Strategic Marketing in the UAE Annotated Bibliography

Essays on Strategic Marketing in the UAE Annotated Bibliography The paper "  Strategic Marketing in the UAE" is an amazing example of an annotated bibliography on marketing.Balakrishnan, M. â€Å"Dubai – A star in the east: a case study in strategic destinationBranding.† Journal of Place Management and Development. 1.1 (2008): 62-91. PrintThe title of this article is catchy, self-explanatory and metaphorical in nature. It directly addresses what strategic marketing of Dubai as an international destination has achieved; turning Dubai into a star, visible to everyone and ‘bright.’ The article starts off with an abstract that has the purpose, design, findings and research limitations and originality sections each with a brief description of the section. In the introduction, the author underscores the relevance of the paper by indicating that the destination branding industry is worth US$ 1,480 billion with some countries earning US$ 2 billion annually from successful branding. Towards the end of the introduction is the p urpose statement.  The author uses secondary sources, such as government reports, past studies, and books as his source of data in the literature review section. The in-text references are also internet links of the references though there is no reference list at the end. This simplifies the audience’s attempt to clarify information from the sources. There are also bullets where information in points is presented. This provides ease of reading and breaks the monotony of the paper. The subheadings on the other hand also break the monotony and classify information appropriately for ease of reading. Each section has its own recommendations.The paper is organized well with an abstract, introduction, discussion and conclusion and recommendations sections. The paper deviates from the normal structure as it lacks methodology because it is secondary research. The article has very little to offer in terms of product and service marketing. However, it presents very relevant tips for tourism and business destination marketers using strategies used in product marketing. Most tips, in this case, lie on the economic aspects that attract business investors and not leisure travelers. The author indicates that destinations have to spread their brand portfolio to reduce the investment risk something that makes Dubai more competitive than other destinations. Unlike Singapore which is famous for business and not leisure, Dubai combines both. While the majority of the literature deals with marketing a destination as a tourist or business one, this paper combines both.The presentation of the paper as a whole is very clear. The author makes use of text references that allow further research and credits his work. The paper is well structured with subheadings useful in locating specific information. However, the article is very long and may make boring reading. It is highly recommended that the author uses tables and figures that are easy to grasp and also break the monotony. For instance, he should have used graphs showing growth in investment in Dubai after each branding initiative such as economic policies.