Satellite television and online news channels dominate business

The increasing dominance of the internet and satellite television is one of the key legacies of the changes in the Arabian business environment, according to a regional marketeer.

Jihad Ali Ballout, manager of communications and media relations for Al Jazeera Channel, pointed out that the uptake of the worldwide web made instant responses even more key.

He said: ‘In these days of e-marketing and online news sites, our communication messages can adapt to market changes within minutes – and companies are being forced to adopt a more flexible marketing strategy to deal with this.

‘The careful, slow and successful uptake of e-business is probably the single biggest change in the Arabian business world over the last decade. As marketeers, we can harness the power of the internet to our own end, and the companies that are e-savvy will be the ones that will succeed in the long term.’

Ballout will be moderating the opening session of The Gulf Marketing Forum conference – the fourth annual Gulf Marketing Review event – to be held at The Ritz-Carlton, Doha on January 12 – 14. The conference is entitled Marketing in a Changing World, and is expected to attract more than 250 regional marketeers to discuss the theme with a host of international speakers, including the world-renowned marketing guru Philip Kotler.

According to Ballout, the constant development of online news sites meant that Al Jazeera has faced additional challenges from the online news sites as well as broadcasting channels.
‘There has never been a more critical time to ensure that marketing activities – and organisations – can be swift to adapt to an evolving marketplace. As we have seen in the last 12 months, the world can change significantly and we, as marketeers and carriers of news, need to be flexible to change,’ he added.

E-business strategies can benefit regional brands on many different levels, said Ballout, from allowing companies to speak directly to their consumer via e-marketing, through to streamlining a company’s operational procedures and costs.

He added: “Intelligent executives have seen that e-business is the way forward to cutting cost, improving efficiencies, and building lasting customer and supplier relationships.

“Organisations have realised that the internet is not a business or a strategy, but is a set of the most powerful tools that can help companies build stakeholder value and wealth. In marketing terms, the internet is an opportunity for those who can see it and a threat for those who prefer to ignore it.”

The event has already attracted a number of internationally recognised corporations as partners, including Qtel, Qatar National Bank, Al Jazeera Channel, Qatar Airways, Salam International Investment Ltd, Canon, The Ritz-Carlton Doha, The Economist magazine, and BBC World.

Kotler is joined in the speaker line-up by: international newscaster Tim Sebastian; Dr Henry Azzam, CEO of Jordinvest in Amman; Dr Zainab Karake Shalhoub, associate dean of the Business School, American University of Sharjah; Professor Colin Gilligan of the Sheffield Business School in UK; Trevor Stokes, president and CEO of American Express Middle East and North Africa; Andrew Butter, partner at Moore Stephens in Oman and UAE; Qtel’s Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim Al Thani; Christophe Fauconnier, vice president of Synovate Censydiam in Belgium; and John Deykin, managing director of brand specialists tmh (The Media House) in Dubai.

Break-out seminars will be delivered by Simon Bond, regional business development director for Impact Proximity, and Jim Donaldson, regional director for Hill & Knowlton in Bahrain.