Question

Topic: Student Questions

Liquor Marketing In Dry Country Like Uae

Posted by Anonymous on 8/23/2009 at 3:20 PM ET 250 Points
How can we market liquor in a dry country like UAE, where liquor can only be sold on Licences in few of the available licensed stores or on Duty free shops at the airport? My company is planning to launch a new brand in the country? Please help me with some ideas on promoting the brand
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 8/24/2009 at 9:55 PM Accepted
    Dear rubybhatia17,

    CAUTION: Exporting alcohol to a nation such as the UAE is not a marketing task to be taken on lightly.

    Which clubs, hotels, and stores will you offer wholesale terms to?

    Which government paperwork do you need to file and with which UAE government department?

    What filing fees might there be?

    Where are you exporting from?

    Why this market and why now?

    Who are you marketing to?

    Why do they need your brand?

    What's good or great about your brand and what niche does it fill that other brands do not?

    What liabilities might you incur in the face of any ill intent that comes about from having uses your product in this nation?

    I have NO background in middle eastern trading, but were I in your shoes, I'd find a less stringent market. Or better yet, a product with fewer cultural or social risks and liabilities attached to it and a product with (or to a country) with fewer cultural, social, and religious restrictions.

    Tread VERY carefully. Any "bull in a china shop" attitude you might be inclined to take in this market and with this product can and will get you into a world of pain.

    Not what you want to hear I'm sure, but honest none the less.

    I hope this helps.

    Gary Bloomer
    Wilmington, DE, USA
  • Posted on 8/25/2009 at 1:30 AM Author
    Dear Mr. Bloomer,

    Thanks for the response. Your points are valid and important. But My problem is not this. My company is UAE based and already into liquor business exporting from all over the world and supplying to Duty free shops and licensed shops which is legal here. Now My company is planning to launch an own brand in the country. what I need now is some ideas on how to market this product in the country.
    My other requirement would be to market my company to the suppliers. UAE being a small nation with all these restrictions has a different impression all over the world. Hence how to generate interest among the suppliers to do business in the country is a challenging task.
  • Posted on 8/28/2009 at 5:49 AM Author
    awaiting your valuable suggestions please..
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 8/30/2009 at 8:15 AM Accepted
    Dear rubybhatia17,

    One way to market your product is to engage scarcity principle, drive demand with limited supplies, or with a story that implies limited demand, or potency, or some quality that makes the product more desirable.

    If it's vodka, you could tell how Russians travel thousands of miles just to get their hands on a bottle of your particular style of vodka.

    I hope this helps.

    Gary Bloomer
    Wilmington, DE, USA
  • Posted on 8/30/2009 at 9:59 AM Author
    Thanks a tom Mr. Gloomer. This would certainly help
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