The Body Shop - ASYST Discount Partnership
Partner Background
The Body Shop Romania is the commercial name of the company Gingko& Sarantis Romania SA, which is the Romanian franchise of The Body Shop International. Founded: The company was founded in 1999. Outlets: The Body Shop Romania has 6 outlets positioned in 3 main academic cities, which are our main target areas as well:
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Bucharest: 4 outlets Timisoara: 1 outlet Constanta: 1 outlet
Development strategy: The Body Shop Romania intends to open another 4 shops in 2007, all positioned in main academic cities, i.e. the ones we are targeting as well. Discount offered: 10% on all products, for all three types of cards: ISIC, ITIC, IYTC.
Partnership Negotiation
Partnership: The partnership was launched in December 2005. The main points that convinced The Body Shop to collaborate with ASYST are: ● The company's interest in approaching and educating the youth segment ● The fame of the cards project at a national and international level ● The fact that in some other countries there are similar discount partnerships between the ISIC and The Body Shop: UK, Ireland, USA, Brasil ● The fact that The Body Shop's international policy includes participation in social projects – so we stressed the social side of the collaboration. Negotiation issues: ● Problem: The Body Shop was not convinced about the use of collaborating with ASYST, since they had outlets in just 3 cities and were not interested in our national approach, so they tried to delay the partnership till 2007. Solution: we presented statistics concerning the numbers of card holders per each of the cities they had outlets in, and also the targeted cities. ● Problem: The Body Shop was not sure what discount to offer and was thinking below 10%. Solution: we did research on the other ISIC LAs collaborating with The Body Shop and presented them the discounts offered by their colleagues.
Partnership Outcome
The Body Shop has reported over several hundreds ISIC/ITIC/IYTC holders as customers per month. Unfortunately, they couldn't provide detailed statistics because their accounting programme combines the discounts offered to ISIC/ITIC/IYTC holders with their seasonal discounts. However, the feedback from the card holders shows that they are happy with this discount (the www.isic.ro website, feedback section).
Also, many of the internet searches that lead to our website show the interest of youth in this discount.
Partnership Promotion
Due to the delicate status of some franchises in terms of promotion on the local market, we couldn't use printed materials in order to promote it. So the channels we are using for promotion are:
The presence of the discount partner in the discount guide (over 50,000 pieces/year).
The presence of the discount partner on the www.isic.ro website, at the Dicount section. The presence of the discount partner logo with link on the www.isic.ro website, on the Home Page, by rotation. The presence of the discount partner with logo and link in the monthly newsletter that we send to all card holders, by rotation.
Other Romanian Discount Partners
Euro GSM – The biggest chain of mobile telephone shops (98 outlets in 54 cities). Partnership perfected in July 2006. Discount: 3-10% discount on all products. Partnership Promotion: articles in 24 national and local newspapers, ads in the major lifestyle magazine (distributed nationwide), ads in the Euro GSM catalogue offered to all clients, posters (posted in the shops, ISIC agencies, universities, student unions, events), newsletter, banner on websites, newsletter, discount guide. Diverta – The biggest chain of audio/video products (57 outlets in 38 cities). Partnership perfected in November 2006. Discount: Special discounted rental pass “ISIC Student”, 28% discount. Partnership Promotion: to be launched. Other discount partners: Tom Tailor, Diesel, Kodak, Pizza Hut, KFC, Lamonza.
Partnership Tips & Tricks
Before approaching a major potential discount partner, a thorough research on the copany's background/ target/ policy is compulsory. Also, based on the research, the ISIC representative should have detailed statistics concerning the target: the card holders by area/city, and if possible by sex/age. Actively involving the partner in promotion, through sponsorship, using his own communication channels, offering small promotional gifts etc. Keeping constant contact with the partner, informing him permanently about how he’s being promoted and how he can benefit from additional promotion through participating in the ISIC events.
Contact
Silvana Dobos, ISIC Manager – Romania
silvana.dobos@isic-romania.ro