Good planning can still go astray

Good planning can still go astray

JAKARTA (JP): Even the most painstakingly planned and executed
creative strategies have been known to fail miserably in the
market.

A classic case, the launching of a detergent powder in the
Middle East by a multinational company, is now one of the most
talked-about cases in marketing classrooms around the world.

The creative concept was exceedingly simple in its strategy.
The unique selling proposition of the product was determined to
be its ability to remove dirt and make the clothes sparkle.

Accordingly, in the advertisement, the first picture showed a
dirty shirt being dipped into a bucket of water; the second
showed the name of the detergent on the bucket; and the third
showed a sparkling white shirt being held up. The message was
clear: In goes a dirty shirt and out comes a sparkling white
shirt.

Although the ad worked well enough elsewhere, it bombed in the
Middle East. Reason: Someone in the creative department had
forgotten that in the Arab world, people read from right to left.

-- S. Vaidyanathan