Local customer relationship marketing (CRM) consultancy iKinio has rolled out a strategy for British American Tobacco (BAT) in Japan that uses fingerprinting technology to help the cigarette manufacturer market to its clients there.
iKinio was established in September 2000, has a staff of five people plus another two part-time employees, and operates out of the Cape IT Initiative`s BandWidthBarn.
Restrictive legislation in many countries has forced international tobacco brands to find innovative ways to market to their customer base as the traditional avenues have largely been closed.
iKinio was approached by BAT`s Japanese advertising agency, Bates 141, to help with the CRM strategy and roll-out after seeing work the consultancy had completed for the group in SA.
The project was rolled out and implemented during the last quarter of 2002 and iKinio has since been requested by Bates 141 to help roll-out similar CRM strategies in other Asian markets for multinational brands.
iKinio CEO Donna McCallum says the strategies will be developed from the company`s Cape Town offices to enable these brands to employ a holistic and innovative CRM strategy. The company has already begun work for brands in Japan and China.
"The biometrics technology is part of what we term a 'pod` that includes the fingerprinting system, the personal details being captured on a database and personalised information packs," says McCallum.
As tobacco companies have assumed a more event-driven marketing strategy, such as parties and concerts, maintaining a personalised relationship with individual clients is a complex task.
"The beauty of the fingerprinting system is that the client does not receive a card or some form of physical identification that can be lost," McCallum says.
Another Cape Town-based company, Transmetrix, compiled the fingerprinting technology for iKinio.
"We develop the strategy and then help the client to implement it," McCallum says. "Fingerprinting is just one of the ways that technology can help with CRM strategies that include call centres, direct marketing, SMS and sales rep forces."
While BAT is iKinio`s largest client, it has done work for several other local companies including The Land Bank, Touchline Media and Transnet.
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