Marketing to Caribbean people plus Adidas to increase market share in the Caribbean

When Michael Jordan was at the top of his game, we all wanted to be like Mike. Who didn’t? I can still remember the emotion I used to feel hearing that song, because somewhere in the melody was some sort of empowering energy. Like Mike, many youths wore Nike. Like 50, they’re into Reebok. Phat Farm, RocaWear, Wuwear, whatever it is, Caribbean teenagers are on the pulse of American fashion or catch it just after it starts beating.

Caribbean brands
The Caribbean doesn’t have many of its own brands. This is partly due to lower levels of entrepreneurship in the fashion industry, the lack of infrastructure that supports entrepreneurship, and the residual mentality of colonial days that foreign is better. Thus, Caribbean people have become very loyal to foreign brands, at the expense of indigenous brands.

Using Caribbean celebrities to boost brand power
When Nike signed Rihanna last year as a spokesperson, it was a first – first time a Caribbean person was used for such a high profile, global brand.

Marketing to Caribbean people
I think it’s because they really don’t understand us. If you’re not from the Caribbean, then you won’t understand that just labelling us all Caribbean doesn’t define one niche. You won’t understand the offence caused when you ask if Trinidad is part of Jamaica. A Barbadian is very different from a Jamaican, who is different from a Trinidadian, who in turn is very different from their sister Tobagonian, and I could go on and on. So, the thing to do is to find a Caribbean artiste who we can identify with, at least most of us, or whose story we can identify with. You can use a particular celebrity, but if he’s from Barbados, Jamaicans or Trinidadians may not pay him much attention; it all depends. We identify more with being a Bajan, a Jamaican, a Trinidadian, a St Vincentian or a St Lucian more than being Caribbean. But, don’t get it twisted. Even with our strong personal pride for our individual islands, we’re Caribbean.

Another example, Kevin Lyttle made it big with the song “Turn me on”. But people were steupsing away in Trinidad and Tobago because that song was old to us. It was big the Carnival before it came out, and although we liked the song, we didn’t think of him as some big soca artiste. For die-hard, soca fans, he can’t compare to Machel Montano. Yet, we had a different reaction to Sean Paul, who similarly had released an old song to the American market who lapped it up like it was fresh bread.

Then there’s the part about lumping Afro-Caribbeans with Black Americans or Black Brits. Caribbean people don’t really identify with African Americans/ Afro-Brits. Our experience is different from theirs, so we respond to issues differently. It’s the same way Indo-Caribbeans have a different experience to Indians from India (side note, regardless where a person of Indian origin is born, they consider themselves an Indian).

All these sort of complexities need to be considered.

Now I know that some people still think we swing on vines, and live in trees; seriously there are people who still think like this. But the Caribbean is an industrial hub, among other things. Plus, we’ve got many professionals within the region, and based abroad. We’ve got lots of buying power. One thing with Caribbean people, we like to look good. We “dress up”. We take pride in believing that we have the best-looking people on the earth. And like the average individual, Caribbean people do enjoy some sort of feeling of vogueness when they have on the latest brand, particularly the young people.

Adidas moves to increase market share in the Caribbean
Which brings me back to the question of why companies are not using Caribbean personalities to connect with this market? Admittedly, companies are doing quite fine using international stars to market their goods. I mean I can drive by Sea Lots and see a large billboard with David Beckham telling me “impossible is nothing”, which – strip it of all its philosophical meaning – translates into buy Adidas.

Recently, Adidas stated its intention to increase its presence in the Caribbean in a move to boost market share and tap into our huge, youth market.