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New Senior Director at Z7 Communications

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Z7 Communications has appointed Anna Vale to the role of Senior Director. Anna previously worked in London with brands such as Clinique and Tom Ford, and most recently with Estée Lauder in New York as Executive Director of Global Communications, where she oversaw the brand’s communications strategies for international markets. In her new role, she will be responsible for implementing Z7 Communications’ strategic growth plan and strengthening the agency’s positioning as well as raising their profile in the Middle East.

“I am absolutely delighted to have Anna join the team at a hugely exciting time for Z7,” says Zeina El-Dana, Founder and Managing Director, Z7 Communications. “Appointing someone of Anna’s international calibre is a testament to the drive and growth of the agency and her strong experience in global markets will ensure that we build on our current success long into the future.”

Online fashion and lifestyle platform launches

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Online fashion and lifestyle platform, hubb.fashion launches. Founded by Shweta Bhatia, a graduate of journalism and business fashion from London College of Fashion and most recently Fashion and Beauty Editor at Femina ME. The new digital platform focuses on the modern woman and features news and editorial content that offers a 360 degree fashion, beauty and lifestyle experience from the industry in the Middle East to the rest of the world. Hubb.fashion will also provide an interactive section for readers to add to existing narratives and send in their contributions to be published online without the need to subscribe.

“Hubb means ‘Love’ in Arabic and love is for everything that this country has to offer,” says Shweta Bhatia, Founder and Chief Creative Officer, hubb.fashion. “At Hubb we aim to inspire, fascinate and share the experience of every story personally to each reader. Our site is about taking a break from your routine and coming online to unwind and explore your areas of interest. We bring our readers a little bit of everything – after all, we Hubb everything that’s trending.”

New launch of Hanover office in the Middle East

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Independent consulting firm, Hanover has launched its operations in the Middle East. Founded in 1998 with offices in London, Brussels and most recently in Dublin, Hanover’s new office in Dubai will offer strategic communications services and integrated programs to clients across the Middle East requiring access to other regional markets. The new office will also see Jonty Summers with over 20 years of experience and previously Regional Director at Edelman appointed to the role of Managing Director, where he will oversee and develop strategies to expand Hanover’s operations across the region. Also joining the Dubai team is Keri Sutherland, Associate Director of Hanson London with experience in reputation and crises management, to work towards establishing the agency’s presence across the Middle East.

“As Dubai grows in standing as a global centre for business, organisations increasingly require specialist advisers who can support them in protecting their reputations and promoting their market proposition as they take advantage of the cross-border market dynamics that characterises the modern world of business,” says Charles Lewington, Founder and Chief Executive, Hanover Group.

MCG Group makes key appointment

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Digital and creative recruitment agency, MCG Group has appointed Nick Clements to the role of Chief Operating Officer. With over 25 years of experience, Nick previously worked with Ogilvy & Mather as Global Account Director and most recently with BPG Bates as Chief Executive Officer. In his new role, he will oversee the operations of MCG Group, which is made up of MCG Associates, Kemistry and Hopscotch and work across its Dubai, London and Hong Kong offices. Nick will also work on broadening the company’s services beyond recruitment to spearhead the launch of its new services, which includes executive search, procurement pitch, relationship management and M&A advisory.

“I’m delighted to be joining the MCG Group at such an exciting time and I look forward to helping build on existing strengths and create a talent consultancy with a range of services which really adds value to both agencies and clients,” says Nick Clement, COO, MCG Group.

Emirates Woman welcomes Rachel Bassett

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Falling under the umbrella of Motivate Publishing, women’s lifestyle and fashion title, Emirates Woman has appointed Rachel Bassett to the role of Stylist and Writer. Previously a Fashion Stylist and Writer at The Daily Express, London, Rachel will now oversee and contribute to all fashion and beauty features as well as photoshoots for the digital and print publication.

“I’m thrilled to join the fabulous Emirates Woman team in continuing to produce exceptional editorial for the region to enjoy,” says Rachel.

Ink partners with in-flight magazine

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London-based travel media publishing company, Ink, has signed an agreement to relaunch and produce the monthly in-flight magazine, Oryx magazine for Qatar Airways. The agreement will see Ink produce a revamped edition of Oryx magazine and will be available starting from January 1, 2017, on board the Qatar Airways’ aircraft across all cabins. The revamped magazine will have a different theme every month and feature content about the Middle East as well as exclusive photographs and original story telling in both Arabic and English with an emphasis on luxury, lifestyle and travel.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Ink due to its wealth of international experience in creating the most inspiring and award-winning content today,” says Salam Al Shawa, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Qatar Airways. “The newly designed magazine will be available in all cabins and it will further elevate the on-board experience for our loyal passengers.”

Shimmering Sands launches

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PR professional Francesca Hales has launched new lifestyle website Shimmering Sands for expat women living in the Middle East. With over nine years of experience in PR – in London and Dubai – Francesca has worked across luxury lifestyle brands. Her new digital platform aims to serve as a forum for expat women living in the region to help them understand the local community by providing local content on lifestyle, health and fitness, fashion and beauty, as well as feature a section for mothers and interviews with leading female personalities in the region.

“Moving to Dubai nearly three years ago, I had no idea what I was getting myself into and I really needed a friend,” says Francesca Hales. “Shimmering Sands is that friend. It is a digital girl gang for the hidden Dubai secrets from real girls, to real girls. It tells you where to shop, where to get beauty pool essentials and for those Dubai mummy moments.”

Five Minute Focus – ‘Content is not King – Emotion is’

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TMN catch up with John Brown, Head of Engagement at Hotwire, to find out more about the upcoming event, Content is not King – Emotion is…

Tell us a bit about Hotwire UK and the upcoming event?

Hotwire is a global integrated communications agency that is partnered exclusively with Active Digital Marketing Communications in the region. Both agencies are focused on pushing the boundaries of communications and ensuring that our clients are not just getting the right counsel, but are able to navigate the emerging industry trends in order to better communicate with their audiences. This upcoming event is aimed solely at sharing the knowledge that both Active and Hotwire have on how communications has to be emotional in order to be relevant – a message that resonates even more strongly in a region like the Middle East.

Where did the concept for ‘Content is not King – Emotion is’ originate from?

If you take a look at some of the most successful and well-known communications campaigns, you will find that at the heart of them is emotion, which is what we remember first. Not necessarily the brand, but the emotion we had when we experienced the campaign. Now we have technology and data at our fingertips to help us weave an emotive message into every campaign we do.

Who is the event aimed at?

We have identified existing and prospective clients and partners that we agree will find this extremely relevant as well as potentially give them an advantage over their competitors. We have a calendar of events like this over the course of 2017, some of which we may open up to larger audiences.

What do you think makes an event such as this relevant to the Middle East community?

Because of the unique partnership between Active and Hotwire, the Middle East community will be able to get a glimpse into global trends that are shaping our industry, with a clear understanding of how they can execute these trends in the region today. We’ve made every effort to ensure that what is discussed is made relevant for the Middle East market.

In addition, we know that the region is very active on the digital and social media front and that for many companies, brands as well as solution providers, the challenge is not how to reach these key stakeholders but how to truly engage them and that is something that is still developing in many markets across the globe. We want to see the Middle East as one of the most keen adopters of this approach and feel that the desire is there.

How do you think the event can benefit Dubai’s media community in terms of digital communications?

The event will deliver ROI ideas and programmes for clients to offer wider and more developed solutions that is different from any tactical advice that they can get from anywhere else.

What do you think of the media community in the UAE?

It is vibrant, dynamic and always open to change. It is comparable to many communities in the US, Europe and Asia where Hotwire operates and has very key relationships through its offices with these communities and often leads on initiatives, knowledge and skill sharing, as well as key areas like measurement.

How do you find the PR industry differs in Dubai to elsewhere in the world?

It doesn’t, when you look at the highest levels of public relations the expertise is there, which is why for Hotwire the partnership with Active made sense. We have shared values, shared approaches, shared principles and a shared desire to evolve, develop and exceed clients changing sets of priorities and needs. We have been working with Active in this region for over eight years before we formalised the partnership and that shows that we have been involved and engaged with the region for many years through the Active team.

What should PR Professionals expect to take away from the event?

Marketing and PR professionals should take away two things, inspiration and a sense of pride. This event will help to showcase just how important PR and communications is to delivering powerful messages that truly engage the audiences they want to involve and excite.

How can communications professionals get involved?

We’re the gatekeepers of emotive stories. If there’s one thing this trend towards emotive campaigning highlights, it is the need to have communications professionals contributing at the highest strategic level. We’ve always had to earn our results by creating stories that immediately made journalists and audiences feel something. Now that this is integral to any successful campaign, communications professionals should be at the heart of the overall marketing strategy.

Are there future plans for events like this in the Middle East?

There will definitely be more of these events conducted by Active and Hotwire for their immediate clients, prospects and partners as these are seen to be part of the value-added services that we all believe is essential in the client agency relationship. As they evolve and grow, we will definitely look to do more “open” events in 2017, but at this stage these will be quite focused events where Active working with the Hotwire team in London, New York and San Francisco will play a major role in inviting key stakeholders.