Boutique Bus ?

I boarded a boutique bus today... lol...

I thought it was a new concept for bus till I saw the Nokia ad all over then did I realized that its a marketing campaign from Nokia.

Just in case you're wondering which number the bus is, its 156.

It kinda shocked me a little bit cause the interior was utterly different. They practically pimped the bus !!!!

Instead of rows of chairs facing the driver, it has just a single row of chairs from the beginning to the end of the bus, so the passengers are sitting facing each other.

And the best part is, in between and near the end of the bus, it wasn't just seats anymore. It was like an oval cupped white leather chair !

It has red suede ceiling, JBL speakers all over, white leathered chairs and there were 2 bar-like chairs facing the window with a little table ! There was a poster of a bartender-looking guy facing the seats...

I find the concept really cool ! I mean if a company has HUGE A&P budget to play with, the imagination for the marketing team is unlimited ! And I definitely wouldn't mind working for a company like that.

Come to think about it, Nokia's advertisements have always been pretty impressive and extravagant.

You see, that's the thing with local companies I find. They stinge on their marketing budget. They think that by having their products placed in major stores etc, the job of "marketing" a product is complete. As long as they make money from it, ooohh yeah, they did a good "marketing" job. And stops there.

They always worry about their sales but totally neglect the whole marketing part and forgotten that sales and marketing goes hand in hand together. If you've got good marketing campaign, the sales will come naturally. But if there's sales and the brand is not that strong, its just a short-term gain. Over the long haul, you're losing out. Cause by then, you just need to rely on your promotions to make money and when you do not have any promotions or whatsoever, nobody will buy cause to them, the brand is nothing. No recognition there. No sense of self-fulfillment in getting a prestigious good, although the price can by sky-high.

Nothing, nada, zilch.

But still, they continue to stinge.... *sighs*