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Meltwater promotes Christo Van Wyk

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Global media intelligence firm, Meltwater, has promoted Christo Van Wyk to the role of Area Director for India and the Middle East. With over eight years of experience, Christo joined Meltwater in 2009 as Client Relations Account Manager and was most recently Client Acquisition and Sales Consultant. In his new role, he will be responsible for leading Meltwater’s sales and customer service across the Middle East and India.

“I am looking forward to my new responsibilities and helping to grow our presence in the Middle East and India, which are both exciting markets,” says Christo. “With growing internet and mobile penetration and a tech savvy younger generation, companies in these markets are looking to maximise the value of data to reach new demographics and adapt their marketing strategies based on outside insights, which is where we come in.”

Votek makes new appointment

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Dubai-based software company, Votek has appointed Joanna Cousins to the role of Head of Communications and Business Development. With over six years of experience in client relations and business development, Joanna previously worked with Provocateur and most recently with Vii Dubai. In her new role, she will be handling the account for educational toy business line, Loujee as well as overseeing the branding, advertising and PR product displays and photo shoots for Votek’s clients across the GCC.

“It’s an exciting time to join Votek, with our products launching on different platforms and new products in the pipeline, using technology previously unseen in this region,” says Joanna. “I’m looking forward to engaging new and existing clients across the GCC to help them understand the benefits of our products and solutions and integrate them into their own business environment.”

PHD expands regional network

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Dubai-based media and communications agency, PHD has launched its operations in Lebanon as a part of its regional expansion plan. With an office in Beirut, PHD will bring its expertise and working methods to manage the interest of its clients across Lebanon and the Levant region. The new launch will also see the appointment of Maroun Hassoun to the role of General Manager, PHD Lebanon to oversee the team and report to Elda Choucair, CEO of PHD MENA.

“Having spent my entire career in the marketing industry, I can say that I have watched the rise of PHD with awe,” says Maroun. “I feel an equal sense of responsibility in maintaining and developing this mindset and excitement about the opportunity to tangibly make a difference in a market I know so well.”

TishTash makes new appointment

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Marwa Mohamed has joined TishTash Marketing and Public Relations as PR Assistant. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing Communications, Marwa launched her own blog, The Beauty Bunny in 2014. In her new role, she will support the team in consolidating press coverage, pitching for features as well as assist in events and social media content writing.
“It was through her blog that we first noticed Marwa, so when we were looking for some support in the office, she felt like a natural fit,” says Natasha Hatherall-Shawe, Founder and Managing Director, TishTash Marketing and Public Relations. “We’re excited to have her on our team.”

Custard to set up meeting hubs at Dubai Lynx

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Dubai-based event management agency, Custard has partnered with Dubai Lynx to set up meeting hubs at the upcoming event. Through the hubs, the agency aims to draw attention to the importance of being able to conduct meetings in a private and professional environment, while maximising time at an event. The Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity is set to take place from March 5-7, 2017 at Madinat Jumeirah Arena.

“Dubai Lynx brings together clients and teams from across the region and the wider world for three days to celebrate creativity in MENA,” says Emma Farmer, General Manager, Custard. “Naturally this lends to many high level face-to-face meetings being arranged, but ends up with people heading back to their offices to conduct their meeting in an appropriate environment. The hubs will give people the opportunity to book a fully equipped and air conditioned meeting room on site, removing the need to host meetings off-site and allowing delegates more time to experience the festival.”

New Creative Director at Create Media

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Dubai-based digital communications agency, Create Media Group has appointed Vincent Drevet to the role of Creative Director. With over 16 years of experience in creative communications, Vincent previously worked on various campaigns for organisations such as Coca Cola, Jaguar and Virgin Atlantic. In his new role, he will oversee all creative outputs and operations and work towards reaching new creative developments for the agency.

“Joining Create Media is a really exciting new challenge for me,” says Vincent. “Working with so many people from all around the world, finding solutions to bring a multicultural team to work as one entity is always exciting and joining Tom Otton and his multi-talented team is my best career choice to date.”

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.