Marketing to Women seminars in Jeddah and Riyadh

Under the title "Marketing to Women" the seminars, which were organized by Tetra Pak Saudi Arabia, addressed the techniques and opportunities of marketing to women.

"There has been a shift in marketing focus over the last few years," said Amar Zahid, managing director, Tetra Pak Saudi Arabia. "Women are now not simply spenders but increasingly earners too. We feel it is important to share knowledge of the latest in this significant shift with our local Saudi customers and help in keeping the Kingdom on the cutting edge of current marketing trends" he added.

Women approach products and decision making differently from men; women think laterally and notice things peripherally. Modern brand marketing is starting to take this on board and realize the difference between a customer who buys a brand and one who joins it. The former is good for the moment, while the latter is good for life.

Each of the six sessions in the day was presented by an experienced marketing executive. Rasha Al Nashar, Assistant General Marketing Manager of Quest Consulting opened each day assessing the Saudi market with a shrewd analysis of the demographics and psychographics of the Saudi woman, analyzing both earning and spending power and their role in spending the household budget.

Bilal Kaissi, the Regional Advertising Manager for IPSOS KSA followed on by addressing strategy and planning questions, reviewing the reasons some products worked an others did not, what influenced a woman's decision to buy a particular product and their reaction to packaging and advertising.

The methodology of applying the understanding gained by market research and creating a brand identity with a defendable difference that resonates with women was the topic covered in detail by Pavan Kumar and Abdul Karim. It was followed up by Najan Khawaja, Chairman and CEO of Promoaction DBD, who conducted a review of how to communicate the marketing message to the female target audience and the difference between just reaching the audience and connecting with them.

The Seminars concluded with real life examples from KSA. Waleed Awad of the United Sugar company shared experiences of targeted female marketing in rather an ordinary segment - sugar. The key to branding, they believed, was to develop a relationship between the consumer and the brand that developed a loyalty that "went beyond reason."

The two information packed days are part of Tetra Pak's ongoing programme of business seminars aimed at bringing the best and most advanced thinking on topics of commercial and health concerns to the business community in the Kingdom.