My way of understanding a place is to stroll alone on its streets. I have done it in every single place that I have visited in India and abroad. I was in Dubai for some business and after I finished my meeting, decided to walk back to the hotel. The walk from Kuwait Road to Al Karama takes some half an hour. All roads in Dubai have footpaths, therefore, if one can bear the heat, then it is a pleasure walking around. But this post is not a travelogue. It is about how odd places and odd things provide us insights.
It was dusk and slowly the sun was sinking behind the glass faceted buildings. As I passed Kamat Restaurant, I noticed a dozen-odd, visiting card-sized leaflets, littering the footpath. They stood out against the otherwise spick and span surroundings. One could not but notice them. Initially, I ignored them and continued walking. Soon a pattern emerged. Cards were flung all along the length of the footpath. I glanced at them. The pictures on these cards and the text on them were so well positioned and sized that even while I walked I could read them.
Each card had a picture of a woman in a flimsy outfit. On the left-hand side, 65 DHS was prominently mentioned. The footer of the card had a phone number in a large font. During that walk of 10-15 minutes, I realized that these were advertisements of some "massage center". The pictures on the cards varied from Indian women in traditional outfits to Russian girls in bare essentials. People avoided looking down at these cards and I think at least a couple of them looked suspiciously at me. Even I did that with few people.
I was amazed by the excellent marketing communication achieved by these massage centers. They had been frugal and effectively screened their customers from a large population. It was like the strategy employed by the Nigerian Widow emails. Only the gullible got hooked up and the non-customers self-eliminated themselves by choosing to ignore the call.
My guess is that these cards may have been dropped in only a few places in Dubai. Thereafter, these would have spread automatically like pollen grains. Some accidentally moved by pedestrians, some being blown away by speeding cars and a few carried by the customers. Even these customers would not retain them. They would mentally note down the number and/or address and thereafter throw it away in some other place. They would not tear it because psychologically that would mean trying to conceal their intention or act. However, whoever designed these cards made sure that their size would let some discerning customer secure it in his wallet if he decided to retain it. Some satisfied customers may also be recommending it to their friends though that number may be small.
Prostitution is illegal in UAE. Yet Dubai has emerged as a leader in this business within the middle-east region. I think the guerrilla marketing employed by these massage centers is at the core of this growth. The objective of marketing communication is to change the focus from products and services to customers and prospects. It is also to maximize the return on investment made in advertising. I think these cards have achieved both these objectives.
- Subodh
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