Penny McNamara, Head of Marketing at the ENTERTAINER, sat down with Campaign Middle East for an exclusive interview regarding their latest marketing campaigns.
How do you plan on leveraging digital marketing channels in its promotional campaigns?
Since launching the ENTERTAINER App over ten years ago, digital marketing has always been at the heart of our marketing initiatives.
As a leading provider of buy one get one free offers – creating value for our customers is at the heart of what we do. We’re continually focused on personalisation – promoting the right offers to the right customers via their preferred channels.
What specific strategies does the marketing team employ to target and engage the local audience in Dubai?
We are proud to be a home-grown brand, founded here in Dubai in 2001. The commercial landscape has changed significantly since then and we’ve transitioned from a must-buy book of paper vouchers to a lifestyle savings app.
But what hasn’t changed in this time is the loyalty and support of the local community here in Dubai. We love our army of loyal followers who have been buying for over a decade – positive recommendations and reviews really are the best form of promotion.
We also love to give back to the community and this will be one of our core areas of focus as we move through 2024.
Can you elaborate on any recent marketing campaigns that have significantly increased engagement?
There was a change of management at the ENTERTAINER towards the end of 2023 – with the original founder, Donna Benton, returning as CEO – and let’s just say we’ve been busy!
We’ve gone back to our roots – focusing on ‘Buy One Get One Free’ offers across all categories – and been working to get the top brands you love back on the app like Barasti, B/Attitude Spa at the Grosvenor House, MOTIONGATETM Dubai, LEGOLANDTM Dubai as well as plenty of exciting new outlets such as Mare by Bussola, Splendour Fields, The Byron Bathers Club, Garden of Dream, Soluna Beach Club, Bushra by Buddha Bar and so much more.
We’ve made some changes to the product too – including premium dining outlets for all and shifting back to an annual product valid from January to December – ensuring that merchant offers are valid all year long too – so that our Members have confidence in the product they’ve bought.
And finally, we’ve completely redone the app design and user experience to make it easier to browse and find the offers you want.
How does the marketing team incorporate user feedback and data analytics to refine and optimise ongoing campaigns?
That’s the power of a digital product and platform, you have a wealth of data that can help you define and hone your strategy – but I can’t really give away any secrets.
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Although if you can ask for user feedback directly in the app they’re using – that’s hugely powerful!
How does it differentiate its marketing approach for new customer acquisition versus retaining existing users?
We differentiate in how we communicate and personalise the experience, but the message is the same.
We focus on the value that customers get from the ENTERTAINER. It’s easily possible to earn back the cost of the product using just one of two offers in a weekend, or over the first month with smaller savings here and there.
For example, a family of 4 can save more than AED600 at Wild Wadi – that’s already more than the cost of the ENTERTAINER Dubai 2024 product. It’s as simple as enjoy, save, love, repeat!
