What DUBAI OOH tells us about change & survival

Vasant Jante, Founder and CEO, Thoughtshows & Events

Travel broadens your horizon like very few things do.  I recently visited Dubai after nearly 15 years and the trip had some interesting surprises in store for me, which reinforced certain fundamental business realities of today.  

For one, the landscape of Dubai has undergone tremendous changes over the years. The city has in fact emerged to be a global destination, drawing people from across the world to settle down there. According to Wiki, more than 90% of the population of Dubai are expatriates. Apparently, Dubai was also the third most-visited city in the world in 2023.  

Not surprisingly, Dubai’s economy relies on revenues from trade, tourism, aviation, real estate, and financial services, although, it was oil that really helped accelerate its development in the early days. Today Dubai is one of the fastest growing economies in the world.  One of the biggest draws of Dubai is the plethora of business opportunities available and the large scope to earn well, although it must be said that the cost of establishing business is quite high in Dubai with many entry barriers. But this also ensures a healthy competitive environment.    

But to me what was particularly interesting about Dubai during this trip was the number of new names occupying the OOH space! There was in fact not a single name from among those visible 15 years ago when I last visited the place; every single one was new. It was evident that newer players had completely taken over the market there. Now this, according to me, points to the increasingly critical need for media owners to adapt to the changing business environment in order to survive.  

The fact is that companies who have been in the industry for say 50 years, have a certain way of doing business.  But the norms or the dynamics of doing business today are vastly different from what they were 50 years ago. Companies that don’t recognise this and change with the new ways run the risk of losing out to newer players who are already equipped to take on the market. Newer players come with new ideas and mindset and are better placed to take over because they are in sync with the business realities of today.  While Dubai really drove home this fact quite strongly for me with the presence of so many new players in its OOH space, it is equally true of India. Some leading names in the OOH space in India from yesteryears are no longer in the picture today. One of the reasons for this, that one can conclude, is that they were unable to cope with change and adopt new business practices.  

In fact, I wonder if the family run business model, with the baton passing down from one generation to the next, can continue to be relevant in the OOH space.  For one, it mandates the same level of interest in the business in every new generation. Secondly, it requires a strong ability to adapt, which I am not sure is a strong point among traditional businesses.  

Without getting into a judgement call on old business practices versus the new – both have their pluses and minuses – one can easily say that adapting to change is a necessity for business survival today. Newer players can make older ones pretty redundant, unless the latter can be nimble footed to keep pace with changes. The sooner we realise this, the better.