Once again we couldn’t help ourselves but to highlight the exceptional work of geniuses at Google (or rather their advertising agency). All in all this is a fantastic ad; simple, honest and heartfelt. Many can relate to this experience, and it rings true to anyone who has ever explored a new city by looking online. The only thing that we feel brings the ad down is the last couple of searches as if all of life’s journeys ultimately end in two things, marriage and a child (come on, a baby’s laugh? It’s a little cheesy). We personally would have liked the final text be in French, which would have shown off a whole lot more of Google’s actual capacity then trying to leave viewers with a shallow family-friendly ending. We understand the target that this is going after, and despite the end, overall it succeeds brilliantly.

Courtesy of adage.com What marketing campaigns form the last fifty years do you remember the most? Probably only a few, and we bet that most of them are the ones that touched your heart and moved you emotionally. It’s not all about making money, and these campaigns show that the most memorable work is done not for the company, but for the public.

1. American Express Statue of Liberty Restoration (1983): During a three-month period, American Express offered to contribute 1 cent for each card transaction and $1 for each new card issued. The campaign raised $1.7 million to restore the statue and Ellis Island.

2. Yoplait Save Lids to Save Lives (1999 to present): Consumers were asked to save and mail in millions of sticky lids to raise 10 cents each to support Susan G. Komen, a breast cancer patient. To date it has raised more than $26 million.

3. Dove Campaign for Real Beauty (2004 to present): Unilever developed the Dove Self-Esteem Fund and hopes to reach 5 million young women with information on positive body image by the end of 2010.

4. 1,000 Playgrounds in 1,000 Days (2005 to 2008): The Home Depot and KaBOOM took employee volunteerism to build great places for kids to play within walking distance of their homes.

5. The Members Project (2007 to 2008): American Express pioneered the use of social media to direct corporate giving and buttressed brand appreciation with this effort. Over two years it gave away $4.5 million, including top winners the Alzheimer’s Association and U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

6. Whirlpool and Habitat for Humanity (2004 to 2007): The appliance maker transformed its previously little-known commitment to CSR by providing a refrigerator to each Habitat for Humanity home built in the U.S.

7. Lee National Denim Day (1996 to the present): Lee, a traditonal male brand, embraced the breast cancer cause by empowering consumers to organize workplace drives at which employees contributed $5 for the right to wear jeans to work on the first Friday in October. Over 13 years, the program has raised nearly $75 million for breast cancer research and advocacy.

8. Product (Red) (2006 to the present): With their privately held company, Bono and Bobby Shriver created a cause marketing campaign (RED). They licensed the brand to GAP, Apple, Armani and many other retailers. (RED) has raised more than $140 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

9. Live Strong Bracelet (2004 to present): Nike and Lance Armstrong Foundation first came up with the idea to raise funds and awareness to super cyclist’s cancer by yellow rubber bands.

They make up more than half the world’s population and represent billions of dollars of buying power, but marketing to women is still a challenge even for the brightest minds in mass media and consumer business.  Furthermore, many women say that they feel underserved in today’s consumer market.  As psychologists look deep into the female psyche to discover exactly what women want, everyone seems to be coming up with their own “revolutionary” insights.  Have any of these proven successful?

The simple answer is yes, sort of.  Women are a diverse market and cannot be stereotyped into one category or another.  Those in the marketing world tried to do this years ago and failed miserably.  Mass media have played a huge role in perpetuating—and at times changing—female stereotypes, and offer a number of unique case studies into popular culture.  Television shows are a great example of this phenomenon.

Oprah Winfrey, a hard -working news anchor turned international media mogul, is a role model for men and women alike (although most of her audience is women).  She is compassionate, honest, and generally optimistic about the future of our planet.  By supporting the arts and charity organizations around the world, she has gained the respect of her colleagues and the millions of viewers that watch her show religiously.  She tackles serious social challenges and brings real emotion to her live audience.  This makes for great entertainment and appeals to male and female audiences around the globe.

At the other end of the entertainment spectrum is the insanely popular Sex and the City sitcom.  The show takes a comical and sensational look at what it’s like to be a single woman in New York.  Raunchy and brutally honest, it’s the perfect example of how style and sex continue to sell in today’s world.  This also makes for great entertainment.

The point is that there is no universal formula for appealing to women.  Some women think that Oprah perpetuates outdated stereotypes of the “homemaker” woman and marginalizes females as emotionally fragile creatures.  Others find Sex and the City to be grossly misleading, highlighting only the most superficial and materialistic interests of the female gender.

These shows are successful not because they appeal to all women, but because they appeal to a particular personality with unique values and interests.  Entire teams of researchers are dedicated to studying these personalities.  Surveys are distributed and interviews are conducted as every corner of the television market is explored.  This is then the foundation for the show, and advertising campaigns worth billions of dollars are aimed at real people rather than female or male stereotypes.

In marketing along the gender line, the age of “just going pink” is officially over.

H.H highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice- president and prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai had inaugurated aswaaq community center in AL Mizhar

افتـَتح اليوم في دبي رئيس هيئة دبي للطيران الرئيس الأعلى لمجموعة طيران الإمارات الشيخ أحمد بن سعيد آل مكتوم فعاليات الدورة الخامسة للمؤتمر العالمي للقيادات النسائية في مجال الطاقة والتكنولوجيا
للمرة الأولى خارج الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية افتـَتح اليوم في دبي رئيس هيئة دبي للطيران الرئيس الأعلى لمجموعة طيران الإمارات الشيخ أحمد بن سعيد آل مكتوم فعاليات الدورة الخامسة للمؤتمر العالمي للقيادات النسائية في مجال الطاقة والتكنولوجيا
وفي كلمته الإفتتاحية قال إن العلاقات المعقدة بين شركات النفط العالمية ، وأسعار النفط ، والعرض والطلب ، والتكنولوجيا المستخدمة في هذا المجال، وموارد الطاقة البديلة من أهم القضايا التي يجب مواجهتها مؤكداً ثقته من أن هذا المؤتمر سيوفر منبراً لمناقشة أكثر قضايا العصر أهمية وإيجاد الحلول لها.
وأشاد الشيخ أحمد بن سعيد آل مكتوم بالجهود التي بُذلت لتنظيم هذا المؤتمر الذي خلق نوعاً من التواصل الدائم بين النساء في مجال صناعة الطاقة، حيث جعلوا منه منبراً للتعبير عن الأفكار وتبادل الآراء المختلفة في بيئة ديناميكية دائمة التجدد.
وقد اشتمل المؤتمر على العديد من المحاضرات وحلقات البحث التي ناقشت قضايا مهمة في مجال الطاقة مثل الحلول المستدامة لتلبية الطلب على الطاقة ، وديناميكيات وتأثيرات الأزمة الإقتصادية الحالية على العلاقة بين شركات النفط الدولية والوطنية
هذا واختـُتم المؤتمر بجلسة حوار، أتيحت من خلالها الفرصة للمشاركين لمناقشة المزيد من التفاصيل حول موضوعات المؤتمر ، و بناء علاقات و أوجه تعاون مختلفة.
يذكر أن المؤتمر العالمي للقيادات النسائية في مجال الطاقة والتكنولوجيا يعقد بشكل سنوي في مدينة هيوستن بولاية تكساس بالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية
إعداد
ميسون بركة
alaantube

A wow gift from O2Bahrain to O2MC Dubai

O2Planet Poster 

special thanks to Issam  

O2Planet

The 3rd Art Dubai has opened to public from today, 19 March to 21 March,2009 at the Madinat Arena.
The Fair has become a cornerstone for the rapidly growing art community of the Middle East.

Art Dubai is featuring almost 2,000 artworks by 465 artists, more than 20 hours of arts-related discussions in the Global Art Forum, and 20 hours of video art installation showing in the underground Art Park.

more details at Art Dubai Website

This is one of the greatest opportunities to see many arts from all over the world and get inspired from them.

This is a token of appreciation from aswaaq to O2  for the good work

Big thanks to aswaaq for uplifting, Bravo O2 team keep rocking

For those of you who missed the Value Branding seminar, I have taken the liberty of sending you my notes for your enlightenment.  Please note that they are not 100% comprehensive.
Enjoy!

Value Branding

Price is linear (quantitative), value is not (qualitative)
You cannot necessarily assign a price to quality

Decreasing price may erode brand image.  It may make them look cheap, undesirable.  Sometimes, it’s better to focus on value.

“Price is what you pay, value is what you get”
Waren Buffet

Ex:
Bunnings
hardware warehouse business, low prices, position themselves as a ‘do-it-yourself company’ (make customers believe they can do it themselves).  more…