Managing Director
Ken McDermott (Mohammed Suhaib) has over 25 years' consulting experience in the Arabian Gulf. He started with MERAC in Bahrain in 1985 and it was during that time that he embraced Islam and traveled the Arabian Gulf managing research projects. After a consulting assignment with Almarai in Riyadh in 1989, he moved to the Saudi Industrial Development Fund where he managed a large team of Saudi researchers for over a decade. He rejoined MERAC (by then NFO Merac) in 2000 where he led the team on the famous ARAB AS CONSUMER™ project which profiled the lifestyles of Gulf Arabs and was bought by over 40 clients, which we believe is still a record in the region. Ken is an Arabic speaker and expert on Gulf Arab consumers - a lifelong fascination. He consults widely in the region with international and local companies, as well as the leading government departments. He is also a licensed EFQM Assessor.
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We initially took up the challenge of leading advertising experts who, whilst applauding the insights from ARAB AS CONSUMER™, pointed out that the market research industry had failed, up to that point, to crack the problem of understanding Saudi Youth - a critical segment as 70% of Saudis are under 30 years of age. It was a difficult assignment, but successfully completed after innovating a new methodology to overcome the reticence of Saudi teens in formal research sessions. Insights from this study led to the creation of our Advocate Marketing™ methodology which harnessed the power of Cool Guys and brought exceptional results for one of our clients. We are also proud that the Youth study helped remove the fear factor in advertising to young Gulf Arabs and was used in the creation of the award-winning Barbican campaign and other admired ads for Ford and Galaxy.
We were then invited by Dubai Municipality to address the mismatch between the skill sets of Gulf market researchers and the needs of the UAE Government sector which led to the introduction of our customized service for Customer Satisfaction, Employee Satisfaction and Mystery Shopping. We are pleased that our government clients feature at the top of the DGEP and Federal Government Customer Satisfaction rankings. In 2011, our client DEWA took 2nd place in the DGEP rankings, moving up from 15th place the year before - a remarkable collaboration with the management team at DEWA, which saw the implementation of 28 of our recommendations.
We enjoy working with ad agencies and have collaborated successfully on major advertising pitches in Kuwait and the UAE.
Of our many accomplishments to date, it is perhaps the respect of leading advertising agencies and Gulf Arab marketing experts that means the most to us.
We were then invited by Dubai Municipality to address the mismatch between the skill sets of Gulf market researchers and the needs of the UAE Government sector which led to the introduction of our customized service for Customer Satisfaction, Employee Satisfaction and Mystery Shopping. We are pleased that our government clients feature at the top of the DGEP and Federal Government Customer Satisfaction rankings. In 2011, our client DEWA took 2nd place in the DGEP rankings, moving up from 15th place the year before - a remarkable collaboration with the management team at DEWA, which saw the implementation of 28 of our recommendations.
We enjoy working with ad agencies and have collaborated successfully on major advertising pitches in Kuwait and the UAE.
Of our many accomplishments to date, it is perhaps the respect of leading advertising agencies and Gulf Arab marketing experts that means the most to us.
“In my experience, Quest has delivered pragmatic marketing solutions, based on solid data and exceptional insights of Saudi consumers.
When I was Marketing Director at P & G, I recognized Ken McDermott’s
exceptional analysis and strategy-building skills. It is because of Quest’s
ground-breaking work, executed under Ken’s leadership, that they have
become known for adept results.”
- Hani Khoja, Managing Partner, Elixir Marketing Consultancy.
When I was Marketing Director at P & G, I recognized Ken McDermott’s
exceptional analysis and strategy-building skills. It is because of Quest’s
ground-breaking work, executed under Ken’s leadership, that they have
become known for adept results.”
- Hani Khoja, Managing Partner, Elixir Marketing Consultancy.
“The best thing that I get out of Ken is that he is always fantastic on strategic brand direction.”
- Bader Aujan, Managing Director, Al Muhaidib Foods.
- Bader Aujan, Managing Director, Al Muhaidib Foods.
“I’ve always been impressed by how Quest live up to their name – always searching for better ways of doing things and always searching for results that have true value and worth in determining how brands develop and evolve.”
– Chris Bell, Chief Executive Officer, Face To Face Advertising.
– Chris Bell, Chief Executive Officer, Face To Face Advertising.
