Aujan appoints Face to Face advertising on key beverage brands as part of strategic marketing review

Aujan is currently reviewing all aspects of its operation and is in the process of finalising its five year Strategic Plan & Vision. The key component of that strategy is growth. The company plans to double company revenues from its beverage portfolio and distribution agencies over the next five years, from US$250 million to US$500 million, by investing heavily in brand building through aggressive marketing and advertising, and building on its traditional strengths of manufacturing and distribution. Aujan has one of the biggest regional distribution operations for beverages and confectionery in the GCC, with coverage of over 20,000 outlets, and the second largest investment in cooler inventory within the GCC.

Aujan's newly-appointed Chief Executive, Alex Andarakis, who joined from Unilever Arabia where he was Marketing Director and Regional Brand Director - Lipton for North Africa, Middle East & Turkey, explains: "Aujan's portfolio of beverage brands has been relatively successful to-date, employing a focused strategy of wide-scale distribution and excellent quality standards. We are now focusing on driving marketing excellence throughout the company, which means reconnecting with the young Arab consumer in the language and environment which they enjoy. We have been working with Face to Face since August on redefining the market, competitive set, as well as current and vision brand positioning and strategy. This process has identified real opportunities to achieve substantial incremental revenue growth. Working with Face to Face, and placing the consumer at the core of our brands has helped us to think beyond the previous boundaries of our beverage business."

In 2005, Aujan will in effect become a 'new advertiser' and a significant media buyer: "We will be investing much more heavily in brand advertising in support of Barbican and Rani. Face to Face has already developed an outstanding new positioning for Barbican which is brave, bold and different, as we aim to re-create Barbican as a badge brand amongst young consumers. Likewise with Rani, an already highly successful brand, we have redefined the category and the brand positioning, working with Face to Face, which has created the freedom for us to develop the brand and the opportunity to innovate in terms of product formats and variants."

Chris Bell, Client Servicing Director and a Managing Partner at Face to Face advertising, adds: "Face to Face is delighted to have been appointed by Aujan to work on two very successful and exciting beverage brands. We believe that we are already starting to see the results of this new relationship in terms of the opportunities and innovations we have identified together in the planning process. We also believe that the innovative approach to brand development will result in very effective advertising and other marketing solutions for Barbican and Rani."