Emirates Airline wants its brand to be as recognisable as the biggest names on the planet. After once again being named as the top brand in the UAE, the aviation giant says it wants to fly alongside names like Google and Apple in worldwide polls.
Emirates topped the recently released 2013 YouGov Brand Index Annual Buzz rankings for the UAE.
Emirates topped the recently released 2013 YouGov Brand Index Annual Buzz rankings for the UAE, ahead of Google and Samsung. On international scores though, Emirates lags behind in the Global 500 Brand Directory charts - coming in at 287 with tech firms Apple, Samsung and Google taking the top three.
However, Boutros Boutros, Emirates' divisional senior vice president, corporate communications, marketing and brand, insisted: "Although we are not a consumer brand in the same way as Google or Apple, we are getting closer to these brands and ahead of many other consumer brands."
He said it is "very important" for Emirates to be seen as a top brand.
Boutros adds: "Our ambition is to be a top 100 global lifestyle brand."
Emirates may place 287 on the Global 500 Brand Directory for now - up a notch on the 2012 list - but that score still makes it the highest ranking airline, ahead of fierce rival Lufthansa at 341.
"Certainly, we are," says Boutros when asked if he felt Emirates were the biggest aviation brand. "Emirates offer its passengers a lifestyle, an unmatched service, a network, the latest technology - so many firsts that it is changing the trend of travel from a transport vehicle to a unique experience."
And he says sponsorships have been a "vital part" of the airline's marketing strategy from "the very early days of Emirates".
In February 2013, Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said the airline's total sports sponsorship for the year stood at a mammoth Dhs1 billion dirhams. These include a five-year branding deal with F1, while Emirates also has its name plastered over the jerseys of some of European football's most illustrious clubs, including AC Milan and Real Madrid.
The carrier also has a deal with Arsenal, another team it sponsors, where the club's ground will be known as the Emirates Stadium until at least 2028.
Grounded about Dubai
Emirates has insisted there are "no regrets" that the name of the airline doesn't incorporate the word Dubai in it. Many marketing experts feel that with the growth of Emirates, the emirate missed a trick in not having Dubai within the airline's official title.
However, Boutros Boutros, Emirates' divisional senior vice president, corporate communications, marketing and brand, claimed there were "no regrets whatsoever".
He says: "From the very start, Emirates and Dubai have had a brother/sister like relationship.
"What's been good for Dubai has been good for Emirates and vice versa - remembering too that Emirates was established to service the whole of the UAE and we are proud to carry the flag of the country."
He adds: "Dubai and the airline are intrinsically linked and have grown together with overwhelming success.
"This partnership will continue as we head towards the most exciting period yet for Dubai and the UAE, Expo 2020."
© 7Days 2014
