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PHD start new year on a high

PHD has been named Global Media Network of the Year 2015 by Campaign MENA. The title was awarded to the company in the same year that it celebrated 25 years in media and has won clients including Unilever, GSK, SC Johnson, Ferrero and Bayer. PHD currently operates as a global network, with over 3,000 staff in more than 80 offices worldwide.

“PHD’s challenger positioning and focus on strategic comms planning and creative thinking has really set us apart this year,” says Mike Cooper, Worldwide CEO, PHD. “This point of difference is now starting to have the same draw globally as it has done in the UK over the last decade. Big brands are seeing the value in our global communications planning expertise and our success in that has led to us winning global buying assignments. 2015 should be remembered as the tipping point when buying-focused clients bought planning.”

PHD UAE to hold BrainScape conference

PHD UAE is set to hold BrainScape, its annual thought-leadership conference in the MENA region, on October 12, 2015. With a focus on the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the event will be held at the Armani Hotel Dubai and will host over 200 marketing professionals. It will feature a comprehensive look at the future of intelligence, as well as products that marketing professionals will be using and the advertising and data models that will support them. Key speakers include Kevin Slavin, Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at MIT Media Lab. The conference is produced with Choueiri Group’s dedicated digital media representation arm, Digital Media Services (DMS), as strategic partner.

“This is an incredibly exciting time to work in marketing, as we undergo a revolutionary transformation of what we are capable of achieving, thanks to developments in AI,” said Elda Choucair, Managing Director, PHD UAE. “This year’s BrainScape will invigorate marketers and inspire them on how to capitalise on upcoming technology and take the marketing discipline to new heights.”

PHD welcomes new Associate Director

Media and communications agency, PHD UAE has welcomed Edmond Gebara to the role of Associate Director. Previously Planning Manager at Mindshare Dubai, Edmond brings over four years of media experience to his new role. As Associate Director, he will work on the agency’s largest planning team, managing both the digital and offline accounts for key clients.

“Joining PHD poses quite an exciting challenge for me, both professionally and personally,” says Edmond. “The synergies within the agency – both on a team and organisational level – create a highly productive environment to work in. This, along with their strong focus on personal development, has exceeded my (already high) expectations of them. I look forward to contributing to their incredible momentum.”

Staff promotions at PHD

PHD UAE has promoted five senior employees following its business growth in 2014. Firstly, Ian Dolan has been promoted to the newly created position of Strategy Director. As a Planning Director for the last three years, he will now contribute to the strategic direction of all accounts, driving business development as well as spearheading the creative and innovation agenda for the agency and its clients.

Charli Ursell has been appointed to the position of Digital Director, after leading on the development of initiatives regarded as ‘best in class’ globally by key clients as Digital Associate Director for almost two years. Rachel Maher is now Marketing Director, following the creation and deployment of a rich programme of initiatives, as well as her contribution to business development activities and account wins in the position of Marketing Manager.

Following several years of managing one of PHD’s largest accounts with consistent qualitative output, Nawal Nasreddine has been promoted to Planning Director, as well as Karen Doumet who is also promoted to the position of Planning Director, following an impeccable track record with clients.

“As an organisation, we have grown significantly over the past 12 months,” says Elda Choucair, Managing Director, PHD UAE. “These promotions are as much a reward for this performance as a promise for future success. We endeavour to nurture our talent at PHD so that we, as a team, can continue to exceed the expectations of our clients, our partners and ourselves.”

PHD partners with YouTube for data integration

PHD Worldwide has agreed to integrate YouTube data into their global media operating system, Source. YouTube will now become a channel in its own right in PHD’s propriety planning and buying operation used by all its planners, spanning 81 offices in 66 markets, and covering their major clients such as Unilever and GSK.

Talks between PHD and YouTube began in 2013, and since then YouTube engineers have integrated the latest YouTube reach data into PHD’s operating system. This is the first time that YouTube data has plugged directly into an agency’s own planning system at scale. PHD planners will now be able to optimise their channel mix using the latest and most accurate YouTube reach data to select how much to invest in YouTube in terms of reaching the maximum number of consumers at the minimal cost.

“We have so many clients now wanting to consider online video, and in particular YouTube, alongside TV,” says Malcolm Devoy, International Strategy Director, PHD. “The question is always on how much to invest. To establish this you need various pieces of data, which Google have now provided. Embedding this directly into our planning system now allows our planners across the world to make accurate decision on video channel allocation.”

Luca Allam promoted at PHD

PHD, the media agency network part of Omnicom Media Group, has promoted its Group Director and Head of Digital, Luca Allam, to the position of General Manager of its Dubai office. Luca was instrumental in establishing PHD’s digital agenda, and as Group Director, he managed the integration of digital with offline media thinking and driving the agency’s digital product forward for clients. In his new role, Luca will oversee all accounts and lead on the Unilever digital business.

“Luca played a key role in leading several pitches to success with work that was seen as the very best,” says Elda Choucair, Managing Director, PHD UAE. “Luca will continue to drive new business and further our digital agenda, and I am sure that we will all continue to grow together and achieve even greater things.”

PHD partners with IPA

PHD, part of the Omnicom Media Group, has partnered with the UK’s Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) to localise and adapt its professional education material and examination for Middle East media professionals. Established for over 10 years, The IPA Foundation Certificate is an award-winning online learning program designed to provide junior industry professionals with the knowledge to perform their day-to-day roles with confidence and expertise. With over 10,000 executives in the UK certified, PHD are the first media agency executives in the Middle East to take and successfully pass the exam to secure the IPA’s Foundation Certificate.

“PHD is all about ‘finding a better way,’ not just for ourselves or our clients, but also for the industry in which we operate,” says Elda Choucair, Managing Director, PHD UAE. “Wherever it operates, PHD has always been a strong supporter of raising industry standards. I am very proud of the role we’ve taken in localising IPA’s Foundation Certificate for our industry and our team’s results in the examination. We’ve partnered with the IPA because we see it as part of our role to develop the future talent of our industry.”