Dubai: Emirates and etisalat have been voted the top two brands in the GCC during a marketing event in Dubai.
The UAE-based companies took the two top spots, with Qtel, from Qatar, coming in third place at the Genius Marketing international forum held on Tuesday night at Dubai's Knowledge Village.
The results are based on a brand study conducted by Brand Finance, which also revealed that Emirates had a portfolio brand value of $3.622 billion and etisalat $3.390 billion.
Qtel, meanwhile, has a portfolio brand value of $2.949 billion, according to the study.
Hany Mwafy, CEO of London Business Forum Middle East (LBFME), organisers of the forum, said the event attracted more than 180 participants, including chief executive officers, vice-presidents, directors and marketing professionals.
Mwafy announced that the second international forum will be on May 31 at the Dubai Knowledge Village Conference Centre, presented by Guardian columnist Guy Browning.
Participation
"The second forum is expected to see even larger participation from the business community of the UAE and neighbouring countries, including Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia," he said.
The presenter at Tuesday night's event, Peter Fisk,a a prominent business thinker, paid tribute not only to Dubai's leading companies, but also to the brand of the emirate itself.
"The concept of genius brands is applicable to Dubai as this city thinks outside the box. It has achieved a lot as a tourism and leisure destination and now it is time to position itself as an ideas hub of the region, just as Singapore has done in another region," he said.
"Dubai realised that the world is changing and it has embraced this change. The city is inspired by its leaders who have the vision to lead it to new levels of growth on the global stage," he said.
