Marketing Strategy and Plan for Abu Dhabi Financial Group

This report focuses on the marketing strategy and plan for Abu Dhabi Financial Group. It includes an environmental analysis, overview of the organization, corporate social responsibility and ethics issues, competitive analysis, critical success factors and SWOT analysis, and value proposition.

Running head: MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Marketing strategy and plan
Name of student
Name of University
Author note
Table of Contents

1MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Analysis...........................................................................................................................................2
Task 1 Environmental analysis....................................................................................................2
Task 2 Overview of the organisation...........................................................................................6
Task 3 Corporate social responsibility and ethics issues.............................................................8
Task 4 Main target for the specific products..............................................................................11
Task 5 Competitive analysis......................................................................................................12
Task 6 Critical success factors and SWOT analysis..................................................................12
Task 7 Value proposition...........................................................................................................15
Task 8 Brand perceived by the target market............................................................................16
Differentiation............................................................................................................................16
Positioning.................................................................................................................................17
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................17
Recommendation...........................................................................................................................17
References......................................................................................................................................19
Appendix........................................................................................................................................22

2MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Introduction
The report focuses on the marketing strategy and plan considering the business
organisation ABUDHABI financial group as the case study in this report. The report will
demonstrate how my role as a marketing manager will help the company to operate in the United
Arab Emirates region and ensure production and proper delivery of products and services locally.
The marketing objectives will be understood by understanding the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats of the company, furthermore contribute towards the achievement of
business goals and objectives (Abuelkhair et al. 2012). The PESTEL analysis will provide
detailed environmental analysis about the company and the corporate social responsibilities will
be illustrated here as well (adfg.ae 2017).
Analysis
Task 1 Environmental analysis
The external environment includes the macro environmental factors that has created an
impact on the banking and financial industry of UAE (Armstrong et al. 2015).
Political
The political conflicts can also result in deteriorating the organisational functioning by
harming the ownership of oil and land reserves (Bord and Santos 2012). Because of UAE’s good
trade relations with many countries all over the world, it has become easy for Abu Dhabi
financial group to sustain in the market place. The acquisition of 48.36 percent stake in Dubai
based financial services sector was also successful (Ferrell and Hartline 2012).

3MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Economic
The economy of the country is one of the major factors that has affected the business
functioning. It has a high GDP per capita, though the rate of unemployment is considerably low
in spite of the high level of Foreign direct investments. The monetary and fiscal components in
business could also result in higher rate of inflation and depreciation and the increasing rate of
interest might further contribute to the increase in inflation rate (Flammer 2015).
Social
Globalization is increasing and this has resulted in making an impact on the culture of the
organization. Religion has also affected the societal matters, because of which, the Abu Dhabi
financial group has delivered products and services according to the changing needs and
preferences of the customers (Golubov, Petmezas and Travlos 2012).
Technological
In UAE, the young adults are tech savvy, which has helped in leveraging the technology
and purchase new technological equipments and machineries for improvement of services and
quality of products delivered. With the implementation of technology, Abu Dhabi Financial
Group has been able to communicate with the consumers easily and even assessed their negative
feedbacks to make necessary improvements (Griffin, Shu and Topaloglu 2012).
Legal
The legal requirements were managed to ensure management of financial markets
properly and ensure that the various rules and regulations that are imposed can bring positive

4MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
impacts on the organisation. There are not many legal factors that are associated with the
business functioning, because of which, the laws that are implemented have allowed the
organization to maintain a good and stable condition within the business environment
(Kamarulzaman and Madun 2013).
Environmental
The environmental policies and procedures are implemented to minimize the effects of
environment and promote environment friendly prospects for maintaining a clean and healthy
environment. Sustainability measures were undertaken to maintain ecological balance in nature.
Impact weights
Factors Ratings
Political -2
Economic 4
Social -1
Technological -2
Legal 3
Environmental 4
Total 6
Final index was derived by dividing the total ratings with 24, i.e., 6/24.
The calculated result is 0.25, which is greater than 0.45 and thus it is understood that w
the company which operates within the macro environment is favorable.

5MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Task 2 Overview of the organisation
Mission and vision
The mission and vision of the organisation is to promote innovation, value and agility.
History
Abu Dhabi Financial Group is an established Emirati investment company that has its
headquarters in Abu Dhabi. It was founded in 2011 and the CEO is Jassim Alseddiqi (Mihart
2012).
Firm performance
It is the leading global investment group that provides lots of investment opportunities to
the investors including various corporations, financial institutions, government and individuals.
The financial investment sector has been revolutionized, which has delivered an interest rate of
27 percent to the stakeholders.
Financial performance
The company has also experienced enhancement in value creation across the real estate
and financial services and the assets have been worth US$5bn. The company has a good
financial condition and it has huge numbers of assets that are worth quite high in value as well
(Morgan, Katsikeas and Vorhies 2012).
Marketing performance
With the expansion of new assets, sustained value creation and delivery, ADFG remained
consistent and generated exceptional returns. The marketing performance is enhanced through

6MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
devising of strategies and screening the opportunities and scopes to verify the actions
undertaken.
Marketing goal and objective
The marketing goal or objective of Abu Dhabi Financial Group was to launch funds on
the global market of Abu Dhabi to manage the equities with a proper risk or reward profile. The
marketing goal and objectives also included developing an effective investment strategy and
enable constructivism to deliver returns more than 120 percent (Mullins, Walker and Boyd
2012).
Task 3 Corporate social responsibility pyramid
The company has focused on contributing to the community by providing better scopes
of employment and furthermore aligned the CSR goals and objectives with the core business
activities. The CSR activities are associated with the stakeholders in business, which has further
contributed to the sustainable activities and this allowed the company to emphasize on social
issues related to the children, environment and local communities in UAE (Ng et al. 2012).
Economic
To improve the welfare of business and generate good level of profit, financial innovation
is evitable and the company has been acting according to the economic factors. Because of the
changing needs and interests regarding finance, the investment banks need to be economically
viable to managing risks and utilize the resources properly. Managing communication with the
stakeholders could also enable the company to fulfill its economic responsibilities and comply
with these kinds of factors.

7MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Legal
There are legal responsibilities too for maintaining safety of the financial system and thus
the company has complied with the support provided by the legal bodies to ensure proper
management of foreign account tax related matters (adfg.ae 2017). The organisation has
complied to the factor for managing safety of the financial system.
Ethical
The ethical issues arising within the investment bank sector could be manipulation of
credit ratings, lack of selling of products, inappropriate trading and over leverage capacity. The
ethical norms and rules are implemented according to the demands and preferences of the
business stakeholders to maintain honesty and sincerity and obtain stakeholders’ trust. Fairness
and transparency must be enabled to meet the expectations of stakeholders and support the
development of good culture and ethical business practices. Thus, it is true that ADFG has
complied to the factor and fulfilled the ethical responsibilities properly (Ormrod, Henneberg and
O’Shaughnessy 2013).
Philanthropic
Customers, being the most important business stakeholders expect good quality products
and management of information while the staffs of ADFG want good working conditions and a
positive culture to promote growth and development. Based on the principles within the
investment bank sector, responsible investment should be done for ensuring that the financial
products and services were bought. It could be understood that ADFG had complied with the
philanthropic or discretionary responsibilities properly (Nobanee 2014).

8MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Figure: CSR pyramid
(Source: Nobanee 2014)

9MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
High price
High Low
Performance Performance
Low price
Figure: Positioning map
(Source: Ormrod, Henneberg and O’Shaughnessy 2013)
Task 4 Main target for the specific products
The main targets for the investment product are to set up investment accounts with the
niche investment banks and ensure proper management of stock, bonds and other investment
related activities. The bank could also market the investment solutions to the existing customers
of the company with huge numbers of benefits. The major services provided by investment
Goldman Sachs
International
Emirates Investment
Bank
Nomura
International
Dubai Branch
Full Circle
Investments
Merrill Lynch Bank
S A
YUSR Islamic
Investment Bank
Limited
SHUAA
Capital
The Emirates Capital
Limited
Abu Dhabi
Investment
House
Abu Dhabi
Financial group

10MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
banks are trading and promotion of securities along with management of individuals and
companies based on the investments made (Saeidi et al. 2015).
Task 5 Competitive analysis
The major competitors are SHUAA Capital, Goldman Sachs, Emirates Investmnet bank, whose
performances are high with the higher prices of services. The high performance and low price
products and services are offered by ADFG itself and there is Emirates Capital Limited, UAE.
The companies that fall under the high price but low performance are YUSR Islamic
Investment Bank, Nomura International, etc. whereas the low price and
low performance banks are Abu Dhabi Investment House, Merrrill
Lynch Bank, etc (Stowell 2017).
Task 6 Critical success factors and SWOT analysis
ADFG is known for its widespread expertise in various sectors such as real estate, capital
markets and debt financing that has managed the financial services and created scopes to
enhance the flow of cash in business (Stowell 2017).
Strengths
 Abu Dhabi Financial Group has a strong lending network and manages huge
amounts of investments in UAE by capitalizing on the market across the
financials sectors in UAE.
 The company has involved in brand promotion strategies, which has strengthened
its brand image and name and with its strong network of distribution.

11MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
 It is also one of the most liquid banks in UAE with good capital adequacy ratio
and diversified streams of revenue (Abuelkhair et al. 2012).
 The performance of the company in the areas of treasury management and
divisions of investment is also good along with its extensive research and
development activities to.
Weaknesses
 The low perception of corporate social responsibility is another weakness whereas
variable revenues are generated because of the market fluctuations at a rapid rate.
 The reduction in prices of oil and strict liquidity conditions have also created
weaknesses for the company to sustain in the market place.
 The rate of attrition is quite high which is another weakness of the company too
(Ferrell and Hartline 2012).
Weaknesses turned to strengths
To overcome the threats, the weaknesses should be turned into strengths and enable
ADFG to grow in a mature market by increasing the market share. The company can keep the
prices of products and services higher and sometimes lower to enter new markets and create a
positive mindset among the people, though not compromising on the quality. The company could
provide additional benefits to customers based on the investments made and even provide them
with a handsome amount of return according to the funds that they had deposited (Bord and
Santos 2012).
Opportunities

12MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
 The major scopes and opportunities include expansion in the developing
economies and development of custom ESG and impact investment for making
the investment banking functions successful.
 The high demand for investment banking has also created enough opportunities
for the organisation to deliver the best quality services for the fulfillment of
customers’ needs and requirements.
 The international expansion would create new synergies for ADFG and expand
the customer base, which could further lead to better financial stability and
reduced chances of risks (Flammer 2015).
Threats
 There are various tax reforms in UAE that have affected the business functioning
of Abu Dhabi Financial Group whereas the competition by other investment
banks have posed major threats to the company.
 There are other threats of non-financial risks too, which have deteriorated the
effectiveness of business functioning for ADFG in United Arab Emirates.
 There was credit market crisis, which increased the cost of borrowing and
decreased the flow of cash to the shareholders or investors in business (Golubov,
Petmezas and Travlos 2012).
Converting threats to opportunities
By developing trust and loyalty, the negative effects caused due to the property taxes would be
reduced and right prices should be set for the products and services to ensure customer
satisfaction. Abiding by the laws, rules and regulations could also help in keeping costs under

13MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
control whereas offering discounts on loans would also be beneficial for experiencing good flow
of cash. Management of electronic payments could increase the cash flow and maintain good
relationships with the suppliers too.
Task 7 Value proposition
The investment bank must also focus on the development of new assets, keep tight
margins for attracting more customers, and enhance the profit level. The value proposition of the
organisation lies in the fact of maintaining growth strategy to keep the shareholders satisfied and
maintain good financial condition too. The value proposition could be induced by planning for
acquisition in the Arabian Gulf region and develop its portfolio to foster the investment banking
activities and accomplish the goal of obtaining authorized capital of more than $100 million.
Marketing issues
The issues faced by ADFG were lack of ability to change, facing difficulties in improving
the global structural reform and inefficient application of trading commissions. The return on
investments is not up to the mark always, as expected before making investments. The liquidity
ratio often creates issues for the investment banking sectors too. Promotions and advertisements
were not done properly, which further deteriorated the brand name and image (Kamarulzaman
and Madun 2013).
Task 8 Brand perceived by the target market
ADFG has focused on the value and growth across the financial sectors. After the establishment,
the expansion of Abu Dhabi Financial group has helped to deliver the best quality services to its
customers. There are multiple assets, which are being managed for 3.5bn, and this has enabled

14MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
the company to create strong records of accomplishment and pioneer approaches to make
investments successfully (Mihart 2012).
Differentiation
The differentiation strategy is implemented to differentiate the products and services of the
organization from any other company in the market. This would also help the customers to
understand the differences between the products of two different companies and compare those
before purchasing those. The advancement of technology and other sustainable approaches have
made the company set its products and services apart from other company products, furthermore
allowed to attract more customers and generated more profit in business.
Positioning
The positioning is done by selling the stakes of ADFG in line with the Dubai Group’s
restructuring agreement and this has made the company one of the proud partners in SHUAA
Capital. The positive brand image, portfolio of compelling yet best quality services, loyal base of
customers and good management team have further made the company well positioned for
becoming successful in the future as well (Ng et al. 2012).
Conclusion
The marketing strategy and plan was developed for Abu Dhabi Financial Group by
making an assessment of the various external and internal factors by using the PESTLE and
SWOT analysis respectively. Due to the good trade relations in UAE, Abu Dhabi financial group
has sustained in the market place with ease. To manage proper CSR activities, the company had
prevented societal issues, focused more on sustainable approaches, and provided benefits to

15MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
children. Moreover, ADFG’s marketing strategy and plan had brought several benefits for both
the company and its customers.
Recommendation
 It is recommended to manage the assets properly for generating more profit and allow the
company to gain competitive advantage in business
 Because most of the people in UAE are tech savvy, it is recommended to leverage
technology and enhance the quality of services
 It is recommended for the investment bank to separate and focus more on the core
competencies
 The organisation must also undertake various environment friendly approaches to create
positive impact on the environment as well as benefit the society largely.

16MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
References
Abuelkhair, M., Abdu, S., Godman, B., Fahmy, S., Malmström, R.E. and Gustafsson, L.L., 2012.
Imperative to consider multiple initiatives to maximize prescribing efficiency from generic
availability: case history from Abu Dhabi. Expert review of pharmacoeconomics & outcomes
research, 12(1), pp.115-124.
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction.
Pearson Education.
Bord, V. and Santos, J.A., 2012. The rise of the originate-to-distribute model and the role of
banks in financial intermediation.
Ferrell, O.C. and Hartline, M., 2012. Marketing strategy, text and cases. Nelson Education.
Flammer, C., 2015. Does corporate social responsibility lead to superior financial performance?
A regression discontinuity approach. Management Science, 61(11), pp.2549-2568.
Golubov, A., Petmezas, D. and Travlos, N.G., 2012. When it pays to pay your investment
banker: New evidence on the role of financial advisors in M&As. The Journal of Finance, 67(1),
pp.271-311.
Griffin, J.M., Shu, T. and Topaloglu, S., 2012. Examining the dark side of financial markets: Do
institutions trade on information from investment bank connections?. The Review of Financial
Studies, 25(7), pp.2155-2188.
Kamarulzaman, Y. and Madun, A., 2013. Marketing Islamic banking products: Malaysian
perspective. Business Strategy Series, 14(2/3), pp.60-66.

17MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Mezher, T., Dawelbait, G. and Abbas, Z., 2012. Renewable energy policy options for Abu
Dhabi: Drivers and barriers. Energy policy, 42, pp.315-328.
Mihart, C., 2012. Impact of integrated marketing communication on consumer behaviour: effects
on consumer decision–making process. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 4(2), p.121.
Morgan, N.A., Katsikeas, C.S. and Vorhies, D.W., 2012. Export marketing strategy
implementation, export marketing capabilities, and export venture performance. Journal of the
Academy of Marketing Science, 40(2), pp.271-289.
Mullins, J., Walker, O.C. and Boyd Jr, H.W., 2012. Marketing management: A strategic
decision-making approach. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Naser, K., Nuseibeh, R. and Rashed, W., 2013. Managers' perception of dividend policy:
Evidence from companies listed on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Issues in Business
Management and Economics, 1(1), pp.001-012.
Ng, I., Parry, G., Smith, L., Maull, R. and Briscoe, G., 2012. Transitioning from a goods-
dominant to a service-dominant logic: Visualising the value proposition of Rolls-Royce. Journal
of Service Management, 23(3), pp.416-439.
Nobanee, H., 2014. Working capital management and firm's profitability: an optimal cash
conversion cycle. International Research Journal of Finance and Economics. March (120),
pp.13-22.
Ormrod, R.P., Henneberg, S. and O’Shaughnessy, N.J., 2013. POLITICAL MARKETING.
THEORY AND CONCEPTS. Politics, 26(2), pp.110-118.

18MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Saeidi, S.P., Sofian, S., Saeidi, P., Saeidi, S.P. and Saaeidi, S.A., 2015. How does corporate
social responsibility contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of competitive
advantage, reputation, and customer satisfaction. Journal of Business Research, 68(2), pp.341-
350.
Stowell, D.P., 2017. Investment banks, hedge funds, and private equity. Academic Press.
adfg.ae. (2017). Home. [online] Available at: http://www.adfg.ae [Accessed 3 Dec. 2017].

19MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Appendix
Figure1: Positioning map
Figure 2: CSR pyramid

20MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN