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For those inside Qatar, it might seem the forces that be are under-reacting to the battering the country has been receiving in the Western media. But are we too close to the scene to have a balanced perspective? Is Brand Qatar really in jeopardy? Qatar Today finds out.
At Qatar Today, we had planned a regular feature where we tracked coverage about Qatar in the foreign press. After a couple of months we had to shelve it because it seemed that, while there was incessant chatter online about the country, it was largely negative and repetitive. It was disheartening that, while every month we were writing about Qatar's broad and far-reaching ambitions in sectors as varied as genome research, connected cars, carbon storage and sports analytics, all that the world was seeing was the country's faults, jarring and amplified. Qatar desperately needed a public image makeover.
But maybe we are too close to the picture.
José Torres is the CEO of Bloom Consulting, a 12-year-old agency specialised in nation and place branding, that works with government agencies to "develop their brands and use it as an asset to reach economic and social goals". He calls Qatar living proof of good nation branding. "The work that is being done by Qatar and its neighbours like the UAE to promote their country brand is fantastic." And when a good branding has been established, it is not easy to destroy. "Right now, I think it's more of a national issue; those in the country are concerned but the effects have really been minimal."
Making friends in the media
A step in this direction is probably the newly formed Government Communications Office that works directly under the Prime Minister's Office. In June, the appointment of Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani as the Director of the Government Communications Office was announced. The Wall Street Journal reported that the new agency, tasked with crafting the country's image abroad, was staffed with Qatari communications graduates, mostly from the local campuses of US universities: Northwestern and Georgetown. "We are working towards having a more open policy when it comes to communications," the newspaper quoted an anonymous communications official. "This is part of Qatar's wider strategy to share our plans and our vision for the future."
The Editor-in-Chief at the local English daily, The Peninsula, Khaled Al Jaber (who also teaches a course on international media and political communication at Qatar University's Gulf Studies Center) is optimistic about the role this new entity will play in shaping Qatar's image. "Even in this short time we can see how the office works with international media to explain what is going on in the country in the spheres of politics and development. They invite foreign journalists to give them direct access and also respond to stories that appear in foreign publications." In the past few weeks, we have seen the office issue timely and pertinent statements with regards to the updates on the legislative process behind changing the kafala system, the arrest of a BBC journalist in Qatar, The Washington Post's distorted claims of migrant worker deaths on World Cup construction sites and, very recently, the false claims of the Chattanooga gunman's visit to Qatar. This, from a journalist's point of view, is a vast improvement on the government's hitherto policy of stoic silence.
Al Jaber also says there is better partnership now between the government and the local media. "The Qatar News Agency is attempting better interaction with journalists which we have been asking for a while now. The national media authority, Hayat Al Alam, has also started to regularly host conferences that bring together television, newspaper and radio journalists where we discuss issues related to the coverage of politics, economy and society. This has resulted in the local media tackling, without judgment and bias, sensitive stories related to politics, both regional and local, social issues like women's rights, etc." This opening up to the media - both locally and abroad - will give audiences more avenues to get to know about Qatar through different media channels that cater to wide range of people.
"Qatar is living proof of good nation branding. And when a good branding has been established, it is not easy to destroy."
The broader agenda
But the media is only one of the pillars that prop up a country's brand. According to Torres, perception is built in different ways. "Word of mouth, i.e hearing about a place from someone who has been there, is of course very influential. Second is the media coverage - everything you read and hear online or on TV - which can often be nil or superficial or, worse still, clichéd. Then, very importantly, comes the brand touch points - flagship brands, products and people associated with the country. Qatar Airways is a great example of a brand that can be an ambassador of the country. Every time you fly in one of their aircraft and pass through the airport, you go "wow" and without even entering the country, your perception of the country increases positively. Finally of course, is the impression the country makes on you when you visit. It's the most 'real' and direct method to build a brand."
The effect of all these factors on Qatar can be observed in the short time that it has taken the country to rise from obscurity to the global stage, and the various bumps along the way. It had the advantage of starting with a clean slate, almost like a new country was born in people's consciousness. "The world started noticing Qatar in 1995 thanks to efforts of HH the Father Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. His actions gave the country a huge boost in the areas of sports, economy, social life and media. Al Jazeera, for example, was praised for presenting the Arab side of the story. And for the same reason, it was vilified, especially in the US, during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," he says. Conversely, Qatar's profile was greatly raised when the world recognised this small, fast-growing country which now has the highest per capita income in the world, shaping the geopolitics of the region. Our diplomatic missions played a big role in shaping our image and presented Qatar as a moderate voice whose focus on stability and building relationships was reflected in its involvement in resolving many long-standing conflicts."
But Qatar's greatest challenge yet came in the shape of the FIFA World Cup. "The stir caused in the media by the fact that a small country like Qatar came out on top against giants like the US played out through the allegations of bribery (which is a FIFA issue and is bigger than Qatar) and the deep focus on the labour situation (which, again, is a pan-GCC issue, more the result of the private sector's misuse of authority than any government role)," he says.
"And once again, beyond just contesting misleading media stories, what will change this image will be government action on addressing issues of human trafficking, abuse, creating awareness and changing habits, all the while remaining focused on the clear targets it has laid out for itself," he says. With this broad agenda in place, Al Jaber is positive not only a change in Qatar's image, but about it becoming a role model in the region. "The region's image is tied up with militancy and we need another positive image. Not just us, but the whole GCC and the Arab countries. And I believe the World Cup will be a turning point in this, helping us connect with the rest of the world through a sport that is close to everyone's heart."
"Beyond just contesting misleading media stories, what will change Qatar's image is government action on addressing some of the highlighted issues, all the while remaining focused on the clear targets it has laid out for itself."
Score for Qatar
By staying clear of the quagmire of violence the region currently finds itself in, Qatar is already adding many brownie points to its perception meter. "It is a great sign that Qatar hasn't been contaminated by other problems in the Middle East. Through a comparable level of progress and growth as similarly uncontaminated global cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Doha has come to be automatically associated on the same wavelength as them. This is evidenced by the increase in Qatar's tourism index," Torres says. Brand Finance, in its 2014 Nation Brands report, said that this has also helped lessen the effects of the media scrutiny that comes naturally with the hosting of a large event like the World Cup. "Russia and Qatar's bids for the next two World Cup tournaments have seen both countries accused of cronyism and corruption as well as an intensified criticism of their social policies, attitude to sexual minorities and political entanglements," it said. But Qatar had weathered this storm well. "The reputational issues mentioned above, while significant, have by no means overwhelmed the country. For the region it is particularly stable and has been afflicted by neither civil war, nor conflict in neighbouring states; a rarity in today's Middle East. Home-grown brands such as Ooredoo are flourishing internationally, laying the foundations for success beyond the era of liquefied natural gas."
Torres also mentions that the media spotlight that had negatively affected Russia, China and Brazil prior to their hosting of mega events, is not comparable in magnitude or volume to what Qatar is facing. "Qatar does not have a perception of ill will and corruption, like Brazil, where the images of protests on the streets stayed in people's mind. At the end of the day, all countries have problems - be it violence, social disparity or human rights. So I don't think negative connotations are what come to the public's mind when thinking of Qatar. Yes, there was a critical moment when it seemed like the brand was in distress but it is still considered an isolated case," he says. Which is why Qatar has to address many of the issues that have come to light before they become irrevocably associated with the country's narrative and the ill will mounts.
The proof is in the numbers
Brand Qatar's performance can and is measured by hard data. Brand Finance's report mentions that Qatar's brand value was 39% (from $184 billion to $256 billion) since last year, making Qatar 2014's fastest mover. Notably, there was an increase in its Branding Strength Index in the category of People and Skills which means that the brand helped the country to "both keep their skilled citizens, avoiding 'brain drain', as well as attract talent internationally". "Communicating and developing opportunities for both internal and external talent within a nation can improve innovation and the quality of production. Once established, the nation brand also allows for the recruitment of specific skills and experiences needed by a country," the report said.
Meanwhile, Bloom Consulting also brings out annual country brand rankings focused on tourism and trade. "We take into consideration five dimensions - tourism, trade, exports, talent and national prominence - where nation branding has the most direct impact, thus helping us measure how the perceptions of the brand impact the country economically in trade and tourism." Soon, Bloom will also be launching a digital country index, which measures the brand appeal of a country in the digital world by determining how much and what people are searching about the country online. In Bloom's 2014 Country Brand Ranking, while Qatar climbed five positions in tourism in Asia, while it also fell five positions in trade." Torres says the downward slide in trade is not the result of the World Cup-related scandals because the data analysed go back four years. "The scandals are more recent and might or might not negatively influence the ranking in the future," he says. This depends on prolonged and repetitive exposure. People forget quickly so volume and frequency play an important role in turning the tide towards a bad reputation. "So the effect of the World Cup related scandals on the nation's brand might not be felt for another couple of years and that'll depend on the continuation of scandals and bad publicity." The route to avoiding this involves good governance and a measured, well-managed and regularly monitored nation branding campaign.
"I stand by my statement that Qatar is a great example of Country Branding. Thanks to its actions, activities and policies, the country has established a great international perception. Now that Qatar has established this perception, my recommendation would be for Qatar to question and monitor whether its 'equity' is in decline, stable or whether it is still growing. In other words, I would run a professional analysis to make an evaluation and an assessment of potential scenarios of the Qatar brand in the future, and assess how well prepared current institutions are to deal with these potential scenarios. I would also initiate a project to establish certain goals and milestones for the Qatar Brand in the next 5, 10 and 20 years," advises Torres.
"Great country brands, like Finland and Sweden, are the ones who don't just sit back and enjoy their current good reputation but continually work towards improving on them. This has to be the case with Qatar - you cannot relax. You always have to be asking: What is the next step?" Ultimately, branding is just a way to answer the fundamental question - what does Qatar want for itself?
© Qatar Today 2015
