Z7 Communications has been appointed as the official PR agency for Stuart Weitzman. Founded in 1986 and headed by designer Stuart Weitzman, the luxury footwear brand currently operates in over 70 countries internationally, as well as e-commerce sites worldwide. With this new addition to its luxury brand portfolio, Z7 Communications will now represent Stuart Weitzman across the Middle East region.
The 2015 Dubai Lynx Advertiser of the Year has been awarded to Henkel, the owner of household brands such as Persil, Fa and Pril, as the advertising festival’s award ceremony got underway at the Madinat Jumeirah Arena last night. The title is given to a MENA advertiser that has demonstrated inspiring innovative marketing for its brands and embraced creativity from its agencies.
“Achieving success through business results is motivating and inspiring,” says Mohamed Siam, Regional Marketing Director, Henkel. “However, what makes it even better is when we can turn our trademark into a love mark with consumers. This can only be done through creative communications that build a bridge between the brand strategy and the consumer needs in the most entertaining way. This award is proof to us that we are moving in the right direction. We will continue to excel in our communications and commit to consistent development. It will be an honour to add more prestigious trophies to our collection in the near future.”
Philip Thomas, CEO of Lions Festivals adds, “Henkel are worthy recipients of this award due to their phenomenal marketing efforts, which have resulted in creative advertising that proves itself to be innovative and inspirational time and time again.”
Schneider PR has been appointed as the official PR partner for British food emporium Fortnum & Mason. The first store for the London institution outside of the UK, Fortnum & Mason established its Dubai branch last year in Downtown Dubai, echoing the original as a homage to luxury food with both dining and retail areas.
“We are excited to add Fortnum & Mason to our portfolio of luxury global brands and look forward to driving awareness in the region,” says Sandra Schneider, Managing Director, Schneider PR. “As the brand’s first standalone store outside of the UK, it is a real honour to be associated with such a prestigious venture.”
Marmo Classic Stones Factory, part of the Classic Marble Company of India, has signed DPQ Communications to handle its PR and marketing initiatives in the UAE. With plans to expand operations in the UAE and the wider region, the company is looking to grow its profile and demonstrate its ability to deliver premium quality marble products to the growing construction and interiors markets.
“Marno Classic Stones Factory further diversifies our client portfolio,” says Elsa Roodt, Managing Partner, DPQ Communications. “It brings an exciting and challenging new dynamic for the team.”
Manuel Arnaut has been appointed as Editor-in-Chief of soon to be launched Architectural Digest Middle East. Joining the team from Portugal with a number of high profile publications under his belt, Manuel previously spent seven years as a journalist for Vogue Portugal and most recently held the position of Editor at GQ Portugal. He will now oversee the launch and running of Arab Publishing Partners’ (APP) hotly anticipated new title.
Published under licence agreement with APP, Architectural Digest Middle East is set to hit the stands in April 2015, marking the tenth global edition of the magazine.
Look Who’s Talking has secured the PR account to represent award-winning stand-up comedian and media personality Wonho Chung across the UAE and GCC region. Having recently released his DVD, ‘Wonho Chung in New York City – LIVE at the Comic Strip’, Wonho is the first comedian to perform a full stand up comedy set in Arabic at the club. With a number of upcoming events, Look Who’s Talking PR will work closely with Wonho to ensure his brand is communicated and targeted to the right audience.
“We are so excited to be working with such a creative and talented personality,” says Lejla Charif, Director of PR, Look Who’s Talking PR. “Wonho is a fantastic person for promoting the region in a positive light and make people all around the GCC laugh!”
The winners of The Seven Day Brief Powered by YouTube have been announced today as Shafiq Alam and Moe Sarhi. Brought to the region by Dubai Lynx, the creative competition aimed to engage the MENA region in helping to shed light on a social cause by partnering with UN organisation UN WOMEN to focus on the issue of abuse against women in the Middle East. With entries open to those living in Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the UAE and Yemen, the competition sought to help raise funds for UN WOMEN who aim to establish 24-hour hotlines for survivors of domestic violence.
The winning team, whose targeted advertising video won the judges vote for its ‘strong, impactful message and creative filling of the brief’, will now be granted a trip to Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2015, as well as the Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity.
The World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has officially signed a Memorandom of Understanding (MoU) with global airline and tourism management company AVIAREPS. As part of the agreement, the two organisations will join forces to promote international tourism to various destinations around the world that are in need of destination marketing assistance.
The MoU was signed by Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the UNWTO and AVIAREPS’ Chairman and CEO, Michael Gaebler.
“In partnership with the UNWTO and our mutual belief in tourism as a positive driver for inclusive economic growth, AVIAREPS is excited to work diligently with our tourism and aviation partners to provide destination marketing expertise and assistance for a number of worthy recipients around the globe,” says Michael Gaebler, Chairman and CEO, AVIAREPS. “Through these actions, we aim to make a positive difference with tourism providing tangible results for people on the ground.”
Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of UNWTO adds, “We look forward to working with AVIAREPS, a valued UNWTO Affiliate Member supporting destinations around the world improving their international presence and tourism competitiveness in the area of marketing.”
DPQ Communications has won the PR contract for leading UAE-based e-commerce site awok.com. The online shopping platform, which celebrates its second anniversary this year, is the brainchild of Founder Ulugbek Yuldashev and offers some of the most competitive prices on consumer goods in the UAE.
“The e-commerce landscape in the region continues to grow and awok.com is at the forefront,” says Elsa Roodt, Managing Partner, DPQ Communications. “This is an exciting time for DPQ to position awok.com as a market leader and communicate its objectives clearly.”
ITP Publishing’s Arabian Business has officially launched its new online ‘Company News’ section. The free service – with a premium service option also available – allows companies and PR agencies to upload press releases directly onto the website, a significant addition to the Arabian Business offering as it creates more interaction and direct communication between businesses and readers.
In the announcement made by Arabian Business, Executive Editor Shane McGinley says, “This new facility is an excellent way for both companies and PR agencies to get across, in a very short space of time, any news announcements. This is available not just for GCC based firms but for news coming from around the globe.”