What for Brand Dubai now?

Just what is Brand Dubai these days? For the past decade, the image of Dubai has been – to put it in the crudest way – “the planet’s next big thing”. With so much money appearing to flood into the Middle Eastern territory, it became a hot destination for both businesses and tourists. Enormous, ambitious resorts, such as The World (literally a group of islands in the shape of the whole world map) defined the ethos of the place.

But even a golden destination like Dubai has not been able to escape the ravages of a global recession. The International Monetary Fund (in its report on the global economic prospects) noted that the United Arab Emirates had suffered the third-worst fall in house prices during the first three months of this year of any country (only Latvia and Estonia suffered worse drops).

And now Dubai World, the investment company that manages a host of businesses for the Dubai government, has announced heavy debts. Dubai World, which manages such resorts as the Palm Islands and Atlantis, announced last week that it has laid off 10, 500 employees and is restructuring with help from Deloitte. The company also announced it had debts of $59bn including a $3.5bn loan it cannot repay for a December deadline.

But should anyone be surprised? The stock markets around the globe have reacted in shock to the news with sharp falls, but is this justified? After all, the vision that Dubai set out as its brand now seems hopelessly out of step with the rest of the world.

Over the last couple of years, it has become clear that boundless wealth is simply not sustainable in the long run.  Now people talk much more about getting value for money rather than simply cost. People will still pay lots of money for items or experiences, but less frequently and with more discretion than ever before. Even the super rich are not prepared to pay unless it is really worth it.

Dubai is not set up for this  more frugal mentality…it is all about maximum wealth and superluxury. Nobody needs a set of man-made islands in the shape of the world. It is not something being demanded by consumers – it is an extra for the man who has everything already and simply needs something else to spend his money on.

Abu Dhabi, by comparison, has been trying to put a more cultural bent on its brand as a destination with plans for Guggenheim and Louvre branches in the location. While this is only one reason it has not been as badly affected as Dubai, it’s an important one. It shows that Abu Dhabi is setting itself out as a destination brand that can last through recessions.

So what next for Brand Dubai?

A new freesheet for London streets?

So, just when we have seen thelondonpaper and the London Lite bite the dust, London’s streets are going to see another freesheet. Now, freesheets can make it on the mean streets of The Big Smoke, but those that have survived, such as business paper City AM, are very targeted and have select distribution to a very narrow demographic.

Now, the MediaGuardian is reporting that a new twice-weekly freesheet called the London Weekly, could be launched as early as February to be distributed outside rail and tube stations. The London Weekly seems to pick up where thelondonpaper and London Life have left off, with promises to cover such areas as entertainment, music and sports.

But will it work? Hm, it seems like a brave and possibly foolish move in the current climate. Read more about it here.

Lastminute’s recruitment marketing

Ever thought about going for a job somewhere but wish you could see a bit more what life is like within that organisation? Often it’s not just the words on the job description that make the difference to employees but the corporate culture, ways of doing things and the potential workmates.

So I wonder if more people will be attracted to this recruitment ad for Lastminute.com because it’s done in video form? After all, that means  you can see EXACTLY what you’re letting yourself in for….

Kia gets a PR push from a newly born baby

We’ve all heard tales of people with Harley-Davidson tattoos. My Peruvian friend, who grew up in the slums of Lima, has often told me of coming across girls called “Madeinusa” because that name was written on so many labels of clothing (Made In USA) and was perceived to be a name conveying luxury and class.

But now a British couple has called their baby Kia, after her parents Tony Richardson and Sam Smyth used a Kia car to get to hospital for the child’s birth. Mum Sam couldn’t wait to reach the hospital and her baby girl was born in the back seat. The infant was originally planned to be called Tilley but the trip to hospital was clearly so memorable for the parents that they changed this to Kia.

Faced with this great publicity, Kia (the brand, not the baby) has made the best of a PR tool from heaven and gifted the couple a  2009 seven-seat Kia Carens valued at £17,995

Should I ever have children, I shall be calling them Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Lindt and Paul-A-Young-Fine-Chocolates. Brands be aware.

Thomson Reuters logo inspired by potty mouths?

There is a brilliant post on the Gawker website about the Thomson Reuters logo. Some wag who claims to be from the internal creative team that designed the firm’s logo has admitted that while it was sold to the organisation on some “corporate-sounding symbolism”,  it was really inspired by “a flushing, swirling toilet”.

You can see this “confession”, which was posted on the anonymous confessions site “PostSecret“, below:

Thanks to my former colleague (and all-round ace journalist) Morag Cuddeford Jones for tipping me off about this one.

Mission-statement marketing (good old cause-related marketing by any other name?)

There is a nice article on AdAge this week talking about the era of “mission-statement marketing”. This is apparently not just standard old cause-related marketing (as we have known it for years and years) but a new trend.

The article claims that Procter & Gamble no longer uses their timeworn phrase “consumer is boss” only but now talk about “touching and improving lives”. Unilever too is taking the approach of talking about “Making Life Better”. Even mega-retailer Walmart is getting in on the action with its slogan “Save Money. Live Better”.

According to AdAge, 79% of consumers said they’d switch to a brand associated with a good cause, up from 66% in 1993, and 38% said they’d bought a product associated with a cause, compared with 20% in 1993, according to Cone Inc.

It isn’t just Unilever (home to Dove, the brand that promotes itself using “real women” rather than models) or Procter & Gamble (home to Pampers, the nappy supported by multiple child-related causes). The retailer Macy’s has launched a “National Kindness Day”, which claims to “reward and recognise random acts of kindness”.

Kids store Toys R Us is helping out the Toys for Tots foundation that collects toys to donate to underprivileged children. Each time someone signs up to be a Facebook fan of Toys R Us or Babies R Us, Toys R Us donates $1 to Toys for Tots. Target is selling GiftCoins that are gift cards with a charitable bonus. GiftCoins are sold in a set of five worth $5 each for a total of $25. When a consumer buys a $25 pack, Target donates $2 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Target will donate up to $750,000.

Meanwhile, Levi Strauss is apparently set to launch a scheme in January called “Care Tag for Our Planet”, which asks people to wash clothing in cool temperatures to save energy and also requests that the wearer donates the jeans to charity shops (it’s a partnership with clothes recycling organisation Goodwill) when they are finished with them.

But is this really a new trend? I don’t think so. As picked up by The New York Times, this is just a sign that in a recession, people are thinking more carefully about how they consume. Brands are now using this collective desire for responsibility and societal concern for their own ends. Is this the start of a mindshift within businesses?

After all, isn’t adapting to consumers’ interests and priorities simply known as ‘marketing’? Hm.

How to do customer service – the Leon way

Here is some nice customer service advice from Henry Dimbleby, who runs Leon, a healthy fast-food chain in the UK.

As Leon is often cited as one of the chains getting service and products right on the British high street, it’s interesting to get a take on Dimbleby’s internal mantra.

• Try to make everyone who complains more loyal than they were before they complained.

• Don’t just offer to give them free stuff. People hate being bought off, and they don’t want you to think they only complained to get a freebie. They want you to take them seriously.

• Find out what went wrong and make sure you fix it. People who complain are doing you a favour: otherwise you would never know that something in your business wasn’t working smoothly.

• Stand by your team. If the complaint is against a particular person and you think that that person is normally great, spell out their virtues to the complainant. People like loyalty. But also make it clear that you take the problem they encountered seriously.

• Let the person complaining know what you are going to do and thank them for helping you make your business better. People love to be helpful.

• Offer them free stuff. Once you have worked out what the problem is and fixed it – and only then. This person has just helped make your business a little bit better. They deserve a freebie.

Thanks to The Guardian for this.

What got #140con Twittering?

Sadly, I was not able to attend #140con today, the second Twitter event to be held in London in only a matter of weeks. (I spoke at another conference called Media 140 last month.)

But like a true convert to real-time media, I’ve been following the activity live on Twitter and there are a few interesting things that have emerged. The format of the day mimics the short-form nature of Twitter in that 50 speakers are presenting within 35 sessions, which means they speak for only a couple of minutes each. (Even Stephen Fry, who has a million followers on Twitter, turned up.)

For those of you also missing out, you can read a good roundup via The Guardian here.

Sainsbury’s joins Tesco in “buy one, get one later” deals

So Sainsbury’s is following Tesco into the world of “buy one, get another later” deals. Sainsbury’s is calling the marketing promotion “Buy Now, Free Next Time”. Consumers will get a coupon at the till point offering them the chance to claim a second item during their next shop, rather than pick it out immediately as in current “buy one, get one free offers”.

The scheme will first launch as a trial in 470 Sainsbury’s stores to see if it attracts consumers using just two products – white baguette sticks and Pampers brand nappies. Consumers will have two weeks to redeem the vouchers and only four items involved in the scheme can be used per transaction. While Tesco announced it would run a similar “buy one, get one later” initiative in October, it has yet to launch its version in stores, giving Sainsbury’s the apparent visible advantage in innovating how it carries out marketing promotions.

Traditional “buy one, get one free” offers (fabulously abbreviated to the term ‘BOGOF’) have long been criticised for wastage. While many people buy items – particularly food – when it is on special offer, they are unable to use the quantity provided. This contributes to household waste. The government’s Food 2030 report in August was especially critical of retailers encouraging people to buy goods they don’t need through marketing initiatives.

Do you think Sainsbury’s and Tesco are on the right path with these “buy one now, get another later” style promotions? Or would you prefer to stick to the standard BOGOF?

Can Luella rise from the ashes?

Yesterday, the shock news came that luxury fashion brand Luella is to cease trading. The label, set up by designer and former journalist Luella Bartley, has lost its main financial backer, Club 21, which announced it could not afford to “invest in the relationship” any longer.

Some of my colleagues were less interested…..”Luella who?” they asked.

Well, Luella may not be a company the size of last year’s pre-Christmas collapse – Woolworths – but it has a brand that reaches beyond its relatively small corporate size. This is why the failure of her company comes as such a surprise to anyone acquainted with the world of fashion or even popular culture.

Bartley takes her place in history for helping to revive English luxury brand Mulberry. When she designed an accessories collection for Mulberry in 2002, her bags were credited for turning around Mulberry’s fortunes. Suddenly, handbags like the “Gisele” were hanging off the arms of women all over the world.

Remember the sudden wave of florals sweeping the high street over the past couple of years? That was also down to Luella. She mixed florals with black taffetta and lace, making the outfits a little more punk. Luella has been one of the core proponents of the trend in mixing the ultra-feminine with the butch over the past few years. Celebrities from Lily Allen to Gwyneth Paltrow have worn her clothes.

Bartley even won “Designer of the Year” at last year’s British Fashion Awards because of her influenc, which came after multiple nominations.

The collapse of Luella may still not raise too much interest outside fashion circles (or at least with my male colleagues), but it’s a valuable reminder that even brands seen as setting a cultural agenda are at risk in this climate.