Case Study

Moubarak and de Blavous, a married couple, created a social enterprise in Lebanon known as, 2b Design. This company specializes in transforming salvage architecture into art that preserves Lebanon culture. The company began in 2006 as a social venture with an environmental mission. Over the course of 5 years, 2b Design's sale growth grew by 500% and the next couple years after that it grew by 200%. 2b Design conducts 90% of its business in different countries, primarily France, Japan, The  UK, and The US. Moubarak and de Blavous are passionate about social innovation, employing the unemployable, and their rich Lebanon heritage.

2b Design's largest struggle is creating awareness and increasing sales in Lebanon. As stated in the article, the Lebanon people are just not as interested in their own culture as those overseas. 2b  Design is looking to grow  and expand. They are hoping to provide more jobs and preserve more important heritage and cultural artifacts. They are also contemplating partners. However, in order to substain growth in the company, 2b Design needs to get the attention of the Lebanon community. The other issue 2b Design has is that similar products are coming out of China and India for cheaper than their price. 2b Design has started marketing to the wealthy market due to this controversy.

My number one suggestion to help create awareness in Lebanon is to for 2b Design is to re-think their marketing strategy. The article did not discuss much about what kind of marketing campaigns they are doing or if they are even doing anything along those lines at all. I suggest creating content that really hits home with the Lebanon culture. By creating  advertising that stimulates a nostalgic feeling, I believe the Lebanon market with grow more aware of 2b Design's overall mission. When marketing, they should probably begin by researching what the best medium would be to connect to the Lebanon people. If television is not readily accessible, perhaps a social media campaign or  a brouchure of sorts. There are so many possibilities when it comes to marketing; they would need to get a research team to brainstorm ideas or perhaps hire an advertising company.

Right now, I am actually an account executive for an advertising company, so I feel like I have an inside look on how marketing plays out behind the scenes. As a business major with an emphasis in marketing, I am particularly interested in entering this industry so that was the conclusion I jumped to in this case study. I recognize the importance of marketing in a company because if you don't get the word out to people that you have this company, then no one is going to know you exist! Research, development, marketing, etc. are all so vital and so important when it comes to the awareness and the growth of a company. I liked reading this case because I was able to brainstorm different things they could do with advertising to increase revenue. I truly believe by creating an effective advertising campaign, 2b Design will see growth in the Lebanon sector of their company.