MIDDLE EAST
MARKETING WEEK
THE EXTRA MILE
IN DEPTH
Looking for
Brand building
Ms. Right Start Creative sets about buffing the image of one of the UAE’s most
iconic landmarks
As part of its search for local
DUBAI WORLD Trade Centre has been
talent, Al Aan TV invites
sitting on the Dubai skyline for three
Saudi students to make
decades—indeed, for years the building
dominated the skyline. But much has
their own promo videos
changed since the centre’s first tower
was built, back in 1979. What started
out as an iconic 37-storey landmark
has started to look a little tired, as other
towers—that shine and glitter that little
bit more—have risen up along Sheikh
Zayed Road.
Which is where Start Creative comes
in—the UK agency that recently won the
account to spruce up the DWTC brand.
The central challenge of this account,
says Duncan Daines, Start Creative’s
head of strategy, is to provide the DWTC
brand with a new coat of gloss without
undermining the building’s historical
This tower is an icon
of Dubai. It’s on the
Dhs100 note and
represents something
special—it represents
IN FEBRUARY, Zoya Sakr will make a
trip to Jeddah. First off, she has some
history. To me, it’s the
business to do there. As head of sales same as Big Ben.
and marketing for Al Aan TV—the Dubai-
based, women-focused station that
significance—something this construc-
launched in 2006—she will help set up a
tion-crazy city can ill afford to do.
new sales office in the city. Al Aan also
“It’s not a traditional rebranding job—
and for DWTC to have that it is a great tool marketing materials, video and website
recently shifted its media booking to OMD
we are not going to turn around and cre-
that we can use.” design. Ultimately, Start will play a role in
in Jeddah, and is in the process of hiring
ate a new logo for them,” Daines says.
As part of his overall strategy, Daines the marketing of events at DWTC.
PR and creative agencies there, so Sakr
“We live in a world of increasingly taller,
will take the DWTC brand overseas, so as A large part of Start’s work, Daines says,
will help organise this, too.
wider and more expensive towers. But
to attract more events and exhibitors to will be to orchestrate the centre’s internal
And, if all goes well, she will return to
when you’ve got something that plays
Dubai. “Our goal is to bring more trade to communications, with an eye to both im-
Dubai with a new employee.
a part in the cultural heritage of Dubai,
the region,” he says. “It’s about attracting proving employee morale and creating a
This year marks the first that Al Aan
instigated by the father of the ruler of the
people into Dubai—that’s why it’s not just small army of brand ambassadors.
will canvass area universities, in an effort
emirate, that is something unique.”
about a new logo.” “Sometimes, you can get too familiar
to drum up fresh regional talent. Her first
In fact, he adds, the DWTC’s place in
The DWTC is also set to get a new trade with something and forget what the actual
stop is Jeddah’s Dar Al-Hekma College,
Dubai lore will be vital to its future suc-
centre district, with new offices, hotels power of an organisation is,” he says. “We
where she will view the 12 finalists of the
cess. “This tower is an icon of Dubai. It
and exhibition space. It will be Start Crea- want all employees at DWTC to see them-
make-your-own-promo competition Al
is on the Dhs100 note and represents
tive’s job to promote the development as selves in the running of the business, so
Aan recently launched. The brief given to
something special—it represents his-
part of its contract, which runs until Oc- we can take their great stories and push
the students was to create a short video—
tory. To me, Sheikh Zayed Tower is the
tober. The agency will use all of its serv- them out into the world. It then becomes
between three to five minutes—that
same as Big Ben. It plays a role in Dubai,
ices across brand and digital to produce a much more powerful story.”
highlights a topic of interest to women,
with the winner to be awarded a year-long
contract at the station.
3 QUESTIONS FOR...
The majority of entrants, she has heard,
have focused on violence against women.
Sakr says that she is “very happy” with
Sugeesh Chandran
the subject matter of the promo videos, Marketing manager, Medcare Hospital
despite its potential for stirring contro-
versy—and the fact that such topics don’t
How do you use marketing to entice ing our inpatient and outpatient facilities.
quite fit into the colourful, happy-go-lucky
patients to come to Medcare instead of This has been driven by demand from our
tone of the Al Aan brand. “This is a social
public hospitals? clients, so we are certainly being kept on
issue we believe in, and we invite women
Our marketing strategy focuses a great the go at the moment.
to talk loudly about it,” she says. “I’m so
deal on community-based initiatives for
excited to start seeing them.”
PR and advertising, as we have found Would you ever consider commission-
In addition to the full-time job on
these have the greatest effect. We consid- ing Hummer to design an ambulance
offer—subject, as Sakr points out, to the
er ourselves to be an integral part of the for Medcare?
usual “probationary period”—Al Aan will
local community in Jumeirah, so running I like that thought. I think a Hummer
offer a number of cash prizes to excep-
community-based events and activities would make the ideal form of emergency
tional entrants. All 12 of the finalist videos
gives us that reach. transport in a pre-modern Dubai—that
will run on air at the station. “We have a
is if there were still dunes to climb and
lack in local talent, especially Saudi tal-
Is this a quiet time of year for Medcare, wadis to negotiate before getting a pa-
ent,” Sakr says, “so this is a great way to
or are there lots of sick people to care tient to hospital. Fortunately, Medcare
see who’s out there.”
for at the moment? already has a well-equipped EMS vehicle
She adds, laughing, “It’s also a great
We are busier than ever right now, not be- for emergency responses so I guess the
excuse for these young women to move
cause of cyclical or seasonal illnesses, but Hummer will have to be left to the action
to Dubai.”
because we are in the process of expand- movies for now.
www.mediaweekme.com 25 JANUARY 2009 / 23
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