Although the Jeddah Summer Festival – Jeddah Ghair – begins Wednesday, there are some who say they do not know about it because the event has not been well and widely publicized. There are those who admit that the publicity has been “low key” but who say that there are reasons for that, such as, the handling of the crowd in view of some incidents that have taken place on earlier occasions. However, there are also people who deny that publicity for the festival has been ignored or downplayed, pointing out that there has been publicity in the media – both electronic and print. Khuloud Al-Amoudi, Islamic banking division manager, Managerial and Financial Training Center (MFTC), said she has not heard of the festival. “It may be because I don't watch TV that much. But then I have not seen anything on the road as well. I travel from my home to my office every day, from Bawadi to Al-Iskan building on Sitteen Street, but have not noticed any hoardings announcing the event,” she said, and added that last year there used to be commercials on MBC about the festival. Al-Amoudi said that it would be very helpful if the organizers gave details of the activities – where, when and how. She said that the festival should be not just for fun and entertainment. There should be such campaigns as “Go Green,” making people aware of the importance and need of preserving and keeping the environment clean. She said that activities such as cooking and fashion would also be interesting. Zara Aseeri, a businesswoman, said the publicity is not as widespread as it should be. “You know, with events such as Jeddah Ghair, where one of the major aims is to encourage, support and increase business activities, knowledge and information about it should percolate down to the street.” She said that there is no need to spend a lot of money to publicize the festival and that just some “smart” thinking is required, adding that flyers are one of the most popular ways to “spread the word.” She hastened to clarify that her comment was not meant to minimize the efforts and work of the organizing authorities. “It is not an easy task to organize an event on such a scale year after year. There are bound to be understandable lapses, and one can see the publicity aspect as one of these. But it is an important aspect and one that can bring crowds, so it should receive more planning and attention.” A media consultant, who did not want to be identified, agreed and said that one should ponder at the name given to the festival – Jeddah Ghair (Jeddah is Different). “It is different in many ways, and one main aspect in which it differs is the matter of culture. One has to tread very carefully keeping in mind the sensitivities involved,” he said. He said that even without publicity, as understood and demanded by the public at large, the attendance at the festival has been growing each year, mainly by word of mouth. “With such large events such as this festival, crowd control has to be taken into consideration. Though few and far between, there have been untoward and ugly incidents. Being a largely family-oriented festival, which is enjoyed by a large number of women and children, the safety, security and decency aspect has to be given priority,” he added. Ziad Bassam Al-Bassam, Vice Chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) said there has been no lack of publicity. He explained that media organizations, such as, MBC and local and regional Arabic publications are the sponsors and have been giving publicity to the festival. Also a lot of street signs have also been put up. According to Al-Bassam, a large amount of money has been spent on publicity. He added that there cannot be any lack or neglect of publicity for this is a “very important event for Jeddah.” He said that JCCI initiated the festival in the year 2000, with the aim to put Jeddah on the “holiday map” of the region. “The idea is to encourage shopping, support businesses in the city, increase hotel occupancy, and provide fun and entertainment for holidaymakers,” he said. Nashwa A. Taher, a member of the JCCI board, said that there is publicity about the festival, and added that she has seen commercial spots about the event on MBC TV several times, which are broadcast frequently. “The organizers have been working hard, and the publicity aspect has also been taken care of,” she said. Dina Hasan Al-Nahdi, general manager, Environmental Technology (Entec), said that she plans to go to various activities that are to be held during Jeddah Ghair, but that she might have missed them because there is not enough publicity about the event. “I learned about it just by chance. The publicity is very weak, which really is a shame because there are many families who face the possibility of missing it, or at least some of the activities,” she said. Al-Nahdi said that the festival has been going on regularly for a couple of years and she has been enjoying it with her family. According to her, last year, and the year before, there were flyers about the event, and so it was easy to learn about the Festival. “This year, the publicity aspect is not strong enough. One has to look for it, search for it, or, if fortunate, learn about it by chance,” she said, and added, “If people do not know why, where and what, the purpose of thewhole exercise is minimized, if not completely lost. The information should be easily and widely available.” Dr. Abir Al-Jundi, a marketing and public relations expert, said she has not seen any publicity. “Maybe because I was away from Jeddah, but that was for a short time,” she added. She felt that by and large not enough publicity has been done to reach large numbers of people. Al-Jundi said that this being an age of branding, the festival should be popularized as a brand, and gave the example of ‘Fly Buy Dubai,' which she said was very catchy and has almost been ingrained in the minds of people all over the region and beyond. She said that also there should be big sales “like what they call ‘Mega Sale' in Malaysia” because shopping is a big attraction.
