Former United Biscuits and Mattel marketer Mike Anthony has teamed up with ex-Sony marketer Toby Desforges to form Engage, a firm focusing on creating solutions that bring marketing, trade marketing and sales together. "In the absence of real insight into purchasing power, manufacturers rely on incentivising retailers with rebates, margins, fees and promotions because this can deliver measurable short-term results," said Anthony, adding that the response is likely to undermine the value of brands.
"Every dollar spent incentivising a retailer is one less spent on creating brands and purchase activation," said Desforges. "As retail consolidates, spend increases creating a vicious cycle of more demanding retailers, reduced brand investment, weaker brands and therefore relatively stronger retailers."
Engage has been launched with a network of consultants across Asia and Europe, operating from offices in Hong Kong and Bangkok, and shortly Tokyo.
The team will specialise in helping brands reinvent themselves to anticipate consumers' desires as well as develop strategies to motivate their trade partners. "From our experience, there is an opportunity for FMCG brands to create more leverage by understanding local consumption and purchase drivers, and building strategies and plans to exploit this."
