Award ceremony to celebrate branding achievements in the Gulf

The awards, hosted by Gulf Marketing Review magazine as part of its tenth anniversary celebration, are solely the domain of brands that have their origins in the region, and are the result of a two-month period of independent judging and market research.

In addition, the independent judging panel has chosen a Marketeer of the Decade, to be announced at the ceremony.

Barry Gray, publisher of Gulf Marketing Review (GMR), said: "What has become evident is the stature of brands nominated. Some of these regional brand names have all attained significant international exposure and are spoken of in the same breath as multinational or international brands that have taken far longer to establish themselves.

"What we often forget, however, is that Gulf brands are relatively young - indeed, some are less than a decade old - and it is achievements like this that we will be celebrating."

Gray concluded that the timing for the awards was appropriate, as brand strength has become a more tangible asset for a company, and one that can even be considered in a corporation's balance sheet.

He said: "Brand strategy should be a key ingredient of a corporation's overall business strategy. This is partly because total product package has replaced advertising as the most efficient brand-builder. Brand management isn't just about creative expression: it demands the same economic consideration as any other asset in the company."

The international research company Ipsos-Stat was commissioned to put each nominated brand through Gulf-wide market research, before a panel of expert judges reviewed the quality of brand communications in order to select the category winners.

The independent judging panel included: Lance de Masi, president of the American University of Dubai; Dr Mohsen Abounaga, dean of the College of Design and Applied Arts at Dubai University College; Khamis Al Muqla, chairman and managing director of Gulf Saatchi & Saatchi; Talal Dhulaymi, group chairman of Promoaction DDB; Salah Al-Jasser, director of Lexus (KSA); Abdul Kader Bibi, regional director of Al Khaleejiah in Dubai; and Ali Mohammed Kamal, marketing director of Al Jazeera Channel. GMR's editor Peter Barton was a non-voting member of the panel.

The event is sponsored by Gulf Air and CNBC, and category sponsors are The Economist, Arjo Wiggins, Visa, HP, Cadillac, Nokia, Masafi, Scintilla Monaco, Synovate and HSBC.

The 10 categories include finance, FMCG, shopping malls, duty free, e-commerce, tourism, and media and advertising, as well as the Marketeer of the Decade award. The gala dinner will take place at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai on November 30.