As a leader in outdoor advertising, Pikasso operates in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria and Egypt. At the MENA Cristal Awards, Executive enjoyed a one-on-one chat with the CEO of Pikasso, Antonio Vincenti, to discuss the role of outdoor advertising in the Middle East.
E The Middle East is witnessing a kind of ‘billboard overdose’, so to speak. In your opinion, how can outdoor advertisers increase the quality of billboards while decreasing the quantity?
The only thing to do is to work hand-in-hand with municipalities to convince them of the importance of the environment. The thing is that if we campaign too much on the environment, then the decision from the authorities is very harsh. We have already lived though that in 1995, but we cannot let the situation continue.
E Of the countries that Pikasso operates in, which one presents the most challenges for you?
I’ll tell you something — in Jordan and Algeria there is the rule of law, and it is respected 100 percent. In Egypt it’s chaos, because they are not granting permits anymore. In Iraq they are in war, so we cannot judge. In Lebanon you have the worst and the best.
E Do you think media in the MENA region lacks creativity? Why hasn’t this part of the world embraced new media?
Yes and no, depending on the countries. Now to embrace or adopt the new things you need the financial means. When you see the unit price we are selling in Lebanon and compare it to Amman or Algeria, it’s ridiculous. We sell a billboard today in Lebanon at a price five times lower than in Jordan. It’s abnormal! Why is it? They [Lebanese] don’t have the means.
E What about with the financial crisis — have you noticed that your clients’ budgets have been affected?
No, no. We are not touched by the crisis in our region. I don’t think our [operating] region — Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Algeria and Egypt — was affected. Maybe very slightly in Jordan, but I have doubts about it, I don’t think so.
E Do you have real estate and banking clients?
No, real estate was never important for us. In Lebanon as a sector they were not important for us. They were not advertising a lot.
E Regarding advertising research, you’ve mentioned that it is not really taken seriously in this region. How do you think that it will start to make a difference in the industry?
I think that with the worldwide crisis now and with the media booking companies, more and more we’ll move towards more demands from clients. They will ask for more research. Today we can lose a campaign over $2. I mean [clients] say they want to pay $80 and we say for example that we won’t sell for less than $82. But for us, $2 is a lot in Lebanon. If you have 3,400 billboards, it’s a $6,800 per week difference and [multiplied] by 52 weeks it makes $300,000 so it’s a real, significant amount.
E At the Cristal awards, you mentioned an example of polluting natural landscapes like Faqra, Lebanon with billboards. When do you, as a company, decide to draw the line to not invade the space of your consumers?
I’m telling you I do it because it’s in my guts, it’s in my principles. I feel that it’s a taboo; we’re not authorized to go beyond a certain point. But whenever we do that, I feel frustrated from a business perspective. I say, ‘Well look at all those [advertisers] installing here in Faraya and Faqra, we’re the only stupid dummy people?’ This is what I’m telling you, people come to spend the weekend and relax… it’s not that they want to come and feel invaded by ads. This is it.
E What challenges have you faced in the past few months?
Nothing, nothing. I told you no because anyway we fly low, we don’t fly high. In Lebanon it’s not that you fly high, let’s be realistic.
E Is there anything else you would like to add?
We are creating syndicates of outdoor companies, I’m working a lot on that. I have high hopes. I think that after the elections, the minister of interior will have time to dedicate in order to regulate outdoor advertising seriously.
