Beirut Beer - strategy overflow.

Remember that corny Almaza ad (here) for the summer? Beirut Beer, for once did not seem to be answering them, but rather branching smartly on their own: A trilingual welcoming ad for all visitors and expats coming to Lebanon, dignified, smart, and quite friendly. Now, not to rain on their parade, but I personally would have modified all three ads to "we are pleased and honored to welcome you to" (because then Beirut would be both the brand and the city). And yes, it works in all three languages (this is the copywriter in me speaking).

Heineken enters the chat in the beer wars

Almaza, Beirut Beer (add Keo), and now Heineken has entered the chat in the summer beer wars in Lebanon with each trying to establish its own share of the market. Funnily, Heinkeken used to own (not sure if outright) Almaza but sold their shares to an investment banker. In case you are wondering "for that first ahh" is Heinken (campaign from last year). Still, here were are, a lot of beers, for a supposedly flush clientele (innocent question: where is the money coming from knowing the market is in shabby state still?). Well, if you got it flaunt it, let the summer enjoyment begin (if only the weather was compliant though! Still grumpy on the whole).

Beirut Beer says out loud what everyone is thinking about the Almaza Rosé

All right the cat is out of the bag, remember the Almaza Rosé (here), Beirut Beer has come and said out loud what everyone is thinking. Although I have said repeatedly that Beiut Beer should grow out of the shadow of Almaza (here), this one is spot on actually. Because the Almaza Rosé thingy was... odd to put it mildly. So what did Beirut Beer say? "instead of coloring the beer pink, we kept it genuine". All right, that makes sense. A lot of sense. And although this is not starting out a beer war (which has happened in the past mind you), at least Beirut Beer is saying it as is.

Keo beer goes golden. Yellow too.

I have previously spoken about the Keo beer (here) so it is refreshing (har har) that they are back with a new campaign. OK, they are axing it around yellow/golden (the problem with either color? Google "Golden shower" at your own risk and peril)... Still - I might be reading too much into a color. The campaign is sort of everywhere with many variants about the color and all that (real beer is golden for example). Of course there is the usual let-us-cut-from-the-Almaza-market "time for a change, go yellow" (mind you Beirut Beer is a professional in this - here).

Beirut Beer preaches national unity

Beirut Beer has a good one (but as always one step forward two steps back sadly), the ad above is about "national unity". Well why not? My only gripe? This is NOT a comparative ad (please read my take on comparative ads in Lebanon here) so the logo of Almaza should not have been pixelated (again, Beirut Beer is not comparing itself to Almaza, but just saying that old and new should cohabitate... in a "national unity"). Now, at some point in the past Almaza was owned by Heineken (no longer) so perhaps Beirut Beer is riffing on that by saying "pick a "local one"" (which wehde watnaniye could also mean as a double-entendre). But I could be reading too much in a benign ad.

Wait did Beirut Beer just take a page out of the Almaza book?

Photo credit Rabih Dib

How about that for an answer! Remember I already spoke about Almaza stressing its Lebanese identity (here), apparently this did not sit down well with Beirut Beer. So they launched a counter ad "In Lebanese this is Beer". Long time ago I wrote a post about Beirut Beer growing out of the shadow of Almaza (here) strange, they twist and turn and go back to the same place. Why I know not. But truly when Beirut Beer stood on its own two feet (here) there was something interesting happening. Finally the brand was looking intrinsically at its own merits over and above being the anti-Almaza. Sadly, it was more of a one off than anything else. 

Potatoes are more expensive than OOH prices in Lebanon!

Photo credit: Geoana Hobeiche Massabni

"I was told that the price of booking a campaign outdoors is now potatoes" I say.

My friend - who basically runs an agency - answers with "no, potatoes are more expensive! We have booked campaigns that cover the Jounieh-Beirut highway for X". My jaw dropped, I knew the prices were low, very low, but X is unheard of. No wonder agencies are going for their scrapping of the barrel creatively in order to just put anything outdoors. But as I said recently, is this win-win when you are damaging the brand?

The answer is: I don't know. By this I mean - I feel the consumer does not care about the ad to begin with. Stuck in traffic jams people look at their social media messages on their phones, rarely does anyone look up and observe around them. Also, as I said recently about Rifai - as soon as people see the logo, they don't care about the rest of the design. "It's Rifai, I know it, I used to buy it, I can afford the price of this entry-level item from their many products, I am going to buy it again". Will anyone really scrutinize the bag? I sincerely doubt.

All of this seems to be me shooting myself in the foot considering I write about communication at large and advertising specifically. But compare this, to this. Beirut Beer "bil chamset bass mich bil beit" (in the sun but not at home) to Magnum "Find your summer". I have nothing against Beirut Beer, on the contrary, when they found their footing I was really cheerleading for them (here and here), but one thing is sure - that TVC they did does not translate into a billboard. And yet, what do you find on the streets?

Exactly.

With such low prices most brands are throwing creativity out the window, long term consumer investment, anything resembling a strategy, for the sake of these half-baked ads we are seeing. Somehow, I still feel that in the back of the minds of people, they will remember brands that stood out. Right now, in Lebanon though, I am not seeing much of it.

But I still have to buy potatoes for food.

Of Beirut Beer, the end of Euro Cup and summer

Beirut Beer went Euro Cup (here), followed by Almaza (here - in a more complicated effort) and now that the Euro Cup is about to finish, Beirut Beer is at it again. "Euro Cup is about to finish but summer is just starting". Well, I could say "OK, there's a strategy there" but am told Beirut Beer has an ad on Dora which basically means nothing and is not corelated to this effort. Without forgetting this oddity (here). Do note I am trying with all my might to disregard the sexual innuendo in the ad above.

 For some reason I feel many brands just lost the plot and are advertising for the sake of booking panels (and am told OOH companies are more than happy to offer steep discounts just to fill their empty spaces - I do know the prices and they are exceptionally cheap). I don't know if you can call this a win-win situation considering the brands are tanking at making solid impressions.

Beirut Beer - UEFA Euro

So Beirut Beer just went full UEFA Euro football.... The angle is this, "the game is European, the cheering is Lebanese" and the concept is extended towards local expressions - with explanation in tow. Purely slang, only understood by the Lebanese, which make little or no sense to other - specifically European - nations. Now, let's be honest this is not like "earth-shattering" but the ad is nice in its own perspective, and yes, people do drink beer extensively while cheering their favorite football team (and in case you are not aware, Germany, Brazil (which of course have no team playing in the UEFA Euro games), Italy, and even France have very sizable fans among the Lebanese population leading to some very ugly scenes). You can enjoy the ad here.

Beirut Beer and a mixed message for Women's Day

It could  be just me but I am not sure this hit the right notes. See the reel here. Cute, Small, big, suave - and proud. I know they are supposed to describe their bottles but the innuendo says they are describing women too. I always say it is very difficult to include your product in "occasions" and this one was really "tiree par les cheveux" as the French say. I am not sure it worked. The above is a mixed image I did myself. Small side note - "Lebneniye w cheyfe 7ala" (Lebanese and proud) is an old - very old - Almaza ad from the 90s.

Beirut Beer Vs Heineken - compare and contrast

I am not saying they did, I am not saying they didn't, but do compare this Beirut Beer Christmas tree to the Heineken iteration done before. You be the judge.

A Christmas - End of year pot pourri of ads around town

No, it not starting to feel like Christmas. I am not saying this to be the messenger of doom but no matter who I meet, I can detect immediately how crushed, tired and - yes - defeated everyone is. The advertising scene is not much better. There are no official figures that I know of, but am sure this year has not been a vintage one. I spoke to several people who own shops and all of them agreed that the second half of the year was a disaster. Still, there are some mild efforts being undertaken. Below is a mix and match of some of them - and even if some ads do not refer explicitly to Christmas/End of year festivities, I included them because their raison d'etre seems obvious:

ABC Mall went their usual upscale route inviting their customers to "celebrate their love" (the love of the nearest and dearest). Well, considering the prices, the treatment makes sense.

Beirut Beer went with building a Christmas tree from their bottles. I saw this installation in two places (Gemmayze and City Mall in Dora). Well, it does make sense I presume considering what they sell.

Bildits - which has a name that immediately tells you what it does - is a children's set where the kind can build a house like a "real engineer". Well, OK, the kid is male which is a bit anticipated, but well, who knows, maybe including a girl could have caused some social stir.

Bo Concept is having an up to 60% off sale. I do hope they do mark down items - several years back on a "clearance sale" I was offered 15% off a sofa.

File this under "I had no idea Bombay Sapphire was in Lebanon" also file under "I don't consume much alcohol to know it is in Lebanon". Still, it is interesting Bombay Sapphire decided to launch such a wide-covering campaign to celebrate their "premier cru".

Boss watches & Jewelry - OK fine you get a free bracelet with every purchase. Interesting, considering the first function of a cell phone is actually to tell the time.

GS went for a bit of a serious image for their end of year outing - I already spoke of their advent calendar online though (here).

Deco Sleep Comfort - with wishes of a peaceful Christmas. One cannot miss this ad. Obviously you know what they sell.

Cyber Monday? Make that Cyber Christmas for Home Tag. Well, many companies are already offering sales and offers - just to tell you how dire the market situation is.

Ixsir has a limited edition of bottles out enticing people to add color to their celebration. Usually the bottles are co-branded with an up-and-coming and promising illustrator. Not this year. Obviously due to budget restriction.

Beauty x Magic for Izzat Daouk gave birth to something akin to ugliness and black magic. I am sure effort was injected in this ad. But am truly not a fan.

A long long time ago, there was a Johnnie Walker ad which went "some gifts are too good to give away" (whereby a man is writing a card to accompany a bottle of Johnnie Walker wrapped near him, he ends up drinking the whisky and wrapping the gold pen). I talk of this ad because Johnnie Walker has an ad for Blue Label which can set you back more than 300 USD. At that price, take my pen.

Reva is gifting "dreams for Christmas". Considering my many many insomniac nights, yes please. Also it was belatedly pointed out to me that "reva" and "dreams" are one and the same words, I missed the double-entendre.

As a friend of mine joked - buy tights and get a car, or mostly, the other way around. A bit of a head-scratcher if you ask me.

Zoughaib & Sons have a new collection out - the boussole. Interesting they bothered to design and produce a collection at a time when the market is in such doldrums.

Swarovski - celebrate wonder.... Again, well am sure the ad has its target audience. Women who really long to shine - without the price of real jewelry.

As you can see, some effort has been done. Nothing to write home about, but there is a very shy activity going on. Nothing like the mega campaigns that used to be done in the past, but one can feel the budgets squeezed to the maximum, and since the whole country is not in top shape, I suppose the ad scene sort of mirrors that.

Beirut Beer goes Mexican

Interesting, from what I read in their reviews the taste is a fiasco. But still the ad goes "the first Mexican from Lebanon". Obviously Beirut Beer is capitalizing on the Mexican taste beer they came up with... I could see the ad riffing on the old telenovelas that sweeped Lebanon (maybe the younger generation is not too familiar with them but am sure they heard their parents talk about them), but eventually Beirut Beer focused on the line instead.  

Beirut Beer goes summerish

Well, Beirut Beer has issued a summer visual. I am not calling it a campaign because a campaign requires at least 3 connected visuals to be counted as such. But with the state of advertising as it is, you deal withwhat you can get in Lebanon these days.

Now truth be told, I am not sure the whole thing was worth it - "new summer wave" with the beer doing a "wave" with the overspill and the foam. Actually what would have made it nicer maybe would be the inclusion of Hokusai's "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa" (here) and rendering the whole thing as an illustration. But that I suppose it asking too much....

So voila, we end up with a first degree ad. 

Beirut Beer finally a grown-up positioning

Way back in 2017 I wished Beirut Beer would... just grow out of the shadow of Almaza (here). In 2022 it almost did (here). Could 2023 bring us the shift the Beirut Beer actually deserves? Apparently there is hope.

Their latest ad, again in Dora, which is literally a stone's throw from the Almaza factory marks a serious move. A grown-up one. How so? It goes in Arabic "ma bada 7aki" - which means "it needs no talking" but figuratively "it goes without saying". But as De Gaulle said "it goes without saying, but it goes better saying it" so did Beirut Beer. By "not saying anything" they finally said a lot, a lot that is not related to their main competitor, and words (or lack of thereof) that actually make the brand suddenly... have its own positioning, its own legs and its own "pair".

How tis will go further into the future I know not, but I do see it as a major selling line proposition (caugh, ahem!) whereby this will become the solid signature of the brand, a brand which sadly stayed too long in the shadows.

Beirut Beer - the ad that fell through the cracks.

OK, so I was kind of mad at Beirut Beer for their blatant Almaza redo (here) but they earn extra points by doing a great "don't drink and drive" ad for the end of year celebrations (sorry this fell through the cracks and only noticed it beginning January). Of course the smartness of the ad is that it immediately refers to the beer dispensing machine, which reverts automatically to the brand itself (smart move, cannot stress it enough as to how difficult it is for brands to insert their line of business in ads) and this then becomes a "gun" (drinking and driving is a bit of a Russian roulette)... Again, a smartly done ad indeed. Sorry did not spot it on time.

Almaza vs Beirut Beer - compare and contrast

At times one thinks "this is a joke!"... But nope, the two ads above are - literally - meters apart on the Dora highway. Same idea, same concept, same type of product and same copy.

Just to be fair (and although I derided them for repeating their lines earlier - here) Almaza got there first. As in way, way first.

Beirut Beer finally markets itself with its own merits (sort of).

I said it before in 2017 (see here), that it would be lovely for Beirut Beer to go out of the shadow of Almaza and stop its positioning as "anti"(leading brand in the market) and market itself with on its own merits. Their current campaign perhaps answers my thoughts. Sort of.

"We don't apply coats of paint" (meaning "spice stories artificially"), "our lettuce does not grow" (meaning "we don't get over ourselves"), "our feather does not show" (meaning "we don't brag") - all three half ads drive home the point that basically they say things as they are, and then the other half ad is "our beer doesn't bloat".

Which, if we go back to the beginning is exactly them marketing their own beer according to their own merit. Except of course, they had to - implicitly - compare it to Almaza (about the ego trip). But hey, baby steps, after so many years doing nothing but comparing, it seems there is hope after all.