UAE INFORMATION MINISTER PATRON OF MARKETING 2001

HH Sheikh Abdulla bin Zayed Al Nahyan supports conference on strategies for success in Arabia

The UAE Minister of Information and Culture, HH Sheikh Abdulla bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has agreed to be patron of the upcoming Marketing 2001 management conference, according to the event organisers, Gray Business Communications (GBC).

Barry Gray, GBC’s chief executive officer, said that Sheikh Abdulla has endorsed the two-day conference and one day workshop that will feature leading strategists including Professor Philip Kotler, Professor John Quelch and Dr Henry Azzam.

They will focus economic and business planning techniques such as market domination tactics, the localisation of strategy and brands, and integrated marketing.

While, a business opportunity analysis, taking account of shifting demographic trends and emerging economies, will form the core of the 22 presentations. All will be viewed from both the business-to-consumer and business-to-business standpoint.

According to the event organisers, Dubai-based Gray Business Communications (GBC), the two-day Marketing 2001 is attracting international attention : "Interest from both speakers and delegates has been intense from day one," said Gray.

Other noted speakers include Marketing 2001 sponsor, Cisco Systems, Saeed Hussein Al Muntafiq, the recently appointed CEO of Dubai Media City, Jim Sillars of the Arab British Chamber of Commerce, and Fadi Ghandour, president and CEO of Jordan-based Aramex.

While in addition to Cisco Systems, the event has attracted a band of heavyweight sponsors, including Al Hayat, British Airways, Canon Middle East, DoubleClick, General Motors, MEMRB and Zamil Air Conditioners.

Gray stressed that Marketing 2001 is ‘ not just another business conference’.

"Marketing 2001 is designed as a forum from which business leaders can take fresh, strategic information and direction on which to base business and marketing planning."

He advised that pre-conference workshops are also planned. They will provide in-depth dialogue on a variety of topical management issues such as intellectual property right, multi-cultural marketing, e-commerce marketing and personnel strategies specifically for the Middle East region.

GBC is the producer of Gulf Marketing Review (GMR), the region’s only marketing publication, the bi-annual ‘Planning’ supplements and numerous customer magazines including City Life for Deira City Centre, Dubai, Living for Spinneys, Abu Dhabi and a new title for Al Faisaliah Centre, Riyadh.

According to Gray, the move into management conferences is seen as a natural extension to the GMR portfolio. : "Marketing 2001 is a obvious progression for us. It is taking the valuable information that the publications offer and brings it to a platform for broader discussion and debate."

Marketing 2001 workshops and conferences will be held at Emirates Towers Hotel from three days starting November 13 2000.