Think Again.
It all began in December 2019, when brands and marketeers were busy getting their 2020 plans and budgets approved. Well, at least the ones who decided to have a head start. Strategy, brand presence, engagement, activation — it’s seemed like the perfect plan for guerrilla marketing given that we in the UAE were hosting one of the most talked-about events on the global platform. There was a well-oiled engine with a plethora of PR, with detailed and impressive planning, significant investment, and plans for the future and how it would be a sustainable model. This well-charted roadmap ought to take Dubai to the next level on the global charts. As nature had it for all of us, we are now on the charts but for some other reasons like the rest of the world.
But it’s not been all gloom and doom, the preparations to making Dubai a Smart City with a digitally transformed economy has been more of a blessing than ever.
Brands that have invested in this quest have been able to tweak their pre-approved plans overnight and narrate their digital stories.
The foundation still remains the same, maybe these brands were investing in digital to — join, follow or lead the digital bandwagon. Still, the intention was unknowingly the same… to provide better customer experience to the users, followers, fans, loyalists and recruit a few more along the way. A brand needs to enable the users and provide that seamless, comfortable, convenient use and provide contextual communication — think about it when was the last time you interacted with a brand only because they told you that they cared for you? If #Raymonds didn’t provide the premium quality clothing, it wouldn’t be able to claim the status of a ‘Complete Man’. #Amazon wouldn’t be able to deconstruct the functional slogan A-Z and change it to — ’Work Hard, Have Fun and Make History’if the company didn’t deliver and come up with the billion dollar e-commerce business model providing the ease and convenience. And, of course our most loved and hated brand #Apple would be be able to claim ‘Think Different’ if it didn’t revolutionize the way it changed consumer tech.
As cliché as the statement is ‘During these tough times’ most brands have tried to stand out by repeating and singing the same lyrics — ”this Ramadan is different”, “we are there for you”, “Stay Safe”, “Together we can make a difference”… But the real question remains — are consumers really bothered to indulge, and would they be loyal to your brand as a result of these chorus lines?
If that’s what you are planning to communicate through your brand in the next 12–18 months, ‘Think Again’.
