Dreams Coming True
To experience the UAE’s latest branding efforts, step onboard an Emirates flight where attractive multi-ethnic flight attendants stride the sleek cabin aisles handing out World Expo 2020-themed travel packs that bear the slogan: “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”
To experience the UAE’s latest branding efforts, step onboard an Emirates flight where attractive multi-ethnic flight attendants stride the sleek cabin aisles handing out World Expo 2020-themed travel packs that bear the slogan: Connecting Minds, Creating the Future
‘Dubai’, a polished welcome video announces prior to arrival, is a city ‘where dreams come true.’ Much like the artificial archipelagoes shaped like palm trees and the tallest skyscraper in the world, the Dubai-based airline is testament to the city’s grand ambitions. And while many of these ambitions have so far been about scale (even Terminal 3 at the Dubai International Airport is the world’s largest, complete with 97 escalators, 2,600 parking spaces and boulevards of plastic palm trees) Dubai appears to be expanding its scope of superlative targets. As the UAE’s flagship city, and one largely fabricated from scratch, Dubai has relied heavily on place-making and branding efforts. Its current brand identity, something of a medley between Wall Street and Disney Land, has emerged triumphantly from the sand like a desert mirage. Reports of labor conditions aside, the stable, ethnically inclusive UAE is a Middle East success story, and according to valuation consultancy Brand Finance, one of the strongest nation brands in the world. “The UAE is also the world’s third most powerful nation brand, with a Brand Strength Index score of 88.8, coming behind only Singapore and Switzerland,” the report states. Of course, building from scratch does put you at an advantage. “Rebuilding an altered reputation requires a lot more vitality and synergy of resources than developing one from a neutral or unknown standpoint,” says Mr. Philip Kotler, the consultant and author of Marketing Places. Mr. Kotler’s groundbreaking book was first published in1993, at a time when the globalization of markets was giving rise to the idea that nations can be treated, and so ought to behave, like corporations. Money, influence and people could increasingly flow anywhere, and countries that aspired to be a destination for these energies had to sell themselves. It was also during this period that Dubai started using innovative branding strategies, including promotion of its free-trade zones, high-end tourism and retail to increase foreign domestic investment. Mr. Peter van Ham, a branding expert at Dutch think tank Clingendael Institute calls this strategy ‘investment branding’. “Countries promote their infrastructure, favorable tax structures, or other incentives in an effort to lure foreign investment”, he says. Dubai’s favorable tax structures have proven appealing to foreigners (there is no income tax), as have its luxurious real estate offerings. “Wealthy people are wanting to move with their money and property
is a key access point,” says Mr. Taimur Khan, a property analyst with the London consultancy Knight Frank. Dubai’s population has grown by 70 percent over the last decade, Mr. Khan says, and property investors have included over 200 nationalities. Knight Frank was recently brought on to assist with branding and marketing of what is arguably Dubai’s most extravagant residential property to date, the Royal Atlantis Resort and Residences. The Atlantis, The Palm resort first opened in 2008 in a pink, turreted building that occupies the apex of the 17-fronded Palm Jumeirah. Now, developers Kerzner International are building an even more ambitious structure on an adjacent site, one they hope will be on par with top tier residences in London and New York. “Our primary goal was to position the property in the global market as Dubai’s first Super Prime property,” says Ms. Maria Morris, Partner and Head of Residential at Knight Frank. The developers engaged globally recognized design firms, New York’s Kohn Pederson Fox and Paris-based Sybille de Margerie, for the building design, a contemporary take on the original that looks markedly less like a fairytale castle. The glass and steel structure is punctuated by a series of voids that create sheltered outdoor spaces and take advantage of gulf breezes. Many of the 231 units, which start from AED 6,995,000 (approximately US $1.9 million), contain private plunge pools and polished interiors of rose gold, silver and hand-sculpted leather. Lifestyle amenities are also feature prominently. The building includes a sky deck with a ninety-meter-high infinity pool, fine dining and retail and a Givenchy Spa. “Lifestyle is a critical issue driving investment into residential markets globally,” Ms. Morris says. Special perks such as delivery from Michelin Star chefs help to distinguish the project, but Knight Frank is also marketing the new Atlantis in the context of Dubai’s overall lifestyle offerings. “We consider place-making, architecture, art, health, sport and the flourishing food scene in Dubai to provide a rounded view of the opportunities it offers to residents, investors and visitors,” Ms. Morris says. To attract wealthy individuals looking for a strategic regional base, the Dubai government hopes to move up on the list of the world’s most livable cities (currently Dubai ranks 74th out of 140 cities according to the Economist Intelligent Unit’s 2017 Global Liveability Report). To this end, the city is investing heavily in infrastructure and transport networks. To increase cultural vibrancy it has built d3, a “creative community” it hopes will become like London’s Shoreditch; for added public space, new promenades have been laid along the waterfront. Dubai has also appointed a Minister of Happiness whose mission is to make Dubai the “happiest city in the world.” Meanwhile, to remain globally competitive, the Emirate is also rebranding itself as a hub for tech innovation. The government has announced plans to convert the World Expo site into a ready-made community called “District 2020”, which will feature one of the world’s first 5G mobile networks and the government is actively targeting companies working in tech and innovation to occupy some of the 1.5 million square feet of commercial space allocated to the site – Siemens has already agreed to build a new logistics hub in District 2020, as well as consultancy firm Accenture.
Investments in tech innovation are well underway, and by the time the Expo sweeps into the city, Dubai also aims to be the “smartest city in the world.” Given the scale and speed at which Dubai has managed to fashion a global business hub in the desert over the last two decades, there’s reason to believe it will deliver on its prospective goals (which, incidentally, also include building a Martian colony by 2117). Many nation-branding strategies fail, experts say, because governments don’t have the capabilities to manage these strategies. Branding a country successfully, according to Mr. Thomas Cromwell at nation-branding consultancy East-West Communications, requires collaboration of many of the seniormost figures in the country—both in government and the private sector. “It really requires a partnership on a very, very high level. You need someone who can get the ministries to work together,” he says. In Dubai, where the monarchy sets and implements goals, there is less risk of misalignment. To foster a start-up culture, for example, the government has already set up incubators like Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA) an amalgam of entrepreneurial hub and government bureaucracy where startups compete to participate in nine-week development courses to help accelerate government innovation. The company Civil Maps, which develops 3D mapping software for possible use in autonomous vehicles, was in one of the first cohorts at the DFA and worked with Dubai’s Roads and Transit Administration. Companies, which are chosen based on a “mini-VC-analysis” of their viability, have also included Hyperloop One, the headline grabbing high-speed train is being developed by Virgin and the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), which is set to hurtle passengers from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in levitating magnetic pods through low-friction pipes at 1,220 kph, reducing the travel time from 90 minutes to 12. According to the market intelligence firm CBInsights startup investment in the UAE exceeded US$1 billion in 2016. The same year saw the number of privately owned startups receiving equity funding increase by 45 per cent. “Dubai keeps moving up on the list of the world’s easiest places to do business”, says Mr. Khan. “It takes all of five minutes to start a business here.” According to Knight Frank data, Dubai is currently the fourth most important city for global entrepreneurs. But despite its lofty objectives, logistical barriers remain. Dubai’s legal and regulatory frameworks still lag behind the tech ecosystem’s recent growth and it is therefore risky for a company to operate without having most of its ownership held outside of the UAE. Bankruptcy laws, for instance, are in the process of being reformed, but protections aren’t nearly as robust as in countries like the U.S. Even inside the city’s ‘free zones’, the cost of a company’s failure is potentially steep. Dubai has a few emerging VC firms – Wamda Capital, for example, launched a US $75 million Middle East-specific venture fund in 2015 – but the ecosystem hasn’t developed to the point where bigmoney exits are all that common. And the city has yet to produce a true unicorn of its own, although Careem, a local Uber-style service is said to be valued at around US $1 billion. But perhaps the deeper question here is whether nation branding via top-down decree can succeed in creating a 21st-century tech ecosystem. Cities such as Berlin, Melbourne and Stockholm that are recognized for their culture of entrepreneurship are also cultural hubs known for openness and experimentation. Creating a financial or a transit hub is one thing – Dubai’s airport is officially the busiest in the world for international passengers – but start-up culture, much like happiness, may prove harder to engineer.