Women’s Lunchbox: Social Media
Being a women in business here in the Middle East I get my fair share women only events, the invitation itself is usually in various shades of pink and often shoes and handbags are woven into the design. This usually puts me off immediately.
But last week I received an invite that was to a The Woman’s Lunchbox and no shades of pink, shoes or handbags were to be found. The topic also intrigued me; Social Media: Return on Investment.
I can’t say that I learnt anything new from today’s session, but what I liked most about this talk was the bringing together of such diverse and great minds in one panel and hearing how important social media is for them in their business.
Akanksha Goel, Executive Director at Socialize really had her finger on the pulse and has done some great work for clients here in the region.
Gail Potter gave her experiences as Content Manager at ExpatWoman.com in various countries here in the Middle East.
From the client side Mahitab Hamed shared her knowledge from her role as Marketing Manager for Freisland Campina Middle East managing several brands.
Saba Wahid who is highly active in social media with her own blog site Culinary Delights.
And from another perspective, Aisha Ali from Dubai School of Government’s Communications and External Affairs.
With social media growing at a rate of 160% here in the Middle East (the biggest growth rate in the world) in English and Arabic, we can not ignore it. It is not just for the younger generation and certainly is not just a fad.
I am looking forward to the next Woman’s Lunchbox event (as long as there is no pink in the invite).
Every year DUBAL throws a grand party to thank its customers and business partners. For a lot of companies this is can be a pretty tedious and lame affair. DUBAL knows how to do this to reflect and enhance on its core values: people first.
They spend an enormous amount of energy ensuring that everybody feels welcome and has a great time. Like the guest in the photo who definitely enjoyed the special attention given to him amidst 600 revelers.
Since a majority of its customers come from Asia and love golf, they also tie this yearly affair to their long-lasting support Dubai’s most renown golf tournament, the Dubai Desert Classic.
While this seems quite logical, what I particularly enjoy is how they make a 600 people event feel personal. Everyone is treated as if they were the most important guest. This time we all got to dress as Emiratis, sample local delicacies, enjoy fire and belly dancers, ride camels, get beautiful Henna tattoos, smoke a little shisha, all this on the stunning backdrop of the Burj Al Arab.
What is extraordinary with DUBAL is that these values are not just skin deep and showcased once a year. They run deep within the company. They treat their employees with the greatest respect and ensure their build successful lives with DUBAL. That’s probably why a lot of them have been with the company for more than 20 years. This dedication is in turn reflected by all employees. In DUBAL, from the watchman to the CEO, you always receive a warm welcome, always feel special and within a warm and professional environment.
This is the smartest way to do business when you deal with commodities such as aluminium. While they make some of the purest and the most complex alloys, the true difference with DUBAL is in its people and how they treat their customers.
It’s been three years since we’ve managed most of the internal and external communication for DUBAL and we look forward to many more years to come. Congratulations and thank you again to DUBAL for being such a living example of what made Arabic hospitality famous the world over.
Website navigation re-defined
Who says website navigation needs to be boring?
Ever since website usability came onto the scene, designers and information architects have fallen all over themselves to stick to the principles of usability. One side effect of this has been that the vast majority of new websites look like they’ve been forced through the same old cookie cutter. Sure the designs have been radical and the content organisation fresh. But everyone chose not to mess around with the navigational elements.
Fortunately for us, there are still a few mavericks out there who choose to swim against the tide. I like the approach three of them have taken with regard to re-defining navigation. Whether they are usable or not… you be the judge!
www.hellogoodlooking.fi
www.sectionseven.com
www.gleis3.wm03.de
Classic Advertising
We here at Tonic are always on the lookout for new and innovative automotive advertising, but this week I went back in time when I came across these classic automotive ads. Did they really think back then that this is what we did in our cars?
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DC Entertainment’s New Identity
DC Entertainment’s new identity reflects the long and successful history of secret identities, superpowers, and storytelling that they’ve been known and admired for since being founded in 1934. The “D” in “DC” is partially peeled to reveal the hidden “C” which represents the unique characteristics of various super heroes. At the same time, this allows DC comics to animate the logo on various media such as film, smart phone applications and games. Something that many publishers have scarcely considered, let alone implemented when it comes to the digital age!
What I liked most about this interactive identity is that it moves away from the static nature of most brands and can be creatively applied and themed on all digital media platforms. Read more…
Requiem for the QR code
They’ve been around for decades. They are quick, inexpensive to produce and very effective at adding an interactive layer to two-dimensional printed advertisements. Most brands however, continue to struggle with them. In the annals of advertising lore, notable failures far outnumber success stories. Which probably explains why QR (or quick response) codes have been written off by most marketing pundits.
But is the QR code really doomed? Or have most agencies, unable to comprehend their potential, been abusing them in all possible ways? Take the recently run campaign by Visa Gold, (pictured) which is plastered across all the metro stations and malls. The initial design called for a subtle gray QR code that fit beautifully into the layout. Trouble is this didn’t provide for enough contrast to get the code working! Imagine how many users were frustrated when they tried getting it to work. Now, there are ugly black patches stickered on top of the design making it unsightly in addition to advertising the fact that it wasn’t thought through. I’ll bet very few of the initial users are going to be coming back for a second helping.
QR codes demand an active, engaged audience. You know – that rare specie who is willing to search for and download an App, point at a square piece of code on a random surface and wait, hoping to gain access to unspecified content which could be anything ranging from a YouTube video to a basic link to a website or (rarely) free downloadable content that truly adds value. When brands reward them with valuable content that makes their experience better, they will lap it up and reward said brand with clicks indicating loyalty. Mess up and QR codes as a whole get a bad name.
It is actually up to the brand to intelligently make use of QR codes. There is no point in including a QR code randomly in a print advertisement to guide people to a website when it offers no additional value. There is even less point to doing the same thing online when the user can just click a link to get to said website! Just like what these guys, who really should know better, have deplorably done.
While we all wait with bated breath for someone, somewhere to get it right, here are some fundamental questions that anyone planning a campaign with QR codes must necessarily consider.
Is there a genuine business objective?
Does the campaign add value for the consumer?
Where is the campaign likely to happen?
Does the venue have adequate Wi-Fi or Internet access?
Does the QR campaign make access to content simpler?
Lastly, are you simply doing this for the perceived ‘cool’ quotient?
Try it out honestly. You’ll see whether you should toy with QR at all!
I love to be proven wrong; from time to time. As we say back home, only idiots never change their mind.
In the last issue of Culture Pub (http://www.culturepub.fr), I discovered a new LG commercial. And for once, I was pleasantly surprised to admit it is pretty cool.
Breaking away from their usually stale brand of advertising. You know the one where they take an otherwise pretty mundane product feature and shove it as deep as possible down our throat. The kind that makes you think you’ll never get these 30 seconds of your life back.
Well this time, they managed to make me laugh while clearly demonstrating the USP of their new vacuum cleaner. Check it out on (http://tinyurl.com/6lhp8r4).
Of course, it’s from Australia and they are used to raise the bar, but still, doing this on LG is a feat in itself. Kudos to George Patterson Y&R in Sydney (http://www.gpyr.com.au/). A great demonstration of their “ruthlessly relevant” motto.
Sinarline’s event
For two consecutive years, Tonic has successfully organised the Sinarline on-the-spot art competition for children in Dubai and Doha. The event came to life in Dubai Festival City and Villagio Mall, Doha, graced by Demmy Primadianto, International Brand Manager of Sinarline/Tjiwi Kimia Paper Products. Demmy was overwhelmed by the response to the competition, as this year’s outcome was bigger than expected. The first two hours alone registered more than a hundred participants and more poured in until the end of the event. The contest is designed to encourage children to explore their creativity and express their artistic skills and interact with other children.
A very happy new year from Tonic!
Tonic celebrates the holidays
If the Mayans have their way, 2012 is when it all ends. It was only fitting then that we Tonicians celebrated the holidays like there was no tomorrow, cramming in a sweet-filled lunch, bowling mayhem and karaoke chaos in one action-packed day planned by the irrepressible Mamta. We started off with a pizza feast capped off by the most adorably delicious cupcakes from Iya and presents from our Secret Santas. Then we bundled onto the bus, where Arnaud showed off his skills at deduction in 21 Questions. We headed off to the Al Nasr Bowling Centre where our very own Ameen showed he can deliver more than just packages, achieving the highest scores in the entire group. Still fueled by adrenalin, our next stop was Harry Gato’s where Jad didn’t even need the monitors and a microphone to belt out every song that came on the queue, and Scott proved he could get down with some Ice Ice Baby. It was definitely the most exciting Thursday of 2011 and hopefully just a taste of all the fun in store for us in 2012.
Iya's mouth-watering creations
Merry Christmas, indeed!
Santa's little helpers
Posers
Singing sensations!
