Khalid Said Al-Wahaibi, Chairman and Paul Flandinette, CEO, Brand Infiniti share their thoughts on the genesis and vision of the company. Mayank Singh reports.
Both of you share a passion for photography and videography. Is Brand Infiniti an extension of that passion or a serious effort at building a successful business?
Khalid: It is passion, but driven out of a need. Let me give you a brief background on how Brand Infiniti came into existence. I have always been interested in photography and started taking it seriously around five to six years back. I bought lights, photography equipment and set up a studio in my house. It was then that I realised that I did not know what to do with all the equipment. I was so frustrated that I just packed everything and left it untouched for almost a month. It was then that I met Bob McCaffrey, business development director, Brand Infiniti through my brother. I narrated to him my predicament and his response was very encouraging. He came to my house, and while I thought it would take him 10-15 minutes to set up the equipment, he took almost four hours. We spoke at length and I learned so much from him. It struck me at that moment that we were looking at getting quality photographs for advertising our Said Salem Al Wahaibi (SSW) Group of Companies (formerly known as Assarain Group of Companies). Moreover, I had heard people complain about lack of quality of photography in Oman.
That sparked a thought about having international quality works in the Sultanate and that too at a fraction of the cost, compared to outsourcing the same work to Europe or the US. It was therein that Bob and I thought of starting a small photography business. And that’s the way it all started. I met Paul and Abdullah Albalushi, vice chairman, Brand Infiniti through Bob. By sheer coincidence, our business was called Infinite Creative and Brand Infiniti was Paul’s company. In a month’s time we decided to bite the bullet and merged the two companies and that’s where Brand Infiniti in Oman was born. The mother company is Al Reem Creative and it includes Brand Infiniti which is in the corporate side of the business and Infinite Creative, which does the retail work like weddings and social functions.
Do you think that on the creative side things are changing, and there will be a demand for better quality work than what is the prevailing norm in the market?
Khalid: Yes definitely so. In a number of companies the second generation is coming into the business. They are people who have seen the world and want to bring in international standards to their business, communication and advertising. Though we are based in Oman and are an Omani company we want to take Brand Infiniti outside to the GCC region, MENA and probably worldwide. We already have a great team of multinational talent in our company and with their experience we can achieve this.
What are the synergies that have been created by the merger of Infinite Creative and Brand Infiniti?
Paul: Basically both the businesses are content creators. On the retail side, we are producing videos and still photography for weddings and social functions and this is a nice business to be in. The synergies are the same, but the communication mix is of a different level. We need to be able to understand the needs of our clients, what they wish to communicate, their aspirations, objectives, targets and deliver accordingly. All of this briefing information then needs to be interpreted into a creative structure. So it is a more complex process, as there are going to be many more stakeholders. There are bigger budgets involved, so the responsibility is more. We were talking about multi-channel communication and it all comes down to how creative content gets used. With a fall in oil prices, people are cutting budgets and a big part of our job is to see how we can create more impact for less and that takes skill and insights. It is not as simple as taking a small video and posting it on YouTube or showing it at the shareholders’ meeting. It’s about how you focus your entire communication plan in a way so that you have maximum effect on a broad range of communication channels. And this is absolutely vital now.
I would also like to touch upon a subject that Khalid mentioned earlier, that is, how businesses are trying to generate value for Oman. In-country value is a key part of our strategy as we want to generate business in the Sultanate for the Omani supply chain and that is our own ICV. The ICV of our clients would include using more skills based in Oman, so that they do not have to go to Europe or to the US. Right now, if a top level photoshoot or video needs to be created then most government organisations and companies think of  getting someone from outside; but with Brand Infiniti in Oman they don’t need to go abroad scouting for talent, as we can deliver the same quality at a more reasonable cost.
You are off to a promising start, where do you envision Brand Infiniti going from here?
Khalid: It is still early days, but I consider Brand Infiniti to be an SME. Omani companies are capable of going international as they have got the talent and intellect. It is just a matter of setting a goal and going after it in a targeted manner. We are not just talking about taking an Omani company abroad, but also giving Omani talent a chance to be recognised on a regional or global stage. Right now we have two very talented Omani employees. One of them is a very talented Omani photographer – Saeed Ali Al-Wahaibi. He has won many awards, but is still keen to learn; and therefore we see a lot of potential in him. I am confident that in the next few years he will not only be an ambassador of our company, but also grow as an ambassador of Oman, in the field of photography. On the marketing side we have an extremely talented lady called Nasriya Al Abri, who has a master’s degree in marketing. And interestingly, she also shares our vision. Nasriya took up the job as a challenge as ours is a business that is a bit ahead of the curve. We are bringing something new to the country and people need to believe in it, but things are happening.
You mentioned about being ahead of the curve. Do you think it is a bit premature for this market to sustain the kind of expertise that Brand Infiniti is bringing in?
Khalid: I won’t say premature, I would put it as bringing in new ideas, thoughts and technology that is presently not available in the country, so people see them as futuristic. We decided take a risk to push that thought process into the market and we have been successful in doing so. As a company we see a lot of interest and Brand Infiniti has already won some very good Omani companies as its clients.
Paul: Oman is a sophisticated and advanced trading nation, internally and externally; but there are plenty of opportunities arising out of the inward investment coming into Oman. This is going to generate more opportunities, but it will also lead to more competition for domestic companies and hence it is going to be very important as to how they compete in the marketplace. These companies will not have a chance to rest on their laurels; they will have to be aggressive in the marketplace. To be successful would necessitate new skills and capabilities, and I believe that this is what we are bringing in. The other thing that I would like to highlight is that we are aligning with some key partners. For example, we have tied up with Grayling – which is one of the world’s leading public relations and communication business, with offices in around 40 countries. Grayling will bring a huge expertise to companies in Oman. More importantly, they will be able to take out key messages of Omani companies which want to do business overseas to a global audience. It will also make the PR process easier and more cost-effective. Thus we bring a lot of value to the table for our clients.