Windshield Ads

Is it another exclusively Lebanese Advertising medium? I wouldn't know... but it sure stands out.

Lebanese advertisers know how to make use of every corner in our sight to place their logos. 

 

It's simple, it's useful, it's cheap. The same advertisement was printed on several windshield covers and were used by a restaurant's valet parking services to protect the cars from the sun heat... and who would object to that?

The Old School

Marketing strives on evolution:
psychological and technological, but mostly, on communication.

Experience matters in the business world. However, it feels that young fresh new comers are a step ahead in understanding the predominance of novelties and effects of the new implicit regulations that dictate the market. The old school of marketing has a bunch of attributions that in today's world are almost extinct!

The obvious change - the one that even the most conventional do not fail to identify - The Medium
In the book Mavericks at Work the authors discuss whether Google and WPP cooperate or compete, they conclude that they do both at once, quoting WPP's own CEO they are "frenemies". Yes, marketing has shifted, as new modes of communications are being adopted, from targeted sms, to digital marketing, the new technologies are offering various ways to deliver the brand.

Other changes come subsequently - The Delivery
New possibilities open new doors. What was once a one-way delivery is transformed today into an open dialogue. What was entitled "delivery" became, finally, what marketing is all about, "communication". Thus we entered the world of interactive marketing.

What the old school still does not understand, is that with the changes stated beforehand, the most important change took place - The Message
The brand is no longer communicated in emotional statements, as the audience now has the power to retort. Today, marketing is about content, and no longer about fluff. It is about being informative and no longer descriptive. The client seeks, and the marketeer's job is to supply. The line between B2C (business to consumer) and B2B (business to business) marketing is becoming very thin, as the end consumer now almost requires (as the rules in B2B marketing dictate) a rational value added proposition to purchase a product.

Finally, the receiver has evolved - The Audience
The audience has become bombarded with information, with brand names, with slogans, it has finally gained an immunity to the traditional advertising brainwashing. The message can be fatal. The audience has grown to become aware and conscious. It can discern truth from lies and does not like to be taken for a fool. Information is broadly available and word-of-mouth spreads fast.

...So innovation took place in terms of medium, delivery, message and audience. Where do the marketers stand on keeping up?

Variations in Medium Sensitivity

Marketing is not global. What applies in one industry does not necessarily work in another. I think I have identified the key for successful marketing when it comes to restaurants and pubs: word of mouth.

You can put a billion dollars advertising on billboards and magazines, if you are not offering an added-value that will eventually generate word of mouth; chances are that you have just literally thrown your money away... and I have news for you, they are not coming back!

Make sure your marketing department has some marketing sense. The only thing you need to do to succeed in this industry is to offer something exclusive to you; create your own identity prominently enough to be marked in the eyes of the consumer and you're in the game... make sure it doesn't become boring, and you're winning.

Are marketing mediums industry specific?

I was staring at some outdoor advertisings the other day... and I spotted some Perfume posters. Who the hell gave that marketeer this position?! The day it becomes a want to wear the same perfume everyone else is wearing, will be the day billboards become an effective tool for perfumes!!! Whoever put an accountant in the marketing department has made a terrible mistake. It might be cheaper to target a broader mass this way, but your damaging your image!

Customers actually search for perfumes in the glamorous magazines, they expect them to be there, so you better give them what they want. If you want to sell, that's where your investment should be. Forcing your product to the mass is neither a good strategy for your brand image nor a smart sales technique; as far as I can tell. I can't think of someone wanting his perfume to be on the streets... consumers want their perfumes to be in fashion editorials and stylish magazine pages... It doesn't take a genius to figure this out. It's common marketing sense!

Unless there has been some benefit gained from overriding the competition, these companies need to seriously consider their profits and redefine their marketing plan.