Masdar Eco Villa as an Innovation Product in United Arab Emirates

Introduction

Firstly launched in the United Arab Emirates in January, 2017, Masdar City’s Eco-Villa of 405 square meters was presented as “the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free, city that will be 100% powered by renewable energy” (“Masdar Initiative,” 2008). Since that villa of future is assumed to give an opportunity to displace an estimated tons of carbon dioxide annually due to regular using less energy and water, it is possible to consider it absolutely new innovative product of life support not only in the United Arab Emirates, but also all over the world, which requires a thorough marketing analysis.

According to the British company "Foster and Partners", it is assumed that the citizens of Masdar City will become scientists who will conduct research on high-tech environmental projects, innovative implementations, and start-ups. The leaders of the Masdar Initiative claim that the main target group of sustainable real estate at Masdar buyers have to become about forty or “40,000 native citizens of United Arab Emirates” (Liang & Gang, 2010) employed with making a further contribution to the science development, innovative research, development and design of future ecological national projects. The city will also be intended at about sixty thousands of people who are expected to come to work daily to the newly-formed city permanently renting housing in a few kilometers from Abu Dhabi. According to Dey (2017), foreign buyers concerned with profitable investments of their capital in the real estate market of Abu Dhabi are interested in the project. Despite this, under the project, it was decided to populate the scientific intelligentsia of the United Arab Emirates in an innovative Masdar City with its Eco Villas.

4P Marketing Model

It must be said that the Eco Villa in Masdar City initiated by the government of the capital, according to the project, will fully comply with the provisions of the marketing mix model 4P. The demand for real estate in the eco-city should determine such basic components of the marketing model as a product, price, promotion, and place.

Product in Marketing 4P Model

From the position of the product as such Eco Villas’ ecologically clean nature, its non-waste character, ergonomics, and economy confirmed by numerous scientific researches and plans, it is obvious that the innovative real estate in Masdar is of high quality. In addition, in the future it is planned to build a big amount of business centers and office buildings, objects of social infrastructure, and even Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in the city.

Price in Marketing 4P Model

The decline in purchasing power due to the economic crisis in the last few years makes it possible to consider price as a factor of negative influence in the marketing model 4P for Eco Villa. However, it is assumed that the prices for real estate of the future will be accessible to people because the construction itself is the project of the authorities of the emirate of Abu Dhabi financed by it.

Promotion in Marketing 4P Model

Considering Eco Villa product from the side of such an element of the 4P model as a promotion, one can say that only one announcing about its prototype construction at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2017 made a sensation effect. An additional promotion of sales by using of advertising also takes place.

Place in Marketing 4P Model

The real estate market of the United Arab Emirates itself is an ideal place to sell such goods as Eco Villas. In addition, even the location of the property is in consistence with its marketing strategy. Despite the fact that the Masdar Eco Villas are located on the desert territories, it is proposed to reliably protect them from the hot sand winds by a high wall erected along the perimeter of the city. The city will have a beautiful landscape design with a lot of green streets so that there will be no critical heat. In addition, proximity to the capital will make transport interchange convenient and effective being arranged outside the city in order to prevent pollution. All these well-designed aspects demonstrate the advantages and benefits of buying a Masdar eco real estate. Therefore, it is possible to summarize that Eco Villas in Masdar City completely meets the marketing complex promotion of 4P.

SWOT Analysis

Appropriate in the study of Masdar Eco Villa construction as an innovation product in the United Arab Emirates and an ongoing and potential investment project at the same time is the conduct requiring a SWOT analysis. Such method of marketing as an analysis involves the preliminary identification and evaluation of all possible strengths, weaknesses, potential opportunities and threats of the product.

Strength and Weaknesses

Analyzing the opportunities and threats as internal factors determining the strategic planning of marketing activities in relation to Masdar Eco Villa, it is worth to say that an unconditional and absolute strength of this property in marketing is its uniqueness and originality for the buyer. No other developer in any other country in the world can offer the consumer a similar housing with energy-saving technologies, which automatically puts Masdar City with its Eco Villa in a position beyond competition from other construction companies and complexes. Thus, the British company "Foster and Partners" is the best in the market of environmentally sensitive real estate. As for the weaknesses, the same innovative nature of Masdar Eco Villa can also play a role of disadvantage for that part of the target audience of buyers who have conservative views and will not express a desire to have a home whose safety and convenience have not previously been tested by anyone. In addition, the very scientific-oriented planned specification of the city of the future limits the circle of persons who could be employed there and, therefore, have the opportunity to live there.

Opportunities and Threats

As for the opportunities for marketing eco real estate promotion in Masdar, it is worth attributing its open sale to the indigenous inhabitants of the United Arab Emirates. Everyone knows about its sale, and real estate can be purchased by anyone. Also, there is a future perspective of constructing similar villas in other cities and spreading the eco buildings over the county and abroad. Masdar Eco Villas are cost-efficient and convenient; they unite modernity, functionality, and sensitivity for environment. They are safe for human life and health. Restraining factors in the first stages of settlement of the Masdar Eco Villas are popularity and multiplicity of other construction projects on the territory of the United Arab Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi, and its surroundings along with which innovative buildings may not be so much in demand. In addition, over time, it is likely that the construction of such eсo-houses in the coming years will begin to acquire features of a sufficiently competitive industry, which requires a special care, innovative and effective approach to the formation of a proposal on the eco-housing market from the designers of the Masdar Initiative.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Masdar Eco Villa as an innovation product in the United Arab Emirates is considered by the country’s leaders to be an innovative world's first city that is fully supplied with solar and other renewable energy. The analysis allows us to state that the project of Masdar City with its Eco Villas having water and energy-saving technologies is a competitive commodity in the real estate market of the country. It has a great potential for sale and wide implementation in the construction industry of the United Arabian Emirates in the future.