We got close. The gold was within reach. But we let it go.Those are the sentimentsfelt in regard to the burgeoningfield of advertising in the Kingdom.The race to finally becomea country, whose advertisinglevel is at par with global standards,was lost.
London, Tokyo, and Rio are examples of metropolitancities that ooze creativity out ofevery alley and onto every street.Whether it’s with an abstractconcert flyer pasted on a wall,or a surreal shoe ad on a giantbillboard, these societies’ advertisementsreflect an intellectualconsumer audience that is ableto decipher and connect to suchworks. Unfortunately, here inSaudi we lack this kind of “intellectualadvertising.” And hence,are conceding to the world thatwe do not possess the audiencefor such creativity.
But Saudi is educated and imaginative, isn’t it? The Kingdom isbooming with untapped talent,right? Design magazine is basedentirely on this premise, and ifwe are correct to claim this (andof course, we believe we are!),then what is the cause for thesimplified, dimmed-down advertisingwe are currently exposedto? Why are we not producingprogressive works that reflect asophisticated society that is ableto produce, as well as comprehendinnovative and complexadvertisements?
According to Managing Director and Founder of the CreativeBoutique Witscomm, BakerSartawi, the purity of creativity ishindered due to the “yes man”mentality that is adopted by somany in the advertising fieldhere. “We need to create thenew ‘Saudi Ad Talent’ whose notafraid to say no when asked bya client to compromise,” statesBaker. Therefore, the Saudi AdTalent merely lacks confidence,not talent.
Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as pointing fingers atthe businessmen and women ofSaudi Arabia. “Many businessesare simply re-sellers. They do notproduce the product themselvesand therefore, are not emotionallyconnected to the productsthey represent,” reasons Baker.Using the hypothetical exampleof a creator of the newest, mostcutting-edge cell phone, who goesto an ad team and challenges themto be just as, or even more, creativethen his product; Baker illuminateson the contrast of having a philosophybehind a campaign ratherthan just the motivation to promotesales.
“The consumer is taken for granted,” asserts Baker. SaudiArabia lacks true data and sophisticatedconsumer segmentations.“We need more research agenciesto raise the bar and standards ofinformation generated,” emphasizesBaker, since it is this typeof information that functions as atrusted vehicle for client decisions.“Creative work is sold based on noclear data and consumer studies.Intellectual advertising will need afoundation of truth, and the truthlies in the data and information.”Take Dove’s “Real Beauty”campaign for example. Morethan just a sales promotion, itwas promoting a new sense ofaesthetics and self-acceptancethrough an ad concept that wastruly ingenious and appealed tothe consumer. “Every person hasa way to connect, but our adsin Saudi Arabia don’t connectto consumers because they’renot built on any local or globalinsights whatsoever,” emphasizesBaker.
Mobily™ understood this concept. And the launch of theirbold and progressive campaignreflected this enlightened position.Aaron Shields, partnerat Brandinstinct, the brandingagency that was an integral partof Mobily’s brand developmentdiscussed the launch of brand,Baker, also the former CreativeDirector at Y&R Jeddah (the firmresponsible for the Mobily™brand launch), provides an intimateportrait on the campaignthat acted as the starting pistol tothe pursuit of a higher standardin the advertising realm in SaudiArabia.
Mobily™ introduced the philosophy of humanication.“STC [Saudi TelecommunicationCompany™] ads only portrayeddevices: a cell phone or SIMcard. Mobily™ ads featuredpeople. It moved away fromtelecommunications and into anew domain—humanication—the act of people connectingwith people.” And Mobily™ wassuccessful. Despite having millionsof fewer consumers thanSTC, customers of Mobily™ arehumanicating far more throughthe services and features thatMobily™ had emphasized in orderto put them at an advantagefrom their competitor.
The establishment of Mobily™ also signified anotherbreakthrough in Saudi. “The ideaof another option,” states Baker.In a country that is usually dominatedby a single monopoly,such as STC before Mobily™ in2006, “the idea of an option wasgood enough for some to makethe switch over.” As the secondoperator, Mobily™ recognizedthis vulnerability and exploitedit with their slogan, “My World,My Choice” (Alam min ikhtyri).
With options comes competition and Mobily™ battled this by advancingon a new concept wherecompetition was still slacking—branding. By building a brandidentity, Mobily™ was creatinga ripple effect in the Saudiadvertisement sphere. Lookingat Al-Jawwal™ (the cell phoneprovider of STC) as the strict,paternal senior and themselvesas the hip and friendly youth,Mobily™ utilized this philosophyin all aspects of their campaign.From the logo, an icon that wasmanipulated to look like an abstractedopen door or word caption,to its approachable colors ofblue and white that symbolize abreeze of fresh air, Mobily™ incitedthe connotation of a “freshand welcoming” identity. Witha friendly name set it in an ultra-modern typeface, Mobily™wanted to be your friend.
Saudi Telecommunication Company™ (STC) didn’tjust remain idle, while their competitorzoomed by. Just like a runnerwho gets his second-wind,STC revamped their entire adcampaign and began catching upin terms of brand id. It was excitingto watch. STC also beganhumanizing its advertisements, aclear rebuttal to Mobily’s. “STCalso capitalized on the concept ofnationalism. STC is a Saudi company.Mobily is not,” states Baker.STC then began to stress theirservices, as well as their longerpresence in the industry. This cementedaswell as celebrated theirimage as the senior company.
Yet Mobily™ continued to gain speed. With its ads promotingMobily’s many features andservices, STC had to re-think itsphilosophy. Manipulating Mobily’ssubscriber clientele, whichconsists of pre-paid users, STClaunched a loyalty campaign thatwould capture these consumerswho were not obligated towardsMobily™. By producing ads thatemphasized the class and sophisticationof possessing a permanentSIM card, STC presentedtheir senior image in a positivelight, as a symbol of the well-establishedbusinessman.
In other words, Mobily™ pre-paid cardsmeant you’re a kid. And if you’rea kid, you know the last thing youwant is to be considered one. Sothis appealed to Mobily’s targetaudience, the youth of Saudi,as well as attacked Mobily’s imageof youth as representative ofamateurism. And just like that,we were witnessing a full-fledgedbattle between two telecommunicationrivals.
Then the race got dirty. Al Jawwal™ blatantly attacked Mobily’sRagami service and poorernetwork coverage with a series ofprinted ads that portrayed a manbuildingnetwork bars with the slogan,“What good is your numberwhen you don’t have full coverage?”
The words were printed in Mobily’s signature typeface andcolors, adding salt to the wound.Mobily™ retorted with a religioussaying, Allahuma Enni Saim, or inEnglish, “God give me patience,I’m fasting,” as if to say they areabove countering Al Jawwal’s ads.But their mere acknowledgmentand response to the advertisementwas a contradiction to thissentiment and moved them awayfrom the original campaign.
Like the investors of Mobily™, thirtypercent of whom are non-Saudis,Baker scrutinized Mobily™ fortheir shift from their purportedphilosophy, “What was the benefitof doing this ad? Why are they[Mobily] spending approximatelySR2 million on a campaign thatjust wanted to lash back at AlJawwal?”
With both sides overtly attacking each other, Mobily™lost sight of its initial goal. “Theyshifted focus,” states Baker, “andparted from their initial strategy,which was to build their image.”Instead of continuing to developtheir brand philosophy and corporatevalues, Mobily™ participatedin competitive pricing withits revival.
“The original plan was to present Mobily as an inspiringbrand through its advertising andproduct offerings,” states Baker,“but [today] it’s just anotherbrand, it’s no longer inspiring.”Once Mobily™ stirred off course,the race was lost.
The standard of advertising dropped back down tothe amateur level that we wereso close from escaping. What’sworse is that the standard of servicefrom Mobily™ also plunged.With dropped calls and a weakerInternet network, Mobily™ wastoo busy competing with STC toensure the service and featuresthat set them apart from STC inthe first place were upheld. “Theyshould have stuck to building theirimage,” believes Baker, “it wouldhave been far more beneficial inthe long run.”
“Mobily needed to keep their momentum,” observes Baker,“[Yet] that’s what happens whenyou have a client telling you it’s nottime, lets keep doing promotionsbecause sales are what are tangible.”Therefore, when the counterparton the client side doesn’tchallenge the creative talent, thework produced is compromised.It’s the “yes man” mentality comingback to bite you in the butt.
It was that concession and eventualshift away from the brand philosophythat was the cramp that leftus two meters behind the finishline unable to complete the race.But Baker reminds us, “Don’t forgetthat advertising in Saudi hasevolved greatly [over] the past 10years.” Saudi has the potential.We just have to start saying no.