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Archive for the ‘BUSINESS’ Category

What are the Benefits of a Mobile Website for Businesses?

Posted in BLOG, BUSINESS, WEB DESIGN on Friday 19th August 2011 | 3 Comments »

MinTwists’s August meetup debated the benefits to businesses of creating a mobile websites or mobile applications to communicate with their target customer groups in a manner optimised for mobile platforms.

In essence should a dedicated mobile platform be created, or should businesses simply allow their mobile users to be served up their ‘normal’ website in whatever way the browser software on the given mobile platform chooses to do so?

It’s a tough question and one which the group mostly debated from an ROI perspective. Given that mobile usage rates in the UK are still fairly low (5% of a websites traffic may come from mobile users), one might be tempted to conclude that for typical small and medium sized b2b businesses the answer is no.

However, it is not that clear cut.

Firstly, there is the issue that mobile usage is growing incredibly quickly (see article : What will Smart Phones Do to our Websites? for more on this) and there may well be material benefits for ‘getting in quick’ (including SEO benefits).

Secondly there is ‘how mobile users are behaving issue’. The data is not entirely accurate at the moment – but early signs are clear: mobile users do not use the internet in the same way on their mobiles as they would do on their PC’s or laptops.  Usage is driven by factors such as location (users accessing their mobile devices to find information on ‘where they physically are at the moment’) and impulsivness (users accessing their mobile devices to find an answer to a fairly immediate question/problem).  Factors such as these all feed in to the ideal way in which the information should be presented to the mobile user, i.e. b2b businesses could have a ‘mobile optimised homepage’ that clearly presents a clickable telephone number link and clickable interactive google map so that visitors to the business can quickly get the information that they may be after if they are accessing the website from a mobile device.

A difficult topic for business oweners and marketing manager to grapple with; here are MintTwist’s high level thoughts on the subject …

  • Mobile is an important consideration, however, it is not necessarily a vital immediate concern for ‘most’ small businesses (because well designed website designs will render correctly already).
  • The trend towards increased mobile usage is growing.
  • The differing user goals and usage habits of users on mobile platforms needs to be properly understood on a case by case basis for a useful and quality mobile solution to be delivered.
  • The group felt that businesses that should be immediately addressing mobile users (because they could potentially see a real ROI) are:
  1. Businesses with large visitor numbers
  2. Media businesses
  3. Some retail (e-commerce) businesses
  4. Businesses running functional websites / website applications
  • Other groups of businesses may want a mobile solution (even if it won’t provide them a clear ROI) for other reasons (e.g. to get ahead of the competition, brand identity etc).
  • Two main categorisations of mobile website solution exist, these are outlined by the information chart below:
Solution Useful for situations like … Ballpark Costs Useful for businesses like …
Mobile websites (extra pages that are specially built to be auto-delivered to mobile users) Making a ‘normal’ website have a dedicated set of page(s) that will show up (in a manner optimised for small screens) when a user goes to the website on a mobile phone.  Principal Benefit: Increased conversion rates from mobile users. From £3k e-commerce / Retailb2b businesses with very high visitor numbersb2c brands
Mobile Apps and/or Web Apps* (Android, Apple, Web apps that are downloaded) Information that can be delivered in a potentially highly functional and potentially highly interactive way.  Principal Benefit: Increased engagement levels/brand identity. £5k++ Any big brandApplication/Web service vendors

Thoughts and feedback on this post are very welcome :)

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What will Smart Phones do to our Websites?

Posted in BLOG, BUSINESS, SEO, Web Marketing on Wednesday 10th August 2011 | 3 Comments »

What effects will smart phones have on websites in 2012 and beyond?

All the data coming out of the researchers suggests that the trend towards smart phone/tablet usage and away from desktop/laptops is taking hold.  E-Consultancy are reporting that 57% of US professionals say that they will use a smart phone or tablet device as their primary source of internet usage (vs a PC).  They are also predicting a rise in the proportion of online spend that is dedicated to Mobile, today in 2011 it is 15%, in 2015 it is predicted to be 64%.

What does this mean for our warm and snuggly websites?

Maybe not that much.  As is the way with things, they tend to evolve rather than spontaneously transform (albeit at a speedy pace in the digital world).  The same E-Consultancy data appears to show that the focus of mobile spend is around 3 areas – the mobile web, mobile search and social networking.

Some more examination of these phenomena reveals that they are all in fact evolutions and in some cases the same animals as those faithful ‘old’ websites that we know and love so well.

What does this mean for my business?

Mobile Search

Mobile Search

Mobile Web

The vast majority of updated websites will be compatible with Smart Phones, HTML5 based websites are entirely supported.

Moving forward, it is worth considering creating a mobile version of the existing site, this means presenting the content in a way that is ‘mobile friendly’, i.e. short, concise with a focus on contact information.  This need not be an expensive addition to your brief – correctly put together it would be an extension of the existing website system.

Mobile Search

Again, if you are engaging an SEO or Web Marketing agency, Mobile search will be partially covered by the traditional SEO work that is taking place.

Moving forward, if the website system has been designed in a manner in which it supports both platforms as mentioned above, the job of specifically optimising for mobile platforms should be a natural extension to the SEO campaign work and mean only a minor increase in budget.

Social Networking

The Social Networks have been quick to capitalise on the Mobile Web and have extended their systems intelligently to support mobile platforms.  They have designed new front-ends, optimised for the mobile experience that leverage the same application and database systems that power their PC and laptop interfaces.

In order to be successful here, businesses need to engage in a progressive Social Network marketing campaign that is integrated with the SEO (the Social Networks will make the technology work).  By doing this, businesses will be able to leverage their website and SEO plays to improve the outputs of their social endeavours.  It’s all about good old-fashioned strategy and correctly done it results in more potential customers engaging the website via online channels – from the mobile, PC and the of course the real world also :)

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Web development in the UAE

Posted in DUBAI, WEB DESIGN, tagged , , , , , , , on Saturday 18th June 2011 | 7 Comments »

The United Arab Emirates has undergone a profound transformation since 1973, seeing tremendous growth and achieving an incredibly high income per capita.  It is widely recognised as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with industries such as tourism, manufacturing, real estate, financial services and trade playing a major role alongside oil.

With such opportunity and competition it is extremely important for new and existing companies to make effective use of modern marketing strategies.  Internet marketing is now a major multi-billion pound industry and a method suitable for the progressive nature of the UAE business community, particularly for the two major Emirates; Dubai and the capital Abu Dhabi.

Web development UAEInternet penetration in the UAE is on the rise as regular web usage has reached 67% of the population, with 55% of the population using it on a daily basis.  Currently, the web is used primarily for emails and searching for information, with a smaller percentage accessing the internet for business or for making online purchases.  The internet is inevitably changing the dynamics of how we structure our business, culture and society, with the UAE being no exception.  As internet penetration in the UAE grows, businesses must respond by developing high quality Arabic web design.

A modern well-presented website is now expected for most businesses and organisations.  With good quality website design, Dubai and Abu-Dhabi based companies can benefit from improved information distribution and an expansion of reachable markets.  It is an effective way of winning new business and retaining existing customers, while responding quickly to new competitors.

With competition becoming more demanding and search engines more concerned with the user experience, the web business owner should consider the importance of web development.  A UAE company immediately commands respect from web visitors with a professional Arabic web design.  In order to compete amongst the ever-increasing market in the UAE, it is wise to invest in a well-constructed website with a strong logo, a harmonious colour scheme, simple and professional looking graphics, and effective navigation options.  UAE consumers have high expectations from companies, expecting high levels of service from them.

As internet use in the Arabic world has grown faster than anywhere else since 2000 and access costs have shrunk, businesses should now increase investment in web content in order to gain a place in the highly competitive world market.

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How to get divorced on Twitter

Posted in BUSINESS, WEB DESIGN, tagged , , , on Thursday 16th June 2011 | 2 Comments »

Have you ever found that you are just growing apart from some of the people you are following on twitter? Maybe you followed them at first because they were popular, powerful, cool or just damn sexy?

When they followed you back you were a rush with emotion. Digital acceptance into their inner circle meant you were connected, accepted and had one very cool ‘follower’, earning your digital self that bit more kudos.

But over the months and years things change. Your digital avatar has grown up, moved on from an adolescent obsession with popularism and found it’s place in the digital world – with like minded individuals from whom they can garnish and share genuinely relevant information.

Get divorced on Twitter

Get divorced on Twitter

That popular connection of yours is still uber cool and successful but somehow their musings just don’t do it for you anymore.

Eventually you decide that clogging up your timeline with randomised, automated ‘quotes of philosophers’, ‘links of the hour’, ‘daily funnies’ and the occasional interaction from a low paid intern feigning coolness is just not worth the kudos…. So you resolve yourself to unfollow your childhood sweetheart!

But how do you do it, how do you get divorced on Twitter!?!?  How will they feel, what will they do and most importantly will their auto-unfollow script kick in, meaning one less follower for you and one very cool one too!?!?

I was faced with exactly this dilemma recently.  Having followed the eminent Guy Kawasaki (@GuyKawasaki) since the very early days (he was a tweeting pioneer) I had felt a special bond of kinship… I was sure he held me in high regard amongst his 360,000 loyal followers.  I used to wait, tweet-deck at the ready on his every word – but after the years and much to my dismay his tweeting just doesn’t do it for me anymore :(

And so I give you; ‘How to get divorced on Twitter’ …

Elliott King

elliott_king Elliott King

Sorry @GuyKawasaki - I have to let you go :( … it was great while it lasted, I just think we’re in a different space right now.

Guy Kawasaki

@GuyKawasakiGuy Kawasaki
@elliott_king No problem. Have a happy rest of your life.

Elliott King

@elliott_kingElliott King
@GuyKawasaki thanks guy … I won’t forget you.
…
And that was it – it was done!  No tears, no drawn out discussions, he accepted it, duly un-followed me ( :( ) a few hours later and we’ve both gone our separate ways … with no hard feelings … none at all … I’m in a good place right now …
I only hope that somewhere deep down Guy Kawasaki still wants to follow me.

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Youth of UAE embraces the world of social media

Posted in DUBAI, SEO, Web Marketing, tagged , , , , , , , on Sunday 5th June 2011 | 1 Comment »

Facebook recently reached the momentous landmark of having 500 million users. When you consider there are close to 7 billion on planet earth this means that 7% of the world’s population is on Facebook.

In certain countries such as the United States, the UK much of Europe and Japan almost everyone between the age of 15 and 29 has a Facebook account. However in these countries the internet has existed for a several years and young people are now growing up with the technology.

But this does not show the full Facebook picture. There are lots of countries where the internet is a much more recent phenomenon and it is changing the way young people in particular interact and share information.

For example the UAE perhaps does not have the world’s fastest most reliable internet service but the Facebook penetration is very high. It could be argued that because the population is much smaller in comparison to the US and the UK it is not a fair statistic.

On the other hand, it could be argued that the high Facebook penetration shows just how much of an influence the social networking site has. If people have access to the internet, depending on their age and other demographics, they will almost certainly have a Facebook account.

The UAE has become an important region of financial investment and infrastructure growth. It is now home to the world’s tallest building the Burj Khalifa. Dubai is a city which has emerged from the desert as a leading centre for a wide variety of businesses and industries.

facebook marketingIn Europe and America nearly all businesses now have websites and the standard is always climbing. Businesses are now putting a lot of effort and money into web marketing and SEO because they understand that in such competitive markets and advantage or opportunities must be exploited to the fullest.

The car manufacturing giant, Ford revolutionised personal travel by implementing mass manufacturing to produce the Model T which really opened up the car market to a much wider group of people.

In 2010 Ford again revolutionised the industry by launching its new Explorer model only on Facebook. More and more businesses are looking to social media for marketing opportunities as it offers businesses the chance to interact with customers and to gain valuable insight into products and services.

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Middle East Netizens are on the Rise

Posted in BUSINESS, DUBAI, WEB DESIGN, tagged , , , , , on Thursday 2nd June 2011 | 3 Comments »

Web design UAEOver the last couple of decades the Internet has become a huge worldwide phenomenon.  Latest global figures show that the number of internet users (also known as ‘Netizens’) now stands on the verge of exceeding 2 billion!

Of that total a whopping 64 million of them are in the Middle East, accounting for a staggering growth rate of 1825% over the past decade.  Amazingly this growth rate is 15x that of what was seen in North America over the same period.

As more and more people are gaining access to the Internet, it is the perfect opportunity for companies to move their business to the Web.

At the start of the Internet age Europeans and North Americans were by far the largest users. However, this is gradually changing as other continents embrace the World Wide Web. In recent years there has been a big increase in Internet users in regions such as Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Since 2000, the number of users in Africa and the Middle East has increased by around 1,800%. Meanwhile, Asia has gathered 704 million users – over 300 million more than any other region, encompassing about 42% of worldwide users. This can be attributed to large population in Asia; a staggering 3.8 billion of the 6.7 billion people on earth (that is 56%) live in Asia.

Another change is that Europe has overtaken North America as the second biggest user of the Internet. In terms of percentage of their population Asia is still quite far behind, with North America having the highest figure. Only 18.5% of Asians use the Internet, while half of Europeans do and three quarters of North Americans do. In the Middle East, 30% of people use the Internet today, however, this reach is rapidly increasing and as it does the importance of businesses being well presented online becomes ever more apparent.

Computers and the Internet are modern inventions which therefore effortlessly fit into modern life of Europeans and North Americans. Many Africans and Middle Easterners have very different lifestyles and this is reflected in the figures. Asia is a mixture of old and new, but modernising all the time, thus the increase in Internet users. As developing nations like Asia, Africa, and the Middle become more technologically advanced this trend is likely to continue.

Businesses and organizations in the Middle East that want to capitalize on everything the Internet has to offer should look no further than the web design and development firm, Mint Twist. Originally based out of London, Mint Twist has successfully created websites and marketing strategies for a wide variety of companies over the past eleven years. They are now entering into the foreign marketplace with the opening of Mint Twist Dubai. The growth of business and Internet seen within Dubai and the Middle East could not be better supported and facilitated than by the experts at Mint Twist.

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Website Planning that Pays

Posted in BLOG, BUSINESS, DUBAI on Thursday 19th May 2011 | 1 Comment »

Before embarking on re-designing and re-building your marketing website it may well pay to do a little ‘website planning’ first. Assuming that the primary purpose of your business website is to market the products and services of your business to potential and existing customers there are two main questions that you will need to be clear on before proceeding.


1. What do you want your Website to say?

Normally, you will want your business website to clearly spell out the main benefits of your products and/or services. Ideally this will be done in a language and style that will engage the types of customer groups that your business serves.


2. Who do you want your Website to say it to?

The marketing website is for your customers. What types of people are they? Can your customer base be categorised into distinct groups? Are your customer groups buying the same or different prducts and services? Do they buy for the same or different reasons?

customer groups

Identify target customer groups and associated products and services


What do we do next?

Well, there is still more planning work to do. Beyond these two questions there are further steps in a website planning process (see the article ‘Planning the Perfect Website‘, by MintTwist, for further detail on this subject), however the process becomes far easier and the end result will be far more effective with clarity on what we want to say and who we want to say it to.


How does planning help design?

A website homepage will push the core messages in a design that will enage our core customer groups. However it’s most important function is to quickly and clearly direct the website visitor (potential customer) to the product or service page that is most relevant for them.

By breaking down the products and services by customer group and at the same time having a good understanding of the benefits that are most relevant to each group we will be able to design product and service pages that will enable us to focus our communication towards the needs of our potential customer, increase engagement and ultimately increase sales leads and revenue.

This article is based on the “MintTwist Method” for Website planning. MintTwist is an International Web Agency with offices in London, Dubai, Switzerland, Italy and Portugal.

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Software as a service is set to grow global

Posted in BUSINESS, DUBAI, tagged , on Saturday 14th May 2011 | 7 Comments »

Though the collapse of the bubble has led to a difficult period for the bits-and-bytes industry, it has now returned to stable and sustainable growth coupled with vibrant innovation in many departments. The coming years promise to be exciting as the software industry, once again, reinvents itself to reach a whole new level.

According to Software Magazine’s Software 500 Survey, the revenues of the top 500 software companies total $394 billion, a growth of 3.5% from the previous year. Today’s biggest contenders include IBM, Microsoft, HP, Oracle, SAP and Apple.

The convergence of multiple point technologies wireless, pervasive broadband, and online collaboration generates a whole new level of interactive applications. The heralded Web 2.0 revolution with its innovation in content (e.g., blogs, wikis, user editing and tagging), tools like search, and services like content hosting brings about a much larger opportunity to transfer the new developments in the consumer side to the corporate environment.

According to McKinsey & Company / Sand Hill Group, two major business models
are competing for a growing share of software spend: Software as a Service and Open Source.

Software as a Service has become increasingly relevant to both large corporations and SMEs and is likely to impact the entire IT landscape. Software as a Service has already gained momentum in number of application areas including payroll, human capital management, CRM, conferencing, procurement, logistics, information services, and e-commerce) and is expected make gains across a much wider cross-section of applications over the next 3 years.

On the other hand, Open Source continues to upset packaged software business models. Major open source projects have expanded across nearly all layers of the stack, including web browsers (Mozilla Firefox), application servers (JBoss, JOnAS, Geronimo), web servers (Apache, Tomcat), mail servers (Sendmail, QMail), databases (MySQL, MaxDB), operating systems (Linux, BSD, RTOS), and programming languages (Perl, PHP, Smalltalk, Java).

translation services

translation services

As the competition in this sector heats up, businesses are realising that the need for language translation services for associated marketing material as well as the website localisation services is becoming paramount. “By their nature, web services are international, and firms who intelligently employ translation services to open up their offering will be sure to profit.”, stated McKinsey.

A recent McKinsey survey of CIOs shows that experimentation with open source software is now relatively mainstream, with 43 per cent mentioning the use of open source applications of some sort and 41 per cent the adoption of an open source infrastructure like Linux.

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Petrol Heads and Pampering!

Posted in BLOG, BUSINESS, Web Marketing, tagged , , , on Tuesday 12th April 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Support the Herts Air Ambulance and enjoy an evening out that you won’t have to persuade the other half to attend!

MintTwist is keen to lend our support to this worthy cause. Air amblances really can make the differrence between life and death. There is no doubt that countless lives have been saved by their incredible skill and dedication.

In aid of the Herts Air Ambulance – ‘Petrol Heads and Pampering’ will be held at Porsche Centre Hatfield on Thursday 14th April between 7pm and 10pm. Ex-Top Gear Presenter and Sunday Times Columnist, Jason Dawe, will host the evening; with new and classic Porsches to admire and a rare opportunity to have a guided tour of the Porsche Workshop by highly trained technicians.

Michelle de la Bertauche, Fundraising Manager for the Herts Air Ambulance, said: “This will be a fantastic event with so much going on – we’ve already had lots of interest. We will be raising vital funding for the Herts Air Ambulance, which costs £130,000 every month to enable it to continue to fly its life-saving missions. We can’t thank The Porsche Centre enough for giving us the exclusive use of their showroom for this event, it is such an exciting opportunity.  We’ve also had huge support from other local businesses, it looks set to be a great evening we are all really looking forward to it.”

Date: Thursday 14th April 2011

Time: 19:00 – 22:00

Location: The Porsche Centre, Hatfield Business Park, Hatfield AL10 9UA

For more information please contact Hannah Ashby, PR & Marketing Coordinator on:-

01787 226118

Click on the image above to expand

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Project Launch: SmoothRed

Posted in BLOG, BUSINESS, WEB DESIGN, tagged , , , , , , on Wednesday 6th April 2011 | Leave a Comment »

MintTwist are proud to announce the re-launch of SmoothRed – an epic site that organises wine tours in France. SmoothRed offer bespoke, tailor-made wine holidays and trips. Whether you’re interested in a short break or a luxurious, 10 day tour – SmoothRed cover it all!

MintTwist were tasked with redesigning the website and bringing a fresh feel to the website. It is now also integrated with a CMS to make it easy to edit for the client. MintTwist are also excited to work with SmoothRed on a web marketing campaign to promote them through SEO and online marketing.

Visit www.smoothred.co.uk.

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The browser war continues

Posted in BLOG, BUSINESS, SEO, WEB DESIGN, Web Marketing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on Tuesday 29th March 2011 | 6 Comments »

For those working in the web design industry, browser choice is often a topic filled with debate. For anyone who surfs the net browser choicer can also be a very personal matter and recent data suggests that browser choice is increasingly diversified.

In the beginning there was Netscape Navigator. However by 2002 the browser had all but disappeared. This was primarily down to the growth in Internet Explorer, and the dwindling development efforts by the Netscape Corporation.

Internet explorer is a bit like Ghenkis Khan and the Mongol Empire. Perhaps not the most obvious comparison, but give me a chance. So, Internet Explorer was launched in 1995 and by 2003 had a market share of close to 95%. Between the year 1206 and 1280 the Mongol Empire grew to stretch from Korea to Moscow.

The rapid expansion of the Mongol Empire is much like Internet Explorers rapid growth in popularity. The development of Internet Explorer was also fairly rapid and progressive. The Mongols were also progressive and introduced new technology and new thinking into a medieval Eurasia.

However like all Empires, over time cracks begin to appear. For the Mongols, their days of power were numbered and to make matters worse the epic trade routes that were built up now helped spread the Black Death which decimated both Mongol and other populations.

browser warsIn 2010 Internet Explorer had a market share of 60% which is a long way of its 2003 peak of 95%. This begs the question, what happened? The answer is quite straightforward. Mozilla happened.

Mozilla created the web browser Firefox and it really came into its own with its 3.5 and 3.6 versions and now their latest version, Firefox 4 is available to download. The browser is currently competing with Internet Explorer for top spot, but right now it has a market share of about 30%.

Internet explorer was never going to maintain a market share of 95%. Competition from Mozilla, Google’s Chrome and Safari ensured this. In my own experience having started with Internet Explorer, then on to Google Chrome, I am now using Firefox 4 and have found it to be an excellent web browser.

In my field of SEO and web marketing I believe Firefox offers me the best web browsing experience. It is well designed, easy to use and highly customable. The amount and variety Firefox Add-ons available is exceptional and definitely provides me with very important data and information.

Greg Jacobs

Content Manager
http://www.minttwist.com

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Online shopping continues to flourish in the UAE

Posted in BLOG, BUSINESS, DUBAI, Web Marketing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on Monday 28th March 2011 | 2 Comments »

Web marketing DubaiIt was recently announced by MasterCard that online shopping is a growing trend in Dubai. According to the company, the percentage of people who use the internet to carry out their shopping grew from 29 per cent in 2009 to 42 per cent in 2010.

The MasterCard study showed that the most influential group are those between the age of 25 and 44 and within that group, those between 35 and 44 will use online shopping more frequently. There are a number of explanations for this but perhaps the most obvious and logical is that those aged 35 and above will have more disposable income.

Furthermore, the study also showed that online shopping is becoming increasingly popular for women in Dubai and the wider UAE. The data suggests that 7 per cent more women are using the internet for shopping compared to last year.

The market research carried out by MasterCard involved 8,500 consumers in the region. This has provided rich data which has generated some useful information. For example it showed that the leading categories in the UAE in 2010 included airline tickets, hotel bookings, home appliances and electronic products, clothing, restaurants and home food delivery.

As the online market continues to flourish in the UAE, the key to maximising its effectiveness is to ensure that there is strong internet penetration. After a slightly slow start the UAE now has approximately 75% of its population online which is a very healthy figure.

So what does this mean for web design in Dubai and other parts of the UAE? It suggests that as the internet becomes even more popular in the region the more demand there will be for web design, web marketing and SEO from business community.

As a relatively young online market, the UAE provides excellent opportunities for businesses as the level of competition is still quite young and relatively small. If for example you want to dominate a keyword in Google.ae it is important to invest in SEO and web marketing now rather than wait a couple of years only to find that a competitor has pulled out a massive lead.

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Dubai economy grows by 2.2%

Posted in BLOG, BUSINESS, DUBAI, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on Monday 21st March 2011 | 1 Comment »

The UAE has become an important financial location in recent years having attracted billions in investment from businesses around the world. Dubai is a key location within the UAE and projects such as the Burj Al Arab and the Burj Khalifa along with a host of other modern architecture projects are synonymous of the city and its ambition.

Sadly though this does not mean that Dubai is free from global economic forces and so in 2009 the GDP contracted by 2.4 per cent. This was due to a plunge in the property and construction market which was, and still is, crucial to this Arab emirate.

However property and construction is not all that Dubai has to offer. International trade and tourism play a big part in Dubai’s economy. It is thanks to this that the Dubai Statistics Centre can state that they expect GDP for the whole year to increase by about 2.2 per cent, having increased by 2.4 per cent so far.

Dubai metro

The other key economic sector for Dubai is tourism. In fact with limited oil reserves it could be argued that tourism is the future for the country and therefore the priority. Judging by some of the construction projects you would assume that Dubai’s leadership is acutely aware of this.

What does this mean for web design in Dubai? Well, web design Dubai is in fact a young part of the economy but as the number of businesses and organisations increase so will the demand for top quality and professional web design. Be it internet projects or intranet projects, big business or small business, all will require web solutions.

The infrastructure in the UAE region has improved significantly and will continue to improve. Projects such as the Dubai Metro have had an excellent response from commuters. Other digital projects such as Dubai’s e-government site are an example of the kind of integration between government, businesses, public services and people which will all contribute to the continued success of Dubai.

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UAE competes in the World Summit Award

Posted in BLOG, BUSINESS, DUBAI, SEO, Web Marketing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on Tuesday 15th March 2011 | 3 Comments »

World Summit AwardSince the internet was developed digital content has come a long way. If you look at web pages of the mid to late 1990’s you will find that they are much more simplistic, both in terms of appearance and functionality.

Fast forward to 2011 and the internet, some might argue, has become the eighth wonder of the world. The difference between the internet in 1996 and 2011 is integration. Today the internet forms an integral part of our lives and even forms part of our identity.

For half a billion people at least, there is a site which allows you to share with the world your life and everything about it. Yes the Facebook generation is here, they are here to stay and content is king. The Facebook generation has grown up with the modern glossy internet which has evolved to become incredibly technical and capable with lots of potential.

However, content is not universal. Different people in different countries will interpret content differently. Different languages are spoken in different countries and the way people will read will be vary across regions and countries. Therefore the design of a website and the content within are the two most important factors for success.

Showcasing digital content gives web designers and developers from around the world the opportunity to raise their profile. Events such as the World Summit Awards allow web design Dubai to compete and showcase its work amongst the best.

The WSA competition sets out to determine the world’s best and most innovative e-content and ICT technology. Winning this competition gives tremendous international recognition which is why web designers and developers from around the world are so keen to win this prestigious prize.

Web design UAE is pushing hard to meet the deadline of March 17th.After last year’s competition there was a lot of interest following the success of the ‘Hesabi –My Math’ project. It was judged to be a great product for children because it makes learning more enjoyable and more like a game which maintains children’s attention levels.

Innovations and success such as this has paved the way for technology in the region. The web design and development market along with web marketing and SEO is progressing at a rapid pace in the UAE as is the demand for such services.

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Project Launch: Gold Matrix

Posted in BUSINESS, SEO, WEB DESIGN, tagged , , , , , on Thursday 10th February 2011 | 1 Comment »

Gold Matrix launched in October 2010 to buy scrap gold and now sells gold bars, gold coins, silver bars and silver coins. The site also has a gold calculator, allowing users to work out how much their gold is worth before selling. Gold prices are updated twice daily through a simple admin system.

MintTwist have continued to work with Gold Matrix on their web marketing campaign, optimising the site for SEO, as well as managing its social media activities.

Visit http://www.gold-matrix.com

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Project Launch: Voyana Cruise

Posted in BUSINESS, WEB DESIGN, tagged , , , on Saturday 18th December 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Voyana Cruise now offers thousands of cruises online, creating perfect holiday packages for people across the UK. The website uses a live API feed to give customers the latest cruises and the best deals.

Visit www.voyanacruise.com

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Top five tips for choosing the right web design company in the UAE

Posted in BUSINESS, DUBAI, tagged , , , , , , , on Wednesday 15th December 2010 | 2 Comments »

Web design UAEIf your business is located in the UAE finding the right web design company is not a straight forward exercise as there is a big choice of web design agencies in the UAE. It is important to take certain precautions before selecting an Abu-Dhabi or Dubai web design company to design, build and test your website.

The first thing you can do is cut down the number of firms to choose from. If you were to include every single web design company it would take a very long time. Companies with experience, a solid track record and a good portfolio should be top of the list. It is also good to try and work with a web design company that has done work for other businesses in your business sector because the designers and developers will have an even better understanding.

The portfolio of a web design company is their signature. It is a demonstration of what the company is capable of and also gives you the opportunity to contact them and find out what their opinion of the web design company is. Ideally a web design company will have page for testimonials with glowing references, but this is not always the case.

It is also important to have an understanding of the technology. Building websites is a technical operation which requires the work of highly skilled individuals. The portfolio of the web design company will give an indication of how advanced they are. If the web designer’s website looks like it was built in 1995 it is probably best to avoid them.

Budget is always a concern for businesses. Keeping within budget is absolutely critical to businesses, particularly new ones. If you feel you are being well and truly overcharged, meet with a competitor and see if they prices changes. Don’t be afraid to negotiate because often web design companies will be somewhat flexible.

Finally, if you want to have a website which continues to exist and function for several years, it is important to stick with the same web design firm as the company who builds your site will have the best knowledge of your business and over time their knowledge of your business and how you work will improve allowing them to provide a better service into the future.

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Choosing the right UAE web design company

Posted in BUSINESS, DUBAI, WEB DESIGN, tagged , , , , , , , , on Thursday 25th November 2010 | 6 Comments »

The market for web design in the UAE has grown at an astonishing pace. 2010 has been a big year for the region, most notably the completion of the worlds’ tallest building, the Burj Khalifa Skyscraper and in Abu Dhabi the world’s largest indoor and first Ferrari theme park was opened.

The region has seen huge investment over the last two decades and created an oasis in the desert. Cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi have emerged and are now key drivers for the region. The region is home to the offices of numerous multinational companies and corporations. In addition to this there is very healthy growth of small to medium sized business.

In today’s business world there is no doubting the importance of a web presence and the UAE is no exception. The problem is that the vast majority of web development firms in the UAE do not have the same level of knowledge or experience as professionals in the West.

Internet usage is growing at a rapid rate in the UAE amongst the 4 million or so people that live there. Companies are investing millions of dollars in the region and the internet is a vital communications tool which is only growing in use and importance. Choosing the right web design company to work with can be difficult but below are some useful hints to help with that difficult decision.

Check the Portfolio – For web design companies having a portfolio is a simple must have. It gives a web design company the chance to show off their work and you can quickly gauge what kinds of styles are possible. However, be warned because seeing them in a gallery is not enough. It is vital that the functionality of these is thoroughly checked.

Talk to the owner of the business – Before any deal is made it is essential that you meet with the director of the web design company. This gives you an opportunity to test their knowledge and gives you an opportunity to talk about their previous and future projects and get contact details for referrals.

The kitchen sink – The very best web design companies will do more than just develop a website. The best firms will begin with a free consultation which will be based on a very high level view of your business and who it is targeting or which markets are most relevant. It is also common to discuss the design and development process used by the web design company because this will help in organising time scales.

Following on from this the Dubai web design company should be able to demonstrate their skill in keyword research, content management, digital graphic design, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and web marketing. If your web design company can fulfil all of this then you are speaking to the right people.

The people – Knowing that there is a team of dedicated professionals with specialist skills, working on your behalf is hugely important and can give you a lot of confidence in the web design company you are working with.

The vibe – Finally, the design company you choose to work with has to feel right. The communication needs to be friendly but professional and constructive. In other words you must be able to question the design company and you should expect good answers in return. Companies who don’t listen to their clients inevitably let them down so if you are ignored head somewhere else.

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How do you solve a problem like myhomepage?

Posted in BUSINESS, WEB DESIGN, tagged , , on Thursday 19th August 2010 | 2 Comments »

myhomepage is an internet startup that has used seed funding to develop an attractive, useful and innovative bookmarking and password management website application that helps consumers all over the world.

The product has been well received with registered users proving to be fans and advocates of the technology.

myhomepage - personal password management and bookmarking

myhomepage - personal password management and bookmarking

The problem

However, the team now know that they are now entering what is potentially the hardest part of their start-up journey. Much of the seed investment has gone on developing the product. The team now have to focus their attention towards marketing the product, but with little budget remaining it needs to be a boot-strapped exercise.

Potential investors have set the ‘active user’ target at 50,000 before they will release the second round of investment capital that is so badly needed to move the business on to the next level.

The current number of active users is 5000 and with minimal marketing impact thus far, new user registrations are running at just 15 a-day which is 5% of the average number of new and unique visitors that arrive at the site each day, but the 300 new and unique visitors that arrive at the site each day has been static since inception.

To make matters even more challenging the business has been set the challenge of achieving 50,000 myhomepage users within just 6-months.

At the current conversion rate the site will only achieve another 2700 registered users – leaving the business to fall far short of the target that is so badly needed for further investment.

myhomepage – the second coming

The team have resolved to fight-back against their predicament.

Over the last few weeks the founders have re-focussed the direction of the business towards marketing the existing benefits of the product whilst making stinging cut-backs on overheads and product development.

Money has now been re-focussed on an all out attempt to raise the profile of the business, drive up the number of website visitors and haul-in the thousands of new registered users that will see the business win the investment that they need to survive.

myhomepage need YOU

In 6-months myhomepage must get 50,000 registered users. At current conversion rates this means getting one million new and unique visitors to the website over the next 180-days, this means an average of 5,500 users per day versus a current average of just 300.

There are two members of staff, one trained in SEO and the other is a content writer. There is no money for ad-words or any other form of paid for advertising.

There is scope for organic SEO, viral marketing, blog marketing, social network marketing and guerrilla marketing.

Which of these avenues should myhomepage pursue? What should the angle be? Are there any other avenues that myhomepage should follow?

Read more on the team of friends behind myhomepage.

For further information on myhomepage please contact Max Aengevelt (m.aengevelt@mhplive.com) or Massimo Agostinelli (m.agos@mhplive.com).

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Friends team up to take on google

Posted in BUSINESS, WEB DESIGN, tagged , on Thursday 19th August 2010 | 4 Comments »

myhomepage was founded by two well connected young entrepreneurs Massimo Agostinelli and Max Aengevelt who combine their work at myhomepage with their studies at the European School of Business of London and Cass Business school .

Massimo Agostinelli and Max Aengevelt, founders of myhomepage

Massimo Agostinelli and Max Aengevelt, founders of myhomepage

Quite a feat when you see how far their business has come in such a short space of time.

In just one year myhomepage have a highly developed password management system that has a applied for patent and online bookmarking system that is up and running on the internet.

myhomepage are operating in an emerging and intriguing space and the business is already a leading player in a sector in which heavy weights such as Google and Microsoft have already expressed an interest.

Massimo and Max have been close friends since meeting at Hurtwood House boarding school in Surrey England and the friends both have business in their blood.  Both are heirs to well established and highly successful family businesses that make high value equity investments all over the world.

But family connections will not provide a free ride, the family businesses have provided the seed investment, but the founders are well aware that they are required to ensure the business is able to stand on its own two feet by winning further investment from external sources.

Massimo and Max set about achieving their vision for myhompage in early 2009 by assembling a team of exceptional technical experts, marketing guru’s and seasoned start-up executives. myhomepage aims to become a leading start page that allows user to save, manage and automatically log into their favourite bookmarks.

Key to the success so far has been the fact that the founders have extended the hand of friendship as well as camaraderie to all the members of their team.

The latest to join the team is the web agency MintTwist.

MintTwist were involved early on in the myhomepage story, having been contracted to improve the website design, look-and-feel and usability.

Having seen the tremendous value that exists within the business, MintTwist were delighted to agree on even closer ties, by becoming equity partners in the myhomepage business.

Massimo, Max, MintTwist and the rest of the fledgling team still have a long way to go. And they are under no illusions about the difficulties that lie ahead; first they must prove that there is traction in the product by significantly raising the number of active users that have taken up the myhomepage system.

In a latest twist to their story, the team have now been set the challenging goal of achieving 50,000 new users within just 6-months.  Read more on the myhomepage marketing challenge.

But as ever the two enigmatic founders are un-phased – “We will do it”, they say.

For further information on myhomepage please contact Max Aengevelt (m.aengevelt@mphlive.com) or Massimo Agostinelli (m.agos@mphlive.com)

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Social networks have become an integral part of retailing say KPMG

Posted in BUSINESS, WEB DESIGN, tagged , , , on Wednesday 11th August 2010 | Leave a Comment »

It’s incredible how the internet has developed so quickly to become integral part of everyday life.

The KPMG Retail Think Tank’s latest paper discusses web marketing techniques and concluded they form an integral part of UK retailing.

There are 10 million (and rising) Twitter users. China’s social network explosion is led by teen-targeted website QZone which has over 200 million registered users. The power of social networking starts to become clearer.

Social Network Marketing

Social Network Marketing

Beyond being a channel for transactions, the internet has created a powerful marketing tool and a huge “shop window” for products, provides valuable brand-building opportunities, increased profile through third party tie-ups and most importantly a new, constantly evolving and different communication mechanism.

As the power of social networking and online communities’ increases, consumers are sharing thoughts and ideas, particularly within fast moving sectors such as fashion, meaning that we are seeing a fundamental shift in the way people shop and the consumer being increasingly complex for retailers to understand.

From the forward thinking retailer’s perspective, this environment presents a number of challenges. However, it is clear that if they are to stay ahead of the game they need to invest now, before the rest of the retailing world catches on. It’s a bit like the days of the Wild West – we are experiencing a massive grab for real estate – on the web. Those business that get their organic search engine optimisation (SEO) in sync with their blog and social network marketing will ensure that their websites are at the top of the search engines for the longer-term. There are short-term wins to be had, however, the real rewards will be reaped once generation Y start to get their wallets out.

At the moment it is forward thinking SME’s are leading the way. Make International sell bespoke Pottery Mugs and have used Social Media to enhance the power of their organic search engine optimisation work. Amazingly this work has pushed them onto to page 1 of Google for the keyword “pottery” in the whole world!

Plan-it Interiors, an office storage furniture supplier use Instant Messaging technology embedded on their website to provide live, real-time support to their customers.

Blindsinabox, a Dragons Den winning company backed by James Caan and Duncan Bannatyne make use of a YouTube channel to showcase their range of cheap blinds and blackout blinds as well as to provide useful instruction video’s for would-be consumers.

As well as these types of benefits, the strongest retailers will spot the less obvious opportunities to develop their offer through the customer insight the new data brings. A report by the Chief Marketing Officer Council found that of 500 senior marketeers surveyed, only 16 percent review online sources for comments, complaints and suggestions, despite almost 58 percent agreeing that online media – such as blogs, Twitter and other social networking outlets – have a major influence on customer expectations and buying attitudes.

So yes, the platforms might be changing but the fundamentals of retail remain unchanged – understanding the consumer and giving them what they want will always be the winning strategy.

Helen Dickinson is Head of Retail at KPMG

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Web addresses go global

Posted in BUSINESS, DUBAI, WEB DESIGN, tagged , , , , , on Thursday 6th May 2010 | Leave a Comment »

The World Wide Web is going through historic change and will soon be a truly representative of its name. This will have far reaching effects for both users and a web design agency like MintTwist.

Net regulator Icann has switched on a system that allows full web addresses to contain no Latin characters, which their president (Rod Beckstrom) has described as “historic”.

Surfing the UAEEgypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the first countries to have so-called “country codes” written in Arabic scripts.

This move is the first step to allow web addresses in many scripts including Thai, Tamil, and Chinese.

More than 20 countries have requested approval for international domains from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann).

Icann has said that the new domains are available for use now but did admit that there is still some work to do before it is perfected and correctly working for everyone. They may be formalities but hopefully there will be so major delay or setback.

Teething

The introduction of the first web names using so-called country code top level domains (CCTLDs) is the culmination of several years of work by the organisation.

Whereas before websites could use some non-Latin letters, the country codes as .cn for China had to be written in Latin script. The historic change means that web addresses can be completely written in native characters.

Teething - Painful but unavoidableBefore you get too excited, Icann has warned that the internationalised domain names (IDNs) will not work on all PC’s immediately. Why exactly is unclear but most likely is that the service will be phased in gradually. By doing so the process is u much easier task to manage.

According to Icaan, “You may see a mangled string of letters and numbers, and perhaps some percent signs or a couple of “xn--”s mixed into the address bar,” said Mr Davies. “Or it may not work at all.”

Previously, Icann has said that people would have to update the software on their computers to view the domains.

“Computers never come with the complete set of fonts that will allow it to show every possible IDN in the world. Often this is fixed by downloading additional language packs for the missing languages, or specifically finding and installing fonts that support the wanted languages.”

Global Access

When Icann first announced its plans for non-Latin web names it said it was the “biggest change” to the net “since it was invented 40 years ago”.

Perhaps this should have been rephrased as “arguably the biggest change”, especially when you consider that it is yet to be perfected. Over time, this will no doubt grow and become a massive part of the internet but it has a way to go yet.

Mr Beckstrom has quite rightly said that “Over half the internet users around the world don’t use a Latin-based script as their native language, “IDNs are about making the internet more global and accessible for everyone.”

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Today Translations give tourists a hand in understanding confusing Brooklynese

Posted in BUSINESS, tagged , , on Friday 30th April 2010 | 1 Comment »

Brooklynese

Ask a life-long Brooklynite if he has an accent and you’re likely to get this rapid-fire response: fuhgeddaboudit! Ask a typical European what that means, and you’re likely to get a befuddled look and silence.

That’s why a London-based translation agency is looking for people to help translate Brooklynese.

Today Translations has posted an ad on craigslist seeking speakers of “‘Brooklyn English,’ with good knowledge of accent, slang, nuances” to help foreigners who “find it an unexpected challenge.”

The freelance gig pays up to $210 a day. It’s open to anyone who can decipher such Brooklynisms as “not for nothin,’” “cawfee” and “whatayagonna do?”

“We’re looking for someone who loves the dialect and is able to understand someone who has the heaviest Brooklyn accent,” said Mick Thorburn, spokesman for Today Translations.

Along a stretch of Carroll Gardens dotted with Italian businesses, the job offer drew a smorgasbord of reactions.

Vinny Mastellone, owner of Mastellone’s Italian Market on Court St., said he never has a problem tawkin’ to the tourists who stream into his shop.

“I have fun with them,” Mastellone, 49, said.

The job posting drew laughter from Joanny D’Amico, who runs D’Amico’s coffee shop near Degraw St. She admitted that the dialect spoken in the neighborhood can sound like a foreign language to outsiders.

“We don’t speak in full sentences,” D’Amico said. “We kind of mush it all together.”

Danny Calcaterra, a retired longshoreman from Bay Ridge, said the problem cuts both ways.

“I have a tenant from England and I can’t understand a f—–g word he says,” Calcaterra said, noting that whenever he leaves Brooklyn, nobody seems to understand him.

“I was in Britain, I had trouble. I was in St. Martin, I had trouble. Same thing in Vegas,” added Calcaterra. “I almost got locked up in Canada. You say one thing. They don’t understand you. They lock you up.”

Brooklynese is not entirely unique, experts say.

The tendency among Brooklyn stalwarts to drop an “r” at the end of a word as in “deah,” for instance, is shared by the British.

“There’s no linguistic reason why a New York City accent should be more difficult to understand for a person overseas,” said Kara Becker, a doctoral candidate at New York University who has studied city accents.

Augie Giglio, a retired electrician who moved to Brooklyn from Italy when he was a kid, said he could relate to foreigners who need help with the accent.

“Sometimes, you get high-class Italians, their dialect is so far beyond me,” Giglio, 60, said, pausing. “Fuhgeddaboudit!”

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How to use email to alienate your most important customers

Posted in BUSINESS, DUBAI, tagged , , on Monday 26th April 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Email is a phenomenally powerful and effective business communication tool, when used with forethought, planning and care. Conversely, a single careless email can cause a PR nightmare for a brand and jeopardise valuable customer relationships.

On 21st April, HSBC Middle East bank sent a promotional email to 400 ‘Premier’ customers (whose qualification criterion is to maintain at least $95,000 in their accounts). Unfortunately, HSBC revealed all these customers’ names and email addresses to their peers by accidentally using the generic “To” function for this communication, rather than a personalised and confidential addressing technique. Understandably, a number of HSBC customers have publicly expressed their outrage and some have claimed that hackers have subsequently tried to access their email accounts.

This story is spreading fast across the local media and HSBC are clearly embarrassed and very much on the back foot. Whilst they have swiftly and profusely apologised, also emphasising that no customers’ bank account security has been compromised, it is too late to prevent any resulting damage to the bank’s reputation regarding standards of care and confidentiality.

Tim Mace of Tenzing a href=”http://www.tenzingmiddleeast.com/index.html”>Marketing Consultancy believes that every brand – not only banks – needs to earn and maintain a brand image focused on trust to retain existing customers and to attract new ones. Trust is justifiably the most sought-after emotional attribute and there is no short-cut to gaining customer confidence.

Reputation-dependent companies like HSBC constantly measure a range of customer perception factors, which do not generally fluctuate much in the short-term, and HSBC will be hoping not to see a negative movement in their UAE stats for April or May and that this incident is swiftly forgotten by any of their customers and prospects who read this story or heard it from a friend.

However, disgruntled customers have long memories and Tenzing wonders what HSBC would (hypothetically) be prepared to pay to turn back the clock to the moment just before that fateful email was sent to 400 of its top customers!

Tenzing Marketing Consultancy – based in Dubai – is helping brands to reach new heights.

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Mirdif City Centre – A mall too far?

Posted in DUBAI, tagged , , , , on Wednesday 21st April 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Majid Al Futtaim’s new Mirdif City Centre mall – located on the outer limits of Dubai – has reported 1 million visitors during the 3 weeks after its opening on March 16th; an average of almost 50,000 per day.

Now, the hot issue for local commentators is whether these visitors represent genuine consumer demand or whether they are mostly sightseers and that Mirdif City Centre will become a deserted shell during the summer months.

It is rumoured that Emaar’s massive Dubai Mall has struggled to establish a solid purchasing footfall during its first year and that its amazing aquarium has actually been the big attraction, so is there room for yet another mega-mall in Dubai?

Tim Mace of Tenzing Marketing Consultancy thinks MAF has got it right.

“Ten years ago, it would have been unthinkable for a 400+ outlet super-mall to be located in the Mirdif wilderness. However, this locality has mushroomed in population and infrastructure and the Emirates Highway has rendered Mirdif City Centre easily accessible to a catchment stretching from Sharjah to the Green Community at Jebel Ali.

Mirdif City Centre offers a sky-diving attraction which, on the face of it, is less of a pull than exotic reef-life or indeed Mall of the Emirates’ spectacular indoor ski slope, so gimmicks will probably not be enough to win the hearts and minds of the fickle Dubai public.”

However, MAF has a history of planning and executing major mall developments at the right time and in the right locations and has clearly taken these factors into consideration. Their track record in Dubai is difficult to fault; Deira City Centre, now 15 years old, is still fully tenanted and gridlocked with customers at most times of every day and night, whilst Mall of the Emirates is firmly established as the must-shop venue for residents within a 10-15km radius – not to mention tourists and visitors from Abu Dhabi.

Alongside the obligatory Carrefour store, the retail mix of Mirdif City Centre comprises many new brands to the Gulf, which will probably either make or break its longer-term mass appeal. Brand Management of the Mirdif City Centre itself will also be important. Importantly though, the selection of retail brands and food outlets seems to be strong and with this comes the promise of more leading international brands following suit. Last but not least, the mall car park connects seamlessly with the surrounding road system.

We at Tenzing are confident that the future is bright for Mirdif City Centre.

Tenzing Marketing Consultancy – based in Dubai – is helping brands to reach new heights.

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