Brand Dubai: The new challenge

In what has been a truly global recession, few economies have had to contend with the added weight of publicity as Dubai.

There has been a distinct glow of Schadenfreude in reports of ex-pats leaving cars at the airport, building projects being stopped, property prices halving, and businesses hitting the buffers.

The emirate can, and will, protest that reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated, but facts are facts. Dubai will have to work hard to re-assert itself as a genuine economy of today and tomorrow – much harder than it did in the recent boom years.

As international brand consultants, Turquoise works with numerous national and global brands, helping to enhance their respective offerings and to be the best they can.

Our work over the last few years has included many projects from within the Middle East and so we have seen from both the inside and outside, the issues which Dubai faces. Here then, are five thoughts from a brand consultancy point of view for the Emirate to consider, if it is to recapture the reputation for success that it used to take for granted:

1. Bling isn’t King
Dubai quickly established itself on the basis of ‘biggest, fastest, highest, tallest, you-name-it-est’. Anything that had been done before was automatically wrong and rejected. That kind of thinking worked while things were going well – or, more importantly, while people were happy not to ask questions. Now, people are genuinely hurting from the excesses of the last few years and have started to question not only their own decisions and priorities, but also the sources of the promises they believed.

Dubai should be proud of its ‘can do’ and pioneering spirit – at a time when everyone else is following the ‘keep your head down’ line, we need all the optimism we can get – but the Emirate needs to recognise that there is less of an appetite now for the big, unproven claim, or for the ‘because we can’ attitude.

2. The future isn’t what it used to be
A year ago, you couldn’t move in Dubai without seeing or hearing something about ‘vision’.  Usually tied to property or development companies, this thought looks doubly ironic now. Dubai should concentrate more on the ‘today’ and look to build from here into the future, rather than make big statements that are actually a hostage to fortune.  With so much uncertainty still around, anyone proclaiming great vision is unlikely to be taken seriously; but brands will be successful if they invite people to join in an attitude of “Let’s work through this together”.

In the past, Dubai has adapted to change quickly, but such change was always propitious; now, it has to adapt to less favourable conditions, but if it can do that with the same commitment, the Emirate will turn its corner.

3. Trust is key
Sadly, on both the micro and the macro level, Dubai has a challenge in rebuilding its credibility. As an economy heavily dependent on two of the worst-hit sectors in property and finance, it has fallen victim to global pressures.  But Dubai is seen as having tried to build a future that was almost literally built on sand. That kind of approach just doesn’t fit with the way people are thinking now – it’s not all gloom and doom - at least it shouldn’t be - but Dubai has to live in the same world as every other brand, be that luxury, commodity, global or local.

Dubai needs to rebuild trust with all of its stakeholders, and to do that it has to be prepared to take its time. For an Emirate that has built its reputation on a phenomenal ‘can do’ attitude, that might be difficult, but trust cannot be earned overnight: consistency, integrity, long-term commitment will count for much more now. And none of those contradicts the ‘can do’ mentality – it’s now a case of ‘can do, should do’.

4. Get up close and personal
The future is going to belong to those brands that have genuine understanding of and commitment to their stakeholders. Dubai is no different, but it does have a fabulous opportunity to capitalise on this demand. As a destination, it will continue to lure people from all over the world: for holidays, Dubai’s climate and facilities are constantly attractive. As a place to do business, it is one of the easiest territories in the region: still cosmopolitan, technically-advanced and ambitious.

So long as Dubai takes those qualities and thinks of how they can work on an individual basis, it will succeed. Perhaps in ways it hadn’t considered before, with a new emphasis on customer relationship management, personalised communications, one-on-one relationships. Dubai can use this time to re-engage with people.

5. Make it real
Behind all of these points is one common thought: the world is looking for authenticity now. Values like integrity, honesty, trust, clarity are important and must be evident in everything that organisations do. Dubai cannot be an exception – particularly as the Emirate has to rebuild trust – and so needs to embrace a different approach to the marketing, communication and services that it provides and houses.

Brands are not taglines, they’re promises. And promises have to be kept, so they need to be based on a core truth.  This is a great opportunity for Dubai, not a threat. For all its problems and faults, Dubai still stands out as an economy that was prepared to change and to challenge. It was not prepared to accept the status quo, and wanted a better future for its people. Those qualities are still relevant – perhaps even more so – now. By looking deeper into its traditions, its beliefs, and its ambitions, Dubai will find its own truths (perhaps re-find would be more appropriate) and it can build on them to secure a sustainable and admired future.

Keith Wells is group managing director, UK-based Turquoise Brand Consultancy

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READERS' COMMENTS

Put need before Greed
Posted by BRANDO, London, GB on Wednesday 7 October 2009 at 17:40 UAE time


@ Mr Bong - "Dubai and all stakeholders need to change this concept. There has to be a balanced approach to profits (it is not a dirty word) where all stakeholder needs are taken care of as it is an interdependant world."

Well said Mr Bong man

Brand Dubai
Posted by Bong, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Tuesday 6 October 2009 at 15:46 UAE time


I liked the article by Keith. He has very clearly culled out the broad direction required. However, it would be interesting to know the brainstorming that went into it.

Dubai over a period has developed into a brand and from what Keith has written, his company is planning to RE-BRAND her and in the process nudge and cajole the thought process of the think tank into the direction of the new Vision (remenber every vision has a shelf life).

Dubai has largely been been a place where in the past, middle and low middle income class people have come, worked hard in delivering value to this place and in turn have made money. The Dubai "bling" brigade wanted to attract capital & businessmen who would partner them in growth. The change happened somewhere in between (2005 to 2008) that it started attracting people who wanted to get rich(er) FAST (maybe that was the design if the think tank). This attracted businessmen who instead of providing value to the system started focussing on increasing their own "valuation" in a very short period of time. High returns was the order of the day and people started expecting higher returns. Investments were planned in that manner.

Dubai and all stakeholders need to change this concept. There has to be a balanced approach to profits (it is not a dirty word) where all stakeholder needs are taken care of as it is an interdependant world.

Dubai has to refocus on TRUST. Laws need to be made and EXECUTED which will reinforce trust. In real estate (one of the major drivers of economy in Dubai??) Quality needs to be built in, promises made with regards to residency permits need to be kept. The stakeholder called "expat residents" need to be taken care of. Their trust has to be won. Trust has to be built into the fabric of Dubai and not just a part of "knee jerk action" of making a presentation on how Dubai is an investor friendly place.

Turqoise now has now a very exciting task of converting the broad directions as menioned by Keith into "action". Best of Luck to the Turquoise team - there has to be PARADIGM SHIFT in the way the Leaders of Dubai think and what better time than the Chaos which is ensuing now.

Mooooo !
Posted by BRANDO, London, GB on Monday 5 October 2009 at 20:27 UAE time


@ Shusup "Well if the government refuses to give any protection whatsoever to the working population very soon Dubai will be marked as the worst place to work or live and that will be a tragedy."

BINGO, there is a HUGE PROBLEM brewing.

The tourism/Hotel industry requires a very large amount of SKILLED WORKERS in order for it to function at a professional level. There is no point building dozens of big expensive Hotels and attractions etc unless you can attract both tourists and workers. If the skilled migrant workers find it very difficult to live (and save some a little money) it will become increasing difficult to attract them to work in Dubai/UAE....decent affordable housing for resident workers is a must have ! Right now.

Everyone seems more concerned about the glitzy end of the spectrum and not what it will actually take to run & maintain Dubai over a long period of time while maintaining a top quality service.

The Biggest is not always the Best and all this BRAND talk is just sounding like BLAH talk...anyone ever heard of Brand Fatigue ?

If you put Lipstick and makeup on a cow it's still a cow :)

I do wish you the best of Luck

Brand Dubai
Posted by Shusup, Dubai, UAE on Monday 5 October 2009 at 12:21 UAE time


Dubai was known as a city where you came to make your fortune. It was truly a land of opportunities where you could "save" up and "have a good lifestyle" without getting into debt or overstretching your resources. That is what attracted expats from all countries and all walks of life to come here. Unfortunately the "brand" Dubai chose for itself seems to be "playland of the rich" I say unfortunately because the "can do" attitute touted by the author was the attitude of the working expats not the idle rich whom Dubai seems bent on attracting. In the process of attracting the "rich and famous" The rulers of this promising coountry seemed to have overlooked the fact that no country with ambitions can survive only on hospitality (Unless you are a island with no other resources but a mild climate and wonderfull beaches.)
I agree that Dubai can regain its stature only if the promises made to the people who contributed to its success are kept. Right now though the policy seems to be "lets make life as difficult for the remaining expats so they all pack their bags and leave". Education, commodities, water and electricity in fact everything but house rents in certain sectors are going up. Well if the government refuses to give any protection whatsoever to the working population very soon Dubai will be marked as the worst place to work or live and that will be a tragedy.

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