Litro filling stations, Big Milk ice-cream, Roua Muntilormineral water, real,-Quality own labels or Saga coffee are just afew of the new brands launched in the midst of the crisis on theRomanian market, brands that are attracting promotion budgets ofhundreds of thousand or even millions of euros.
While people are buying less and some firms are even recyclingold ads, some companies are still choosing to come up with newproducts. How can such a strategy be explained, though?
"During a crisis period, the number of launches or re-launchesis dwindling, which creates opportunities on the market. On theother hand, communication budgets are lower; the media buzz isimplicitly no longer that aggressive, and the new brand that islaunched or re-launched can have a bigger impact than in thecontext of a growth year. And last, but not least, launch orre-launch costs are lower," say the representatives of Brandient,the most important agency specialised in brand consultancy anddesign domestically.
This year's newcomers include Litro filling station brand,belonging to Rompetrol, in whose construction the company investedsome 1.3m euros in two years.
Another launch, this time in the food industry, was Big Milkice-cream brand in Algida's portfolio, exclusively destined to theRomanian market. Daniel Barbulescu, country manager on theice-cream segment of Unilever South Central Europe, says that amidthe current market conditions the company he represents has beenthe only one on this market that has dared make massive investmentsto promote this product. "On the media market, demand is lower thanin previous years so that, with the same media investment one canget a better exposure," Barbulescu also says.
On the other hand, there are also certain risks in launching aproduct during crisis periods given consumers' low purchasing powerand uncertain crisis duration. Starting from this economic context,even launched products must address consumers in a differentway.
"We believe that in crisis periods consumers/clients are morecareful, cautious and demanding when making choices. This is whybrands should be honest and direct both in their DNA andcommunication. A brand launched in such a period should addressbasic needs, make a viable proposal and avoid the sophistication ofoverabundant times," Brandient representatives also say.
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