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Business & Economy-Confused Branding Part 1


I came back to Tehran to live for some months after 4 years. It seems that we had a boosting advertising market, people started to talk about Marketing Strategy, Marketing Research, Companies started to open positions in Marketing Management, Advertising Management fields. Yes, I know it is little bit funny and too much sad, Since all other countries started to think about this science more than 50 years ago!! But I would be proud of all these Iranian companies, who started to Re-Think Marketing, if they walk what they talk!

I do not know how many billboards have been installed in highways since 4 years ago, I just can say too much.This is good, because it represents a progress in Marketing culture, but you can see unknowledgeable Marketers and greedy advertisers in confused companies with uncertain management strategy in all those advertising.

One of these companies called "TAK MAKARON". They are the biggest pasta producer in Iran. TAK MAKARON has started when there were many big companies active in spaghetti and pasta business in Iran, But TAK MAKARON started differently. What ever they have done those days were different.Their Name (Which it means UNIQUE SPAGHETTI), packaging, quality, and even their factory and offices were different. And After 3 years they became leader in the market!
TAK MAKARON is one of the richest companies in Iran (especially in food industry). Their Billboard advertising Budget is 500,000 USD annually (Average monthly salary in Iran is 400 USD!), and they occupied some of the best billboards in high ways.

Recently one guineas guy in TAK MAKARON came with an idea of producing Olive and Canola Oil. Well, if the company has the power to enter in another market that could be financially acceptable. But this guineas friend came with another idea, and they decided to use "TAK MAKARON" name and Brand for their new OIL product!!!

They called their new product TAK MAKARON OIL !!!!!! which it means in Farsi "The Oil of Tak Makaron". That was good if the oil was for spaghetti use only, and it was something especial, and innovative NOT olive oil, or Canola Oil.

Worst than this they put all these three products in their big billboards!! I mean they put Spaghetti, Olive Oil, and Canola Oil in one billboard with a big logo of "TAK MAKARON".

I had a chance to talk with their advertising manager, what she replied me was that we are using our BRAND power to sell our OIL products, and she was proud of their strategy!!!

My main subject of study and business was/is NOT marketing, But as one who is interested in right moves I study some of marketing guru's books, and articles like JACK TROUT. I think Mr.Trout has described all these strategies better than any one in the planet of the earth till this moment.

Jack Trout has more than 40 years of experience in advertising and marketing, He is the author of many marketing classics, including Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, Marketing Warfare, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Differentiate or Die, Big Brands Big Trouble and his latest, Trout on Strategy. He is president of marketing consultancy Trout & Partners and has consulted for such companies as AT&T, IBM, Southwest Airlines, Merck, Procter & Gamble and others. Recognized as one of the world's foremost marketing strategists, Trout is the originator of "positioning" and other important concepts in marketing strategy.

You may like to read some of his articles about marketing,which they are related to the subject of the blog issue, in Forbes.com such as:
Differentiation or Die
That Bewildering Beer Business

Jack Trout has written that "Building a brand is often easier than keeping it from being destroyed by internal forces." This is happening to TAK MAKARON as it happened to many other fortune companies in the world.

Thank you for your time, and Good Luck
Kaveh K.H.
P.S. this is "Tak Makaron" Web site (http://www.takmakaron.com/EN/intro.htm) if you find their oil product there let me know :))) even they did not upgrade their web site.
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Comments

Anonymous said…
I just love your weblog! Very nice post! Still you can do many things to improve it.
December 30, 2009 at 11:28 AM
Anonymous said…
I want not concur on it. I over warm-hearted post. Specially the title attracted me to review the unscathed story.
January 14, 2010 at 6:19 AM
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