PRCo welcomes Maryanne Haggas

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Maryanne Haggas has joined PRCo Dubai as Senior Account Executive. Maryanne brings with her extensive experience in PR, advertising and branding, having worked with large PR and advertising agencies in the region, including Havas Worldwide Middle East, Goodley PR and, most recently, Insignia. In her new role, she will be looking after a selection of PR accounts from across the PRCo portfolio.

“I am thrilled to be joining an agency like PRCo,” says Maryanne. “I can’t wait to begin working with such an exciting portfolio of hospitality clients.”

For further information, contact Maryanne Haggas at mhaggas@prco.com / +971 (0)56 480 5696

Time Out welcomes Matt Fortune

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Matt Fortune has joined Time Out – part of ITP Publishing Group – as Head of Digital Content, bringing eight years of experience in journalism with him to his new role. Matt most recently worked at Motivate Publishing as Web Editor for What’s On magazine, where he was responsible for overseeing all of What’s On’s digital content. In his new role, Matt will be responsible for overseeing content for all of Time Out’s digital platforms across the Middle East.

For further information, contact Matt Fortune at matt.fortune@itp.com / +971 (0)4 444 3368

Image Nation launches “Quest for Talent”

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Image Nation launched their ‘Quest for Talent’ today across the Middle East and North Africa, in a bid to find potential TV personalities to appear on new channel, Quest Arabia. The channel will reach 45 million households across the MENA region and will appeal to a demographic of Arabic speakers, with a specific focus on male-orientated content at key times in the schedule. It will screen a combination of regionally-produced original material and content from Discovery’s library of non-fiction shows which will be edited and repurposed for the regional audience.

Applications for ‘Quest for Talent’ are open to men and women aged from 18 – 40 from across the MENA region, no media experience is necessary as Quest Arabiya will provide all the training and support necessary to launch a successful TV career. All applicants will need to do is make a short film using their phone, capturing their personality and enthusiasm.

“This is an exciting opportunity for us to uncover new talent in the region, as we build a diverse team capable of creating and delivering top-quality regional content,” says Eeman Al Ansari, Programming Executive, Quest Arabiya. “It’s an incredible opportunity for people in the Middle East to break into television and receive the support and training they need for a career in this dynamic and challenging industry.”

To apply, send your submission to talent@imagenation.ae

For further information, contact Haydn Galloway at haydngalloway@sevenmedia.ae / +971 (0)52 850 0865

Cheil MENA promotes Omar Al Jabi

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Cheil MENA has promoted Omar Al Jabi to the role of Executive Creative Director. Omar, who has held the role of Creative Director for the last two years, will continue to work on local and regional campaigns for brands such as Samsung, Coke Studio and Renault. His new role will also see him working closely with Cheil’s regional and global offices, in order to enhance creativity, inject new talent and expand the agency’s creative offerings and portfolio.

For further information, contact Adil Elaouad at adil@limelightprme.com / +971 (0)50 559 7522

Advertyze Network launches

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Advertyze Network, an agency providing high-quality digital marketing solutions, launched at a gala ceremony in the Grand Hyatt Dubai last night, with movers and shakers from the advertising industry in attendance. The network will act as a digital advertising resource, aimed at marketers to aid online advertising by allowing them to like and share successful adverts, gain reports based on activity and use an auto ad builder to create adverts within minutes.

“We at Advertyze Network are super excited by the outstanding reception at the launch event, but not surprised by the response from the market,” says Saad Siddiqui, CEO, Advertyze. “After all, the innovations on offer are exactly what advertisers need and these will be among the most talked-about, and most used digital tools to impact audiences.”

For further information, contact Rabie Riman at rriman@entourageintl.com / +971 (0)4 429 1270

Leo Burnett Beirut wins three Facebook Awards

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Leo Burnett Beirut represented their region as the only Middle Eastern company to receive Facebook Awards in 2015. The agency won both Gold (New Frontier) and Silver (Facebook for Good) awards for their work with non-governmental women’s rights organisation, KAFA, as well as a second Silver (New Frontier) award for their ‘Keep Walking Lebanon’ campaign for Johnny Walker. Other international recipients of the Facebook Awards included Droga5, McCann Lima and LA RED.

The Facebook Awards were established to celebrate the best creative work on Facebook, as chosen by leading creatives in the industry. They recognise excellence in campaign execution, as well as creative growth and evolution on Facebook, with judges looking for inspired work that challenges industry attitudes towards content publishing. A party will be held on June 24, 2015 in Cannes to celebrate the winners of this year’s awards.

MEPRA announces recipients of the Visionary Award

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Members of the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) have voted for and chosen the top executives from the communications industry, as well as the corporate and government sectors, as recipients of its Visionary Award. Tara Rogers, Managing Partner, Mojo PR, won the communications agency executive Visionary Award, while Ala’A Eraiqat, Group CEO, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank was chosen as the corporate Visionary Award winner. Maijida Ali Rashide, Assistant Directory General of Dubai Land Department & Head of Dubai Real Estate Promotion Centre was the recipient of the award in the government/not-for-profit sector.

The winners of the Visionary Award have been recognised for their impact and thought leadership over the previous years. The Visionary Awards were organised as part of the MEPRA Leadership Majlis, which was supported by destination partner Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, as well as event sponsors Weber Shandwick MENA and MCG Associates.

“I’m delighted to have three remarkable communicators winning our first visionary awards,” says Brian Lott, Chairman of MEPRA. “Ala’a, Majida and Tara have all shown exemplary leadership in terms of their respective areas of business and enterprise, and they’ve ensured that effective communications are at the forefront of the work being done by their respective organisations.”

For further information, contact Carine Duvignaud at carine@mepra.org / +971 (0)55 948 7491

Twitter CEO to step down

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Twitter’s Chief Executive Officer Dick Costolo is set to step down from his position on July 1, 2015, having been in the role since October, 2010. The former entrepreneur will remain on Twitter’s board of directors and the company has iterated that Costolo’s departure is his own decision to move on from his role, and that this move will have no financial impact for stakeholders. Former colleagues have praised Dick across Twitter, using the hashtag #ThankYouDickC.

While Twitter’s board hunt for a new permanent CEO, Jack Dorsay – a co-founder of the social networking site, as well as the first person to send a tweet when it launched in 2006 – will act as Interim Executive Officer.