Background
The Dubai Convention Bureau is part of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, a non-profit government funded organization that is committed to further develop and increase Dubai’s share of the International MICE market and special events, whilst maximizing the economic prospects of Dubai.
DCB is responsible for promoting Dubai as a destination for the MICE industry (Meetings, Incentive Travel) where congresses and conferences can carry out successful and professional meetings.
While DCB does not plan meetings they provide a “neutral” representation to clients based around the world. In short, DCB is Dubai's gateway to the world. Flip's immediate knowledge of the middle east and the globe, made it an obvious choice for lending DCB a powerful web presence.
The Challenge
The task at hand was to redesign an existing DCB website. To illustrate and reveal a vast amount of information in a simple and friendly way to an audience of varied backgrounds and different cultures was indeed a big challenge. Moreover, coalescing the professional side of Dubai with its reputation of being a dream destination required some serious thinking.
As the primary intention was to promote Dubai as a worldwide destination, a wealth of information (demography-based) had to be generated. In order, to have an 'edge' over the other convention bureaus the visual tone of the website had to communicate serious business with a touch of razzle-dazzle.
The Solution
Flip's first step was to reevaluate the existing Dubai Convention Bureau website and understand its current status—in order, to decide an approach that would be informative and engaging.
To showcase Dubai's larger than life repute, changing background images depicting the city's landmarks were created and cleverly blended with the transparent spotlight.
Following were strategically added from information point of view:
- Meeting / Conference Planners - Information and resources about Dubai. Encouraging planners to choose Dubai as the location for their conference
- Delegates - Information to help these people understand what Dubai has to offer.
- Event Calendar - This widget was essential for showing region specific events.
- Venue Map and listings - Flip designed and build an interactive city map depicting venues and listings. The printable map can be viewed and downloaded in PDF format. Flip's CMS enables the admin to enter comprehensive information on the map.
- Business Toolkit – This section has all sorts of relevant information to assist delegates and planners. To avail the same, users need to register. (Authorization module).
- Green City Initiative – A Green initiative is often a deciding factor from the planner's perspective. A strategic call out widget was placed in the homepage.
- Partnership Logos - DCB’s partnerships logos and especially the ‘Best Cities’ logo to be prominent
- Case Studies/Testimonials – These will help to promote Dubai through the facts and successes already experienced by previous events and clients (delegates and planners)
Technically special attention was given to the city map as it's the window to the world. This easy-to-use downloadable map allows the admin to plot, mark and update locations as required. As the flow of information was heavy, the chosen architecture was Flip's CMS. The CMS allows to create "venues" which are placed on the map. The end user can search these locations and save them in their profile. Further, a "Save to List" feature was created that saves venues and can be shown on map as well as printed in a PDF file.
The Results
DCB's wanted to sell Dubai as a global destination and the upbeat and informative website did just that. Flip understood that if DCB had to work then it had to be technically strong and content rich, which is where Flip's CMS proved extremely beneficial. In fact, no other Congress Bureau has ventured into what DCB has done and achieved in the web space.
* This feature is for "PCOs (professional congress organizers)" who will use the website to help create a "pitch" document for their clients which contain preselected venues that meet the requirements.
