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OMD Predicts 2014 to focus on trends in marketing

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The 2014 edition of the OMD Predicts conference will focus on the aggregation of the three most fundamental trends transforming the practice of marketing. The sixth in the series of events designed to help marketers and media professionals future-proof their strategies, OMD Predicts will explore the way innovation, content and technology are reshaping marketing. Scheduled to take place on November 10, 2014, the conference will be held at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray’s Music Hall and is expected to gather more than 250 delegates.

OMD Predicts will bring international and regional experts to share insights and best practice to help marketers embrace and capitalise on the trends of content, technology and innovation – the three threads that are profoundly altering the way brands communicate with consumers. Guy Hearn, Chief Innovation Officer, Omnicom Media Group APAC, will discuss how showcasing media creativity in brands’ communications will separate the leaders from the followers. He will also highlight how to harness the innovation process and how it impacts advertisers, agencies and the media.

Content is becoming less the context for brand messaging and increasingly the message itself. In keeping with this, Shawn Amos, Founder and CEO of Freshwire, will focus on how brand storytelling and content marketing is evolving to add value to both brands and consumers, particularly in the context of evolving and emerging technologies.

Technology, perhaps the most transformational trend of all, will be the topic of a session presented by Whetson’s Founder, Thimon De Jong. Drawing from his experience on human behaviours, Thimon will explore the three most significant technological shifts that will alter not only brand communications but also business models.

“Planning for the future is never an easy task, but with OMD Predicts, we are aiming to establish a solid foundation from which one can start,” says Nadim Samara, Managing Director, OMD UAE & Lower Gulf. “Thanks to the knowledge and vision shared by this year’s speakers, future-proofing communication strategies will become a lot more achievable and fruitful. Rather than anxiety, this knowledge will allow us to look to the future with agility, anticipation, excitement and confidence.”

Yahoo restructure reaches Dubai office

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As part of Yahoo’s global efforts to ‘streamline operations’, a number of workforce reductions were implemented within its Dubai office last week, although the exact number is yet to be confirmed.

With the closure of operations in Cairo approximately one year ago, Yahoo continues to downsize it presence in the region. This latest report of restructure follows on from Yahoo’s announcement earlier this month of its plans to close its office in Amman, Jordan, by the end of 2014. While Yahoo Maktoob’s operations will now be supported from regional offices in Dubai and other locations, Yahoo’s Dubai office – which first opened in 2010 – appears to be the last remaining outpost for Yahoo in the Middle East.

Patronage confirmed for Arab Woman Awards UAE

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His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, has confirmed his patronage and attendance at the Arab Woman Awards UAE 2014. The awards aim to raise public awareness of significant achievements by Arab women in the region and to provide young women with inspirational role models.

Established in 2009 by ITP Publishing, the Arab Woman Awards has awarded over 220 inspirational women from the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia across a diversity of fields that include business, fashion, entrepreneurship, charity, media, government and literature. The Arab Woman Awards UAE 2014 will be presented on November 25, 2014, at a red carpet gala dinner, and will be attended by His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, over 400 female VIP guests, as well as members of the royal family.

“The Arab Woman Awards play an important role in recognising the contribution of women across all walks of life to this nation,” says Her Excellency Ameera Bin Karam, Chairperson of the Sharjah Businesswoman Council and honorary Chairperson of the Arab Woman Awards UAE Judges Board. “I am pleased to be involved with the Awards, and am impressed with the strength of the nominations we have received this year. It is also an honour to have His Excellency Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan offer his support and patronage to the 2014 Awards.”

Other members for this year’s Judges Board include Dr Manal Taryam, CEO of Health Care Services & Noor Dubai Foundation; Manal Atayal, Director General at Sharjah Museums Department; Nada Al Lawati, Founder of S.E.E.D Group and Board member SBWC; Alia Mazrouei, COO of Mazrouei Holdings and Co-Founder of Just Falafel; Nadine El Chaer, Editor-in-Chief of Ahlan! Arabia and Nadine Y. Maalouf, Owner of the SME Advisory Group.

Sue Holt, Deputy Managing Director of ITP Consumer and Founder of the Arab Woman Awards adds, “We are delighted that the Awards yet again fall under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, and that he will be present at the actual awards ceremony at the end of November. His Excellency has been actively involved in encouraging and supporting women’s education and contribution to the growth of the UAE and so he is an ideal patron for our awards.”

NPI renews strategy focus for 2015

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Following a rebranding campaign in the summer of this year, npimedia (NPI) now plans to focus on the development of its concierge portfolio of magazines as of 2015. NPI currently has the largest single portfolio of audited titles in the UAE, with all five concierge editions – including concierge Arabic, Chinese and Russian – standing alone in the market as the only magazines in these languages with a guaranteed circulation. NPI will be further developing these titles, as well as enhancing its offering with a new and innovative digital platform, launching at the end of the year.

NPI’s strategy for 2015 will be centred around consolidating and developing its existing media brands, having decided to refocus efforts and move away from contract publishing works that are not directly aligned with long-term development objectives. In line with this, NPI has made the decision to cease publishing The Dubai Mall Magazine, produced on behalf of Emaar Malls Group.

“We have had a very successful collaboration with Emaar Malls Group over the last four years to establish a new title in the market that elevates The Dubai Mall brand,” says Rob Nicholas, Managing Director, NPI. “It is both well respected and well supported, and we leave the magazine in a fantastic position for 2015.”

MOJEH magazine to increase publishing frequency

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As of March 2015, MOJEH magazine will extend its publishing frequency to 10 editions throughout the year. Created in 2011, the luxury fashion title has recently progressed from bimonthly to monthly editions, and is soon to launch a standalone editorial platform – MOJEH.com – which will provide the same rich content as its print companion with dynamic exclusives, tailor-made for an online audience.

“We have a constant desire for improvement and a deep commitment to fashion and luxury,” says Mojeh Izadpanah, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, MOJEH. “So, we are delighted to announce that we will be publishing 10 editions of MOJEH per year from March, 2015.”

BPA Middle East releases semi-annual report

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BPA Middle East has released its semi-annual report. Included in this is the release of brand data across the region for the six-month period, which ended June 30, 2014. The brand data reports on figures for newspapers and magazines that have opted to be BPA-audited, and include the headline average qualified circulations and other channels such as web traffic “average unique browser”, social media and apps downloads from the most recent June 2014 – ending brand reports. The figures cover media with operations based in seven Middle Eastern countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar and UAE.

The semi-annual report also shares which communication agencies BPA Middle East has been engaged with throughout 2014, as well as the activities they have been involved with, in a bid to educate the market-place about the importance of a third-party audit. These include Starcom Mediavest, OMD, Mindshare Media, Drive Dentsu, Magna, Carat, Dubai Healthcare City, Four Communication and Mediabourne.

BPA Middle East touches on moving towards greater transparency in its semi-annual report, stating the need for accurate data to allow advertisers and media buyers to make valid decisions based on well-calculated return on investment. Significantly, the report notes how few Arabic publications have taken the opportunity to follow the international best practice of opening their processes to independent audits. Of the 95 media brands in membership at BPA Middle East, only nine (9.5%) are ‘Arabic’ publications.

As of January this year, the BPA Middle East office has 105 members and applicants, broken down into the following representation:

Consumer magazines – 50%
Business publications – 19%
Events and expositions – 15%
Consumer applications – 9%
Newspapers – 7%
Events/expositions confidential – 1%
Newspaper applicants – 1%

To access the complete data, refer to the BPA Worldwide Reports Library at www.bpaww.com.

Entourage announces initial results of ETA ad campaign

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entourage marketing & events, in partnership with the Egypt Tourism Authority (ETA), is pleased to announce the initial results of their ETA ad campaign, “Masr Wahashtouna”, which has brought an increase of 40 percent in tourist numbers to the country from the Middle East. entourage has led the media strategy for this targeted tourism campaign by designing a strategic plan and media implementation of the campaign’s advertisement over print, TV, outdoor and a variety of digital outlets, resulting in Egypt being back up to the top five tourist destinations in the Middle East.  

“We are honoured to gain the trust of the Egypt Tourism Authority and to promote Egypt as a tourist destination in this critical time for Egypt and the region,” says Mohammed Tayem, Managing Director, entourage marketing & events. “Because of the timing for the launch of this campaign – right before the presidential elections of 2014 – our team was required to design the right strategy that not only reaches the target Arab region, but also entices their response. How we implemented this strategy was of upmost importance, given that Arabs make up a very large portion of tourists to Egypt.”

Danone announces media agency pitch

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For the first time, three of Danone’s business units – Al Safi Danone, Danone Nutricia and Danone Waters – are to consolidate their respective media planning and buying within the Middle East region by appointing one media agency. Havas Media, Mindshare MENA and Initiative MENA are the agencies which have been invited to take part in the media pitch, which will be held October 29 – 30, 2014, in Dubai.

The media agency review will have a clear strategic ambition – to select an agency partner that will help the three Danone businesses to move from a purely broadcast model to a greater engagement model over the coming years. Danone aims to ensure that its media investments reflect the changes in the media landscape by collaborating with a strategic partner who will provide leadership in digital media, integrated strategic planning and value creation.

Getty Images signs deal with QOC

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Getty Images has signed a deal with the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) to create a bespoke digital archive system for the QOC’s heritage assets. Getty Images will partner with digital video systems designer EVS to build the archive management system, which will host videos, tapes, DVDs, photos and documents dating from 1979.

Getty Images’ web-based asset management service, Media Manager, will host the QOC’s photo and documental assets, while EVS will construct a Media Archive Director video system to ingest, manage and deliver all video content.

As part of the deal, Getty Images will also share best practice with the QOC photo team on capturing imagery at sports events and official appointments.

“Creating and managing content is the DNA of Getty Images,” says Lee Martin, Senior Vice President EMEA, Getty Images. “So we are delighted to provide this content solution for Qatar Olympic Committee, helping them ensure the preservation and longevity of their assets.”

H.E. Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Qatar Olympic Committee Secretary General adds, “We know Getty Images to be a world leader in the content space, and see this collaboration as a way to help transfer knowledge to all QOC staff and secure the legacy and heritage of QOC’s assets for future generations.”

Benoit Février, Senior Vice President Media of EVS concludes, “Our integrated media archive management solutions are designed to offer full mastering over media workflows from ingest to delivery, guaranteeing the highest level of security, flexibility and video content accessibility. We are proud to partner with Getty Images to provide our technology and expertise to meet the Qatar Olympic Committee’s requirements.”