Welcome to our first grow newsletter of 2007! And may I take this opportunity to wish you peace, goodwill, happiness and excellent health for 2007 and beyond.

Traditionally the advent of a New Year heralds a time of new beginnings and at the same time, letting go of old, outdated behaviours and characteristics which do not form part of the new vision that promises so much for the year ahead.

We live in a country that is both dynamic and forward-looking. Blessed by natural resources, a youthful population and led by a visionary ruler, Qatar has both the will and the opportunity to make it’s mark and state its claim on the world map.

Looking East, Qatar is positioned at the gateway of Asia. Qatar has already endeared itself by staging the Asian Games in Doha, not only a remarkable achievement because of the many world firsts, but also because it has allowed Qatar to fast-track many of the infrastructure projects which will provide a firm foundation to future growth.

grow has always positioned itself as the Doha-based advertising and design agency of choice, focused on brand creation and development, to help Qatari companies articulate and differentiate themselves on the global stage.

It is important that now Qatari companies do not lose the momentum created by the visionary leadership and invest in their corporate identities, corporate communications and above-the-line advertising to deliver consistent, believable and true representation of who they are, what they do and most importantly what they stand for as summed up in their vision, mission and values.

Companies must invest in the strategic thinking and positioning to inform not only their staff (who will enjoy knowing what they are fighting for and how they can contribute) but all stakeholders, customers, suppliers –indeed all their audiences. At the same time this must be followed through in the creative design process to develop memorable, powerful campaigns to reinforce the ownership of communication space.

In this way, Qatar and Qatari companies can follow through on the vision and create global companies, powerful and respected enough to stand side by side with the General Electrics and Exxon Mobil’s of this world.

This is our wish for the Qatari business community. We believe our collective expertise of working for some of the world’s leading brands can add value.

And we seem to be succeeding as seen by our expanding client base which includes Qatari Diar, Commercialbank, Doha Bank, UDC, IBQ, Carnegie Mellon, Ramada Plaza, Qatar National Hotel (QNH), Harley-Davidson and Nasser bin Khaled (NBK) to name a few. We give thanks to these clients (and those we haven’t mentioned) for their trust in us and we wish you the best of success and prosperity for 2007 and beyond.

Brand Qatar. To "B" or not to be?

Brands are created as a promise of quality and consistency and when the promise is met in the eyes of the buyer, it results in a favourable, or at least a balanced image where the buyer believes in the company and will be more open to accept other products from that company. In the case of country branding, the product is the country, which includes the people, the government (including its institutions) and the business sector. For country branding to work one has to engage with and enrol these three major stakeholders and ensure that their efforts towards national image building are coordinated to deliver the desired positioning and differentiation. And this is where the challenge begins.

Marketing a country as a tourist hideaway where the pace of life is slow and the life simple may not suit the interests of those who are trying to promote the country’s budding industrial, IT or energy infrastructure to international investors. Or perhaps a country promoting its beaches and resorts as a tourist haven might not suit that country’s more traditional culture and morals.

In Qatar’s case, the first question to ask is “does Qatar have a brand?”. The answer while complex is both yes and no. There is no doubt that the many carriers of Qatar’s flag across the globe are all doing a sterling job in their own right to promote Qatar.
The government through its embassies worldwide and its trade missions overseas, Qatar Tourism Authority, whose job it is to promote Qatar tourism worldwide and Qatar Airways which has marketed itself more than any other institution, placing an emphasis on luxury, prestige and modernity combined with tradition. Al Jazeera was voted the 5th most influential brand in the world in 2004. Qatar Foundation founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar, has gone a long way to promote progressive education, research and community welfare and its flagship Education City which hosts branch campuses of some of the world's leading universities, as well as numerous other educational and research institutions is fulfilling it promise of delivering international standard education to the people of Qatar and beyond.