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Posts Tagged ‘Branding’

Al Baik Restaurant; Revisited!

07 Nov

Image via: jscreationzs/freedigitalphotos.net

Almost two years ago, I wrote this postabout Al Baik; believe it or not, this post is the most successful post I have ever written in terms of comments, responses, and search engines inquiries. There is not a single week passed since I wrote this post without me having some kind of response on it, through emails mostly, or having it attracting more visitors from Google. Most of the notes I am receiving are wonderful memories of those who have been to Jeddah and tried it and now missing it, or those asking me why it is not expanding in their home countries (including USA!) and if they could win a franchise deal, and of course there are those who are asking me about its garlic recipe!

So I decided to revisit Al Baik with another post today, the first one was mostly discussing their strengths, so let’s discuss their weaknesses!

  • Superb Customer Service … is cutting back! 

As I have indicated in the first post, Al Baik has always been known for its fast services, servicescape design, and cleanness of their restaurants environment. Its management maintained all of those up to a certain level of high quality. However, the in-store experience started to decline and becomes seriously annoying recently. Standing there to request your order is like standing in a middle of an old style car auction where everyone is shouting and having some kind of shoulders fights! It is like the whole idea of queuing and standing in line is yet to be invented! Maybe it is harsh to say this, but it is a truly uncivilized scene to see and be part of! I know that Al Baik cannot be blamed for such behavior because it is somehow part of the whole public culture that does not respect waiting in lines and order, but I am blaming Al Baik for encouraging such behavior and not developing some kind of  system to organize the in-store experience. There are different and easy solutions out there that could bring back the peace and order to Al Baik visits.

  • Location … location … location!!

It is not a surprise we all have at least once wondered why Al Baik has not yet expanded locally, regionally, or even internationally! You cannot hear but rumors in this regard because nobody actually knows the true reasons but Al Baik management themselves! There are numerous models and examples already in the market where they could have learned from and improved to suite their strategic goals! I truly believe that they have lost a lot in form of lost opportunities! And I am sure they have received a lot of comments and inquires from fans all over the world … yes from all over the world!

*Image Source

 
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Posted in Branding, General Management, Saudi business

 

Most Valuable Luxury Brands in 2011

22 Aug
via: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As it is few days to Eid, and most probably you are on a shopping spree buying new stuff to pamper yourself and gifts for those special ones, you may want to know what the most valuable luxury brands in 2011 are!

 Of course you need to consider how ‘fat’ your wallet or purse is before attempting these places even for a tour! Wallets on diet or purses trying a more healthy financial status are not welcomed!

Despite the weak economical conditions all over the globe, these luxury brands are not doing bad at all. Most of them witnessed a
considerable increase in brand values. For example, Hermes scored more than 41% increase in its brand value.

You can find more about top brands in different categories in this report.

Happy Eid you all …

Position

Brand

Brand Value $M

Brand Value Change

1

Louis Vuitton

24,312

23%

2

Hermes

11,917

41%

3

Gucci

7,449

-2%

4

Chanel

6,823

23%

5

Cartier

5,327

34%

6

Rolex

5,269

11%

9

Fendi

3,422

7%

10

Burberry

3,379

N/A
*image source

 
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Posted in Branding, Marketing

 

Brand Slogans

15 Jul

#BrandSlogan is the hash tag created yesterday by Ibrahem Al Suhaibani (@ibrahemsu), the blogger and the owner of (http://isuhaibani.com/blog/). For every marketer and marketing researcher, especially in this part of the world, this is a must read hash tag.

Coming up with a brand slogan (known as a tagline as well) is not an easy exercise as it might seem. Yes, it is a line of few words, but these few words should capture the soul of the brand. In one way of another, it is like pressurizing the feeling, the meaning, the mission, and the value of a brand in just a few of words. Slogans once printed on packages or distributed on marketing materials, they will be the messengers reminding customers of the premise of the brand, they will be the signs showing that the brand exists, and that it is alive!

Going through this hash tag would definitely bring back a lot of memories, which is interesting in itself. Why such slogans, although some have been already replaced by its producers, have managed to stick in the consumers’ minds and hearts?

There are many elements of a successful brand slogan, I have chosen two reasons that I find most important, and you can relate to most of the slogans mentioned in the hash tag:

  • Successful slogans are usually produced to the public as a part of a successful marketing campaign (a successful marketing campaign is a story of its own!). Meaning, it is not like the brands owners came up with these slogans and  printed them on some bags and flayers and … that’s it! No, they have been integrated into a whole banding activity.
  • Successful slogans somehow managed to capture the consumer experience of the brand and added it to the value and purpose of the brand itself. Take Jarir bookstore as an example to clarify this point. The slogan is (Jarir is not only a bookstore); the message of the brand is that we are providing you with all your business/personal art, entertainment and stationary requirements, we are not only a bookstore. The customer experience is that you can find more than only books in Jarir, it is your one stop shopping experience for most of your books and stationary requirements, again, it is not only a bookstore. This customer experience factor is critically important in any slogan because through it, the consumer engagement-with and feeling-of the brand is created!

 

 

 

 
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Posted in Branding, Branding, Communication, Marketing

 

Send it to Mrs. Obama

18 Apr

In a lighthearted, but definitely interesting, piece published by the ‘Harvard Business Review, Nov. 2010,’ David Yermack has collected data to show that the brands that Michelle Obama wears in her public appearances tend to gain higher values in stock markets. Let me repeat this, whenever Mrs. Obama wears a brand in a public appearance, the brand she wore would start scoring returns that cannot be attributed to normal market variations!

On average, the brands she wears generate a value of about $14 million per appearance. And as a total of 189 public appearances, 29 brands scored about $2.7 billion in stock market value. And if you are a lady and reading this, you might be interested to know that in those 189 appearances, she wore about 245 items of apparel; so do you still think your closet collection is fashionable? …  yeah, right!!!!

So why this post? It is to stress on the importance of celebrity endorsement in marketing, branding, and eventually generating value. Mrs. Obama is definitely a special case. For instance, she is not paid to wear what she does. This is giving her a credibility that is pretty hard to establish in any celebrity endorsement campaign. Mr. Yermack goes further and attribute this huge impact of Mrs. Obama on the fashion industry to three reasons: her personal and authentic interest in fashion, her position as the first lady, and the power of social internet and e-commerce that makes such effects almost instantaneous; you could watch what she is wearing live, and start ordering it online right away!!

Now, reflecting that on the Saudi market, and the whole Arab market if you would, our celebrity endorsement campaigns are dreadful, to say the least. For a lot of marketers in this part of the world, unfortunately, it is only about getting the celebrity using the product in front of a camera and … that’s all!!! So for us, the consumers, it is a lousy performer, hugely paid, trying to convince us that this is the best juice, shampoo, telecom network out there!!! There are no common traits that the brand and the celebrity share and try to communicate to the consumers. Now I am saying this just assuming that those ads are created based on a branding strategy!!

To get the right picture, just think of Nike and its famous tennis players sponsoring/celebrity endorsement campaigns, or even better, check out the “elegance is an attitude” campaign of Longines watches and the beautiful Indian actress Aishwarya.

Having said that, there is one campaign that I would exclude from the Arab misfortunate celebrity endorsement campaigns. That is the campaign of Coca Cola and, the Lebanese singer, Nancy Ajram. Although the most favorable drink in the world, Coca Cola is usually facing a hard time, or a tough competition, from Pepsi in the Middle East and in the GCC countries to be more specific. Having Nancy on board, Coca Cola definitely scored high returns in all; market share and loyalty (I hope I’m in possession of hard numbers to support this argument, but I, unfortunately, do not). So why Coca Cola and Nancy were successful? because they both communicated the same message, having fun (read my latest post!). They knew how to mix the attractiveness of Nancy, who some would attribute to her childish appeal and some would attribute it to her explosive femininity, with message of being happy while having a bottle or a can of Coke (see some examples below)

Now, to conclude this post, if it happens that you are into fashion designing, you may want to consider sending some of your designs to Mrs. Obama!

 
4 Comments

Posted in Advertisement, Branding, Marketing

 

Riyadh Book Fair; It is Raining Men

13 Mar

If I asked you about Rio de Janeiro, there is a huge chance that you would stand up and start to Samba dance right away remembering the infamous Rio’s festival, and If I asked you about Davos, most probably you will start remembering those demand and supply curves you took in economy classes because you will definitely remember The World Economic Forum.

This is how countries are branded, and this is how international events are branded as well. Such events turn into icons that contribute to the whole country brand image.

Now, if I asked you about Riyadh Book Fair, what are the first things that will descend to your mind?

Book fairs are meant to present a reading hungry public with its doses of books. It is there where publishing houses, and even authors, compete to present readers with the new and exciting. It is a celebration of culture, no doubt about it. On the other hand, it is a message sent by the organizing country that this land is open for new ideas and new debates. It is a message that the people of this country are open minded, hungry for knowledge, know how to engage in fruitful discussions. It is an attempt to portray an image of openness and stick it on the brand of the whole country. And if there is any country in the world that need such an image, it is Saudi Arabia!

Riyadh Book Fair has been founded to serve this purpose and to signal out those messages. I cannot say, however, that it has been successful reaching its desired goals. Despite the organizers efforts to convince us that this is the most successful book fair in the region because of its high number of visitors and sales, the book fair stands short of reaching the higher image of a culturally induced event. After all, number of visitors and sales would not mean much if put into context; in this part of the world, reading does not mean much for a lot of people, and let’s not forget the fact of the disposable income most of Saudis enjoy. It is not about how many books were sold, it is more about if those books have actually been read and what are the results. Have people progressed to be more open minded and culturally rich, or …. [I will leave it to you to fill this blank]!!

In the book fair opening, it was raining men! Men of ultra-extra-conservatism stormed the book fair arenas clashing with visitors and even with the minister of information himself trying to impose their monocular view of culture and how others should read and behave. And just before it ends, it was raining … you know … water this time! most of the publishing houses’ booths and their books were due for a mandatory shower … indoors!

You can reach your own conclusions about how others watching the event might think and feel about it. The lack of organization, the fierce clash of minds and ideas, and above all, the poor services represented in the rainy rooftops! Is that what Saudi Arabia and Saudis can do?!

Sometimes the efforts to strengthen the brand just go astray and come back to cause a bigger damage. Unfortunately, that what happened with this book fair!!

 
2 Comments

Posted in Branding, Culture, General Management, Project Management, Saudi business

 

Time’s Top TV Commercials of 2010

14 Dec

Few days ago, the Time released lists of the ‘top 10 everything of 2010,’ almost everything! It is really interesting to go through the different stuff they have in there. Beside the usual and expected top 10 books, songs, movies, etc … They have some strange stuff like the top 10 tweets, Twitter moments, political gaffs and more!

Anyway, from their top 10 list of TV commercials, I chose the following Ads that I really liked. If you are from Saudi, there is a huge chance that you’ve never seen these ads before because they’ve not been aired in this part of the world, as far as I know!

  • Number 3 on the list; Nike: Write the Future

Like most of Nike’s Ads, it is full of stars and well directed, or as the magazine said; it is imaginative. But it is not only that, the Ad delivers a message. The message that sports, the Ad featured football, contribute to history. There are moments in sports that make or break a star, and those moments perpetuate in the memory of mankind! And Nike is there when that happens. So in other words, Nike is participating in making history!

  • Number 4 on the list; Google: Parisian Love

I am sure you agree with me that Google does not need to advertise its search services, so I believe the creators of this Ad haven’t had this in mind. But they had the message of humanizing the brand. To engage and relate to consumers on an emotional level. It is a creative Ad in so many ways. There is no one talking or a lot of actions are taking place, but you will understand what is going on, and there is a huge chance of getting some goose bumps!

  • Number 5 on the list; Windows: Really?

This is a bit strange Ad! It is for advertising the new Windows phone and on the same time it is showing that we are using phones too much!! ‘It is time for a phone to save us from our phones’ as the Ad says. The Ad is funny and this is one of its main features. We could argue about the message, but I guess it is that Windows phone is so easy and effective to use so you will spend less time on it and have more time to … whatever you want to do!

  • Number 7 on the list; Subaru: Baby Driver

In short, it is a cute Ad. And hey, mostly all Ads that feature a cute baby or kid has this effect of cuteness. In this particular Ad, this is not all. The Ad is smart because it delivers the message of love, caring, and safety. None of these words mentioned in the Ad, but the whole scenario speaks them, and that’s the smartness and beauty of it.

 
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Posted in Advertisement, Branding, Marketing

 

How much does your smile worth?

05 Dec

So you must know how to smile, right? You should’ve tried it once or twice before :) Now think about this for a moment, how much does your smile worth? Humor me for a second and give it a price and think who might buy that smile from you?

Is that you wondering, who is buying smiles anyway? my friend … you are not looking hard enough!!

Just to give you a base for comparison, I would tell you how much the smile of Julia Roberts worth. You know whom I am talking about, right?!; you know, the pretty woman, literally! Julia Roberts is the woman of the irresistible charm. Yes; we might argue about her physical beauty, but it is very hard to dismiss her overwhelming attractiveness. Back to the subject; Julia Roberts smile worth $1.6 million (that’s about SAR 6 million)!!

The Italian coffee house ‘Lavazza’ bought that smile in a recent ad that will last for about 45 seconds. The actress was just asked to stand up there, show her killer smile by the end of the ad, and that’s all!!

It is another classical celebrity endorsement marketing deal, but for this one in particular, I would say it is a money-well-spent! Julia Roberts is a first class celebrity that would attract many audience. The fuss surrounding the ad and the money the actress received made the brand already known and on a worldwide scale before even the ad is scheduled to air over the christmas holiday. I would not dismiss the suggestion that behind this whole fuss, there is a smart marketing campaign!

So … again … how much does your smile worth? Just to make you feel good … and maybe special … I would say that your smile must be priceless ;)

 
5 Comments

Posted in Advertisement, Branding, Marketing

 

Good Stories and Bad Ones

25 Nov

Seth Godin, call him one of the modern marketing gurus if you like, is always preaching that good brands are built on good stories; stories that have the ability to live, inspire, and appeal to people. I guess I will take this a step further and say that even poor brands are surrounded with stories.

The good brands might generate those good stories, they have a hand in distributing them, they might tell them in ads, in media, etc. Bad stories about bad brands are usually distributed by customers; word of mouth, blogs, social media outlets.

Even if you have never tried a certain brand, the stories you heard about it will keep playing in your head whenever it comes cross your road. You will always want to try the good ones, you will always want to run away from the bad ones!

Let me give you an example; I’ve never been to the States so I never been on the Southwest Airlines but I’ve always come across plenty of stories about their exemplary, pleasantly surprising, and creative customer service; so what do you guess my first choice would be if I ever been to the States?! Note that all what I have are stories about the brand, so I do not know how real and accurate they are. but I want to try the brand. That’s the power of good brand’s stories. And as long as we are at it, check this video out of one of the Southwest stories!

On the other hand, guess what stories would come to your mind when I say Saudia, the local carrier! I can confidently bet that even if you have never tried it, you will never want to just because of its stories; you know, messed up schedules, flights delays, below average ground and air services, not so cooperative staff, and so on. I dare you if you ever lived in Saudi and never heard a punch of bad stories about Saudia?!!! That’s the power of the bad stories on a brand!

My free-spirit-statement before you leave; all the opinions mentioned in this post are mine and never been influenced by anybody else!

 
6 Comments

Posted in Branding, Marketing

 

Playing Your Believes

12 Nov

Marketers can sometimes create a powerful influence over customers by taking advantage of their believes and practiced rituals.

So if I want to sell you a bottle of juice and convince you that it is good for your blood pressure, bones, aging skin, hair, and the bonus, it helps you lose weight! Then, this is how it gonna be:

  • Give it a strange name, and preferably a name of something real, rare, and its benefits have never been scientifically proven. So try a fruit name from South America!
  • It should be pricy; you know, scarce stuff cost!
  • It should not be available everywhere. Choose only some big stores as your distribution outlets; or better yet, try phone and home visiting marketing techniques!
  • Now the big trick! To convince people that a singe kind of unknown drink can virtually solve all their health problems, they better perceive it as some kind of medicine! So regardless of the fact that you are selling it as 100% natural juice, you better convince them that they need to take it in dosages. You know, small spoon before breakfast, and one after sleep, I mean before sleep! That would emphasis the image of a medicine, wouldn’t it?
  • Give them an extended period of time to start noticing changes. Again, to start noticing!  Something like a month could be good! And hey, if it did not work, they must have done something wrong, maybe did not commit to the precise dosages or times of taking the medicine, I mean the juice!

    p.s. this post is based on a true story!

     
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    Posted in Branding, Marketing

     
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