Top creative talent drawn to Qatar around World Cup opportunities

By Denise Marray/London

On the back of two successful trade missions to Qatar and the UAE last year, the International Visual Communications Association (IVCA) is planning a further visit to Doha this spring. IVCA is the trade association representing the creative commissions of film, video, digital and experiential events within the corporate sector; the association collaborates with Eventia which represents the live and experiential events industry. (Experiential events are usually delivered on behalf of a brand; the idea is to offer an ‘immersive’ experience to give a real sense of what a particular brand offers).

IVCA/Eventia members’ expertise was showcased to great effect at the London 2012 Olympic Games, notably at the opening ceremony but also in supporting events and in training the 70,000 volunteers or ‘games makers’ who helped visitors from all over the world to enjoy the experience.

Gulf Times caught up with IVCA CEO Marco Forgione in London this week to get his perspective on how British companies in the creative and communication industries are responding to the opportunities in Qatar, especially in relation to the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Speaking about the outcomes of the 2013 trade missions to Qatar, which were organised with the support of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and the British Embassy in Qatar, he said: “As a result of these trade missions we have seen a substantial upturn in the amount of work among both established companies and companies which hadn’t worked in the Middle East before and who are now delivering on behalf of their clients in Qatar and other parts of the region.” Companies which have found commissions related to a wide range of businesses in Qatar on the back of the trade mission include William Martin Productions, WRG (Integrated marketing and events agency) Future and Co, a film communication agency, and Macmillan Adam.

Forgione said: “There is vast potential for growth. First, if you are prospecting for business you want to go to places where they have the money to pay; Qatar obviously has the money to support the investment. But you also have in Qatar a clear direction of travel that is being set by the very top of government.

They understand that there is a need to diversify and change the economy to be less reliant on the gas and petro-chemical industries, but the change they are adopting is different from the way in which it is being done in other parts of the Middle East. They are not trying to retrofit creative ideas to their environment – they are taking the best skills and making the outcomes Qatari in the delivery.”

Forgione sees this approach as being very significant. “I think it’s really important because you have to retain a sense of identity – otherwise you just become part of that amorphous mass of mid-Atlantic communication which in reality is pretty ineffectual,” he commented.

The built environment in Doha, he said, reflects the desire to be unique. “In other cities in the Middle East you can look up at the skyline and you could be in Shanghai, London or New York – but in Qatar you get a sense of what it means to be Qatari,” he observed.

Speaking of the IVCA trade mission’s meetings with the Qatar 2022 World Cup organisers, he said: “The meeting was really positive; there was an understanding of the opportunities and scale of the challenge and a desire to deploy the very best talent to support Qatar in delivering a world beating World Cup that is also sustainable and of on-going benefit to the country.”

The type of work related to this massive event, he said, would be related to communicating Qatar’s preparations and positioning, the practical delivery and launch of the event itself, and supporting the sponsors and associated brands.

There would also be a huge demand for companies skilled at providing content for media covering the event and promotional materials. Also, critically there were opportunities for companies skilled at developing and managing the experiences of visitors attending the event.

He would not be drawn on giving away too much detail about the kind of contracts being negotiated but said: “The conversations are at an early stage but I understand there are four or five key IVCA members who are in the beginnings of either practical delivery or conversations with regards to delivery around the World Cup.”

Critically, he said each company working in Qatar needs to find the best mechanism and route to combine local talent with their own creativity “to form that unique Qatari approach to deliver it.”

Noting the high level of international interest in “the hugely competitive market” he said: “The UK is a global centre of excellence. We need to facilitate and encourage UK companies to see the opportunities of working alongside the organisers in Qatar and provide as much incentive and support from the very senior levels of government and from our industry to encourage participation. You are not just talking about the huge George P Johnson or Jack Morton scale companies; you are talking about smaller bespoke organisations which can really deliver innovative solutions, particularly around tech, mobile and digital communications that really add a creative spark to what could be delivered in Qatar. “

He called for greater support from the UK banks particularly for small to medium-sized enterprises eager to do business in the Gulf.

“The way the banks in particular provide the support that is required needs to be reviewed,” he said. He called for banks to take a more progressive view in relation to the bonds which companies have to invest in order to mitigate risk.

This week Forgione met with representative s from Qatar Airways in London. The talks, he said, were about “promoting Qatar as a venue and a hub, and Qatar Airways as a key global partner for logistics and transportation.”

Of Qatar as a hub, he said: “As a central hub location from which to exploit the growing opportunities across the Middle East more broadly, I think Qatar is a very clear centre from which to build.”