An integrated marketing communications campaign for The Mercato Centrale Group

• Main Author: Rodriguez, Sarah R.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2015
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/4934
• Institution: De La Salle University

In 2010, Mercato Centrale opened to the public a night food market at the heart of Bonifacio Global City in Taguig called Midnight Mercato. It occupied a parking lot at the corner of 30th and 9th streets and had tents that housed food concessionaires that served freshly cooked food to the public. It was open to everyone for free, where people got to choose from a wide variety of food from street food to culinary cuisine and enjoyed it right there at the dining area with simple tables and chairs. It started with 20 concessionaires and offered food that the public cant find in the malls. These were food offerings from entrepreneurs who created special recipes that they thought will be interesting for people to try out. According to co-founder Rj Ledesma, Mercato has grown the number of its concessionaires in the night food market from 20 to more or less 60 stalls over the years. To ensure that the market keeps a good variety of delectable dishes, interested vendors have to present their food offerings for sampling. The more unique and interesting the food is, the better. The food market is well-known for introducing some of new food finds like the bagnet sandwich, gourmet tuyo, homemade artisanal ice cream and double deep-fried chicken, to name a few. Mercato has also prided itself to be a breeding ground for aspiring food entrepreneurs who want to introduce their brands and products to the mainstream market. They have evolved to be a food entrepreneurship lab and continue to discover new food ideas that, starting from selling in their night markets, would eventually put up their own kiosks in malls or even standalone restaurants. At present, Ledesma further shares that Mercato enjoys a stable foot traffic of 2,500 customers per day at their Bonifacio Global City market, consisting of both loyal customers and new visitors, and has also been attracting foreign tourists who visit the Philippines. Result of a quantitative survey showed that families from residents of neighboring villages, young professionals and groups of friends flock the night food market to have dinner or get their food craving fixes. Furthermore, the place is a destination among friends and colleagues who are tired of the restaurants in the area and want a taste of something new. Mercato wants to maintain its positioning as the premier operator of night food markets in the Philippines that offer an experience of having a variety of food options in a laidback environment, and be a venue that the Philippine tourism sector can leverage on as a destination for foreign tourists to experience a great variety of authentic, Filipino food. A quantitative survey conducted last February 2015 shows that 57% of Mercato customers do not go to the night food market regularly or at least once a month. Moreover, while 43% of the total customers spend within the P201 to P300 range, 30% of the total customers continue to spend below P200 per visit. Despite 100% of the respondents saying that they will recommend Mercato to others, data observed from Mercatos social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, show low engagement rating receiving shares ranging from zero to one per month, excluding shares from Mercato-owned market brands. Online is the most important marketing medium regarded by respondents in spreading awareness about Mercato. Lastly, despite visibility in online travel review website, TripAdvisor, Mercato has only received 14 reviews as of March 2015. According to Google, TripAdvisor is one of the most visited websites of foreigners who want to visit the Philippines and will be helpful in spreading awareness about Mercato to foreigners. With this, an integrated marketing communications plan will be developed to analyze the existing customers and identify the emerging market segments of Mercato and develop communication messages for each group to be able to: 1. Increase awareness for people who may not have known about Mercato 2. Increase the frequency of visits 3. Increase basket size per visit 4. Increase visitor ranking from food and travel review websites. Methodology: A quantitative survey from customers from markets in Bonifacio Global City and Eastwood was conducted to profile the existing market segments it caters to and identify and rate effectiveness of current touchpoints used. The IMC campaign will run for 6 months, covering the second half of 2015.