For the first time ever, a Romanian brand (supported by the Romanian Marketing Institute) features in a British marketing textbook in the latest edition of the best-seller “Marketing Communications – integrating online and offline, customer engagement and digital technologies” written by PR Smith and Zee Zook.
The Romanian natural water brand AQUA Carpatica is included in the 8th edition because of its strategic vision and creative execution of its integrated marketing communications plan. In particular, its impressive results – breaking into new markets attracted the authors interest in the brand. The successful launch of this customer-centric Romanian brand in the UK market highlighted the added value this brand brings to consumers’ lives. The latest edition of this popular textbook is released by British publisher Kogan Page and includes visual interesting case studies from many corners of the world, from FIFA to KFC, from Guinness to Google, from Airbnb to Amazon, from artists like Ed Sheeran to Ariana Grande, covering B2C and B2B topics. The new application of AI (Artificial Intelligence) features in both part 1 (models and plans) and part 2 (the ten communications tools).
“For seven years now, at every visit of a colleague from Great Britain, I tell the story of the creation of the AQUA Carpatica and Dorna brands, of the value that quality Romanian products can bring when behind them are people who have the knowledge and ambition to put them into new markets. I am glad that I and we, as a team, at the Marketing Institute, are able to contribute to this international recognition of world-class marketing by Romanian professionals who know how to promote Romanian products within the hypercompetitive field of the international retail. Behind this success are not only the founders, but whole teams, together with their collaborators from the agencies whose collaboration is now even more valued. Above all, what’s even more inspiring, in the case of AQUA Carpatica is the ambition and generosity to promote not just one product, but an entire water category, and our national brand as a country,” says Oana Sav, founder of the Romanian Marketing Institute and Center Manager of the Oxford College of Marketing in Romania.
The AQUA Carpatica case study highlights 11 examples of good practices: market research (especially investing in a deep understanding of the Romanian communities and broader markets, their needs, values and beliefs); the compelling brand story that resonated with the values and aspirations of the Romanian community and the communication in an integrated social media campaign; nurturing a cultural connection by communicating the Romanian origins and heritage of the brand, positioning it as a source of pride and connection of the Romanian community with its roots; marketing through well-targeted content – a campaign based on content related to the interests and needs of the Romanian community in Great Britain, Romanian tradition and culture and supporting Romanian events, celebrations and traditions; development of educational resources (distribution of educational materials and curation of specialized content); shared resources in the community – online accessible information, engaging users in relevant conversations and discussions; leveraging influencers and networks of the Romanian community – choosing representative brand ambassadors and building a relationship with the public; participation in Romanian cultural meetings, events and festivals; special experiences that also took into account how to build the experience with the brand, to create memories and special moments, not just a product presentation; user-generated content that helped create a sense of community; credibility, through reviews and testimonials collected from members of the Romanian community in Great Britain.
The campaign carried out over the course of a year included promotion in social media, optimization on search engines and banners (with geographical criteria related to the areas where Romanian communities are concentrated), put together official and governmental data and studies, data, and own market research, especially related to consumer preferences and behavior. For example, the audience data was built on geographic data related to the Romanian community, areas, regions, and postal codes, intersected with Tesco distribution points, ages relevant to the purchase decision and language spoken.
Alina Balațchi-Lupașcu, PR & Trade Comms Director – AQUA Carpatica UK & Ireland explained:
“At that time, AQUA Carpatica was an absolutely unique product on the UK market, with a unique selling point related to nitrates, almost non-existent and very important and relevant for the UK market, an extremely low sodium content, which we, as you will see in the textbook, translated, including on the packaging, which was made specifically for the UK market. So, we responded to a consumption occasion, we made a complete or almost complete package, because everything is perfectible.”
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