Marketing Under Turmoil - A Study Based on Lebanon

Marketing under tough security conditions - such was my master's final dissertation - and what better place than Lebanon to study this?

 Lebanon was a top economic performer in 2008; it was even said to be "immune" to the global financial crisis. Analysts relate this “immunity” to its past experience with security turmoil.  Economic and political unrest have identical effect on marketing operations; they translate into budget cuts.

My study estimates the marketing effectiveness of companies operating in Lebanon under different stages: Level 1, environmental stability, Level 2, environmental instability (constant explosion threats) and Level 3, high environmental instability (war). ***

Findings:

• Marketing investment is most often cut down under security turmoil conditions; as demonstrated by the market analysis of the Lebanese media scene. 

• There's a possibility to turn crisis into opportunity through successful marketing campaigns conducted during periods of unrest.

• The study derives a relatively more inelastic approach to turmoil for commodity products as opposed to luxury goods.  

There's a different economic response to different levels of turmoil. 

Under security stability (Level 1):

• In the situation where explosions abound (level 2): the marketing budget cuts and sales figures drop are minimal yet spread over a long period of time.

• Under war (level3), we experience uncertainty, following which we face a budgets short-lived steep decline in marketing and sales alike. 

...So, does cutting down on marketing investment have any major impact on consumer response?  

“It is not the strong, nor the intelligent who survive, but
those who are quickest to adapt.”
 

Charles Darwin

***The study revolves primarily on the amount of units sold versus the monitored marketing amounts. A case study is based on the automobile industry as a sample of the luxury market; a special focus is then conducted on the Mazda case, followed by a brief comparison with the food industry as a sample of the commodity market.

Apple is No Longer Cool

There are some areas in life where kids lead and the world follow. Brand managers, meet your critics: the teenagers.

If a teenager would come up to you and say "Apple is no longer cool", wouldn't you beleive him - As opposed to an experience marketer in his late 40s, or a marketeer like me (I bet some of you were getting ready to fight when they read the title!) You are likely to argue with the latter and explain to him how he could be misinformed; yet wouldn't you doubt your own knowledge in the matter when a teenager comes up with such a statement?

Have you heard what is the newest trend amongst teens? The huge headphones, colored and really visible ones. I mean, the last I had heard, earphones were getting smaller and all-the-way almost transparent. Well, it seems like teens have issued their verdict, what's in today are SkullCandy and Beats... and hmmm... anything sold at the Apple store?! I am left thinking, I am so off beat!

The fact of the matter is, teenagers make the rules when it comes to brand image. A successful branding campaign can be best measured by its effect on teenagers. 

Lebanese Malls Compete For... A Slogan

This Christmas was as tiring as any other when it comes to advertising clutter.

Ok, maybe a bit more. The fact of the matter is, the Lebanese economy has been slowing down lately. Just look at the discounts launched before Christmas; even worse, check those initiated on the 26th. It's a little bit funny. It's like saying "lucky is he, whomever did not buy from us" and to your customer .... ok, so I would rather not put this into words!

Traffic has been hectic, just not hectic enough for Christmas, especially not in malls... and competing for the public, two malls in Lebanon, CityMall and Le Mall decide to launch... well, ...the same slogan!

It gets even worse, they're using the same medium and launching at the same time! We are talking outdoor advertising, billboards, to be more precise. As you cruise the streets of Lebanon, you get to enjoy two identical messages from two competing malls. Ouch, so much for advertising creativity.

Now, if anyone can explain to me the genius behind this idea... because I am left feeling like an ignorant fool; especially that CityMall and Le Mall are being catered to by two huge advertising agencies : JWT and Impact BBDO, or so I have heard. I hope I am wrong, because that is too childish a game.

Talk about lack of creativity: Le Mall are actually using the same graphic theme as last year, that, without the sought after slogan. Had it been a great slogan, or a useful campaign I would understand that they would end up fighting over it.

What is so awesome in "Make A Wish Come True"?

A bit dull and very much cliche, if you ask me.

Paul the Psychic Octopus: Marketing Lessons

Germany - Paul the Psychic Octopus' first World Cup appearance I had witnessed was on EuroNews. It was on the 25th of June 2010, a 1 minute report, told the world that the best World Cup fortune teller was, so far, an octopus, in  the Sea Life Aquarium of Ovberhausen, Germany. Paul, the Octopus had apparently already predicted 4 German games correctly, (including Germany's loss to Serbia!) and was predicting Germany's win over England. 

Google News history shows an AOL article on Paul the Octopus dating back to the 22nd of June, predicting Ghana's defeat to Germany, saying "If Paul gets any better at this, he could have an incredible career as a telephone psychic -- able to handle eight lines at once."

...So what's in it for marketeers? Lessons on how to effectively benefit from the World Cup hype! Thanks to the World Cup's popularity, the free (and international) publicity Paul got to the Sea Life Aquarium is unmatched. Want to bet how much additional visits they got thanks to Paul and his World Cup induced fame? 

Then, you get to think of all the brands who paid huge amounts of money to associate their names to the World Cup. What a shame...

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...

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!

Advertising Trends in Lebanon: Spring 2010

The advertising trends in Lebanon for spring 2010 are theme-centered: Spotted! Brands go where the consumers' consumption patterns are headed for the season... and where is the Lebanese consumer at?

Here's the showdown: Weddings, swimwear and the FIFA world cup!

To kick off, it's weddings season soon! Pictures of expensive jewelery designs, fancy hair does and a whole lot of wedding dresses, ...uhm, where are we? ...oh right, the highway from Beirut to Jounieh.

Not to forget, summer is at the door too!... and how can we forget? It's sunny, and fighting off the heat, the roads are filled with ladies wearing bikinis, yes, I am talking about the likes of H&M and Diamony billboards. Oh, right and Vichy has figured it was good timing for its cellulite-free products. Good thinking.

But the best, is for the last! The Lebanese World Cup craze is ready to blow! You will find the weirdest combination of advertisers here, from the more rational shopping items like big flat TV screens (at least one logical match!), we have witnessed everything from Fransabank Credit Cards to Spinneys supermarket ads!

BE STUPID.

Diesel's new campaign boldly states " Be Stupid". 

I don't know what this speaks to you, but to me, there's no turnarounds to the very definition of the word Stupid, try as they may with their campaign. 

The only message that does get through is Diesel proudly boasting that its clients are STUPID! I don't know about you, but if I had a Diesel jeans, you won't see me wearing it anymore! 

Never have I seen communication sink so low.  Whoever created this campaign, must indeed be stupid.

Try as they may to make stupid sound good... Stupid will forever be..well, STUPID!

Signage Evolution

Internet marketing is creating change in all aspects of marketing. Even retail signage evolved! 

I spotted a change in retail signage that to this date is not yet present in Lebanon: internet marketing through the signage.

Just got back from a trip to France and Belgium. Nothing better than a change of environment to get inspired!

Check out the web addresses on the signage of the retail stores.

I will let the pictures do the talking...

Solidarites Water Awareness Campaign

Another food for thought: good insights brought from abroad.
Water-related diseases are the leading cause of death - UN

Check out this communication for an awareness campaign by Association Solidarites International displayed in a public place in Paris.... This should get you inspired!

Marketing Analysis v/s Market Analysis

Marketing analysis is often confused with market analysis. Just like sales is often confused with marketing. Is there a difference? Yes, and an intrinsic one.

Marketing analysis is conducted to analyze your marketing processes (refer to the marketing mix). Whereas, market analysis is a study regarding a specific market, assessing the environment where the business operates or aims to conduct activities. 

Meaning? 

Marketing analysis is somewhat a self-prognostic internal assessment (evaluation conducted by using reference points such as sales results, brand awareness, etc.) whereas market analysis is an external environmental assessment (including studies like PEST analysis, SWOT analysis, and more).

Blackberry in Lebanon

The Blackberry epidemic has reached its peak. Blackberry is now a must-have even to the laggards, and those most resistant to change. Displaying the power of social pressure and tapping on the need for social belonging, Blackberry has managed to become number one, despite no major advertising efforts, only good PR and amazing word-of-mouth, following consumer satisfaction.
A year after its introduction through the MTC services, and after Alfa's adoption of the Blackberry services, Blackberry has become an awesome success story.
A market loss for iPhone; which, although they previously had the upper hand, given apple's brandname, until this day, need to be cracked. This translated on the ground with a complete shift to Blackberry.
With its first mover's advantage, and Nokia E72 's "follower" strategy, competing over cost leadership ($10 for the Nokia E72 services versus $45 for the Blackberry services in Lebanon), Blackberry is sure to stay in the lead for a while. Especially considering the high switching costs in view of the popularity of the BlackBerry messenger and the spread of Blackberry's presence in Lebanon.
A beautiful but ineffective advertising campaign conducted by Nokia for its E72 phone says" the Nokia E72 is here. Good news for you. Bad news for BlackBerry." A powerful message. However, word-of-mouth is stronger and more credible than advertising. Good news for BlackBerry, bad news for Nokia.

Outdoor Advertising Trend in Lebanon

What's up with advertising copy cats in Lebanon? As soon as one advertisement catches on, the whole advertising industry follows its footsteps.

Can someone PLEASE explain to me what's the message behind a fashionable woman shopping for ... groceries?!

We have seen it for Eatalian ("fashionable modern cuisine", is it?), C & F (perfumes and cosmetics) with the message "live out loud", and for yet another Italian fashion brand *which name I cannot recall* (the unipole was located around Sin el Fil- Baouchrieh).

Did anyone else pick this trend up?

Retail Magic

I am ecstatic lately. For once, I am at the receiving end of the marketing effect. With a great concept and minimal advertising, I stand to witness the remuneration in terms of sales and customer visits. I now am convinced that marketing is deadly.
We just inaugurated a small shop for gifts for men, Captain & Captain. The new shop is based on a new concept, for the first time in the country, shopping by personality. We offer a solution for men gifts hunting, with great ideas rarely found in the same place.
That said, advertising was limited to an advertising page and 1 press release in one single magazine, a few leaflets distributed in the neighborhood, and a third of a billboard double sided, shared with neighboring stores. In addition a PR opening event with around 500 visitors. Finally, a facebook campaign with small ads, a facebook group and an application allowing its users to discover there personality type and inciting them to get a matching gift.
A small survey was set along with the invoicing of all customers coming into the store, allowing us to find out the magnitude of the effect of our endeavors.
We soon realized that advertising in itself had a visible effect, but what's more is that word of mouth was spreading like wilde fire; and it's all about efficient marketing.
The reason? the campaign as well as the shop opening were set in the beginning of December, right before Christmas, thus answering a latent customer need to find suitable gifts. Moreover, the maverick concept came with another rare finding in the market, a shop completely dedicated to men. It was not hard to figure out that our main customers will actually be females buying gifts to their male friends/ lovers/ family members as most shopping is actually done by women. However, what we did not expect was males offering themselves presents and indulging in our offerings.
Add to these factors, a detailed attention to the packaging and presentation, as well as, salespeople acting mainly as a guide to help support and explain the products benefits to the customers.
A promising entrepreneurship initiative.

How Audi Bank's Newsletter got it right

A fanatic of business news revolving on the Lebanese market in particular, I have my google news set to showcase articles with the key terms Lebanon and Beirut. As I spend a few minutes daily on this search, I have realized that the juicy articles are most often listed in the Audi Bank's newsletter!

This is a newsletter that's main focus lies in the economic and financial environment. Yet, they have a thorough understanding of their clientele. Their articles are tailor made to appeal to the Lebanese public.

Tapping unto the Lebanese pride of belonging, the messages are chosen and maybe sometimes rephrased to suit the Lebanese ego. Far from being dull information, for instance, instead of stating that Lebanon ranked 80th in the world based on a recent UN report, up three places from the previous year, the title proudly boasts "record improvements"...

Beyond their own understanding, I would assume, the Audi Bank's newsletter is a remarkably marketing oriented tool...

Rules of SEVEN

Hands-off marketing if you are not a marketer!

You won't see an sportsman working on accounting, or an accountant fixing the television. Why the hell does everyone feels he can get involve when it comes down to marketing?!

Things CAN and DO go wrong! In the name of all those who have to sit quiet and watch their campaigns get smashed by the decision maker:

GENERAL GUIDELINES

1-Make use of white space. It makes the eye more at ease and your ad more attractive.
2-Let the borders breathe. Always leave a margin.
3-Beware misspellings in the text.
4-Beware misinforming the public.
5-What is a beautiful piece of work without an audience? The medium is key.
6-Use integrated marketing communication; convene the same message, with the same soul.
7-Present the logo properly, always follow the guidelines set for its identity

OUTDOOR

1- Outdoor bookings should be done early on. NO you cannot wait for a better price, unless you're ready to deal with the worst locations.
2-Locations are to be chosen wisely, avoid locations in the middle of nowhere, avoid advertising clutter, avoid that tree blocking the view but mostly avoid the panels that are parallel to the road, they need to have a minimum tilted angle.
3- PLEASE outdoor advertising cannot handle a three paragraph text, in fact, it cannot even fit a three sentence text!! You want your ad to reach the audience? Try three to seven words; and that's that.
4-The logo HAS to be big enough. What is visible on your pc is not necessarily visible on the roads. No general rules. It all depends on the logo's font and recognition ratios.
5-Too many items in the picture might seem to offer a better understanding of your goal; do NOT be fooled, too many items in the picture equal no picture at all to the passers by. Keep it clean and simple, use a human character if you can, otherwise make it a very intriguing picture.
6- DO use sans serif fonts. Those like Times New Roman are less readable from distance.
7-Consider the use of eye catching colors like red, orange or yellow for the background. (However, the effectiveness of these colors is highly dependent on the surroundings)

DAILIES

1- When booking in a newspaper, choose your ad location wisely. You don't want a festive ad next to the picture of a mourning woman.
2-A quarter page size is ideal in terms of value. GO for it when possible.
3-Better one ad in the front or back page than three in the middle.
4-Write concisely, and make it informative.
5-Consider the low resolution and bad printing quality, text and logos should be big enough and do not put 2 layers of the same color and expect it to be visible!
6-Use serif fonts, as they are more readable up close.
7-Always include a picture. It makes the ad more attractive.

TELEVISION

1-Some colors look better on TV, like purple and blue. Take this into account.
2-When it comes to animation, go slow enough to make the information graspable but fast enough not to make it boring.
3-Cut, cut and cut. It helps the eye keep its focus.
4-The brand should be mentioned prominently enough to be remembered; especially of the ad includes a lot of fluff and talk. In that case, increase the frequency.
5-Music is core. Make it relevant.
6-The choice of medium is very important. Take a keen look on the viewership ratings and assess your investment accordingly.
7-Choose your timing wisely, for a maximum viewership aim for news-time.

RADIO

1- Balads work greatly
2- Make the information concise so as not to lose the listener
3- Manage frequency effectively for optimum results
4- Music is crucial
5- Beware the pace of the speaker, leave room for breathing
6- Chose the right language to reach your audience
7- For optimum reach aim for rush-hours

Marketing amid Turmoil

Faced with security turmoil, marketing in Lebanon has always been a question of controversy. As I tried to enter the marketing field in this part of the globe, the Middle East, I realized that very few research had been targeted on marketing under hostile conditions. Thus, I took the subject at heart.

First aiming to investigate the "accountability" in marketing; I seeked to read more on marketing measures. Finding it a very subjective case; I thought a practical case might be more interesting... I mean, for learning purposes!

Therefore, after specializing in a master of science in marketing, I decided my dissertation topic will be on the impact of security turmoil on marketing response. My work was to be based on a case study approach based on the Lebanese market.

Throughout my research I noticed the capacity of the Lebanese economy to stand and improve amid the recent global economic turmoil; noting a certain parallelism between security and economic turmoil. There was no question, Lebanon managed to stand undefied because of the precautions it used to face eminent risks. Could this parallelism apply on marketing response?

I'd say yes... *to be continued*

The Paradigm of Marketing

What is marketing? Definitions abound. I will not go into the details of the interpretations and the different schools and references. However, I can tell you what marketing is not; and that is Advertising. Not to say that advertising is not part of marketing but marketing, contrary to popular belief, is not restricted to advertising.

Why am I making this point? Simple.

My knowledge in marketing gave me insights into entrepreneurship. I truly believe that every entrepreneur should take marketing courses before venturing into risks beyond his capability. Again, you may ask, why? Here's the scoop.

Be it a service or a product, marketing teaches us the art of introducing, implementing and raising our offerings, of knowing the market, creating needs and satisfying them. Marketing is all about understanding the customer and the theories revolving around the market. Thus, to me, marketing is entrepreneurship at a micro scale. What applies to a product can definitely apply to a set of products, not collectively, but individually.

Everything else in organizations can be mathematically calculated, but marketing takes intuition, it takes comprehension of the global view. One should not fall into the bulk of information available at his grasp, he should know where to look and what to seek, what lens to create and how to get the customer to see through it.

This is the art of marketing, the way I know it. Whoever thinks that marketing is narrow, fails to see the big picture. At the risk of sounding too general, I dare to state that business is all about marketing, and everything corporate , beyond operational, revolves around it.

Sales, Academics and Literature

...So I am reading 5 books at once.
In fact, I am more inclined to start a new book than finish one these days.
I was told I would get lost, but I thought I could pull it out.
It turned out I can't.

I am writing this down to share my concern for the similarities between the two marketing books "The New Rules of Marketing and PR" by David Meerman Scott and "Guerilla PR 2.0" by Michael Levine. I honestly cannot remember what part i read in which of the two books!! Well, I am further ahead in the reading of Guerilla PR 2.0, but only because I started it first.

Online public relations and digital marketing are incontestably the stars today in the marketing world. It's new, it's trendy, it's cheap, and given the crisis, it's sales material.

It triggers my concern on the trendiness of certain topics. One day there's the elections and all the books are suddenly revolving around it, the next there's a financial crisis, and hey, take a look at the books published. Now, seriously, ever read a good book under those conditions?

It is sad but true. We cannot resist to purchase a book with a trendy topic. Yet, they're never worth it. It just never fails.

PR in Action!

I must have been at the right place at the wrong time; but I got to live an important instance in a corporate giant's history. Siemens had announced earlier on this summer that they were planning to fire more than 16,000 employees.

While the story ravaged the business news and made top headlines in financial news; it did not move much the people concerned for it was perceived as a far-off fact that was not directly linked tgo them. It was only after the news had cooled down in the media, that the real action took place. The people in Grenoble were notified yesterday. They were only going to be affected by 17 jobs out of 800, given their good financial performance this year.

The communication strategy was to give the news directly from head down the organization structure, before it could move horizontally and create noise. We were called into a meeting and notified in the afternoon. The news was reassuring, they're doing their best to reintegrate the people concerned in other departments. No one was going to be laid off unwillingly. Right. I was surprised to see that the employees actually believed this, but they did! How gullible can they be, with all the fuss that went around... Having less "per employee profit" than their competitor GE was not reason enough; they truly believed in their good intentions.

Internal communication was perfect. One step down the ladder. One step closer to the truth.

The shock will not be NEWS anymore once the real action will take place. Thus it won't be of anyone's interest to talk about it or revolt against it.

Marrvellously done; and I am left to wonder whether this was spontaneous or planned...