
Consumption and savings are expected to grow throughout Asia from a rate of 3.1 per cent in 2002 to 4.6 per cent next year, according to an HSBC Global Research report.
About 48 per cent of the $150.3 billion spent globally on direct marketing will go to Asia by 2012, according to estimates by the Grey Group marketing communications firm.
