Posts

Weber Shandwick named top employer for 2017

/in , /by

Communications agency, Weber Shandwick has been named by Great Place To Work® Institute UAE, as the fifth ‘Top Companies to Work in the UAE’ for the 2017 . Great Place To Work® Institute is a global research, training and consultancy firm that recognises the best workplaces in over 50 countries worldwide that are committed to creating a work place culture where employees feel motivated, valued and supported by the senior management within the organisation.

“We are thrilled to have been selected as the fifth greatest place to work in the UAE,” says Ziad Hasbani, CEO, Weber Shandwick MENA. “It’s a great achievement for us, especially when creating a positive working environment for our staff is at the very heart of what Weber Shandwick MENA represents as an organisation.  We fully recognise the impact that a happy, stable and passionate team has on our business success and growth.“

MEPRA announces 2016 award winners

/in , /by

Winners of the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) Awards 2016 were announced last night at the eighth annual awards event held at the JW Marriott Marquis. The ceremony recognised the most outstanding communicators for their best practices, which includes strategic approach, creative tactics and evaluation excellence. With over 240 entries, 17 notable winners were announced including Weber Shandwick MENA, winning Agency of the Year Award, Impact Porter Novelli, for the integrated Campaign of the Year and Atlantis the Palm, sweeping up the award for In-house Team of the Year. Other winners also emerging in multiple categories include Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Cicero & Bernay PR and Four Communications.

“We are thoroughly impressed by the superb level of creativity and innovation demonstrated in the entries that we have received for this year’s awards,” says said Brian Lott, Chairman, MEPRA and Executive Director of Communications, Mubadala. “It is with immense pleasure that we honour the crème de la crème of the regional communications industry tonight. We are confident that this can only raise the bar for everyone in the business as

Ghaleb Zeidan heads Weber Shandwick Abu Dhabi

/0 Comments/in /by

Ghaleb Zeidan, former Deputy Managing Director of Weber Shandwick in Abu Dhabi, has been promoted to Managing Director of the Twofour54-based agency. Having been with the company since 2010, the former journalist from Lebanon has successfully led a number of the agency’s largest accounts as well as having grown its government communications practice into the leading practice in the agency today.

“Our Abu Dhabi office is an award-winning operation that is well renowned for the quality of its work and the calibre of its team, which is unique locally in that it is comprised of largely Arab nationals from Abu Dhabi itself who live and breathe the local market,” says Ziad Hasbani, CEO of Weber Shandwick MENA. “With a five-year successful track record at our company already behind him, I am in no doubt that Ghaleb is the right leader to take our Abu Dhabi office forward into its next exciting chapter.”

Sarah Bartlett promoted at Weber Shandwick

/0 Comments/in /by

Sarah Bartlett, a Weber Shandwick veteran of 13 years and former Managing Director of its Abu Dhabi operation since 2007, has taken up the role of Executive Director, Talent, Organisational Development and Brand Communications, Middle East and North Africa. This new role has been created to enhance the company’s investment in people across the region.

“My new role puts people at the heart of everything we do,” says Sarah. “My new mandate is to ensure that we have best-practice current people practices in place, allowing us to tap into the changing talent needs of the organisation, fostering a learning culture where employees are encouraged to own their careers, and promote the company’s unique customer employee proposition, collectively combining to ensure that Weber Shandwick MENA is one of the leading talent destinations for the best creative minds in our region.”

Commenting on the new internal structure, Ziad Hasbani, CEO of Weber Shandwick MENA, said “As a growing company with high standards in a specialised industry in this region, the single largest barrier to growth we face is the ability to bring the right kind of people on board. This newly-created function is a major step forwards for our industry in this part of the world and represents a strong message about the importance we are placing in attracting, retaining and growing the right talent in a fast-changing environment. We’re no longer hiring PR people only, but designers, planners, digital specialists and other related professionals. As a former leader of one of the largest offices in our regional network, Sarah is well placed to understand both the needs of our business and the type of people who excel in the award-winning environment we offer.”

Winners of the MEPRA Awards 2014 announced

/0 Comments/in /by

The winners of the MEPRA Awards 2014 have been announced. Celebrating the achievements of the Middle East’s PR industry over the last 12 months, a record-breaking 161 entries for this year’s MEPRA Awards were whittle down to 17 winners.

MEPRA Agency of the Year was awarded to Weber Shandwick MENA, while Memac Ogilvy Dubai won the Best Campaign award for The Autocomplete truth initiative and Mubadala won the In-House Team of the Year. A total of 10 agencies and organisations won for their creativity and execution, with Weber Shandwick, Memac Ogilvy and Hill+Knowlton Strategies winning multiple categories.

The winners were selected by a distinguished jury of marketing and communications leaders from across different sectors and organisations. The jury selected entries that exemplified best practices from across five categories – issue identification, research, strategic approach, planning and execution. Entries were received from across the region, extending to Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, as well as the UAE.

“The judges noted the quality of the entries this year, and they were impressed by how well the winners had managed to convey the underlying issue, the depth of research undertaken, the thought behind their strategic approach, the amount of planning which went into the winning campaigns and the quality of the execution,” says Carine Duvignaud, General Manager, MEPRA. “This year’s award-winning campaigns, agencies and organisations prove that the region has moved beyond what is traditionally viewed as a function that only embodies media relations to a profession that adds real value to the bottom line in terms of reputation building, issues awareness and incremental business.”

The full list of winners for the MEPRA Awards 2014 is as follows:

Sectors & Services 

  • Best Consumer Goods Campaign – Memac Ogilvy PR Tunisia – Delice
  • Best Consumer Services Campaign – House of Comms – Bounce: The Free-Jumping Revolution
  • Best Consumer Services Campaign (Highly Commended) – Hill+Knowlton Strategies – WWE Riyadh Tour 2014
  • Best Corporate Reputation & Image Campaign – Weber Shandwick MENA – The DGC-X-Factor! How DGCX Transformed Its Regional and Global Profile
  • Best Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental PR Campaign – Blue Rubicon – Action on Diabetes Ramadan

Campaign

  • Best Government Communications Campaign – Hill+Knowlton Strategies – Inspiring a Sporting Generation – Qatar National Sports Day
  • Best Health Car & Services Campaign – Memac Ogilvy PR Dubai – Break Away from Psoriasis
  • Best Business to Business Campaign – Weber Shandwick MENA – Credit Where It’s Due! Raising Understanding of S&P’s Role in Regional Capital Market Development
  • Best Internal Communications Campaign – ENEC – 123 Tarkeez

Techniques 

  • Best Integrated Campaign – Memac Ogilvy PR Dubai – The Autocomplete truth
  • Best Launch Live Event/Stunt – DABO & CO – The Launch of Nokia Lumia 1020: Reaching New Heights
  • Best Use of Media Relations – Mojo PR – ICAEW
  • Best Use of Social Media & Digital PR – Atlantis the Palm
  • Best Use of Sponsorship – Hill & Knowlton Strategies – ‘Winning the ultimate World Cup battle of the brands for Adidas’

People and Agencies 

  • Agency of the Year – Weber Shandwick MENA
  • In-House Team of the Year – Mubadala
  • Best Overall Campaign of the Year – Memac Ogilvy PR Dubai – The Autocomplete truth
  • Dave Robinson Award for Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year – Becki Willis, Hill+Knowlton Strategies
  • Dave Robinson Award for Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year (Highly Commended) – Rijosh Joseph, DABO & CO

Weber Shandwick named MEPRA’s Agency of the Year

/0 Comments/in /by

Weber Shandwick MENA has been named Agency of the Year by the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) at the MEPRA Awards ceremony, which was held in Dubai last night. Weber Shandwick MENA also took home separate awards for ‘Best Corporate Reputation and Image’ for its work for DGCX (Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange) and ‘Best Business to Business Communications’ for its work with Standard and Poor’s. Honourees for each category are selected by an independent industry panel based on information gathered during the regional awards process.

“Winning MEPRA Agency of the Year is both a great achievement and a recognition of our commitment to creative excellence in a competitive marketplace with increasingly high best practice benchmarks,” says Ziad Hasbani, CEO, Weber Shandwick MENA. “I am delighted for my talented colleagues across the region who strive to achieve outstanding results for our clients day-in, day-out. However, we will not be resting on any laurels. We are driving forward a transformation of our business, which will ensure that we continue to stay ahead of the regional communication trends and place centre-stage the recognition that creativity and digital offerings are now key. We are confident that this award win will be the first of many.”