A 40-second television commercial shows a Saudi woman, wearing a hijab, in a variety of settings — in a business meeting with other women, working at a computer, at her wedding and playing with her children. “You have your dreams. You have your ambitions,” a voice-over says in Arabic. “You are not alone,” it continues. “With you is Banque Saudi Fransi.” A similar print ad uses a simple image of a woman silhouetted against a fiery sky. Jean-Francois Benazet, a marketing manager with the bank, said Saudi women “need to know the bank will be a friend and help them through life stages.”

While the article concedes that, by Western standards, marketing financial services to women is anything but remarkable, this is a big deal for "polite society" in Saudia Arabia. According to Mohamed Ghozeil, an account manager at Burnett's Riyadh affiliate:

In this sector you have to be extremely conservative in communicating anything,” he said, noting that the ads were commercial, not political: “If you can show women you will look especially at their needs, you can do a lot of business.

In general, when a business identifies, targets, and meets the needs of an underserved market segment, I see it as a good thing. In fact, it's my favorite economic love story ("When Supply Met Demand"). And to my mind, the BSF "ladies banking" strategy is no exception. That said, it will be an even better thing when BSF's women customers are also allowed use the bank's drive-thru windows- from the driver's side of the car, no less.

saudi arabia
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