‘Back To The Future’ mania was in full swing on the 21st of last month. The day is now very much part of history after a 30-year period during which it was meant to be the date we would eventually meet our future selves as the film trilogy had first professed in 1985.
And while roads are very much in demand to date — since auto manufacturers are yet to invent a production-ready flying car — some of the inventions that made their “debuts” in the Robert Zemeckis films are already here and on display at next week’s Dubai International Motor Show.
For among the 18 global and 132 regional launches will be 16 concept cars. Something more akin to a lifestyle mobile solution straight out of a science fiction movie is slated to make waves — or to be more precise stir some air.
‘Slide’, as it is has been branded by its makers, is a hover-board and implies that it actually hovers while carrying adults above any surface, tarmac, water or sand — exactly like the scene from the 1985 movie.
If that’s not science fiction then what is, except it is as real as it gets. And it is a real-life example to the way Japanese luxury carmaker Lexus is using innovation to engage with customers.
With 12 million YouTube views and still counting, this prototype machine will be a major attraction for the 100,000 visitors the show organisers are expecting this year.
As the region’s automotive market is expected to grow twice as fast in comparison to North America and Western Europe by 2022, car manufacturers have for long used the UAE as a battlefield for regional supremacy and a larger share of the roughly 1.78 million vehicles sold in the region each year.
That explains the ever increasing spend in automakers’ advertising dollars, where last year they invested Dh500 million in offline media, a 20 per cent increase versus 2013.
Add on top an estimated 20 per cent for digital advertising plus funds to cover PR, events, activations, sponsorships, CSR initiatives and participation at the various trade shows, and the marketing communications bill for auto brands in the UAE could be higher than the annual gross domestic product of the Marshall Islands (a GDP of $191 million).
No surprise there since the UAE ranks higher than the US and Asia at 5.2 years in terms of passenger vehicle age, which means that motorists change cars at a higher frequency than the rest of the world.
Marketing expenditure in support of new car launches or stock clearance therefore increases exponentially with every passing year. This is so as automotive brands are trying to assert their market position fuelled by a well-oiled economy that is growing faster than most of the rest of the world and a public transportation infrastructure which is not there just yet.
Perhaps that’s the reason why car ownership in Dubai at 541 per 1,000 head is already higher than either London or New York and the RTA is preparing to invest $12 billion (Dh44.06 billion) in 500 kilometres of new roads by 2020. By then it is believed that the number of cars on Dubai’s roads will be 5.3 million.
Issues such as the $4 billion lost each year due to delays caused by road congestion as well as road safety and carbon emissions are very much on the radar of car manufacturers. Their dealers are very active in trying to help the government address these issues, either through bespoke CSR and awareness campaigns or by providing consultation and strategic advice.
At the end of the day a gridlock wouldn’t be in anyone’s favour and the ongoing public-private partnership between those who sell cars and those regulating them is of paramount importance for sustainable transportation and mobility — one of the three pillars of Expo 2020.
So until the friction-free flying cars replace our gravity-prone vehicles, Dubai motorists will continue to wear off their wheels. But technological innovations will also keep on surprising us as the industry is ploughing billions to improve the overall driving experience, through more energy-efficient engines, safety innovations and smarter interactive interior environments.
For the first time, demand for floor space has resulted in the show expanding into the Dubai World Trade Centre’s Zabeel Halls to accommodate more than 600 vehicles and taking total floor space up to 85,000 square metres.
This represents an increase of more than 30 per cent over the previous show, and demonstrates the insatiable appetite of the more than 150 participating companies from 37 countries vying for a slice in the UAE’s lucrative market.
The race to become the most talked about brand during the show started in earnest a few weeks ago and will culminate on the exhibition floors where dozens of brave PR consultants will vie for the limited attention span of journalists. It will be a battle of the brands that will rage for a full week until the chequered flag falls.
George Kotsolios is Head of PR and Social Media at Al-Futtaim group and author of ‘Back to the Future of Marketing — PRovolve or Perish’.
