The pursuit of excellence

Our UAE Changemakers Conference 2021 certainly packed a punch. 120 marketers in the room, and a roster of brilliant leaders to listen to, learn from and be inspired by. From branding, marketing and customer experience to diversity, inclusion and gender, we weren't short on opinions. 
 

For those of you who couldn’t be there, here are some highlights:

1. Don't be an Ostrich. Lean in, lose a bit of control and don't bury your head in the sand – Sami Moutran, TikTok
2. Build brands that customers love and advocate for. You have to drive brand, create long term engagement and focus on engaging consumers for a lifetime, not a point in time – Charles Awad, Majid Al Futtaim
3. Decisions are taken by the heart. Emotions lead the decision making and everything else is just there to rationalise what you have already decided – Asmaa Quorrich, Jumeirah Hotels 
4. Women’s equality is the single greatest unlock for social and economic development globally. And yet, as per the Gender Gap 2020 report, it will not be attained for the next 99.5 years! Covid has pushed this timeline by quite a few years – Priya Sarma, Unilever
5. There is no end game to improving customer experience, just a relentless journey in the pursuit of excellence. Perfection is impossible, but you can settle for excellent – Rob Beswick, Virgin Mobile
6. If you haven’t felt discrimination, it’s tough to truly understand the emotional impact is has on you. Reverse mentoring allowed me to hear from different individuals within the organisation and help me understand more – Mark Evans, Direct Line
7. Embrace the uncertainty and be ready and open for change. The race for marketers from 2019 to 2021 hasn’t changed, but the landscape has dramatically changed – Mohammed Ismaeel, Visa
8. Price is the lowest denominator for brands. You have to build your brand proposition for the long term, because if you don’t get it right you won’t be here in 10 years – Charles Awad, Majid Al Futtaim
9. Trust is key when accelerating the importance of your brand purpose. 71% of consumers say they will lose trust in a brand that is seen to put profit over people – Mohammed Ismaeel, Visa
10. Complexity is the enemy of great customer experience. Simplify everything – Rob Beswick, Virgin Mobile