Master Thesis OLIM - Albania

CONSULTANCYPROJECT

The impact of advertising strategiesin the Albanian branded sunflower

oil market

MBA Student UNYT

REJLA BOZDO

May 2009

The impact of advertising strategies in the Albanian branded sunfloweroil market

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I would like to say “THANK YOU” to:

my Consultancy Project Professor Mr. Phaedon Kidoniatis,

my friend Arbi Lita for sharing his ideas with me,

and Olim Company for supporting my research.

Rejla


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CONTENT

Page

Executive Summary 3

PART ONE 4

1 Literature Review / Theoretical framework examined 5

1.1 Branding a commodity 5

1.2 Differentiation of the brand 9

1.3 Branding strategy 11

2 A general overview of the Albanian market economy 14

2.1 PEST Analysis 14

2.2 Development of manufacturing industry in a transitional economy 16

3 Albanian Branded sunflower oil market 19

3.1 History of sunflower oil 19

3.2 General Overview of the market, Segmentation 20

3.3 Advertising strategies in branded sunflower oil market (Best practices, Albaniavs. other countries)

22

PART TWO 27

4 Research - Methodology and Conclusions 28

4.1 Brand Positioning Research in the market compared to the TV advertising budgets 28

4.2 Why are Albanian branded sunflower oil companies using too much TV ads? 34

4.3 Optimized marketing budgets allocations (the case of OLIM) 38

5 Suggested course of action 41

6 Appendix 44

7 Bibliography 47


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Executive Summary

This Consultancy Project is focused on a special case in marketing and

advertising strategies in branded commodities products. This is the case of OLIM

Company in Albania which produces branded sunflower oil. Being a commodity product,

the branded sunflower oil shows some very interesting features in the way the brand

reacts towards different strategies of advertising.

Through a research, this projects analyses the impact that TV advertising has on

Olim brand and how the brands are positioned in consumers mind comparing to the

advertising strategies that different brands in the market have.

This project helps the branded sunflower oil producers to think on their strategies

and find better solutions that optimize their budgets in marketing their brands.


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Part One


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1Literature Review / Theoretical framework examined

1.1 Branding a commodity

We are all, hearing and using the words “brand” and ‘branding” everyday more. Often,

when we ask ourselves as managers, “What rules today?”, the answer is a single word “BRAND”.

What is a brand?

If we have look on the Oxford American Dictionary (1980)

about the meaning of brand and compare it with the meaning found

on The Pocket Oxford Dictionary (1934), we can easily understand

that the word has gained a commercial application.

The American Marketing Association (AMA 2006) defines

a brand as “a name, term, design, or any other feature that

identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of

other sellers.”

The way brands are perceived or built depends also from

the product category. A special and complex part of branding

strategy is branding a commodity.

The word brand comes from Old Norse brandr, meaning

“to burn”. It was by burning that early man stamped ownership on his livestock and so helping to

distinguish between the cattle of one farmer and another. The branding concept has been around

for centuries to help producers distinguish their goods form the one of lower quality. One of the

main role of brands is to assign responsibility to a particular manufacturer or producer. Even if

the products are identical, consumers may evaluate them differently depending on how they are

branded. Brands can signal a certain level of quality so that satisfied buyers can easily choose the

Branding involves creating mental

structures and helping consumers

organize their knowledge about

products and services in a way that

clarifies their decision making and, in

the process, provides value to the firm.

Kotler Philip, Keller K. Lane,

Marketing Management


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product again by having a very low level of uncertainty and without using too much time to think

on their decision.

How do we create a brand? Although companies build the creation of brands on

marketing programs and other activities, ultimately brand is something that resides in the mind of

consumers. “A brand is a perceptual entity that is rooted in reality but reflects the perceptions and

perhaps even the idiosyncrasies of consumers.” (Kotler Philip, Keller K. Lane, Marketing

Management” 12, 2006, p.276)

Chernatony and McWilliam, 1990, note that “In the beer market there are only marginal

differences between brands, yet on branded product testing, consumers claim far greater

differences, due to brand personalities.”

A very interesting note of De Chernatony (1993, p.174) is:

“Brands are complex entities that are conceived in planning documents, but ultimately

they reside in consumers’ minds. They succeed because marketing strategies blend harmoniously

with consumers’ needs. Yet, it is not uncommon for marketers to interpret brands only from an

input frame of reference. Where companies are not sure for what their brands should stand, they

would do best to begin with customers’ views of the brand, and try to reinforce the positive

aspects of those beliefs.”

In the branding process is all about creating differentiation. “To brand a product, it is

necessary to teach consumers “who” the product is - by giving it a name and using other brand

elements to help identify it - as well as “what” the product does and “why” consumers should

care. Branding involves creating mental structures and helping consumers organize their

knowledge about products and services in a way that clarifies their decision making and, in the

process, provides value to the firm.´ (Kotler Philip, Keller K. Lane, Marketing Management” 12,

2006, p.276)

What is a commodity?

A commodity, per one Merriam-Webster dictionary definition is “a good or service

whose wide availability typically leads to smaller profit margins and diminishes the importance

of factors (as brand name) other than price.”

By definition, commodities lack the differentiation and ability to charge a price premium

that strong brands have.


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Referring to Wikipedia, “a commodity is something for which there is demand, but which

is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. It is a product that is the same no

matter who produces it, such as petroleum, notebook paper, or milk. In other words, copper is

copper. Rice is rice. The price of copper is universal, and fluctuates daily based on global supply

and demand.”

Highly commoditized categories are characterized by 2 things:

1- Perceived product parity

2- Intense price competition

How do we brand a commodity?

We brand a commodity in the same way we do with all the other products. The clue

element and the most difficult one is “how to find the differentiator (the element hat creates the

difference compared to competitors).

In general consumers base their buying decision on two elements:

Price - if they are price sensitive (price is more important to them)

Brand – if they are looking for quality and have the will and possibility to pay a little bit more.

As far as the “brand” concept is involved, the “differentiation” process takes place.

In commodity markets, the biggest challenge that manufacturers are facing today is how

to differentiate their commodity so that their business moves up from the commodity market

place to premium associated with consumer goods. All what is needed is to create some form of

product differentiation to avoid their products being viewed as commodities.

The commodities branding is a very complex challenge for marketers. This complexity

comes out of the nature of these products defined as commodities above. For example, as far as

sunflower oil is sunflower oil, why should an Albanian consumer buy Olim brand rather than

another brand? What dos Olim give more to the consumer? How do consumers perceive this

brand?

Trusted brands are not created over one night. They need time and proper strategy. A

successful brand is defined, by De Chernatony and McDonald (1994), as “an identifiable product,

service, person or place, augmented in such way that the buyer or user perceives relevant unique

added values which mach their needs more closely”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_differentiation


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“Branding is a key element in marketing, especially for those products whose limited

opportunities for differentiation mean that they could be viewed as commodities.” (Beer branding

in British and Czech companies: a comparative study, Chris

Lewis, Angela Vickerstaff).

In the British beer industry, (beer is very similar to

sunflower oil, both considered commodities), consumers have

been shown, by de Chernatony and McWilliam (1990), to hold

typically one of four complementary and overlapping views of

brands:

Visual identifier

A guarantee of consistent quality

A shorthand device

An expression of self-concept

Chernatony and McWilliam, 1990, note that “In the beer market there are only marginal

differences between brands, yet on branded product testing, consumers claim far greater

differences, due to brand personalities.” Almost the same occurs in the Albanian sunflower oil

market; consumers perceive better quality of one brand versus the other when they test branded

product.

Consumers find the brand value in commodities in three main forms:

Reassurance: A brand is a stamp of authenticity and quality that ads value by promising

“reliability” and helps to establish repeat purchase patterns.

Value Expression: Consumers choose brands that reflect the individual values that they

possess in order to communicate the desired signals in the highly social environment they inhabit.

Associations of past: Often a brand creates two basic associations of past consumption in

mature categories like milk: ritual or nostalgia.

In commodity markets, the

biggest challenge that manufacturers

are facing today is how to differentiate

their commodity so that their business

moves up from the commodity market

place to premium associated with

consumer goods. All what is needed is

to create some form of product

differentiation to avoid their products

being viewed as commodities.


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1.2 Differentiation of the brand

Although the definition of the brand varies by context and discipline (Aaker 1991; Aaker

et al. 2004; Anderson and Carpenter 2005; Calkins 2005; Fournier 1998; Holt 2002; Keller 1998;

Stern 2006; Tybout and Carpenter 2001) the brand’s primary function is in identification and

differentiation.

Nowadays brands and branding has become a crucial element on marketing strategy. It is

not just for distinguishing, but brands are giving identity to products. Based on products

characteristics and marketing strategy, brands are creating

perceptions and differentiation. We all know that when we say

“Coca-Cola”, we are not talking about a simple Cola, we are

perceiving experience, quality and trust on the brand. We have

positive feelings for different brands and consumers consider

them special and highly differentiated from other brands.

A successful differentiation must:

(1) The differentiating benefit is highly important to the

largest customer

(2) The brand can deliver the benefit well

(3) The competitors can not offer this kind of

differentiation

Brand is not just a differentiator but also a value creator for a product. Today the world is

moving towards lesser and lesser differentiation in the products due to technological

developments. This development has reduced the competitive advantage of many companies that

had previously a concept of powerful brands.

“To avoid the commodity trap, marketers must start with the belief that you can

differentiate anything. Brands can be differentiated on the bases of many variables.” (Kotler

Philip, Keller K. Lane, Marketing Management” 12, 2006, p.318).

Product Differentiation

Brands can be differentiated on the bases of a number of different product or service

dimensions: product form, features, performance, conformance, durability, reliability, repair

ability, style and design, as well as such service dimensions as ordering ease, delivery,

A product should be able to distinguish

itself simultaneously from the

competition and provide an effective

entry barrier to existing and potential

competitors. Among the other

dimensions a company can use to

differentiate its market offering are

personnel, channel and image.


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installation, customer training, customer consulting, maintenance and repair. Besides the above

specific concerns, one more general positioning for brands is as “best quality”.

“Quality is also communicated through other marketing elements. A high price usually

signals premium quality. Quality image is also affected by packaging, distribution, advertising,

and promotion.“ (Kotler Philip, Keller K. Lane, Marketing Management” 12, 2006, p.318)

Personnel Differentiation

Companies can gain strong competitive advantage through having better-trained people,

who good reputation to the companies they work for.

“Better-trained personnel exhibit six characteristics:

Competence: They posses the required skill and knowledge

Courtesy: They are friendly, respectful, and considerate

Credibility: They are trustworthy

Reliability: They perform the service consistently and accurately

Responsiveness: They respond quickly to customers’ requests and problems

Communication: They make an effort to understand the customer and communicate

clearly.

Retailers in particular, are likely to use their front-line employees as e means od

differentiating and positioning their brand.” (Kotler Philip, Keller K. Lane, Marketing

Management” 12, 2006, p.320)

Channel Differentiation

Companies can achieve competitive advantage through the way they design and built

their distribution channel, in terms of coverage, expertise and performance.

Image Differentiation

Marketers must know that buyers respond differently to company and brand images.

Identity and image are not the same. Identity is the way a company aims to identify or position

itself or its products. Image is the way the public perceives the company or its products.

An effective identity contributes in three things:

1- It establishes the product’s character and values preposition.

2- It conveys the product’s character in a distinctive way.

3- It delivers emotional power beyond a mental image.


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For the identity to be effective, it must be conveyed through every available communication

vehicle and brand contact. Companies can also create a strong image by inviting prospects and

customers to visit their headquarters and factories.

1.3 Brand Development and Branding Strategy

The purpose of a brand name is to communicate a single or range of positive attributes,

usually tangible, about a product or a service. Having a sustainable differentiation helps the

product identification through the brand so that the consumers build up a level of confidence in

the product being consumed to the extent that consumers become habitual in their purchase

decision.

From what is explained above the brand has two main roles to play:

a) In communicating to the customer a range of positive attributes

associated with the service provider, whether these be perceived or

real.

b) Building up a level of awareness and knowledge within the consumer,

so as to create confidence to repeat purchase with the company.

Successful brands create a basis for the development of a competitive advantage over and

above of their competitors and communicate an image and personality which translate into

positive consumer attitudes towards that product/manufacturer over a period of time.

As it is difficult for the commodities to create the points of difference, the brand itself

may become the primary or the only point of difference.

The branding strategies must be developed in to directions:

1- Create awareness and product’s quality perception to the level of final customer

through communication techniques.

2- Create awareness and service’s quality perception to the level of the retailer through

superior responsiveness (order fulfillment, technical support, customer service).

As long as we are considering two categories of awareness, we also should consider

strategies for both levels, corporate branding and product branding.

The corporate brand is primarily a construct of a mainly relational nature. For example,

the sustainability of customer value is dependent upon the internal processes that deliver the


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brand promise, and the behavior of staff that embody brand values. Consequently the role of

employees in building and maintaining customer relationships is crucial (Harris and de

Chernatony, 2001; de Chernatony, 2001; Miles and Mangold, 2004; Chun and Davis, 2006).

Secondly, enhanced customer value is developed and delivered through a firm’s network of

suppliers and partners that become an explicit part of the preposition. Finally, relations with all

external stakeholders including investors, media, and local communities are important as they

contribute to the perception and the reputation of the brand (Einwiller and Will, 2002). “The role

of brand values in market driving is evident in a number of relationships. For existing staff, are

used as working principles and rules for staff development, while for potential employees they

serve as recruitment principles. For customers, they constitute the shopping and behavior rules,

and for societal actors they provide the basic relationship norms.” (Tarnovskaya Veronika, Burt

Steve, (2008), The Role of Corporate Branding in a market driving strategy, International Journal

Of Retail & Distribution Management, 36 (11), p.950)

King (1991) advocates the need for the development of “Company Brands”, in response

to a dynamic and changing marketing environment. King argues that factors such as improved

levels of consumer awareness, increased competition and industry restructuring have created a

new opportunity to establish the company as a “Service Brand”, synonymous with service and

quality. One of the criteria to achieve this is an organizational structure which reflects the needs

of the brand and of the customer. According to Peter Betts in “Commodity Markets and

Manufacturer – Retailer Relationships”, “this realignment of operational staff forces the

organization as a whole to “own” the problems which are normally associated primarily with

sales and marketing. The resultant benefits are not only that the company is more flexible in

responding to a changing environment, but also that internal communications are enhanced and

enriched through the integration of operational activities.” What the company needs at this point

is the implementation of a strategy to develop a closer relationship with the retailers and to pay

more attention to the role that merchandising can play in influencing the consumer. The

following steps can help in building a successful strategy:

1- Develop a clear and concise “message” to the consumer through a distinct and

recognizable image.

2- Integration of target marketing effort through improved “servicing” of the

brand in retail outlets. This includes the development of improved

merchandising skills in-store, enhanced point of purchase display; increased


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levels of “information” literature and enhanced product awareness and

training for retail staff.

3- Recognition of the need to involve the consumers in concept testing and

design phase, prior to launching any new product.

4- Realignment of existing product types/names into a coherent and meaningful

“product offering” to the customer.

Branding commodities offers additional value both to the consumers and the producers

by leading to commodity differentiation and hence enables consumer preference. Except the

differentiation through product or non-product related measures, secondary associations are often

used in developing branding strategies for commodities, so that the brand attributes from such

associations are transferred to the product. These secondary associations can be made through:

Companies: The Company in such cases tries to transfer the brand associated with them

to increase the credibility of the brand.

Country of origin: Because of specialty of resources or extra-ordinary skills lying in a

country certain favorable characteristics are often associated with the product category and a

country.

Co-branding: Other strong brands in the joint consumption stage are used.

Characters: Often through cartoons, comic strips or figures, products are promoted to

display certain qualities.

Events: Sponsorship of events is used extensively by certain product to develop stronger

points of association with the category they are associated.


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2A general overview of the Albanian market economy

2.1 PEST Analysis

Albania came out after 50 years of communism in the early ‘90s. It was then when

Albania made its political change from monism to pluralism, from an isolated economy

absolutely based on government control to the free trade economy. All these changes where vital

for Albania as a country and also for Albanians in the social context. The communist era was an

era of darkness and total isolation for Albania. Exchange of information was totally centrally

controlled and used as a tool to deprive people’s rights and freedom of participation rather than a

tool that leads to healthier life and greater social freedom. Computers, cell phones, simple office

equipment and even stationary phone lines where hardly known by mass Albanians. Dictatorship

of Enver Hoxha had a strong impact also on social environment. The country was isolated from

western cultural influence. The supply for everyday products as milk, bread, meat, eggs, etc, was

far lower than the demand. People used to stay in lines and buy these items on regular bases and

in quantities established by the government. There were no private cars owned by Albanians, no

foreign trends of clothes, no fashion… As long as, there was no way to provide the wanted

quantity and quality of products, the demand was controlled by the government policies, so we

can not easily discuss on the consumer psychology at that time.

Since year 1990, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market

economy. Macroeconomic growth has averaged around 5% over the last five years and inflation

is low and stable. The government has taken measures to curb violent crime, and recently adopted

a fiscal reform package aimed at reducing the large gray economy and attracting foreign

investment. The economy is bolstered by annual remittances from abroad representing about 15%

of GDP, mostly from Albanians residing in Greece and Italy; this helps offset the towering trade

deficit. The agricultural sector, which accounts for over half of employment but only about one-


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fifth of GDP, is limited primarily to small family operations and subsistence farming because of

lack of modern equipment, unclear property rights, and the prevalence of small, inefficient plots

of land. Energy shortages because of a reliance on hydropower, and antiquated and inadequate

infrastructure contribute to Albania's poor business environment and lack of success in attracting

new foreign investment. The completion of a new thermal power plant near Vlora has helped

diversify generation capacity, and plans to improve transmission lines between Albania and

Montenegro and Kosovo would help relieve the energy shortages. Also, with help from EU funds,

the government is taking steps to improve the poor national road and rail network, a long-

standing barrier to sustained economic growth.

GDP (purchasing power parity) in 2008 was $21.82 billion (Albania has a large gray economy

that may be as large as 50% of official GDP). GDP growth rate is 6.1% and GDP per capita in

2008 was $6,000.

GDP composition by sector in 2008 was as follows:

agriculture: 20.6%

industry: 19.9%

services: 59.5%

According to INSTAT (The Institute of Statistical Data), during 2007, have been active

62 700 enterprises. These enterprises have 222 600 employees. During 2007, producers of

services realized 65% of total turnover and represent 53% of employees, while producers of

goods have 17% of the total number of enterprises and realized 35% of total turnover. The

industry sector, classified in the group of producers of goods, during 2007, has 20.5% of total

turnover, 11.9% of total number of enterprises, 34.1% of total number of employees and 33.1% of

total investments.

Political changes of early ‘90s created an opportunity for the Albanians to increase

communication with the rest of the world. The changes exposed Albanians to high technology

that had been used for so long from the neighbor countries. Computers and other equipment

became tools so frequently used in government institutions, public administration and private

sector.

After 19 years of pluralism, the political situation seems to be stabilized. On 5th April

2009, Albania and Croatia entered the NATO. This will help Albania for the procedures to join

the European Union. At this point, free trade agreements do not help the local manufactures and


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also government does not have clear strategies to help local production grow. Albania has always

been a very pro-American country and tightly connected with Italian and Greek economies.

Regarding the actual global crisis, The International Monetary Fund (IMF), releases the

following statement on current situation in the region and in Albania:

“The global economic environment has continued to worsen since the onset of the

financial crisis last fall. According to the March 2009 IMF projections, in 2009, global activity is

expected to contract for the first time in 60 years. Central and Eastern Europe are among the

regions most adversely affected, reflecting sizeable fiscal and external deficits.

“These developments also affect Albania, even though its generally sound past

macroeconomic and structural policies placed it in a better initial position than many other

countries in the region. Still, exports are stalling, remittances have started to decline and credit

growth is slowing, in turn putting a damper on investments. The growth of budget revenue is

slowing at the same time as both domestic and external budget financing are becoming

increasingly scarce.”

(http://www.imf.org/external/country/ALB/index.htm)

The 50 years of dictatorship are a strong factor that still influences the Albanian

economy and will be impacting the consumer psychology in Albania for a long time. As Albania

was isolated, no foreign products were allowed to be imported. This situation was strongly

reflected on the market in the years after the ‘90s. Albanian consumers were oriented towards the

foreign brands. It became hard for the Albanian producers to compete in the market.

2.2 Development of manufacturing industry in a transitional economy

A transition economy or transitional economy is an economy which is changing from

a centrally planned economy to a free market economy. Transition economies undergo economic

liberalization (letting market forces set prices and lowering trade barriers),

macroeconomic stabilization where immediate high inflation is brought under control, and

restructuring and privatization in order to create a financial sector and move from public

ownership of resources to private ownership. A planned economy and a market economy are

completely different “philosophies”. Below we will give a basic model for each type of

economic system.

http://www.imf.org/external/country/ALB/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_economy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_market

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macroeconomic


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The basic model of a planned economy

In a planned economy, the physical factors of production are owned by the government

and also labor is regulated by the government. A politburo in collaboration of a planning office

decides on the production of all commodities and also on prices, wages and interest rates. The

planning of physical production in the form of imposing production targets is the central point of

the planning system. Prices play a secondary role. The limits of production are provided by the

amount of capital and labor available in the country (Krelle, W. (2000), Problems of transition

from a planned to a market economy, Bonn Econ Discussion Papers, Bon, Bonn Graduate School

of Economics, p.3). This is the reason why in a planned economy, the production will be lower

compared to that in a corresponding market economy and the production structure is different an

in general does not correspond to the demand of households. The labor supply is larger and the

labor productivity is lower.

The basic model of a market economy

In a market based economy, the factors of production are owned by private persons who

are free in their economic decisions in the limits of their income and of the prices. Production is

determined by the effective demand of all persons in the society. The demand is limited by the

prices and income. As a rule, in a planned economy, very old capital is used and so very old

machines are used. This is due to the fact that in a planned economy the Politburo or the planning

office puts the production quotas as high as possible such as the managers are forced to use also

the eldest machines to fulfill the quota, without respecting the costs. In a market economy old

machines are scrapped if the price of their output does not cover the cost of production.

The changing process from a planned to a market economy is very complex because it is

not just a change of economic models but also a change that is reflected on the change of

constitution and of political and social institutions, freeing of prices, privatization, establishing of

a banking system, fighting inflation and others.

According to Krelle, W. (2000), “Problems of transition from a planned to a market

economy”, the basic difficulties of the transitional economy are listed below:

1- The production structure of a planned economy does not conform to the

demand structure of a market economy. The preferences of the consumers

and private investors are not those of a politburo, thus the final demand is

different and thus the production structure.


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2- The structure of capital and of goods is different. New industries have to be

built up, old ones must be given up.

3- Many plants which are now exposed to competition cannot compete with the

costs inherited from the planning period. Efficiency of production is needed,

which in turn leads in most cases in dismissal of workers.

4- If the borders are opened to free trade, the economy has to be integrated into

the world trade, i.e. into the international division on labor, which may lead to

another type of structural change and in many cases also unemployment.

5- Prices have to be adapted to marginal cost and wages to the value of marginal

product of labor. This leads to changes in the income distribution which will

hurt some people.

6- Elder capital which still has been used in the planning era must be scrapped.

7- With high rates of unemployment labor supply decreases. The real wage of

those persons who are nevertheless employed will be higher than under the

planning regime because those who are now working at the more modern

machines produce a value which is lager than their real wage under the

planning regime.

In this transitional economy a lot of problems will occur and a lot of changes should be

made in different aspects. A market economy needs a firm legal framework in order to function

adequately. Private property should be guaranteed as well as freedom of trade, freedom of price

formation, free movement of capital and labor. Private contracts must be enforced by law, rules of

bankruptcy established. From the start of transition on there must be laws against monopolization

and collusion and these laws – as all others – must be enforced. This is of great importance

especially at the beginning when public property is privatized. There must be a legal framework

for the running of firms. The size of investments is also of great importance.


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3Albanian branded sunflower oil market

3.1 History of sunflower oil

Sunflower is a native of North America but credit for commercialization goes to

Russians. Evidence reveals that Sunflower was cultivated by American Indians in the

present states of Arizona and New Mexico since 3000 BC. It was used in many ways by

Indians. Seeds were grounded and mixed with flour for cakes, mush or breads. Some

tribes mixed the meal with other vegetables such as beans, squash and corn. Seeds were

also cracked and eaten as snack.

Seeds were squeezed to take out oil and this oil was use to make breads.

Spanish explorers brought Sunflower to Europe and initially it found its use as

ornamental plant in gardens through out Western Europe and later on some medicinal use

of the plant were developed. An English patent was granted for squeezing oil from seeds

by 1716 and in 18th century Sunflower cultivation became very popular and most of

credit for this change goes to Peter the great.

The commercial manufacture of sunflower oil started by year 1830.

Russian Sunflower seeds found their way to US during 1880. Seeds were and even now

are being sold as 'Mammoth Russian Sunflower seeds'. In US initially it was used as feed

for poultry and later processing of seeds into oil commenced. Canada started Sunflower

breeding program in 1930. Now Sunflower farming is being carried out through out

America, Europe, Canada and many parts of Asia and Africa.

Sunflower oil is finding its use in countries like Asia, Australia, Argentina, South Africa,


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Turkey, most of southern and eastern Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States

(former Soviet Union), the United States of America.

3.2 General overview of the Albanian market, Segmentation

The development of branded sunflower oil market in Albania started in the early

‘90s. Little bottles of 0.5l from Bulgaria were sold. In 1995, it was Floriol, the first brand

that entered the market. Floriol is actually the leading brand in some important cities in

Albania. Olim is another very important brand in the market, which is very competitive

and applying strategic marketing. Floriol is an imported brand, Olim is a local brand

produced by Olim Company. Olim entered the market in 2001 with high growth rates.

Since the first years of democracy, there were also other brands in local markets, but they

were just local producers. Olim and Floriol have been competing for a long time. Since

2006 the market dimension changed because of the local producers were trying to build

brands and expand in the national market.

Official data from the Albanian Ministry of Agriculture show that the total market

of produced and imported sunflower oil is about 38-40 thousand tons. With an average

price of 1.25 Euros during 2007, the sunflower oil market generated a turnover of around

47 500 000 Euros. According to the same source, 63% of the market are imported

brands, 37% are brands produced in Albania. The Albanian production of sunflower oil

increased with 15% from 2005 to 2006. According to some data published by “Monitor”

Magazine, the monthly consume of each person in Albania is approximately 0.8-1

liter/month.

Sunflower Oil production, 2000-2007 (ton)Source: Ministry of Agriculture

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

2000 2005 2006 2007

Market Shares 2007Source: Drejtoria e Pergjithshme e Tatimeve

Olim

23%

Të tjerët

59%Floriol

18%


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22

Since 2007, the price of sunflower oil has been increasing, so the structure of

sales in all companies was affected moving towards the 4-5 liters package. Also, it is

typical for the market that in certain areas one brand is stronger than another.

The government regulations have also a great impact on the trade and production

of sunflower oil in Albania. The taxes of import for both products; for the in bottled

branded sunflower oil and the crude oil is zero. Other taxes are based on the price of

reference which is lower for the crude oil rather than the in bottled one, but not lower

enough to make the home production price competitive towards the imported brands.

Segmentation – Target Markets

The major actors in the branded sunflower oil market are: Olim, Floriol, Fiol,

Crystal, Bomira and Bimal. Olim and Floriol have been in the national market for a long

time. Also Frito is another brand of Olim Company. Olim has the best distribution

channel, and Floriol is also very strong. The other brands expanded nationally just in the

last couple of years.

The local brand, Olim and the imported brand Floriol, invested on the brand since

the time they entered the market. They are perceived by the customer as high quality

brands. Their price is approximately 0.15 Euros/liter higher than the others. Olim and

Floriol are market leaders for the 1 liter package. The other brands are cheaper and

mainly fighting for the big package market. As the price increased, Olim started to focus

also on the 4-5 liters package. Olim Company started the production of Frito brand in

year 2003, for the segment of consumers that were price-sensitive. Frito was created from

the company to compete the economic brands as Crystal, Fiol and the others. This is why

the market share for Olim Company is bigger than the market share for Olim as product

brand.

The following chart gives a more detailed picture of market orientation for each

group of brands:


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3.3 Advertising strategies in branded sunflower oil market (Best practices,

Albania vs. other countries)

The sunflower oil is a massive product, so it is logical that to create the brand, companies

generally use mass-communication, especially in the phase of entering a market. This is because

of the large number of customers to whom the company is interested to create the brand

awareness.

The following cases are some examples of marketing practices in the world of branded

commodities.

Enova® Oil

Situation:

ADM KAO LLC was unhappy with the packaging of its Enova® oil, so they turned to

Jones and Thomas Marketing Communications.

Primary Goal:

Create an appealing design to communicate the health benefits of Enova oil, while also

conveying that this is a high-end, natural product—all via the product label.

Differentiated brands of high quality perceptionBrand sensitive market

Differentiated brands of price competitivenessPrice sensitive market

OLIM

FLORIOL

CRYSTAL

FIOL

BOMIRA

BIMAL

Differentiated brands of high quality perceptionBrand sensitive market

Differentiated brands of price competitivenessPrice sensitive market

OLIM

FLORIOL

CRYSTAL

FIOL

BOMIRA

BIMAL


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Marketing Solution:

In the chosen bottle wrap format, we creatively brought together vibrant greens to

represent nature and vivid yellows to suggest cooking oil. We also included important

messaging about Enova's health benefits without overwhelming or cluttering the

packaging. Plus, to help position Enova as a premium item, we added rich gold tones to

the high-end design.

To ensure that printing quality was maintained, a representative from Jones and Thomas

traveled to Brazil to press check the packaging prior to printing.

While redesigning the packaging, Enova oil was awarded the Good Housekeeping Seal.

To highlight this fact, we developed a brightly magenta colored neckband that contrasted

nicely with the rich tones of the label and stood out on the shelf.

Supporting materials such as coupons and direct mailers also helped raise awareness and

drive interest.

Enova campaign ads:


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26

GOLWINNER

Slogan: Gold winner sunflower oil: G for H

Gold Winner Sunflower Oil was launched by Kaleesuwari Refinery Pvt. Ltd. in

1995. The main strategy of the company is to provide quality, healthy sunflower oil at

competitive pricing.

Gold winner has 29 % market share in India and 72 % market share in Tamil

Nadu.

Advertising strategy used:

The company involves in tease and reveals campaigns. The first one is G for H –

Gold winner for health.

It is also suggesting ways to improve the existing process and product

characteristics and also develop new products that can be positioned on the health

platform.

The marketing strategy for the domestic market is mainly concerned, with

consolidation and expansion. The company has already widened its distribution network

to cover all the southern states, and has made inroads into Maharashtra, since these are

the major markets for sunflower oil category. Gold Winner also has major export plans

targeting Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Gulf region.

The brand’s chief strength is the fact that it is not going on conventional marketing ways,

rather it focuses upon spending time with customers and getting feedback.

Source: www.goldwinner.com

http://bp2.blogger.com/_RoZOCtRoIGc/Rm_IjtJL4pI/AAAAAAAAAEA/aDBwEmV3oic/s1600-h/goldwinner.gif

http://strategicbrand.blogspot.com/2007/06/gold-winner-sunflower-oil-g-for-h.html


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OLIM

Olim Company is an Albanian company founded in 2001. Olim is the first brand

of Olim Company. The main goal of the company is to keep the lieder position for the

OLIM Sunflower Oil brand by continuously investing the brand by marketing strategies

and using the second brand of the company, Frito Sunflower Oil, to control price

movements in the market and protect OLIM brand by not loosing market share in sales

volume for “Olim Company”.

OLIM’s target consumers are the one looking for high quality guaranteed

products. (As being the first company in Albania using high standards in producing

sunflower oil, in 2001 the Albanian Government decided to change the standards

restrictions for sunflower oil into the one used by Olim Company).

FRITO’s target consumers are the one caring about low price, but also needing a

guaranteed product by a well-known brand.

OLIM is being sold in packages of 1L, 4L and 5L.

FRITO is being sold in packages of 1L and 4L.

OLIM’s main competitive advantages are: the distribution channel and the promotion

strategy.

OLIM is the first well-invested brand in the market. Other brands are just

imitating Olim’s promotion strategy, so the company is always looking for new and more


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attractive promotional techniques. OLIM is permanently using the image of the first most

beautiful girl in Albania, Miss Albania 1992, to tell people that beauty comes from

healthy body, and healthy body comes from healthy food. This strategy is actually very

successful. The brand was supported by a strong mass-communication mainly through

TV ads. TV airing time was very cheap when Olim entered the market, so TV ads were

aired in high frequency. Olim is the most popular brand in Albania, not only in the oil

market. Olim is a well-known brand for its high quality from almost everyone in the

country. Brand image has been constructed considering the positive effect the high

quality of the product has on consumer’s health. The first Most Beautiful Girl in Albania,

“Miss Albania 1992” has been the face of OLIM to tell people that “beauty comes from

inside, a healthy inside comes from OLIM”. Olim has always been considered from

everyone as “the perfect promoted brand”. Price is not very important for buyers since

they absolutely trust the brand.

Frito Sunflower Oil, is Olim Company’s second brand. Frito’s target group is the

one of consumers who are price-sensible. Frito is cheaper than Olim because marketing

expenses are lower, but people know that Frito is also a brand of OLIM Company, so

they have quality guarantee.


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Part Two


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4Research - Methodology and Conclusions

4.1 Brand Positioning Research in the market compared to the TV advertising

budgets.

The aim of this research is to find out brand position in consumers mind for the

branded sunflower oil that is sold in Albania. The results of this research will be

compared with TV advertising budgets spent to build each brand.

This research has been conducted through field interviews made in the city of

Tirana, capital of Albania.

According to the Albanian Institute of Statistics, Population and Density by

Districts, 1 January 2008, Tirana has a population of 726 547 inhabitants.

The city of Tirana has been chosen for this research because we can easily say

that demographical movements of past 15 years from the other regions to Tirana, make

this city representative for Albanian consuming psychology regarding commodity

products.

In total we conducted 225 interviews. 153 of them where considered for the

research’s results. The remained number of interviews were not considered because of

having irrelevant information or because the fact that the random sample was not applied.

(A copy of the interview can be found in the Appendix).

The sample of 153 interviews considered in this research can be considered completely a

random sample.

The areas in which these interviews were made, have been chosen in respect with

the map of Tirana used form INSTAT and The World Bank in Poverty Assessment,


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issued on April 2009. We also made a correction respecting each category of the

interviewed person’s income declaration. The first category made by INSTAT (Albanian

Institute of Statistics) corresponds to the highest income level of the interviewed persons.

We considered the same interval of income till the lower income level.

The following map is the map of the city of Tirana.

The results of this research are showed in the following charts:

Perceived quality of the

Brand First

1 Count % of total

Bomira 1 0.7

Crystal 5 3.7

Fiol 5 3.7

Floriol 78 58.2


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Olim 45 33.6

Grand Total 134 100.0

Perceived quality of

the Brand Second

2 Total % of total

Bomira 6 4.8

Crystal 15 12.1

Fiol 15 12.1

Floriol 38 30.6

Olim 50 40.3

Grand Total 124 100.0

What the consumers call “quality brand”, while actually

using one brand:

Actual usage vs. perceived quality of 1st Brand

3Actual 1 Total

Bimal Floriol 1

Olim 1

Bomira Bomira 1

crystal Crystal 2

Fiol 1

Olim 1

Fiol Fiol 4

Floriol 2

Olim 1

Olim Crystal 2

Floriol 3

Olim 37

Floriol Crystal 1

Floriol 57

(blank) 2

Foreign Brand Floriol 1

Conclusion 1:

Persons that use imported

brands or that are not users of

sunflower oil, mainly prefer Floriol

that is an imported brand that has

entered the market in the early ’90s.

Olim is considered as high quality

product in only 13% of cases.


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Olim 1

(blank) 4

Mais Floriol 7

Olim 4

(blank) 4

Olive Oil Floriol 7

(blank) 9

Grand Total 153

How the “nonusers” of one brand perceive the quality of that brand:

Quality perceived of the "nonusers" Count % of total

Those that didn't

choose any of the

local sunflower oil

Brands

Floriol 15.0 40.5

Olim 5.0 13.5

None 17.0 45.9

Total 37.0 100.0

Conclusion 1:

Persons that use imported brands or that are not users of sunflower oil, mainly

prefer Floriol that is an imported brand that has entered the market in the early ’90s. Olim

is considered as high quality product in only 13% of cases.

The impact of advertising on “nonusers” and on “nonusers of local brands”.

Impact of advertising on "nonusers" Count % of total

Those that didn't

choose any of the local

sunflower oil Brands

Price 2.0 5.7

Advertising 1.0 2.9

Sugestion of seller - -

Relatives 2.0 5.7

Quality 8.0 22.9


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Blank 22.0 62.9

Total 35.0 100.0

Those that chose the

local sunflower oil

Brands

Price 32.0 27.6

Advertising 13.0 11.2

Sugestion of seller 1.0 0.9

Relatives 10.0 8.6

Quality 28.0 24.1

Blank+Other 32.0 27.6

Total 116.0 100.0

Those who said that

advertising had effect

on their decision on

Brand purchase

Bomira 1 7.1

crystal 1 7.1

Floriol 2 14.3

Olim 9 64.3

Misri 1 7.1

Total 14 100.0

The “nonusers” of one brand consider price factor as

being not very important in choosing one brand, just 5.7% of

the interviewed persons while the users of one brand

consider price as an important factor in choosing one brand

in 27.6% or almost as much as they consider the quality

factor as important in their buying decisions.

From those who declared that TV advertising has

affected their buying decision towards the brands, 64% consider Olim as “high quality

brand” towards 14.3% of Floriol.

Conclusion 2:

The “nonusers of local brands” of sunflower oil consider price as an unimportant

factor compared to the perceived quality of the brand they buy.

Conclusion 2:

The “nonusers of local

brands” of sunflower oil consider

price as an unimportant factor

compared to the perceived quality

of the brand they buy.


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Conclusion 3:

The “nonusers of local brands” of sunflower oil consider price as important as the

quality that this brand offers. This fact was communicated

with superlative comments from the interviewed knowing

that people tend to overvalue the quality of brands they

choose.

The research results show that the competitiveness

of local brands of sunflower oil is mainly based on price.

There is still a tendency of consumers to see a foreign

brand as with more quality compared to a local brand.

The nonusers of a local brand of sunflower oil,

give a more highlighted value to the difference in the

perceived quality of brand in between Floriol (an imported

oil brand that has been for a long time in the Albanian

market), and Olim (local brand that has been for a long time in the Albanian market).

The oil brands have different effects on consumer’s choice regarding the

advertising they have made. From the interviewed persons that declared that TV

advertising had an impact on their buying decision, 69% of them are using Olim, while

14% of them are using Floriol.

We conclude that brand position of sunflower oil brands in consumer’s mind are

mainly influenced by:

1- Consumer’s tendency to consider as more qualitative imported brands of

sunflower oil.

2- The high effect of the first users of TV advertising had on consumer’s

mind.

3- The high effect of price factors on brand choice regarding the users of

local brands of sunflower oil.

Conclusion 3:

The “nonusers of local

brands” of sunflower oil consider

price as important as the quality that

this brand offers. This fact was

communicated with superlative

comments from the interviewed

knowing that people tend to

overvalue the quality of brands they

choose.


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4.2 Why are Albanian branded sunflower oil companies using too much TV ads?

As a result from the examples given above, companies in different parts of the

world use almost the same tools to create and differentiate a brand. TV advertising is the

most used in the first stage of launching or creating a new brand, especially in the case of

massive products.

In commodities branding, TV ads are not very efficient from the budget point of

view, because TV involves a lot of money, which can not be supported by the price

structure.

In Albania, actually, companies that sell and produce branded sunflower oil are

using too much money on TV advertising. The following chart gives the total advertising

time and budget spend on TV from the main players in the branded sunflower oil market

(years 2004-2009).

Source: MC Monitoring

2004 total

Nr.of airings No. 30" spots Cost GRP Weekend Qual. Placem Prime Time

Brand Category Advertisers Brands events aired 0% Rate Cards avr ISO 2003 share 1st or last 19:00-23:00

No No Lek No % % %

Sunflower Oil AM Group Olim 1043 787 6268889 4230 61% 38%

Sunflower Oil Floriol Floriol 361 192 2261360 2448 53% 24%

Sunflower Oil Fiol Fiol 186 256 1400243 272 22% 47%

Sunflower Oil Am Group Frito 158 66 536230 768 44% 37%

2005 total


Brand Category Advertisers Brands events aired 0% Rate Cards avr ISO 2003 share 1st or last 19:00-23:00

No No Lek No % % %

Sunflower Oil AM Group Olim 6478 3649 39795442 33180 18% 65% 24%

Sunflower Oil Fiol Fiol 5027 4372 17118447 4657 15% 23% 11%

Sunflower Oil Crystal Crystal 2078 1200 8816245 3303 18% 32% 38%

Sunflower Oil Floriol Floriol 2125 706 6628650 8081 21% 20% 27%

Sunflower Oil Floryhen Floryhen 401 323 6194100 5457 3% 58% 47%


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2006 total


Brand Category Advertisers Brands events aired Rate Cards avr ISO 2006 share 1st or last 19:00-23:00

No No Lek No % % %





Sunflower Oil Bomira Bomira 635 359 4479600 6077 17% 56% 13%

Sunflower Oil Floryhen Floryhen 59 59 1335600 872 2% 78% 97%

2007

Nr.of No. 30" spots Cost GRP Weekend Qual. Placem Prime Time

Brand Category Advertisers Brands insertions Rate Cards avr ISO 2007 share 1st or last 19:00-23:00

Lek No % % %






total

2008



No No Lek No % % %



Sunflower Oil Bimal Bimal 1814 641 10589980 6552 11% 64% 30%




total

2009 January



Lek No % % %




Sunflower Oil Bimal Bimal 4 2 51000 29 0% 25% 50%

total

2009 February



Lek No % % %





total


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2009 March



Lek No % % %





total

2009 April



Lek No % % %



total

The above charts (Source: MC Monitoring) show the frequency and the GRP

(Gross Rating Points) for each of the main sunflower oil brands advertised on TV. In fact,

in Albania, TV ads are very much used in all market levels and product categories,

because marketing concepts have been developed in the last years so TV is seen as the

main and most important tool in communicating with consumers.

There are two main reasons that answer the question “Why are Albanian branded

sunflower oil companies using too much TV ads?”

First, it is a massive product that is communicated through mass-communication.

Second, Olim, the first Albanian company that entered the branded sunflower oil

market used TV ads to build the brand so the others had to follow.

Olim Company was created in 2001. At this time there were other five producers of

sunflower cooking oil. OLIM decided to differentiate its product by creating a brand name. Other

producers were operating as local producers and had no idea on marketing strategies. As in other

countries, competition was based on distribution strengths and price.

In important and large cities, consumers were generally buying foreign brands, for two

main reasons, that will highly influence Olim’s marketing strategy and the future of the industry:

1- Coming out of a post-communist regime, people had been isolated for almost 50 years, so

this made them dream for foreign products. During the Enver Hoxha regime, no imported

products were sold in the market. There was no free market. The quantity of food that

every family had to use in a month was established by the government. So as the offer

was low, government policy tried to keep the demand low too. This environment deform


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Albanian consumers physiology. This is why during the new era of democracy;

consumers profile in Albania was very “ksenofilos”. Consumers loved foreign products

because of a long-lasting unfulfilled need. This was a big disadvantage for Albanian

brands of every industry.

2- Coming out of a post-communist regime, production companies at that time had no

experience. Even though private business recruited the best experts in the market, the

trust of consumers on the local producers was zero. During the -90s, nobody believed that

high quality products could be produced in Albania.

These two factors had directly to do with the consumers’ perception. A whole mentality

should be changed. Olim Company was the first company which evaluated these two factors and

built a strategy to start this change. The branding strategy was based on TV Advertising for two

reasons:

1- TV Communication time was very cheap at that time

2- There were no marketing experts propose other effective methods, but even if there were

the experts, the mentality couldn’t be changed without the mass communication.

This is how it started. The differentiation of the brand was based on TV ads. So, the

differentiation of the product was based on image building. Why? Because all producers were

importing the raw material, so there was no differentiation based on quality. This is a clue

argument.

The company got back what was expecting. In 3 years OLIM had 60% of market share.

(Here I will explain theoretically what means to consumers branding commodities. It is not the

same as in other brands. In this case, by branding you give to consumers guaranty of quality.) I

have some sales data to prove this. Olim is selling its second brand, Frito, without marketing

support, just using the fact “produced by OLIM”.

Companies can use TV ads, just to create the perception of high quality and to assure

consumers on this. This is the top level of awareness that TV ads can reach. After reaching this

point, the companies can optimize their marketing budgets by using other means to remind the

brand to consumers.


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1.1 Optimized marketing budgets allocations (the case of OLIM)

As shown above, the case of Olim is very special. Olim is the first brand that was

created mainly through TV advertising and now Olim is using very little advertising

budgets on TV. The most important fact at this point is that Olim is a very strong brand

now in the mind of consumers (as shown by the results of the research made in the

market).

The question is: What is Olim Company doing to support the brand if not TV ads?

Even though Olim is not being advertised on TV, outdoor advertising is used and also

point of sale materials are used. Every month the marketing team is supporting the brand

with outdoor posters (on average 100 square meters each month). The weak competition

at this point is helping Olim to create the brand awareness through little spending. The

company is also using teams of promoters that focus on consumer care. The following

photos show how flexible the brand is in generating new image to consumers:

These are the labels used on OLIMbottles in two consecutive years. The

second and the fourth labels areused during winter holidays, whichare very important to Albanians.


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Branded cars of Olim Company usedfor distribution purposes.

Wobblers used on theshelves to show the price

Outdoor advertising of Olim on thewall of a warehouse on the national

way to Shkodra (one of the maincities in Albania)


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During the last couple of years, Olim Company started focusing more on other

methods of visibility rather than on TV advertising. The budget used on TV ads

comparing with “other tools” was in the rank of 1/5, and the company’s sales were the

same.

Posters of Olim on the entranceof a minimarket

Billboard of Olim


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5Suggested course of action

By analyzing the case of Olim, there is a very interesting finding:

“TV advertising is an important tool in creating brand awareness and in building a

brand image in all kinds of product and also in branded commodities. In this case good

image supports high quality perception from consumers and TV ads helps the brand to

create the differentiation. In the brand life cycle of a branded commodity there is a point

that TV ads have no more or a very small effect on the brand. At this point the brand has

been positioned in the mind of the consumer, so everything the marketing experts have to

do, is just to remind the brand by using different tools. (We will name this point as the “R

Point” – the point of Reflection). This point is reached in different levels for different

brands in the same category.

The best thing to do is to find the optimal budget allocation of different tools and

to use TV ads as less as possible if The Point of Reflection has been reached. This fact is

very important on the branded commodities category because the ability of the product to

absorb extra costs in the price structure is very limited due to the fact that the price is a

very important factor in commodities.

The conclusion of the project is to make the businesses in branded sunflower oil

market and in other branded commodities market to be flexible and find other marketing

solutions to increase brand awareness without spending too much. The examples given

by Olim experience are good examples to use, but it is very important to find the right

time for these strategies.


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6Appendix

The questionnaire used in the research:

Age

Sex

Number of household member

Average income/household

1- Are you the person that do the shopping in your family? Yes No

2 – Which are the brands that come into your mind now?

a.................

b.................

c.................

d.................

3- Which oil brand are you actually using? (weight)___________________________

4- How long have you been using this brand?___________________________________________

5- What is the quantity that you use in one month?______________________

6- Wha are the reasons that make you buy one brand?

Price

TV ads

Telephone number

Place of interview


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Shopkeeper suggestions

Friends and family

others (specify)______________________

7- Do you believe that one brand is more qualitative than another?

Yes No

8- Which is the brand you consider more qualitative?________________

8- List the following brands from the one that you believe its more qualitative:

a. Crystal

b. Olim

c. Bomira

d. Floriol

e. Fiol

9- To your opinion, what makes an oil brand, qualitative?____________________

10- Do you usually use the same brand? Yes No

11- Why do you change the brand?

The shopkeeper persuades you

Family members persuade you

TV ads

Price

No reason

12- Woul you change your actual brand if another brand would be cheaper?

Yes No


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13- If yes, with which brand would you switch? ______________________

14- Which of the following brands have you ever used?

a. Crystal

b. Olim

c. Bomira

d. Floriol

e. Fiol


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7Bibliography

1- Kotler Philip, Keller K. Lane, (2006), “Marketing Management”, 12, New Jersey, Pearson

Education Inc.

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http://www.imf.org/external/country/ALB/index.htm

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