Strategic Marketing in the UAE - Annotated Bibliography Example

Strategic marketing in the UAE: Article review Balakrishnan, M. “Dubai – A star in the east: a case study in strategic destination Branding.” Journal of Place Management and Development. 1.1 (2008): 62-91. Print The title of this article is catchy, self explanatory and metaphorical in nature. It directly addresses what strategic marketing of Dubai as an international destination has achieved; turning Dubai into a star, visible to everyone and ‘bright.’ The article starts off with an abstract which has the purpose, design, findings and research limitations and originality sections each with a brief description of the section. In the introduction, the author underscores the relevance of the paper by indicating that the destination branding industry is worth US$ 1,480 billion with some countries earning US$ 2 billion annually from successful branding. Towards the end of the introduction is purpose statement. The author uses secondary sources, such as government reports, past studies and books as his source of data in the literature review section. The in-text references are also internet links of the references though there is no reference list at the end. This simplifies the audience’s attempt to clarify information from the sources. There are also bullets where information in points is presented. This provides ease of reading and breaks the monotony of the paper. The subheadings on the other hand also break the monotony and classify information appropriately for ease of reading. Each section has its own recommendations. The paper is organized well with an abstract, introduction, discussion and conclusion and recommendations sections. The paper deviates from the normal structure as it lacks methodology because it is a secondary research. The article has very little to offer in terms of product and service marketing. However, it presents very relevant tips for tourism and business destination marketers using strategies used in product marketing. Most tips in this case lie on the economic aspects that attract business investors and not leisure travelers. The author indicates that destinations have to spread their brand portfolio to reduce the investment risk something that makes Dubai more competitive than other destinations. Unlike Singapore which is famous for business and not leisure, Dubai combines both. While majority of the literature deals with marketing a destination as a tourist or business one, this paper combines both. The presentation of the paper as whole is very clear. The author makes use of in text references that allow further research and credit his work. The paper is well structured with subheadings useful in locating specific information. However, the article is very long and may make a boring reading. It is highly recommended that the author uses tables and figures that are easy to grasp and also break monotony. For instance, he should have used graphs showing growth in investment in Dubai after each branding initiative such as economic policies. Henderson, J. “Tourism in Dubai: overcoming barriers to destination development.” International journal of tourism research. 8.2 (2006): 87–99 The title of this article is clear and gives a one line summary of the whole article. Although the article does not show the credentials of the author, it indicates his affiliation with Nanyang Technological University of Singapore giving it some credibility. The first section is the abstract which gives a brief description of the article. The introduction gives the background of the discussion by noting that the political climate in the Middle East is not suitable for tourism. Furthermore, the UAE as a country lacks conventional natural attractions for tourists yet the country has succeeded in attracting tourists. The introduction has the purpose statement which is to explore the development factors and barriers in Dubai as a destination. It also carries a simple outline of the whole article. The article uses government sources, international agencies and books in the literature review. Government and international agencies sources such as the WTO carry the most recent information for an article published in 2006. The article has used the correct in-text referencing of author and year of publication. However, compared to other articles, the author has used references rather sparingly. This section has easy to read tables that indicate the trends on annual tourism growth in Dubai and a map that shows the UAE and its neighbors. The section has also well structured subheadings with all the factors necessary and challenges for marketing a destination given a subheading each. Given that the article relies on secondary data, the methodology section is missing while the discussion and analysis and the literature review are combined. The conclusion section winds up the paper and makes some notes such as the fact that destinations should manage macro-environmental challenges into assets. The article does not present new knowledge nor does it offer a new paradigm in destination marketing. It only deepens the knowledge further and addresses the macro-environment as a determinant in destination attractiveness. Existing literature covers this deeply to show that same way as products, destinations visibility and awareness in the market must be enhanced and the qualities and benefits of the brand made known to the target market. This is just what the paper is emphasizing albeit using Dubai as a case study. It thus indicates the practical application of marketing knowledge suggested by destination marketing literature. The paper is easy to read as it uses simple structured sentences. Long sentences tend to confuse readers and meaning maybe lost. To break the monotony of the paper, the author has inserted interesting facts about other countries around the world ad contrast them to Dubai. This helps to kill boredom and keep readers interested. The paper used throughout is formal and informative. It presents facts and no models and theories are suggested but comparative information is given. The conclusion of the article notes that Dubai has been successful in using its environmental weaknesses such as the arid conditions to tourism attractions. He notes that the strategies used by Dubai should be borrowed by other regions and countries keen on increasing tourist arrivals in other countries. Bagaeen, S. “Brand Dubai: The instant city; or the instantly recognizable city” International planning studies. 12.2 (2007): 173–197 The title of this article is deep than what just meets the eye. As a brand, the Dubai is undergoing a marketing phase. As an instant city, it presents what a city should provide promptly and with ease while it is simply recognizable internationally going by the number of arrivals. This indicates that the Dubai brand has great brand awareness. The abstract of the article starts off by calling Dubai a combination of Las Vegas, New York and Miami. This outright captures the attention of the audience in seeking to understand a wholesome city such as Dubai. The introduction thus gives the background situation and indicates problem of the paper which is to explain the success of marketing Dubai as a tourist and business destination. The paper is not an actual research but a discussion of the strategies used in Dubai using secondary sources such as books and government press releases. This section is organized into a number of subheadings each discussing a particular issue. This is very convenient for readers to locate specific information within the article. There are a number of photographs which precisely show some of Dubai’s highrise buildings. Again, there are tables that give immense information using very little space and are easy to analyze. The author makes interesting observation of the infrastructure in Dubai and says that it is critical in facilitating distribution systems for marketers operating in the country. The city has a number of hi-tech airports and seaports that connect it to the rest of the world. Although the title of the paper promises to be broad in addressing destination marketing, it leans towards infrastructure and the construction industry as the new factors in destination marketing. He notes that the highrise buildings and the construction industry not only provide employment but also creates a business environment. This is a factor often considered to be a result of high investment in a destination but not a motivator for investment. This is a new approach in destination marketing which suggests that construction firms and related businesses invest in a country with a robust construction industry. The paper slows freely with various images depicting major buildings in Dubai and competing cities such as Doha and Riyadh catching the eye. This however gives the paper an informal look close to a magazine pullout or a newspaper article. Nonetheless, it is an important aspect in marketing as a package. Though the images are inside the article, they act as the packaging of the article as a glance at the article as whole reveals them conspicuously. The structuring of the paper is very essential and comparing Dubai to other cities such as Singapore and Riyadh helps point out the strategic marketing activities taken up by Dubai. It is important to note that Dubai is not only competing with other cities in the Arab world but also other international business and tourism destinations. Hassan, A., Chachi, A and Latiif, S. “Islamic marketing ethics and its impact on customer satisfaction in the Islamic banking industry” Journal of King Abul University: Islamic Economics. 21.1 (2008): 27-46 The article’s title is in sentence form, one that summarizes the entire article and contains some of the key words in the article. The abstract explains some of the key words and in English and Arabic and sets the groundwork for discussing meeting consumer needs ethically in Islamic banking. The introduction is too long for such a paper as it consists of eight paragraphs. Nonetheless, it is very detailed and explains the difference between Islamic banking and conventional banking. The introduction also has the purpose statement which is to spot the significant traits of Islamic marketing ethics and to examine the feasible task of Islamic ethical sales actions as may be perceived by the Islamic Banking clientele. The literature review section explains the five P’s of the marketing mix from an Islamic perspective. They indicate that this topic warrants an open discussion given that the ethics in Islamic banking are purely based on Q’uran teachings. The article addresses each of the P’s individually drawing support from secondary sources. The author uses both marketing and Islamic sources. Some of the marketing literature is up-to-date while some sources are outdated such as Wray (1991). The Islamic sources are relatively old which is normal for religious books eg. al-Ukhuwwah (1938). This section is well structured with well numbered subheadings each addressing a specific issue. The conclusion part of the paper details the implications of the paper’s findings on the marketing industry especially Islamic nations such as the UAE. The authors indicate that there is little literature on Islamic banking. They note that this is because the west has not been interested in investing in the Arab world in the past as it is today. This implies that paper is very timely in filling out a lacking field of knowledge in Islamic banking. The discussion of 4 P’s of marketing in a cultural and religious context is very relevant for all marketers in different fields. Ethics is nothing new and is a relevant issue in marketing especially involving how marketers relate with customers in a cultural and religious context. However, this subject is very critical in addressing the growth of the UAE which is largely a Muslim nation which has managed to surpass the religion issue to attract investors from all corners of the world. Although Islamic banking has been viewed to oppose to capitalistic ideas which are profit based, world famous capitalistic corporations have invested in Dubai where majority of the banks are Islamic. This article is very simple to read. Although the authors constantly use Arabic terms, they do explain them and indicate their relevance to banking. They have used numbers to jot down main points where necessary. However, the paragraphs are not balanced with some being very long and others relatively short. Towards the end, the author list down their recommendation clearly although they do not support them clearly from the literature review. Read More