SOME marketers believe that a quality product will speak for itself. But companies which have experienced good results from marketing campaigns see marketing activity as equally important as product quality, design and technology development in boosting sales.
Hong Kong-based Thong Sia Watch Co Ltd is one such company. It puts emphasis on advertising and promotion (A&P) campaigns in Malaysia and Singapore to boost sales for its Alba watches.
Despite the current economic condition, its director and chief executive officer Vincent Lau says the group is increasing its annual A&P expenditure to seven-digit ringgit figure this year onwards from six digits last year.
Nicholas Teo (middle), Vincent Lau (left) and Hideki Otake at Alba’s promotion campaign.
“Yes, the global economy is experiencing a slowdown, but now is the opportunity to get exposure. That’s why we started a celebrity marketing campaign for Alba watches,” he says. After experiencing good results from its celebrity marketing campaign for Seiko brand watches that was introduced in 2004, Lau realised that this kind of campaign is well-accepted by the market and could be a sales booster for the company. “We have been focusing too much on the inner quality such as design, quality and technology development. “I think this is the path where we need to catch up,” he tells StarBizWeek in an interview. The Thong Sia group has signed up popular Chinese singer Nicholas Teo end of last month to be the ambassador for its ALBA watches. It plans to roll out a series of marketing and promotion activities in Malaysia and Singapore. Lau says Teo is not only a popular singer in Malaysia but well-known in Asia. “It can help us a lot in enhancing our business by engaging a celebrity,” Lau says, noting that celebrity marketing campaign will be the direction for the Thong Sia group in the next few years. “We need to put more resources on marketing activities in the coming years,” he adds. Thong Sia Watch, a subsidiary of Stelux group of companies, is the sole distributor of Seiko and Alba watches in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. It has a unit each in Malaysia and Singapore – Thong Sia Sdn Bhd and Thong Sia Co (S) Pte Ltd. Established in 1967, Thong Sia Sdn Bhd currently has 350 retailers for Seiko watches and 300 retailers for Alba in Malaysia. Lau says the Thong Sia group will normally run its marketing campaigns across Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. “Now, we think that some local adaptation is also important. So we try to find suitable celebrities who can represent our brand in the local market,” he says. According to Lau, since the introduction of the celebrities programme for its Seiko watches in 2004, the Thong Sia group has managed to record more than 20% revenue growth annually. “Based on our experience in Seiko, we are confident of achieving at least 25% revenue growth annually for Alba business in the coming three years through the marketing campaigns despite the challenging economic situation,” he says. He believes the group will be able to capture a bigger market share in the watch segment with its continued initiative of implementing new ideas in marketing and products. Currently, the Seiko business contributes about two-thirds to the Thong Sia group’s total revenue due to its higher unit prices and the celebrity campaign introduced in 2004. “Alba should be able to catch up a little through the newly-introduced celebrity campaign, and eventually, it may be 40%,” he says, noting that the Seiko business will still be its main contributor. Under the current marketing campaign for Alba watches with Teo as the ambassador, the group will organise a series of road shows from September onwards in a few big shopping malls. Thong Sia Watch regional general manager for Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, William Hui says it will also collaborate with some TV channels to run some A&P activities and place advertisements in newspapers and magazines. “Outdoor billboard advertising is also in our plans and we are considering the radio as well,” Hui says, adding that the company is also eyeing some high traffic volume areas such as the pillars outside the Sungei Wang Plaza for advertising opportunity. He says its Seiko brand has been occupying the advertising space in the subway tunnel going down from the Kuala Lumpur City Centre to the LRT station. Lau adds that the group is also planning some new ideas to work with retail shops, such as pharmacies. It plans to install a “clock” with audio sound that will report the time, weather and temperature every hour. “The Malaysian watch market is getting bigger and stronger. “In the past few years, Malaysia’s gross domestic product growth was quite promising and the living standard has improved a lot. People have more money in their pockets now. “Although they spend some portion of their money on other products, they still have money for watches,” he says. In Malaysia, Seiko and Alba watches are targeted for both male and female consumers at the age range of 18 to 45. For Seiko, watches are priced from US$150 to US$10,000, while Alba watches are sold for US$70 to US$300. Lau points out that more than 90% of the Seiko revenue in Malaysia is from its core range models which are priced up to US$1,000. The Malaysian market, which is currently contributing over 30% to the group’s total revenue, is the major contributor after Hong Kong. He says Malaysia is one of the markets with high potential for watch wholesale business. From:THE STAR
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