Chief Operating Officer, Eymard Saldanha

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Name: Eymard Saldanha
Age: 45
From: Mumbai, India
Current job title: Chief Operating Officer, Percept Gulf MENA

When did you arrive in the UAE?
I first came to the UAE in 1997, having previously spent my career working in marketing and advertising in India.

Where did you work prior?
Prior to joining Percept Gulf MENA, I was with Ogilvy & Mather MENA where I was Regional Director EEMEA – BAT and Head of Advertising MENA. 

What were your first impressions of the media industry in the Middle East?
It felt quite small and contained. The opportunities for principal business are never limited to a country but a geographical cluster, so just getting it right in one country’s market was never good enough. If you’ve not expanded regionally you will never reach critical mass. I felt that about media as well.

Have these impressions changed much?
Individual markets have evolved significantly, and there are many more opportunities for certain industries to prosper with a single country specification. But in general, my view that principals need to have a geographical spread remains unchanged. Media should follow their brands’ expansion.

Tell us about your new role at Percept Gulf…
I have come on board as COO of the NEW Percept. We have been reasonably advertising focused in the past and my ambition is to embed the PerceptOne ideology into our genetic code. PerceptOne is our interpretation of how a flat, multi-disciplined organisation delivers superior business results to our resident brands; through a combination of understanding the product, as well as consumer and business challenges, and culminating in a consumer or customer facing business solution. The new multi-discipline Percept Gulf offering now includes advertising, media, public relations, social and digital, and event marketing, which I oversee. I also want to engage the PerceptOne ideology with new, ambitious and like-minded business groups.

What challenges do you face?
I see the MENA region as a huge opportunity and do not see any challenges in embedding our ideology. I will always push myself hard to hire bigger and better people so that giants surround me. Getting the right team is always a challenge, but we in Dubai are better off than most with our location offer – and I believe PerceptOne will be a natural magnet.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
I have only been a part of the Percept group for the last few months, but I already have a love for our enthusiasm and commitment. We are a very entrepreneurial agency and believe that ideas can develop anywhere – inside or out of the agency. Helping my teams disseminate rich thinking is the more rewarding part of my job. In addition, I love teaching and mentoring our talent, as well as directly engaging with clients on business problems.

What’s the most exciting thing to happen so far?
I am yet to meet a single client (and I have met a lot in the last few months) who doesn’t believe in the PerceptOne ideology. That signifies opportunity to deliver the best to our brands and is hugely exciting to me.

What do you think of the quality of media publications in the region?
‘You have come a long way baby’ is a radio mnemonic that comes to mind. The media publications were static and boring for a long time and have truly come into their own over the last few years. The trajectory is just right. 

What sets you apart from other communications professionals?
I believe that every solid marketing communications professional should keep their brands and consumers as their primary focus, and not get distracted by obsessive strategising, irrelevant creative and an inflated ego. I have managed to balance all three over the years, and I think I’m a better, more professional person for it. It allows me to drive my teams to:

  1. Disrupt the status quo
  2. Think beyond the traditional norm
  3. Develop rich and campaign-able ideas
  4. Display infectious energy
  5. Think and live the media neutral PerceptOne.

Work calls via landline, mobile or both?
I am happy with both.

What’s your most overused saying?
Currently it is ‘PerceptOne and Brand Evangelist’, but historically it has been ‘We sell or else!’ and ‘The consumer isn’t a moron she is your wife’ (both from David Ogilvy – RIP).

Five things you can’t live without?
My wife, daughter, my IT fix (my gadgets), Wifi and my sense of humour.

If you weren’t in media and communications, what would you be doing?
A top end car and bike shop owner, who would terrorise owners for not loving their vehicles the way they should be!

Haute Time magazine to launch in the UAE

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Haute Time is set to launch a UAE edition of the magazine in January 2015. Published biannually, the luxury lifestyle magazine will be unveiled before the SIHH Watch Show and will act as the preeminent resource for the luxury watch and jewellery industry in the Middle East.

With a total UAE distribution of 15,000, Haute Time UAE will be available in print across various venues, as well as digitally on iPad, iPhone and Android. Offering readers and advertisers specialised content from global editors on the watch and jewellery market, cars and fashion, the magazine’s Dubai-based editors will additionally cover everything concerning the Middle Eastern market, including major fashion and luxury events, the best restaurants and the latest hotels.

With an accompanying platform – www.hautetime.ae – this will be updated daily with news from the UAE, as well as first-rate watch editorial from global editors.

“We are very excited to launch in the UAE, as six years ago we had the luxury of featuring Mohamed Alabbar, Founder and Chairman of Emaar Properties on our cover as he was building the Burj Khalifa,” says Seth Semilof, Publisher, Haute Living and Haute Time magazine. ““We have been in love with the UAE ever since we started our Hauteliving.com blog in the country with Rebecca Anne Proctor 3 years ago. With the site’s great readership in the region, it was natural for us to launch Haute Time, a biannual book showcasing everything relating to luxury taking place in the UAE. It will have the same powerful distribution that has made Haute Time so famous in the US.”

Integral-OMG publishes paper on mobile devices

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Integral-OMG, the research arm of Omnicom Media Group MENA, has partnered with specialist digital marketing agency Resolution and Google to produce a comprehensive mobile white paper, ‘Upward Mobility: Reflecting on the Growth of Mobile in MENA.’

Integral-OMG’s research shows that an average smartphone user in the region currently spends upwards of four hours per day on these devices. Google reports that consumers in the UAE have an average of three internet-enabled devices and that mobile devices account for 50 percent of YouTube viewership in Saudi Arabia. Advertisers are regarding it more and more as a valuable medium with plans for greater investments; by 2020, Omnicom Media Group estimates that 58 percent of all digital investments in the region will be on mobile.

‘Upward Mobility’ provides further insights on consumer behavior around the device, the emergence of the second screen in television consumption and the rise of the mobile transactions in the region. While there is a lag, both globally and regionally, between users’ adoption of the medium and that of advertisers and publishers, this gap is being bridged over time. The paper outlines what changes need to take place for all parties to realise the full potential of this ubiquitous platform.

“Our latest white paper takes a closer look at the state of mobile in the region and analyses the implications on the communications industry,” says Ziad Skaff, Regional Executive Director – Research and Insights, Omnicom Media Group MENA. “It not only goes beyond the top-line penetration and usage figures, but also explores the behaviours of users, advertisers and publishers. Mobile devices will continue to transform the way we target and communicate with consumers. In order to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the media, the mindset of the industry has to similarly evolve.”

Wassim Kabbara, Head of E-commerce, Retail and Local at Google MENA adds, “The region has one of the highest number of smartphone users in the world. With more than half of search queries and YouTube views coming from mobile, and 90 percent of users who are online daily on their devices, the opportunities are endless. One of our top priorities in MENA is to help businesses become mobile leaders in their own right, offer best practices and help them innovate through this medium beyond just advertising.”

Yahoo integrates access to Flurry’s video inventory

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Yahoo is integrating Flurry’s in-app video inventory into its ad platforms. Having acquired the mobile analytics and advertising company in July, the integration will allow advertisers to buy mobile video inventory on Flurry’s app network – which can be purchased at 15, 30 or 60 second interstitial ads – through Yahoo Ad Manager Plus. This encompasses display, stream ads, mobile, search video and display ad inventory.

With Flurry video ad supply now available alongside Yahoo and third-party marketplaces on Yahoo Ad Manager Plus, the Yahoo platform has become the largest provider of video ad inventory in the industry, according to an official blog post. Yahoo continues to focus on video in its strategy to reviving its ad business.

Submissions close for Sharjah Govt Comms Award

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Sharjah Media Centre (SMC) has closed submissions for the second edition of the Sharjah Government Communication Award. The awards recognise the achievements of outstanding media and communications professionals across government institutions in the UAE. The award incentivises government communication professionals to implement best practices in their daily operations and proactively contribute with ideas for the improvement of their departments that in turn facilitate efficient communication with Sharjah’s residents. The submissions are currently being subjected to a preliminary evaluation process.

“The initial screening of submissions has begun and will conclude at the end of November,” says Asma Al Juwaied, Manager, Sharjah Government Communication Award 2014. “For this edition of the Award, SMC has commissioned a carefully selected team to oversee the quality of entries and ensure they comply to our stringent terms and conditions. In the second phase of the evaluation process, the selection committee will nominate three to five submissions from each category. The shortlisted entries will be presented to the jury panel for the final evaluation and selection of the ultimate winner in each category.”

This year’s Sharjah Government Communications Award has witnessed wide participation from ministries, federal institutions and local government entities, with many of the federal and local authorities submitting entries to more than one category.

The winners will be announced at an official ceremony that will be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, during the first quarter of 2015.

Ben Kershaw joins Katch International

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Ben Kershaw has been appointed as Client Servicing Director for Katch International. Ben brings to his new position over eight years of experience in the UAE, including Head of Sales for the Middle East at PR Newswire, Sales and Marketing Manager at White Label, and most recently the Marketing and Sales Manager for Cavalli Club, Restaurant & Lounge. In his new position, as well as being the main point of communication between the team and clients, Ben will also help build strategic partnerships between clients and external companies, enhancing their activities under the agency’s portfolio that includes public relations, social media, events, design and conceptual development.

“Having the dual perspective of being both a client and now a member of Katch International, I can think of no more enigmatic and creative team to be joining,” says Ben. “I look forward to breaking the traditional mold of marketing activities in the UAE and growing our portfolio into new industries and fields in the future.”

CNC and Capital MSL to merge

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CNC – Communications and Network Consulting – and Capital MSL, have announced their intention to merge. The combined consultancy will adopt the CNC name and offer clients a stronger international network and broader advisory capabilities. This step will considerably strengthen the overall group offering, as well as add a prominent Middle East and emerging markets presence – including offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai – to CNC’s network.

The new CNC will begin operations on January 1, 2015, with 11 offices in eight countries working on more than 200 mandates globally. It will continue to offer a broad range of integrated strategic communications services, including financial and corporate communications, reputation management, crisis and issues management, internal and change communications and public affairs. As part of the MSLGROUP network, the combined operation will leverage the skills of strategic and financial communications sister consultancies, such as Kekst & Company in the US and JKL in the Nordic region, in addition to expanding its presence in Asia and Latin America.

Richard Campbell, Founder and CEO of Capital MSL and Roland Klein, currently Managing Partner of CNC London, will be joint Managing Partners in London as well as overseeing the growth in the Middle East. Claire Maloney and Nick Bastin, both shareholders and Managing Director’s of Capital MSL, will become Partners in the new firm, alongside the existing 10 Partners in the CNC Group.

“Since Publicis Groupe’s acquisition of CNC in 2012, it was clear that not only did we advise clients around similar issues, but that we also had the same vision for the future,” says Richard Campbell, Founder and CEO, Capital MSL. “It makes strong strategic sense to combine the two networks to create an impressive international organisation of real scale, serving our clients as their most trusted advisor. After a successful and highly enjoyable thirteen years of growth as Capital MSL, we are convinced that this is the right step for our colleagues and clients, helping them to realise their own ambitions on a more international stage and in a more complex communications environment.”

Al Jazeera to build global media cloud

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Al Jazeera Media Network has secured a deal with telecommunications provider Ooredoo to build a global media cloud which will connect its international bureaus. Signed at Al Jazeera’s Doha headquarters, the cloud will allow the network to connect with its main hubs in Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, Asia and Africa, as well as linking with its 70 bureaus around the world. The media cloud will enable Al Jazeera to share videos, reports and breaking news with its editorial teams instantly, aiding preparation for broadcast on the network’s news channels.

“One of Al Jazeera Media Network’s objectives is to become a world class network operation,”  says Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, Chairperson, Al Jazeera. “This global media cloud project and initiative will help the network achieve this goal by bringing the journalists and editorial workforce on a common communication platform. This partnership with Ooredoo will leverage the news capabilities of the channel and enhance user experience.”

Ooredoo Chairperson, Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani adds, “Al Jazeera is a globally-recognised brand, and Ooredoo is proud to be building infrastructure that will enable the company to take its coverage to the next level. In winning this competitive bid against some of the world’s largest technology companies, we are showing that Ooredoo is a world-class provider of cutting-edge business solutions.”