Category: Best Use of Guerilla Marketing in a Promotional Campaign
Advertiser: THE CRYSTAL GROUP
Product/Service: RIVIERA PRIVÉ
Agency: RÉPUBLIQUE BEIRUT
Creative Director: Fadi Mroue (République Beirut)
Graphic Designer: Nassim Hallab (République Beirut)
Copywriter: Fadi Mroue (République Beirut)
Media placement: Ambient/Bathroom Branding - Bars, Nightclubs - June 1, 2011
Describe the objective of the promotion.
Summers in Lebanon are all about the Beach, everyone flocks to the sea to soak in the sunshine.
But the beach is not just about the sun. Being on the beach is as much a social activity as it is recreational. People dress in their fanciest swimsuits and show off toned bodies to impress and meet others.
Competition in Beach Clubs is very high in Lebanon and people may be reluctant to try something new. Riviera Privé was opening inside the well-known Riviera Hotel and needed to quickly become the place to be seen in Summer 2011.
Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation.
We needed to reach the crème de la crème of Beirut, without using mass media, as that would defeat the concept of Privé. We needed to create our own media, so, we chose the trendiest restaurants and clubs in the city and invaded their most intimate place: the bathrooms.
We replaced the bathroom mirrors with faces, with the mirrors essentially becoming the lenses of massive sunglasses. This gave the people the feeling that they were being stared at and of course the feeling that they were staring right back. The Headline read 'Be Seen'.
Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service.
We knew where our target went to socialise, so by picking these places we were able to filter and reach the 'bulls eye' without spending too much on media. We were able to engage with our target in a memorable way and give them a reason to head to our client's establishment.
Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results.
Riviera Privé did eventually become the place to be in the Summer of 2011. Over 300,000 visitors entered the resort in 2011. But the campaign lasted a lot longer than that.The installation went viral, being seen by millions online. It was featured, published and shared in over 15 different languages on a variety of different leading blogs, sites and magazines, including The Huffington Post, Glamour Magazine and The Cool Hunter.
Our aim was to put Riviera Privé on the Beirut map - instead it ended up on the world map.