Communicate | May 2011 by MediaquestCorp.

The marketing and advertising resource • May 2011 • Issue N° 77 • www.communicate.ae Profit without politics: RMS’s Nizar Nagro on making Rotana’s news channel work Page 46

Chat’s the way to do it: eBuddy’s Rogier van den Heuvel on Web Page 48 messengers

Ringing endorsement: Prototype’s Alex Rauser says it’s time to engage Page 58 with mobile

TELEVISION A news start Two new Arabic-language news channels are preparing to launch in the region. We speak to some of the people behind them, and other experts, to see whether the market is ready for the newcomers. (Page 40)

Marketing Branding buy-in Is an equity share in a client the ultimate statement of faith in the brand, or is it an overlap too many? We speak to executives from two agencies who have put their money where their marketing is, to see how (Page 52) they are getting on.

Opinion Trading places For this month’s Communiquestion we asked people in the industry what they would be if they weren’t in their current profession. There are a lot of aspiring architects. And some artists. And designers, (Page 18) drummers...

Tweeting

the lynx

Campaign Dog flight

The regional ad scene’s biggest awards show recalled 140 characters at a time. See if your Tweets from the big night managed to make the cut

(Page 62) Registered in Dubai Media City

A MediaquestCorp publication Egypt.................... E£ 10 Jordan.................... JD 4 Kuwait................. KD 1.2

Lebanon.........L£ 5 000 Morocco.............DH 22 Oman................ OR 1.5

Qatar.................... QR 15 Saudi Arabia......... SR 15 Switzerland........... SFR 8

Syria................... S£ 100 Tunisia................. TD 2.5 U.A.E....................DH 15

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time. Ahmed Qasim Seddiqi, the late founder of Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, opened the first store in Bur Dubai in the late 1940s. What started as one manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s passion over 60 years ago is today an Empire that brings luxury to the hearts of watch collectors. seddiqi.com

MAY 2011 | Letter from the editor

C for yourself L ike the selection of salty old sea dogs and naively intrepid explorers that frequent the ramshackle taverns of B-movie adventure films, the communications industry comes together from time to time to reminisce and look forward. The Dubai International Advertising Festival at the end of March was one such gathering. The old and venerable mixed with the young and keen to spin yarns and hatch plans. Some tell of adventures past, of the time they ruined Neil French’s retirement party or stood on Pamela Anderson’s dog. Others talk about the uncharted territory they will one day discover. That’s when Communicate starts waffling on about not the seven seas but the three Cs. (When I say Communicate, I really mean myself. The rest of the magazine’s staff are generally much more interesting, polite, and socially acceptable.) The three Cs are what will steer media in the coming years. They are convergence, curation and… Well, there has to be a third one. All good things come in threes: three Graces, three Stooges, three Amigos, three Cs of advertising. I’m still hunting for that third C, and have heard several good suggestions. Cynics have proffered cannibalism and chaos. Optimists say creativity. The more introspective say criticism. The latest suggestion I heard was collaboration: In

the new world order, everyone chips in to create content for media, marketing and advertising. It seems like a strong candidate. A couple of months ago in my editor’s letter I wrote about convergence and curation, and how YouTube is a good example of both. Television and Internet are converging on online video sites, and friends and experts help curate the content and steer us towards the good stuff. This month, the three Cs are again part of our cover story. It’s about the Dubai International Advertising Festival and the Dubai Lynx, probably the most anticipated regional awards show of the year. On the night, we took a laptop, logged into Twitter, and Tweeted from the event. If you follow @ CommunicateME and your phone was beeping like a Hollywood bomb, that was us. Sorry. Others were Tweeting too, and we decided that with all the content being created by the community at large, we should try to curate the best bits, converge Twitter and print, and publish the pick of the Tweets from that night as a collaborative form of coverage. This turns Twitter on its head, as usually Twitter points us towards magazine articles, rather than magazines publishing posts from Twitter. However, we like it (apart from the industry’s spelling, which is enough to reduce a sub editor to tears) and we hope you do too. Starting on

page 32 you’ll find eight pages of Tweets, the pick of more than 900 posts from the night. There is emotion, suspense, intrigue, grumbling, gear failure, and even some jokes. The Awards coverage comes straight after our coverage of the Festival (see page 24). This, too, is a collaboration of sorts: We offer our own summaries of a selection of the presentations, and then ask those in the audience what they took away from the talks. The industry’s old hands and fresh blood are watching the media landscape change. That landscape is a convergence of print, digital, television, content creation, planning, and a million other aspects of the industry. As we explore it, the findings need to be curated so we can collaborate to map out what comes next, and fill in those blank spaces marked “unexplored.” Whatever it looks like, finding out will be an adventure.

Austyn Allison, managing editor editor@communicate.vg

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| parsifal collection raymond-weil.com

Raymond Weil Boutique Dubai: Dubai Mall (04) 434 0830 Dubai Festival City (04) 206 6969 Also available at Al-Futtaim Watches & Jewellery Dubai: Deira City Centre (04) 295 2906 The Watch House Dubai: Mall of the Emirates (04) 341 0354 Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Mall (02) 645 2001 Popley Jewellers, Watches Corner and Paris Gallery outlets across the UAE.

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Contents | May 2011

Contents

COVER STORY: Dubai Lynx 24 25 32

We do some crowdsourcing at the main industry event of the year Over to you: We see what the audience thought of this year’s presentations at the Dubai International Advertising Festival A little bird told us: All of the action from the Dubai Lynx Awards – through the medium of Twitter

SHORTS 10

NEWS 12 14 16

Eyes say: User Vision knows where you’re looking

Television. Poll finds Al Jazeera is most trusted news channel Digital. Shankaboot wins International Digital Emmy award Digital. Google adds ‘‘plus-one’’ button

FEATURES 40 46 48 52

Television. News to us: We see whether two proposed Arabic-language channels can break into the market Q&A. Profit plan: RMS boss Nizar Nagro on Prince Alwaleed’s plans for expansion Digital. Talking point: Why chat client eBuddy is looking to Saudi Arabia and Egypt for growth Marketing. Branding buy-in: What happens when agencies invest in the brands they are marketing?

DEPARTMENTS 58 60 66

X-pert Files. Dialing in: With smart phone usage on the rise, now is the time for extreme engagement, says Prototype’s Alexander Rauser Work. Selections from the regional and international creative scenes The Dish. Cosmo, cures, and a capital cause

THE COMMUNIQUESTION 18

We ask the industry: If you weren’t in your current profession, what would you be?

May 2011 Published by: Medialeader FZ/MediaquestCorp Medialeader, P O Box 72184, Dubai Media City, Al Thuraya Tower 2, Office 2402, Dubai, Tel: (971) 4 391 0760

CO-CEO Alexandre Hawari CO-CEO Julien Hawari Managing Director Ayman Haydar CFO Abdul Rahman Siddiqui creative DIRECTOR Aziz Kamel Head of circulation Haries Raghavan, h.raghavan@mediaquestcorp.com Marketing Manager Maya Kerbage, m.kerbage@mediaquestcorp.com KSA GM Walid Ramadan, walid@ mediaquestcorp.com, Tel: +966 1 4194061 Lebanon GM Nathalie Bontems, nathalie@ mediaquestcorp.com, Tel: +961 1 492801 North Africa GM Adil Abdel Wahab, adel@medialeader.biz, Tel: +213 661 562 660 France Sales Director Manuel Dias,

dias@arabies.com, Tel: +33 1 4766 46 00

Founder Yasser Hawari Managing Director Julien Hawari Group managing editor Siobhan Adams Managing editor Austyn-Healey Allison journalist Sidra Tariq senior sub editor Elizabeth “Busy Lizzie” McGlynn ART DIRECTOR Sheela Jeevan ART CONTRIBUTORS Alvin Cha, Aya Farhat External Affairs Manuel Dias, Maguy Panagga, Catherine Dobarro, Randa Khoury, Lila Schoepf, Laurent Bernard PRINTERS Raidy Printing Group ADVERTISING The Gulf MEDIALEADER, PO Box 72184, Dubai Media City,

Al Thuraya Tower 2, Office 2402, Dubai, Tel: (971) 4 391 0760, Fax: (971) 4 390 8737, sales@mediaquestcorp.com Lebanon Peggy El-Zyr peggy@ mediaquestcorp.com, Tel: (961) 149 2801 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Walid Ramadan, walid@mediaquestcorp.com, Tel: (966) 1 419 40 61, Ghassan A. Rbeiz, ghassan@mediaquestcorp.com, Fax: (966) 1 419 41 32, P.O.Box: 14303, Riyadh 11424, Europe S.C.C Arabies, 18, rue de Varize, 75016 Paris, France, Tel: (33) 01 47 664600, Fax: (33) 01 43 807362, Lebanon MEDIALEADER Beirut, Lebanon, Tel: (961) 1 202 369, Fax: (961) 1 202 369 WEBSITE www.communicate.ae

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MAY 2011 | shorts

They’re watching you Communicate checks out User Vision’s software. It can tell who’s been peeking by Sidra Tariq

Chris Rourke. User Vision managing director

Jameel Is’haq. Business development exec, User Vision

computer tracks your eyes as you look at a website. It knows where you looked, how long you looked, and where you looked next. The ad you caught a glimpse of, the text you skimmed, and the section you swore you never looked at. Every glance, no matter how surreptitious, can be tracked. Luckily for those with wandering eyes, only willing volunteers will be monitored. User Vision, an independent company offering cross-platform user experience research, usability testing, interaction design and Web accessibility, is expanding to the UAE. Managing director Chris Rourke says the company, which mainly operates in Europe, is due to open its Dubai offices in a few months. Among its other services, it advises clients on how to improve user experiences on their websites and other platforms. Among other technology, User Vision’s eye tracking can, well, track subjects’ eyes as they move around websites, television ads, prints ads, mobile phones and more. And special glasses can track eye movements in real-life situations such as shopping trips to stores and supermarkets. Communicate recently went to a media briefing held by the company. At the end of the presentation, Rourke

asked if anyone would like to volunteer for the eye tracking demo. Communicate was tempted. But do we want others to know where we look? Uhh… No. So we sat still and waited for someone else to volunteer. Thankfully, someone did. He was asked to sit in front of a computer and first had to follow a red dot moving across the screen, watching carefully as it stopped and got smaller. Then he was asked to go to the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (DEWA) website and try to find the DEWA office nearest to the Umm Ramool area in Dubai. (That’s not an easy task.) Once the task was over, Rourke played a video that showed a moving red dot on the screen, demonstrating how the volunteer’s eyes had moved around the page. The dot expanded in areas he looked at longer. A numbered “gaze trail” is a join-the-dots map showing this movement, and attention can also be depicted as a “heat map,” which shows the intensity with which people view different parts of the screen. Jameel Is’haq, business development executive at User Vision, says that while gaze trails are better for interpreting each test subject’s reactions, “heat maps are more powerful when you collectively look at everyone.” The

data can be used to compare “areas of interest” within a page as well. User Vision’s technology can also help interpret reactions to websites and ads; pupil dilation and blink rate can show the depth of emotion content evokes. User Vision is keen to talk to ad agencies, adds Rourke. He says his company could help back up agencies’ work or ideas with “empirical evidence,” collected using tools such as eye tracking and emotion research. “The eye tracking or the emotionresearch on the ads, for instance, will show which ad really has that stopping [power or] connects with users. That needs to be weighed up with qualitative discussion – we like, we don’t like – [to determine] which one will have that physiological ‘Wow’ factor.” What interests Communicate most are the glasses test subjects can wear to stores. These can record a video of where a shopper looked, to help clients figure out whether and how quickly subjects notice their products or ads in-store. So far the glasses are only being used for research purposes and on selected test subjects. But if they were to go up for sale in the market, we’re pretty sure girlfriends and wives would be the first ones to buy them for their partners.

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MAY 2011 | Regional news

Al Jazeera “most trusted”

Poll conducted by YouGov for Grayling Momentum finds favorite news channel

 I advertising JWT Dubai lands Air Miles account

Dubai. JWT Dubai has won the creative account for Air Miles, Rewards Management Middle East, following a competitive pitch. The agency will advise Air Miles on its strategic direction for 2011 onwards, and will deliver through-the-line creative services for the regional rewards program. Expression wins Dubai Chamber Dubai. Independent ad agency Expression has been appointed by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry to handle its new marketing and brand strategy. The nonprofit picked Expression following a three-way pitch. Expression managing director Scott Feasey says, “Dubai Chamber is a fantastic and distinctive organization. Our job is to raise its profile both locally and internationally.” It works to represent, protect and support Dubai’s business community. Dubai. Al Jazeera TV’s Arabic news channel is both the most watched and most trusted source of news, according to a survey conducted for independent PR consultancy Grayling Momentum. The survey was conducted at the end of March by YouGov Siraj among 1,509 respondents in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Overall, 52 percent of respondents say Al Jazeera is their favorite news channel, with 44 percent agreeing it is the most trusted. Guy Taylor, managing director of Grayling Momentum in the Middle East, says, “At a time when appetites for news have clearly increased, TV remains the most popular source. While social media has hit the headlines for putting forward new ideas and opinions, understanding how issues are reported is crucially important to our clients and our industry.” The results indicate some curious discrepancies between popularity and

trust, reflecting a trend in society for objective, no-holds-barred reporting. For example, in Saudi Arabia, respondents rank their local news channels fifth in terms of popularity, with a 25 percent score, compared to 66 percent for Al Arabiya and 62 percent for Al Jazeera. Local TV news scores only 10 percent in terms of trust, compared to 50 and 49 percent for the most-watched channels. TV audiences in the UAE tend to be more fragmented, reflecting the demographics and viewing habits of the country. However, Al Jazeera still comes out on top in terms of popularity at 42 percent, with 38 percent saying it was the most trusted. BBC World News (English) was ranked second, with a significant 35 percent saying it was both the most watched and most trusted channel, followed by CNN at 32 percent and 30 percent respectively. Sky News was ranked 10th with only 7 percent.

quality and team composition, and financials to support the preceding,” she says. “We saw and heard some really good presentations (which did not include any speculative creative work) from all three agencies which participated, and Leo Burnett presented a comprehensive case for retention based on an optimal combination of team quality, output quality and financial efficiency.”  I pr Rebecca Hill steps down as MEPRA executive director

Dubai. After three years of leading the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA), Rebecca Hill is stepping down as executive director. According to a statement by the association, the search for a replacement is still on. Audi appoints Grayling Momentum as PR agency

Dubai. Audi Middle East has appointed Grayling Momentum as its PR agency. In its role, Grayling will be responsible for handling all PR- related topics (press releases, media relations, test drives, and so on) for the brand, a press statement says. The agency has already started working on different projects for the brand, it adds.

Leo Burnett retains du account Dubai. Telecommunications service provider du has decided to retain Leo Burnett as its creative agency of record, says Hala Badri, executive vice-president of brand and communications at du. “Our review process centered around category knowledge, deliverables against a scope of work, talent,

Toh Public Relations acquires Platform 67 Dubai. Toh Public Relations, a consumer PR agency with offices in Dubai and London, has acquired Platform 67, a UAE lifestyle PR firm founded by Jana Khoury in 2007. “We have the highest respect for the work Platform 67 has done to date, and look forward to taking their clients forward and building our presence in the region,” says Sophie Toh, company founder.

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MAY 2011 | Regional news

Shankaboot wins International Digital Emmy

Lebanon. Lebanon’s Batoota Films was awarded an International Digital Emmy for its work on Shankaboot, the Arabic-language Web series. This is the first time a Lebanese production company has won the accolade, which is considered to be the television equivalent of the Oscars or Grammy Awards. One of four multi-media projects to be nominated in the Digital Program (fiction) category, Shankaboot beat competition from cutting-edge productions from the UK, the Netherlands and Brazil. The ceremony was held in Cannes, France, against the backdrop of the MIPTV 2011 television festival. “Most people associate Lebanon with war and sectarian conflict, but Shankaboot has nothing to do with politics. It’s about the spirit of Beirut and love of its people. This award is another testimony to the growing power of social media and the youth of the Arab world,” says the  I TELEVISION TSL to fit out Sky News Arabia studio Abu Dhabi. TSL, a broadcast systems integrator, has signed a deal to deliver the technical fit-out of studios, production and broadcasting functions, for Sky News Arabia, the new 24-hour Arabic news channel due to launch in spring 2012. Sky News Arabia is a joint venture between British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) and Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation (ADMIC), a private investment company based in Abu Dhabi.

producer of Shankaboot and director of Batoota Films, Katia Saleh, who collected the Emmy statuette with Bass Breish, the lead scriptwriter. “I am extremely proud of Shankaboot being the first Arabic web series to achieve such international recognition, especially as we are a small country where Internet connections can be agonizingly slow,” says Breish. Amin Dora, the director of Shankaboot, says, “I hope this award will encourage other Lebanese filmmakers to push back their creative boundaries as we have tried to do in Shankaboot.” Launched in March 2010, Shankaboot is a drama tinged with comedy. It combines witty, social observations with an edgy shooting style and naturalistic acting, a press statement says. The storylines capture the mood and spirit of Beirut, it adds. The heroes of Shankaboot are ordinary people who are confronted by familiar dilemmas.

 I MEDIA Turret to launch daily paper Abu Dhabi. Turret Media Publications, the Abu Dhabi-based publisher of Abu Dhabi Week magazine, is reportedly planning to launch an English-language newspaper in Abu Dhabi. The media company has posted a job ad in UK newspaper The Guardian announcing an opening for an editor’s position for the new publication, along with other senior staff positions. The positions advertised include chief sub, production editor, features editor, advertising sales manager, staff writers, sales executives and designers. “We are building a team for the launch of a new local daily print publication in Abu Dhabi,” the ad reads. It adds, “We want to be doing dummies in a matter of weeks.” A tight-lipped spokesman at Turret Media would only tell Communicate “There’s nothing to say.” Real ROI launches in region Dubai. Real ROI, a research, retail and marketing company, is launching in the Middle East. Chief marketing officer Arnaud Verchère (who also runs Tonic Communications), tells Communicate, “Real ROI brings research and retail innovations fundamental to every marketer’s success: co-creation, content creation and amplification in social media, influencing influencers, and motivating retail at the point of purchase.” One of Real ROI’s partners is eYeka, an international co-creation community.  I radio Study indicates increase in listener loyalty for ADRN Abu Dhabi. The latest results from a study show an increase in reach, share of audience, and listener loy-

alty across Abu Dhabi Radio Network (ADRN) brands, according to a press statement. The UAE radiometry study was carried out by independent media research specialists Ipsos MediaCT MENA in February, with results published at the end of March. Highlights from the report include an increase in reach to 47 percent of locals and Arabs for the station Quran Kareem, as well as growth in reach to 32.7 percent of locals for Emarat FM, with listeners also tuning in to the station for longer. Star FM also saw growth in its reach and listener loyalty, especially among its target Arab demographic. Meanwhile, newcomer Abu Dhabi Classic made a positive impression on the radio scene as the first western classical music station, and increased its reach among Arabs and locals, the statement adds. The latest report is based on a sample of 2,763 people, aged 15 years and above, in the UAE. I marketing Marketing agency Paragon expands into Oman Kuwait City. Paragon Marketing Communications, a Kuwait-based full-service integrated marketing communications agency, is expanding its operations from Kuwait and Bulgaria into Oman. The move will help the agency cater to a wider market geographically, with the northern Gulf market being handled through the Kuwait branch, the southern Gulf region through the Omani branch. The Bulgarian office will handle Eastern Europe. Go to our Web site for the full stories: www.communicate.ae

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MAY 2011 | International news

Google adds “plus-one” button Google has added its take on the “like” button – which it is calling the “plus-one” – in its latest bid to make search more social and combat the growing dominance of Facebook. Google allows users to vote plus-one on search results they find useful, and to share that preference with their connections in Gchat, Gmail, Google Reader, Buzz and, soon, Twitter. Users will see both the total number of plus-one votes, as well as the names and photos of their contacts who have stated a preference. First-time users click on a plusone button, upon which they will be prompted to create a Google profile and adjust their privacy settings.  I MEDIA Mediabrands moves to new global structure Mediabrands, the Interpublic Group of Cos. media unit, has changed its global structure. Most large agencies are structured around four key geographic regions: North America; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and Asia Pacific. Mediabrands has shifted from those traditional regions to three clusters: G14, world markets, and North America. It has scrapped a decades-old model, declaring that its setup and that of all other global agency networks is antiquated. The change applies to both of its global media agency networks, Universal McCann and Initiative.

The G14 unit includes the agencies’ operations in: Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain, The Netherlands and the UK. The World Markets group includes: Austria, Belgium, Greece, the Middle East, Peru, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey and Vietnam. Mediabrands’ global CEO Matt Seiler, says the move reflects a change

It’s the first time Google has added a direct social signal into search results. Over time, Google will integrate the

plus-one into the search algorithm itself so human votes will have an impact search ranking.

in the way marketers do business, one he claims is less about geography and more about priorities for growth and pinpointing where the world marketing investment will be most valuable.

just 0.7 percent, and the Middle East by 0.1 percent. The biggest gainers will be China, Russia and Brazil. According to ZenithOptimedia, China is slated to overtake Germany to become the world's third-largest ad market by 2013, just behind Japan. Brazil is expected to overtake France this year, and become the sixth largest, while Russia is expected to rise from 12th place to 10th. When looking at ad spending worldwide by medium, it’s clear that reports of the death of the TV spot have been largely exaggerated. TV remains, by a wide margin, the largest medium, and its slice of the ad pie is increasing. By 2013, ZenithOptimedia predicts it will count for 41.7 percent of all ad spending. While TV will reign supreme for the foreseeable future, digital channels continue to attract more dollars globally, with ZenithOptimedia predicting digital advertising will become the second-biggest medium by 2013, overtaking newspapers.

 I advertising Global ad spending to grow by only 4.2 percent The political turmoil in Egypt, coupled with the earthquake and its aftermath in Japan, will account for a $2.4 billion loss this year in global ad expenditures, according to a new forecast from Publicis Groupe media agency ZenithOptimedia. Although the sector overall is experiencing continued growth, the agency is already pulling back on its initial estimates for 2011. The agency now predicts global ad spending will rise by 4.2 percent this year, down from the 4.6 percent boost it forecast in December. And those estimates could further sink depending on how many obstacles to returning to normalcy Japan faces. Developing markets, which ZenithOptimedia defines as everywhere outside North America, Western Europe and Japan, will raise their share of the global ad market from 30.9 percent in 2010 to 35.1 percent in 2013, ZenithOptimedia estimates. The US is expected to grow by 2.5 percent next year to $151 billion in major media (excluding direct mail, public relations and events), while Japan is expected to grow

Google is also adding the ability to vote plus-one on search ads. Internal tests have shown that plusone votes increase clicks. Google won’t charge for the functionality, but expects better ads to return more plus-ones and, in turn, more clicks. Higher click-through rates can improve quality scores, meaning marketers with better ads could pay less for a given keyword or position. In addition, Google will allow publishers to add the plus-one button, so users can vote on content outside of search, and ultimately improve the ranking of that content in organic search results. Amazon offers cheaper Kindle with on-screen ads

Amazon will charge readers $25 less for a Kindle, as long as you don't mind seeing ads on it, the company says. The $114 Kindle With Special Offers won't introduce advertising within Kindle books, but will display ads on the bottom of the home screen and on its screensaver. Whether a one-time saving of $25 will entice many readers to accept ads near their reading remains to be seen, but Amazon has positioned its new offer as a benefit for consumers. "We're working hard to make sure that anyone who wants a Kindle can afford one," says Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. The first deals to show up on the home screen of the Kindle With Special Offers will include $10 for a $20 Amazon gift card; $1 for an album in the Amazon store; and $6 for six Audible books, which would normally cost $68. Buick, Olay, Visa and the Amazon. com Reward Visa Card are sponsoring the first screensavers on Kindle with Special Offers.

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MAY 2011 | OPINION

The Communiquestion

Trading places

We ask the industry: If you weren’t in your current profession, what would you be? HUBERT BOULOS Head of strategic planning, JWT I asked myself that question a long time ago when I was a lawyer and decided to become an adman. I have never regretted it. If I were to change today, I’d like to run a bed-and-breakfast in Provence. However, if I were to ever come back to Earth again, here are my top three choices: 1. Quarterback in the NFL (the American football professional league) 2. Three-star Michelin chef 3. Hollywood scenario writer TONY ORSTEN CEO, twofour54 I would be a professional golfer. I don’t play golf, but it just looks like amazing fun – and it’s quite well paid. JAIKUMAR MENON Vice-president, MCN Media I would be teaching mathematics at a good college or university. YOUSEF TUQAN TUQAN CEO, Flip Media An architect. I think that a lot of what we do at Flip is like architecture, but I would love to build real concrete, steel and glass structures that would outlive me. Maybe when my midlife crisis hits, I’ll go and study architecture instead of buying a Harley and growing a ponytail.

FADI CHAMAT General manager, PHD Abu Dhabi I would have devoted myself to my biggest passion, which is Manga (anime), and studied it in Japan, and eventually made a career out of it. KAMAL DIMACHKIE Managing director, UAE, Kuwait and Lower Gulf, Leo Burnett An architect. I have always loved architecture because of the creative freedom it gives to marry basic living needs with aesthetic visual expression. Each venture means you can use a totally new and different lens to shape your vision and inner originality. GEORGES BARSOUM Managing director, Saudi Arabia, Leo Burnett I would be miserable. YVES-MICHEL GABAY General manager, MEC MENA I started my studies to become a chiropractor, and as I was already a ski instructor, I was planning to work in the Alps doing those two jobs – ski instructor and chiropractor – in Courchevel, the famous French ski station. But actually, I love advertising and media, so I don’t really think I could have done something different in my life, even if sometimes I dream of working in the field of my passions – watches and old motorcycles. Maybe I will reconsider this when I’m retired.

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MAY 2011 | OPINION

SYLVIA SHOHDI Client leadership director, Mindshare Dubai I would be a fashion designer. I have always had an eye for fashion, particularly how some materials fit on certain bodies better than others. I am a terrible artist, though. I can never possibly express myself in drawings. I would have to hire a magician – one that is a mind reader and an artist at the same time – to sketch my designs. I consciously understand what people look for in a certain design; I always see things in shops and say, “If only this flared like this or like that.” And, yes ladies, keeping up with fashion is not easy, or comfortable, to say the least. NASSIB BOUERI CEO, Y&R & Wunderman I would have been a lawyer. SAWSAN GHANEM Managing director, Active PR Difficult one this… It’s a toss up between a well-being and human psychology consultant, or an edgy, wayout-there fashion designer. DIMITRI METAXAS Executive regional director of digital, OMG I have my series-three license in commodities trading from back in the US; I loved the pace and buzz of generating positive returns for clients, but the industry has egos the size of small countries. Almost as big as in advertising. HERMANN BEHRENS CEO, The Brand Union Middle East A serial entrepreneur, starting and incubating companies and then leaving the leadership team to run them.

MOUNIR HARFOUCHE CEO, Lowe MENA I’d be in a mental asylum, being treated after a severe brain shock due to realizing that there is something called life, the world, the sun, the moon, the stars, people, cars, beaches, day time, night time, birds, family, friends... AZHAR SIDDIQUI General manager, Magna Global I don’t know what I would be, but what I would like to be is a retired billionaire (at age 32). DAVID PORTER Media director, Unilever MENA Bored, unless money were no object. In which case I’d spend every minute I could seeing the world with my family, playing music and writing. Hadi jawad Regional group director research, M-Services MENA Most likely a chef. It is definitely my passion to cook in creative ways. Every year during Ramadan, I gather with some of my friends and prepare the iftar meal for them. They always finish the food and compliment the cooking. (I am not sure if they really like it, or are too hungry to dislike it.) JEAN-CHARLES DECAUX Co-CEO, JC Decaux I would have liked to be an architect. That’s something I like very much, and that’s why my business is a fascinating business. I like design, because I think it’s something that relates to a lot of things that I enjoy. With architecture, you transform things. Architecture, over the years, has always been a major transforming discipline for all civilization. I love architecture.

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MAY 2011 | OPINION

SUNIL JOHN CEO, Asda’a Burson-Marsteller Like so many of us in the industry, I began my career as a journalist. I loved that job and continue to admire the great work done by so many hardworking journalists here in the region and worldwide. Honestly, though, I love what I do now even more, and take great pride in our success. I can’t imagine doing anything else. MICHEL BORT Client relationship director, Kassab Media An architect, or maybe working for Room to Read (Roomtoread.org) with John Wood, whom I respect and admire tremendously. RAMZI RAAD Chairman & CEO, TBWA\Raad No question, I’d be a painter (if you can call painting a profession). I am so keen to continue the work I started during the 2008 summer vacation – and I worked on it briefly during the past two summers – of capturing more of the old handicrafts and professions of our region on canvas. This fascinating exercise entails researching via village elders the old services like the cotton stuffing of mattresses, the copper and silver plating of cooking utensils, the old methods of baking bread in one’s backyard, selling of beverages on the street, etcetera. Then starts the word-of-mouth search for people who are still using these old methods, photographing them, and finally capturing the right scene on canvas. I am sure to develop into a painter whose works are sought after before too long. ZOYA SAKR Editor-in-chief, anaZahra.com A fashion stylist.

YOANN EL JAOUHARI Sales and marketing director, JC Decaux Middle East and Africa Someone from a jazz band, probably playing the drums. I have loved jazz my whole life. ANDREW ROBERTSON President and CEO, BBDO Worldwide I was asked that question once in the 80s and I wanted to be the CEO of Channel 4 television in the UK. I thought that would be a great job. And one morning I was driving to work, and it was announced that Michael Grade was resigning from Channel 4 and they were going to be looking for a new CEO. It was one of those moments where you think, I’ve thought about this for so long, do I… And I quickly concluded that I wasn’t serious, even though I thought I was. I do know how I like to spend my day. I like to spend my day with other people. And I like a very varied diet. So I don’t know what it would be, but it would have those two things: I wouldn’t work on my own, and I’d have a very varied diet. MARWAN QUTUB CEO and co-founder, 3Points Advertising I would be in another entrepreneurial journey that is also linked to building great brands – like Richard Branson with Virgin. CHUCK BRYMER Worldwide president and CEO, DDB I think I’d like to build boats. Is that weird? I love the water, I love the ocean, and I love the craftsmanship that people create when they create a water vessel, a boat. So, I would like to build boats.

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Take it away Communicate polls the audience at this year's Dubai International Advertising Festival to see what messages the industry took from this year's speakers by Sidra Tariq

he Dubai International Advertising Festival kicked off on Sunday, March 27, with the screening of British street artist Banksy’s documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop. While the Lynx awards night is always the headline draw of the festival, the seminars and workshops held during the event can be a good chance for the region’s creatives to crawl out from behind their Macs to listen, learn, network and pick up and share

Speaking human – The language of people Mark Tutssel Chief creative officer, Leo Burnett Worldwide Michael Canning Creative director, Leo Burnett Today is the most exciting time for the communications industry, and it is important for brands to speak the language of people – to “speak human.” Brands that speak human give something real, honest and authentic to talk about. The brands that are most proficient at speaking human are “humankind brands.” “Humankind brands are those that project a clear sense of purpose and deliver that purpose through acts. They activate and amplify that purpose in the most imaginative ways, using every single communication channel available to them to create that conversation and create that connection with people.” Audience reaction: Naji Bardawil Manager – digital marketing & CRM, Dubai Properties Group “[The speakers suggested] that as a brand you need to be speaking to your consumers more as a human, as a being, rather than as a product or service or an organization with policies, procedures and rules and regulation. “Approach it more from the human side of things; interact directly with them, and get them involved.”

ideas. Most of the sessions at this year’s festival showed industry works and revolved around the concept of continued consumer engagement and tools – such as creativity, technology, and social media – that can be employed to create that level of influence. Over the following pages we present the highlights of some of those sessions, including what you – our audience – gained from them.

However, he says that some brands are not always in a place where they can speak human and that it takes some time to get there. “If your brand has some issues, your product has some issues, or you are growing and you are not quite there yet, how can you then embrace something like this when your customers might not see you yet as a brand, service or product that can be a human?” Fueling the new digital revolution Simon Bond Chief innovation officer, Proximity Worldwide In this digital age, it is consumers who have the control. “The world has changed because technology has democratized the world that we live in,” he says. Just as people look back at the industrial revolution, people in the future will look back at our age as the social revolution. Word-of-mouth is the strongest form of communication, and technology acts as an amplifier for it. Hence, brands need to understand how to start getting involved with this “fueling of the new generation.” They need to “get out of the mentality that it is all about campaigns” and focus on continued engagement. However, “don’t just jump into social media and think it will be a success.”

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Audience reaction: Scott Feasey Managing director, Expression “[The session was about] getting a positive consumer engagement through innovation, mostly online and digital,” says Feasey. “It was about getting positive interaction and engagement from consumers so they actually promote your brand, and a simple loading up of a Jpeg on Facebook can get you 20 million people looking at it – [if you do it] in the right way.” Although this region is slow to start, he says, “there’s a definite move to empower the consumer to talk about your brand a little bit better than they are at the moment.” Doubt: Unconventional wisdom from the world’s greatest S**t disturber Paul Lavoie Chairman, Taxi “Doubt the Conventional. Create the exceptional.” This is the message Lavoie tries to convey to agencies through his talk. He talks about Taxi’s new book which personifies the notion of “Doubt” as a character. Lavoie says that unless you doubt convention, you’ll keep looking at problems in the same way. “With doubt, you have a much bigger chance of doing things that are a little more spectacular, and bigger ideas become possible.” Audience reaction: Sara Al Tuwaijri Creative planner, DDB “The complete message was very interesting: ‘Doubt the conventional. Create the exceptional,’” says Al Tuwaijri. “And this is something in the creative process you actually want to do; but it is not really easy to do that. Doubt in the beginning of the process is very good for you, but not at the end of the process.” “The rejection part is very important – because you work a lot and then you get a rejection [from the clients]. What [Lavoie] was trying to say is, ‘Make “No” your bitch.’ So it is something that would make you stronger rather than put you down,” she says. Al Tuwaijri adds that another point of Lavoie’s that resonated with her is, “Pitching is a waste of intelligence, and we should stop pitching. We should figure out a way to use credentials as advertisers or creators. For instance, my name would be enough or my reputation would be enough, rather than three agencies pitching for one product or client.” Nohad Mouawad Strategic planner, FP7 Dubai The main point Mouawad took away from the session is to think differently and to give one’s work a second thought. “In this region especially you’ve always got to take a step back and say, ‘How can I question what’s going on and come at it from a different angle?’ Because that makes the best work.”

The Middle East independent agency showcase Julian Boulding President, thenetworkone Ali Ali Creative director, Elephant Cairo Fadi Mroué Founder & creative director, République Yousef Tuqan Tuqan CEO, Flip Media The world is recognizing the need for independent agencies, says Boudling, before he introduces Mroue, Tuqan and Ali – three heads of independent agencies. Mroue says that one thing République aims to keep consistent is originality, adhering to the concept of “newness.” “In literal terms, it is a word that describes freshness, novelty and originality; but it is also something that evokes the feeling of first experiences and new discovery,” he says. “Newness is about changing the existing status quo. It is about following your own rule and knowing when to break it. It is about fearlessness and bravery. The word, in all its meaning, essentially defines us as an agency.” Touqan has worked in the Middle East for 15 years. “There have been three major changes in the Middle East that have changed things for us growing up here. First, the Internet happened, then it went mobile, and then everything went social,” he says. Arabs, he says, love to talk, and social media is just another way to get the conversation going. However, “Arab governments really like control; and they really haven’t figured out why they have to let go of it.” People are always faster than brands and governments, he says. “If brands and governments don’t do their job, somebody else will do it for them.” Ali talks about Elephant Cairo’s approach to advertising and gives a few tips. "It’s about not thinking about the client at all. When we start to work on a brief, we start to think of who are the people [the ad is addressed to]. … It’s not about whether the client will like it,” he adds. “Your client is not here to tell you what is good and what is bad. Your client is here to pay for the ad. You are here to make amazing things happen on the screen.” Ali says that very few consumers are willing to believe that brands can “change your lives,” so brands and agencies should stop saying that. “With YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and the revolution that is going on [in Egypt] it is clear that people are very smart. Let’s not talk down to them any more.” “Big agencies are dinosaurs,” he says. “But independent creative shops are obsolete as well. I think now is the time for a one-man agency. Anyone with a $500 Canon camera and YouTube account can kick all of our asses. And this is the realization we all need to come to,” he says. Audience reaction: Kornelia Maria Witecka Brand manager, Hamac Dubai “The most important [point] for me was never end up with a good idea, always search for the best. Come up only with one idea for every customer,” says Witecka.

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Shane Martin Executive producer, Boomtown Productions “[The session] was just about being new, different, original. It was about communication. The most informative and entertaining and, I’d say, revolutionary thing I’ve seen at the Lynx,” says Martin. He adds that one of the main points he learned from the session was “that you can be different and still be successful, and you can break the traditional mould; that has sort of kept the agency a bit creatively hide-bound for a long time, so I found it very exciting, [and] inspirational.” President’s address: Creative blockbusters Armin Jochum Chief creative officer, Jung von Matt Jochum talks about how to make “creative blockbusters” – great work that resonates with people. “Don’t spend all day thinking about 360-degree rubbish. Think about the real 365-days-a-year dialogue,” he says. In other words, instead of limiting communication to campaigns, one should focus on keeping the consumer engaged throughout the year. In order to create a “creative blockbuster,” there are certain points that one has to keep in mind, says Jochum: It’s not about the money, it is all about the story; if there is no big story, draw a big picture; be the first man on the moon; a good laugh starts a good relationship; if you can't tell it, sing it; don't talk, listen Audience reaction: Maher Abouzeid Group general manager, Lower Gulf, Publicis Graphics “[The presentation] had a lot of ideas from different parts of the world. I liked the fact about putting a smile on the face of the viewer; this is important to attract his attention. But then, where is the meat, as they say? From then on you should have a very enticing and grounded communication,” says Abouzeid. “We need the communication to interest you, so much so that you want to share it with somebody else.” Khaled Shuwail Saudi student “Most of [the session] was about thinking outside of the box, and it’s not about giving advertising to people or to consumers; it’s about telling them a story,” say Shuwail. He adds that he particularly liked “the last point [made by Jochum], which is the story part, or the song part: If you don’t know how to say it, just sing it. Because I think [with] singing, you will link it or remember it any time.” President's address: Social media Mike Cooper Worldwide chief executive officer, PHD Cooper presents the results of a number of studies on social media from around the world, and highlights the impact of social media and the results it can bring. One

study he quoted estimated the value of a Facebook fan to be $136.38, while another puts the value at $3.60. Another study, which looked at 100 top global brands, shows that well-managed companies are taking social media very seriously, says Cooper. “It demonstrates a clear correlation between sophistication in social media and the financial performance of companies.” Audience reaction: Feras Sobh Graphic designer, TBWA\Raad “As a graphic designer, we work a lot with the digital at my agency, so it is very important for me to know about these numbers and figures… to see if my work is successful enough… or just to get an idea of which level I am at with my specific work right now,” says Sobh. “[Cooper] was talking about [how] every brand needs to have a social root. I think that was the main thing that I managed to think about and I agree with a lot. I need to apply it more and more. Every brand needs a social existence in a way.” Khris Alvez Junior designer, Multiply “[The session is] about going where the fish are right now, investing where the market is. So, from what I understand, nowadays people are spending more time in social media networks,” says Alvez. “It’s about learning where the market is right now, because it’s actually evolving.” Creativity: What is getting in our way? Dr Lance de Masi President of The American University in Dubai & president of the IAA UAE chapter (moderator) Joseph Ghossoub Chairman & CEO, Menacom Group Roy Haddad Chairman & CEO, JWT Akram Miknas Chairman, MCN (Middle East Communication Networks) Raja Trad CEO, Leo Burnett Group MENA The heads of advertising networks in the region discuss industry challenges and why creativity in this region is limited. They say one of the things preventing the region’s creative world from doing better is determination – on both the client and agency side. There needs to be more risk-taking and trying of new things, instead of playing safe, they say. Ghoussoub, Haddad, Miknas and Trad agree that clients have a “fair share” of the blame for limiting the region’s creativity. At times, clients reject bold and creative ideas because they are conservative or hesitant. Limited budgets and financial demands placed by holding companies are often restrictive too. Another problem they see is that there is a lack of advertising targeted to specific markets, compared to pan-

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Arab advertising – geared for the whole region. Creative planners should observe the particular markets they are operating in, understand the culture and create customized and targeted ads for their audience. Audience reaction:

Paul Sabbagh MD and partner, Wonderful Productions “For once [the discussion] is more honest than usual and addresses what Lance [de Masi] suggested at the beginning: What is becoming the threat of this field – is it the client or the agency? It was honest that clients are more and more exercising pressure to get more for less and [to ask if] this is affecting the creativity and result,” says Sabbagh. He adds that he understands this point as he is in the service part of the industry. “I come in the third row [in this business] – client, agency, then service – I service for the agency; I produce for them. We feel that when an agency comes with a great creative with very little budget, the pressure comes from the client himself.” “Creativity is key, and this is what will bring more money, and not the contrary. It’s not by limiting the budget that you are going to make more money.” Razan Al-Salah Creative coordinator, JWT MENA “I’m going to be biased. I’m a JWT-er and I really listened carefully to what Roy Haddad, CEO for JWT MENA Group, was saying. He pointed out a very interesting subject, which is: What is standing in our way as creative agencies is pan-Arabism, providing the lowest common denominator for the region as a whole, instead of creating culturally relevant work for each market,” says Al-Salah. “And he gave an example: Egypt is now producing the best work in the region because Egyptian creatives are writing for Egyptians, are creating work for Egyptians, and not for the region as a whole. The Eight Creative Habits

Eugene Cheong Regional executive creative director, Ogilvy Asia Pacific Cheong discusses the eight habits of creative people: “Courage, Idealism, Curiosity, Playfulness, Candor, Intuition, Free-spiritedness and Persistence.” He says each has an evil twin: Fear, Expedience, The Status Quo, Boring, Tyranny of Politeness, Cold Arithmetic, Bureaucracy and Surrender. “When we work at adopting the eight creative habits, we have to work equally hard to replace the old habits of self-defeating and expedient behavior [the eight vices],” he says. Cheong adds that habits are different from principles and core values which are “wishy washy things.” Habit means a complete change of behavior. Audience reaction: Louay Al Asfahani President of IAA Kuwait chapter, managing partner at Paragon Marketing Communications

“[Cheong] said in 15 minutes what I have been preaching in the Kuwait industry for the past 20 years, since 1991 when I started my career. “He was able to get through to my team members here in 10 minutes what I have been trying to preach to them in 10 years (that’s the age of Paragon in Kuwait). So this is what it’s all about. It’s not about just the money; you need to have the courage, the dreams, the ambition. You need to say no when you have to. You need to have a spine.” Activating ideas: Inspiring creativity that changes behavior William Rosen, President & chief creative officer – North America, Arc Worldwide Rosen talks about how one can create successful activation campaigns. “The keys to developing world-class breakthrough creative campaigns that change behavior can be boiled down to six key concepts,” he says. These are inflection points, activating ideas, value creation, experience architecture, cross-channel coordination, and experience stamps. Inflection point: An inflection point is “where the most consumers are veering off the path” to purchase, says Rosen. Marketers should identify and focus on addressing the specific behavioral inflection point of the consumer. Activating ideas: “Leverage the insight of the inflection point to develop a core activating idea that can trigger the desired behavior and hold the entire campaign together.” Value creation: “Everything has to start with people and what has value to them,” says Rosen. “New broader and technologically available faces of value can be leveraged or applied to create activation, such as utility, experience, access, personalization, connection and self-expression. Experience architecture: “The sequence of communication is critical to how consumers engage with a program, and how effective it is, and moving them closer to desired behavior.” Cross-channel coordination: The way various marketing disciplines and media channels are utilized has to be effective. Experience stamps: “You want to leave behind a positive association with the brand – a strong feeling and impression – that will build loyalty and facilitate future marketing efforts.” Audience reaction: Tarek Ayntrazi General manager, Mars Media Services Ayntrazi says he took away from the session the message, “You have to think different.” “Every marketing or communication challenge is different from the one you have experienced before. So you need to always think out of the box. Think creatively. And basically find solutions that are tailor-made, either to your target audience or to the marketing challenge that your particular brand is having.”

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#DubaiLynx The big night, narrated through the medium of Twitter

n the evening of March 30, the region’s ad industry assembled for the annual Dubai Lynx Awards. The ceremony was haunted by technical problems, but good fun was had by all. At least it seemed that way from where Communicate was sitting. This year we decided to cover the awards by Twitter. On the night and here, in the magazine, in retrospect. What follows is a selection of our Tweets, your Tweets, and a smattering of explanatory notes. There are also a lot of typos. Our guiding principles have been clarity, flow and faithfulness to the spirit of the evening. So we’ve tidied a little, chopped a little, but left a lot as it was Tweeted. We hope you can follow it. On the night there were more than 900 Tweets with a #DubaiLynx hashtag – and lots more untagged. We’ve left many out for space reasons. For a full list of winners, go to DubaiLynx.com. And thanks to everyone who was Tweeting on the night. See if you made the cut below.

Big battle between: Y&R, Elephant, Leo Burnett (dubai & beirut) BBDO, FP7 bahrain and DDB dubai

FarixHobeiche: #dubailynx Y&R will [win] tonight only if #pakistan loses to #India 2:01 PM The Cricket World Cup semi-final was on the same day as the Lynx. Spoiler alert: @FarixHobeiche wasn’t wrong. Desertcuba: Dubai Lynx Award ceremony tonite.

cvsuvi: With a heavy heart leaving the match to attend #Dubailynx. Damn! 7:33 PM CommunicateME: getting busy. Suspect lots of mobile browsers on cricket world cup page 8:01 PM

One attendee told Communicate, “It’s a different venue each year, but they always make it look the same.” This is probably a compliment; the venue looked good. AshChagla: Come on @yrdubai let’s do this! #DubaiLynx

RamiSaad: Gettin’ stuffy at #DubaiLynx

gdevilloutreys: at #dubailynx awards ceremony with literally thousands of people. i hope our jury tables won’t get targeted by disappointed agencies Communicate’s note to self: Remember this one for the Dish’s Literally Watch

CommunicateME: Dinner (scheduled at 8) hasn’t started yet. But nobody seems to mind 8:32 PM

nagham: Found a parking spot. Now where the hell are #dubailynx?

yrdubai: Y&R team looking pretty dapper tonight, nice to see the design guys sans sneakers!

CommunicateME: Hoots and applause heard. We don’t know why 9:15 PM

nagham: Parking...what a nightmare #dubailynx There was valet parking at the event; Communicate didn’t have this problem.

KDimachkie: IAA table next to the Leo Burnett tables. If there ever was a good omen this would be it. #DubaiLynx #leolynx #lbmena #IAA

CommunicateME: Sat down for dinner at #dubailynx. Press table 133, at the back. Very blue lights, and a big lynx symbol on stage 8:59 PM

gdevilloutreys: diner awards a #dubailynx avec des couverts en argent massif, enfin un peu de classe dans ce métier.

AshChagla: Ooh advertising’s big night out. Everyone looking sparkly and beautiful

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“Dubai Lynx awards dinner with silver cutlery. Finally a bit of class in this business.” RonaldZouein: Greetings from the #dubailynx, where there’s plenty of people and little air to breathe. Looks like an interesting night is in store for us CommunicateME: Think we found out what the cheer was for at #dubailynx. Pakistan all out for an admirable 231. Time to turn our attention to this awards show

Communicate hadn’t heard these rumors. But nobody tells us anything. This Tweet was the only time we heard mention of Haifa. Desertcuba: Waiting and waiting and waiting.... #dubailynx. 10:08 PM CommunicateME: 40 minutes from “prompt” start, and counting. Lots of people milling around and waiting.

nagham: Finally arrived. They rly don’t know how to pick venues do they... #dubailynx

CommunicateME: Tannoy: “the #DubaiLynx awards will commence in 5 minutes.” Small cheers from front tables 10:15 PM

CommunicateME: “Awards ceremony commences 21:30 prompt.” We don’t think so. Or fashionably late, we suspect. #DubaiLynx 9:38 PM

RonaldZouein: Someone just plugged the microphone into the socket and we have sound! I think something’s about to happen

CommunicateME: Flyers on table at #dubailynx: @anazahracom offering chance to win jewelry, and painful optical illusion invite to big kahuna afterparty

AshChagla: Start already!!! #DubaiLynx

CommunicateME: Main course arrives at #dubailynx: “Pan-roasted, free-range chicken with Parmentier potatoes and morel sauce.” Somewhat dry is verdict

RonaldZouein: Looks like it was a false alarm. Nothing’s starting anytime soon. People are on their feet and heading outside #fail #dubailynx

KDimachkie: Big crowd @ #DubaiLynx; about 1400 people RonaldZouein: Rumour has it that the results have gone missing and #haifa isn’t showing up for her number; hence the delays. 10:02 PM

adland: #DubaiLynx get a move on @AshChagla is getting waaaay impatient.

graphicologycom: Ahhh, #DubaiLynx – the best spec award show on the planet. maustyn: #dubailynx and we’re off! Video presentation lots of color 10:21 PM Maustyn is Communicate’s editor. Occasionally his computer would switch accounts

without warning. Technology often gets the better of him. adland: That was a mistake, the bus comes when the cig is lit! RT @yrdubai @adland I know right! I even stopped smoking so we could start #dubailynx RonaldZouein: We have dim lights, sound, and Carmina Burana. I guess we’re on! CommunicateME: Agencies names appearing on screen #dubailynx. Cheers as they roll up CommunicateME: Juan Senor is hosting. Communicate once described him as a cross between Hugh Grant and Antonio Banderas. Nothing’s changed CommunicateME: Juan Senor says we’ll soon see who won cricket match. Little behind on his news CommunicateME: More than 1100 delegates is record for Lynx (Phil Thomas) Philip Thomas is the CEO of Cannes Lions, the organizer of the Dubai Lynx. CommunicateME: Phil Thomas thanks sponsors. @Campaignme borrows paper and pen TamaraHamdan: #dubailynx kicks off a la libanaise an hour late CommunicateME: “To say juries took responsibilties seriously doesn’t come close” (Phil Thomas)

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RonaldZouein: More than 2000 entries this year at the #dubailynx

Many of our Tweets are in this format. Look, it made sense at the time, all right.

CommunicateME: Advertising person of the year, Emirates’ Sheikh Ahmed, is honored. “Quite simply put Dubai on the map” We’re pretty sure this was Thomas speaking.

TamaraHamdan: #dubailynx no bronze giveaways only silver and gold #leoburnett got a bronze :)

CommunicateME: 1st jury president went through more than 2k entries. It’s Exec chairman of Apac McCann Ericksonn India Prasoon Joshi

CommunicateME: Silver consumer services: Find music for Fridge by TBWA Raad Dubai

CommunicateME: “This region is going to dominate Cannes” Prasoon Joshi CommunicateME: Too much imitation, not enough exploration of the local culture: PJ RonaldZouein: We’ve got our checklist of 64 shortlists in front of us and making space on the tables 4 the trophies #leoburnett @LeoBurnettMENA #dubailynx CommunicateME: Outdoor up 1st CommunicateME: Juan Senor reads out bronzes. Not on screen CommunicateME: Silver FMCG Splitting headache from Y&R Dubai “Splitting headache” is the name of Y&R’s campaign for Paras Pharma, and not a reference to the cheers from the agency’s table. The campaign won a Silver in the FMCG category.

CommunicateME: technical glitch with screen

RamiSaad: Big technical issue: screen not working at #DubaiLynx #fail

CommunicateME: Radio now, sponsored by Ipsos vissermargot: Really... technic problems?! #dubailynx CommunicateME: Radio bronze Kuwait 1, Lebanon, UAE 5 CommunicateME: No gold in radio, 2 silver CommunicateME: Ikea campaign wins silver For MEMAC Ogilvy.

TamaraHamdan: #dubailynx no entries showing due to technical problems booooo this is a joke

CommunicateME: radio public health and safety RTA for Saatchi. Table next to Communicate erupts That’s another Silver.

TamaraHabib: Technical issues at #DubaiLynx. Not cool! Can’t see any campaigns on screen...

TamaraHamdan: #dubailynx I think some agencies are being over excited is it the booze?

CommunicateME: GOLD Retail, etc. to Harvey Nicks from Y&R. On stage to The Killers We’re talking about the music. “Somebody told me,” if we remember correctly.

macouli: #dubailynx starts with a technical problem. Nothing is showing so far

cvsuvi: #dubailynx disaster SherifGhanem: So the #dubailynx started 90 mins late, but it gets worse, the main screen isn’t working, so none of the work can be seen...

CommunicateME: PRINT Bronze: FP7/BAH, Elephant, Impact Dubai, LB Dubai, Lowe, Saatchi, Y&R RamiSaad: Generous on the bronzes this year! 9 of em in Print

CommunicateME: Y&R 1st team on stage

CommunicateME: Cosmetics & Beauty silver BBDO for P&G’s Brawn Monkey This is for the Braun precision trimmer ad.

CommunicateME: No GP in outdoor GP: Grand Prix

CommunicateME: Cars silver Traffic light, LB Dubai […]

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TamaraHamdan: Does the mc want to pee or something!? Why is he In a hurry? nagham: The host is talking as fast as the road runner runs... no idea who won what. Slow down mate! CommunicateME: Commercial public services Boxes for Red from FP7 Riyadh (Silver) That’s Red Logistics. Communicate’s stubby little fingers are struggling to keep up.

are announced. Screen still kaput 10:45 PM adbasha: It feels like the awards part of the night will finish in under 30 mins #dubailynx no spirits this year, only wine and beer #disappointing CommunicateME: Print/outdoor craft GOLD for Y&R’s accessories required

CommunicateME: Grand Prix for print: Prasoon: “Exceptional in every which way. ... Very modern idea, well art directed...”

CommunicateME: Kaiser Chiefs. Steve Lane’s music taste still dominates Lynx Steve Lane is the festival director. For the past four years, his taste in music (eclectic, but skewed towards British indie bands) has stood out in comparison to the soundtrack to most awards shows, which tend to sound like an odd uncle’s retirement party.

chaftari: Harvey Nichols wins print grand prix

nagham: Team Y&R are cleaning up!

RamiSaad: Grandprix in Print for a culturally relevant campaign from Y&R. They’re onto something

CommunicateME: “Short break” to honor CocaCola as advertiser of year – phew. Communicate’s fingers and brain hurt 10:47 PM

nagham: It’s almost like attending an auction ‘2 silver...1 gold...lalalala’

CommunicateME: “I like the way you move” on tannoy. Screams and cheers By “tannoy” we mean loudspeaker. Apparently we’re the only ones who use this word. TamaraHamdan: *yawn* RamiSaad: Still can’t get over the screen problem. Juan makes it hard to follow! CommunicateME: No one can see silvers as they

WilsonIssa: Ok #dubailynx this is becoming a disaster and is boring us to death. Work it out guys throw something on the stage CommunicateME: Arctic monkeys and dessert The chocolate gelato is the standout feature of this menu. RamiSaad: A windows computer just restarted in the background as Coke gave their speech, oh lord!

adbasha: Advertiser of the year to Coca Cola Egypt #dubailynx dedicated to the people of Egypt CommunicateME: Juan Senor: “We all heard the comforting sound of a reboot” as tech works to get screen back CommunicateME: DESIGN. Rodney Fitch takes stage to Beatles’ Revolution CommunicateME: “You tell me what’s going on; this is a very ad-libby kind of evening” That’s jury president Rodney Fitch (“RF,” below) speaking. CommunicateME: RF: Only a few entries. Hope for more from small agencies next time. Good standard, though CommunicateME: RF: Design in region merges 2 cultures joelahham: @ronaldzouein it seems nothing is working at #dubailynx Desertcuba: We r clapping for ads we can’t see weird #dubailynx CommunicateME: RF: I’m convinced in a few years we’ll see region as powerhouse. Move away from West. Wonderful future for designers in the region WilsonIssa: Morphine anyone? #dubailynx

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may_hanna: screen at the #dubailynx not working. windows is rebooting. they should’ve used a mac ;)

ple. Clear. First ever Design Grand Prix to Y&R Dubai for splitting heads campaign.

CommunicateME: Mercedes Take Off for Impact BBDO Silver

CommunicateME: 11 Bronze: Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi, UAE all represented

RonaldZouein: Finally!! The #dubailynx is on! The screen is on! 10:59 PM

CommunicateME: Small-scale ambient Silver: Laundry bag for Y&R, for LG

CommunicateME: DESIGN flyers, etc: Silver to Y&R for Red Cross

CommunicateME: Screen is back. Juan shouts about it. Crowd cheers. Charlatans’ “Matter of taste” plays

CommunicateME: Silver for Brand Union for Industrial Zone of tomorrow, and silver to Memac for Identity The Brand Union’s client is Kizad; Memac Ogilvy’s is Oman-based radio station Merge 104.8.

RamiSaad: Design Grandprix goes to Y&R, everyone’s clapping! Wait. I think that’s coz the screen’s back!

CommunicateME: Gold TBWA Raad in Ambient small media for puppy at the door, mars/pedigree & whiskas That’s a Gold for TBWA/Raad’s Puppy At the Door campaign for Mars pet food brands Pedigree and Whiskas.

CommunicateME: Corp entity gold goes to DDB Dubai That’s the Gold for DDB’s work for the Committee of Organ Donation in Lebanon. omarulhaq: Wow - so many complaints and such negativity coming from everyone at @DubaiLynx right now. Share the positives too, please.

CommunicateME: Juan calls for round of applause for tech team. As screen dies again TamaraHamdan: Media awards coming up now CommunicateME: Mike Cooper for Media jury takes stage. And screen’s back. For how long? RamiSaad: Ah now I get it, it’s media awards time. They must’ve paid the bill for the screen to be back

CommunicateME: Typography: Zayed Future energy for Landor Assocs

CommunicateME: MC: “Judges impressed by diversity, insights, creativity”

TamaraHamdan: Wake me up when it’s over #dubailynx 10:58 PM

TamaraHabib: Yes!!!! Audio AND visual!

CommunicateME: GP for design was “exceptional” (RF). Simple, clear and very powerful – illustrates and solves problem. ... adbasha: Unanimous. Splendid. Imaginative. Sim-

CommunicateME: 17 bronzes. Bahrain 4; Egypt 1; Lebanon, KSA, Emirates. Winners now on screen. At last CommunicateME: Media TV, radio cinema. Du gets silver for OMD Dubai

TamaraHamdan: Screen is back wouhouuuu CommunicateME: At last, a break with the campaign video. Easing our fingers 11:04 PM may_hanna: aha. screen’s working. & just when agencies started to think that perhaps the #dubailynx was the most expensive radio ad they’ve paid for. CommunicateME: TBWA/Raad take stage. Same campaign won in charities category That’s the Puppy at the Door campaign. RamiSaad: 262% increase in adoption rate, from 18. Love play on numbers in awards Not sure what campaign this is for, but like the man says, numbers can say anything. CommunicateME: Large-scale Gold for Join Me in the Shower, Starcom Dubai. Senor tries to explain. Still confused Senor explains the campaign. Communicate struggles to follow him.

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TamaraHamdan: Media agency of the year goes to IT at #dubailynx She’s talking about the screen, we think. CommunicateME: Gold for Ogilvy Label in Tunisia for Tunisia’s most irresistible student for Axe RonaldZouein: One thing that’s amazing this #dubailynx is the music!! Great choice. CommunicateME: Ogilvy Tunisia takes stage to Curtis Mayfield CommunicateME: Mags and newspapers silver: GE’s Ecomagination for OMD Dubai CommunicateME: Outdoor silver: Tiida Troops for Mindshare Dubai RamiSaad: FP7 got a silver for Batelco’s supersonic. I bet on gold for this one #DubaiLynx

CommunicateME: Digital gold: Eyes of Arabia for P&G, Wunderman CommunicateME: Lots of muttering about early AV problems, although it now seems to be working. Phew CommunicateME: Consumer products for HP’s Touch of Ads by OMD Dubai Silver again. CommunicateME: Media Grand Prix. “Almost unanimous decision for jury” “Worked brilliantly across multiple touchpoints” That’s jury president Mike Cooper, worldwide CEO of media agency PHD, speaking. CommunicateME: Media GP: LB Beirut Keep Walking Lebanon. Big cheers from Burnett tables at front

CommunicateME: Interactive category. Armin Jochum takes stage: “This is a great place to celebrate creative excellence.” Is he slurring? 11:19 PM Jochum is the president of the Direct, Promo & Activation and Interactive jury. In his day job he’s the chief creative officer at Jung von Matt in Germany. CommunicateME: “It’s the chance to enter into genuine dialogue.” “We’ve seen work that raises the bar, milestones in daily business” CommunicateME: “Your work and your talent is brilliant; you don’t have to copy the west... you guys really rock thought” (AJ) There’s some debate within Communicate’s editorial team over whether this should have read “you guys really rock, though.” But we’re pretty sure we remember calling it like we heard it.

CommunicateME: Media Agency of the Year: It’s based on points, don’t you know

CommunicateME: Silver to Nissan work from TBWA Dubai, and to Test drive for Nissan, TBWA The Accidental Test Drive campaign.

CommunicateME: 3rd: TBWA/Raad Dubai; 2nd OMD Dubai; 1st FP7 Bahrain

RamiSaad: Gold in Interactive for Memac Oglivy For CD Rack Banner for Ikea.

jeanghalo: RT @digrepublic: Social media a huge part of the media category at #dubailynx

RamiSaad: Media Agency of the Year for 2011 is FP7 Bahrain. You must be thinking, they’re a creative agency. They are.

CommunicateME: “My way” by Lenny Kravitz as Memac picks up trophy

CommunicateME: Public awareness to LB Dubai for Dubai Cares’ Donation box. Senor tries to explain That’s a Silver.

CommunicateME: JS trying to introduce interactive category, but music won’t fade till FP7 has taken the stage JS: Juan Senor.

CommunicateME: Fadi Yaish’s first outing of the night on stage Yaish was the creative director at FP7 Bahrain – now he’s at FP7 Dubai.

CommunicateME: 2nd gold to Memac for Resize your home, also for IKEA CommunicateME: Silver for Keep walking, LB Beirut CommunicateME: Apps silver goes to FP7 Bahrain

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Hands in the air. Y&R Dubai chaftari: FP7 and batelco wins an interactive silver. Anyone saw that work? #webscam #dubailynx 11:24 PM Well, we made it this far without mention of ghost ads. But someone had to be the first.

CommunicateME: GOLD for Advantage for Panda (Elvis plays) Advantage has joint credit for much of Elephant Cairo’s work; it was responsible for the client handling.

RamiSaad: Gold in Viral & EDM, for Elephant in Cairo, truly viral Panda

RamiSaad: Gold in Field marketing for Elephant again, Panda takes on the hypermarkets. Nice milking!

nagham: Hahaha panda wins for viral and email marketing. So awesome. CommunicateME: Pandamonium for Elephant’s Cairo wins gold (that’s also Communicate’s headline for an Elephant portfolio in the next issue) By next issue, we now mean the previous issue, which came out on April 1. CommunicateME: Interactive GP: “To win, the work has to be a category blaster.... Golds are close” but no GP That’s still Jochum speaking. CommunicateME: Alternative Media Gold for Accidental Test Drive for TBWA/Raad CommunicateME: Voice-over for Accidental Test Drive is kinda creepy samermarzouq: RT @CommunicateME: Voice-over for Accidental Test Drive is kinda creepy – come on it’s really good! RamiSaad: Gold in Alternative Media for TBWA, Accidental Test Drive. The screams were like MJ was reborn & moonwalked on stage

CommunicateME: GP […] “lots of brands all over the world would wish to have done that” FP7 Bahrain for Supersonic, Batelco

CommunicateME: silver for fp7’s highly tipped batelco work We’re in the Film Craft category here. CommunicateME: some cheers from FP7 as video plays. Rest of room claps at end. (It’s a long video) CommunicateME: another silver in cinematography. JWT Cairo, The Power of Everyone, Vodafone CommunicateME: best use of music. silver tbwa raad. talent for cutting, sae institute dubai

CommunicateME: winners for the Young Creative campaign. Steve Lane on stage

adbasha: The presenter must be as drunk as I am... Bro it’s JWT Cairo not Dubai... Winner of Silver Film Craft for Vodafone Adel Imam ad

CommunicateME: third place, Wunderman Dubai, 2. Impact BBDO, 1. Leo Burnett Beirut

CommunicateME: gold best use of music. kitchen, arab fairy/panda chees. elephant cairo

CommunicateME: Integrated. Joshi back on stage

CommunicateME: * dairy (oops)

CommunicateME: gold, memac ogilvy for june 16th 2014, brand colelctive tunisia 11:38 PM

CommunicateME: direction. silver lynx. LB cairo, the bitter truth campaign, melody entertainment,

CommunicateME: good showing from tunisia this year. nice to see n. african creative coming of age

CommunicateME: Melody ad has product placement for the competition: Props to CampaignME. But remember, it’s only an ad... Those pesky publishers have managed to get their magazine into a TVC. It’s being read by one of the characters as he sits behind a desk.

CommunicateME: grand prix integrated. prasoon: this is really fabulous idea. johnny walker shows on screen by mistake. LB beirut wins. Applause The screen jumped the gun here, and showed the winner before Prasoon had announced it. From the cheers, no one seemed to mind.

RamiSaad: I gotta say, that Melody work from @ LeoBurnettMENA is hilarious, the hall is bursting in laughter

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TRIUMPHANT. FP7 Bahrain CommunicateME: universal applause for melody. Always popular TamaraHabib: Melody’s Bitter Truth is awesome! Love it! #LbCairo #Lbmena #DubaiLynx CommunicateME: 2011 film craft grand prix, prasoon: i think the kind of work we saw in egypt specially in film is amazing. CommunicateME: 2011 film craft grand prix goes to elephant cairo. panda cheese

between live-action and Southpark-style animation and has a breakdancing baby. It’s kind of hard to explain, even in the cold light of day. CommunicateME: GP in film. PJ: For this Grand Prix I really had a long debate. A never-ending debate. There were top 2 strong contenders CommunicateME: “exploited the culture.” How brave a client has to be...

Big Kahuna Films, was at Trilogy nightclub straight after the awards show. CommunicateME: Y&R has been heading that way for a few years now, with lots of shortlists. At last they make it to agency of the year CommunicateME: Hands in the air, we count about 6,456,098,321 people on stage. (roughly)

CommunicateME: “From the heart...”

CommunicateME: Final award: (JS shoos Y&R off stage) network of year

CommunicateME: GP Film Elephant Cairo for Harvest Foods

CommunicateME: Network of year: 3rd McCann World Group (FP7); 2nd Leo Burnett; 1st Y&R

CommunicateME: best film lynx of 2011. bronze: 8 bronzes

CommunicateME: This is the Halawa prisoners ad. Praised for cultural insight (we’re told; we’ve not been in Egyptian prison. Yet.)

CommunicateME: bronzes include clementine beirut. Good work from an indie

RamiSaad: Brilliant insight in Elephant’s winner on ‘halawa’. I doubt many understood this one

CommunicateME: people have started leaving. There’s an after party at Trilogy. And those post-win/near-miss cigarettes won’t smoke themselves There were a lot of people heading outside to light up by this stage. All that excitement.

BeirutNightLife: huh???! they never did 1 gd campaign!!!! RT @CommunicateME: bronzes include celementine beirut. Good work from an indie

CommunicateME: dubai lynx agency of the year. Terry Savage on stage. JS explains points DON’T include media Savage is chairman of Cannes Lions.

CommunicateME: publications and media. gold to melody. how many years is that for them, then? always a crowd pleaser

RamiSaad: #DubaiLynx agency of the year: Y&R Dubai followed by FP7 in 2nd and TBWA in 3rd position

CommunicateME: And it’s all over bar the backslapping, commiserating, celebrating, drowning sorrows, flattering, bitching... Well done all! 12:20 AM

CommunicateME: We want some of what the Melody post-house was taking. And a yellow suit, of course The “Drama 2” spot we are shown is a cross

adbasha: Agency of the Year awarded to Y&R Dubai #dubailynx congratulations.... Lets go to Trilogy ba2aaa The official Lynx after-party, hosted by

CommunicateME: And that’s Communicate signing off. The rest of the evening will be off the record while we get our feeling in our fingers back

adbasha: Ideas choose us. Egypt is out there. Film Craft Grand Prix to Elephant and Advantage for Panda. Congratulations #egypt #dubailynx

SherifGhanem: Y&R destroyed everyone, wining agency of the year and network of the year. Impressive!

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News just in

With two more Arabic channels launching, we see if there’s room for fresh faces in a tricky market by Sidra Tariq

Ziad Skaff. Group director at Integral OMG

ith the Middle East and North Africa at the center of current uprisings, this is perhaps one of the best times to report from the region. For years now, Arabic news channels such as Qatar-based Al Jazeera, and Middle East Broadcasting Corporation’s (MBC) Al Arabiya, have dominated the market with step-by-step coverage of regional events. Many other regional and international news entities have also followed suit over the past few years. And now at least two more 24-hour Arabic news channels are slated for release in the next 12 months. Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, chairman of Kingdom Holding Com pany and a 7 percent stakeholder in Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation (which owns Fox News), is reportedly launching a news channel in October this year. Prince Alwaleed is also chairman of Rotana Holding, which is one of the largest producers and distributors of Arabic music and owns free-to-air TV and radio stations, a chain of cafés,

and advertising sales arm Rotana Media Services. As of last year, News Corporation has had a 9.09 percent stake in the Rotana Group, which it had bought for $70 million. Meanwhile, Sky News Arabia, a 50-50 joint venture between pay television provider British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) – in which News Corp has shares and which owns Sky News – and Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corp (ADMIC), will hit the airwaves in Spring 2012. The venture will be led by recently-appointed director of news Nart Bouran, who previously worked as director of television for Reuters news agency. James Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch and chairman and non-executive director at BSkyB, said at a recent press conference in Abu Dhabi, “The Middle East and North Africa are going through rapid change and development: economic, social and political. What happens here shapes the news agenda, not just in this region, but across the world. Sky

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content, interface, or even interaction with viewers. Credibility is key for such a channel to succeed.” Skaff agrees that while the region’s media scene is “very, very, very” cluttered, there still is room for more channels as it gives consumers more choice. Consumers nowadays are very picky and know exactly what they want, he says. “This is why it is not any more a race when it comes to being channel A or B or C. Yes, definitely the channel name, the channel history, and the channel’s understanding of the consumers matter, but it is more about content.”

breaking news. There is always room for more media channels to broadcast, says Fakhoury News Arabia is an opportunity for us to participate in and contribute to the region’s future growth.”

Adrian WellS. Launch director for Sky News Arabia

NATURAL STEP. Ziad Skaff, group director at Omnicom Media Group’s (OMG) research unit Integral OMG, says, “I think it is a natural step for not only media channels, but for any multinational brand today to explore further developing countries or markets [to increase their growth figures and revenues]. The Middle East is one of the markets that is very interesting as well for media channels, because they can broadcast from one market – let’s say the UAE – and reach more than 300 million consumers in the region who speak the same language, and that is pretty unique.” The Middle East may be attractive to set up a news base, but in a region where there are plenty of Arabic news channels and where two brands – Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera – enjoy a majority of the market share, is there really room for more? “Like any other product category, there is always room for competitors,” says Mazen Fakhoury, managing director of media agency Mindshare KSA. “However, there has to be a differentiator that is relevant to consumers, and that addresses their needs in superior fashion, be it in terms of

ROOM TO GROW. Adrian Wells, launch director for Sky News Arabia (previously head of international news for Sky News), says, “We are [aware] that there are already a few very good 24-hour news offerings in the market. Nevertheless, we think that there is room to bring the Sky News model, which obviously is predominant in the UK, into this market. That is not to say that we will be running the same editorial agenda as Sky in the UK, because the channel will be very focused on the MENA region, and of course have very strong elements of international news as well.” Mindshare’s Fakhoury says that apart from the obvious strong contenders Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera, the new Arabic news channels may also face competition – though to a lesser extent – from BBC Arabic, France 24 and Russia Today. Other potential competitors include the US-funded Al Hurra. As a brand in any competitive market, the new channels will have to differentiate themselves from the existing ones. Wells says that Sky News Arabia has something different to offer in a number of areas. “[Firstly], Sky News relies and draws upon a breaking news model in the way that we treat news,” he says. “We do not have so much current affairs programming in our schedule. We want to be able to be truthful in our claim in being first for breaking news.” “We are also very keen on this business being a multi-platform business from the very start,” he says. Sky News Arabia plans to launch a website and a mobile version by the end of this year – before the television channel is launched, he adds. It may launch tablet applications in the future. BUDDING VIEWERSHIP. The Web and mobile platforms are very important to Sky News Arabia, says Wells, because the region has a very large youth population. Youth in the region and around the world are increasingly using the Web and mobile phones to get their news, often at the expense of television viewing, he says. While the channel’s approach is to attract viewers of all ages – specially the older population that turns to television news – it will also try to make more of an appeal to a slightly younger audience (18 to 35 years) as they are the future, he says. Wells says that while Sky News Arabia is aimed toward the whole region, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are important markets because of the weight of their population. “Half of our investment [in the joint venture] is coming from Abu Dhabi… so the

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MAY 2011 | TELEVISION

Mazen Fakhoury. Managing director of media agency Mindshare KSA

Gulf is an incredibly important region for us, not only because we are here, but because there are lots of very exciting things going on in the Gulf in the areas of business, commerce and innovation, and diplomatically too,” he adds. At the same time, markets such as the Levant, Palestine-Israel and North Africa are important ones to tap into, he adds. Media experts say that there are a number of factors that can help the new channels compete: “Superior product, comprehensive news coverage, competent reporters, credibility and loyalty, as well as leveraging their know-how to the fullest extent,” says Fakhoury. According to Skaff, “It definitely depends on the content they are providing and their understanding of the region. You can come as a fantastic niche channel that finds or grabs an opportunity in the market and offers something different in terms of content and you could be very successful.”

Rani R Raad. Senior VP and managing director, advertising sales and business development, CNN International

PATIENCE. He adds that another thing the channels need is patience. “This is unfortunately something that doesn’t really exist in this region. It is always short-term and we are running after short term scoring, ratings and results. They should build the channel’s perception and equity over time. And at the same time, they should synchronize it with the content they are offering and the target audience they are after. I think this is the recipe for success.” However, this alone wouldn’t lead to high ratings, results and turnover, he adds. “You need to make sure that your whole system in place is really

working to deliver your plans, and this is something we don’t really see, with some different kind of channels or media houses in the region as well.” As far as attracting advertisers is concerned, the general consensus is that once the channels attract viewers, advertisers will follow. According to Fakhoury, the brands that advertise on the channels depend on “1) the channel offering (e.g. integrated platforms); 2) the profile of the viewers that the channels will ultimately attract. Only then can we assess the fit that such channels have with brands, and how they contribute to achieving brand objectives. That will determine the profile of advertisers that will come on board. That said, products/brands targeting males would be interested in advertising on the channel.” Meanwhile, a source at Fox International Channels tells Communicate there are no plans for a Fox News Arabic any time soon. And Cable News Network (CNN) has no plans to launch an Arabic news channel in the region, either, according to Rani R Raad, senior vice-president and managing director for advertising sales and business development at CNN International. “While there seems to be a flurry of new Arabic news channels being launched, we look for the right combination of editorial and commercial sense, consumer demand, and a gap in the market,” he adds. “CNN is unique in that it is not a government-funded or subsidized channel and our assessment is that it would be difficult to operate a profitable news channel in Arabic.”

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Q&A

Making news

RMS boss says proposed Rotana channel could break even in five years – if it gets its focus right by Nathalie Bontems

otana Media Services’ president Nizar Nagro tells Communicate what he sees the future holding for the Rotana Group

What media does RMS currently represent? Rotana, of course, as well as Fox and LBC Sat. And three years ago we established a radio station, Rotana Delta, based in Lebanon. RMS was launched in 2004 as a company selling media advertising; [in terms of business volume] we already come second after Choueiri Group regionally, but our target is to become No. 1, maybe by next year. What developments are in the pipeline? We are investing in new programs for LBC Sat. On top of Star Academy, we have 11 new shows, such as Top Chef, a high-quality production that we shot in the Atlantis hotel, Dubai, and Celebrity Do It. We believe in investment, and in high quality on the production side. As RMS, we are looking for more media to represent – we have no outside clients for the time being – but our priority remains to better establish our existing media. Our objective is to make sure that Rotana, LBC Sat and Fox are among the region’s top 10 TV stations. So far, three are part of that list; we expect to have four stations in the top 10 within the next two years. We may also launch a new TV station in Egypt. There are 80 million people in that country; marketing is improving every year there and the infrastructure is available. But investing in Egypt is not easy.

What about the upcoming television news station Rotana wants to launch? It is supposed to be launched around October 2011, maybe from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, or Qatar. This decision hasn’t been made yet. We are looking, in terms of criteria, for a profit center, facilities and freedom. Our main market will be Saudi Arabia and, for the first phase, we’ll broadcast only in Arabic. What will it be called? We haven’t taken a final decision on the name yet. With competition including Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera, this specific segment – television news – seems cluttered. Why launch another news station? We will differentiate ourselves by being more local, by looking at local issues with a positive perspective, which is [Rotana owner Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal’s] way with everything. We won’t go to extremes, but we won’t be in the middle either. We’ll support the culture, but there’s no political agenda behind this station. To be clear: We want to become a major player, and we plan to be profitable. How do you plan to be profitable? That’s quite rare for a news station. Business people believe in consultants, so we hired McKinsey and Booz Allen Hamilton. We also requested research from TNS and Ipsos. Our research shows that it is possible to break even in five years. We’ll target the banking sector, real estate and so

on, both at a local and at an international level. The station will be fully owned by Prince Al Waleed, and it will have the support of Rotana – of which Al Waleed still owns around 90 percent. We hope that people meters will be launched in KSA by the time the station starts; they have already been approved, and this will help us tremendously. What investment will be required to launch the station and then to operate it? We’ll invest $200 million in the station, and our yearly operational costs are estimated at $70 to $80 million. The fact that another news station, Future News, may soon be shut down doesn’t worry you? Future News should continue; it belongs to one of the largest groups [the Hariri Group] in the region. Maybe it focused on the wrong places, targeting all Arabs across the region. This leads to a mix of clients, and a lot of clutter. Fox News, by contrast, makes money because it has only one target: the US market. And maybe Future News was not expected to make money; maybe profitability wasn’t its main drive, whereas it is ours. What is the role of Lebanon in all this? Lebanon is very important in terms of high-quality production. We have a 150-person team in Lebanon, not to mention the 400-strong staff of LBC Sat and its production company PAC. Lebanon is more of a kitchen than a market.

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MAY 2011 | DIGITAL

Letting the chat out of the bag EBuddy sees Saudi and Egypt as main growth engines in the region by Sidra Tariq

Rogier van den HeuveR Ebuddy chief commercial officer

t a time when MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger were the hottest things on the Internet, there was another platform that flourished: Web messengers. When schools prevented students from installing MSN Messenger on lab and library computers, or when workplaces blocked employees’ access to it, people often used sites such as Webmsessenger.msn.com and eBuddy.com to chat on their MSN accounts through the Web. At least that is how Communicate remembers eBuddy. EBuddy is a website, launched in 2003 (as e-Messenger), that aggregates instant messaging (IM) platforms, and is available in Web and mobile format. It started off aggregating chat platforms such as MSN Messenger (now Windows Live Messenger) and Yahoo Messenger, and over the years, as more IM platforms became available, it added the likes of Facebook and Google Talk to the list. It allows users to access those programs and chat with their “buddies” online; users can also chat across platforms by creating a single contact list with friends on different IM and social networking accounts. EBuddy also allows advertisers to present users with display ads. According to Rogier van den Heuvel, the service’s chief commercial officer, eBuddy’s target audience is between 13 and 24 years old, and this group accounts for around 70 to 80 percent of its total users.

EBuddy saw a lot of activity during the recent uprisings that took place in the Middle East and North Africa. “The best example I can give is in Syria,” says van den Heuvel. “They closed Facebook and another messenger, and then some people posted on Twitter: Don’t worry, you can still use eBuddy. It was at the end of December and we saw a huge uptake in our traffic and usage. People were putting on Twitter and other social media that you can still use eBuddy, although Facebook was shut down and everything.” Within two days, eBuddy was also blocked. The service came back on a few weeks later, says van den Heuvel. “It was the same story in Egypt. From one day to the other all our users were gone. But now they are back again. I think it was for about a week or so that people couldn’t use it.” FORGET ME NOT. EBuddy, which has its headquarters in Amsterdam and offices in London, San Franciso, Minsk and recently in Singapore, may open an office in the Middle East before the end of 2011. Emerging markets such as Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia are becoming an important area for eBuddy, says van den Heuvel. “If Singapore and Latin America are successful and we continue growing in the MENA region, we will also consider opening an office in the region. Most probably this would be in Dubai because

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MAY 2011 | DIGITAL

we see this as the hub to this region. The office will, of course, focus on advertising sales on one hand and look after partnerships with operators (like Vodafone, Etisalat, du) and handset vendors (Nokia, Samsung, HTC, LG) on the other.” EBuddy has around 15 million users on the Web and 19 million users on mobile around the world, says van den Heuvel. “Our biggest growth figures [in mobile] are in emerging markets: Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. It is particularly big in Asia, but also in Latin America. You see in emerging markets that people normally don’t have broadband connections, they don’t have PCs; so they skip the whole infrastructure and go directly to their mobile.” In the MENA region, eBuddy has about 1 million unique users a month on the Web, and almost 3 million unique users a month for mobile, says van den Heuvel. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE are the most important markets in MENA for eBuddy, especially when it comes to advertising, he says. “Saudi Arabia is important because it is a big country, and it is a wealthy country. Egypt is also big. And the UAE is not so big, but all the media agencies are based in Dubai and [from there] they concentrate on the [whole] region. So it is very normal that if [advertisers] have a campaign, they include Dubai in there.

If you look at the budgets and, of course, reach, Egypt and Saudi are the most important markets in the Middle East because they are the biggest countries and they have the most money to spend.”

Demographics of Saudi Arabia on mobile

Demographics of Saudi Arabia on web

F 60.0%

60.0% 48.5%

50.0%

43.1%

40.0%

44.2%

40.0% 31.9%

30.0% 20.5%

20.0% 10.0%

51.9%

50.0%

RICH PICKINGS. According to van den Heuvel, Saudi Arabia has 225,000 unique users a month on eBuddy’s Web version, and 400,000 on the mobile version. “The largest group of users in Saudi Arabia (46 percent) are aged between 18 and 24 years old, [and] there are slightly more female users on both mobile and Web.” (See charts, right, for more stats.) EBuddy’s advertising options on the Web include banners, homepage takeovers, messenger takeovers (around the messenger window), rich media ads and pre-roll (while loading the messenger). On mobile, banners can be used for feature phones, and smart phones such as iPhones and Android handsets have rich media possibilities as well. A few months ago, eBuddy did an advertising campaign for Yahoo Maktoob, which focused on KSA, Egypt and the UAE, and it carried a Mars campaign back in July that was targeted toward Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, KSA and the UAE. “The interesting thing about the region is that we see a number of campaigns running in multiple

3.6%

0.0%

4.7%

0-12

13-17

18-24

15.6%

20.0%

14.2% 4.3%

25-35

6.5%

>36

28.9%

27.2%

30.0%

19.4%

12.7%

10.0% 0.0%

6.7%

4.9%

3.8%

0-12

13-17

18-24

25-35

7.5%

>36

ebuddy login data – Based on Mobile & Web month Report, February 2011

.1%

Middle East

Saudi Arabia 5.0% 0.7% 0.1%

8.2

80.0%

MSN

YAHOO

90.0%

FACEBOOK

GTALK

ICQ

MYSPACE

AIM

0.9% 0.7% 0.1%

countries at the same time. So the campaigns that we run are normally not only in Saudi or in the UAE, but most of the time in more countries too,” he says. “We don’t see that in Europe, for instance,” where most campaigns are run in one country only, he adds. Since the majority of eBuddy’s users, even in the Middle East, are between 13 and 24 years old, the platform attracts advertisers looking to target youth, says van den Heuvel. “We have a lot of fast-moving consumer goods companies, like Nike and Adidas. We see a lot of entertainment and gaming advertisers, and they also come back every time. P&G and Unilever also, because they have specific products in their portfolio that are interesting for youth. But, of course, we don’t see a lot of financial services or automotives, because it doesn’t fit with our audience.” DATA LATER. Van den Heuvel says that in terms of advertising, the targeting possibilities in this region are slightly different from Western markets when it comes to the Web. Users can be targeted according to their age, gender, country and how they use eBuddy’s services, “for instance, how many times they log in, how long they stay on eBuddy, what time they use it, and so on,” he says. “In the US we see a lot of data collection; there are specific data providers who collect data from users from different publishers and combine it. So, in that area, we use those data-collecting companies to target more if an advertiser wants that. Moreover, in the US and Europe, we do some behavioral targeting. We use firms that can track users [as they go from eBuddy to another site] and build up a specific behavior for the user.” “However, [behavioral targeting] is something we haven’t done yet in the Middle East. We haven’t had a lot of requests [for it in the region],” says van den Heuvel. “I think that will come in a year or so. Maybe what we’ll see is that it first starts in the US, then it comes to Europe via the UK and then the rest of Europe, and then you see it popping up in Asia and the Middle East and a little bit in Lebanon.” According to van den Heuvel, the mobile version of eBuddy in the Middle East offers better data collection and targeting possibilities than the Web version. “On mobile it is a little bit different, because if you download our application you have to make an eBuddy ID. If you look at the targeting possibilities on mobile, you can target on age, gender, country, the time of the day, etcetera, and also on the operator – for instance, we can target only Etisalat users or only du users – or the handset manufacturer. For example, Nokia handsets or Samsung handsets.” When it comes to IM platforms, Windows Live Messenger seems to be the most popular one on eBuddy. In the Middle East, 80 percent of users chat with Windows Live Messenger. Yahoo Messenger comes next with 14 percent, says van den Heuvel. In Saudi Arabia, 90 percent of users use Windows Live Messenger, while 8 percent use Yahoo Messenger.

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May 2011 | MARKETING

Invested interest

We talk to two branding agencies who believe in their clients enough to buy into their companies by Sidra Tariq

Dominic Gothard. CEO, The Green Foundation

raditionally, creative agencies earn their bread and butter by developing brands for companies. They provide clients with an objective perspective and apply their specialist skills to make those companies successful. In recent years, however, agencies have begun moving one step closer, and have bought into the brands they are building. In the region and beyond, branding agencies are even developing brands from scratch. In 2006, UK-based creative shop Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) launched Zag, a brand invention company. At the time, Ad Age wrote, “The goal is to create new brands that can be licensed or sold to third parties in return for a share of sales revenues.” Zag was formed to address what BBH called “brandlag” – “a space that exists where consumer activity or engagement outpaces brand activity or brand presence.” BBH’s brand invention arm became a launch pad for products such as Ila, a stylish personal alarm system that emits a loud female scream; Pick Me, ready meals for vegetarians; and Mrs. O, a style blog focusing on US first lady Michelle Obama. More recently, a similar path was taken by Atom, a full-service agency headquartered in Dubai. In February 2010 the agency established The Green Foundation, an electronics recycling company, in Dubai, and appointed Atom partner Dominic Gothard as its CEO.

The Green Foundation aims to reduce waste and raise funds for charities by recycling electronic products such as mobile phones, laptops and MP3 players collected from the general public, government and organizations. It also offers customers cash in return for their old or unwanted devices. The Green Foundation was developed through Atom Ventures, a brand invention division that the agency set up in 2008. “We felt that as an industry it was becoming increasingly difficult for advertising agencies to retain clients on a long-term basis – particularly for independent agencies,” says Gothard. “As a result of that, we felt it was a better strategy for us to actually ‘invent’ our own clients. Atom Ventures was tasked to look at businesses of excellence around the world that we felt had opportunities here, and that we could invest in with our marketing services.” OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS. After looking at various opportunities and performing due diligence on the business of recycling electronic items, Atom decided to develop The Green Foundation. “We spoke to a lot of people here and around the world, and it was quite clear to us that there was an opportunity,” says Gothard. “I then set about putting an investor’s perspective on it, and we looked to raise around

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May 2011 | MARKETING

about $750,000 in cash. And that’s exactly what we managed to do.” Atom collectively owns 54 percent of The Green Foundation. “[The Foundation] had lots of set-up costs, which Atom invested in. [Atom has] invested through equity, through cash and through ongoing marketing services,” adds Gothard. Day is another creative agency that took a share in a new brand. According to Dennis de Rond, strategy partner at the independent shop, which has offices in Amsterdam, Dubai and New York, the agency was approached by a young entrepreneur, Merijn ten Thije, who wanted to develop a sneaker brand co-designed with creative talent around the world. The agency decided to help ten Thije with the branding, identity and packaging of the product, which is now known as Isyou. “We proposed that we would do the branding right from the start and would invest with time and you [ten Thije] will get full resource to work on the projects. In return we ask for a small percentage of your company and you can pay us back if you start making a profit with your company,” says de Rond. The next step was to find partners to help build the brand with their specialist skills. “We found somebody who knew everything about manufacturing shoes and somebody who knew everything about financial work and investing in companies,” says de Rond. “The four of us [including ten Thije] are now partners in Isyou. Like any other company, we have partner meetings. We are involved in the next steps every half year, and give advice on how things are going. So it’s really one of our companies at the moment.”

MORE THAN SHARING. Taking a share in the company is not the only way an agency can be involved with a brand, says de Rond. “It depends on the agreement that you make with your partner,” he says. “We have an agreement with a [bath and body care products] company called Greenland. They operate in 35 countries, and are available in the UAE. We have an agreement with them based on profitability: We don’t have a share in the company, but we have a share in the profits.” In other cases, the agency can charge a reduced fee for the hours it works on brands, as well as having a share in the company, he adds. Investing in a brand can generate a degree of loyalty that isn’t always there in a client-supplier relationship, says Gothard. This is an issue for branding and ad agencies alike. “Unfortunately, clients look at advertising as a commodity; on too many occasions, clients pick it up and put it down and buy it based on issues such as price. There is very little loyalty. It’s like Russian roulette; you don’t know from one morning to the next what clients you are going to have. It doesn’t matter how good you are and how well you perform, because at the end of the day clients move on or their budgets get slashed – which is sometimes understandable.” Investing in a brand demonstrates an agency’s level of commitment, says de Rond. “There is no more commitment an agency can show than being prepared to take a share in a company.” However, in order to reach that level of commitment, there has to be openness on both sides – from the client in particular, he adds. Transparency is one of the perks of investing in a brand, since the agency has the “right” infor-

mation, says de Rond. For example, “With a lot of other clients, you never know if there is more budget,” he says. “They tell you that there is none, but sometimes you know that there is. And if you are really a part of the company, then you know exactly what the budget is.” FOCUSED BRIEF. As well as having more information, an agency can have more sway in the decisionmaking process if it has invested in the company. “Normally, you don’t get the chance to be involved in all the ins and outs of the company you work for as a creative entrepreneur,” says de Rond. Agencies have to work according to a brief provided by the client, and that can be wide of the mark. “You can challenge it, of course, but sometimes these briefings have already been signed off internally and then marketing departments don’t want to go to their bosses again and say, ‘We have this agency and they have some good ideas,’” he continues. “Sometimes due to timings, and sometimes due to politics, people won’t do that. But [if you are part of the brand], you can help in setting up your own briefing because you know exactly what it needs. So one of the big advantages for agencies is that they really can base their creative thinking on the insights.” Being part of a brand can help agencies plan better too, de Rond says. “Let’s say there is a dip in sales; right from that moment, we can start thinking about it – should we invest in an advertising campaign, or is that not the right thing for the company and should we try something else? Because you are involved so closely and you hear everything very quickly, therefore you can anticipate that.”

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Part of the plan. Investing in a brand gives an agency a say in all major decisions

Dennis de Rond. Strategy partner at Day

No bed of roses. However, Gothard and de Rond agree that investing in a brand is not always a bed of roses. Finding investors, operating on limited budgets, investing time, and taking risks are challenges any start-up company faces. And when the business is up and running, there are other things that must be taken care of. Even though an agency is an investor in a brand, the two businesses must run as separate entities, says Gothard. “[Atom and The Green Foundation] keep things very separate,” he says. “The company raises invoices to us and we pay them. We are very careful to make sure that the businesses are run very independently of each other, because if you don’t do that, the other investors are not going to be very happy.” At the same time, there must be a strong relationship between the brand and the agency, with both honoring their commitments. “Unless you keep your professional integrity in place, there is always the opportunity to abuse that relationship,” he adds. “It’s very important that you don’t do that, because both businesses need to be able to run profitably in their own right.” “[As an agency] you must also make sure that your standards don’t fall,” says Gothard. He has been in advertising for 27 years, and says, “I’m probably the worst client in the world for Atom, because I actually know what they should be charging and delivering. I know how long things should take and the quality levels that we should be getting. I’m probably the worst client because I have very high expectations. And if Atom don’t meet those expectations, then I’ll tell them that. I’ve already had situations where I haven’t been happy with the quality of work and I’ve rejected it.”

He adds he is probably more loyal than a lot of clients out there, though. “And that is the point,” he says. “We [Atom] want to develop clients who feel that the partnership is worth protecting, and they have a real partnership with the agency instead of a client-and-supplier relationship.” He adds that he would have “no hesitation” in firing Atom if it did not perform well as an agency. SPECIAL DELIVERY. De Rond agrees that firing is an option if the agency’s performance is not up to the mark. “Like in every company where you have different partners, you have to look in a professional way to the delivery of the different partners,” he says. “That’s also what is happening with Isyou. If we don’t deliver, then our other partners will raise objections. But if you are experienced and you are not an outsider before you start with something like this, you know each other quite well and people know what they can expect from you.” Being the brand’s investor can motivate an agency to put in the extra effort, he adds. “We know that if we spend a month on a project where we can’t spend our time on anything else, we will challenge ourselves to give the best results in the most efficient way.” Like any financial venture, when an agency puts its money into a brand it is still a gamble. “It is an investment, and you have to wait until you get a return on investment,” says de Rond. “Some companies do it really well, and it will take other companies longer to make a profit. In that sense, it is a risk. But if you work for more than three years in the branding and advertising industry, then you have enough experience to calculate these risks.”

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MAY 2011 | DEPARTMENTS

X-pert Files

Extreme engagement

Prototype’s Alexander Rauser says the time is ripe to tap into a growing consumer base of smartphone users

Alexander Rauser. CEO of Prototype, a Dubai-based full-service interactive agency

veryone has a mobile phone. Well, almost everyone. Of the 6.7 billion people on the planet, a whopping 5 billion have one. Purchases in emerging markets will drive global use of smartphones to an expected 1.7 billion by 2014. Mobile is here. With it comes a range of opportunities for marketers, including mobile content, SMS, augmented reality, and apps. Marketing brands on mobiles requires expertise. Creating good content can be costly and is often more appealing to brands with international footprints. However, there are ways to create mobile content for smaller audiences, while still getting some good return on investment. Extreme engagement is the answer. By providing users with branded applications, relevant to their target audience, companies can engage with their customers on a daily basis. Just as fitness clubs give their members brightly colored bags with their logos emblazoned on the front, it’s all about keeping your brand on your customers’ minds. According to Google’s AdMob Mobile Metrics research platform, users spend up to 70 minutes on mobile applications each day. This opens the door to extreme engagement. For example, a car dealership that has an application reminding customers when to change their oil or have their

vehicles serviced would make it highly likely those customers would visit the dealership for services. The possibilities for marketing mobile applications successfully are endless, and new technologies are developing that make it easier to optimise business processes. These technologies are finally making it easier to develop cross-platform applications, as this is one of the challenges of mobile content. Which device is your target audience using? Should you focus on what is hip and trendy, or the platform that provides you with the most exposure? These are all questions that need to be answered before a successful mobile application can be created. Applications are not the only way to utilise mobiles. Telcos are investing heavily in valueadded services. For example, du’s social network and its content portal, Anayou.com, allow users to synchronize settings and consume content on the go. The idea behind these services is to get users to spend more time using the operators’ core services and, at the same time, develop a local content distribution channel. Mobile content is not only for big corporations. With a reported 3G user base of 25 million in the Middle East, the market has yet to be tapped into. Localized applications provide a means to reach this market. According to Yahoo Maktoob, 75 percent of Saudis are keen to receive Islamic content on their phones during Ramadan. Duas (prayers of supplication), prayer times, and the Quran are the most preferred content choices. Mobile applications have arrived, and are still evolving. Although many different operating systems offer different applications, the time will soon come for these to be narrowed down by consumer preference. There is also the issue of native, Web-based programs, where the users seek applications that suit their needs. The future lies with intelligent, accessible applications. These must be localized in order to build better relationships with customers. They are relevant and informative, and give consumers the information they need, while interacting and exposing the brand to a wider audience. In a culture obsessed with mobiles, and with a growing Internet community, there is much opportunity for successful mobile applications. The threat to ban BlackBerrys in the region, and the uproar that ensued, proved this. There are hundreds of potential consumers out there, all with the necessary equipment to connect with your brand. They are just waiting for the right applications.

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MAY 2011 | DEPARTMENTS

Regional Work

All insect killer. Client: PifPaf Advertising Agency: Euro RSCG, Dubai Creative Director: Neeraj Sabharwal Art Director/Copywriter/ Typographer: Vikram Divecha Art Director: Jose Basug

Let it taste the way it should. Advertising Agency: DDB, Dubai, UAE Group Creative Director: Shehzad Yunus Creative/Art Director: Firas Medrows Copywriters: Swati Sholapurkar, Firas Medrows Photographer: Daryl Patni Illustrator: Firas Medrows

You never know what happens when you fall asleep. Client: Bodyguard mosquito repellent Advertising Agency: FP7/RUH, Saudi Arabia Executive Creative Director: Ahmad Beck Art Directors: Mohammad Baalbaki, Ahmad Beck Copywriter: Mohammad Baalbaki Illustrator: Max Kostenko These ads (and more) can be found at adsoftheworld.com

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International Work

What happens in the kitchen stays in the kitchen. Advertising Agency: Lowe, Jakarta, Indonesia Executive Creative Director: Din Sumedi Associate Creative Director: Derry Gautama Art Directors: Adam Pamungkas, Yuri Heikal S. Copywriters: Bondan ESP, Din Sumedi Photographer: Clarissa Peddy

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Until he learns to fly, we will do the job. Advertising Agency: Lesch+Frei, Zurich, Switzerland Creative Director: Thomas L端ber Art Director: Matthias Kadlubsky Copywriter: Thomas L端ber Photographer: Scheffold.Vizner Published: April 2011 These ads (and more) can be found at adsoftheworld.com

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Job Reference:JB1631617

Job Reference:JB1403819

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

JUNIOR ART DIRECTOR

Qualiﬁcation: Degree in Business Administration Experience: 2 - 3 years Experience Skills: Excellent creative skills Excellent communication skills Strong experience in a similar role

Qualiﬁcation: Degree in relevant discipline Experience: 2+ year Experience Skills: Strong creative skills Strong communication skills Ability to work under pressure

Qualiﬁcation: Degree in relevant discipline Experience: 2 years Experience Skills: Excellent presentation skills Excellent communication skills Experience in a similar role

Job Reference:JB1658158

Job Reference:JB1282278

Job Reference:JB1656792

STAFF WRITER

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

CREATIVE HEAD

Qualiﬁcation: Degree in relevant discipline Experience: 0+ years Experience Skills: Strong command of English & Arabic Strong communication skills Strong social networking skills

Qualiﬁcation: Degree in relevant discipline Experience: 5+ years Experience Skills: Strong supervisory skills Creative problem-solving skills Strong organizational skills

Qualiﬁcation: Degree in Fine Arts / Commercial Arts Experience: 4+ year Experience Skills: Strong teamwork skills Strong communication skills Strong problem solving skills

Job Reference:JB1657728

Job Reference:JB1649222

Job Reference:JB1651070

GRAPHIC & WEB DESIGNER

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Qualiﬁcation: Degree in Graphic and Web Design Experience: 0 - 2 years Experience Skills: Strong communication skills Strong teamwork skills Ability to work under pressure

Qualiﬁcation: Degree in relevant discipline Experience: 5+ years Experience Skills: Strong organizational skills Excellent communication skills Strong time management skills

Qualiﬁcation: Degree in relevant discipline Experience: 0+ years Experience Skills: Strong organizational skills Strong communication skills Strong creative skills

Job Reference:JB1362540

Job Reference:JB1638714

Job Reference:JB1645682

ART DIRECTOR

INTERIOR DESIGNER

Qualiﬁcation: Degree in relevant discipline Experience: 5 - 10 years Experience Skills: Excellent communication skills Excellent teamworking skills Strong computer skills

Qualiﬁcation: Degree in relevant discipline Experience: 5+ years Experience Skills: Strong communication skills Strong command of English Strong computer skills

Qualiﬁcation: Degree in Interior Design Experience: 2 - 3 years Experience Skills: Strong analytical skills Excellent communication skills Experience in a similar role

Job Reference:JB1656421

Job Reference:JB1629989

Job Reference:JB1647333

Tamasuk Int.

AL ARGAN INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE CO.

Siemens

Image Idea

Alfanar Company

Bayt Communities

Crown Information Technology

Octopus Advertising LLC

Tamasuk Int. (Qatar)

Rhine Resources W.L.L. (Bahrain)

Design Master (Kuwait)

Futures Business Development

Reservoir

Lagoon Hotel & Resort (Jordan)

One Globe Operator (Lebanon)

How to apply to jobs on Bayt.com 1. 2. 3. 4.

Visit our website at www.bayt.com If you are a new visitor, click on ‘Post a CV’ to create your Bayt.com CV Enter the job reference in the Search box on the homepage. Example, enter JB123456 When you view the job posting, click on “Apply to this job” and attach your Bayt.com CV. Your CV will go directly to the employer and they will contact you if you ﬁt their job requirements

MAY 2011 | Off the record

The Dish Where it all began If there must be a reason for everything, Gulf News may have found how the UAE’s capital came to exist.

Everything covered Under-promise, over-deliver doesn’t seem to cut it when your name is Tarsam Hayre. This Ghanaian gentleman sent us an e-mail last month promising, “I have the cure of HIV/ aids, cancer, barrenness, diabetes, heart problems, spiritual attack, Bad dreams like swimming, eating, dancing, having sex in the dream, etc.” His services continue: “For success in examinations, interview, lottery games, court cases and any kind of spiritual assistance we are there for you.” How can we argue with that? Cosmoops

Dubai-based publishing house ITP last month launched a regional edition of women’s title Cosmopolitan. The original is a raunchy sex-fest, but ITP has toned down Cosmo Middle East. “Drive him crazy: tips to make him stand up & take notice” is as saucy as the cover lines get. So we assume that the letter on one of the many agony aunt pages from Abu Dhabi’s Kylie, aged 25, may contain an unintended typo. It reads, “My boyfriend and I broke up six months ago because he was insecure and jealous. Last week he called me out of the blue

66 I Communicate

74-COM77-The Dish.indd 66

Poet’s corner 5 Cardinal Sins of Business Writing: Shakespeare versus the Consultants! Sir William Shakespeare, without a shadow of a doubt, was one of the greatest poet/writer of his time. I can’t help but wonder though, what if he were a consultant in the year 2010? Would his clients get mesmerized reading his flawless presentations? Or get so engrossed in his carefully knitted reports that they increase the “out of pocket expenses (OPE)” or sign a multi-project agreement, if for nothing else, then, just to get an opportunity to read Shakespeare’s reports. People around us are judging us on the basis of our writing skills. Yes. That’s true!. Effective business writing skills often go hand in hand with excellent communication skills. It is hard to say whether effective business writing skills lead to excellent communication skills or vice versa, but, there is definitely a correlation between them. Before we discuss the 5 cardinal sins of business writing, think of one individual (from a professional context), whose business writing and communication skills you admire. Done? Ok let’s move forward. So what are the 5 cardinal sins of effective business writing? •Using Acronyms and Vague Words Come on, don’t be lazy. ASAP, EOD,

to tell me he wasn’t over men and wanted to give it another try. But it’s taken me six months to stop hurting. What should I do?” If he’s not over men, Kylie might not be who he’s looking for. Jail sell There’s not much to add to this from The Buffalo News: “The Erie County Holding Center, which has had its share of problems in recent years, will soon allow bail bondsmen and defense law-

EOB, MOM, BTW, CAGR, POA and the list goes on. We need to banish these acronyms from our system. In the short term, these do not affect our writing skills, however, eventually one runs into a client who is not aware of these short forms and thus can often lead to an embarrassing situation. Recession is the theme of the decade, why take chances! • Making grammatical errors Yes we need to revise our grammar. We all started our learning our A, B, C’s, we graduated to grammar. Some of us meticulously learned those boring grammar concepts others merely decided to float through high school with bare minimum grammar knowledge. •Writing more than required Concision is the key to a better work product. We should try to say more in fewer words. As you master the grammar concepts, the number of words you use to articulate your thoughts should also reduce. No client wants to read a 200 page report, In fact, most clients only read the summary of the report. Consulting clients (or end users of our reports) tend to the key decision makers at the client, the strategy heads, the directors, the chief executive officers etc; these individuals do not have the time to go through a 200 page

yers to advertise on a high-definition television screen aimed at defendants minutes after their arrest.” The company offering this bit of government revenue generation is the “Captive Ads” unit (get it?) of Metrodata Services. And the amount the US could make per year? Upwards of $15,000. Don’t spend it all in one place.

document. Keep your audience in mind. They are your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future (Ah, finally an article where I can use lines from the sunscreen song). • Not revising after writing Don’t you just hate revising? At least I do, but revision is pivotal for effective business writing. As is often the case, you type an email to your boss and then you send the email without a second read, only to realize that you missed a connecting verb somewhere in the email. If you’re lucky, your boss won’t even notice the missing verb, in the worst case scenario; however, your boss would ring you up and recommend that you buy a copy of the Wren & Martin (the famous grammar book). • Misspelling a name Never ever never mess up the spelling of someone’s name. This is by far the biggest sin you could make. People are very protective of their names. You mess up a spelling on the email and the reader will put you on his hate list right away. Get the name right. No exception what so ever. – An invite to a business writing course from our friends at Settec: The Training House in Cairo.

says the headline on the front cover of 7Days. The UAE daily is writing about the musical, Grease. With that spelling, perhaps “Athens” should be the word.

You’re the sub that I want “Dubai is the word for Greece fans,”

Communicate cannot guarantee the accuracy of the rumors, innuendo and idle gossip that appear on this page. Send your anonymous Dish tips to editor@communicate.vg

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