Building Brand Qatar

We all agree there is nothing more exhilarating in a Qatar brand-building sense than looking up to catch a Qatar Airways aircraft cruising in to any one of its 118 destinations or watching Al Jazeera English on a television set from anywhere in the world. 

Brands made in a country by its people take the story of that country to far away shores. But is that how you measure the country’s brand value, through its products, or is it something more abstract? Does Qatar need a brand building strategy?

This is what Qatar Today asked regional and international branding experts. We gave them free rein to discuss Mission: Building Brand Qatar. The general consensus was the need for a strong narrative, a compelling story involving all its stakeholders and some inspiring national heroes; but most of all is the need for a truthful brand that delivers on its promise. 

“Countries can also leverage their iconic structures as Sydney has done with the Opera House and Bridge and Paris has done with the Eiffel Tower.  Qatar has a lot to be proud of like the Museum of Islamic Arts, The Pearl and the incredible waterscapes, but we need to tell our story in a compelling way - that’s what branding will help achieve. I think Qatar could also look at positioning itself in the area of “progress for a new better world” as there are many things that Qatar will be doing and has done to demonstrate their commitment to this.”

Hermann Behrens

CEO Middle East

Brand Union

“You need a good story to tell. Branding is about story-telling. We can mention the remarkable job done by India with the notorious campaign “Incredible India”. 

To tell a good story, you need a good scenario: credible, differentiated, relevant and exciting.”

Oliver Auroy 

Managing Director  

FITCH Middle East

“The most economically-successful country in the world” is a platform that allows Qatar to tell its economic story to the rest of the world. 

Al Reiss

Ries & Ries, focusing consultants

“This image building exercise cannot be undertaken overnight. It has to be a sustained projection over a prolonged period. The organisation created to do so should be given the resources and the time to conceive, execute, coordinate and monitor this gigantic undertaking.”

Anthony Ryman

MD, grow

“Finding the core values of the country and its people is crucial, as the character needs to be accurate and believable. The core value should be an element that is embedded in the whole spectrum of the nation. Think of Qatar as a person - what would they be like?”

Chris Evans

Creative Director

Creative Action Design

“The power of a country brand is directly proportionate to the power of its people, its leadership and its sense of purpose in the global community. In realising this strength, a country can create better lives for all of its citizens.”

Future Brands

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The Best Country Brands Index

According to FutureBrands Country Brand Index by continually measuring the perceptions of a country brand’s audience, from business professionals to global travellers, we can begin to understand the impact that news events, cultural undertakings-and even a country’s own marketing efforts-have on an individual’s decision to choose that nation over another. It’s through this combined understanding of shifting audience perceptions and competitive positioning that country brands can be best managed, driving relevance and differentiation in the face of a rapidly changing world. This perception can control one’s decision to invest, visit, emigrate, work, study and consume that country’s goods or become interested in its culture. In short, a choice to let one country play a significant role in our lives and livelihood. Country brands are constantly compared to their competitors-namely, other countries-and need to be continually assessed in relative terms by their owners.

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FutureBrand collected quantitative data from 3,500 frequent business and leisure travelers and opinion-formers in 14 countries around the world. With an international outlook and sense of global fluency, they represent a knowledge bank sought-out by investors and tourists alike.

EXPERT OPINIONS. Additionally, between August 19 and September 7, 2011, we connected with experts in tourism, export, investment and public policy in 16 different cities around the world. These experts participated in “deep dive” moderated workshops with the aim of consolidating their views and perceptions across the key HDM attributes and dimensions.

CO-CREATIVE INSIGHTS. Our third source leveraged crowd-sourcing and an online, co-creative community, giving us the chance to capture real-time discussions amongst experts and interested third-parties around the world. This collaborative exercise took place between August 30 and September 16, 2011.