DEI and Brand Marketing of a Women’s Off-Road Rally in Morocco’s Sahara Desert

The sports events agency Maïenga, owned by two French women, operates off-road motor rallies in the Sahara Desert of Morocco. Its flagship event, the annual Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles du Maroc, is the foundation on which Maïenga has, over 30 years, built a reputation for being a socially and environmentally responsible company operating in a fragile desert ecosystem. Maïenga’s unique brand image centers around the Rallye Aïcha participants, who become known as Gazelles, “a tribe of modern women”, willing to push themselves to the limit in a challenging physical environment.

Students are asked to examine the intersection of key marketing decisions (segmentation, targeting, positioning, company reputation, brand management, and promotion) with considerations about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), corporate charitable operations, and the critical need for environmental protection and responsibility in the locations of Maïenga’s rallies. National DEI policies and laws in the agency’s home country, France, differ from those in the United States and the United Kingdom, which are large parts of Maïenga’s target market for recruiting participants. A key issue is whether segmentation based on gender (women) is exclusionary or justified by Maïenga’s celebrated Gazelle brand image and its operation as a French company. Students must determine how this positioning might affect the agency’s corporate image and options for growth.

• Explain the meanings of DEI, differentiating between ‘E’ as equality or equity, and describe different national DEI approaches.
• Analyze the importance of a company’s mission and values in shaping its reputation, unique selling proposition (USP), brand image, and product portfolio.
• Assess a company’s use of segmentation methods, their implications for company growth options, and likely success in different national environments.
• Evaluate the targeting of women as a distinct market segment.
• Explain the importance of managing brand image.
• Recommend how company reputation can be managed proactively.
• Demonstrate how charitable activities and corporate commitment to environmental responsibility can be used to create unique market positioning.
• Understand and restate the psycho-social benefits of participating in unique sporting experiences.