Literature

The test of whether you really liked a book is if you re-read it; the test of whether you really liked someone's company is if you are ready to meet him again and again. The rest is spin, or that variety of sentiment now called self-esteem.

Don't Blame Me

When we want to do something while unconsciously certain to fail, we seek advice so we can blame someone else for the failure. And that’s something you see everyday at work.

Some people actually excel at this. They see things crashing and run to throw the blame on others even before it happens.

The Power Of Ideas

      In Marketing, its always about brilliant ideas that make a big change and lead to an increase in awareness and sales when it hits the consumer in a positive way. This is why a brilliant idea starts to be interesting when you get scared of taking it to its logical conclusion.

What is a state?

Yes !  I am  Lebanese and I am the son of the beautiful city of Beirut. But after watching and following up on the political news in Lebanon for six years in a row, I have came to the conclusion that what we speak of today as Democracy is simply a political strategy of populative chaos.

None of the middle eastern countries is running on a normal level especially Lebanon. The freedom of speech system is a situation where a country becomes a failed state in the long term.

Socrates once said that “Democracy passes into despotism”, and this is exactly what we are seeing.

The spread of Democracy has given the corrupt people the chance to dominate and take control of countries.

Democracy is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder !

A Liar

Its a crazy world we're living in. The incidents that take place everyday at work simply tell you that:
" The best revenge on a liar is to convince him that you believe what he said"


TRY IT !

The Disciplines Of Branding

 

The 5 disciplines of branding:

Differentiate

a.       What are you?

b.      What do you do?

c.       Why does it matter?

Collaborate: building a brand is a collaborative project

a.       The One-Stop Shop: contains the resources to develop and steward the brand

b.      The Brand Agency: hire the best firm to develop the brand

c.       Integrated marketing team: managed internally

Innovate: You know that an idea is innovative when its scares the hell out of everybody

Validate: bringing the audience into the creative process

a.       If your audience cant verbalize your concept, you’ve failed to communicate it

Cultivate

Brand Extensions:

-          Bad Brand Extensions: are those that chase short-term profits at the expense of long-term brand value

-          Good Brand Extensions: grow the value of a brand by reinforcing its focus

Dont Be A Follower

I was shocked yesterday when one of the “brand managers” of a local company in Jeddah asked me to develop a BTL Campaign for highlight the promotion/offer on a product without having a visual of the product highlighted. What kind of logic is this? This is why a lot of companies will not grow in the middle east. They make irrational decisions.

As a marketer you should always aim to find something in your company where you can boast and pride yourself about. Something that your competitors do not have. It is not enough to be ip better than you competitors. Your goal is to be the first. Its what Al Ries calls the law of leadership.

Finally, its better to be first than it is to be better because this way its much easier to get into the mind of you consumer. Being recognized for something very unique and distinct