Jun302021

Are you launching a new product or service and want to advertise it to the Polish community in Great Britain? Poles in Great Britain are quite a diverse group, but they share a few quite important things. Today we have collected a few tricks of the trade for you – how to do it, what to pay attention to, and what you absolutely should not omit in ethnic marketing to the Polish diaspora in the UK. So then… Let’s start!

Table of Contents

  • How to prepare a strategy?
  • Media relations
  • Events for the Polish Diaspora in Great Britain
  • Discounts, discounts and discounts again

How to prepare a strategy?

Does preparing a promotional strategy for Polish expats differ from preparing a standard marketing strategy? Not particularly – the most important thing is to get to know the target group, segment it and create a communication strategy based on the results of the research (if you skip these stages, you are doomed to failure). So let’s skip the marketing chatter and get down to business.

So does the ethnic group need a separate marketing strategy at all?

Yes and no. We (as a Polish marketing agency from the UK), working for clients from Great Britain, sometimes decide to combine marketing campaigns targeted at expats from Poland, Hungary, Russia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus and often Romania, Bulgaria, or the Czech Republic. From our own experience, we can say that products and methods of advertising them addressed to Poles (e.g. basing marketing messages on values ​​such as tradition, family or culture) often turn out to be attractive also to representatives of all the above-mentioned nationalities. However, this is not a rule that works always and everywhere. You have to be aware of one thing: product-focused marketing is a thing of the past. Your audience and their experience are the most important.

Media relations

The main part of public relations activities towards the Polish community in Great Britain should be media relations, i.e. brand communication with representatives of media relevant to expats. Importantly, this is primarily about the media that focuses on the Polish diaspora in Great Britain. You need to have portals such as Goniec, Polonia 24 UK or Polish Express, at your fingertips. It is worth using the power of sponsored articles, but also classic display ads, displayed on these websites. We do not recommend investing in the press and traditional media (unless your product or service is aimed mainly at a slightly older clientele).

Take advantage of Polish events aimed at the Polish diaspora

Events of all kinds are enormous opportunities for great promotion to the Polish diaspora in Great Britain. There are many options for advertising:

  • organising own events dedicated to Polish expats,
  • participation in local events aimed at the Polish diaspora in Great Britain (e.g. own stand),
  • sponsorship of events, which is the pillar of ethnic marketing. Here we recommend a careful selection of events, because it’s good if they have a connection with your company’s profile. Great examples of such events are, for example, the London Days of Poland festival or the Congress of Polish Entrepreneurs,
  • traditional banner advertising at events (eg screens with the brand’s logo at sports events).
  • competitions during events aimed at the Polish community (e.g. winning tickets for the event, discounts, etc.)

Discounts, discounts and discounts again

We can cheat reality, but the truth is absolute – Poles and discounts are like good old friends, and studies show that Poles approach shopping with candor. So, unless you have a brilliant product and huge budgets to advertise it, it will be hard to convince the rational Polish community in Great Britain without promotional campaigns. What types of promotional campaigns do Poles like the most?

  • seasonal price reductions,
  • low pre-sale price,
  • discounts when purchasing products for a specific amount,
  • free delivery,
  • the second product for a pound (the most appreciated by Poles pro-sales campaign).

If you want to learn more about ethnic marketing targeting Poles in the UK, follow our blog. We systematically write here about what, how and where to communicate to the Polish diaspora so that they will open their wallets.

And if you do not have time for this, we will be happy to help you build an effective promotional (sales or image) campaign from scratch. All you have to do is contact us and tell us about your company. We have a lot of experience in cooperation with UK companies promoting to Polish expats.