MARKETING MIX ANALYSIS: MO'SAIQUE SHOES

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So today, my focus will be on analysing a great footwear brand by the name of Mo'Saique. I am still to own a pair *wink* hopefully sooner rather than later because I already have a deep love relationship with one design!

Afua Dabanka was born to Ghanian parents in Bochum, Germany and after gaining a degree in business administration followed by years of working as a banker in the City of London, decided to embark on her long term dream of owning her own footwear label, Mo’Saique was launched in 2011.

The Mo’Saique woman expects excellence rather than is surprised by it. She is a woman who values classics but still craves the captivating factor.

Mo’Saique is a fusion of cultures, Germany’s clean-cut silhouettes and Ghana’s vibrant colours and prints and more. Future expansion for the label includes women’s handbags and a capsule men’s collection.
 
Marketing Mix: What is it?

The term "Marketing Mix" was coined in 1953 by Neil Borden in his American Marketing Association presidential address. The marketing mix is a broad concept which includes several aspects of marketing which all inquire to obtain a similar goal of creating awareness and customer loyalty. It forms the entire promotional campaign for any brand. The marketing mix is not only an important concept, but a guideline to reference back to when implementing the price, promotion, product, and distribution. Other components of this mix includes planning, branding, packaging, display, distribution channels, personal selling, advertising, servicing, and physical handling.

Marketing Mix: the 4 P's!

• Product
• Price
• Promotion
• Place

Product: Classic, sophisticated and luxurious soft leather shoe collections beautifully presented in shoe boxes, with a touch of femme fatalism and a hint of Africa all manufactured on a very small scale (I can testify to that!!) to allow for exclusivity and in keeping with the brand’s positioning. In a market saturated with luxurious and affordable mass produced footwear, the Mo’Saique brand differentiation is evident in its branding – the decision of the designer to allow only for a small handful of women to own her shoes (certainly a great marketing technique in the brand’s favour!), the use of the name “Mo’Saique” which is strong and unforgettable, the use of the West African “Aya” fern symbol - used to symbolise endurance, perseverance and resourcefulness – the company’s true meaning, combined with the overall personable character of the designer and the added benefit of an excellent one to one customer/designer relation. These all ensure to set aside this footwear brand from the rest in the market. 

Price: The Mo’Saique shoes are for women who strive for excellence, understated luxury and are seen to be more private and eccentric. The Mo’Saique shoes speak a thousand words and as such they are not budget priced! Priced between £150-£400, they are definitely more affordable and more reasonable compared to the Louboutins, Rossis, Sandersons and the Choos out there!

Promotion:

• Advertising: The brand has yet to create advertising campaigns however it seems that being new on the market, the designer is content to keep their advertising based on word of mouth and the use of social and online mediums for now.
• Public Relations: The brand has been featured in various online sites such as Stylenews.co.uk, hauteliving.com, Styleme-up.com, shadders.net, umnomag.com, arise.net etc and partnered with Adiree luxury production label at the 2011 Africa Fashion Week New York show.
• Personal Selling: A befitting one day pop up boutique on the 2nd of November 2011 in London’s trendy East End area. The space was transformed into a showroom, filled with beautiful shoes displayed in a gallery setting with an area dedicated for fittings and purchasing. Also on the night was music, drinks, canapés and to top it up mini cupcakes filled up the hungry buyers!
• Sales Promotion: This was available on the night of the pop up and only available on some designs with up to 50% off!! Certain shoe sizes were totally sold out!

Place: The consumer can easily purchase the shoes from their clean cut, easy to manoeuvre website http://www.mo-saique.com/. Eventually having worldwide stockists should be on their marketing list to grow the brand’s image and make it more accessible thus gaining/entering new markets.

Some images of/associated to the brand below.

The "Aya" Fern symbol from West Africa found on Mo'Saique shoes

My ultimate to die for Mo'Saique shoes!

So there goes my post! The Mo'Saique brand is so far the only start up brand I have come across who truly knows/understands their target market and what their needs are and is creating one off pieces to meet/satisfy these needs.

All images/research from online and via brand website http://www.mo-saique.com/.

I am available at brownschuga@yahoo.com or follow my ramblings on Twitter @Brownschuga.

Stay Fah-schyonable!