The managing director of one of Dubai's exhibition specialists tells Peter Barton about the appeal of neutral territory and plans for November's Media & Marketing Show.
There is a black and white photo at the reception area in David Domoney's Sheikh Zayed Road office. It is from 1976 and shows a cluster of sturdy tents alongside a very empty looking Dubai Creek. As Domoney delights in pointing out, the picture is of Dubai's first international exhibition venue. An event he worked on.
It would be pleasing symmetry to report that Domoney's office now overlooks the city's gleaming new International Exhibition Centre, home to his company's big four shows; that Domoney could stand at the window and cast his eyes over the physical transformation of Dubai's exhibition capabilities. Annoyingly, the office, though close, faces the opposite direction.
What Domoney lacks in view he makes up for in history. Inspired by the success of the 1976 exhibition, Sheikh Rashid, he says, saw the potential a successful exhibitions industry could bring to the city.
"It was a tiny exhibition - just 10 to 15 exhibitors in a tent - but he'd seen people coming from all over the region doing business," he says.
Originally from the UK, Domoney had been contracted in 1975 to run a hotel show in Beirut - the centre of the region's exhibition industry at the time. Within three days of his arrival, the war had kicked off and it was time to leave. The first plane out was to Dubai, his first event - the Creek-side affair in the tents.
Thirty years on, Dubai is without doubt the centre of the region's exhibitions industry. Gitex, Arabian Travel Market and the Dubai Air Show are among the city's biggies, with the Domus Group now organising Arab Lab, International Property Week and the International Finance & Banking Exhibition. The Media & Marketing Show is the latest addition. All are backed by the government.
"The quality of the airport, the number of Emirates destinations, the number of other airlines serving Dubai, the tremendous hotel offers..." reels off Domoney, when asked what he thinks Dubai attributes its success to. "We say Dubai has the business ethic of Hong Kong and the glamour of Cannes - particularly if viewed from India, Saudi Arabia, or Iran. It has tremendous pulling power."
He estimates a potential catchment audience of as many as 1.8 billion people.
"A lot of the countries are not significant enough to have their own exhibitions, but when clustered together, they become an extremely important market. At our Arab Lab Show, we had visitors from 88 countries. I don't think you'd get that in London, Singapore, or Hong Kong."
Exhibitions, he argues, have been one of the drivers of Sheikh Rashid's vision of Dubai as a place to do business: "These events have changed the whole face of industries. This is what we're planning with the Media & Marketing Show."
Remember the 7th of November
As expected, Domoney has a neat one-liner as to why exhibitions work. "They are an opportunity to meet on neutral ground at a moment when both the buyer and seller have given up their time to be there. That makes it unique," he states. "Communication is much more than just words. Exhibitions are a two-way meeting point - and a much less threatening one."
He also has advice on what makes for a good exhibition presence. "In my mind, the most important thing is the quality and seniority of people at the stand. People come to meet people and get answers. I'm always shocked to see expensive stands with a junior sales manager and three hosting staff. It is insulting to visitors."
Running from 7 to 9 November, the Media & Marketing Show is, according to Domoney, the world's first exhibition catering directly to marketing directors. If nothing else, it will be fascinating to see ad agency stand designs and check who will be managing the stand for three days. Backed by Dubai Media City, the World Trade Centre and the Dubai Government, the show has a long-term aim: to build an event of comparable importance to Gitex, Arab Lab and the Dubai Air Show.
"Dubai wants to show it is an extremely important marketing and media centre," he says. "We want to position this as the place where the people with the marketing budgets meet those with whom they'd spend this budget."
The objective in year one is to attract 10,000 marketing decision makers - 500 of the biggest spenders are being personally invited -- with over 200 companies representing more than 500 media exhibitors. Domoney says with three months to go, sales targets are 50% there and that dozens more leads are in active discussions.
Confirmed exhibitors include BBC World, Saatchi & Saatchi, Fortune Promoseven, Dubai Television, Ame Info and Starcom.
The three halls of the International Exhibition Centre won't be zoned by company specialisation - "a free range approach is much better for medium-sized shows," says Domoney - and there will be a number of topic-specific seminars on-site. Gulf Marketing Review's Sixth Annual Gulf Marketing Forum will also run alongside the event.
"The show sets out to make marketing managers better at their job," he says. "The whole industry benefits from this." "Take my job as an example. At any one time, I'm thrilled with 40% of my suppliers, I'm satisfied with another 40%, and maybe not so content with 20%. We're not using a media buying unit. We can't spend a year taking pitches from various media, and we can't rely 100% on our ad agency for media spend.
"I want my own spin on things. Every agency I've ever met says demanding, informed clients drive their best work."
Critics might suggest that if the idea is such a strong one, why hasn't it been done elsewhere in the world?
Domoney is stuck for an answer, but says the fractured state of the Middle East region - many smallish countries with different media and marketing needs - means that finding the right approach to market is difficult. He says feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
"No one has said it's a bad idea; that it won't work," he says. "But it takes a committed industry and organiser to make a great show."
This last point is telling. Though MEPRA has signed, Domoney says the IAA has yet to commit to any activity. And while the response from the industry's big players has been good, smaller agencies and media have been surprisingly slow to come on board.
"It could be price, though this show is at the cheaper end of the scale, or a lack of confidence - they don't know how to use this show," he suggests. "Ironic, given this type of industry."
Domoney is keen to see more ancillary events take place as the exhibition develops, to create a Media & Marketing Week. There is sense in this multi-format approach, he says, with conferences, awards, site visits, product launches and parties adding to the exhibition, but there is a need to keep a focus on the main event. He would be loathe to see smaller agencies put on a rival show elsewhere in the city.
"I wouldn't wish to see lots of little parasitical shows around ours," he says. "Conferences with their own themes are okay, but for an exhibition, big is beautiful."
One reason why Dubai has such a strong exhibition scene, he argues, is because it is highly regulated: "If you had 12 Arab health exhibitions you'd never have Arab Health. Visitors wouldn't come to them all. They want to focus their artillery on one thing."
Better to stay within the main show, he advises, pointing out that DMC will have an area dedicated to freelancers and that there will be a cluster of small media from Lebanon.
"One of dangers of small shows is that the organisers don't have the money to promote to the visitors," he says, "and that can spoil the reputation of the industry."
His thoughts are well-informed, but it will be interesting to see which companies try and use the arrival of 10,000 marketing decision makers to stage their own off-pitch event. If there's one thing the media and marketing industry should know how to do, it is targeted communication and guerilla tactics.
Despite this threat, he acknowledges that the show must be led by the industry and recognises that shows are constantly evolving: "Exhibitions are a bit like political life. They're always in danger of either splitting into smaller parts, or joining up into larger ones. You have to go in the direction that's best for the industry."
What price a bright spark recreating the 1976 Creek-side tents for this year's party?
curriculum vitae
David Domoney left a career in UK publishing in 1975 to take up a position in Beirut, heading up a hotel industry exhibition. Within a week, the war had kicked off and he was seeking opportunities in Dubai. He can justly claim to be one of the founders of the emirate's exhibition industry and was the driving force behind the Big 5 exhibition. His Domus Group currently runs Arab Lab, International Property Week, International Banking & Finance Exhibition and, most recently, the Media & Marketing Show.
© Gulf Marketing Review 2005
