Lebanon, a 10,452 square kilometer with a population of 4 millions + country), has a diversified culture. It was under the French mandate until 1943. Our "second" native language is French. But English, the business language, is grabbing shares and has become widely spoken by the teens. They even text, tweet, or post in English.
When a product communicates in French, it is:
- Favorably received by the A or B Social Class
- Positioned as expensive by the C or D Social Class
- Perceived as a good quality product by all Social Classes
- Addressed to a niche market
And when another product communicates in English, it is:
- Favourably received by all Social Classes that speak the language, even French-speaking ones
- Positioned as relatively expensive by the C or D Social Class
- Perceived as a good quality product by all Social Classes
- Addressed to a wider audience
But when you communicate an imported product in Arabic, it is:
- Unfavourably received by the A or B Social Class
- Positioned as somehow cheap by the A or B Social Class
- Perceived as a bad quality product by the A or B Social Class
- Addressed to the mass
It is worth noting the following:
- The origin of the product matters (e.g. if it a good product from the U.S. or Britain, it is best communicating it in English)
- The local high-end brands, such as restaurants, communicate in Arabic
- Most of the Lebanese speak 3 languages (Arabic, French, and English)
- The persons that have internet access here (with Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and other accounts) are mainly educated
- Official Arabic is not easy to formulate in a headline for an advertisement (spoken Arabic is somehow better)
- The teens have created their own "language" while texting, tweeting, and posting: It is the Arabic typed in latin characters! (e.g. kifik ya Lisa, kif el7al, inshallah mni7a, 9arlna zamen ma sme3na a5barik / How are you Lisa, how is everything, I hope all is well, it's been a while since we last heard from you)
And of course there is the new "Arabic", that is to have the three languages (Arabic, French, and English): "Hi, kifak, ca va?" / "Hi, how are you, all is well?"
End note:
It is advisable to use the language of the product origin (the internet has made things go from local to global). However still, the Arabic language could be smartly integrated in several different messages. It allows to grab different target audiences.
