Aug 11, 2006 | Richard Bird | 0 Comments

August 2006 Exit Strategy

The ripple of events for the first weeks of August, 2006, will reverberate for years.

The impact is immediate and demands attention. If your brand sells anything in liquid or gel, cream or cappuccino, solid or gas (is there anything left?) then the new bans on airport carry-on items demand immediate change in fundamental marketing models.

Personal care brands that deliver product in forms newly banned are in high-rent, high-risk environments. If volume goes down one tic, it can be catastrophic.

The impact of these events may not be limited to airport proximity. Your customer may be less likely to buy your personal comfort items if the ability to take them along when they travel is uncertain. High-traffic, high-cost retail environments are occupied by high-value brands. Suddenly, higher cost is a higher risk and no longer a higher benefit.

If your company sells fragrances, beverages, skin creams, balms, powders, water and so on… you can: 1) shut down, as some are doing; or 2) shift perspective.

Shift Perspective
At any airport, your customer about to embark is waiting for a flight with up to two hours to kill. Obviously, this has been a prime market. Nothing to do, but shop, until now. With increasingly strict security measures, shopping on entry to an airport terminal will certainly diminish or even vanish entirely.

Shift your perspective. Your new customer has successfully navigated ticketing, baggage checkin, security, wait for boarding, seating, flight, hunger, discomfort, anxiety, landing and disembark. How might your product welcome and reward?

Move Delivery
In what form might your product be sold that escapes new restrictions on travel? New product forms, packaging, vouchers, complimentary shipping, et cetera beg further consideration.

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