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Effie MENA Awards announces 2015 jury panel

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The Effie MENA Awards 2015 is set to launch on November 18, 2015 at the Pavilion, Armani Hotel in Dubai. The seventh edition of the awards will be judged by a panel including a total of 13 international, as well as 90 regional judges, all at a senior corporate level from a variety of industry sectors such as publishing, luxury retail and banking. The panel will be judging entries to celebrate and reward creativity in marketing.

Members of the 2015 judging panel include Ian Armstrong, Advertising General Manager, Jaguar Land Rover – London;  Christopher Saldana, Director Marketing Services EEMEA, Mondelez Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa and Vikram Krishna, Head Group Marketing and Customer Experience, Emirates NBD. The final deadline for submission to this year’s awards is September 27, 2015 and previous winners in the scheme include Nissan Middle East, Henkel, PEPSICO and Red Bull.

“As organisers of the annual Effie MENA Awards, we are both honoured and delighted to have such distinguished figures participating as judges in this year’s programme,” says Alexandre Hawari, Co-CEO, Mediaquest Corp. “The quality of our panel means that the winners of this year’s Effie will have the kudos of knowing that their work has been deemed the best by prominent leaders in their respective fields.”

Nashwa Al Ruwaini named in Forbes Middle East

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Nashwa Al Ruwaini, CEO of Pyramedia Production Company, has been named on Forbes Middle East magazine’s list of Most Powerful Arab Women 2015. As 23rd on the list of 200, Nashwa is the first figure from the media industry to be included.The award was presented as part of a ceremony held at the Oberoi, Dubai, to recognise the achievements of women in business and government. Other women recognised include Mona Almoayyed, Managing Director of YK Almoayyed & Sons, Bahrain; Amna BinHendi, Deputy Chair, BinHendi Group UAE and Shaikha Al Maskari, Chair, Al Maskari Holdings, UAE.

“The magazine is pleased to announce its highly anticipated list of the Most Powerful Arab Woman for the third consecutive year,” says Khuloud Al Omian, Editor-In-Chief, Forbes Middle East. “This award stems from Forbes’s vision to recognise the success and achievements of Arab women across all sectors, particularly those ladies with unlimited capacities, innovation and creativity, who take appropriate decisions and contribute to support the Arab region’s economy.”

Nashwa adds “This recognition is of a special kind because it was issued by a renowned and leading specialised publication. It highlights the active and successful role of women in all sectors of business, recognising the most influential and accomplished female figures in several industry sectors that remained male-dominated for decades.”

4th GCC Government Social Media Summit held

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The fourth annual GCC Government Social Media Summit began today at the Sofitel Dubai Downtown. Held under the theme of “Leveraging social networks to drive government innovation and create smart cities”, the importance of social media among UAE leaders was highlighted, with the social media campaign launched by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid to determine the name for the Mars mission cited as an example of this.

The summit features six industry-specific workshops and hosts around 120 delegates, discussing innovations in social media techniques against the backdrop of its increasing importance in government relations. The event will also run tomorrow, Thursday, September 17, 2015.

“Social media is an effective means of communications,” says Dr. Aisha bin Bishr, Assistant Director General, The Executive Office UAE. “It allows us to target specific segments of the public, especially young audiences and share relevant news and information with them. There is a continuous increase in social media use amongst residents and visitors to the UAE and we are very proud of how the government department is taking advantage of this by utilising social media and its analytical tools to develop ways to communicate with the public.”

Bell Pottinger welcomes new Partner

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Ehab Khairi has joined Bell Pottinger as a Partner in its Middle East business. Ehab joins the international PR agency from the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), where he was Senior Manager of Media and PR – VP, Corporate Communications for eight years. In his new role, Ehab will be based in Bell Pottinger’s office in Dubai, supporting clients across the wider MENA region, including in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Africa. He will also lead the agency’s team of 10 native Arabic speakers, based across its three offices in the Gulf.

“We are delighted that Ehab has joined our growing business in the Middle East,” says Tim Wilkinson, Chairman, Bell Pottinger Middle East. “He is a highly experienced and wise public relations practitioner, and he has a deep understanding of the Arabic language, local media landscape, as well as the regional business community. This senior hire illustrates our ongoing commitment to ensuring we offer a diverse range of senior PR consultants who can operate successfully in local and international environments.”

Ehab adds “Bell Pottinger already has a strong Arabic offer and my ambition is to keep developing it, in line with the needs of our diverse client base. I’m excited to be joining the team at an interesting time for companies and governments across the Middle East, and I look forward to using my experience to help make Bell Pottinger’s communications offering in the region an even more compelling one.”

Edelman completes acquisition of DABO & CO

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Edelman has completed its acquisition of DABO &CO, expanding the company’s presence in the Middle East region. The completion sees the launch of a new co-branded entity – Edelman DABO – which combines the consumer public relations and digital capabilities of both companies. The co-brand will also see the launch of Edelman DABO Experiential which builds upon DABO’s creative events management division. The company now has a roster of over 50 clients in the Middle East.

“The communications marketing landscape is evolving at a pace where yesterday’s innovation horizon is reached at a speed that was unimaginable even a couple of years ago,” says David Bran, President and Chief Executive Officer, Edelman Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. “Our focus on building our leadership position requires us to be one step ahead of our clients’ evolving needs. DABO & CO has been consistently able to deliver high levels of creativity in consumer communications and experiential activations, making it an ideal addition to our existing business in the Middle East.”

Lucy d’Abo, Managing Director, Edelman DABO Experiential, adds “We are delighted to have completed the acquisition process and to have revealed our new brand identity as an Edelman company. In terms of both strategic vision and cultural fit, it was clear that Edelman represented the best partner for us and everything we’ve experienced to date has reinforced that view.”

 

The Event Company rebrands

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Dubai-based events management agency The Event Company has rebranded as TEC. The rebrand means a new logo and brand identity for TEC, a company started by British entrepreneur Natalie Crampton, in Dubai, in 2008. The agency currently has offices in Dubai, Doha and Kuwait, with plans to open in Saudi Arabia and Singapore later this year, and a client base including HSBC, Cisco, Bloomberg and The Estee Lauder Group.

“The type of work we do has naturally evolved over the years as we’ve grown,” says Natalie. “We initially started out as purely a corporate events agency but over time our clients have requested that we manage digital campaigns, PR and, more recently, social media. Whilst the name ‘The Event Company’ initially worked well for us, in the last couple of years it has been somewhat limiting. We decided to undergo a rebranding exercise to create an identity that speaks of our passion, persistence and global capability.”

Expo Centre Sharjah becomes SISO member

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Expo Centre Sharjah has become a member of the US-based Society of Independant Show Organisers (SISO). Also a member of Paris-based Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), and Dallas-based International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), the Expo Centre Sharjah is looking to expand its global footprint.

SISO aims to meet the needs of show organisers through networking as well as exchanging ideas and experiences and has over 175 members internationally, working on over 3,500 events. Members include large corporations and small enterprises from North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, India, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

“After gaining membership to UFI and IAEE, we are now a member of the Society of Independant Show Organisers,” says Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, CEO, Expo Centre Sharjah. “The membership in these premier associations brings instant recognition and immediate access to hundreds of trade bodies from across the world. Thanks to SISO membership, the region’s potential as well as our shows will now be promoted to a wider target audience.”