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NEW JERSEY, JUN 25 - There are more than one ways to
spread the message, draw crowd, convert people, drive a
point, attract attention - sell an idea, service or product.
Ogilvy mastered it with his unique concept of "360 Degree
Brand Stewardship", which he defined as "a willingness to
use the broadest array of tools and techniques to
understand, develop and enhance the relationship between a
consumer and a brand.
As an example, when Motorola launched a new line of
youth-oriented mobile phones in China, Ogilvy didn't focus
on ads for TV, newspapers or magazines. Instead, Ogilvy
hired a pair of Chinese college students who became
overnight celebrities from posting home videos of themselves
lip synching to pop songs on the web and who, in turn,
sparked a craze for online do-it-yourself lip synching
videos among youth in China.
Capitalizing on this trend, Ogilvy hired the two students,
dubbed the Back Dorm Boyz, to star in an online
campaign to attract young buyers to the Motorola phones. The
response was overwhelming. A related lip-synching and song
re-mixing competition garnered 14 million page views in the
first month, with the surge in traffic at one point crashing
the site. Visitors cast more than 1.3 million votes to
determine the winner of the contest. More importantly, sales
of the new phones increased 270%.
A similar, but relatively simple, straight line mass
communication technique is being effectively used by ICNA -
a Muslim outreach organization headquartered in Jamaica, New
York.
Their billboard campaigns have been showing up at select
locations in the state of New Jersey and elsewhere, inviting
people to call them at 1-877-Why-Islam. No products or
services to sell, instead a universal philosophy, already
accepted by 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, these billboards
invite car passengers on the most heavily traveled roadways in
the northeast - the NJ Turnpike, Route 80 and Rte 1 - to call
the toll free number
and ask questions on Islam - or just question "Why Islam?"
The toll free number itself is an out of the box idea.
Easily to remember, it has transformed a universal question
into a branding tool. An Ogilvy spin, to enhance
relationship between the "questioner" and the "brand".
What's different and therefore immediately attractive, is
the subject matter- going against the grain - subjects
typically promoted on billboards on the Turnpike and
elsewhere range from hot sexy women inviting you to visit
Atlantic City - northeast's Mecca of gambling, to "divorce
made easy" solicitation by team of lawyers.
While such billboards have given many a passengers and car
drivers laughter, amusement, excitement, the one by ICNA
seems to draw
a little more attention, curiosity, invoking interest, some
time evoking food for thought. Its slogan says it all -
"Submission to one God" followed by the toll free number:
1-877-WHY-ISLAM. In other words, intangible results money
can't buy! Of course for all others, there is Master Card!
Though paid for, these campaigns are producing the maximum
bang out of the dollars being spent on them. The move is bold and courageous, because proselytizing is almost an antisocial event in
urban America. Most neighborhoods and public places
conspicuously exhibit "No solicitation Please". Immediately
post 9/11 it meant not just raising of eyebrows, but even a
quick check of your name against the ever expanding database
of "people of interest".
Things must have improved. Their unhindered presence and
results are sure signs of their success. They have been put
up intermittently in six to eight different states up till
now. More are to follow.
"There has been on the average one conversion to Islam a
day, thirty to forty a month", says Ashfaq Parkar, NJ
spokesman of ICNA - one of the most influential community
outreach organizations representing seven million
Muslims in America.
Has the billboard campaign made a difference?
Oh yes, said Ashfaq, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA)'s
spokesman.
"We also get more than one thousand phone calls a
month, most of them positive."
"We have, through such phone calls and campaigns, distributed
almost close to 20,000 copies of the Quran every year, and
the service is free", he added.
For the money being spent on such campaigns, specially
billboards, it is producing priceless bang, Ashfaq says.
Thirty to forty conversions of Christian Americans to Islam
in a country which is fighting "Radical Islam" worldwide, is
an impressive result, says one observer.
It also proves the American nation as a whole has tolerance,
willing to listen and be educated on Islam, the observer
added.
ICNA has numerous small message boards and similar outreach
assets in different cities including New York. They have
however not been able to put one up in Manhattan yet because
of the exorbitant advertising rates. But they are working on it, said Parkar.
Other religious outreach organizations have also used such
techniques before, but in post 9/11 scenario, a Muslim
organization doing a similar outreach program makes it a
news fit to print and an effort - commendable.
Lady Liberty just got her smile back!
Also read:
 Year
of the Pig
"Why
Bhutto and the Elites Hate Musharraf"
Gen.
Musharraf's Survival Plan
The
Meltdown and the Future Military Leadership
The
Elephant in the Room
Pakistan's
"Military Incorporated"
'Why
Most Moderate Pakistanis Now Dislike America'
Benazir
Flaps Her Wings and Beyond
Not
Again We Hope!
Avenging
Mullah Dadullah's Death
Has
the Countdown Begun?
Benazir
Bhutto - stuck between the two
The
Big Picture and its Pixels
Benazir-Musharraf
pact a done deal!
US
lawmakers favor return of Pakistan's exiled leaders
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