Page 112 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

Advertising strategy can be geared toward the complementary
status of a product—for example, beer companies sponsor soccer
matches. This was taken to a new level in the 2006 World Cup,
when FIFA officials demanded that Netherlands supporters
remove trousers bearing the logo of Dutch beer “Bavaria,” as it was
a rival company to Budweiser, which was a major sponsor. While
this attracted criticism for being “ambush marketing” and was
probably an overly aggressive strategy, it demonstrated a corporation
firmly holding onto its status as the leading complementary good
supplier.

In practice

• Be aware of possible future trends in a market. If you can

anticipate a product becoming popular, you can develop a
complementary product and gain first-mover advantage.

• Consider timing the release of a new product or marketing

campaign to coincide with an increase in the popularity of a
complementary product.

• It is dangerous merely to enjoy the success of a complementary

product and stop behaving competitively. If you stop delivering
high standards and reasonable prices, customers will often
develop ingenious ways to find an alternative.

• Try not to produce a complementary good for a product that

already has a surplus of complementary products; the competition
makes it difficult to gain a foothold. For example, pretzels go
with beer, but so do many other products. You won’t necessarily
sell more pretzels if more beer is sold.

• Your product does not have to simply complement another

consumer good; it can complement a social event, seasonal
weather, or other factors.

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