Using Renewable Energy in UAE - Essay Example

Using Renewable Energy in UAE UAE has an educated population and the standard of living is high compared to the rest of the world. The consumers can afford luxuries and they are conscious of the technological advancements. Solar panels will create a new life style and hence the promotion strategies must appeal to their emotions. They are open to change as they keen for development. Along with their conservative culture they are adapting new technologies that pervade the daily life. Promotional objective The promotional objective is to educate the people about the need to use renewable energy. Besides, competition being high in the sector, promotional strategy should also be able to penetrate and capture sizeable market share. Segments to attract The product has to appeal to middle class and above and pricing being, such is affordable by all. The target segment is 25 years or more as they are educated and willing to accept change. Power shortage is common in the region and hence as alternative form of energy, solar panels would fit in. There would be two segments to deal with – the industrial and commercial customers, and the homemakers. The industrial consumers would include the construction companies as modern housing should be equipped with solar panels. Promotion Mix Advertising Advertising in the UAE has to be within the confines of rules and regulations. Comparative advertising is not permitted, and the moral and cultural sensitivities have to be approved by the Dubai Municipality (Murray, 2009). For advertisement commercials on the television, the National Media Council has the right to prohibit any inappropriate advertisements from being televised. Poor regulation is hampering the entire advertising industry leaving very few media vehicles to get the message across. Consumer attitude towards television commercials is not well accepted in the UAE. Even though the UAE is becoming Westernized and globalized, it is a collectivist society and they still adhere to their cultural norms. Hence, they have boycotted American fast food in the UAE and Saudi Arabia (Damayanova & Singer, 2006). However, since these panels have their parts manufactured in China, it should not create resistance. Advertising in the UAE is best avoided because of the regulations. Economic, political and cultural issues often dampen companies’ efforts to advertise effectively. However, if renowned sites of Dubai and the UAE are used in the advertisements, it could attract public attention. There is a small group of people known as the Me/Me group that can be targeted as they are liberal, they are embracing the western culture, they resist institutions and their individuality is given prime importance. Thus to appeal to the industrial consumers, participation in conferences would create awareness. Focus should be to highlight depleting oil resources and hence the need for alternative form of energy – solar panels. Moreover, solar panels are environment-friendly as it does not exert pressure on any natural resources and UAE is geographically so well located that most part of the region receives sun energy in plenty. Through conferences, it should be highlighted that solar panels do not disturb the ecological balance. Besides, as power shortage is imminent in the region, solar panels provide uninterrupted power supply. Event marketing can be used to launch the product initially. Event marketing is a tool for experiential marketing that focuses on consumer experiences and treats emotionally and rationally driven consumption as a holistic experience (Vel & Sharma, 2010). Events help raise the attendees’ involvement level as they appeal to the emotions. The attendees tend to be more receptive to marketing messages and images when presented that via other methods. The company should also participate in information exhibition and trade shows in the UAE. These become important events to capture consumer attention and create awareness of energy conservation. Emotional appeal is essential. They should be made to experience that they contribute towards greener environment. In addition, all important newspaper dailies should be used to advertise the product. Public Relations - Internet & Social networking UAE is a technologically advanced nation and more than half the citizens in the UAE (53%) use internet regularly (Ruiz, 2006). UAE tops the list of nations and territories of the Middle East as far as internet penetration is concerned. Since 2000, internet use in UAE has skyrocketed by 240% while home users have gone up 95 percent. Broadband use has soared by 3838 percent and in 2006 there were more than 8000 internet servers. The Emirates is being promoted as an e-commerce hub and there is approved legislation to regulate this activity. Under the circumstances, when tradition advertising has restrictions and internet proliferation is high, the company should engage in involving the consumers’ interest through the internet. This can be done in two ways. Online presence is essential where all details are provided to the consumers through the website. The company should also for active discussions online so that consumers can clarify any issues/ concerns they have. The second channel would be to use the social networking sites such as FaceBook for promotion of solar panels. Social media networking platforms like FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter have revolutionized the transmission and dissemination of information at a rapid pace (Vel & Sharma, 2010). It is very effective for introducing new products, encouraging viral marketing and obtaining marketing feedback. FaceBook is among the top twenty sites that people from UAE frequent and social networking sites have the potential to create awareness (The Dubai Expat Diaries, 2006). Sales promotion Government support is promoting the sales will boost the sales of solar panels. Hence, some sort of government support in the form of tax subsidy or discount in any other form should be clubbed with each unit sales. Since this is not a retail consumer product, discount coupons cannot be used. The construction companies that engage in modern housing complexes and huge projects that require solar panels in large numbers should be given special offers or free installation. When modern housing complexes utilize solar panels, the overall costs are reduced and these economies of scale should be passed on to the customers. Free installation should be offered to all in the first year of the launch of the product. Since the product is costly, initial subsidy from the government would play a vital role in establishing sales. Direct selling Since the consumer profile in the UAE is diverse, direct selling staff or agents should be well conversed in the local language as well as in English. Consumer behavior, attitude and preferences also vary widely in the country and difficult to pinpoint. Middle East consumers place a high value on technology (Anonymous, 2008) and hence direct selling and advertising should focus on technology behind introduction of solar panels. Since the UAE is becoming conscious of preserving the natural resources, and since the UAE utilizes massive resources like water and energy in huge projects (Anonymous, 2010), this particular product should be promoted by encouraging contribution of each individual towards greener environment. The consumers – both individuals and industries – should view this as an investment into the future and not as an expense. The right messages have to be presented to the public. This needs aggressive marketing through developing relationship marketing. Energetic and aggressive sales force in huge numbers is required in every city to start with. Initially agents can be appointed in the tier II cities and the suburbs. The reliability of solar energy and solar panels has to be communicated effectively. Thus the promotion mix strategy requires first deciding on the segment to be targeted. Advertising through tradition channels is non-productive in the UAE because of government regulations. Emotional appeal for the product is essential to capture the market. Only a small niche group has a western attitude but this group would be using the internet and hence from all aspects, advertising and public relations through internet and social networking sites seem most appropriate. Government support is essential while the internet is an excellent platform to sell, obtain feedback and invite suggestion through social networking platforms. It also helps to educate the people as customers learn a lot through viewer reviews and opinions of users. Moreover, through the internet, customers can immediately compare the usage of solar panels in other countries and convince themselves. Initial launch should be through event marketing which serves to involve the customers through emotional engagement. Aggressive selling is required to reach the right messages across. The customers should be made to feel they are equal contributors towards greener environment. References Anonymous, 2008, 'Middle Eastern Consumers Embrace Technology, Grow CE Industry, CEA Study Finds', Business Wire. New York: May 29, 2008. Anonymous, 2010, 'Middle East Leaders Place CSR as Top Functionality with 22 Percent', Al Bawaba. London: May 26, 2010. Damayanova, B & Singer, T, 2006, 'The Role of Multinational Companies in Dubai: Balancing Tradition and Modernization', viewed 15 November 2010 http://www.tuftsgloballeadership.org/files/resources/nimep/v2/INSIGHTS06_DamyanovaSinger.pdf Murray, M 2009, 'Comparative advertising in the UAE', viewed 15 November 2010 http://www.hadefpartners.com/News/pageid/120-137/default.aspx?mediaid=78 The Dubai Expat Diaries, 2006, 'Top 20 websites in the UAE', viewed 15 November 2010 http://ixpats.com/dubai-expats/top-20-websites-uae-most-popular-best-websites-dubai-abu-dhabi-and-united-arab-emirates-middle-east/ Ruiz, M 2006, 'INTERNET LAW - The United Arab Emirates tops the list of Internet Use in the Middle East', viewed 15 November 2010 http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1484 Vel, KP & Sharma, R 2010, 'Megamarketing an event using integrated marketing communications: the success story of TMH', BUSINESS STRATEGY SERIES, 11 (6), 371-382 Read More