JEDDAH, 8 July 2005 — What do newspapers, movies, shoes, cosmetics and cars have in common? They all depend on one thing — advertising. Arab News has carried all kinds of ads in all shapes, sizes, colors, formats and even languages. From full page ads bursting with color, to tiny and often confusing solicitations for matrimony where every male requires a tall, fair, religious girl with a valid iqama.
A while back, a colleague of mine pointed out an ad that at first glance looked more like a warning sign than an ad. Its vibrant red color, circular shape and provocative, yet funny writing style, gave it a certain eye-catching distinctiveness. Intrigued, impressed and curious, Arab News e-mailed Full Stop Advertising which had put the ad in the paper and commented on their unusual sense of humor. In return, I was invited for a tour of the office on Madinah Road in the Al-Quraishi Building.
Stepping into the Full Stop office would be a bull’s worst nightmare. Everything was red, starting from the front door, down to every table, chair, shoe, computer, fish and even the thobes were artistically laced with red. I was greeted by two Saudis — the ad was their brainchild — Owner and Managing Director Kaswara Al-Khatib and Creative Strategist Manaf Zarei.
Kaswara, a computer engineering major, went into advertising by chance and loved it from the beginning. And after six years of working for a multinational company, he set up Full Stop.
“Advertising is no small business, and in Saudi Arabia multinational companies are the key players; they call all the shots. No one wanted to trust a ‘local’ company. People were very suspicious of Saudis and never took us seriously. I was a fish in a pool of sharks and I needed a grand entrance, something that would give me an edge,” explained Kaswara.
“I always kept one thing in mind — a foreign company, no matter how big, is still a foreign company. I realized that as a Saudi, who grew up here, knew the language, the people, the culture and the tradition, I was actually more aware of the market then they were. So, I took their weaknesses and made them my strengths,” said Kaswara.
“Using red gives us a way of defining who we are. It shows people that we are different, passionate and serious. For instance, a while back, we were doing a project for the Haj Ministry and after a while they started calling us ‘the red people.’ And that is exactly what we wanted — to make a lasting impression,” explained Kaswara.
Full Stop began with three people and now has over 21 full-time employees and is still hiring.
Manaf, a childhood friend of Kaswara, came back to Saudi Arabia after spending years abroad. First in California where he majored in computer engineering and then in Paris where he did his MBA. He describes Full Stop as a genetically mutated red frog. “Full Stop is all about being creative, thinking out of the box, being different and as Saudis we can afford to be slightly daring and provocative.”
So what was the result of the ad they ran in Arab News?
“We had a tremendous response. One guy wrote, ‘I’m a lunatic. I would love to join your mental institute.’” Another reader made up a riddle. “I’ve Da Vincied, now lets see if you can Da Vinci Code it and send me an answer!” and she actually made up a code and sent it back to us but we haven’t cracked it yet,” they said.
“Our advertisement was a reflection of our company and what we wanted. We need someone who is creative, innovative, different and can contribute to the growth of Full Stop. The employees should not treat this like a place where they get paid but as a second home,” Kaswara said.