Despite the fact that advertising based on buzz-words captivates the marketing and social media world in Egypt recently such as [Skenshizer] introduced by Nestle’s Crunch and Vodafone’s [Zaman El Sha2awa], undoubtedly we still got a space for creative advertisements that can get to people’s heart and mind through different forms of communication.
Hiring a brand ambassador could be easy like how James Bond go for Aston Martin and Tom Cruise usually ride a powerful BMW on Mission Impossible high-speed chase. Even Chevrolet Egypt used Ahmed Ezz for Cruze 2009 campaign then Ahmed El Sakka and Yasmine Abdel Aziz for Chevrolet Optra Ramadan 2015 TVC. But this would not guarantee convincing people to believe and buy into your brand.
Advertising should always be in line with marketing objectives, and the business strategy or mission of the organization. Let’s watch what Renault Egypt did:
Inform to Persuade //
Advertising is most effective when it surprises you with something you didn’t see at the first glance or when it catches you off-guard in a way you didn’t expect. Renault successfully injected interesting pieces of information about the brand introduced on a plate of entertainment. Starting with the facts that made the French language as the source of all jargon used by Egyptians for years to describe auto-parts till positioning Renault as no.1 car in France.
[ Recommended: If You Don’t Understand People, You Don’t Understand Business ]
Zero Features //
Some informative ads demonstrate how one product is somehow better than another. Although its very informative but yet it did not mention any features of Renault, no speed, no quality, no high-technology statements and It did not even highlight any model manufactured by Renault. When you don’t push-to-buy you can gain customers respect and this definitely paved the way to send subliminal messages and create emotional connection between Renault and Egyptian people..
Connecting Cultures //
Renault is a French brand and well-established trademark across the world including the Egyptian automotive market. Linking the French-Egyptian cultures was a very smart move as it bring back frequently used terminologies among Egyptians during daily life and most of us did not even know it got a French origin!
As Renault decided not to refer to any product features including after-sales service or customer service, The perfect old workshop in the advert meant to trigger the classic mood for where Egyptians really go to fix their cars. Most of Egyptians car-owners chose to visit a workshops in [7erafyeen] as our favorite place for after-sales service. In other words, Renault advert was based on brilliant consumer insight.
Peugeot Lion Was Invited?
Even if all the cars used in the Ad carried Renault logo, the only awkward part about Renault Egypt Advert, is when a Peugeot Lion sticker appeared in yellow on the car back glass [Salon scene] which look so much like a very popular model in Egypt [Peugeot 504 station] that still used across Egypt’s governerates transportation till today.
Digital Impact //
Although the hashtag [#العربية_الفرنسية] waas not that lucky to go viral on Twitter and scored just 5 mentions in 5 days because Renault Egypt did not include call to action associated with the Ad reveal. But the video viewership can determine how people really loved the Advert.
In four days: 7,145 views on YouTube and Facebook video viewers reached 223,840 in five days with 3,318 likes and 3,614 shares.
Credits //
Directors: Maged Nassar & Tameem Youness
Agency: Leo Burnett Cairo
Production House: Lighthouse
Post Production: Lizard VFX Shop
Compositor: Karim Mira
