Erbil, Kurdistan-Iraq, August 8,
-- Since the end of war and the relative economic booming in
Kurdistan, more companies are now using advertisement as a means of
promoting their business and attracting more clients.
Though advertisement is not practiced on a large-scale in Kurdistan
yet, there are signs that both the business and art of advertisement
are growing. This has been especially more noticeable since the flow
of foreign companies to Kurdistan which are already well familiar
with the concept and effects of advertisement, unlike their Kurdish
or Iraqi counterparts.
AV Line is one of the few advertisement companies currently
operating in Erbil, Kurdistan Region. The company is specialized in
artistic production, giving it a hand in designing advertisement
posters and footages for companies and government institutions as
well.
But as there are no the technical facilities for high-quality and
professional advertising in Kurdistan, AV Line prints its posters
outside Iraq, mainly in Iran and Turkey. It has contracts with
printing houses in those countries where they print high-quality
advertisement posters, cards and footages.
Blind Mahabadi, the manager of AV Line, complains that advertisement
is not still well received in Kurdistan and companies have not
recognized the importance of advertisement.
“People here don’t think about publicity and fame. They only care
about quick ways of gaining money,” says Mahabadi, who himself
graduated from media department of Technical Institute in Erbil.
“The culture of advertisement is not born in Kurdistan yet.”
Mahbadi boasts that his company is the leading advertisement company
in Kurdistan and five other advertisement companies that preceded
his AV Line, all declared bankruptcy because of their low income.
He says that the art of advertisement in Kurdistan is very
simplistic and except his company that has employed academic
designers, many other designers in Kurdistan are not that skilled.
There are various reasons that why advertisement is not a common
practice in Kurdistan among companies and business firms. “One
reason is because there is little competition in Kurdistan market
and this does not encourage competition,” said Khalid Wali, the
administrator of Cihan Group Company in Erbil.
Wali’s company imports various kinds of goods and products raging
from brand new Toyota four-wheel drive cars to Turkish sofa and Sri
Lankan tea. his company has been advertising in various media
channels in Kurdistan, though it has recently stopped advertising.
“Another reason that why advertisement is not in a high level in
Kurdistan yet is because Kurdistan has been living so far in a
closed circle which did not allow it to easily have contact with
outside world and its open market,” Wali adds.
Despite numerous problems of advertisement business in Kurdistan
Wali acknowledges that his company has benefited from ads on various
local and satellite channels in the region.
“Many people did not know about this place in the beginning but
later they found out about our company through the commercials that
were aired on TV channels or published in newspapers,” he explains.
Last year a British company in partnership with AV Line was posting
advertisement cabins on the main streets of Erbil where clients
could display their ads for $ 50 per month. But when the
municipality started paving the main Erbil-Kirkuk highway, ten
cabins were destroyed and the company has not received any
compensation for that, Mahabadi says.
He believes that such incidents show municipality is not encouraging
advertisement inside the city. The municipality officials could not
be reached to comment on this issue.
Although the advertisement companies encourage others to advertise,
they do not advertise for themselves as well, something that has
made them anonymous.
“We do not have time to advertise for ourselves,” admits Mahabdi.
“But we consider it as quite necessary to start advertising for
ourselves as well.”
Many people in Kurdistan think in a classical way, believe that
their income does not change whether they advertise or not.
“The income is not determined by humans, it is preset by God,” said
Aziz Jano, from Dohuk who has a car fair there. “Satisfaction is
more important than everything else in life. I am satisfied with my
income already and do not need advertisement.”
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