New board members announced for MEPRA

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The Middle East PR Association (MEPRA) has appointed its new board and leaders following the Annual General Meeting at Middlesex University, Knowledge Village, Dubai.

Brian Lott, Executive Director of Communications at Mubadala, is the organisation’s new Chair. Brian was previously Vice Chair under Nicola Gregson, who held the position since January 2014. Alex Malouf, who is Corporate Communications Manager in the Arabian Peninsula for Procter & Gamble, will become the organisation’s new Vice Chair. Board Secretary Thomas Ashby, from the strategic consulting agency Consulum, and Treasurer Mazen Nahawi, President of News Group International, will remain in their current roles.

“It’s never been a more exciting time to be a member of the Public Relations industry,” says Brian. “Communications is moving at the most rapid pace in recent memory. That is energising agencies, corporations, governments and public relations practitioners to be at the top of their game as the industry goes through massive change. MEPRA’s members are working hard to navigate this change, by hearing from outside experts as well as learning from each other.”

The new Board is structured around a number of initiatives for 2015, meant to advance the public relations agenda of its members.

Bloomberg Businessweek launches Arabic edition

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Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East, in partnership with United Media Services International (UMS), has officially launched its Arabic edition for the Middle East market.

Published monthly and with a targeted circulation of 30,000, the Arabic version will focus on an audience of business leaders based predominantly in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The new edition will carry fresh content and articles written especially for an Arabic audience, as well as selected articles from the Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East title. This will provide readers with detailed analysis and access to CEOs, dealmakers and industrial decision makers as well as global content drawn from Bloomberg’s 2,400 journalists worldwide, in addition to financial content from UMS’s regional network of bureaus and editors.

Edelman welcomes new Executive Vice Chairman

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Edelman has appointed Carol Potter as Executive Vice Chairman, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APACMEA) from August 1, 2015. She joins the team from Shanghai, where she was President and CEO of BBDO China.

Carol is recognised and well-respected in global advertising, arriving in Shanghai as CEO of BBDO China in 2006, having previously worked as Global Business Director at J.Walter Thompson in London.  Starting her career at Satchi & Satchi, working in Sydney, New York, Tokyo and London, marketing and advertising across various high profile brands and fortune 500 companies.

In her new role, Carol will be based in Dubai supporting David Brain, President and CEO, APACMEA. She will be tasked particularly in helping to develop Edelman’s brand offer, which encompasses social, digital, experiential, PR, analytics and research for clients throughout the region.

“Carol represents the gold standard of advertising and planning, and will bring with her the science and rigour of marketing to accelerate our evolution into becoming the region’s first communications marketing agency,” says David. ‘”She is a leading brands thinker and will elevate our research, creative and content offerings across the region for the benefit of our clients.”

Carol adds, “Edelman has always been an impressive company to me and its evolution, which David is pioneering in the region, really ignited my interest.  I see this as a wonderful opportunity to use my experience in new ways to pursue the same agenda.”

Henkel named Advertiser of the Year at Dubai Lynx

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The 2015 Dubai Lynx Advertiser of the Year has been awarded to Henkel, the owner of household brands such as Persil, Fa and Pril, as the advertising festival’s award ceremony got underway at the Madinat Jumeirah Arena last night. The title is given to a MENA advertiser that has demonstrated inspiring innovative marketing for its brands and embraced creativity from its agencies.

“Achieving success through business results is motivating and inspiring,” says Mohamed Siam, Regional Marketing Director, Henkel. “However, what makes it even better is when we can turn our trademark into a love mark with consumers. This can only be done through creative communications that build a bridge between the brand strategy and the consumer needs in the most entertaining way. This award is proof to us that we are moving in the right direction. We will continue to excel in our communications and commit to consistent development. It will be an honour to add more prestigious trophies to our collection in the near future.”

Philip Thomas, CEO of Lions Festivals adds, “Henkel are worthy recipients of this award due to their phenomenal marketing efforts, which have resulted in creative advertising that proves itself to be innovative and inspirational time and time again.”

Architectural Digest appoints Editor-in-Chief

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Manuel Arnaut has been appointed as Editor-in-Chief of soon to be launched Architectural Digest Middle East. Joining the team from Portugal with a number of high profile publications under his belt, Manuel previously spent seven years as a journalist for Vogue Portugal and most recently held the position of Editor at GQ Portugal. He will now oversee the launch and running of Arab Publishing Partners’ (APP) hotly anticipated new title.

Published under licence agreement with APP, Architectural Digest Middle East is set to hit the stands in April 2015, marking the tenth  global edition of the magazine.