Qatar and the GCC are expressing their new-found wealth through mega-brands that are a shorthand for defining who they are, how successful they've become and their reward for achievement. Hence the Porsche’s, Bulgari sunglasses and Armani Hotels.
Up to 70% of the Arab world are under 25. The youth of Qatar and GCC, currently in the majority are reacting to influences of MTV, visits to London & Paris, chat lines like Bayt.com and Maktoob. They are becoming increasingly brand savvy.
Increased advertising coupled with fragmentation of media and the rise of social networking sites like Facebook make defining what's cool and what's not a quickly shared group activity and brands that don't cut it are dropped very quickly. With everyone in search of the new and the different to not become a "me-too"clone, the rules of engagement are changing.
Companies that traditionally relied on a transaction-led business model are going to lose out to companies that offer a true "brand experience", a red-carpet moment, appealing to this new breed of gold-class consumer that expect special treatment as standard.
There is also a consciousness shift, globally, away from excessive and unabashed consumption towards the pinnacle of Maslow's principle of needs (Level 5) - which is less about outward satisfaction of needs towards a more internalized search for self fulfillment and expression; a more moral and creative environment where people work together to solve problems, where individuality is subsumed for community, where care
for the environment replaces consumption at any cost.
This represents a global sea-change in consciousness.
It is already happening. From the rise of Anita Roddick and Body Shop to the demise of Enron and the "greed is good mentality"
to Google – my search engine, my email and my lifeline to the world. A recent Merrill Lynch study confirmed that there's more money to be made from saving the planet than abusing it. We've had horror warning of climate change and impending doom.
Level 5 will reinforce the brand as a shorthand for expressing what is true, authentic and honest. Company values will be scrutinised against their performance. So if GAP is using sweat shops and child labour in Bangladesh while their advertising promotes joy and youthful vitality, they will be hauled by the press into the public eye and pilloried with a corresponding dive in the share price.
If you look at the super-super rich - those people who have everything from the personalised 747 with all the gold trimmings to the flotilla of cars and boatload of watches, there is a fundamental shift taking place, where they see that the more one has, the less it makes you happy. Their focus is turning to benevolence: giving their fortunes away to deserving causes - this is a manifestation of inner-directed expression -
Level 5 again.
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett and their Foundation of over
$30 billion. Our ruler, His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani's generosity with his donations to rebuilding both Lebanon and New Orleans as well as the huge investment in Education City are examples of an inner-directed sense of giving for the greater good. Witness also the recent development of the “Dubai Cares” initiative and the generosity expressed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. He said: "If we want to champion prosperity and progress, we cannot ignore poverty".
We should therefore emphasize the role of education as the most powerful weapon in breaking the vicious circle of poverty"
And he's not just talking about poverty in the financial sense -
but poverty of spirit and actions too.
So back to our world and what lies ahead. My crystal ball gazing says that to go global and make a difference, which is the next phase of growth for GCC companies - you've got to offer more than just a good price. You have to stand for something real, something true and honest, something that is more than about the money if you want people to respect you, to work for you
and work with you.
Companies will have to walk the talk of their promises and increasingly that means investing in your workforce, so they become your brand ambassadors advocating your offer and enrolling in your vision and values. But how to galvanisze and motivate the workforce of tomorrow?
For this one has to look at fundamental human behaviour. Individuals want to belong: to a family, a tribe or a nation. Companies are entering into a dialogue with people, as customers, suppliers and employees, so the lines are becoming more vague as to who is who. Hence the relationship has to be based on a fundamental truth, a promise - we at grow call it a BIG IDEA, that represents the heart and soul of the organisation - your brand essence. Your DNA.
It has to be authentic, believable and true - and most importantly, it has to be lived and expressed through all the channels and especially through your workforce.
A fluid, dynamic, ever-changing relationship where your customers become your partners, where your employees become your partners, where your suppliers become your partners to build communities of like-minded individuals responding to a common purpose, a new paradigm of business serving the greater good. It's already happening.
Witness the tie-up between Dell and WPP Group to form a new advertising agency. Witness the open source software revolution that is transforming business models. The way forward is one of collaboration, partnership and community. The global village is here and now. Tomorrow's world is about integration and synthesis. And this can only happen when everyone is equal, when everyone is involved.
So the next battle, the next focus on innovation has to revolve around communicating and informing the brand attributes, characteristics, behaviour and expression to your team of work partners and empowering them to express and live the brand, every day, in every way. Employing the youth of tomorrow will take the creation of 80 million new jobs by the year 2020.
Getting there will mean achieving twice the job-creation rate the United States managed during the go-go 1990’s. Who’s going to create these jobs? Certainly not the Public Sector, nor big companies. It’s interesting to note that there is no Arabic word for entrepreneurship. So companies have to take the lead here, creating an environment which meets the aspirations and needs of a young population keen to find personal fulfillment and satisfaction in their working environment.
We have an opportunity here, right now, to galvanise the youth of today, so much in the majority in this part of the world and educate them to respect the values that this society holds dear: generosity of spirit, honesty of endeavour, importance of family and family values, the honour of one’s word, the power of the tribe. Inculcate these values into entrepreneurship, backed by oil and gas profits to create the global companies of tomorrow that represent and reflect these values. This will bring about a new golden age of cooperation, community and hopefully world peace. And yes it begins right here, right now. |
