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PRCA and TMN to launch training sessions

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PRCA MENA has partnered with The Media Network to launch half-day face-to-face training courses in Dubai. The trainers are accredited and certified by PRCA and all delegates attending will receive a certificate upon completion of the course. In addition to this, a series of face-to-face training sessions in Arabic are due to launch later this year. The sessions are priced at AED650 for PRCA members, AED850 for Premium Members of The Media Network and AED1,000 for non-members.

“I am very pleased to partner with The Media Network, to broaden further the range of training options available to PR and communications practitioners in Dubai,” says Francis Ingham MPRCA, Director General, PRCA. “It is a key priority of the PRCA to improve standards within the industry, and this is an important step forward.”

Michelle Kuehn, Managing Partner, The Media Network adds, “We’re so thrilled to launch face-to-face training sessions with PRCA. Our ethos has always been to create a nurturing media community in the region, and through this step, we aim to provide access to quality training for PR professionals in Dubai.”

New appointments at Time Out GCC

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Time Out Abu Dhabi welcomes Paul Clifford to the role of Editor. Formerly Group Editor of Guides and Food, Paul will now lead the team of Deputy Editor, Liz Cookman; Food Editor, Vanessa Fitter and Section Editor, Chris Maxwell. Shaikh Saleh, previously Digital Marketing Executive for the Time Out GCC group will now take on a new role, which will focus specifically on Time Out Abu Dhabi.

Following Melanie Smith’s appointment as Deputy Editor in January 2017 and Tim Skinner’s appointment as Deputy Digital Editor in March, Time Out Dubai has appointed Amy Mathieson, former Guides Editor at Time Out GCC, to the role of Food and Features Editor. Previously Editor at Time Out Doha, Sofia Vyas joins the Dubai team as Music & Nightlife and Art Editor. The new members will work with the existing team of Editor, Holly Sands; Digital Content Executive, Jeffrey Casiño and Editorial Assistant, Rodelito Mamuad.

Winners of IAA Ticket to Cannes Lions revealed

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Winners of this year’s IAA Ticket to Cannes Lions competition were announced last night at IAA UAE Chapter’s Dubai office. The competition aims to recognise young professionals in the advertising industry and saw Omar Tom from Leo Burnett, Elie Raad from AMS and Levent Donertas from TBWA/RAAD named as this year’s winners. Selected on the basis of originality, creativity and personal investment, Omar, Elie and Levent will move on to represent the region at the Cannes Lions International Festival for Creativity to be held from June 17 – 24, as well as be enrolled in the Young Lions Academies.

“The IAA Ticket to Cannes Lions not only makes young advertisers mine their own creativity and originality to further their careers, but also gives them a chance to learn from the best minds in the industry and apply that learning in the local market,” says Hani Ghorayeb, President, IAA UAE Chapter. “The three winners stood out because of their creative approach and their ability to elicit an emotional connection with their campaign. We wish them an exciting, enjoyable and fruitful week in Cannes.”

Active DMC appoints new Communications Executive

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Dubai-based agency, Active (Digital Marketing.Communications) has appointed Stacy Fernandes to the role of Communications Executive. A graduate of Wilson College with a degree in Mass Media, Stacy has five years of experience in the communications industry and has worked on strategic client campaigns from different sectors across the UAE. In her new role, she will support the Active DMC team and work on communications services that includes public relations, content management, social media campaigns, media relations and event management.

“I am excited to start a new challenge with Active (DMC) and look forward to working with the team to further develop their already extensive communications suite,” says Stacy. “I am also fortunate to be joining such an innovative company that prides itself on top quality communications services.”

ARN launches new Arabic radio stations

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Dubai-based radio network, Arabian Radio Network (ARN) launches Al Khaleejiya Classic and Al Arabiya Cassette in the UAE. With a focus on serving its Arabic audience, Al Khaleejiya Classic will play 80’s and 90’s GCC music tracks, while Al Arabiya Cassette will broadcast 60’s to 90’s Arabic hits from across the region for local and expat Arabs. The new digital-only radio stations will also be available as an extension of local radio stations, Al Khaleejiya 100.9 and Al Arabiya 99 mobile apps to its audience across the UAE.

“ARN serves a wide audience of over 190 nationalities, in the world’s most cosmopolitan city, Dubai,” says Mahmoud Al Rasheed, General Manager, ARN. “This launch follows our first phase of digital brands launched last year and we are proud to launch these two digital stations to meet audience and advertiser demand and position ARN for further growth in the digital broadcasting industry in the coming years.”

To Be Announced launches in the region

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To Be announced (TBA), a creative solutions provider, founded by Mahmoud El Abed, has launched. With over seven years of experience, Mahmoud, previously worked with Addmind Group as PR Manager and most recently with COPIA Group as Communications Manager where he worked in client servicing and created marketing and PR strategies for clients. The new agency will operate from UAE and Lebanon with the aim to offer tailored strategies by forging relationships and delivering personalised services to clients.

“At a time where the current market is saturated with brands competing for attention, To Be Announced – (TBA) sees that the only way forward is with more customized and tailor made strategies,” says Mahmoud. “My idea is to collaborate and work closely with businesses to make their brands more relatable, connectable and desirable.”

FIVE MINUTE FOCUS – LET’S TALK!

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With the launch of the new industry event series, ‘Let’s Talk!’, TMN sits down with Mohammed El-Batta, Managing Director, Fekra Communications to find out more about what the industry can expect from the upcoming events…

Tell us a bit about Fekra Communications and your new event series.

Fekra Communications is a marketing communications consultancy offering communications and creative services to clients across the Middle East.

We’re launching a series of industry related events across the region under the title ‘Let’s Talk!’ that aims to bring together top communications and media experts, senior officials and policy makers to shed light on the hottest topics in the industry.

‘Let’s Talk!’ is designed to present today’s professionals with an expert perspective and learning opportunities on the latest trends. From preeminent thinkers whose work has defined the industry, to the rising stars who will redefine the way we think about business. It will provide a platform for the industry’s leading minds to share insights and best practices on how to protect an organisation’s reputation.

What inspired you to launch this new event series in the Middle East?

The Middle East is a highly diversified region where culture, media practices and expectations vary to a large degree. While the region hosts a growing number of talented professionals and experts with invaluable experience, unfortunately, this type of experience often goes undocumented. For that reason, we were inspired to launch this new franchise out of the need to connect the dots and fill in the gaps.

We believe that the best knowledge in any field is the knowledge accumulated first hand. One can read so many books, but we tend to learn better in an interactive environment. Learning also happens when one shares experiences and listens to different perspectives, via conversation.

We do not claim that our events focus on educating the media industry. Rather, we feel that there is a wealth of experience untapped and we’re stepping in to highlight it for everyone’s benefit. We learn from each other.

What will be the topic of discussion of the first series of events?

There will be an industry-specific topic for each event. The first series of events will focus on crisis communications. With the continuing evolution of communication platforms, news and word of mouth spread faster and even wilder than it used to a decade ago.

Today we live in a world where both government and corporate reputations are more fragile and where crises seem to be occurring more frequently. One of the biggest challenges for communication professionals is the early recognition of crises and how to successfully manage it using effective communication techniques.

‘Let’s Talk: Crisis Communications’ will bring together top communications and media experts, senior officials and policy makers to shed light on the right steps to take in a crisis and how to turn them into opportunities for exposure, marketing and enhancing corporate image. The conference will also be held in Cairo, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia this year.

Can you give us details about your target market and audience?

Our target market is the UAE, the GCC region as well as Egypt and Levant. The targeted audience are communication professionals, whether in the government or corporate world. The event should bring together PR agencies, government officials, journalists, social media strategists and bloggers which makes an interesting mix for fruitful and invaluable discussions.

When and where will the first event of the series take place?

The first event will take place from March 8 – 9 in Dubai, The Address Hotel Dubai Mall. Registration is now open online through our website. We have two registration options: Day one conference only and two days conference + workshop training.

Please tell us about the speakers and presenters that will participate in ‘Let’s Talk!’?

We have a wide array of expert speakers from the corporate world, government, PR & digital agencies and consultants in addition to media.

Our list of speakers currently includes names from Boeing International, Facebook, Brunswick Group, Ogilvy PR, Federal Competitiveness & Statistics Authority, Grayling, Dubai TV, Newsweek ME, Dubai Eye, APCO Worldwide, Carma, Social Eyez, vArmour, DarkMatter, ACG Communication & Training Consulting, El Masna3, in addition to renowned government advisors and digital consultants.

We are constantly updating this list and still in the process of adding more speakers!

Can industry professionals of the region participate as speakers or presenters at the event?

Yes, of course, we welcome professionals from the region to come on board as speakers or presenters. You can email us and and tell us a bit about yourself and what you would like to speak about. Someone from the organising team will get in touch with you as soon as we receive the expression of interest.

Did you face any challenges while launching the event across four countries?

Not really, thanks to Fekra’s extensive network and partners, launching the event across the four countries has not been difficult. We look forward to seeing the events come to life one after another this year and the years to follow.

What is the reaction you expect by hosting these events?

We expect valuable sharing of knowledge, experience and best practices, intensive networking to take place, probably leading to the emerging of new business partnerships or cooperation between the attendees and most importantly, enhancing the experience of communications professionals and making an impact on the collective performance of the industry.

What does the future hold for ‘Let’s Talk!’?

Depending on the right market, topic and demand, we may consider other markets in the future.

How They Did It – Q Communications

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TMN sits down with Elsa Roodt, Managing Partner at Dubai-based communications agency, Q Communications, to get an in-depth look into one of their highly successful PR campaigns…

 

Project Overview:

Hosted at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), China Trade Week UAE is a comprehensive trade event that showcases high-quality Chinese products from a variety of industries. China Trade Week UAE was seeking an agency to handle all PR operations for the fourth annual edition of the exhibition that was due to take place from December 5-7, 2016.

Brief:

To develop and manage an integrated PR campaign for the fourth annual China Trade Week UAE.

The Pitch:

China Trade Week UAE approached us through a request via our website following the recommendation of several stakeholders of the event. Once we received the request, a meeting was set up to discuss the brief and Request for Proposal (RFP) for the project. Based on inputs from the meeting, we put together an elaborate proposal, which was then pitched to the client. Q Communications was one of the five agencies that pitched to handle the PR account for the fourth annual China Trade Week UAE.

We were thrilled to have won the PR account for such a reputed exhibition that holds great value in the Middle East trade market. Abu Dhabi has been a big segment of Q Communications’ growth for the past 18 months, and securing large corporate accounts such as China Trade Week UAE has been an integral part of the company’s expansion process.

Process:

We started work on the account in October 2016 and as the official PR representatives of the event, our key focus was to provide pre-event exposure and publicity to secure media attendance at the launch event. Aiming to attract maximum visitors to the exhibition, our brief included managing all PR aspects for the 2016 edition across the GCC − drafting and distributing press material, bespoke media and interview pitches as well as research into key publications for relevant interview opportunities.
 
One of the key factors that we always consider before launching a campaign is the team that will be working on the account. The right team member in terms of media relations and expertise plays a huge factor in how successful the campaign will be. This is not just limited to the category of content and media, but also depends on the region.
 
An initial press release was issued in early November announcing the event and highlighting statistical data on the current value of the bilateral trade between the UAE and China. Following the announcement press release, we brainstormed and ideated more ways and angles for maximum media coverage. All ideas were generated with the sole purpose of boosting the event, while making sure that the stories and angles pitched to each publication were relevant to their area of interest.

In the case of this particular client, once we had the content locked in, we split the campaign across three PR Managers for each category – trade, business and consumer. Two of the PR Managers were based in Abu Dhabi and one was based in Dubai. The content is equally important and before we engaged with the respective campaign managers, the content team worked on pitching angles featuring facts and figures to give the story more weight and credibility.

For trade, our focus was primarily on the B2B segment that included outlining the importance of China trade agreements with the UAE as well as the impact of the same on both nations. This was supported by key quotes from the client who had extensive insight on the meeting between Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the President of the People’s Republic of China, President Xi Jinping.

Through extensive research and liaising with our client as well as China Customs, we sourced key information relating to bilateral trade figures as well as the top 10 trade industries between the two countries. This factual information was then used to pitch a new and refreshed angle to relevant business-related media outlets.
 
Lastly, to generate maximum consumer interest and footfall at the event, we opted for a more lifestyle-relevant angle, by highlighting what the exhibition had to offer to its visitors, focusing on the fact that it was a family-friendly event that featured various art and craft installations and attractions.
 
Along with our efforts to spread awareness about the exhibition through various media channels of different categories, we leveraged additional coverage by shedding light on the fact that China is the UAE’s largest trade partner and by providing key insight and stats on the two countries’ trade relationship. The participation of UAE’s Ministry of Economy further invoked curiosity and interest, which in turn resulted in wider media reach and coverage as well as higher attendance at the event itself.
 
Since the December 2016 event was the fourth of its kind and hence was not a brand new launch for the region’s media, we worked on building a strong press release that focused on and highlighted the numbers and facts to attract more media attention.

Result:

Over the two months of dedicated PR operations, we secured a total of 74 editorial clippings across 46 media outlets that included print, digital, broadcast and social media coverage as well as the attendance of 13 media entities at the event. The campaign was highly effective with measurable results of 25,465,023 impressions and a PR value of $802,063.
 
Client feedback:
 
“I could not be happier with the team’s dedication to the project and the results of all their hard work,” says Michelle Meyrick, International Events Director, MIE Events DMCC. “In the initial stages of development, Q Communications organised regular meetings with us and made an effort to find out all details about the event, including the history. We know we made the right decision because while some PR companies would send out a generic press release, Q Communications compiled a comprehensive press pack for the journalists and made sure that each relevant publication received it.”
 
Michelle adds, “The team was always on site for interview opportunities and constantly kept us updated with clear reports and analysis of the coverage secured. They were very regular with their updates, I didn’t have to constantly follow up and had peace of mind from the moment we had our first kick-off meeting. I’m sure the agency was working on many other simultaneous projects, but they always made us feel like we were their first priority. I hope that we can work together on all of our upcoming China Trade Week events.”