Morocco # English board

Hi All

Wonder if you can help me, I work for a design company in the UK we’ve been asked by your Tourism agency to design an exhibition stand that will sell morocco as the place to visit ….

I don’t just want to go down the traditional way we in the west see your country ….markets lots of sand , Palm trees etc.

I want to show a different side… the culture , the history ….the modern and not forgetting the people .. I suppose what I’m asking is what are the best kept secrets your country has to offer…

One of the things I’m thinking of doing is placing well know Moroccan proverbs and phrases in with the images something along the lines of welcoming new friends , visiting etc …anyone got any good suggestions

Any help would be great fully received

Hi Wild1,

What's your target audience ? Average tourists or a higher class of visitors ? It will define the tone of the presentation and help us give you some pointers.

Hello Chelhman

I think we are looking more towards the professional type of tourist not your Ibiza holiday . Basically someone who’s after the experience of seeing something new not just spending 2 weeks in a warm country drinking there own weight in alcohol. And also the conference trade.

I think iam looking for the feel in these photos , they say colourfull interesting and full of character...
[www.flickr.com]

Thanks


Paul



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2008 05:37 by wild1.

Wild1,

Off the top of my head, if your target audience are pros, I assume we're talking about the corporate type, businessmen/women, people who just want to drop everything and relax.
So let's make it the theme of your presentation : "simplicity", our country is the middleground between the rugged and the modern. I know when I'm there the things I enjoy the most are simple things, forgotten tastes for us living in Europe, forgotten pleasures, watching a sky full of stars at night, waterfalls...stuff like that, a journey back in time 3 hours from the UK.

Since they'll also find things like thalasso therapy, luxurious hotels...etc, let's make the title theme an oxymoron :
"sophisticated simplicity". Hundred of miles away from deadlines, suppliers, staff meetings, the back-stabbing...a country offering simplicity in a sophisticated way.
You would add pictures of waterfalls like Ouzoud, breathtaking scenaries on one hand and luxurious hotels on the other.
Hope this helps.

Yep much along those lines, dont know if you looked at the flickr images I found but I want to show Morroco as a mixture of the modern and new yet the old is still an important part of lets face it the sales pitch of taking a break from the stressfull modern life.

But I think the images I use will be the critical selling point, trying to get a feel for the culture without swamping the visitor to the stand. Needs to be crisp colours with splashes of colour (within the images)

Here's a video made in the 90's by the famous publicist Jacques Séguéla, it follows that idea of colors :

[www.dailymotion.com]

I agree with Chelhman ,the simple things are always what makes a stands like the clear skies ( no light pollution) the fact that we could hear the birds ,water fall ( having a small fontain could help)
Authenticity :
Zellij . a bit of islamique architecture in there + Golf ,Spas ,Conference facilities ....
A taste of the Moroccan hospitality also is good ides Mint tea & cakes & i feel a mention of a change to taste the Moroccan cuisine & take up cockery courses
Colours : Moroccan Blue + Marrakech red could play a big part

Good luck

Hi

Great project Paul that I am sure will lead you to a great journey. Better still; take a trip down there to experience it first hand. You have an excuse now.

The Best of Morocco that you are looking for is the life lived in the raw, on the edge, sense of timelessness and most of all, its hidden treasure that the untrained eye cannot see. If you can tap into these, your dreams of holidays will surpass.
What makes up Morocco is a series of linear combinatory relations between People, history, landscape and location.

In terms of Visual signs, if you have time, have a look at these pictures on you Tube: type ‘Morocco giant-sized nature’ on search
Let us know how you get on.

Greetings

I assume you would like to present your stand with a bit of honesty in your description of the beauty of our mother land.
The thing is there isn’t only one thing that is beautiful and charming in Morocco. Every city has a deep and long history due to the strategic position of the country. One can find big contradiction too between what’s new and what’s old.
One can travel in time back and forth within a few kilometres. A new shape Mercedes Benz and carts with donkeys and mules, mega rich people and poor ones too.(tm)
The sceneries can be changing too. You can see snow on the summit of the mountains and temperature in the mainland well over 25C.; and miles of nothing, not a bird or tree, just empty space.
The weather is fabulous all the year around with the exception of a couple of month. I came back last Jan/Feb with a lovely tan. One day in Marrakech, it was raining while the sky was clear and sunny that alone was an experience.
The majority of people are kind warm and friendly (sometimes too friendly). One has to keep in mind those waiters and office clerks are not earning enough.
Some visitor can be put off by some traditional scenes especially the snobby ones.
One can have fantastic time at a fraction of the cost that could be paid in Europe.

Nice takssila in the traditional hamame = stretching in the traditional public bath similar to the Turkish one but without the Turkish delight.

Thanks all, it looks from what your saying that my initial idea’s of the way to go are the right ones, now all I’ve got to do is come up with a way of putting all this across not only to a European audience but to the head of the tourist board.

Happybrain…Would love to be able to visit especially after all the research I’ve been doing over the last few days but I don’t think my boss would pass that on expenses…

Thanks again

Hi Wild1,

Something just hit me after re-reading your first post : you said your company was asked by "our ministry" of tourism. First of all, shouldn't they provide you with loads of material to work with ? And why the hell are they outsourcing this ? A moroccan staff or a moroccan company would be better suited for the job, they would know the country inside out. I'm glad you got the job, good for you, but it's like asking a Moroccan who's never been to Scotland to make a presentation about Edinburgh, it doesn't make sense. Cheers.

the best time is in spring if you want to visit the south too around Ouarzazate; on quad bike is fun and there is so much to see. The summer one needs to be near a pool or a beach to chill; most of the time its hot or very hot.

this is not new they always sourced marketing Morocco to a French compagny ! how could a French sell Morocco to the English !
Its always the case when the brown envelopes exchange hands ....

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chelhman
Hi Wild1,

Something just hit me after re-reading your first post : you said your company was asked by "our ministry" of tourism. First of all, shouldn't they provide you with loads of material to work with ? And why the hell are they outsourcing this ? A moroccan staff or a moroccan company would be better suited for the job, they would know the country inside out. I'm glad you got the job, good for you, but it's like asking a Moroccan who's never been to Scotland to make a presentation about Edinburgh, it doesn't make sense. Cheers.

Hi Atlasmagic,

From what I understood Wild1's company is not french, but I assume he'll be by to confirm.

I confirm the old company was French

Hi Guys

Definitely on the side of Wellington as apposed to Napoleon,

and just to clear up a slight misunderstanding we haven’t won the contract yet we are in a pitch for the stand and I’m in the early stages of the design, the tourist authority have yet to give us supporting literature because they want to see what type of designs people come back with given little info. A good idea as it makes us designers ask the questions I’ve been looking at.

There might very well be a Moroccan company up for the job or even French but as professional my job is to try and give your tourist authority the best design for the best cost I can . And hopefully one that will encourage fellow Europeans who would not have even considered Morocco as a destination ,food for fought.

That’s why I’m on this site to try on get your ideas as what’s the best of the best, the bits that we ‘tourists wouldn’t necessarily be aware off, and to get a feel of the place and people.


We regularly design stands for companies we have no real connection with , its like designing a stand for an engineering company, we are not engineers but still do our utmost to sell there products in the best way we can.
And from the information I have from our sales team the stand last year for what ever reason didn’t have many visitors on it when our people passed by compared to some of your competitors.

Also been an English company and a professional designer for the last 20 years I can honestly say we have never handed over brown envelopes to win a job and never would, so if that’s been happening with the French company maybe its time for a change.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2008 11:11 by wild1.

Definitely our birth country’s entire tourist section needs reviewing. France out of all the European countries always had a saying in our economy as an entity just like US and Great Britain. Morocco is a French colony and still is indirectly hence there is always the antipathy feeling that comes out every now and than.

Best of luck to the British stand in winning the contract. Shame it’s not an entry for ministry of tourism.

Guys, if I knew this was gonna turn into a political discussion, I wouldn't have said anything. My point was on efficiency only.

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adds
Definitely our birth country’s entire tourist section needs reviewing. France out of all the European countries always had a saying in our economy as an entity just like US and Great Britain. Morocco is a French colony and still is indirectly hence there is always the antipathy feeling that comes out every now and than.

Best of luck to the British stand in winning the contract. Shame it’s not an entry for ministry of tourism.

Thanks will try our best , just got very little time to pull something together so I hope I get it right

Good luck

I did not for a second say you guys will hadn over envelopes , let hope you come up with the best design & i it makes more sence for a British company to market to a British audiance rather than asking one from Bordeaux or Brest to do so !

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atlasmagic
Good luck

I did not for a second say you guys will hadn over envelopes , let hope you come up with the best design & i it makes more sence for a British company to market to a British audiance rather than asking one from Bordeaux or Brest to do so !

Hi atlas

Sorry get abit touchy about payoffs to get work , several years ago worked at a company that did alot of work for a major pc reseller and the marketing guy droped heavy hints that if we carpeted his house for free then we would keep there business. we didnt out of principle (slipery slope) , lost the work and spent several worrying months trying to make up the lost business.


Thanks again guys