DSF office opens registration for its 10th annual shopping extravaganza

The DSF acknowledges the fact that the Support Sponsors are valuable partners throughout the shopping festival who in return benefit commercially from heightened exposure and additional business opportunities during the Festival period and beyond.

Laila Suhail, DSF Chief Marketing Officer says, "DSF Support Sponsorship is open to any company, be it local, regional or international. It's also open for a shopping mall, a retail chain or store, a hotel or a hotel apartment and even for the distributors of branded products. These partners have a very real opportunity to benefit from the success of the festival. DSF opens up a wide variety of options for our partners and they will gain wider exposure for the many promotions and offers they are invited to run throughout the event."

Adds Laila, "DSF 2004 had 108 Support Sponsors and going by those figures the response this 10th DSF is bound to be the highest simply because of the brand status the Shopping Festival has acquired. So, it's little surprise that the Support Sponsors benefit immensely from the month-long shopping and entertainment extravaganza. The benefits for the Support Sponsors are aplenty and these include permission to conduct raffle-based promotions, waiving of participation/permission fees for promotions across all retail outlets owned by the sponsors and a 25 per cent discount on DSF participation fees for outlets in Support Sponsor shopping malls.

"Besides these the Support Sponsors also get assistance from the DSF media center in PR coverage for their important events and activities and they also enjoy the option of putting up two kiosks for selling specific brands and products at the venues of the main events like Al Riqqa, Al Muraqabbat and Al Seef Streets excluding the new Global Village. Any additional kiosks required can be obtained at a special discounted rate," informs Laila.

The DSF CMO goes on to highlight the benefits of Support sponsorship to the hospitality industry. "The hotels and residential apartments get a wider exposure in the official guide and in the hotel's listings on our website - www.mydsf.ae and PR coverage of their promotions and events through our media center. The DSF logo is available to these partners for use in sales promotions while the offers are listed in the official DSF Calendar of Events published in major newspapers and magazines from time to time. All the restaurants owned by the hotels get a waiver on the participation fees besides the free publicity materials provided in the form of stick-on posters and buntings which can be prominently displayed on the premises, says Laila."

There are six categories for Support Sponsors including shopping malls, retailers, brands/distributors, company groups, hotels and hotel apartments, industry/trade associations and manufacturing organisations (for products made in the UAE). Those wanting to register for the Support Sponsor scheme can visit the DSF office on the second floor of the Dubai Department of Economic Development.