This newspaper’s genius campaign will definitely inspire you with each turn of the page! [Friday: Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing]
How do you begin to speak about a problem when you are silenced for it?
In Lebanon, press freedom remains under attack. Numerous publications have been shut down under heavy and politically charged censorship. In worse cases, journalists are even killed.
For these reasons, one of the few prominent news publications left in the country decided to use its platform to advocate for a free press in 2022. The publication company’s strategy?
Sharing the pages of its daily newspaper with defunct newspaper companies for them to write again!
The name of this publication?
An Nahar!
Photo from Adobo Magazine
Political repression and economic difficulties have contributed to the decline of the Lebanese press, resulting in dozens of newspapers shutting down.
Even the bravest and most prominent journalists in the country aren’t safe from repression. In fact, in 2005, renowned Lebanese journalist and government critic, Gebran Tueni, was assassinated for his vocal critique against pro-Syrian government policies and press censorship.
The newspaper Tueni once helmed as an editor-in-chief, An Nahar, is one of the few Lebanese major news publications still in operation and with a circulation of 15,000 copies as of 2024. Despite withstanding the difficulties imposed on the Lebanese press so far, the newspaper recognizes the longstanding struggle of its fellow publications to freely write and publish news articles.
So, on December 12, 2022, to commemorate Tueni’s death and to protest the bleak conditions of the Lebanese press, An Nahar decided to print a special version of its newspaper that day:
The “Newspapers-Inside-The-Newspaper” edition.
The daily started off as An Nahar, with Tueni’s death anniversary as the headline. Then, each turn of the page…
Photo from D&AD
…revealed seven newspapers that had been shutdown over the years: The As-Safir newspaper, which closed in 2016, The Daily Star, which last published in 2020, and many others.
In each spread, the defunct newspapers were brought back to life, filled with headlines and articles about current events. Even the original layouts of these publications were retained.
Photo from Ad Age
Furthermore, the same journalists who worked for these defunct newspapers were able to write and publish articles again without fear, thanks to An Nahar’s initiative.
Pretty cool, right? There’s more!
An Nahar’s “Newspapers-Inside-The-Newspaper” edition sold out immediately after being published. Additionally, the campaign generated 13 million USD worth of earned media!
The initiative also garnered widespread acclaim for its ingenuity and advocacy, winning esteemed prizes such as the Cannes Lions Grand Prix and the Clio Awards Grand Winning Entry, both in 2023.
With its bold and clever campaign, An Nahar successfully imprinted a firm message not just to Lebanon but to the rest of the world: The press can never be silenced.
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An Nahar’s “Newspapers-Inside-The-Newspaper” was effective in communicating press freedom for two reasons:
- Collaborative effort. By featuring the journalists from defunct newspapers, the campaign emphasized the wide scale of press repression and censorship to the public. Working together with fellow journalists also highlighted their collective hardships and solidarity under difficult circumstances.
- Effective medium. An Nahar’s campaign had increased visibility and better access to the wider public by using the prominent daily newspaper itself as the medium. In addition, using the newspaper for defunct publications to publish again made a straightforward message for press freedom.
Using the daily to highlight the plight of other journalists effectively and concisely delivered An Nahar’s call for a freer press in Lebanon.
In the same way, when you plan and conduct your marketing or advocacy campaigns, consider which media would deliver your message as straightforwardly as possible.
Remember: Marshall McLuhan, a renowned media theorist, once said, “The medium is the message.” This means how you deliver your content is important in shaping how your target audience will perceive your message.
Keep this tip in mind!
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Fridays: Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing”
Jay Conrad Levinson (1984) said that Guerrilla Marketing “works because it’s simple to appreciate, easy to execute, and inexpensive.”
Guerrilla Marketing is unconventional.
Looking beyond the traditional ways of advertising, marketers and advertisers need to spice things up in order for their brand to have campaigns that not only make an impact but also stick to their target market’s mind.
Guerrilla Marketing usually aims to have direct contact with consumers.
This type of direct contact should spark an emotional reaction that leads to consumers effectively remembering the brand.
It’s about making a big impression and making that impression last a long time (if not forever).
Guerrilla Marketing can be inexpensive.
The effect of this is being able to create a buzz around the brand, and the strategy used to market it. Almost everything is passed around through word-of-mouth.
Word-of-mouth is one of the greatest outcomes and it usually doesn’t cost anything.
This is every business’ or brand’s dream!
Every Friday, we publish tips, examples, and other useful content on unconventional ways of marketing and promotion.
Learn more about how to grab your target market’s attention and make an amazing first and lasting impression without having to spend a lot of money.
Businesses don’t really need to spend much for a guerrilla campaign. You do not need a big budget to be successful. You just need creativity and a good imagination.
Hope you find this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Friday’s “Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing!”
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Special Projects
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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