Ronda Mustapha has joined Motivate Publishing as Senior Sales Manager for Emirates Woman. Previously Advertising Sales Manager at ITP Publishing, Ronda has over 10 years of experience in sales, as well as a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Balamand, Lebanon. In her new role, she will be responsible for identifying commercial opportunities and maximising revenue generation for the Emirates Woman brand.
Katch International has been appointed by Habtoor Hospitality to launch The Atrium at Al Habtoor City. Located in the centre of the new luxury lifestyle destination, on the banks of the Dubai Water Canal, The Atrium will be home to seven restaurants and bars split over five levels, each with distinct personalities and brands. Katch will be responsible for ensuring local and regional awareness of the new venues, as well as providing a comprehensive launch strategy.
“The Atrium represents a new caliber of dining enjoyment in Dubai and we are proud to partner with them on their launch,” says Georgie Woollams, Founder, Katch International. “The variety of styles and cultures across the venues is a fitting reflection of the diversity that has shaped the United Arab Emirates and will offer a dynamic array of choices to dazzle visitors and residents from all over the world. We look forward to unveiling these fabulous concepts that will cement Al Habtoor City as the ultimate destination for luxury entertainment and dining.”
Chloe Allan, former Editor of The Girl That Lives In The Desert, has launched new online magazine The Digital Dose. A Dubai-based website, The Digital Dose will cover all things fashion, beauty and lifestyle with three main sections; The Fashion, The Beauty and The Social Scene. The Social Scene will feature everything from newly opened hotspots to exclusive interviews with chefs and restaurateurs.
“I wanted to create a place designed to excite, inspire and have fun with fashion and beauty in a relatable and accessible way,” says Chloe. “To talk to talents from all areas of the industry and reveal a side of the region that readers from other parts of the world can also relate to.”
Angela Boshoff Hundal, Founder, Head of Copy and Creative Director at Scribe tells us why the art of copywriting should be embraced, rather than dismissed
“The value of carefully constructed and expertly crafted written language seems to have shrunk, which means that we’re all seeing (and getting) more and more emails, push notifications, SMS messages, marketing collateral and other written content containing atrocious spelling, shocking grammar and bad vocabulary.”
“You creative types are so misunderstood,” a man at a dinner party once said to me when I revealed that I was a copywriter. “What is it exactly that copywriters do again?”
It’s a fair question, and I don’t think he was being nasty or sarcastic when he asked it. He did look genuinely perplexed, which is why I didn’t mind explaining to him – and the rest of the dinner guests, who had all turned towards me like flowers to the sun – what exactly a copywriter does. “It’s simple really,” I said, smiling as broadly as I could. “We write copy for a living.”
“Ah!” a woman exclaimed, evidently enlightened. “What are you working on at the moment?”
“Are you working on any books?” someone piped up.
“Scripts?” another asked.
“Not at the moment…” I responded, deflated.
“Oh,” came the reply. The silence was awkward. You could almost hear their inner chatter: I thought copywriting was more exciting than that. What happens next?
Look, I know it’s hard for some people to get their heads around. I’m doing a job that they may never even have thought existed until they met me. What’s so special about copywriters anyway? I mean, everyone can write, right? Wrong. The truth is, people who go around claiming everyone can write are the same ones that send text messages like “c u l8r” or write sentences like “your the best writer”. They would breezily pop an apostrophe in the word banana’s and not see what they’ve done wrong. Apostrophic bananas are a copywriting catastrophe. (As is using the word ‘your’ instead of ‘you’re’ in the sentence above.) These are the sorts of typos that keep copywriters – or protectors of the written word, as I like to call them – up at night. Our fear of errors makes us read and reread an article five times and then once backwards (that is an actual proofreading technique, by the way) to make sure we haven’t used hyphens instead of en-dashes, or that we’ve not drafted our copy with incomplete comparisons or in passive voice. Not sure what I’m on about? That’s okay. It’s probably because you’re not a writer.
One of the hardest parts of my job is getting people – even very experienced professionals with fancy degrees – to wrap their heads around the fact that copywriting is a skill that took time to learn, or that it requires hard work and dedication to pull off. Many don’t realise that someone had to sit down and write whatever it is that they read that morning, from the words on their shampoo bottle to the cooking instructions on the back of the packet of oats. Hopefully, a writer even crafted the text message that popped up to alert above-mentioned people to the fact that the driver from the chauffeur-driven car service was downstairs to take them to work. Those words were created with conviction and determination. It took time, effort and probably rather a lot of coffee.
Aside from knowing our semicolons from our umlauts, copywriters are crucial to helping develop a brand’s style and tone of voice. That’s just one of the reasons why we like to be included in a project from the very beginning, instead of being squished in right at the end like the last passenger on the Tokyo subway train at rush hour. Our input is valuable and can impact the way people view and interact with a business on a direct level. Yet many companies still aren’t quite convinced of our worth. I have a theory: I believe that because the modern world is a very visual place, many businesses are bias towards the visual arts (which are VERY important, make no mistake), which means they might overlook copywriting a little. While most corporations wouldn’t ask one of their existing employees to “quickly design something”, many believe that they can get someone to bash out a bit of copy because they don’t think – or maybe they don’t know – that writing requires the same amount of skill. A writer shouldn’t be expected to just “quickly-write-something-up-because-it’s-short-and-won’t-take-time”. If I had a Dirham for every time I heard that statement I’d be a very rich woman.
On the topic of money, it’s a sad fact that many are quick to judge even a reasonable copywriting fee. If you’re someone who thinks that the cost of good writing is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad writing. A 2013 Global Lingo study revealed that people take spelling very seriously, with three quarters (74%) of web users paying attention to the quality of spelling and grammar on company websites, and more than half (59%) of people saying they would avoid doing business with a company that made obvious spelling or grammar mistakes.
Once upon a time, bad spelling and poor grammar would have been intolerable, but the lazy everyday communication that’s come about as a result of the hectic lives we lead seems to be spilling over into corporate communication, too. The value of carefully constructed and expertly crafted written language seems to have shrunk, which means that we’re all seeing (and getting) more and more emails, push notifications, SMS messages, marketing collateral and other written content containing atrocious spelling, shocking grammar and bad vocabulary.
So, fellow protectors of the written word, it’s up to us to teach one and all about the value of our work. If people don’t get it, we need to hammer away at our keyboards until they do. So, Montblancs at the ready and laptops open. Let’s use the power of well-crafted copy for the good of us all.
Leo Burnett Dubai has won the account for Emirates Airline’s creative business across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) markets. The account will include strategy and creative development in order to support Emirates business in the region.
“Emirates has been a force in the region and is a global leader in the field of travel,” says Kamal Dimachkie, Executive Regional Managing Director, Leo Burnett Dubai. “Just like it has redefined the industry in which it operates, the Emirates brand continues to lead and to innovate. We will support them with daring ideas and lateral communication solutions that enable them to achieve their objectives.”
Omnicom Media Group Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has named new leaders for its analytics division, Annalect, as well as its programmatic trading desk, Accuen. Both companies will now report to recently promoted Executive Director of Specialist Companies, Dimitri Metaxas, who will be managing Resolution as well as Annalect and Accuen. Raouf Ketani has also joined Annalect MENA as Business Unit Director, from Annalect UK, where he will be working closely with the analytics and audience measurement specialists at OMD and PHD and the team at Annalect.
Matyas Csendes has been welcomed to the Omnicom group as Head of Accuen and he will be bringing with him over 10 years of digital marketing experience to elevate the role of the trading desk and enhance clients’ programmatic executions. Accuen also welcomed Bushair Muhammadunni to the role of Head of Inventory, a newly created role in which he will focus on improving the variety of publishers with which the group works.
“There is much demand for these services in which we have invested heavily over the past decade,” says Dimitri. “Raouf, Matyas and Bushair are here to stimulate further growth with their expertise in their respective fields. The industry’s use of data and automation will keep on rising. Hence, we will increase our momentum and dedication to these areas to provide our agencies’ teams with the best capabilities for future-proofing their clients’ businesses.”
Jason O’Connell has joined BNC Publishing as Editor of Construction Business News Middle East. Previously Editor of Utilities Middle East, in his new role Jason will be responsible for building a strong editorial identity for the magazine as well as its website, CBNME.com.
“I’m thrilled to be joining BNC Publishing – a young, up and coming publisher with a growing portfolio of magazines and events – and to build up on the solid start Construction Business News has made since its launch last year,” says Jason. “I’m really looking forward to the challenge of covering the most dynamic business sector in the Middle East. With ambitious new projects being launched on a regular basis, these are exciting times for construction in this region.”
Melanie Mingas, Group Editor, BNC Publishing, adds “Jason brings a wealth of experience to Construction Business News and after an exciting first year, during which we also launched a website and awards series, beginning with the Construction Innovation Awards: Qatar, as well as the Power 60, we are incredibly excited about year two.”
APP Publishing has welcomed Anna Castan Tomas to the role of Fashion Editor for the APP Group. Previously Fashion and Beauty Editor for Ahlan! Arabia, part of ITP Publishing Group, as well as a Fashion Stylist, Anna has over eight years of experience in fashion and journalism. In her new role, she will be editing and contributing to a number of APP titles, including; Stylist Arabia,The Rake and Hello! Magazine.
ITP Publishing has promoted JJ Anisiobi to the role of Editor of Ahlan! Magazine. Previously Deputy Editor for the weekly publication, JJ will continue to be responsible for overseeing the magazine and its website as well as leading news, interviewing celebrities for features and deciding on cover lines on a weekly basis. He will also continue to represent the celebrity title on the new weekly TV show, Ahlan! on Dubai Life. Sarah Hedley Hymers will continue to lead the Ahlan! brand as Group Editorial Director.
MVM Co has secured the PR account to represent Haneen Odeh, Founder of themakeupeditor.com, a website focusing on a range of beauty topics from skincare to makeup and hair. Haneen has a reputation for honest reviews as well as well-researched tips and advice and MVM Co will be working with her to grow her presence, as well as that of themakeupeditor.com, across the region.
“Haneen is really one of a kind in this industry and we are thrilled to be working with her,” says Morgan Venison, Founder, MVM Co. “She is passionate about sharing her research on all things beauty and making her website accessible and enjoyable for all kinds of readers.”