Like many local businesses, Lebanese advertising firms will stay put in 2007, but many are hedging their bets against the politically sensitive, stagnant economy by staking their claim on expanding regional markets. Dani Richa, the president of Impact BBDO and the International Advertising Association (IAA), acknowledged that the local market has shrunk since last summer's war, but predicted that Lebanon will remain a regional hub for the industry despite the mounting political chaos in Beirut.

Feb. 01, 2007- "No matter how bad things get a lot of networks have people in Lebanon with regional responsibilities so they can still conduct those operations from here," he explained on Wednesday, mid-way through a four-day regional marketing forum being held in Faraya Mzaar.

Undeterred by last week's violence, firms from 13 countries in the Middle East and North Africa convened at the InterContinental Mountain resort for the MENA Cristal Awards recognizing creativity in advertising. Since the event is modeled on its European counterpart, the Meribel Ad festival held in the French resort town of the same name, Lebanon was a logical venue as it boasts the only skiing in the Middle East and a wealth of advertisers with experience crafting creative strategies in response to shifts in the market.

Executives identified one such postwar trend in Lebanon; the growth of nationalistic and political campaigns in reaction to heightened sectarian tension.

"This is good and healthy as long as they keep the fighting on the billboards," Richa said.

"We encourage fighting in the communication field, not because it's good for our industry, because it's good for our country. It takes it away from the streets, and the schools."

Richa, along with many other attendees, cited the Amam '05 (meaning "go forward '05") anti-sectarian campaign conceived by H&C Leo Burnett, as one of the best  examples of this development. One version of the commercial shows a series of license plates that list the different religious and ethnic affiliations of each car owner.

The managing director of the agency, Kamil Kuran, said the campaign initially received a frigid reception from politicians for touching on a taboo.

"There was a lot of fuss about [Amam '05) when it first came out," he said.

"We got certain vibes from the political community, like 'the Civil War is over, we are done with this period,' but then last week suddenly we are back in 1975. So I think the campaign was a red flag almost."

But increased marketing on the part of local banks and political campaigns are not lucrative enough to keep any firm afloat. In February 2006 about 85 percent of Leo Burnett's active campaigns were local and the remainder regional, estimated Kuran. Now only 30-40 percent of clients are Lebanese, and the agency has boosted the capacity of its offices in Syria and Jordan.

"Before [Industry Minister Pierre] Gemayel [was assassinated in November] we sensed that everything was picking up, even alcohol, which is a sensitive product was advertising," said Kuran. "But now everyone is taking a wait and see approach."

"The biggest window has been Jordan, because that market witnessed a lot of growth, which helped buffer losses in Lebanon," he explained.

Holding the Cristal awards in Lebanon is an important step toward rebranding the country and promoting postwar reconstruction, said 2C Associes CEO Christian Cappe.

"Everybody sees the events in Lebanon in the context of the Middle East, but really these types of things are quite normal," he reasoned. "In France every week we have burning tires, and every year we have 400 or 500 burning cars. The objective is to revitalize Lebanon. This is really like an advertising campaign for Lebanon. We are saying: 'Whose family has no problems? What village has no problems? None.'"