Dubai Diary – Day 4 (Jan. 5th)

Sorry for the information overload today, I am trying to catch up on all my posts. I am fully acclimated to the time change as of today. I went to sleep last night around midnight and woke at 7 feeling fully rested and ready to take on the day! I am going to keep this post short as we made 3 site visits that in my mind were very exciting but the content might not be so to you.

Our first stop took us to Schneider Electric which is located in Dubai Silicon Oasis (one of the clusters I mentioned before). Their focus is on building automation, “smart” technology, and energy efficiency. They talked to their marketing practices from the perspective of a Business-to-Business service oriented company, which is what Smith and Fisher is. They took us on a tour of their “smart” hotel room which included motion censored lights, programmable touch screens that can control just about anything in the room, and media docks that could accommodate a variety of different types of content providers.

Second, we made a stop at the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA), which is home to the 4^th largest sea port in the world. This is also an example of cluster development and I can illustrate it perfectly. Ships come into the port and unload cargo containers. The containers are transferred to a companies warehouse that is located in the JAFZA, where parts are assembled and products are packaged. Once a final product is created it is then driven to its final destination in the Middle East or flown to other areas that are in the region. There is also a cargo airport in the JAFZA. All the elements most companies need to bring their product to the Middle East are all right there in the same area. In the US this importing system is MUCH more inefficient. Of particular note was the gentlemen we talked to during this site visit. He was an Emirati national and gave us great insight into the mind of 26-year old in Dubai. He was very intelligent and cultured and had a GREAT interest in the USA. He loved the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles, and was hoping to visit NYC in March. Also note, ALL educated people in Dubai (and most uneducated) speak English. I haven’t had a problem anywhere I have gone communicating with the locals.

Lastly, we visited the Dubai branch of Leo Burnett company, a very famous advertising agency founded during the Great Depression in Chicago. They have created ad campaigns for Apple, GM/Chevrolet, and McDonalds among others. They have created brand celebrities such as the Jolly Green Giant, Tony the Tiger, and the Pillsbury Doughboy. They are one of the premier Ad Agencies in the world and they gave the most entertaining presentation of all the companies we have seen. We were supposed to leaving at 4:30pm but wound up staying till 7:50 that is how engaging they were (and willing to answer all of our questions)

Sorry I said this would be short and its not. One final thought, I visited the mall (1 of about 6 since I have been here) right across the street from our hotel to get some supplies. It was a phenomenal look into Emirati culture. Shopping is seen as a family event. The malls are packed after work and during the weekends and they have just about everything you can imagine including U.S. and European brands. About 30% of men and women are dressed in Emirati dress (tunic and headwear for gentlemen, and tunic and head scarf for women), everyone else is wearing casual clothes. Also, only 30% of Dubai’s population is an Emirati national, the rest of the population is made of Ex-patriots that have migrated to Dubai. So it is a very diverse crowd and everyone is understanding of different cultures.