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Shortlist announced for MEPRA Awards

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The Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) Awards 2018 shortlist has been announced. The awards have been divided into 26 categories including Large Agency of the Year, Small Agency of the Year and In-House Team of the Year and will have more than 30 agencies competing including ASDA’A BCW, Cicero & Bernay, Four Communications Group and Seven Media. The awards are designed to recognise exceptional returns on investments, creativity and strategic impact and the finalists will be awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze during the event. The winners will be announced on November 28, 2018 at the JW Marriott Marquis.

“The quality of entries submitted for this year’s Awards is very strong,” says Jonty Summers, Managing Director, Hanover Middle East and MEPRA Awards Judge. “There are some real stand-out entries, highlighting how public relations teams in this region are delivering impactful business results for organisations through creativity, storytelling and thoughtful planned campaigns. This year’s MEPRA competition is tough, and those recognized as finalists should be immensely proud of their work.”

New Managing Director appointed at Cicero & Bernay

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Public relations consultancy, Cicero & Bernay (C&B) has promoted Tariq Al Sharabi to the role of Managing Director. Tariq most recently held the role of Director of Client Services, where he supported the agency’s expansion strategy and worked on delivering positive results for the clients. In his new role, he will continue to enhance the agency’s client services while adding value and further supporting their needs.

“I have been in the communications industry for over 15 years and for much of that time, C&B has been my home,” says Tariq.  “My main aim has been to unite our team and clients within a spirit of result-driven progress and proactivity, which has allowed us all to thrive in the competitive industry in which we work. It is a privilege to work alongside the C&B team and going forward we will continue to take C&B to the next level together.”

Cicero and Bernay expands into the MENA region

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Public relations consultancy, Cicero and Bernay (C&B) has signed a strategic affiliation with Sudanese-based company, Katia International as a part of its expansion plan into the MENA region. The partnership will see C&B build on its expertise in the Sudanese market through the provision of PR services, on-ground support and development of targeted communications as well as PR strategies that caters to the region. The affiliation will also see Katia International lend C&B important insights while it expands its regional influence and ensure both companies collaboratively exchange best practices to further professional development.

“This is part of our wider strategy to enhance our MENA presence by expanding to all Arabic speaking countries, strongly building a regional and global network of communication experts, offering our services to multinational corporations, and increasing our diverse portfolio of clients,” says Maysa-Jana Atoui, Director of Business Development, C&B.

C&B launches influencer marketing arm

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Cicero & Bernay Public Relations (C&B) launches an influencer communication programme, See & Be. Headed by Jamal H. Iqbal, Director – Brand Outreach at C&B, the new division aims to incorporate influencer engagement into communication campaigns by identifying an ideal match between influencers and client objectives.

“With the speed at which social media has penetrated the region’s consumers, and their affinity towards local influencers, we felt now was the time for new-age PR agencies such as ours to launch a full fledged influencer communication division,’ says Jamal. “See & Be is aimed at streamlining the disjoint between influencer programme leaders and implementers. While influencers and their social media offer optimised channels for delivery, content still rules, and campaigns must be charted keeping in mind granular accountability at every stage.”

Cicero & Bernay expands operations in the GCC

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Public relations consultancy, Cicero & Bernay (C&B) has signed a new affiliation with Bahrain-based public relations agency, Daily Public Relations (Daily PR) and Oman-based boutique marketing and communications agency, ProComms as part of its expansion plan into the GCC. The new strategic partnership will see both regional agencies enhance C&B’s presence and grow its client portfolio across the GCC by providing PR services and strategies, as well as on-ground support and development of targeted communication to cater to the growing markets in Bahrain and Oman.

“Daily PR and ProComms both share C&B’s ethos – delivering tailored and impactful communication services for clients – and we look forward to working closely with them to deliver even more comprehensive and targeted programmes,” says Ahmad Itani, COO, Cicero & Bernay. “By sharing complementary insights, we will enrich C&B’s already highly effective delivery across both of its markets and the wider MENA region.”

Andrew Berridge joins Auxilium

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Dubai-based legal marketing and communications agency, Auxilium has appointed Andrew Berridge to the role of Account Manager. With ten years of experience working across national and multinational PR campaigns, Andrew previously worked in Singapore with Baldwin Boyle Shand as PR Consultant and most recently in the UAE with Cicero & Bernay. In his new role, he will be responsible for client consultation, strategic communications plans and content, as well as reputation management and new business generation.

“I am thrilled to join this exciting new agency, where I will work with an energetic and talented team,” says Andrew. “I look forward to developing some great ideas to support this pioneering concept for the GCC’s legal industry.”

Five Minute Focus – PR Pressure

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Team TMN sits down with Sarah Mohamed, Founder and Director at Secret PR to find out more about the second edition of PR Pressure…

 Tell us a bit about PR Pressure and when it will be held.

Launched in May 2016, PR Pressure is a series of conferences that address the challenges faced in the industry. Topics for the conference are chosen by the target audience to ensure that they’re relevant and up to date. Our aim is to bring media and communications professionals together to share their experiences and help the industry come up with pragmatic solutions for the region. The second edition of PR Pressure will take place on Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at the Metropolitan Hotel, Sheikh Zayed Road.

What is the concept behind the conference?

PR Pressure is a place where everyone’s voice is heard. There are many existing conferences around the region that discuss similar topics and issues, however, speakers are usually redundant and many times, the smaller agencies are under-represented. We cannot grow without acknowledging different professional levels and this serves as a platform for students, freelancers, juniors and seniors to voice themselves.

Did you face any challenges when you launched the event last year?

I think our biggest challenge last year was setting the foundations for PR Pressure. Standing out from other similar platforms and creating a solid brand for PR Pressure was a priority. The team and I had to work on organising the event while also managing our existing clients, it was quite tough to manage our time internally while still maintaining a healthy work/life balance.

Why do you think the Middle East PR industry needs a platform like PR Pressure?

PR Pressure is not just for the suits and ties, it is a casual open discussion where one can ask a question and not feel like they’re the only one who’s not in the know. I feel that the industry needed a platform like this, with a unique environment unlike other such events.

How will 2017’s PR Pressure be different from the first one that was held last year?

Aside from the different topics, we’ve decided to include more people on each panel to better capture the various sectors of our industry. Last year’s attendees requested for more in-house and media insight and that’s something we’ve worked to achieve for this year. Unlike last year’s conference, the sessions in March will also have live English and Arabic interpretation to allow more people to get involved despite our language barriers.

 What will be the topics of discussion at the second edition of the conference?

The topics for the conference are selected keeping in mind the common challenges faced and suggestions from our PR and media circles. There exists a level of uncertainty about the legal aspects of our industry and so this year, one of the sessions, ‘Maintaining proper form’ will feature lawyers who will shed light on the same. The conference will also address other topics such as complexities of the Arabic language and challenges it presents for copywriters as well as the future of PR in the ever-growing digital realm.

Tell us about your target audience.

Our target audience includes media, marketing and communications professionals as well as students who are looking to specialise in these fields. We have partnered with MEPRA and the PRCA this year to try and get more in-house representatives involved. In the future we would like to welcome more attendees from the client side as well – although I’d have to make sure our primary target is open to that first!

What is the reaction you expect following the event?

I am confident that our attendees will love PR Pressure but the real reaction I hope to achieve is proactive change. I want people to take what they learned at PR Pressure and implement it − that is when we will know that PR Pressure was a true success.

Tell us about the key speakers participating at PR Pressure.

We try our best to ensure that we accurately represent the industry in the region and give the audience a greater variety when it comes to speakers. This year we are lucky to have panellists from local, regional and international companies as well as freelancers, journalists, lawyers, consultants and government agencies. The speakers include industry professionals from companies such as Tactics, The Qode, IHC, Al Roeya Newspaper, Digital Ink, Cicero & Bernay, Procter & Gamble, Cedar White Bradley Group, MCG Associates and the Dubai Sports Council.

How does one register to attend the event?

People can register by filling out a form on our website and for group registrations, you can send through delegate and company names to info@prpressure.com.

 What does the future hold for PR Pressure?

Most of the audience and participants of last year’s event said that they wanted more PR Pressures, so we are looking at either increasing the frequency of our conferences or creating other smaller get-togethers through the year. While we haven’t yet thought about expanding into more countries within the region, it is something that we could consider in the future. For now, I would like to focus more on the UAE as there is still so much to be done.

C&B expands MENA network

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Cicero & Bernay (C&B), part of The Publicity Network (Publinet) has signed an affiliation with Kuwait-based marketing and public relations agency, Local Flavor. Aiming to further expand its network within the MENA region, the partnership will offer the agency’s clients public and media relations services, business development capabilities and communication development tools as well as PR strategies.

“The signing of this affiliation agreement amplifies our strong capabilities throughout the MENA region in delivering comprehensive public relations and communications services,” says Ahmad Itani, COO, Cicero & Bernay. “Local Flavor and C&B each have a strong service ethos that delivers tailored client servicing and communication planning for our clientele. Our complementary insights will enrich already effective communication delivery across both of our markets and to the wider region.”

Khaled Salah Al-Sayer, Managing Partner, Local Flavor adds, “We are very pleased with this new affiliation, as it combines the strong market knowledge of both companies and the breadth of complementary services and expertise. For our clients, this affiliation will deliver increased opportunity for exposure and strengthened brand infrastructure that can be optimised across the region.”

Cicero & Bernay expands into Turkey

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Public relations consultancy, Cicero & Bernay has signed a new affiliation with Turkey-based PR and social media agency, Miya PR & SM, to expand its operations to Turkey. The affiliation will see both parties combine their strength and capabilities to shape and deliver creative communication strategies, as well as collaborate on client projects and new business efforts across the region.

“This partnership empowers both of our agencies to provide high-quality communication campaigns in a key market at the crossroads of Europe and Asia and we are delighted to offer our clients enhanced PR capability that an affiliation with C&B brings,” says Burcu Meriç Durak, Founder, Miya PR & SM. “I believe that our understanding and insights perfectly complement each other and that through our combined efforts we will deliver the best-in-class communication campaigns for our clients.”