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Star Radler, Culture and Marketing Flaw
There are many cases of hotels denying women access into
their facilities. In 2015, women still require the supervision of men before
they can buy a drink or two. (PS: They'll tell you they are fumigating their establishments with prostituticide. Of course).
It’s a cultural flaw where women are expected to stay away
from bars and stay in kitchens and be content with whatever leisure they can
find in the walls that house matrimony or spinsterhood-itching-for-matrimony or
divorce-wailing-over-lost-matrimony.
Pick one.
A few weeks back, I took three of my good writers on a
trip. When we returned, we had dinner at a fancy restaurant on the Island. A
young lady, marketing the new Star Citurs Radler, stood by our table with a big
smile displayed only for the man in our group.
She spoke only to him and marketed her Star Citrus Radler
only to him.
The rest of us- females and obviously unworthy, looked on.
She gave only him a bottle of the drink to enjoy.
Star Radler contains barely 2% alcohol. It is a brand brewed
to compete with the likes of Snapp and Smirnoff Ice. It is obviously not
designed for men.
Indeed, when the man was done, he turned and asked the lady
why she was trying to get him interested in a drink obviously meant for women.
The alcohol isn’t strong enough. He would stick to classic lager or stout.
“There’s no way I’m going to order this at a bar,” he
laughed.
A culture that teaches everyone to address only men, is
teaching everyone to disregard women even in businesses created for women (except, of course, we are talking scrubbing powder and detergent).
The culture insists that even if a product is designed for
women, you would need to pitch it to men who are seen as the ATMs and buyers of
comfort. Women are only accessories to good living.
So I took the liberty to address the young female marketer.
“You have three female adults on this table. You are
marketing a drink with barely 2% alcohol, but you insist on marketing it to the
only man on the table. Your approach is wrong, hence you have lost three
potential customers. I shall stick to Snapp.”
A culture that discriminates against women continues to
shoot itself in the foot. The informal Nigerian economy is sustained largely by
women. Small and medium scale businesses are sustained by women
I do know that these marketers get some kind of training
before they roll out to bars and restaurants. I see many of them flirting with
drinking men and shoving a Jack Daniels' bottle in their faces.
But when it’s not Jack Daniels…when it is light alcohol and
three women are seated, let the smart teachers of economics train their workers
to give due regards to their potential customers. Women.
The man in our group is my subordinate. In that gathering, I am the
boss. I was paying for drinks and food and everything in between.
But being female was something that couldn’t possibly
justify my status in the presence of culture.
Hian.... silly girl.... She probably lives off a man and cant imagine a woman being a business owner....
ReplyDeletePerhaps you three couldn't afford to buy her wares. Better still, approval has to be sought from the man of the gathering. SMH
ReplyDeletea real flaw in marketing....u cant blame her much since its consumption is attached to us - men.
ReplyDeleteI worked for an international development agency in Nigeria. Even they understood where the decision making lay in Nigerian family culture. They knew that if they reached the women in any family they would achieve lasting impact in whatever strategic objective they had, as far a economic development went. DFID has a project called 'GirlHub' focusing on human and economic development through empowering adolescent girls.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet,
Nigeria itself is still stuck in the useless stereotype thinking and behaviour which renders women and girls faceless and mute. Only good for marriage and bearing children.
The GIANT of Africa.
The GIANT of what?
The WHAT of Africa?
C'mmaaaaaan! Wake up, and smell the garri.
Listen to Joy!
I think the marketer is a bolo. That's how the society here views women. In this case, even though the brand is explicitly going after women with this drink, the marketer is too "Nigerian" to understand that women are not only a valid but a highly liquid and desirable market. Funny thing is I tasted the Radler drink last week and it's actually nice. Not quite strong enough for me but my friends like it.
ReplyDeleteAre you saying she was trained and told to market women and then STILL made the mistake of talking to the man? In which case yes, she is stupid. But if the training didn't specify she should direct her marketing to women especially, how is she to know? Other than to drink it herself. If the training wasn't given its their fault.
DeleteIn as much as the 'marketer' has a part in the blame I would argue that she is just a messenger (most of the are just pretty faces picked randomly and thrust into marketing). The real culprit would be the recruitment agency that recruited her to market a brand she dosent have the foggiest idea about and the brand manager who isnt on top of his game.
ReplyDelete