By Zeyad Haj Bakry

The next revolution for using art in business is ambient marketing, an out-of-the box strategy to add a new dimension to Riyadh.

The artistic movement in Riyadh has been booming at an unprecedented pace in recent years. Social networking is a main reason behind such interest in modern art among young Saudis, as everyone is given the chance to differentiate themselves from one another. How can businesses and corporations benefit from such art?

The next revolution for using art in business is ambient marketing. Ambient marketing is to come up with out-of-the-box strategies to trigger consumer interest and make people talk about it in their communities.  It can come in many shapes and forms, such as store design and advertising. So of course, art and artists can play a huge role in creating something beautifully unique to spark positive emotions towards a brand or a product. So more than ever, businesses need artists to craft something that people would be curious about. There is a definite art form behind ambient marketing, and Riyadh just started getting a piece of it.

The latest creation of ambient marketing in Riyadh comes from Dr. Cafe. Surely, most people in Riyadh have seen their massive coffee cup-shaped drive-thru stores by now, and there is no denying that it is a stunning sculpture of art. The renowned coffee shop could have just built an ordinary drive-thru store and be done with it, but instead, they built something special. People have been genuinely pleased by their efforts, and their efforts have clearly worked as Dr. Cafe is already constructing a few more of these distinctive stores.

On the advertising side, Heinz Ketchup has presented billboard adverts around the highways in Riyadh that are certainly very unique. The sliced tomato shaped as a ketchup bottle has caught the eye of the public, which inevitably got some attention on Twitter and Instagram. It’s a special moment to see companies doing some guerilla advertising in Riyadh, and there is demand for it. There is still room for improvement, but it’s an excellent beginning. Because these marketing strategies have worked so well, don’t be surprised if more businesses follow suit and start creating something different as well. So please, stop building brown buildings and lackluster advertisements. Make something remarkable that renovates Riyadh into a more exciting city to live in and open to new arts from its people.The next revolution for using art in business is ambient marketing