Late Extra: Dubai wins acclaim for branding success

Dubai is one of the three destinations which has been acknowledged for its success in brand imaging by the wizards of the advertising world, captains of industry and heads of multinational companies. The acclaim came from two of India's most influential men in the corporate world - Mukesh Ambani of Reliance and Kumar Mangalam Birla of the A.V. Birla Group.

The forum was the Ad Asia 2003 in Jaipur with 1,400 delegates from 20 countries across Asia in attendance. What brought Dubai into focus on par with Singapore and Malaysia was the effort which the destinations have put into scripting their success stories.

"The successful branding of Malaysia, Singapore and Dubai are indicators of what is possible," said Kumar Mangalam Birla.

The observations were made by Birla to urge India to follow the example set by Dubai and others and develop a new vibrant brand image for itself. What the speakers, however, missed was to inform their audience what at least Dubai did and continues to do relentlessly to have reached the stage when the world has begun to look up to it.

The success story of Dubai was not written overnight. Long hours were invested in translating mirage-like visions into reality. A mixture of foresight and evaluation of what was needed at any given point to forward planning to what may be needed a decade ahead. The result was the snowballing success of Dubai in every sphere that it decided to venture in.

Key to success

The key to Dubai's success lies in its ability to continually upgrade its infrastructure. Whether it is the road network (which is now under pressure and is being upgraded) or projecting the need for power and water and staying one step ahead of the required demand.

The ability to comprehend that to handle the growing number of tourists it would have to provide the best airport facilities available and have an administration in place which complements this.

The most important and perhaps the most vital ingredient which has spurred Dubai to what it is today is the cooperation between the government and the private sector. That the two are not working at cross-purposes is something which is unique and will be a hard act to follow.

Transparency

Another significant factor is the transparency in the economy. In a place where there is no provision for the collection of direct taxes the need for tax evasion does not arise and thus Dubai does not have to worry about a parallel economy. There are indirect taxes in place but these are again dutifully ploughed back into the economy in some form or the other.

These are some concepts which will be very hard to comprehend by people who have been forced to operate in multi-faceted economic structures - not just those deemed necessary by their respective governments but also 'established' business practices which promote the 'double entry' mode.

It is the lack of direct taxation, unlike Singapore and Malaysia, which makes Dubai's success seem all the more incredible.

Constructing huge shopping malls which may house the world's best brand names will not be enough. The infrastructure to back such projects must first be in place.

In the instance of India, there is no harm in trying to refurbish and brand itself anew. But first have the infrastructure in place. The worst that any destination can do to itself is the inability to deliver what it had promised. Dubai has learnt to deliver and that is why it is a success.

The writer is an India-based journalist.