How to build_a_brand_in_uae: 10 Rules for marketers

Customer Trends, Insights and analysis from UAE by Ayesha Saeed

How to dominate the World – Simon Silvester

Adding insights from UAE – Ayesha Saeed

CustomerTrendlog.com


Prologue

The world is full of global brands. Which were never designed to be global
brands. How to dominate the world is about how to beat them.

This presentation adds insights from United Arab Emirates to the points
raised by Simon Sylvestor


Per capita income is major differentiator between

the west & rest of the world?
“brands were designed for people today earning typically $40,000 a year. But
they are now being sold to customers on $3,000 a year.
The consumer they were designed for looks nothing like the global consumer of
today.”

Simon Silvester: How to dominate the world

UAE Trend:

UAE GDP per capita for 2010: USD 40,200 higher than western world

But UAE customer is different in a lot of other aspects
- on an average he is 10 years younger than western audience
- and UAE is a melting pot for 208 nationalities and not all speak Arabic
(the national language)



Rule 1- Think ZEITGEIST
“Many Western marketers say it’s impossible to build a global brand from scratch because
there is no global culture to base one on.
But there is a shared global culture. It’s just that they can’t see it because they are not part
of it. Last 20 years have been an exciting rollercoaster for emerging world, brands should
become a part of it”

Mantra for brand: Think Trial - Raise your sight - Think positive - Don’t be arrogant


UAE Culture:
• Capture human imagination
• Capture it faster than human imagination
• And last 20 years witnessed growth at exponential rate – brands needs to
reflect that in their identity
Example: Burj Khalifa | Yas Marina Circuit | The Palm – Nakheel

Mantra for brand: Raise your sight – Think positive –Be ambitious – Fuel ambitions

Ayesha Saeed: www.customertrendlog.com



Rule 2: Think TRIAL
“Westerners have stretched the target audiences of their brands by age. In very old
countries in Scandinavia, consumer goods brands can have target audiences aged 20 to 60.
Marketing budgets have shifted from trial to retention.

Mantra for brand: Think brand essence – Think product sampling


UAE Culture:

• Be visible at retail – retail reach is stronger and less fragmented
• Malls in UAE are a source of entertainment & recreation

Mantra for brand: Think Retail – Think trial at retail




Rule 3: Think VISUAL
“There are hundreds of languages in use in the world today. So any brand which relies on
its name meaning something in English has problems.
Even the abstract Italianate names favored by car companies struggle in Chinese, where no
sound is abstract, and always has to mean something.
Big part of the world’s population has problems with reading.

Mantra for brand: Think Visual – Think Strong Visual

UAE Insight:

• Multiple languages, multiple cultures Culture Icons in main square of Abu Dhabi
• A lot of exposure
• Icons ensure strong communication
Mantra for brand: Think Visual – Think cultural icons




Rule 4: Think YOUTHQUAKE
“Today, the generation gap in the West is less, as parents did the same stuff at college that
their kids are about to do. But it doesn’t hold true for the rest of the world, so consider
targeting youth”

Mantra for brand: Think Themes for youth

Example: cosmetics should think dating not ageing


UAE Insight:

• Average age in UAE is 27, most of the population is under twenty
• Dubai Dream: Financial stability | Melting pot| Accelerated Ambitions –
This dream attracts so many young expats to this country and fuels the
youth of the nation forward
Mantra for brand: Young – Dynamic – Digital




Rule 5: Think SMALL
“The global consumer has a lot less space than the Western consumer. Global marketers
ignore this at their peril.

Most American brands comes in big boxes and that doesn’t fit with the emerging
consumer’s lifestyle – either because of pocket size or apartment size”

Mantra for brand: Just in time consumers – Small packets/sachets

UAE Trend:

• A large percentage of population esp. expats are living a bachelor’s life
• For Emiratis, they don’t have problem with price or storage space but they
are becoming environment sensitive

Example: Bu Tinah | EAD Campaigns | Heroes of UAE –WWF

Mantra for brand: Be Green and thus be small




Rule 6: Think Television (in UAE think Print)
“Many global marketing managements in Europe and the United States quietly gave up on
television because of boom in media vehicles.

The future of marketing is digital. But the future of digital may look remarkably like analog
TV.”

Mantra for brand: Experiment with media vehicles

UAE Trend:

• Print Media is leading
• Digital media is catching up

Mantra for brand: Think Print – Think digital engagement




Rule 7: Think Fast
“Whilst the West stagnates, the global consumer is living through the fastest changes in
history.

Young adults in emerging markets are all about here and now. Check your cultural
references. The fashions of 2005 were very cool. But 2005 was a long time ago if you’re 19.”

Mantra for brand: Talk about Now

UAE Trend:

• Understand everybody in UAE is living a life on the go
• Speed is key, if you are not fast enough your competition is

Mantra for brand: Be Dynamic




Rule 8: Think cultural neutrality
“Western Brands remain heavily western centric, Western countries need to consider – are
they alienating an entire generation of customers for their goods and services?.

Mantra for brand: Normalize the westernized brands – make them global

UAE Culture:

• Value national values & Emirati history
• Keep on building on to your history
• So many cultures, languages but one dream – Dubai Dream

Example: Aldar Hoyamal campaign | Our Father Zayed

Mantra for brand: Value UAE’s values




Rule 9: Think KIASU
“‘Kiasu’, a Hokkien Chinese word, meaning a mixture of ‘competitive in all acts of life’
and ‘afraid to fail’ In rapidly growing societies, you have to run just to stay still

Mantra for brand: Recognize Ambitions – Reward achievements

UAE Culture:

• One Common motivator: Ambition
• Dubai is all about aggressive & swift ambitions

Mantra for brand: Recognize Ambitions – Reward achievements




Example: ADCB campaign



Rule 10: Think Mobile
“Technology is now ahead of big consumer goods companies. The tendency of emerging
countries to adopt the latest technology fast means that these countries are likely to
leapfrog Europe and the US in the sophistication of their phone use. Western-centric
marketers watch out.”

Mantra for brand: Evolve with emerging technologies

UAE Culture:

• Strong penetration of 3G handsets (on an average 1 individual carries two
handsets)
•Incredible internet usage statistics in UAE pushes brands to evolve through
new media

Mantra for brand: Evolve with emerging technologies




For more log on to
www.customertrendlog.com

Trends, insights and analysis from UAE by Ayesha Saeed


How to build_a_brand_in_uae: 10 Rules for marketers

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