TINT to launch in the Middle East

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TINT – a social media aggregator used by 40,000 companies worldwide – is launching in the Middle East, marking its first expansion effort outside of North America. TINT will be the first social media hub in the Middle East to allow brands to collect and curate all social feeds and social hashtags from multiple networks, and is set to work with the region’s top brands and marketing agencies to create campaigns for brands including du, Ferrari World and Dubai Mall. The technology also affords customers the creative autonomy to brand their display, which can be enhanced with Chromecast access, customised posts and calls to action.

For brand owners in the Middle East, TINT also has the back-end functionality to moderate content and with analytical tools advertisers can measure ROI that allows companies to tailor their entire social media strategy with new insight and data.

“Our growth from Silicon Valley has been exponential; in the space of one year we are now working with over 40,000 brands and 60 percent of that business is generated from international markets,” says Tim Sae Koo, CEO and Founder, TINT. “Dubai is the ideal gateway to help us establish a more customer-facing relationship with clients in the East. It’s ambition to develop as a smart city makes Dubai the perfect environment to foster entrepreneurial and technology inspired companies – like TINT – to grow alongside its own unprecedented progress.”

Launching at GITEX Technology Week 2014, TINT will showcase its platform, which allows anyone to connect a page, handle or hashtag from any social network and then display it on websites, mobile apps, retail TV displays, event walls or huge jumbotrons.

Google launches new tool for display ad targeting

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Google has released custom affinity audiences – which aims to give advertisers more flexibility in targeting users based on their interests across the Google display network. This builds on from the affinity audience segments which Google launched in 2013, allowing advertisers to target users across 80 set interests and demographics reflected by the individual’s search and site behaviour. While the new Custom Affinity Audiences will still utilise Google’s interest data, advertisers will now be able to take control of their target advertising by creating their own segments, as opposed to selecting from a pre–defined set of audiences.

Additionally, until now advertisers have had to work directly with a Google rep to create a custom segment. With the release of this new tool, advertisers will be able to build custom affinity audiences themselves in AdWords. When setting up custom affinity audiences in AdWords, advertisers can mix interest segments with sites related to those interests, and Google will provide reach estimates broken down by demographics and top interests.

Alarab news channel to launch by end of year

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Alarab, a Bahrain-based 24-hour news channel, is set to launch by the end of this year, with the news channel set to target Arabic speaking viewers across the Arab region and extending globally. First announced by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud in 2011, Alarab is an independent venture from Kingdom Holding Company and Rotana Group, and is expected to compete with Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and Sky News Arabia.

The channel’s launch has been announced by Prince Alwaleed after visiting the headquarters of the news channel at Bahrain World Trade Centre to oversee progression of the channel, with Systems integrator Qvest Media having designed and built the complete production and broadcasting infrastructure for the Alarab News Channel.

Earlier this year, Alarab News Channel announced a deal with Riyadh-based media company, DurAlpha Group, and has also signed a partnership agreement with Bloomberg to include Bloomberg-branded business reports in its daily coverage, as well as supporting five hours of financial and economic news programming throughout the day. Alarab has also recently appointed a number of well-known broadcast journalists from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and neighbouring countries to join its news programming team.

Facebook closes WhatsApp deal

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Facebook has completed its purchase of mobile messaging app WhatsApp, paying nearly $22 billion for the acquisition. With WhatsApp’s share price having risen by more than 13% since the deal was struck in February of this year, Facebook has been coerced into paying an additional $3 billion on top of the original $19 billion price tag.

“We are looking forward to connecting even more people around the world, and continuing to create value for the people who use WhatsApp,” says Facebook in an official statement.

Terms of the deal include adding Co-Founder of the messaging service, Jan Koum to Facebook’s Board of Directors, as well as remaining head of the company, where he will receive a one dollar per-year salary, mirroring that of Facebook Chief Mark Zuckerberg. Jan will also receive 25 million restricted stock units if he stays with the company for four years; with the RSUs at a current market value worth over $1.9 billion.

In a statement regarding approval of the deal, the European Commission said that Facebook and WhatsApp were not close competitors, and that consumers would continue to be offered a wide array of choices.

Joaquin Almunia, EU Compeition Commissioner adds, “We have carefully reviewed this proposed acquisition and come to the conclusion that it would not hamper competition in this dynamic and growing market.”

With WhatsApp now used by 600 million people, the buyout included 177 million Facebook shares, as well as $4.59 billion in cash. In addition, Facebook has agreed to provide 45.9 million restricted shares to WhatsApp employees.

James Welch joins Promoseven 360

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James Welch has been appointed as Managing Director of Promoseven 360. Prior to joining the team, James was Managing Director of WPP’s digital consultancy – the Media Innovation Group – across the Asia Pacific region and brings to his new role a wealth of digital media, shopper marketing and activation experience. Based at Promoseven 360’s headquarters in Dubai, James will be working closely with General Manager, Udit Agarwal, to build upon existing business.

“Promoseven 360 is an exciting agency to join, since it’s well established in the market with a track record of providing integrated solutions for a portfolio of long-standing clients, including some outstanding digital work,” says James. “Creatively this region is booming, and so many clients are asking to see new data-driven creative solutions which we are well placed to deliver.”

Rajeev Budhiraja, CEO of Promoseven 360 adds, “James is a well-travelled advertising executive who brings a new dimension to our business. His extensive digital media and shopper marketing experience will enable us to offer our clients broader and more integrated solutions to service the complete spectrum of their marketing needs.”

Jayant Dey joins BNC Publishing

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Jayant Dey has joined the team at BNC Publishing as Group Sales Manager. Having spent five years in advertising sales with ITP Publishing Group across Logistics Middle East, Scata Awards and the Logistics Conference, Jayant will now be instrumental in launching an upcoming logistics magazine in the UAE – set to go out in the regional market in the near future – as well as working with other products at BNC Publishing.

“I am extremely passionate about the logistics industry, as it’s the backbone of any business house,” says Jayant. “So the opportunity and the challenge to launch a logistics magazine with BNC Publishing is very exciting.”

Mondelez International signs video deal with Google

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Mondelēz International, the candy giant whose brands include Oreo, Trident, Nabisco and Cadbury, has signed a global partnership with Google focusing on online video. In the company’s largest social media deal to date, the agreement will include markets in North America, Europe and Eastern Europe, as well as Latin America, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.

The deal marks a shift in advertising strategy for Mondelēz International as it moves to digital – specifically to online video. In June of this year, the company announced that half of its $200 million a year global marketing budget would be going to digital by 2016, and has already committed 10 percent of its ad budget to online video as of this year.

“We believe video will be a key growth driver for our brands, and programmatic buying will play an important role in accelerating that growth,” says Bonin Bough, Vice President – Global Media and Consumer Engagement, Mondelēz International. “Today, 58 percent of consumers turn to digital platforms for their daily media consumption. Although we’ve adjusted our media spending to reflect that behaviour, there’s still a gap. The deal with Google will enable us to close that digital divide.”

Mondelēz International and Google are also set to partner on new content through YouTube’s Brand Partner Program. Mondelēz will introduce the approach by providing video content featuring Sour Patch Kids candy in the US, and is considering expanding the approach across other brands and locations if this proves successful.

Lucas Watson, Vice President of Global Brand Solutions at Google adds, “We’re inspired by the caliber of creative work that brands are creating on YouTube. This agreement represents a significant commitment for our companies to accelerate digital brand building, and we’re excited to partner with Mondelēz International on this work.”

New CNN art and culture series to launch

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CNN International is launching CNN Ones to Watch – a major new feature show debuting globally on CNN – which will delve into a range of colourful and diverse artistic and cultural fields to showcase future talent. Each month, CNN Ones to Watch will focus on a particular discipline – from modern dance to classical music, filmmaking to architecture and sculpture – as a recognised master of their craft identifies ‘ones to watch’ and explains why their careers are on an upward trajectory. Through this narrative, the master in each show will guide viewers into their art form, how its evolving and what new talent needs to accomplish.

Launching on October 10, 2014, CNN Ones To Watch will air across all CNN platforms – with the programme running on CNN International global feeds and on CNN en Espanol. In addition, vignettes from the programme will air on CNN US.

The series – sponsored by Cartier – will also have a number of digital elements to complement the on–air programming. Alongside video content from CNN Ones to Watch, a dedicated microsite will include interactive and social features, such as behind–the–scenes Instagrams and Vines from contributors.

“CNN Ones to Watch is one of the most extensive and exciting feature shows to appear on CNN International,” says Mike McCarthy, Senior Vice President and General Manager, CNN International. “Its broad remit will take viewers on a global journey to explore a diverse mix of arts and culture through the eyes of a master in their field and give the inside track on who could be tomorrow’s Carlos Acosta, Spike Lee or Rem Hoolhaas. The first episode will really set the standards with first class contributors and elements that will give viewers a real insight into the world of portraiture.”

Alka Winter promoted at FRHI Hotels & Resorts

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Alka Winter has been promoted to Regional Director MEAI of FRHI Hotels & Resorts – a consolidation of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Raffles Hotels & Resorts and Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts. Prior to this appointment, Alka was Area Director, Public Relations for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, providing PR support for the Fairmont hotels in the UAE, including the Fairmont Dubai, Fairmont Bab Al Bahr and Fairmont The Palm, whilst executing large scale PR campaigns. In her new position, Alka will be providing real-time strategic support and guidance for the PR efforts across the 19 Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel hotels in the Middle East, Africa and India, as well as elevating the FRHI brand within the public domain. This also includes the development of PR plans announcing new hotel openings and positioning FRHI’s growth strategy.

“I’m very excited about being part of a dynamic regional team who are specialists in their respective fields, ranging from design and construction, development, spa, food and beverage, as well as sales and marketing to name a few,” says Alka. “What I am most passionate about is lending my expertise to the region and working with the PR teams on property, helping to bring their ideas to fruition and introducing it to a global audience where appropriate. I have over 10 years of experience in public relations with most of those in hospitality, so I hope I can pass on some of my experiences and best practices to help achieve great results.”