Google Search Insights: "Marketing" in Lebanon, VS "Marketing" Worldwide

Google has an interesting little tool, called Google Insights for Search. Aside from allowing Googlers to spot Google Search trends, it sorts keywords out by location, category and time.
Being obsessed with Marketing, I thought why not spot the trends... "Marketing" was my keyword, and here were my findings:

Google Search Term: "Marketing"
Filter: Worldwide, 2004-present


Google Search Term: "Marketing"
Filter: Lebanon, 2004-present

Why am I posting this? I thought the difference was staggering.
Worldwide, "Internet Marketing" and "Marketing Online" were common searches. In Lebanon? Not quite so... There were no sign of the digital marketing era in our top 10 searches.
Moreover, the fact that people were looking up "Marketing Mix" showed a basic knowledge of marketing on the global front. What about Lebanon? Well, the "what is Marketing" search is certainly not reassuring.
Yet, I am glad to see "marketing in Lebanon" is in number 7...

World Cup: Lebanon World Cup

Beirut, Lebanon- It's all about the World Cup, World Cup matches, World Cup teams, World Cup news. It's World Cup Fever in Lebanon.


Foreign flags in Lebanon signal the beginning of the World Cup. Restaurants and pubs display the World Cup games on big screens, and it's all over your friends' Facebook and Blackberry statuses.

You cannot really escape the World Cup. I even found a tv screen displaying a World Cup match in a Gemmayzeh parking lot! At work, people would take days off when their favorite World Cup team is playing, and otherwise the internet is put to good use to stay up-to-date with the World Cup results. It's nothing new in Lebanon, really. It's been said on ABC News that factions stopped fighting in Lebanon to watch the World Cup in 1990.

Public places and football stadiums are filled with big screens to offer Lebanon a spectacular World Cup feel... and as the big theatres in Lebanon anticipate the lack of spectators, they decided to participate in the World Cup craze: broadcasting all 64 games of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Lebanon's 3 Grand Cinemas (ABC Ashrafieh, Concorde Verdun and Las Salinas Enfeh)!

Not to mention all the World Cup themed advertising in Lebanon...

Digital Marketing, Israel's Internet Marketing

This is as fun as internet marketing can get at messing with people's heads! I have been avid to write about Israel's government marketing for a while now. I know it's kind of an old story in Internet Marketing history, but it's still as interesting as digital marketing ever was. Here we go!

There's someone I would love for you to meet on mySpace: "The State of Israel". Israel is 62 years old (born in 1948, following the war with Palestine. Yep, makes sense, but I am not sure it helps their cause!).... 62 years old Israel, puts profile pictures of beautiful young people, from both genders (although the profile info points that it is female!... yes, yes Israel is a woman), the mySpace account holds all the specs of a fake account. Yet, it's far from the truth, it is an official account for Israel, created by a man called David Saranga, the head behind the Israeli internet campaign.

Operating from the Consulate General of Israel in New York, the Israeli mySpace account has friends. Check out the isrealli blog "the first official blog to ever be started by a government" according to wikipedia's isrealli page. Not enough? Check out the Israeli twitter account: israelconsulate which ridiculously held an official twitter Israeli press conference.... and I am not done! There's even a Youtube Israeli channel.

It all sure does serve the digital brainwashing initiative!

Gift Shop - Lebanon | Gifts Lebanon | Gadgets Lebanon

Beirut, Lebanon- Look out for the Captain and Captain gift shop in Lebanon advertising, currently running in Lebanon: radio ads on light FM, an sms campaign, e-mail shots, Facebook ads... You just have to check out their gift shop in Lebanon concept!!


The gift shop store located in Lebanon is divided by personality types to make your shopping easier.






With five amazing men personality categories, you are bound to fall in love with their original gifts offerings.
You will also find a personality type quiz to help you pick the most suiting gifts for men section for the men in your life: personality quiz. Enjoy!

MTV lebanon - Internet Marketing

OK, ok, I need to write this to reprimand one of our local TV stations *takes a deep breath to calm down* I feel offended and cheated by MTV Lebanon.

I apologize had it not been done on purpose, but I think the chances are scarce, given the beneficial marketing results to MTV and traffic this drives to their site. Here's my issue, let me lay it down:

Lebanese are devoted patriots, and I am pissed off, as I feel MTV Lebanon is trying to take advantage of this patriotic feeling to market its newly designed website. Let me explain.

A new group is raging on facebook, quickly gaining popularity among Lebanese, the Save Qadisha Valley group, one that requests the signature of a petition hosted on tigweb.org regarding Qadisha Valley's heritage.
However, instead of linking directly to the petition, the facebook group links to MTV Lebanon's website, which there on, posts a bunch of advertisements of their new offerings and beta version of their website, asking for feedback, with a small link at the bottom to the petition.

So, yes I am annoyed. I am Sorry, but I am angry, as they appear to the ignorant visitors to have pledged their support to the cause, benefiting from the Corporate Social Responsibility effect in the eyes of the Lebanese. I am revolted, as while they appear as an angel of light, they are beneath it all, more like Lucifer, as they take advantage of the people and the otherwise humble cause to add traffic to their website.

While I am fanatic about good successful marketing, especially internet marketing, SEO and social networking, I feel cheated and cannot keep quiet. All my respect to MTV Lebanon for their offerings... but this is just too offensive... I really hope it was not done on purpose.