Dr Jonathan A.J. Wilson’s August column in the Marketeers Magazine http://marketeers.com/
on: Ramadan, how marketing comms is like a game of squash or volleyball, DKNY and Uniqlo Muslim fashion, KIN Global, and ISIS.
The advertising revolution will not be televised anymore. Smart minds, smart mouths, smart phones, smart thumbs, and smart messaging are the essence of the New School multi-screen scene. The revolution will be devised by advertisers who can act like rappers, and crack stats like mathematicians.
North American: brands, advertising agencies, marketing professors, brand gurus, and celebrities have been most successful in dominating Global rankings. As a by-product of this, literature frequently refracts branding thought and practise through a English(US) and Christian lens, even if unintended. In this article, I highlight an optical phenomenon present and a rainbow of religious pluralism.
My argument is that future competitive advantage will result from authentic brands that resonate with more of the attributes of different religions explicitly from guiding first principles.
Furthermore, this has to be about appraising the implications of introducing different religions into branding as theory, as opposed to an upstream consumer targeting and advertising practise.
I’m a big fan of martial arts – whether that's practising them or watching a movie. They have also had a massive influence on my day job as a Marketer, Mentor, and Lecturer. In this article I am going to give you a brief insight into why - and maybe how Bushidō (the way of the samurai) could help you too in the workplace.
Ever since Veblen and Simmel, luxury has been synonymous with conspicuous consumption. In this conceptual paper we demonstrate the rise of inconspicuous consumption via a wide-ranging synthesis of the literature. We attribute this rise to the signalling ability of traditional luxury goods being diluted, a preference for not standing out as ostentatious during times of economic hardship, and an increased desire for sophistication and subtlety in design in order to further distinguish oneself for a narrow group of peers. We decouple the constructs of luxury and conspicuousness, which allows us to reconceptualise the signalling quality of brands and the construct of luxury. This also has implications for understanding consumer behaviour practices such as counterfeiting and suggests that consumption trends in emerging markets may take a different path from the past.
UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING DIVERSITY IS AT THE HEART OF EVERY MARKETING ACTIVITY – WHETHER THAT'S ON A LOCAL, INTERNATIONAL, OR GLOBAL LEVEL. AS MORE MARKETERS RECEIVE FORMAL TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS, HOW SUCCESSFUL ARE THESE PROVIDERS AT PROVIDING A PLATFORM FOR NURTURING DIVERSE PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE COMPETENT IN THE ART OF IMPLEMENTING DIVERSITY CONCEPTS? IN THIS ARTICLE, THE FOCUS IS ON NATIONAL, ETHNIC, AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY.
Culture and Marketing make us human. Without culture, can there be any such thing as marketing? Without marketing, does culture survive? In the widest sense, we are all producers, consumers, and marketers of culture. At the time of writing this article, the cherry blossom blooming outside of my window gave me inspiration. Like culture, cherry blossom epitomizes both transience and symbolic transcendence, governed by environmental factors - with the petals symbolizing the connected and overlapping levels at which culture exists
‘Being able to work in a global environment’, is a phrase that is now etched onto the job descriptions
of most marketers and enshrined in today’s strategy documents. Whether that’s a reality or an aspiration - either way it’s something that requires constant work and evaluation. In this article I’m going to share some of my recent thoughts and experiences.
Here are my seven suggested areas that you should evaluate:
1. Nation Branding and National Identity
2. Cultural Ethnicity and Religion
3. Innovation and Creativity
4. Education and Training
5. Balancing Standardization and Localization
6. Networks and Channel partners
7. Multi-layered messaging
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The advertising revolution will not be televised anymore. Smart minds, smart mouths, smart phones, smart thumbs, and smart messaging are the essence of the New School multi-screen scene. The revolution will be devised by advertisers who can act like rappers, and crack stats like mathematicians.
North American: brands, advertising agencies, marketing professors, brand gurus, and celebrities have been most successful in dominating Global rankings. As a by-product of this, literature frequently refracts branding thought and practise through a English(US) and Christian lens, even if unintended. In this article, I highlight an optical phenomenon present and a rainbow of religious pluralism.
My argument is that future competitive advantage will result from authentic brands that resonate with more of the attributes of different religions explicitly from guiding first principles.
Furthermore, this has to be about appraising the implications of introducing different religions into branding as theory, as opposed to an upstream consumer targeting and advertising practise.
I’m a big fan of martial arts – whether that's practising them or watching a movie. They have also had a massive influence on my day job as a Marketer, Mentor, and Lecturer. In this article I am going to give you a brief insight into why - and maybe how Bushidō (the way of the samurai) could help you too in the workplace.
Ever since Veblen and Simmel, luxury has been synonymous with conspicuous consumption. In this conceptual paper we demonstrate the rise of inconspicuous consumption via a wide-ranging synthesis of the literature. We attribute this rise to the signalling ability of traditional luxury goods being diluted, a preference for not standing out as ostentatious during times of economic hardship, and an increased desire for sophistication and subtlety in design in order to further distinguish oneself for a narrow group of peers. We decouple the constructs of luxury and conspicuousness, which allows us to reconceptualise the signalling quality of brands and the construct of luxury. This also has implications for understanding consumer behaviour practices such as counterfeiting and suggests that consumption trends in emerging markets may take a different path from the past.
UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING DIVERSITY IS AT THE HEART OF EVERY MARKETING ACTIVITY – WHETHER THAT'S ON A LOCAL, INTERNATIONAL, OR GLOBAL LEVEL. AS MORE MARKETERS RECEIVE FORMAL TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS, HOW SUCCESSFUL ARE THESE PROVIDERS AT PROVIDING A PLATFORM FOR NURTURING DIVERSE PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE COMPETENT IN THE ART OF IMPLEMENTING DIVERSITY CONCEPTS? IN THIS ARTICLE, THE FOCUS IS ON NATIONAL, ETHNIC, AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY.
Culture and Marketing make us human. Without culture, can there be any such thing as marketing? Without marketing, does culture survive? In the widest sense, we are all producers, consumers, and marketers of culture. At the time of writing this article, the cherry blossom blooming outside of my window gave me inspiration. Like culture, cherry blossom epitomizes both transience and symbolic transcendence, governed by environmental factors - with the petals symbolizing the connected and overlapping levels at which culture exists
‘Being able to work in a global environment’, is a phrase that is now etched onto the job descriptions
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Here are my seven suggested areas that you should evaluate:
1. Nation Branding and National Identity
2. Cultural Ethnicity and Religion
3. Innovation and Creativity
4. Education and Training
5. Balancing Standardization and Localization
6. Networks and Channel partners
7. Multi-layered messaging
If companies acknowledge the value of employee branding; and professionals are serious about seeing themselves as brands too: maybe we should be moving towards a new system and brand architecture - where we actually calculate the brand value of more professionals, and then incentivise and reward their social media network activities?
Understanding And Addressing Diversity Is At The Heart Of Every Marketing Activity – Whether That’s On A Local, International, Or Global Level. As More Marketers Receive Formal Training And Qualifications, How Successful Are These Providers At Providing A Platform For Nurturing Diverse Professionals Who Are Competent In The Art Of Implementing Diversity Concepts? In This Article, I Will Be Focussing On National, Ethnic, And Cultural Diversity.
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Pragmatically, my view is that the term ‘Muslim economy’ more accurately represents the state of current markets; and an ‘Islamic economy’ is an aspirational goal for the same rapidly growing sectors. These are aspirations aiming to encourage the harmonization of Muslim geographies, further collaboration, and a positive commitment towards celebrating the spirit of spirituality in trade and commerce. In this article I report my findings following November’s Global Islamic Economy Summit held in Dubai.
Slides are from my masterclass delivered on 10th December 2013, in the Philip Kotler Theatre, MarkPlus Inc. headquarters, Jakarta, Indonesia.
My take is founded on two simple principles:
Firstly, that the best clues as to who we are, and what we think, feel, and do, can be found through investigating the tangible and intangible:
- Media, brands and associated objects that we possess and consume
- Diversity in friends, family, jobs and hobbies
- Rituals that we engage in
- And ethno-cultural experiences around us.
Second of all, that Marketing has become the new core skill of everyone. Consumers aren't just being marketed to, they also take part in marketing the things that they consume and even themselves. This also extends outside of consumer marketing and into business-to-business (B2B) and personal branding settings.
There were Prime Ministers, Presidents, Royalty and senior representatives from: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Turkey and the UK. Four key areas of interest were signposted and championed throughout: women, youth, education, and SMEs (small and medium enterprises). WIEF showcased the role that art, culture, and creativity play in the lives of young people within a global economy - as a means for economic empowerment and social enterprise.
There are numerous articles out there on communication and how to communicate effectively – whether that’s you, or your products and services. What I’m going to do here is give you a whistle-stop tour of some theories and guiding principles behind what factors influence communication. If you know what to look for, then you can start to understand how you can respond better. The idea being that good communication means knowing when, where, and how to play good-natured ‘games’.
This article is a further expansion of the marketing 3.0 concept in the book by Philip Kotler, Hermawan Kartajaya, and Iwan Setiawan. Here I present a new conceptual model: i-marketing 3.0, which is about highlighting the importance of forging geographies of ‘collective individualism’ and ‘individual collectivism’ – influential offerings embedded in culture, with distinct yet fluid identities and personalities; which are intuitive, sharing, and accessible.
Wilson, J.A.J. (2013), “I-Marketing 3.0”, The Marketeers, September, Indonesia: MarkPlus Inc., pp.80-83.
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34-Rahul-Mande.pdf PROJECT REPORT MBA 4TH SEMESTER
Marketing in Ramadan and Muslim Fashion
1. A E S T R O
Market
115
Jonathan (Bilal)
A.J. Wilson
Academic Programme
Director, Postgraduate
suite in Marketing
University of Greenwich,
London UK
Editor: Journal of Islamic
Marketing
Ramadan
Reflections
01
02
I write this piece as we’re into the last ten days of
Ramadan. It’s a time for reflection, and reorientation.
Ramadan does that to you. Nineteen hour a day fasts
in London, with no food or drink during these hours,
really do make you focus on the bigger picture. You
feel connected with people around the world; and it’s
amazing how no matter how old or young you are, or
even how religious you think you are, for this month
there’s a sense of “we can all do this, and we’re one
big happy family”.
It’s also the halfway stage in the year and that al-
ways makes me think about what I’ve done, and what
else I have to pack into this year to make it a suc-
cess. I’m also writing this off the back of a lot of trips
abroad. I made it there and back to Chicago, Doha,
Dubai, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, and Manila.
One thing that seems to be trending lies at the in-
tersection between Branding, Public Relations, Social
Media, Reputation and Image Management. Every-
one is communicating more than ever before. A smart
phone, smart thumbs, smart mind, and smart mouth
can do a lot to make or break your marketing activi-
ties. Challenges that we face are: how much do we
actually say and share; and how important is that per-
sonal touch within all of this? These are pulling every-
one towards the age of personal branding.
The old style of Marketing and Communications
was very much about broadcasting and staying ‘on
topic’. Now it’s about sharing information and insight,
in any field, and claiming that space.
Brand building is very much now about storytell-
ing, associating and linking your identity within net-
works and communities; and then allowing people to
respond. Think of it like this: before marketers were
archers, firing arrows towards targets; or in even more
competitive markets, hunters. Now it’s more like a
game of volleyball or squash. It takes several moves,
deflections, and willing opponents if you want to win
2. A E S T R O
Market
116
DKNY
Donna Karan has recently stepped down as designer
of her namesake company. DKNY, also founded by
Karan, launched a Ramadan 2014 Summer collection;
which was styled by Yada Golsharifi, fashion editor
of Styles Magazine, and Dubai fashion designer Ta-
mara Al Gabbani [shown in the photo]. This grabbed
worldwide headlines and was well received. But hang
on - the collection was only available in the Middle
East. I raised this point when I was sat next to world
champion Ibtihaj Muhammad, Member, of the U.S.
National Fencing Team, and Founder of the fashion
label Louella; when we were on a panel session at
the American Muslim Consumer Conference, held in
New Jersey last Fall. Ibtihaj commented on how her
and New Yorker friends loved the clothes, but were
frustrated by the fact that they couldn’t get hold of
them on home soil. So I asked whether her and the
audience thought that this was a case of ‘not in my
back yard’? Are companies still afraid about showing
open support for Muslims in non-Muslim countries?
Uniqlo
Well this year welcome Japanese company Uniqlo
and their July launch of the exclusive Hana Tajima
LifeWear collection in Kuala Lumpur. Hana Tajima is
a UK-born fashion designer and vlogger of Japanese
heritage, who converted to Islam. This is maybe the
first collection hosted by a mainstream brand that goes
all out to celebrate Muslim dress. Where DNKY went
as far as offering loose clothes and designs that cov-
ered arms and legs, Hana’s collection delivers all of
this and more.
Other labels produce what they market as dresses.
Here Uniqlo have been brave enough to also stick with
Muslim cultural terms such as kebaya. Even bolder
still is the move to sell hijabs. They have innovated
on the classical design of the hijab scarf, producing
unique inner hood-type items, headbands, turbans –
points, and hopefully the game, set and match. These
reactions, deflections, hits and rallies are important.
If we stick with the squash and volleyball analo-
gies, think about how much more fun and engaging
the game is when there is a rally. Sure, you sweat
more, but you learn more, grow stronger, and it draws
in the crowds. People remember those rallies and they
become the theatre where people get to show their
personalities and emotions more. Brands have to be
immersive and experience-driven. They need to ooze
charisma, cool, and grace under pressure.
So who’s doing it for me at the moment?
03
3. A E S T R O
Market
117
all with Uniqlo’s AIRism breathable, quick-drying,
heat-releasing, and odor-minimising fabric.
Uniqlo are smart and I am a big fan. As brand guru
David Aaker has also pointed out: 2013 Uniqlo be-
came the exclusive, multi-year sponsor of the New
York Museum of Modern Art’s Friday night program,
which offers free admission in the evenings. Almost a
year later in March of 2014, Uniqlo launched SPRZ
NY (Surprise New York) in partnership with MoMA.
Under SPRZ NY, Uniqlo puts artwork inspired by top
contemporary artists such as Andy Warhol, Jean-Mi-
chel Basquiat, and Keith Haring on some 200 items
that will sell from $6 to $50. Some of the artists, in-
cluding Ryan McGinness, will personally design
clothing items based on their works hanging in the
museum. It’s “the place where art and clothing meet.”
Hana Tajima is an obvious fit, and she’s been bol-
stered by the appearance of Malaysian singer/song-
writer Yuna, singer/songwriter Elizabeth Tan, and
model Yaya. This is a big step forward. It’s definitely a
movement away from the ‘not in my back yard’ senti-
ments I expressed before and more about connecting
with communities locally and celebrating that glob-
ally. But let’s see if Uniqlo can go all out and extend
these offerings further West to the millions of eagerly
awaiting Muslims.
Also, amongst all of this you’ve gotta feel sorry for
us brothers. Sure, beards might be in fashion, and peo-
ple are rocking them with bright coloured chinos. Also
designers like Tom Ford have now launched luxury
conditioning beard oil, retailing at $50 USD – but I
think the world is still afraid of us Muslim beardies,
or using them as brand ambassadors… okay, with the
exception of ultra cool Hip-hop emcee Mos Def, also
known as Yasiin Bey.
ISIS
Because we’ve got this Islamic State (IS)/Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)/Islamic State of Iraq and
the Levant (ISIL) thing going on – whatever you want
to call them. For the past two years that I have attend-
ed the KIN Global Kellogg Innovation Network con-
ference in Illinois, USA; and the ‘brand’ [which we
can probably judge it as such] that has been mentioned
the most has been ISIS. Commentators have dissected
their social media strategy, their ideology and narra-
tive, and how they are affecting markets. UK Prime
01.
New York Hip-hop emcee Mos
Def / Yasiin Bey
02.
MarkPlus’s Iwan Setiawan,
me, and Professor Philip
Kotler on his 84th birthday at
KIN Global 2015
03.
Yada and Tamara modelling
the DKNY 2014 Ramadan
collection
04.
Yuna outside the Uniqlo Kuala
Lumpur store
05.
Hana styling Yaya with a hijab
from the Uniqlo collection
06.
Kebaya and Dress from the
Uniqlo Lifewear collection
04
4. A E S T R O
Market
118
“WELOOKFORWARDTOTHETIMEWHEN
THEPOWEROFLOVEWILLREPLACETHE
LOVEOFPOWER.THENWILLOURWORLD
KNOWTHEBLESSINGSOFPEACE”
William Gladstone (1809-1898) &
Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970)
Minister David Cameron has even proposed, what is
essentially a rebranding exercise, referring to them by
the Arabic acronym, DAESH.
Think about this for one minute in marketing terms:
stakeholders outside of the organization are calling
for the rebrand of that organization, and the name
that they are suggesting is in a language which is un-
derstood locally, rather than globally. This perfectly
highlights the challenges and paradoxes of modern
marketing.
Similarly, there are debates surrounding the contin-
ued use of the US Confederate flag, in light of recent
civil unrest and murders, which CNN covered last
month with headlines dubbing them as Racial Terror-
ism, according to some commentators.
People are fighting for identities and searching to be
heard in a globalized and hyperconnect world, where
brands, nationalities and flags, through association,
are being drawn in. Race, religion and politics are no
longer no-go areas for marketers - we have to grasp
the nettle and tackle these issues. I spoke about these
issues at KIN Global last year and this year the discus-
sions continued. It’s easy to have them at a conference
full of some of the greatest, most hard-working and
innovative minds, and not to mention the most kind-
spirited people I have met in one space. However the
challenge remains how to action the themes of these
two conferences: Change at Scale, and Growth for
Good.
If that isn’t enough of a challenge, reading in Al
Jazeera News about how ISIS are using selfies as a
marketing tool; then read about how the Russian po-
lice have launched an infographic campaign urging
people to take safer selfies; after over 100 were injured
and dozens died this year in gruesome accidents while
striking high-risk poses.
With that I’ll end with a quote from William Glad-
stone (1809-1898) that was resurrected by Jimi Hen-
drix: “We look forward to the time when the Power
of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our
world know the blessings of peace”.
I hope you had an amazing Ramadan and a fantastic
Eid.
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