Jennifer Gibson goes freelance

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Jennifer Gibson, former Editor of good magazine, part of Motivate Publishing has gone freelance. Having joined Motivate in 2016, Jennifer has over 15 years of experience in journalism and has worked on as well as contributed to a number of titles including VIVA, Hello! Middle East, What’s On Dubai, Emirates Man, Emirates Woman, Jumeirah, The National, The Telegraph and Gulf News. She also worked in broadcasting as News Presenter and Commentator on Dubai 92 as well as Dubai Eye. Following her relocation to the UK, she will continue to work across publications in the UAE and UK as a freelance Editor.

“It has been an honour to edit good magazine since August 2016, to work with an incredible team of brilliant people and to meet so many of the innovators, entrepreneurs, environmental activists and charity campaigners who are doing so much to take community life here in Dubai forward,” says Jennifer. “The time has come for us to make a move to be closer to our families, but I look forward to continuing to work with so many of the brilliant editors and journalists I’ve met during my time here – and to the opportunities my continuing work here will allow for lots of visits to escape the Scottish weather!”

Shortlist for Young PR Lions MENA 2018 announced

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PRCA MENA has released the shortlist for this year’s Young PR Lions MENA competition to find the best young PR professional in the region. Eight teams have been shortlisted to win the accolade this year and one of them will be heading to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to take part in the international competition from June 17 – 21, 2018. The shortlisted teams include BPG Cohn & Wolfe, Edelman, Golin MENA, Hill + Knowlton Strategies, Q Communications and Weber Shandwick.

On March 19, the shortlisted teams will be asked to deliver a five minute presentation explaining their PR campaign and the winning team will be announced on March 20.

Geometry Dubai welcomes new Executive Creative Director

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Brand experience agency, Geometry has promoted Julian Hernandez to the role of Executive Creative Director of its Dubai office. Having joined Geometry in 2015, Julian worked as Executive Creative Director of the agency’s Hong Kong office, where he mentored the creative team and led the creative output across its list brands including Coca-Cola, Huawei and Pernod Ricard. In his new role, he will focus on creativity with an emphasis on genuine local insight to shape the agency’s new approach to shopper marketing.

“I’d like to see more culturally relevant work coming out of our office and the use of non-traditional channels to influence consumers in unconventional ways,” says Hernández. “The old ‘surprise and delight’ approach has never been more valid – even in our complex region – so that’s what we’re aiming for across a wider scope of touchpoints. To do so, we need to surprise consumers with brand experiences that enrich their lives, rather than interrupt them.”

Momentum/CAI appoints new Managing Director

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Momentum, part of Middle East Communications Network (MCN) has promoted Lina Fateen to the role of Managing Director of its Cairo office, Momentum/CAI. Lina joined MCN in 2002 as a part of FP7/CAI and most recently held the role of Deputy Managing Director at Momentum, where she worked on relaunching the agency as a full independent brand experience agency. In her new role, she will report to MCN Egypt’s CEO, Sahar El Zoghby and lead her team to produce award winning work to drive clients’ business award-winning building a brand reputation and setting standards of excellence for future openings of Momentum across the MCN network.

“My career at MCN has been a fantastic journey of valuable insights and experiences enabling me to build and foster a successful organisation with the right people here at Momentum/CAI,” says Lina. “And now with the continued opportunity to lead this company, I am excited to unravel the next steps in developing strong synergies with our clients for further award winning success.”

New Executive Creative Director at Tonic International

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Dubai-based independent creative agency, Tonic International has promoted Joao Camacho to the role of Executive Creative Director. Having joined the agency in 2016, Joao most recently held the role of Creative Director, where he restructured the creative team and transformed it into a high-level competitive department. In his new role, he will work on developing the digital aspects of the agency to build stronger, more loyal relationships between brands and its consumers, utilising the data as well as analytics at hand to drive the agency’s creativity.

“Creativity is not a service, it is a product,” says Joao. “I firmly believe that by treating creativity as a product, it sets the tone of an agency and truly accelerates its clients’ businesses. The services that an agency provides with creativity are a given, the way to do better is a combination of creative factors and discipline.”

In The Hot Seat – Caroline Dickin

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We chat with Caroline Dickin, CEO at Red Blue Blur Ideas (RBBi), who talks about her current role and offers her thoughts on the digital marketing industry in the Middle East…

Name: Caroline Dickin

Age: 33

Nationality: UK

Current job title: CEO, Red Blue Blur Ideas (RBBi)

When did you first arrive in Dubai?

In 2014, exactly four years ago

Where did you work prior?

I previously worked with LBi in the UK, where I held the role of Senior Digital Search Manager and later PPC Strategy Leader. I later moved to the UAE and joined RBBi as Director of Media and most recently held the role of Managing Director – Performance Marketing & Analytics.

What were your first impressions of the digital marketing industry in the Middle East?

In a lot of ways, there are a lot of elements that are very different from Europe. In particular, I found a greater spectrum of the level of knowledge – there are some really smart people here, but also I found that I was working with a lot of businesses whose understanding of digital was minimum. The proportion of the budget spent on digital was also lower vs offline.

Has your opinion changed much?

It has changed – but mainly because I’ve seen a lot of change in these four short years. Digital budgets are growing, and more and more companies we deal with have a proper digital strategy in place, which is great.

Tell us about your current role…

As the CEO of a Digital agency spanning UX, research, SEO, media and analytics every day is different – one moment I might be meeting a client to discuss their digital challenges, to scouting out the next rbbian to join the team, to even reviewing the balance sheet and developing our own marketing strategy.

What challenges do you face?

Working with businesses who don’t fully understand or appreciate the digital landscape means we spend a lot of time on education. Also, the market and therefore the talent pool is smaller – finding the right people can be a real challenge.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

Knowing that we are making a difference. We strive to partner with our clients to really understand their business challenges and objectives. In turn when we help them take steps to achieve their goals you really feel like their success is also our success.

How has consumer behaviour in today’s digital community influenced the marketing industry?

To be successful in this day and age you need to have a user-focused approach throughout the business. Marketing is now more about conversations not pushing out messages. Attention spans have also reduced – if you aren’t engaging with your audience in the right way, or have less than optimal online experience, you are going to lose them.

Has user-generated content taken over brand promotion and marketing campaigns in the Middle East?

It’s growing, but I wouldn’t say it’s taken over. Many businesses are cautious about negative sentiments, which often causes a roadblock.

Has the role of marketing professionals changed in today’s digital community?

Absolutely and it’s continually evolving. Gone are the Mad Men days of working on a single ad campaign for days at a time. Deadlines are tighter and with the plethora of data available, results are more readily available and therefore, expectations more demanding. It’s no longer just about having a great creative campaign, it’s more about understanding the technology, knowing how to turn data into action and having a strong strategy to personalise your message across your audience.

What role does social media play in building a brand’s reputation today?

These days, most people use social media to some extent – so it’s become a critical element for most businesses. It’s also blurred the lines between marketing and customer service in a lot of ways – meaning that businesses cannot afford to not monitor what conversations are taking place on social channels.

What are the most common digital marketing mistakes companies make?

Trying to do what their competitors are doing rather than what is going to drive their business. I’ve heard too many requests such as ‘We need 50,000 YouTube views because our competitor does, or 100,000 website visitors. These are often not the KPIs that will drive your bottom line. And they can cause more damage than good – if you end up with thousands of followers, for example, without the strategy in place to be able to generate engaging content – you could end up with a less than favourable experience of the brand.

How would you describe yourself at work?

RBBi is more than just a job for me – it’s an integral part of my life and I’m acutely aware of the importance of trying to do the right things to help us realise our goals. Therefore, I try to stay disciplined. I’m also constantly looking for ways we can do things better – I’m always open to chatting with anyone in the business who has an idea or suggestion.

Who inspires you?

So many people – I tend to be more inspired by people I know than celebrities. My family and friends have been a huge inspiration to me and I’d have to also say that I’m inspired every day by everyone here at RBBi. It’s such an awesome group of people from so many different nationalities who, when they all come together, are able to do really fantastic work.

What’s your most overused saying?

“It will be fine”

Five things you can’t live without?

My mobile phone, my laptop, my pet bird, my bed and my friends

What’s the most exciting thing that has happened to you in your career?

I think moving to Dubai and RBBi has been the most exciting thing. Experiencing a new city while joining a younger agency (RBBi was just 2 at the time), which I could really help grow was an immense challenge but also insanely rewarding.

If you weren’t in your current role, what would you be doing?

I’d love to say something really interesting like travelling the world, but I don’t think I’m the kind of person who could be content without a project or challenge. I’d see myself in another small to medium business where I could really make an impact.

What’s your favourite form of media (i.e; TV, radio, print)?

Depends on what time of the day it is – in the morning I’m most likely to be listening to things, on my commute to work reading and TV in the evenings.

How do you see the digital marketing industry changing in the Middle East in the coming years?

As budget weight continues to move towards favouring digital I think there will be increased focus on data – understanding results, customer segments and moving towards more data-driven marketing strategies. Most brands and organisations want to ensure that they are squeezing the most bang for their buck from their marketing activity and becoming more data-led is the way to really achieve this.

Amr El Kalaawy gets promoted at FP7/CAI

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Full-service advertising agency, FP7/MENA has promoted Amr El Kalaawy to the role of Managing Director of its Cairo office, FP7/CAI. With over 20 years of experience in the advertising industry in Egypt, Amr joined FP7/CAI in 2007 and most recently held the role of General Manager, where he aided in growing the digital offering and developing a creative vision for the agency. In his new role, he will report to FP7/CAI’s CEO, Sahar El Zoghby and work towards enabling valuable collaborations with sister agencies leading to a richer, integrated product offering for current and future clients.

“I look forward to expanding FP7/CAI’s business and leveraging our relationship with our sister agencies within MCN Holding as we look to help clients exploit the changes we are seeing in today’s dynamic & digital market,” says Amr.

House of Comms appoints new Head of PR

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Integrated communications agency, House of Comms has promoted Tryphena Greenwood to the role of Head of PR. Having joined House of Comms in 2016 as Senior Account Director, Tryphena was instrumental in developing the business by bringing in significant accounts including government, travel and tourism. She also helped in streamlining the process around recruitment and daily operations of the agency. In her new role, she will report directly to the managing partners and run the PR division of the business.

“When we appointed Tryph, nearly two years ago, we knew we had found ourselves a solid, experienced and extremely dedicated leader,” says Kaja Evans, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, House of Comms. “At such a senior level, it is rare to find someone who is such an all-rounder in terms of skillset but Tryph brings stellar new business abilities, wider business acumen, excellent account handling skills, solid training experience in order to develop and grow the team and buckets of creativity. Her promotion to Head of PR, is much deserved and we look forward to continuing to develop the integrated offering of the agency through Tryph and our senior team.”