Our school trip to Beirut

You can find a lesson in how to do your job in the most unexpected places. 
We were lucky enough to be in Beirut two weeks ago. We were there to meet Solidere – the developers responsible for rebuilding Beirut city centre in the wake of the civil war that finished in 1991. And at the crack of dawn on our first day, Solidere very kindly took us on a tour of the city. We got a fascinating insight into how to recreate a city. And as we went round, we realised many of the lessons we were learning were just as relevant to brands as to buildings. Lessons like this:

Lesson 1: don’t rip it up and start again. After 16 years of civil war, and with Beirut city centre pretty much a write off, the temptation must have been to try to divorce themselves from the past. To concentrate solely on the future. But they didn’t. Instead, like any wise brand, they looked to their past to inspire their future. The result gives all this new building a sense of belonging and credibility (that you don’t get in Dubai, say). There were new buildings using old Arab, French and Lebanese styles. New mosques stand next to old Christian churches (the religious tolerance of Beirut is astonishing). I saw roman remains carefully preserved just outside the Adidas shop. 

Lesson 2: think big. Like any forward-thinking brand, they’ve built to last, too. Everything is remarkably solid. Solidere have also made plans for the next 25 years (to completely rebuild Beirut’s harbour). Even the ‘temporary’ exhibition centre has been built to last 10 years.

Lesson 3: don’t eat the elephant. Like any shrewd brand, they haven’t tried to do everything at once. Instead they’ve focused on one area and nailed it – in this case, creating a city centre that you can see people are palpably proud of. It took 14 years, and only now that’s done are they looking to develop other areas around Beirut. 

We learnt lots more lessons in our 36 hours in Beirut. We ate hummus, we took photos, we listened to Lebanese pop, we sat in the sunshine, and we got lost in the backstreets of Gymasie. For all of this, I’d recommend a Beirut to anyone. 
But if you’re in the business of fixing brands, it’s a must.  
Class dismissed.