Under the guidance of professors, Northwestern University in
Qatar (NU-Q) students recently conducted a series of interviews with
QFC-licensed financial entities in order to learn about promotional marketing
strategies and distinguish Qatar’s pre-eminent business models.
In the project supported by Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), the
undergraduates researched both conventional and Islamic investment practices,
comparing asset management firms with commercial banks.
“The QFC has a high number of reputable financial
firms operating within Qatar and serving the local market,” Raed Al Emadi,
QFC’s chief commercial officer, said. “We take a keen interest in the development and
future of the financial sector, which includes our support of students in
Qatar, so we were happy to facilitate the research and encouraged our firms to
share their expertise and insights with the students.”
Students’ findings revealed that Qatar falls into alignment with
other GCC nations by “renting” domestic resources to global customers, modeling
what is called a “rentier state.” Additionally, Qatar’s mercantile banks were
discovered to rely on three main marketing tactics: client segmentation,
relationship marketing and branding.
The purpose of streamlined promotion is to distinguish
individual banks’ offerings from their competition.
“Northwestern University in Qatar encourages and
supports numerous research projects for our students, as well as experience
working with local institutions,” NU-Q CEO Everette Dennis said. “Our
students have benefited tremendously from this partnership, and NU-Q appreciates
the support provided by the QFC Authority and looks forward to working on
similar projects in the future.”
