MUMBAI:The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has launched a huge marketing campaign titled 'Dubai Heart'. The campaign essentially targets international tourists and residents of Dubai. Running through the upcoming Arabian Travel Market 2005 (ATM), DTCM will participate with a 623 square metre stand. ATM, scheduled from May 3 to 6 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, is the leading travel trade event for the Middle East and and Pan Arab region and is expected to attract significant numbers of international travel and hospitality trade professionals. The department has also planned several on-site promotions at ATM to coincide with the new campaign, to promote Dubai in international markets.
“The heart means different things to different people and is symbolic of the courage and dynamism shown by our leaders in creating a trade and tourism destination unlike any other,” says DTCM head Bin Hareb.
Considering Dubai attracts visitors from around the world and is currently home to people from over 150 different nationalities who live and work in the emirate, the campaign hopes to embody the vibrancy of Dubai connect with people at large from all walks of life.
Justifying the rationale for using real people, Hareb adds, “Our experience in promoting Dubai over the years has helped us devise this campaign and incorporate pragmatic elements into the brand communications to connect with the target audience.”
“Increasing media fragmentation, ease of changing channels, shortened attention span of consumers and the sheer volume of marketing messages means a lot of noise but very little opportunity for a message to reach its target audience. Consumers too have become more sophisticated so we have moved beyond traditional branding to enable the consumer to be immersed in the brand and have made use of real people living in Dubai as models to develop a stronger association,” stresses Bin Hareb.
Hareb points out that the campaign provides essential attributes of consumer engagement that will enable them to stand out in a crowded market-place.
The heart in the campaign is meant to reflect Dubai’s character - strong, healthy and vibrant and full of life.
The campaign features a Dubai logo, with an open D signifying an open-minded culture; the font denoting motion reflecting Dubai’s fast-paced growth and development, and a bold typeface, reflecting the clear and bold impact that Dubai is making across the world.
The campaign is set to break on 1 May across newspapers, on radio, television, on the DTCM website,on taxicabs, at the airport, at visitor information bureaus throughout the city as well as leading hotels in the emirate simultaneously.
The department has also organized radio promotions to give-away ‘Dubai Heart’ merchandise including caps, T-shirts, pins and mugs.
The print advertisements will feature local residents and expatriates talking about why they love Dubai. "The campaign has a strong emotional appeal to allow people to easily identify what makes Dubai tick,” says DTCM manager media and advertising Ahmed Al Tunaiji.
The campaign has been timed to coincide with the staging of ATM to target large groups of delegates and visitors from key international markets. The DTCM stand will display ‘Dubai Heart’ branding prominently. The stand will also feature a wind tower dispensing Dubai Heart embossed stress balls to ATM visitors. DTCM information kiosks in Dubai and across the city as well as the dedicated arrivals counter for ATM delegates at Dubai International Airport will have Dubai Heart branding.
DTCM oversees the licensing of hotels, hotel apartments, tour operators, and tour guides. It promotes and markets Dubai across the world through a network of 14 Overseas Representation (OR) offices. The department manages heritage sites and the region’s first and only dedicated cruise terminal.
