Said Baaghil’s advisory is about ‘Creating’ the ‘Space’ that brings great values to  brands, by providing the key benefit that makes organizations triumphant. You wish to own a category? You wish to lead? you need to go unconventional.

What is ‘Create Your Space’?

It is the strategy that helps Businesses capture their own category away from the cut-throat competition through sets of values they create and eventually own in the minds of their target segments

‘Create Your Space’ is to evolve your business from current standing to maximum returns through Strategized Branding and Marketing. The key to the success of Create Your Space is your business model

In today’s highly competitive market, it requires a business to offer far more than just quality, price and availability. It’s the values you bring to your current existence as brand or the new sets of innovative values you bring in as first market entrant. It’s either to evolve the category or revolutionize the market. The heart of the matter in Create Your Space is to be innovative in the proposed value while maintaining a deep understanding on three fronts:

• Business Model
• Branding
• Marketing

Deep understanding on both strategy and execution can lead to the success of ‘Create Your Space’ for your organization

What are the prerequisites to Create Your Space?

Not every organization is capable to have the resources to implement the strategy of “Create Your Space”.  The kinds of resources we expect from an organization, prior to strategizing, are:

1. Business Model
2. Defined Vision and Mission
3. Organizational Hierarchy
4. Intellectually Richness
5. Structured Operation

The above mentioned prerequisites are a must in order for us to move forward and strategize both Branding and Marketing to help Create Your Space

What is the core value and benefit of this strategy? 

For a business, to be able to own the category in order to improve top line growth and to gain a healthy bottom line each year

Would you push the organization to move away from their core business? 

No, we prefer the organization to stay focused but realize the opportunity within. Improve its current position and strengthen its leadership. As we have said before, each organization faces its own challenges, threats and opportunities. We determine the way forward for it after studying the current market situation and the organization’s own capabilities

What type of organizations can work with ‘Create Your Space’?

It can work with any organization whether it is an FMCG, General Retail, Hospitality or even Banking but before the idea comes the willingness of an organization to evolve and become a Leader rather than a follower. The willingness to embark on a journey that will evolve your business to today’s audiences’ needs and wants. This is why we audit organizations prior to engagements

Why do businesses need such strategy? How many of today’s businesses are struggling within their competitive categories? 

Not many, in fact, TOO many

Generally, the nature of businesses in the Middle East is to follow a trend. ‘Create Your Space’ is different, You Lead not follow. When you lead, you have Ownership of the category as well as the audience. Think of Pepsi in Saudi Arabia, Coke in the US & iPhone which has the most ownership within the Affluent segment across the globe

What is the current trend in the Middle East?

The old school thinks that Quality Product, Price, Location and Advertising are the key factors for success in Marketing. This is a three decade old Trade-centric thinking that was brought in by Multi-nationals who treated the Middle East as a mere trade zone. Unfortunately, the same mind-set remains prevalent across the region to this day despite the fact that today’s audiences are far more exposed to Brands (instead of commodities), are cultured when it comes their lifestyle preferences and are well informed (they’re aware of their needs and wants). You can’t treat commodities as Brands and expect different results

Can you share examples of “Create Your Space’ from existing Brands?

Great brands that set the example of “Create Your Space” are Apple, Google, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Five Guys, Chipotle and more. These brands evolved the category and are futuristic brands but even with growth they remained focused unlike Google who with growth is trying to become everything that’s digital which begs the question: Is digital the space? No digital is a shared value; digital lifestyle is the space and is an owned value by Apple. Each of these brands created want/demand and provided sustainable values that are consistent while remaining focused in their domain

What’s the space?

The space is the Value you offer; the single thing that gives more than one reason why your audience should be loyal to your Brand and to have that particular affinity with it. The space you own, not only through differentiation but also through everything that has to do with your Brand i.e. the entire value experience you offer. YES, this includes your Marketing Mix and Messaging/Communication

In a nut shell, it is the value of COMPLETELY Standing-out and being EXTREMELY Memorable without the use of Advertising

Can we find out how ‘Create Your Space’ Works?

Yes, invite Said Baaghil to your office for a 1-day session to explore your current business in which he explains to you how ‘Create Your Space’ will be relevant for your business

Does ‘Create Your Space’ work with struggling Brands? 

Yes, in fact, we love the challenge. In order to witness a higher degree of evolution we enjoy working with struggling brands. That’s where our immediate success story starts

Would ‘Create Your Space’ work with line extensions? 

It’s a tough call because Line extension is the carrying of existing Brand attributes. This will depend on the core Brand and Market positioning. In these kinds of cases, lots of changes are required but it mainly depends on how the Brand is performing

What works for you is to evolve in order to address the new/upcoming generation rather than revolutionize

Is ‘Create Your Space’ an Evolution or a Revolution? 

For existing brands, it is an Evolution but for new market entrants, it is a revolution with unique new business idea and new set of values. Existing Brands can’t eradicate their existing values but can ‘evolve’ those values

For new market entrants, it’s all about new and first-hand experience. It is a revolution that redefines existing competitive reality on its own terms

What determines a Revolution and Evolution?  

The requirements for each are completely different

Revolution is Apple’s new value propositions that kicked off in the mid 2000 such as the ‘i-products’. Apple revolutionized the digital lifestyle space by owning the digital way of life through value propositions

With ‘Create Your Space’, are you able to create new lines of products or services away from your core? 

Yes but we advise that it must be relevant to your current business for we are dictated by a business model you own. We must also ensure that new proposition is backed-up by a strong organization that is able to deliver the planned idea to the audience. Usually there is a massive gap between strategy thinkers and execution executives in many organizations in the Middle East which significantly threatens the success rate. We ensure that the alignment between the two is there or we decline the project

Many might ask: Is ‘Create Your Space’ just about Branding and Marketing? 

Brands are big business today. Without Branding and Marketing, hardly any organization can stand the chance to sustain growth. Both are dictated by the business strategy which must have great sense in order for Branding and Marketing to work.  Here, we’re not speaking of Branding in terms of logo designs and guidelines; we are speaking of strategy that will support your business model

Through ‘Create Your Space’ do you offer ideas for new businesses?

Yes, if needed, or we suggest on the existing set-up to enhance its success rate.  We don’t work on business strategy per say but we offer the business idea model of how you’ll able to attain revenues. The emphasis on the business idea is there because it’s the prerequisite for Branding and Marketing

 

Why do you have sets of rules on which organizations to work with?

To ensure success of ‘Create Your Space’, we decided to set a pre-qualification model that will help by taking into consideration your Company’s Mission, Vision, the Business Logic, Human Resources and Financial Resources, Organization Structure and Readiness to Evolve.  Both thinkers and executional minds of the organization must be Intellectually Rich, Time Efficient and Realistic Corporate Governing

Are there any guarantees to the success rate of this strategy?

The success rate depends on the companies’ willingness to evolve. We are your partners in this journey; however, the support you’ll provide to ensure the flow of the strategy from top to bottom with its own sets of rules will determine the success rate. It’s the responsibility of both parties and for this as well as other reasons we select companies that share our Visions and Values of Change.  We are determined to work with organizations that are well situated and well managed both internally and externally

Is Said Baaghil hands on every assignment? 

Baaghil is the mind behind “Create Your Space”. He attends every assignment and every session

Is ‘Create Your Space’ fairly new?

Not exactly. We combined our years of experience and other great success stories around the globe especially Said Baaghil’s success record, named the strategy and launched it in the region

The Middle East needs decisive change when it comes to Branding and Marketing.  The old school ways hardly work anymore and we have a lot of examples as case studies to prove it

Which type of businesses do you intend to advice? 

‘Create Your Space’ focuses on FMCG, Retail, Hospitality, Banking and Technology

How long do I have to wait for ‘Create Your Space’ to make my business succeed? 

Well, it really depends on multiple factors such as your Organizational Structure, your Management Process and Market Influence. The more structured you are with hands-on operations; the success rate becomes more evident in a relatively shorter period of time

What are the Risks? 

Every business has risks to contend with & clever Management assesses risks. If you’re losing Profits, going out of business or your Sales are drastically declining then you are already at Risk of going bust. ‘Create Your Space’ will either minimize your Risk or raise your business to higher grounds

Remember: We are Game Changers. We don’t work to improve your status-quo; we’re here to help you ‘Evolve’ from what is not working

What’s the Engagement period?

It varies from organization to organization, from values offered to readiness to Evolve, for example; a typical traditional organization will have a tremendous amount of hard time to adapt to ‘Create Your Space’ as it requires a certain mindset from the CEO to the bottom line. The Engagement could take from 3 months to 3 years depending on the organization and its readiness to adapt

Is it through Sessions or developed documents? 

We prefer to work together with our clients as a team by helping them to develop the strategy but the most important aspect of this is to ‘Live the Experience’ of how you “Create Your Space” understand the Values and the Experience you plan to bring to your Customers. You’re the Champion, We’re the support and continued advisory on the strategy which you and your team will be able to grasp as well as execute the strategy to be the full owner of your Market Leadership

Who are the participants? 

We like to work with Decision makers so we expect all executive to be the Core team during this process

Which countries do you cover? 

We’re here to help businesses Evolve; we’ll travel to different parts of the world if our clients require us to. Our priority for now is the Middle East as we believe there is a great potential for market change. The Old School in this region is hardly appealing to today’s audience which is why Change is Inevitable

What are the steps? 

• We audit the organization to see if they qualify for ‘Create Your Space’
• We look at their current market standing through existing Research
• Identify the Opportunity
• Organization’s commitment and readiness to Create their Space

Do you bring your own staff? 

No. We work with Decision makers to appoint a Core team in accordance with our advice

What’s the fee for the idea? 

Our fee varies based on the complexity of the organization and the Demand Evolution. We don’t have a fixed fee structure or a rate card simply because we’re bringing change to help those companies Evolve

How can we reach you? 

Email us at [email protected] and to answer you questions prior to our meeting.

Are there any professional consultants who have endorsed “Create Your Space”?

Yes, we presented the strategy to few consultants and this is what they have to say:

“Said Baaghil is a guru in branding and marketing. He has coined a strategic term” CREATE YOUR OWN SPACE” which is a new concept. This can drive marketing and branding professionals to the next level of business strategy”

Shan Saeed, Chief Economist/Investment Strategist at IQI Group, Malaysia and Singapore

“Said, your new model of “Create Your Space” is what I would term Creative Destruction. As you say head on competition is costly and a company that does so is one within a pack. By using your model and becoming a leader companies that may be unknowns today will be the Apples of the future. To truly lead and have a brand that dominates its market “Create Your Space” makes very good business sense”

Shah R. Alam, CEO at Lightwater Consulting LLC., Dallas, Texas, US 

“Effective brands understand their mission and values. Successful brands know their niche. Said Aghil Baaghil provides a model for your brand to create your space”

Rex Whisman, Founder and Chief Strategist at BrandED Consultants Group, Denver, Colorado, USA 

“Create Your Space strategy is a fantastic approach which the Middle East most notable Branding and Marketing Advisor and thinker Said A. Baaghil  has created and designed. His approach will help you create factually your own market space. This means no real competition since you have your own market. Said A. Baaghil who has successfully brought success to clients from Hong Kong to the Arab Gulf countries via Europe and the US is someone who succeeds due to his out of the box thinking. Not inviting Said A. Baaghil to your company is a mistake companies will regret”

Ramsi Al Hashas, VP Manufacturing at ARASCO, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

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‘Create Your Space’ is created, owned and designed by Said Baaghil. Exclusively brought to you by Said Baaghil.   To invite Said Baaghil to your office, please email us at b[email protected]