Event provides one of the most visible opportunities for businesses in the emirate
Dubai : While the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) is a time for many to find the best bargains, for companies like Nissan and Lexus — key sponsors of DSF 2011 — it’s a time for much marketing and exposure.
For AW Rostamani, DSF is “one of the most visible opportunities.” This year AW Rostamani has widened its agreement with the Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE) to include not only DSF, but the Dubai Summer Surprises and Eid festivities as well.
“That’s what we feel is the way forward,” said Felix Welch, director of sales and marketing at AW Rostamani. “From our point of view, it’s about supporting Dubai and supporting the government very directly and showing our commitment to Dubai.”
This is the 16th year for AW Rostamani at DSF during which they’ve given a total of 407 Nissan cars. This year they’re giving 31 SUVs over 31 days and a bundle of ten cars at the grand raffle.
Strategy
“It’s a medium- to long-term strategy,” he said. If you get your marketing right, at the end of the day you’ll get the return on the investment, he added.
With so much exposure, marketing and of course a hot deal for those who want to buy a car, the DSF is the time when the company expects a “lift” in its sales numbers. “We expect extra activity and the end result is always in sales,” he said. “Inquiries start coming into the showroom and they have gone up by 20 to 30 per cent,” he said.
For Lexus, it’s also a time for the brand to also get a similar kind of attraction. “Every year we have seen continued growth in the popularity of this mega- raffle, reflecting the attraction of the Lexus brand and its close association with one of the finest events run by the Government of Dubai,” said Saud Abbasi, General Manager at Al Futtaim Motors — Lexus in a statement released by Al Futtaim Group.
Promotional campaign
“The Lexus raffle witnessed an overwhelming response from residents and visitors last year with tickets sold out days before the draw date. DEPE and the Al Futtaim Group expect the same kind of response this year too.”
Lexus said that it gave away a total of 1,361 Lexus models between DSF 1996 and 2010.
DSF, which is run by the DEPE and is part of the Department of Economic Development, has invested millions of dirhams to hold the car and cash giveaway raffles, according to Abdullah Amiri, head of the DSF raffle committee. That includes the purchase of the Lexus and Nissan cars.
Amiri said that the marketing the DSF sponsors get is “priceless, especially during these tough econ-omic times.” “We’re actually marketing for them everyday,” he said.
When asked whether or not the raffles make enough profit for the DEPE, Amiri said that the money that is generated by the raffles usually goes into the promotional campaign itself to pay for venues, operations and marketing.
“It’s all so costly,” he said. “We don’t really care about the profit. We’re doing it to attract tourists and raise the activity levels of hotels and resorts in Dubai. We’re doing it for the economy.”
David Learman, Managing Director of Creative Intelligence, strategic brand consultants based in Dubai, told Gulf News that the direct benefit for the brand owner in such a situation comes from the winner who drives home in his or her new car.
“A brand is all about the experience and in this case it’s the winner of the car who will become a local brand follower,” he said.
The brand owners also leverage that good will in their marketing, promotions and advertising, he said. “They save many times the cost of the prizes against their advertising and promotions budgets through the increased exposure gained from the promoter advertising their brands as prizes. It’s all about leveraging best value.”
Learman said that the promoters and sponsors aim to whip up consumer excitement by providing the opportunity to win something they can’t normally afford to buy such as the car and gold prizes.