3Cs for Lebanese Communication

(First Published in ArabAd magazine - October 2013)

 

“A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.”

Mahatma Gandhi

Lebanon and Communication

A lot said and written about the Lebanese Miracle and the imaginary bird that rises from its ashes. We have not left any birds except those in supermarkets and the only miracle is that we still have an imaginary country and a passport for those who wish to return for retirement.

Why? – We can give you at least 128 reasons and more but this is not the intention today.

Lebanon and Advertising have a perfect fit made in heaven. If we want to define communication and advertising as using ideas and language to promote and facilitate business and trade, we can trace this practice back to the invention of the Alphabet by the Phoenicians in order to communicate with other peoples and to promote their business and trading activities. Do you think this stretched too much? – No. This is just being Lebanese. 

In the modern times, Lebanon and communication had again a very strong fit that manifested in so many ways. We can also use branding and communication terms to give our diagnosis for Lebanon’s ongoing dilemma. It is a brand with “confused identity” and lack of “unifying purpose” and “rallying promise”.

The Ingredients of Success

The current overall situation in Lebanon is affecting every single aspect of life and in particular an industry that relies heavily on a healthy economy and stability.

Let us try to forget for a moment the famous cliché about how we invented advertising in the Middle East and how we use to rule it and try to understand the real market situation in Lebanon and how can we still develop and boost the communication industry in the country. Is the Lebanese success in communication related to an era that is gone or to a number of necessary conditions that can bring this success again to life? 

We have to admit first that the “Lebanese personality type” has a special talent for communication of all sorts and this is a real piece of Lebanon in every one of us. However, this is not enough to have a healthy and successful industry that can grow and compete.

The proof of the above is the phenomenal success of other cities and countries in the region that managed to gather the right recipe and the right ingredients to create a very successful communication industry at a world-class level.

Let us explore these “ingredients” with the hope that we can use them to “reconstitute” our success in advertising and communication, a success that will last and grow in Lebanon and beyond.

The 3 Cs: Culture, Context & Creativity

If we examine the ingredients of success, we will discover 3 main areas that we need to focus on and we are going to call them the 3Cs.

#1 – Culture

A good advertising and communication industry needs a good culture, a culture rich with ideas and storytelling.

Culture is about the shared language and understanding that makes communication so easy and interesting.

Culture is about the values and the fights that rally groups of people if not the whole nation around certain ideas.

Culture means good education, better universities and more specializations related to advertising and communication. It means new specializations every day to be up to date with global development and to be ahead of the market so our story will be more interesting and attractive.

Culture is about instilling the spirit of entrepreneurship in the new generations so early in life they can learn to start a small business, such as creating a mobile application that can make them millionaires at 14.

Culture is the rich “national cloud” of ideas, stories, jokes, songs and slang expressions that connect people and make them smile and take action.

Culture is freedom to think and to express ideas through all media of all types: traditional, new and social.

Culture is watching much less of the poisonous local news and see international channels to learn and discover.

#2 – Context

Context is a healthy economy that can attract, generate and pump a good flow of capital and resources in the country’s system. The communication industry’s role is to be a catalyst for business. For this industry to grow, it needs other industries to keep creating and selling new products and services.

Context is infrastructure, good roads, good telecom services, excellent internet that connects people and companies inside and outside the country.

Context is favorable legislations to encourage business and favor an easy establishment of new companies and startups.

Context is Free Zones, business incubators and all the widely tested and proved formulas that encourage individual and institutional investors to put their faith and money in new projects in Lebanon.

Context means security, political stability and visibility for business to start, grow and develop.

Context means excellent foreign relations for Lebanon, starting with the all the Arab countries.


#3 – Creativity
Creativity is ideas. Ideas that make or break businesses, brands, countries and political parties.
Creativity is talent. First grade talent nothing less.

Creativity is expression without fear from any form of oppression. 

Creativity is motivation. Motivation to change, to come up with new ideas, new services and products that can change the world.

Creativity is innovation that gives us an advantage over the competition. Whoever was this competition.

Creativity is about knowing ourselves, our country, our strong assets and our limitations and how we are going to change the world.   

The Way Forward

The list can go on and on; but if we want to change and regain the shine of the Lebanese communication industry, everyone can start in her and his area and the collective effort will eventually cover all 3Cs and take us forward.

By the way, the Lebanese communication industry can also lose few Cs for a better future and better business.


The 4^th C
The 4^th C is a small Cedar tree, a virtual one that is in the heart and soul of every Lebanese, in Lebanon and outside. This is the “country” that is inside every one of us, and that we take with us everywhere we go. This is not about poetry, but about a solid reality built by all the Lebanese success stories around the world and in every industry. This is the very “Lebaneseness” that make us so good in communication, in creativity, in business, in arts, in culture, in survival, and in so many other things. The same Lebaneseness that can succeed everywhere except in building a real country in our homeland.

 

Jean-Claude Saade (jc.saade@manifestoconsulting.com)

 

Branding in the Digital and Social Media Age

 

“It is not slickness, polish, uniqueness, or cleverness that makes a brand a brand. It is Truth.” ― Harry Beckwith

 Abstract: Every era brings a new set of challenges and opportunities. The current explosion of the digital space and social media has deeply affected the marketing scene and how brands are behaving. We wonder whether the core principles of branding have also changed.

Branding and the Digital Age

Branding, which is the art and science of building and managing brands to deliver more value for businesses and consumers is “in theory” media-neutral. However, the “how” we connects and interact with people and brands is practically defining many aspects of who we are and where our society is heading.

Strong brands are built on a foundation of meaningful brand strategy and distinguished identity systems that makes them attractive and unique to certain groups of people. Whether the interaction with customers is happening in the physical world or online, through one channel or many channels, the core principles of branding are not supposed to change. However, the manifestation of the brand and its connection with consumers have taken a totally new dimension in the digital age.

Suddenly it is the 1990’s again when every brand wanted a website. Now every brand is looking to have a presence on all the main social media networks and to have a smartphone application.

This is adding many layers of complexity to the brand communication system, but also creating new markets and adding new opportunities for brands to interact and connect with consumers and online communities.

With the new horizons that Digital and Social are opening for brands and businesses comes a clear challenge for these brands to be up-to-date, attractive, interesting, and consistent in all their online and social networks interaction with their target groups.

 

Control Shift

In the traditional communication world, brands and their advertising agencies controlled the communication process and TV had the central and most influential role in building brands and forming public opinion about various topics through the delivery of news, entertainment and advertising.

The theoretical distinction between the interests of advertisers and media was probably a myth – the same applies to the demarcation between politics and media where interference presents serious damage to the concept of democracy and free public opinion.

One of the main characteristics of the present online times is the shift in control from companies to the consumers and users. Brands and businesses do not control what they want to communicate about themselves anymore. Instead of the tightly controlled one-way and single-channel communication activities through traditional media, brands are now in continuous contact with consumers through a growing number of touch points and channels around-the-clock.

Moreover, it is not the brand that decide the time and channel of communication anymore; consumers are now taking more control and the initiative in searching for information and looking up brands online and offline. Besides the information aspect, consumers are having powerful means for sharing and forming opinions and experiences about brands in social media and across the online and digital space.

The Way Ahead

With the continuous development of technology and broadband, the digital world will continue to gain in importance and influence as the main source of information and interaction where brands have to exist and interact with their customers and consumers.

The near future will add another layer of complexity to the equation where the “Mobility” factor will be in sync with digital and online. More people are accessing the internet through their mobile devices and very soon, cars and all other mobility vehicle will be continuously connected to the digital world. People will be connecting their smartphones to smart systems in their cars that will put them “online” all the time with all the possibilities that will be added for social and work activities. To complete the picture, we need to add the “mobility” factor to the equation. Therefore, the future is going to be Digital, Mobile and Connected.

Businesses and companies will have very little control over their communication with customers, but will have to enter the game of digital-mobile-connectivity according to new rules that are based on more transparency and truth. Here branding will have to adapt and evolve to the dynamics of the new digital world. The schizophrenic approach between what brands use to put in their Vision and Mission statements and what they do in reality will have to end – This applies to all sorts of brands, commercial, artistic and political as well.

Brands are using a considerable part of their communication budgets to create an online and digital presence; but this will not necessarily secure for them online and digital success.

People and brands are spending more time online and on social media networks, which is expected to become the norm for an important number of people and for a whole new generation.

 

Brand Truth

In the new world, all brand activities have to be true to the brand 24/7 as consumers are continuously checking the brand and its activities. In this context, the best advertising for any brand is its true self.

The more touch-points we have, the more consistency, transparency and truth are needed from brands – this is the only golden rule.

Since “branding” has always been a very human concept, the answers to branding questions for the present times can be always found in very basic human behavior. The best strategy not to be caught lying, is to always say the truth.

 

Branding 3.0

Branding that flourished in the physical world of design and communication will discover unlimited opportunities to connect and build brands and communities online. Like advertising and other brand services, branding has to adapt to the digital world and embrace the great opportunities that are made possible.

In the Digital Age and Social Media reign, the role of branding is becoming even more important. Facing the proliferation of media and the fragmentation of the connection channels, brands will have an increasing need to have a very clear and differentiated strategy and identity to stand out and appeal to their various target audiences.

This clear and differentiated identity will be delivered by both the strategic and creative sides of branding. One clearly defined and expressed brand “Truth” will be able to create a stronger and more enchanting connection with customers and consumers across different media and social networks.

Strategic branding is not going out fashion in the digital world; on the contrary, it is becoming more important and needed to cut through the noise and the over-communication in the market place.

One more time, technological advances and market dynamics are working for the benefit of the consumer by forcing brands to be more transparent and genuinely good in order to be allowed to enter people’s life and their social environment.

This new and enhanced Branding will have a new set of rules to better deliver in the digital age.

The 7 rules of branding in the digital age

1 – Brands should be always ready to connect online and offline 24/7.

2 – Brand experience is the final judgment for brands – brands will always be as good as their last delivery on brand experience.

3 – Online, “Free” is not enough; you have to be “Interesting enough”.

4 – Unless you are already a mega brand, do not expect mega success online. For good brands, it will eventually happen.

5 – Online is Ongoing – brands need a very high energy level to cope and deliver 24/7. If you are not ready or do not have enough content and resources, better to be very selective.

6 – Always innovate, but always stay relevant to the brand core promise – It is possible.

7 – Brand identity and manifestations have to work equally good online and offline.

A brand that is always consistent, always delivering on its promises, and always true to itself and to its customers and consumers will be recognized and praised online and offline. This is a basic expectation from big brands, now it is only more urgent and necessary for their success and survival.

The core principles of brand building remain the same, but branding manifestation and applications have to adopt more transparent and innovative ways partly because of the huge development of the digital realm and social media.

It is true that the past few years have brought a lot new elements to the branding and communication marathon. However, we would like to remind brands and businesses that social media might have invented a very sophisticated running shoe, but it has not invented running.

Jean-Claude Saade (jc.saade@manifestoconsulting.com)

manifesto is a consulting firm specialized in brand strategy, innovation and communication.

 

 

 

The Future of TV

 

“You’ve gotta move forward … as soon as you can figure out what that means.”                             Don Draper in Mad Men, Season 2, Six Month Leave

Abstract: TV is a very important medium in our life and the TV industry has been always changing and adopting new ways and technologies. This time, the change is big and will take the “TV product” that TV stations and media companies are offering to a different level. This might be alarming for some people, but we believe it will lead to more control and better experiences for consumers. It also can be great news for the prepared brands.

Like Everything Else, TV Is Changing

New trends and technologies are changing the way we live, interact and consume everything including TV programs, news and content. If the television set has given its name to a whole industry of content producers, media houses and broadcasters with all the companies and jobs that revolve around them; the same TV set is not going to remain our main tool for news, movies and entertainment watching.

Moreover, consumers’ relationship with TV watching is also changing. Technology innovations are actually going in the right direction, as we see it at least, and giving consumers more and more control over their content consumption as well as their relationship with their preferred programs and stations. The more technology will develop, the faster the current TV model will evolve to give place to a more personalized TV experience.

Things are bound to change; either by throwing all these elements in the “market pot” and wait for a new balance to come out; or by actively contributing to creating the future of the TV business with one clear objective in mind: to offer customers a better experience – Money and success usually should follow. 

 

TV Media Business

This curve jumping change is also going to change the nature of the TV ad business. The products and the tools of the TV media sales will not be the same.

·         The “holy grid” of TV stations is eventually going to disappear.

·         Linear TV model for All where the stations and the network control the delivery is going to shift into a more personal and flexible TV experience that is more controlled by the viewer.

 

·         The new TV experience will go outside the current home viewing setting thanks to the growing coverage of Wi-Fi and mobile internet.

 

·         Telecom companies will be in a position to provide the backbone and delivery networks for TV services and will be able to claim a bigger cut of the market.

 

·         Global brands like Google and Apple might come up with complete ecosystems for their TV experience that can bypass many players in the current chain.

 

·         Channels will be replaced by applications (that will offer a new experience and on multiple viewing devices including smart TVs)

 

·         Waiting for TV programs, and having to watch advertisements will become something of the past if not from the past already in some other markets.

In addition to TV stations, the TV related media business would have to reinvent itself. It also can take the lead in change in order to maintain the competitive edge of the brands they represent.

TV stations that are funded by governments do not follow the same market dynamics and do not have the same concerns; but eventually will embrace the same technology and the same consumption mode.

With the disappearance of the linear model, TV advertising and the whole model of TV monetization will need to be reinvented to link the new TV experience with a fair economic model that is good for both the TV industry and for the consumer who is used to Free TV in many markets. The way we see the future model is a combination of a lot of free general content combined with very affordable paid premium content whether through subscriptions or advertising.

Consumers will be able to customize their viewing experience, using their online profiles across different devices and platforms which will offer marketers with new possibilities for accurate consumer segmentation and profiling.

 

Create Content and Adapt Content

The change is not going only to affect the TV consumption mode and TV advertising but will also need a new strategy for Content.

Viewing time, place, mode, and device will all have their influence on content consumption and the type and format of this content.

Besides political and business News that has to be Immediate, Accurate and Insightful, but will fade very fast; other types of content will have a longer shelf-life, and even they can have many lives through reruns, re-diffusion, dubbing and adaptation to different markets and different audiences around the globe.

Here we are still talking about the same old formats of movies, series and entertainment programs in initially designed to be consumed via a TV set facing people on a couch with relatively an uncompromised attention.

However, this is not going to be the only consumption mode. Therefore, content has to be adapted and new content created for different devices, occasions, timing and places.

The new TV consumption devices are highly reliant on broadband and Wi-Fi and have smaller screens, and follow a different consumption mode especially for smartphones that are by nature used “on-the-go” “when people do not have the kind of time and attention compared to traditional viewing scenarios.

Factors like these will command new content or new formats of the same content.

 

The Drive of Change

Change is not something we fear and try our best to deal with it when it comes. Change is the real market driver that will keep pushing brands and businesses to constantly improve and deliver better products and services to consumers.

Even more, change is more likely to happen when we are not satisfied with the status quo, or the current state of things or technology. Change is necessary for each and every category to keep improving, offering better products and better services.

For brands with clear purpose and real consumer focus, the drive for change is the desire to offer a better consumer experience with every new product and service. This is what differentiate between brands that are driven only by the economic side of things and those that are keeping an eye on a mission beyond business that can varies in terms of the articulated “mission statement” but at the end it will contribute to same objective.

What Could Be exactly the Future of TV if left to reactive corporate decisions? – It will be difficult to predict.

However, what “Should Be” the future of TV for innovative and inspiring brands? – We can give you some hints about it:

·         The Future of TV is more enjoyable, more personal and more rewarding.

·         The Future of TV is more flexible and can happen anywhere anytime.

·         The Future of TV is going to be free or very affordable for some premium services.

·         The Future of TV is going to be more diversified with programs adapted to small screens, big screens, long viewership, short viewership, high attention, low attention, etc.)

·         The Future of TV is going to need a new format for advertising or monetization in general.

 Now, what choices do we have? – Wait or Innovate.

 

Wait or Innovate

If “the best way to predict the future is to invent it”, the best way to deal with the changing TV scene is to be part of this change and innovate instead of being forced to adapt to innovations.

Let us offer consumers new and more enjoyable experiences instead of keeping them imprisoned in an old system.

The only two alternatives available for all the players in the industry are Wait or Innovate.

Wait until others try the new models then follow with some learning or, Innovate, lead the way and be the first to come up with new offerings and better experiences for consumers.

We usually expect the market leaders to innovate invent and come up with new ideas and systems. But the good news is that you do not necessarily have to be the market leader or the biggest player in the category to reinvent the category.

Nokia, was not the inventor of mobile phones when it managed to ride on a booming category to the top of the world. Falling from the top was very hard; but that is a different discussion.

Apple was not even a mobile phone brand when it entered the market with innovative and enchanting products that changed the mobile phone category forever.

Red Bull was not the market leader in beverages, when it created a completely new market and changed the category forever.

Tesla was not the market leader in automotive when it has managed to change many old perceptions about the electrical car through innovation and “visionary common sense”. Now the market leaders are catching up while they had all the time and resources to be first.

The same applies for TV. Globally the best innovations are not coming from the biggest networks. On a regional level, the next TV market leader position is still up for grabs.

 

Jean-Claude Saade (jc.saade@manifestoconsulting.com)

manifesto is a consulting firm that deals with brand strategy, innovation and communication.

 

 

End of the Advertising World

 

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly - Richard Bach

 

 

Now that civilization and humanity are about to perish, what did you leave behind?

 

May be we should not be leaving anything at all as the knowledge and the methods of this era will not be of any value in a different time and a different context. By the time Humanity finds another planet or the few survivors manage to build a new civilization they will definitely invent new ways.

However, One Idea might be worth sharing and I will now put it in the ArabAd time capsule for the posterity:

Connection needs 2 things: Common Ground and a Convenient Channel and we have to be better in Both to beat the competition – “Common Grounds” are very human and very slow to change; while Channels are changing at a very high speed following technology, innovations, and lifestyle. This is the lesson that was relevant for Don Draper, it is valid today and will be valid after the end of the world as we know it. Advertising people, go find a bright insight.

What is your footprint to be remembered by? What has been your legacy during the last 25 years of working in the communication field in the Arab region?

ArabAd is celebrating its 25th anniversary and it is still going stronger and younger while the years are making their marks on the rest of us.

“Legacy” is a big word and better left for the big egos of the industry to talk about.

Over the past 25 years we have done our jobs to best of our knowledge and above all we followed our passion to this business. We loved what we do, we have done it in the best way possible and with every idea and every presentation we thought that we were changing the world.

Good years and not so good years but overall we have reinvented ourselves and the industry several times in those 25 years. And yet we still need to invent marketing communication every day till the end of days.

Let the future generations’ judge the past 25 years of Advertising in the region. What I am going to do before the end of the world we know is to remember few things from this period that passed so quickly that I cannot believe it’s already 25 years:

• We remember advertising before desktop publishing with typesetting and bromide machines.

• We remember advertising before satellite TV and now with hundreds of stations.

• We remember the days where “copy strategy” was all the strategy needed.

• We remember big names in advertising today carrying artworks and running to their clients.

• We remember advertising before the internet and advertising after the internet.

• We remember big pitches and presentations being finalized and rehearsed at 3 am in the morning.

• We also remember fake pitches and tons of wasted hours and ideas.

• We remember flights before dawn and black suites in 45 degrees Celsius.

• We remember winning new business and adrenaline reaching the sky.

• We remember times when there was no strategic planning and how those 25 years changed planning to what it is now.

• We remember all the real geniuses who built advertising in the region and we also remember the crooks and thieves who tarnished the industry reputation.

• We remember when advertising in the region was a Lebanese club – and how it is not anymore.

• We remember the empty heads and the empty suits.

• We remember the golden age of the MBUs followed by the invasion of Branding agencies.

• We remember the crisis of 1998 and 2008 and the ones that will follow.

• We remember the buzz about Digital, like it is now about Social Media Marketing and the next trend that will affect how brands will be talking to customers yet the core of brand communication remains the same.

We remember all that and more. We look at a life spent in Advertising with no regret and no remorse. Let the world end Now.

Do we have to leave any of this in the ArabAd time capsule? – If this is really the end of the world, let me finish my presentation…


Jean-Claude Saade

Dictators, Idols & Brands

The recent events in Tunisia then Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Iran, Oman and Libya are writing history in the Middle East region. Popular uprisings that are bringing down long-standing regimes and changing countries in a unique form of awakening are worth observing and drawing key lessons that are not only relevant only for dictators and public idols but also for brands.

Uprising of the Masses
30 years as president of a tight-grip regime, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt was pushed out of power after a couple of weeks of street protests. Few days before the start of the events in Egypt, another long-standing autocratic regime was removed from power in Tunisia. Interestingly, these events and popular movements seem very contagious and generating a typical Domino Effect that started somewhere in Tunisia and we don’t know where and when it is going to end. Already popular unrests and manifestations are coming to the surface in several countries in the Middle East and the Gulf region and trying to replicate what was achieved in Tunisia and Egypt, sometimes with the same battle cry.

The believers in global conspiracies are accusing their “usual suspects” and they are happy elaborating on their prophecies and analysis. Although, we should not rule out the influence of well planed manipulation from outside the borders, the phenomenon itself seems more complex than what could be the acts of secret service agents pushing buttons in a dark room somewhere.

We have seen this phenomenon before in different countries and for different reasons and we still do not pretend to know all the secrets of its science. We can just observe and note down “what it is” and “what it is not”.

It Is:
• Massive and powerful.
• A change factor.
• Unstoppable once it has reached its tipping point – and till a key symbolic objective is achieved.
• Rallying different groups of people with different ideas and convictions.
• Self organizing and generates its own unique strategy and unifying objective.
• Somehow seems rational, but it is mostly driven by emotions.

It Is Not:
• Controllable.
• Totally peaceful.
• Self-aware.
• Sure of the outcome.

The recent revolutions were not just about poverty and corruption as these did not happen overnight and will not be solved the second day the regime is changed. These popular uprisings are the results of a Public Opinion pushed by an accumulation of favorable conditions, convenient timing and a spark of a triggering event that will put the streets on fire.

The Public Opinion is about opinions, not about facts. It is a subjective judgment about which people are divided and gathered. Therefore, it plays an important role in the formation and dissolution of the groups that will make the revolution.

The media plays a very important role in forming the Public Opinion and fueling revolutions. Some organizations and countries are possibly using their own media to push the events in a certain direction. Social networks are also playing an increasingly important role in the information and organization side of these popular movements. Public generated information (Videos, Twits, etc.) create a direct access for the people in the street to the forefront of the news.

A mass movement will still need an overarching idea that covers all the personal and individual reasons that push people to risk death in the streets for a cause. This rallying idea that is able to touch the life and imagination of the whole country will be fueled by the dissipating fear and the growing confidence that the regime could be brought down till the events lead to the point of no return. After that it is just a matter of time.

Geography is also part of the “signs” used by the revolution”. The Egyptian uprising did not cover all the cities and regions in the country; it has occupied a symbolic landmark, “Tahreer square”, and that was enough to claim its victory over the regime.

We have witnessed the power of revolutions in the political and national scenes; however, it is rare to witness similar popular uprisings against or in favor of a certain business, company or brand but this does not exclude brands from becoming subjects of public hypes.

In many ways these presidents and their regimes could be considered as brands. They are brands that have committed the capital sin of loosing touch with the public and its interest and therefore staging their own dramatical end.

Revolutions & Tornados
To take a “popular uprising” to the level of a Revolution, a complex system of build-ups and triggers will play their respective roles. Once this system gain in momentum and self-organization we can start talking about a revolution. Any time before reaching that particular level, the movement can fade and die without any significant effects.

From this perspective, a revolution has a lot in common with tornados. The perfect tornado would need a rigorous alignment of favorable conditions (temperature, materials, wind speed, humidity, geography, etc.); similarly a popular uprising needs the coalition of a number of favorable factors to reach the needed momentum and structure.

Another aspect of the analogy between tornados and revolutions is once their formed they gain substantially in power and self-organization and will have definite impact on their environment. However, the results of both tornados and revolutions are far from being fully predictable and controllable.
This time we can almost touch the “Tipping Point” and the “Domino Effect”
The popular movements of the beginning of 2011 in the Arab world are very similar in their dynamics to what happened in the Eastern block in 1989 and the following years. However, these events are providing a whole generation with its first-hand experience with certain public phenomenon that so far we have only knew through books and documentaries.

For the first time, we can almost put a date and a time tag on the Tipping Point of the Tunisian revolution, the Egyptian revolution and possibly on the ones that are brewing right now.

Another interesting phenomenon is the Domino Effect that can trigger and accelerate popular movements in several countries. This effect has happened in 1989 with the consecutive fall of communist regimes and definitely has accelerated the movement, the process and results. In this perspective, the Domino Effect is a contagion of the revolution across borders.

This time The Domino Effect was so obvious and powerful. The Egyptian revolution could not have happened without the Tunisian events, and Egypt is opening the doors and the minds for a whole series of popular protests in Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco, and possibly other countries to join the list.

Mass Movements & the Utmost Evil
When revolutions are going through the incubation phase, lots of very rational ideas and analysis feed the brewing process, however, when the spark happens and people are in the street, it is irrationality and emotions that almost take over.

When the masses goes against a dictator or a company they don’t go with SWOT analysis and Pros & Cons sheets in their hands but stones and Molotov cocktails. At that point the subject of discontent looses all its credibility and public sympathy and transform to the symbol of “Utmost Evil”. Consequently, the revolution will not accept less than a very symbolic public execution of that symbol.

The opposite can also be true. When people “love” and support a certain political figure, a huge amount of irrationality feeds the process. He or she will suddenly become for followers the great savior with a spotless record and best plan for the followers and the country. This is just another revolution in the making. All the overthrown dictators were one day cheered and claimed as the saviors and the sole leaders of their countries. Loved idols and hated dictators are the two faces of the same coin with time difference.

The masses create their own idols and then “execute” them in the streets to sooth their frustration and disappointment, mostly disappointment from their own lives and their own choices.

Street Hypes & Crowd Psychology
If we look at the business world, massive uprisings are less dramatic but do exist. Brands can face public uprisings in some situations, but usually the public would be limited to the employees or the customers of a certain brand.

Luckily, when it comes to brands, public movements can happen against or in favor of the brand. The public hype that surrounded the launch of Sony PlayStation, the Harry Potter series, the iPhone and the iPad could be classified under the positive mass movement in favor of these brands sales and reputation. Such crowd movements are worth billions in marketing terms. They can create a “Contagion Effect” in favor of the brand market performance and image.

Public hypes and contagion can disturb the equilibrium of a whole category. For instance, the launch of Apple’s iPhone by a company with very limited mobile phone experience has created a typical public hype around the product that has been translated in a phenomenal success for the iPhone and total change in the mobile phone category that was closely shared between brands like Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG and SonyEricsson.

The Contagion Effect is very influential aspect of popular uprisings against autocracies and businesses. It can catapult brands to the top of their markets or to oblivion in other circumstances. Tenacious public uprisings can remove a long-standing dictator or create the phenomenal business success of the iPhone.

The revolution, once triggered, gains momentum on the street where the emotional contagion of certain ideas and frustrations bond the participants together forming a more homogeneous group. The members of this group will embrace the ideas and frustrations of each other to form a unified voice leading to group movement. People in the streets will “synchronize” with each other as the group is sending powerful messages through verbal and non-verbal communication. Therefore, protestors in the street will mimic the same movements and the same slogans which will ad to the power of the group and the momentum of the revolution.

Similar hypes or group contagion will happen at a smaller scale in a department store on the first day of seasonal sale; shoppers will be influenced by other buyers’ behavior and start collecting items in an impulsive shopping contest.

People touched by the hype of the street will do anything to get rid of their president and his regime even if they need to keep protesting for months in the streets. They are also ready to spend the night outside Apple stores to be among the first owners of the iPhone or the iPad.

These phenomena could be very powerful tools for both business and politics if they are understood and used to build brands and businesses as well as political systems.

The Masses and Brands
Can we imagine the huge benefits if a brand manage to become a symbol attracting and rallying the masses?

Can brands create or trigger a mass movement in their favor and in the favor of their businesses and companies?

For a brand to be able to trigger a mass movement in its favor it has to become a “Public Icon” and a key player in people’s life and wellbeing. It has to earn a unique reputation as a provider of innovating solutions that can improve people’s life and lifestyle.
Such a position is very difficult to build and therefore, very few brands benefit from this unique “Icon Status”. However, it is an extremely rewarding position to be in for the business and the company that owns the brand.

A brand like Apple is not the first brand in computers or the leading brand in mobile phones but it is an “Iconic Brand” that has high levels of appeal and trust among customers and the general public. With its status, Apple can plan and trigger one of these rare popular movements in favor of its products.

Negative public movements can also arise against brands, and if they reach their own tipping point, they can overthrow the brand from its position in the market and in the mind.

When Toyota was facing its technical problems and image crisis in 2010, thousands of law suits and complaints were filed against the company in several markets. Some of these cases were very serious and include accusations that Toyota vehicles have caused death to many people following accidents related to unintended acceleration. These mini-uprisings against Toyota have caused sure damage and losses to Toyota but they did not build enough momentum to kill the brand. Despite some mistakes in handling the crisis, Toyota has survived with limited damage and it has continued to be a leading world brand.

Other brands could not survive their own crisis and were executed publicly – almost in the street – even if the movements that lead to their fall were not all massive public movements. Lehman Brothers, AIG, Bernard Madoff, Enron, and many others have fall down to be bought out by competitors like some “corporate scrap” or executed by the masses like any hated dictator.

President Obama was brought to the White House by what it looked like an American style popular uprising that was the answer to the Bush administration abuses both on the political and the economic levels.

“Yes We Can” change the president or symbol of an administration or a regime but what is expected from these revolutions is a real and sustainable change for the better of the people’s life beyond just a “re-branding” exercise.

Final Thoughts
These revolutions are marking the history and will leave people with many scores to settle stories to tell and lessons to be taken even by businesses and brands. Obviously what brands need to learn form all this is how to become the subject of admiration and love by the masses and to avoid at any price being overthrown or executed like hated dictators.

The path for this kind of fate is never guaranteed but certain elements were proven to provide much bigger chances to success:
1. A clear Brand Vision.
2. An inspiring Mission.
3. A tangible Promise that is fulfilled every time and time after time.
4. A close Relationship with consumers that always maintained and rekindled by innovative products and genuine customer care.
5. Continuous reinvention of the brand and the company to keep pace with the evolving times.

Dealing with the masses is very exciting but also very risky and dangerous. It is like having an elephant as a pet. You can have a long interesting relationship with it but one day you could be crushed in a second and for the very impulsive reasons.

Good politicians and smart brands will know how to deal with their constituencies for all the thrill and benefits of being admired and followed by the masses; more importantly the smartest ones should know how to take the honorable exit before things goes totally out of control.


Jean-Claude Saade