Marketing strategy for date-flavored cereal in Saudi Arabia

Marketing

Justification and Marketing Strategy for the Launch of a Date Flavored Breakfast Cereal in Saudi Arabia

The development and sale of a date flavored cereal to be sold in Saudi Arabia may have a great deal of potential. The cereal market in Saudi Arabia is the largest cereal market in the Middle East, and it is in a growth phase (ITP.net, 2006), while two major global breakfast cereal firms; Kellogg and Nestle, have had a presence in the country since the 1970's in the past the was generally marketed to western expatiates (ITP.net, 2006). The increased level of global media has created a higher demand for cereal in the local consumer market, and growing awards of health issue have also supported the growth of the cereal market which is perceived as a healthy breakfast choice (Euromonitor, 2012; ITP.net, 2006). Increasing disposable income in the region is also impacting positivity on the demand. The market is expected to continue growing through until 2016 (Euromonitor, 2016). This indicates that there is a market which may be accessed as long as the firm can develop a suitable product and market it effectively.

The perception of cereal is that it is a western style product, so adapting the product to create one that is likely to provide a greater level of appeal to the local market may help to create differentiation and make the product more attractive to potential buyers. The concept of localization of products has been successful for many firms; McDonald's has adapted product for local markets such as the Maharaja Mac made with lamb instead of beef for the Indian market and burger sold in France have garlic dressing (Kotler and Keller, 2011). Adapting product to meet local tastes has the potential to gain more sales in a region compared with the sale of a standardize product (Kotler and Keller, 2011).

The breakfast cereal may be adapted with the incorporation of dates and date flavor. Dates are a local product; the diet in Saudi Arabia has contained dates for millennia, with the country producing in excess of 600,000 pounds of dates each year (Anonymous, 2010). The food is a staple item, used in many different sweet and savory dishes, including breakfast, as well as eaten as a snack (Anonymous, 2010). The product is therefore one that is known to be suited to local tastes. Dates have not been popular in cereals, but the Kellogg's cereal 'Just Right' sold in Australia and New Zealand, has a variety that includes dates; so dates are an indigent that is viable for inclusion in a breakfast cereal product.

The marketing of the new cereal will be targeted at the local population, seeking to combine the culture and traditional associated with dates, with the convenience and health associated with breakfast cereals. The marketing may include a range of media, including television. The television advertisement will start with image of a table set for breakfast with bread cheese and coffee, the table is shown on a fast seep being laid and then being cleared. The same action sequence taking only a couple of seconds is shown for the following day, and then the next day. Then a voice over may say, "would you like something different, something that is just as tasty and satisfying, prepared from the freshest Saudi ingredients?." The image will then cut to a scene that looks like an idyllic oasis scene with date palms, and happy individuals picking the dates. This gives a present image and also established the local environment as the setting. As the camera gets closer the viewer will see that the date palms are not growing dates, but appear to be growing the boxes of the date cereal. The voice over says, "now that is different." The divertimento will then cut, and toward the end of the advertisement break there will be a second short image, where the father is sitting eating the cereal, with the box showing, saying "wonderfully different." It has been shown this type of repetition, with a double exposure, can effectively increase attention and recall in consumers, making it is an effective form of marketing (Hooley et al., 2007).