Page 189 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

Making Your Pitch: Marketing to GCC Buyers 173

products such as food, children’s goods, and furniture will be pur-
chased, but also which of the increasingly important luxury goods.
It is noteworthy that over half the ads in the researchers’ sample
were for cosmetics and jewelry. One reason why female shoppers in
the GCC countries may have more disposable income than their
counterparts elsewhere is that young professional women tend to
live with their parents until they are married and, therefore, do not
need to spend on rent and basic household expenses. Even after
they marry, there is far less expectation that a professional woman
will spend her income on sharing the rent or mortgage or other basic
costs of living. It should not be surprising, then, that 90 percent of
ads reviewed featured women with the relevant product.

McDonald’s: Healthy, Halal, and Family Oriented
McDonald’s and its local franchisees have long understood the
importance of customizing messages for the local audience. The
advertisement in Figure 6.6, from the UAE, is a prime example of
customizing a message beyond language alone. The slogan at the
top of the ad can be translated to read: “High quality is our sole
standard.”
A close look at the ad shows that it is tailored for the Gulf mar-
ket in multiple ways. One basic message, communicated through
the image and not through words, is that McDonald’s is a family-
friendly place. The young family in the front is our focus, but
behind them are other couples. Both men and women are dressed
in traditional Gulf clothing. Perhaps unlike their positioning in
other markets, where McDonald’s ads may emphasize being young
and hip, this UAE ad presents McDonald’s as a family restaurant.
The text reveals further market sensitivity. While the thrust of
the ad is on nutritional quality (perhaps a top-of-mind concern in
the wake of the recent mad cow disease outbreak and other high-
profile health issues), the text also makes reference to all the meat
served being halal—permissible by Islamic law. The first sentence
in the ad reads: “The meats used by us are halal and are the highest
grade of 100 percent pure beef without any additives or preserva-
tives.” Local marketers have therefore combined the health mes-
sage with reassurance that the meat is halal—an important concern
in the Gulf region.