Posts

7-Day Brief Powered by YouTube winners announced

/0 Comments/in /by

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.

YouTube’s Seven Day Brief competition announced

/0 Comments/in /by

The MENA region’s creative community has been challenged by YouTube and Dubai Lynx to create an advertisement which aims to help a social cause through a competition known as The Seven Day Brief. Seeking to engage the MENA region and showcase the creative and interactive potential of YouTube as an advertising platform, the Brief will be released on January 14, 2015. Competitors will have seven days to answer the brief provided by a global NGO, producing a video ad that directly addresses the requirements.

The videos will be evaluated and judged by a panel which includes members of the regional advertising industry, with the finalists to be announced on January 25, 2015, and winners awarded at the Dubai Lynx on March 11, 2015. The winning team or individual will be granted a trip to Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2015 and Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity. Entries are open to those living in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the UAE and Yemen.

TRA publishes YouTube White Paper

/0 Comments/in /by

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has launched a white paper regarding YouTube usage as part of its ‘UAE Social Media White Papers’ collection. Highlighting the terms and conditions for use of popular social networks in the UAE, YouTube has been the focus of the latest release, which has more than one billion unique visitors every month and over 100 hours of video uploaded every minute.

With regards to the UAE’s use of YouTube, the White Paper – which reminds users they are prohibited from ‘predatory behaviour’, ‘stalking, threats and the harassment of others’ – also highlights the following conditions –

  • The laws of the UAE prohibit the publication of content which is contrary to public morals, the principles of Islam and the social and moral welfare of the UAE, or any content that contains irreverence towards Islam and any other heavenly religions.
  • Users must only upload videos which they have made or which they are authorised to use.
  • YouTube is owned by Google. In using the YouTube service, users agree to Google’s terms relating to the collection and sharing of personal information.

Full versions of the white papers are accessible via the TRA’s official website – www.tra.gov.ae/White_Paper.php

Ti22 Films to launch online entertainment channel

/0 Comments/in /by

A new interactive online channel – Dubai ON Demand – is set to launch on YouTube in early 2015, bringing together some of Dubai’s most well known presenters and personalities. Produced by Ti22 Films, Dubai ON Demand will upload short clips ranging from health and fitness, to make-up, celebrity gossip and sports.

The faces of Dubai ON Demand will include: fashion designer Tamara Al Gabbani; food author, presenter and entrepreneur Dalia Dogmoch; TV presenter Aishwarya Ajit Gordon; British TV presenter, MC and actor Layne Redman; ‘comedy juggernaut’ Nitin Mirani; celebrity correspondent Dina Butti; TV presenter and radio broadcaster Tom Urqhart; founding presenter and writer of ‘Out and About’ Punam Verma and director and producer Faraz Jayed.

“I knew that the industry was moving towards digital and had been following trends in the US; seeing the shift through my company Ti22 Films, I reached out to a group of personalities in the region, many of whom I had worked with before while executive producing at Dubai One,” says Reim El Houni, Executive Producer and Managing Director, Ti22 Films. “Each person saw the vision I was trying to create for the channel and joined the team to create for the channel and develop Dubai ON Demand. The vision is to create an English online platform that becomes the must-watch channel for expats in Dubai and the UAE. Dubai ON Demand will be very interactive, encouraging viewers to record and send in relevant clips to be used as content for different segments. Our goal is to build a community who, gradually through their engagement, will start to experience the activities we are filming alongside us. The timing for this project is perfect, as it comes at a time when Dubai One has shifted its strategy towards acquisition and ended local production – we are ready to fill that gap and cater to that audience.”

Mondelez International signs video deal with Google

/0 Comments/in /by

Mondelēz International, the candy giant whose brands include Oreo, Trident, Nabisco and Cadbury, has signed a global partnership with Google focusing on online video. In the company’s largest social media deal to date, the agreement will include markets in North America, Europe and Eastern Europe, as well as Latin America, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.

The deal marks a shift in advertising strategy for Mondelēz International as it moves to digital – specifically to online video. In June of this year, the company announced that half of its $200 million a year global marketing budget would be going to digital by 2016, and has already committed 10 percent of its ad budget to online video as of this year.

“We believe video will be a key growth driver for our brands, and programmatic buying will play an important role in accelerating that growth,” says Bonin Bough, Vice President – Global Media and Consumer Engagement, Mondelēz International. “Today, 58 percent of consumers turn to digital platforms for their daily media consumption. Although we’ve adjusted our media spending to reflect that behaviour, there’s still a gap. The deal with Google will enable us to close that digital divide.”

Mondelēz International and Google are also set to partner on new content through YouTube’s Brand Partner Program. Mondelēz will introduce the approach by providing video content featuring Sour Patch Kids candy in the US, and is considering expanding the approach across other brands and locations if this proves successful.

Lucas Watson, Vice President of Global Brand Solutions at Google adds, “We’re inspired by the caliber of creative work that brands are creating on YouTube. This agreement represents a significant commitment for our companies to accelerate digital brand building, and we’re excited to partner with Mondelēz International on this work.”

YouTube to invest in top content creators

/0 Comments/in /by

YouTube is to fund content from its most successful creators as part of a global campaign to promote creativity on the network. In a blog post published by the Google-owned platform, YouTube revealed that it will expand support of creative content like Bethany Mota and Epic Rap Battles of History with full-scale marketing and advertising campaigns.

“We’ve seen the fidelity of our videos evolve from the grainy footage of webcams to the crystal clear beauty of 4K,” says Alex Cross, Head of YouTube Originals. “We’ve seen teenagers who began by blogging in their bedrooms emerge as media heavyweights, with passionate followings and shows that draw more fans than similar shows on cable TV… As any creator will tell you, making compelling new content isn’t easy, and we expect to learn a lot through this process. We’ll get our hands dirty. We’ll make some mistakes. Together, we’ll hopefully create some fantastic new content on YouTube. But one thing is certain: there’s no one we’d rather go on this adventure with than our creators.”

YouTube has already increased production support for its top content creators with YouTube Spaces in L.A., Tokyo and London, offering free access to the latest equipment, sets and support, and will soon be launching an additional Space in New York.

PHD partners with YouTube for data integration

/0 Comments/in /by

PHD Worldwide has agreed to integrate YouTube data into their global media operating system, Source. YouTube will now become a channel in its own right in PHD’s propriety planning and buying operation used by all its planners, spanning 81 offices in 66 markets, and covering their major clients such as Unilever and GSK.

Talks between PHD and YouTube began in 2013, and since then YouTube engineers have integrated the latest YouTube reach data into PHD’s operating system. This is the first time that YouTube data has plugged directly into an agency’s own planning system at scale. PHD planners will now be able to optimise their channel mix using the latest and most accurate YouTube reach data to select how much to invest in YouTube in terms of reaching the maximum number of consumers at the minimal cost.

“We have so many clients now wanting to consider online video, and in particular YouTube, alongside TV,” says Malcolm Devoy, International Strategy Director, PHD. “The question is always on how much to invest. To establish this you need various pieces of data, which Google have now provided. Embedding this directly into our planning system now allows our planners across the world to make accurate decision on video channel allocation.”