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Leo Burnett Beirut wins three Facebook Awards

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Leo Burnett Beirut represented their region as the only Middle Eastern company to receive Facebook Awards in 2015. The agency won both Gold (New Frontier) and Silver (Facebook for Good) awards for their work with non-governmental women’s rights organisation, KAFA, as well as a second Silver (New Frontier) award for their ‘Keep Walking Lebanon’ campaign for Johnny Walker. Other international recipients of the Facebook Awards included Droga5, McCann Lima and LA RED.

The Facebook Awards were established to celebrate the best creative work on Facebook, as chosen by leading creatives in the industry. They recognise excellence in campaign execution, as well as creative growth and evolution on Facebook, with judges looking for inspired work that challenges industry attitudes towards content publishing. A party will be held on June 24, 2015 in Cannes to celebrate the winners of this year’s awards.

CNN’s Connect the World to go on tour

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CNN’s flagship news and current affairs show, Connect the World with Becky Anderson, is taking to the road this month, for a month-long tour. Beginning in Cairo, the programme will head to Amman and Beirut, before ending in Istanbul.

In each location anchor Becky Anderson will present a range of live programming and feature content, including interviews and analysis of the issues that matter in each location and beyond. Topics will vary for each location, but will encompass breaking news as well as culture, society and politics. On the final day in each location the team will host a special segment called CNN Café, which will see Becky take the show to the people in a live broadcast on location.

A range of digital content supporting the programme will be found on the show’s blog page, www.cnn.com/connect, and CNN Arabic will be supporting the tour, publishing a range of related content for Arabic-speaking users on CNNArabic.com as well as via social media. Both CNN.com and CNN Arabic will be interacting with audiences, asking users to send in suggestions and pictures to guide the editorial content both on TV and online.

“There is so much to explore and discuss in each of these locations, and we also want to add a truly interactive element to these special programmes,” says Becky. “This is about democratising the narrative, hearing the voices from the region on the stories resonating here and beyond. It promises to be a fascinating few weeks in some of the world’s most vibrant cities.”

For further information, contact Kimberly Lobo at kimberly.lobo@ketchum-raad.com / +971 (0)4 425 8979

Abu Dhabi Media Summit to be held in 2016

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The sixth edition of the Abu Dhabi Media Summit (ADMS) will be held from April 5, 2016 – April 7, 2016 by The Media Zone Authority – Abu Dhabi. Powered by twofour54, the summit’s topics, agenda and key speakers will be announced shortly and will be in line with twofour54’s vision to promote Abu Dhabi as a leading hub in the global media industry.

Under the theme of ‘Driving and Sustaining Future Media in MENA and Beyond’ the last edition of ADMS was held in November, 2014 and attracted over 1,300 local, regional and international attendees. The summit has previously hosted Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, and key representatives and industry leaders to discuss the future of media in the MENA region and the world.

The Abu Dhabi Media Summit is held once every two years to host a number of industry leaders to build on Abu Dhabi’s position as centre of innovation in the Arab world.

For further information on the summit, visit www.admediasummit.com

For further information, contact William Royce at william.royce@twofour54.com / +971 (0)50 614 6653

GroupM welcomes Filip Jabbour

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Global media investment management operation GroupM, part of WPP, has welcomed Filip Jabbour to the role of Middle East North Africa (MENA) CEO. Having most recently worked with Spark in the US as Executive Vice President, Filip brings 19 years of international experience in media advertising with him to his new role.

GroupM has just officially opened its offices in the UAE, with the primary goal of maximising the performance of WPP’s communications agencies, operating as both a parent company and collaborator to offer an intelligent application of insights to its clients. As MENA CEO to the company, Fillip will be responsible for leading all operations and driving growth in the region, as well as developing strategy and accelerating the growth of the groups regional media agencies: Mindshare, MED, MediaCom, and BPG Maxus.

“The opportunity to join the world’s leading media investment management group to lead development in the exciting and fast-growing MENA market is thrilling,” says Filip. “GroupM agencies operating in MENA are distinguished by their winning track records, and I am keen to accelerate their pace by harnessing the absolute best digital, technology, data and content solutions available.”

2015 SABRE Awards EMEA winners announced

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The 2015 SABRE Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Awards were held on 21 May, 2015 at The Roundhouse in London. Over 650 PR professionals from the EMEA region attended the ceremony to celebrate the winners, selected from 2,400 entries.

Among the agencies to have won were Roche Lebanon with Memac Ogilvy Public Relations for their Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, Al Baik with TRACCS for their Park it Right campaign, Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange with Weber Shandwick for their The DGC-X-Factor! How DGCX Transformed its Regional and Global Profile campaign and Canon with DABO & CO for the Canon Cabast trade show. UN Women with Memac Ogilvy Public Relations – Dubai, were also nominated as finalists for the Platinum Sabre award for Best in Show for their campaign, The Autocomplete Truth.

Global agency Weber Shandwick won five awards in total on the night, with Memac Ogilvy winning three. Ketchum was presented with four awards for its clients, and Burson-Marsteller and Edelman (including Elan and DABO & CO) won three.

Transform announces awards nominees

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The Transform Awards Middle East North Africa (MENA) 2015, a showcase of exceptional new and evolving brand and rebranding campaigns, has revealed the organisations who have made its shortlist.

The awards recognise and share brand development work in the MENA region that is well thought-out, effective, innovative and creative. This will be the second time the event takes place in the region, having begun in Europe six years ago.

This year, Transform saw entries from a greater number of regional countries, including: the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Lebanon. Shortlisted companies include Careem and North 55, GGICO Properties and MBLM, and National Bank of Oman and Bellwether, for ‘Best Rebrand of a Digital Property’ as well as Abdul Latif Jameel and Siegel+Gale, Al Yuam and Bellwether, Asser Investments and Bellwether, Batelco and Unisono, GO Telecommunications and Bellwether, and Horizon & Co and Bellwether, for ‘Best Brand Evolution’. The most inspired and innovative project, as voted for by the Transform MENA judges, will receive the most prestigious award of the evening, the Grand Prix.

“We are proud to bring the Transform Awards to the MENA region once again to celebrate the growing brand industry and the superb work being done,” says Liz Foggitt, Publishing and Events Manager, Transform. “It’s always a pleasure learning about the nuances of branding and communications in different cultures and some of the work is of an exceptionally high standard.”

Image Nation partners with Ali Mostafa

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Emirati filmmaker Ali Mostafa is re-partnering with Image Nation Abu Dhabi on his next feature, The Worthy, which will go into production later this year. The director will be joined by Hollywood veterans Peter Safran (Producer, known for his work on The Conjuring) and Steven Schneider (Producer, known for his work on Paranormal Activity and Insidious) who have come onboard to produce the project with Ali’s Regional Producer Rami Yasin, who also worked on his 2014 film, From A to B.

“As the first action/thriller I’m directing, The Worthy is a new adventure for me,” says Ali. “My producers are really at the top of their game right now and their expertise will be invaluable on The Worthy, so I’m excited to be working with them and Image Nation again.”

Peter Safan adds “The film industry in Abu Dhabi is at an extremely exciting time in its development, I am looking forward to playing a small part in its growth by working on this fantastic film.”