Tagged: regional
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Survival
GyroHSR Dubai General Manager, Fiona Menzies, appeared on Dubai Eye’s Business Breakfast.
Listen to the interview here…
Tales from London – Part 2
As well as larking around disguised as a culture vulture on my trip to London – I managed to get time to watch my beloved football team secure top flight European football next season for the first time by beating Bolton and then a tense victory in the North of England to beat Manchester City.
Glory glory Tottenham Hotspur at last. And two new experiences with it. The first match I had the pleasure of watching from a box at White Heart Lane courtesy of Bluhalo – Thank you Bluhalo. The second match was a completely alien experience to me and strangely a lot better than I anticipated. I ventured to a pub in Clapham with a group of friends, pulled out my Avatar 3D specs and watched the entire match in 3D.
It worked well, the stats in particular leapt out at you and everybody looked suitably ridiculous. 3D TV is literally kicking off. Some brands such as Guinness have already created the commercials (arguably the best 3D experience of the evening) and I’m sure there will be a bandwagon of brands jumping on the 3D train.
I’ll be interested to see which high fashion brand will be the first to release those designer 3D specs, and when 3D TV hits Dubai.
Tales from London – Part 1
As always – returning to my home town of London enthused me with joy and inspiration. At the forefront of the world, and epicenter of cultures but as always with a sense of classic British reserve and red tape around every action. This visit was during election frenzy, amidst the imminent return of ‘the ash cloud’ and quite possibly during the coldest May ever. But alas I was inspired.
First stop Saatchi gallery – great exhibition as ever and Richard Wilson’s iteration of his site-specific oil installation 20:50 was truly epic. The still ness and perfect reflections paired with the overwhelming gas station-esq smell of crude oil make for quite an over powering yet strangely tranquil experience.
Yes That’s right – that is the basement of the Saatchi Gallery filled with oil.
The exhibition focussed on work around the Middle East and India, so naturally was of great interest to an Expat in Dubai. The famous camel in a suitcase which caused outrage at Art Dubai a few years ago was in attendance, amongst an array of authentic, some times proud, some times cynical and sometime just beautiful work.
Really interesting to see a representation of the world I live in now, in the world where I grew up.
CMO Middle East
If you attended the CMO Middle East event in Dubai today you were introduced to a barrage of common buzz; mobile marketing, the move towards online in MEA, emerging markets leap-frogging more established markets to future technologies, the need to keep budgets in a recession, and so on – all wrapped up with a need for accountability and transparency. There were constant references social media, but few delved further into it – perhaps day 2 (which I won’t unfortunately be attending) will bring the anticipated discussion around web 3.0?
Maktoob enthusiastically discussed the future of online in the region – clearly boosted by the Yahoo! takeover. We saw the ‘yet to be Arabised’ It’s you campaign (on Google’s Youtube) and the proud release of BPA audit figures. Backed up with a healthy obsession with targeting – based on tracking and analytics – Yahoo!’s Maktoob looks to have serious intentions of leading the changing face of MEA’s ad landscape. We wait with bated breath to see how the Yahoo!/Maktoob partnership develops.
One point which got me thinking was raised by Jumeirah’s Thatcher Brown, who walked us through Jumeirah’s marketing strategy. A heavy focus was on internal training and loyalty, backed by the need to provide 100% reviews in every part of consumer feedback. With loyalty at the top of the agenda – Thatcher presented the idea of the ‘Dubai Loyalty Scheme’ – which could be an arousing concept for Dubai Tourism (also present at CMO ME) to consider. But even more so for the brands in the UAE who aim to be leaders in their industries.
This is not to say a ‘stamp-able loyalty card’ every time you pass through customs control – but instead the mentality that Dubai as much as anything needs to go further than selling itself, but create brand loyalty for itself. Challenge number one – build loyalty in Dubai. Challenge number 2 – ‘own’ Dubai in your industry. Arguably Jumeirah own Hospitality in Dubai – one of the most established brands in the UAE, a very new brand globally. In essence instead of selling a brand globally – the idea here is that if you can build loyalty in Dubai, and you own hospitality in Dubai, you’re almost there.
As an agency insider it was brilliant to see what CMO’s in this region are thinking and doing. It’s clear that there are a lot of ideas and enthusiasm, as well as a belief that the MEA region, alongside markets such as India and China are genuinely amongst the most exciting to work in. And even further, technology isn’t getting in the way – thoughts around the preciousness of an idea, a need for local understanding and an openness to media execution, over using a particular media for the sake of it, seem to be king.
This was summed up nicely by some final thoughts from CMO Council Executive Director, Donovan Neale-May. He talked about ‘Share of mind over share of market’ – the importance of realising how to best connect with your audience.
The ‘maximising marketeer’
Whilst watching an opening episode of Mad Men – we see fictional creative director Don Draper and his team casually solving a brief for a high end department store with slick images and a coupon to drive sales. The modern marketeer (and in this case; the attractive client), were let down by the depth of the campaign strategy.
However, is the coupon making a return to fame? Despite the undeniable importance of an integrated and engaging approach to marketing strategy – the humble promotional coupon has its place.
Whilst reading a recent entry on our corporate blog site, I was informed that consumers are stepping up efforts to save money during the recession by carrying out more searches for online vouchers and discounts than ever before. This is according to new figures from Hitwise, which show that web searches for vouchers have soared by 47.5 per cent in the last year in the UK.
What was most interesting to me was the comment from Hitwise UK research director Robin Goad; “We are seeing the emergence of what our colleagues the Future Foundation call the ‘maximising consumer’,”
“These shoppers don’t necessarily buy the cheapest products or services, but they do spend a lot of time researching online before selecting what to buy and then a bit more time to find the best price or discounts before making a purchase.”
A valid point and one that rings true in Dubai. The nature of the economy and the lifestyle which many have flocked to the Emirate to embrace means that we are looking for an experience that we shouldn’t really be able to afford, at a seemingly affordable price.
In steps the Entertainer Book (for non UAE residents, this is a series of voucher books which cover the majority of eateries from Burger King to Michelin Star restaurants).
It works so well in Dubai. The city is small enough to make it logistically viable, and the concept simple enough for the smallest of outlets with the most basic of marketing strategies take part, yet powerful enough that the global players can’t afford to miss out.
Although the Entertainer has an online presence – with limited offers available only online – beyond this the ‘print-on-demand’ coupon is not as common as you might think.
It would seem like a perfect opportunity for some of the less prevalent brands in the region to make an impact. Utilising simple and tried and tested promotion driven marketing to reach out and drive sales – without having to invest heavily in a complex web solutions.
It’s not groundbreaking, but if embraced could boost the development of the online landscape in the region, and is a very measurable way to track ROI.
International brand – local approach
Clifford Chance law firm has a strong business proposition – globally renowned with experience in local practices. A simple way to portray this is through the day to day collateral and marketing materials.
The use of bold regional imagery with a very clean and crisp approach to design and layout gives the message of a squeaky clean organisation with an appreciation for the local market.
