Tarek Daouk joins Dentsu Aegis Network

Dentsu Aegis Network has appointed Tarek Daouk to the role of CEO – MENA. Daouk previously worked with Spark Foundry as Regional Managing Director – MENA, where he provided content marketing strategies for brands such as P&G, Visa and Mars, and most recently worked with Starcom Middle East where he held the role of CEO. In his new role, he will work on accelerating Dentsu Aegis’ growth in the MENA region as the organisation delivers integrated solutions across creative, media, data and content. He will also play a critical role in mobilising the existing strategy of growth through mergers and acquisitions.

“I am delighted to be joining Dentsu Aegis Network at such an exciting time,” says Tarek. “I was drawn to Dentsu Aegis’ high performance culture and its commitment to help clients achieve their business goals. I am looking forward to building on the existing success in the region, as well as leading the business in achieving its ambitious agenda.”

The only thing that is certain is uncertainty

Kate Midttun, Founder and Managing Director, Acorn Strategy offers her thoughts on the volatility in the Middle East market and what a good marketing strategy does to prepare for it.

“The only thing that is certain is uncertainty. In 2018, it’s difficult to plan past six months and there’s rarely a company that can afford not to be agile. The days of a fixed 12-month marketing calendar are well behind us.”

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t strategise, quite the opposite, in fact, a good strategy will help you pivot faster than your competitors, make quick decisions and react quickly. It will also help you to build the barriers to entry leaving your competitors eating dust as they try to catch up.

So why aren’t people doing it? They’re too busy, they think they have a strategy (it’s really just a tactical plan with some activities), they don’t need one, or they can’t afford it. There’s an argument against each one and really any leader that can’t articulate their marketing strategy and how it plays into their corporate decisions is letting their company down. Marketing should be contributing to corporate success, not just making things look pretty.

From understanding the context of the economy, the trends in the market, customer behaviour and the factors outside of your control, you’ll start to understand where your opportunity truly lies. It doesn’t lie in following your competitor or offering a slightly lower price or doing something just a little bit better – these are some decisions that should add up to a much bigger playbook that can be turned and tweaked as market factors change.

By taking time to consider the space you occupy in the market you get real and stronger. For some, it’s a tough step and an eye opener, but for others it helps to build the foundations for future success. This builds the base of the offering that you provide to your customers and the reason why they’ll continue to return to you.

After understanding the market, the space you occupy and how you answer the demands of the market, you’ll be able to decide on a strategic direction for your marketing that will support in achieving your wider business objectives. Should you be aggressive as a follower, an innovator or just raising awareness. What are the various scenarios around the decision and why did you choose the direction – this part is critical to helping you pivot when something goes wrong.

Once you understand all of this, you can then define the target market you’ll be going after, what channels you need to use to be most effective and what individual activities are required to get the message across.

Last, but not least, you’ll need to define what success looks like on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis as well as how to measure it. At Acorn Strategy we’ve worked on many strategies to help identify the best path for companies. We’ve helped companies adapt quickly to external changes such as the Russian ruble and its impact on the real estate and leisure industries, the health insurance changes on the healthcare market, as well as recalibrating marketing teams to the new reality after the oil crisis.

If done properly, marketing should be delivering the customer based objectives of your business plan. Marketing should have a seat at the boardroom table and should be considered in big company decisions. Importantly, regardless of whether you have a marketing team or not, a marketing specialist should be actively involved in defining the pathway of your company.

FOREO welcomes new Digital PR Manager

Multinational beauty brand, FOREO has appointed Anahita Guha to the role of Digital PR Manager. Having graduated with a Master’s degree in Media and PR from Newcastle University, Anahita previously worked with Socialize as Account Executive and most recently with Golin MENA as Senior Account Executive, where she managed global technology brands such as Oracle and Kaspersky. In her new role, she will handle the content advertising, media and influencer partnerships for multiple emerging markets globally.

“I’m extremely excited to commence my journey with FOREO,” says Anahita. “Given that the brand is relatively new and growing very rapidly, the potential for learning is enormous. The fact that I get to work with a fun, young team of talented people in a dynamic environment is just an added bonus!”

Motivate and Vamp form new partnership

Motivate Publishing has partnered with influencer marketing platform, Vamp as a part of its digital expansion plan across the MENA region. The new partnership will grant Motivate access to the industry’s most effective creative talent through Vamp’s influencer platform. The agreement will also see the Vamp platform ensure that campaigns are designed for maximum impact, using a highly curated selection process that considers brand values, authentic audience reach and creative content.

“One of our strengths as a company is our agility and our ability to capitalise on new media trends, which is at the forefront of our business strategy,” says Ian Fairservice, Managing Partner, Motivate Publishing. “The influencer market provides us with a tremendous opportunity to reach audiences in new arenas and across important territories, and we’re excited to forge this new path with a company that has illustrated a creative alignment with our own values and huge potential for growth.”

Jamie O’Loane joins Motivate

Motivate Publishing has appointed Jamie O’Loane to the role of Senior Sales Manager of Emirates’ inflight magazine, Open Skies. With nine years of experience in sales, Jamie previously worked with ITP Media Group, as Sales Executive of MEP Middle East magazine before being promoted to Regional Sales Manager of the title, where he managed the print and online sales alongside event sponsorship. In his new role, he will manage Open Skies’ accounts across the GCC market as well as on an international scale with target countries including the US, Japan, Thailand, Russia and Australia.

“This new role has given me a new challenge and a chance to utilise my skills within the consumer market on a global scale,” says Jamie. “Emirates airlines is one of the biggest companies within the region and to work on its brand and titles was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse. I feel confident about the challenge ahead and working with some of the world’s biggest brands and achieving great things within our inflight division – here at Motivate Publishing.”

Hill+Knowlton Strategies wins at MENA Young Lions PR

PRCA MENA has announced Hill+Knowlton Strategies’ team of Mohamad Saber and Peter Hermina as the winners of the MENA Young Lions PR Competition for their ‘Half a Million Dollars’ campaign. The third year of the competition saw over 28 entries from teams of two, all creating effective and creative campaigns as per a brief from Education for Employment. Sponsored by the International Communications Consultancy (ICCO), the team will go on to represent the region at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity that will take place from June 17 – 21, 2018.

“It was inspiring to see the amount of passion, creativity and energy being put into the PRCA MENA Young Lions entries,” says Alex Malouf, Corporate Communications and Reputation Manager – Arabian Peninsula, Procter & Gamble, and part of the judging panel for the awards. “The short-listed entries combined sharp insights, innovative strategies and extensive use of measurement. The finalists made our decision very tough at the end of the day and I’m confident that the PRCA MENA Young Lions winners will do the region justice in Cannes.”

Leanne Foy, General Manager, PRCA MENA, adds “I would like to congratulate Mohamed and Peter on their win. We wish the pair the best of luck in Cannes where I am sure they will do the industry and the UAE proud.”