Few years ago, I was attending a prestigious ceremony and gala dinner to recognize the finest marketing achievements in the UAE held by a leading regional marketing magazine.
The evening flowed almost impeccably, except for minor technical hiccups during the distribution of awards. This smooth flow was expected for after all, this was a prestigious event mainly sponsored by two prestigious brands; BBC and Cadillac.
This event was held in Dubai, the regional hub and pulse of businesses, the same city that is so excepting and tolerant towards all cultures. Therefore, serving alcoholic beverages wouldn’t be an issue in the sense of imposing a practice, but rather a matter of choice depending on ones background and conviction. You can either choose not to attend, or attend and not drink, or you can enjoy drinking sensibly.
Evening is over, many are happy and time to go home, so here comes the “goodie bag” that was handed out to all attendees. We all know “the goodie bag”; the perfect “direct marketing tool” for product sampling for the perfect captive audience who have many similarities and also differences.
No one is against the all-lovable goodie bag of course, but did it make good marketing sense to enclose an application for a liquor license in the UAE inside it?!!!
The poor popular GB was used as a vehicle for the most arrogant and ignorant assumption that all recipients will be ecstatic about such a “gift".
To many attendees, this “stunt” was the most insulting and offending generalization that could be made.
The irony in this stupendous neglect of cultural sensitivities ABCs is that it took place in an event rewarding outstanding marketing practices!
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