Zyman, the first speaker on day two of the three-day IAA Congress underway in the Dubai International Convention Centre, is chairman and founder of marketing strategy firm The Zyman Group and former Chief Marketing Officer of The Coca-Cola Company.

He was named one of Time magazine's three key pitchmen of the 20th century.

Innovation says "Start with what you can manufacture and see if you can sell it,'' Zyman said. Renovation says "Start with you can sell and see how you can make it." Innovation is too often seen as a cure-all, and we forget that the thing that made us successful is not fully developed.'

"The better way of doing things is to trace what put you in business, your core essence - which is too often confused with core competence," Zyman said.    Renovation is grounded in a company's core essence, and combined with research provides a context for growth and defines what consumers will buy and provides it for them, he added.

The runaway success of Apple iPods, Zyman explained, is a perfect example of this strategy.   "Steve Jobs created a significant new paradigm by taking a good look at his business, and realising that Dell had taken much of it," he said.

"Jobs brought back the idea of graphic user interface (GUI), Apple's core essence, and combined it with the new trends in music sharing, downloads and mobility to create a new culture with all of us walking around with this sticking out of our ears."

And even with the challenges of globalisation, transaction dislocation and media fragmentation, marketing remains an integral part of any sound business, industry or even national political strategy, Zyman added.

"No one has ever made money by manufacturing stuff," Zyman said.

"You only make money by selling it, and marketing has the ability to get that done."