Honda: Everybody knows somebody who loves a Honda

Honda Brand campaign began in August when Honda launched its official Facebook page (www.facebook.com/honda) with a social-experiment application to recruit Honda fans to show how everyone knows someone who loves a Honda. Once users joined the social experiment, they could become a fan of Honda and a handful of specific Honda vehicles. As of early October, all current Honda vehicles now have fan pages too. Once users participated in the experiment, they see how they are connected to their friends, view a chain of friends in their Honda web, and find out just how long their chain extends around the world.
Three early participants in the Facebook social-experiment were cast to appear in the new Honda Brand spots. All others featured in the spots are actual Honda owners and were selected through real-people casting in New York, N.Y.; Boulder, Colo.; and Charleston, S.C., where the spots were filmed. The multimedia campaign includes one 30-second spot and two 15-second spots.
An online hub (http://love.honda.com) for the Brand campaign, contains all three TV spots plus extra footage in a connected, sequential chain. Within the chain of spots, users can click on the Honda owner cast members and listen to more than 20 interviews of cast members talking about their personal Honda experiences.

Advertising Agency: RPA, Santa Monica, CA, USA
Creative Directors: Joe Baratelli, Patrick Mendelson
Art Director: Hobart Birmingham
Copywriters: Perrin Anderson, Tylynne McCauley
Other additional credits:
ECD: David Smith
CD: Joe Baratelli
CD: Patrick Mendelson
Jr. Art Director: Brian Farkas
EP: Gary Paticoff
Agency Producer: Brian Donnelly

Arabia Decade Awards|10 Years in Advertising and Marketing

So, we are coming to the end of the first decade of the new millenium, It has been a rollercoaster for our industry, the expansion of media types changing the way we think about planning and creative work forever.

To mark the passing of the event I would like to call for nominations for the 'Arabia Decade Awards' 

The categories are as follows, campaigns must have run between 2000 and now:

• Best Arab TV ad
• Best Arab Print ad
• Best Arab Online content (not website)
• Best Arab Website
• Best Arab Thought in a Campaign
• Best Arab PR campaign
• Best Arab Account Person
• Best Arab Planner
• Best Arab Creatives
• Best Arab Ad/Mkt/PR book
• Worst Arab Ad
• Best Arab Agency
• Worst Arab Agency (please include a brief reason so I can exclude unconstructive votes)

Please reply or send your nominations to me: ayman[dot]sarhan[at]gmail[dot]com

Tanmia Chicken|Summer Nuggets

Ice cream


Butterfly





Fish

Djeje mfakkra 7ala booza

Djeje mfakkra 7ala farache

Djeje mfakkra 7ala samke

Djeje mfakkra 7ala marse

 Agency: Leo Burnett

General Motors | The Book of Yes

Absolut Flavor of the Tropics

Designed by Williams Murray Hamm | Country: United Kingdom

“Williams Murray Hamm has designed the bottle graphics for Absolut Flavor Of The Tropics, a new limited edition that will be launched exclusively in Duty Free/Travel Retail globally for a 6 month period. The product offers the travellers a new exotic vodka flavour that is not available in stores back home. Williams Murray Hamm, a leading packaging design agency in the UK, was tasked with putting an ‘Absolut twist’ on tropical fruit.
From Florida and the Caribbean to Hawaii and the Seychelles, exotic fruits thrive in the humid weather of the sun-drenched tropics. Williams Murray Hamm’s design expresses the fruit through strikingly bright thermal images of the world map. It offers a brand new look for Absolut that captures this new exotic flavour and offers consumer the perfect souvenir from their intrepid journey.

“Absolut Tropics represents the first time we have been able to launch a brand new, innovative flavour exclusively to travelling consumers, people who are always on the lookout for something new and thrilling. For a leading edge, creative brand such as ABSOLUT, it’s crucial that we work with creative partners that can think laterally when answering a brief. The solution from Williams Murray Hamm lived up to our expectations and delivers something fresh and unexpected”

Toyota Yaris Social Media Campaigns

Trivial Pursuit Experiment

TRIVIAL PURSUIT, the ultimate authority on trivia, is throwing down the gauntlet and asking women and men to represent their team and take part in the experiment to find out if the age-old question of who's smarter than who can be answered once and for all through trivia. Played out on www.trivialpursuitexperiment.com, simply log on to join in and earn points for your brotherhood or sisterhood by answering as many questions as you want. Each question you answer correctly will earn a point for your team.


Trivial Pursuit Experiment - Who’s Smarter than Who?
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Trivial Pursuit Experiment: Points go to the Men
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Trivial Pursuit Experiment: Points go to the Women
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Daffy's Dancers JUMP out of MOVIE SCREEN

The discount retail chain Daffy's staged such live performances over the weekend at the Ziegfeld Theater in Midtown Manhattan before screenings of the new film Amelia. In a campaign by Johannes Leonardo in New York, part of WPP, dancers acted out how shoppers try on clothes in what was called Fitting Dance."

Media One Hotel | Trendy, Funky, Cool, Hip

The Media One Hotel, designed with the savvy business traveller in mind, has received its official four-star hotel ranking from the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) as it opened on Sunday in Dubai Media City.


Positioned amid city landmarks and bustling corporate head quarters, Media One Hotel promises guests a refreshingly new hotel experience, especially those seeking style, comfort and smart service.

As part of its pre-opening marketing drive Media One Hotel has created an innovative directional display on a major roundabout in Media City.

In keeping with the spirit of the media industry, Media City, as well as the hotels name, the display consists of two oversized film director chairs, clapper boards and quirky messages. The creative design is set to catch the eye of anyone using the busy roundabout and should firmly place the hotel on the neighbourhoods map. The roundabout provides clear directional signage to the hotel’s entrance when using either Media City or Internet City’s main entrances. 

“We all love the design. It’s a bit tongue in cheek, a little quirky and lots of fun,” said Richard Senior, the hotel’s Director of Sales and Marketing. “Trendy, inspiring and funky - this is what Media One Hotel stands for. From the various unusual design elements through to the unique guest service we will offer, it’s all about being young, vibrant and edgy in everything we do. We think this roundabout design fits just that. And let’s face it; I think it will be hard to miss!”

Set for a soft opening later this month, Media One Hotel promises guests a refreshingly new hotel experience. The property has been designed with the savvy business traveller in mind, and particularly those seeking style, comfort and smart service. Given its location, Media One Hotel also aims to become the ultimate trendy hang out for professionals based in and around Media City.


The property blends modern architecture with an innovative design, creating a fresh and funky retreat. Given its location, Media One Hotel also aims to become the ultimate trendy hang out for professionals based in and around Media City
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Number of Rooms 260 Number of Floors 23

Cleverly combining a dynamic sense of style, striking design and savvy business-traveller appeal, the four-star Media One is a hip new hotel that believes in doing things differently. It is ideally positioned in the heart of Dubai’s bustling Media City district, making it the location of choice for professionals seeking style, comfort and smart service. From its unconventional atmosphere through to its smart and thoughtful service, Media One believes that it's the small things that make the big difference, and lives up to this promise in every detail. Each of the hotel's 260 bedrooms and suites has been vibrantly designed to invigorate and inspire. The hotel features a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant on the eighth floor, in addition to a stylish chill-out cafe in the main lobby. Guests are invited to relax in the hotel gym, outdoor pool and terrace. Media One Hotel Dubai houses a fully-equipped business centre, seven meeting rooms, a selection of retail outlets, a spacious lobby and ample parking. Media One Hotel Dubai is a hotel of the WORLDHOTELS Deluxe Collection.

Scandinavian Airlines 2D code mobile boarding passes - SAS go fully paperless

After a successful trial earlier this year, Scandinavian airlines have announced that passengers can now use 2D code mobile boarding passes on flights operated by SAS and Blue1 across Scandinavia and Europe.

SAS mobile boarding pass (with 2D Code)

- When passengers check-in via SMS or the SAS Mobile Portal (http://m.flysas.com), check-in confirmation contains a web link and when clicked the Mobile Boarding Pass is displayed on the phone

- The Mobile Boarding Pass contains details of flight number, seat number, departure and arrival time - and it also contains a 2D Bar Code

- The 2D Bar Code can be used to register baggage at SAS Self Service Kiosks. Holding a mobile boarding pass up to the bar code scanner starts the baggage check process

- To board the plane the bar code is simply held up to a bar code scanner at the gate

SAS Mobile boarding pass benefits

Scandinavian Airlines / SAS have been pushing mobile services this year as they strive towards having 80% of passengers check-in using the internet or mobile. A few months ago a hard copy of the Scandinavian Airlines tongue-in-cheek 'Love At First Flight' guide to mobile travel solutions was sent to a large number of customers to promote SAS mobile products:

Love At First Flight guide to mobile solutions (read the whole story here)

The SAS mobile initiatives are a good example of how mobile marketing is more than just 'banners on a different screen.' Mobile should be seen as an enabler and there are great opportunities to harness mobile to improve customer experience. Full mobile check-in is a good example of this - making life easier for passengers and streamlining process for the airline at the airport.

Social Media Marketing in Arabia

It seems that Saudi companies are not yet sure about the importance of social media marketing and whether it should play a role in their marketing and branding strategies or not. Internationally, using social media tools (e.g. Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, Youtube channels, etc …) is becoming THE trend among other marketing tools and initiatives.

When the buzz about the potential use of social media in creating an added value to their brands, companies were just waiting to see how things will turn around. Justifying the costs of resources they will dedicate to build such a social media presence was the main concern occupying the minds of these companies’ managements. In other words, managers were thinking; what is the return on such investment?

The global marketing scene has moved from this basic step to discuss the specifics of having a successful presence online. The question of ‘should we have social media accounts?’ has been changed to ‘how to relate and engage with our customers using social media accounts?’. So it is not about the presence anymore, it is about the engagement. According to a study by Wetpaint and Altimeter Group, there is a correlation between a company’s social media engagement and its profit (more on this point is here). That means these social media accounts can be used as a channel of communication with customers. To be successful, this channel has to be dealt with as a long term investment and a major activity for marketing and branding teams. The presence should be alive, active, and emotionally engaging to the customers. Small gestures like saying ‘thank you’ to a Twitter customer, or saying ‘we will make sure to fix that’ on a Facebook page could make a difference with customers and boost their loyalty to the company.

Now, I have been looking around Twitter to check out Saudi companies’ presence over there. And it seems that most of them are in the trap of ‘cold social media presence’. The giant, Saudi Aramco has 351 followers only, can you believe that? Check out now the telecom rivals STC and Mobily, !

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Cisco Saudi is the best company in practicing social media marketing in Saudi, they have a blog http://iam.cisco.com.sa and an active twitter account http://twitter.com/ciscosaudi beside a very good Facebook fan page with more than 1000 fans, also they are engaging with other Saudi technology blogs (sponsoring contests in tech-wd.com).

here is an interesting study http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007335