Campaign 29th November 2020 with Digital Essays 2020

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November 29, 2020

A M OT I VAT E P U B L I C AT I O N

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MARKETING 2020

SPECIAL INSIDE

MARKETING FACES TO WATCH 2020

November 29, 2020

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Ahmed Al Sahhaf and Nadim Samara to head up MBC Media Solutions as MBC partners with Rotana MBC Group, the largest broadcaster in the MENA region, announced the top management of MBC Media Solutions (MMS), the new in-house commercial and advertising sales unit, launched in partnership with Engineer Holding Group (EHG).

The MMS executive management team will be led by Ahmed Al Sahhaf, who has been appointed as CEO. Al Sahhaf joins with more than 15 years of expertise in the regional advertising and communications market, where he was the general manager of STC’s consumer marketing communication.

Nadim Samara also joins MMS as chief operating officer, having previously been CEO of Dubai-based Omnicom Media Group MENA. He brings an in-depth understanding of the region’s advertising market.

Waleed El-Essawy becomes the managing director of MMS’s operations in Egypt; he joins with vast commercial advertising experience, including at CBC TV network in Egypt.

The MMS Board comprises five members: Mohammed Al Khereiji, CEO of AlArabia, owned by EHG; Mohammad Alghaith, head of strategy and M&A, AlArabia; Marc Antoine d’Halluin, CEO, MBC Group; Olivier Sage, chief revenue officer, MBC Group; and Abdullah Jamjoom,

Al Sahhaf will be CEO and Samara will be COO of the new in-house sales unit

adviser to the chairman, MBC Group.

Mohammed Al Khereiji becomes the chairman of the MMS board, and Marc Antoine d’Halluin chairman of the board’s executive committee.

MBC Group has also made a joint announcement with Rotana Media Group that the two major media companies will join forces to bring

Rotana’s TV channels to Shahid VIP, MBC Group’s premium subscription video on demand (SVOD) platform.

Rotana’s best TV content will be made available on-demand so that subscribers can watch it anytime, anywhere in the region.

Rotana Media Group’s TV channels (including Rotana Cinema, Rotana

Khalijia and Rotana Kids) will all be available to stream live in high definition (HD) on Shahid VIP, starting in November, across the MENA region. Additionally, Rotana’s content – comprising hundreds of premium Arabic titles released every year – will be available on-demand from December.

Havas wins social work for Coty ME

ETISALAT THE SOUND OF TOGETHERNESS Big Kahuna Films produced a campaign, created by BBDO Abu Dhabi, to launch telecom firm Etisalat’s new sonic signature. The shoot took place between Dubai, Beirut and Athens. It was directed by Luis Aguer, a millennial director based in Argentina. He is known to pay close attention to details and generate modern imagery, which is reflected in all of his work. The production created a memorable brand film, showing that great things can happen when people come together. Music is shown to be a universal language, connecting different nationalities, ages, cultures and genders from around the world.

Coty, one of the biggest beauty players in the world, has awarded its regional social media business to Havas Middle East.

The agency will be the social media agency of record, responsible for social media strategy, creative, content creation and community management for the consumer beauty brands of Coty Middle East: Bourjois, Max Factor and Rimmel.

Fabio Silveira, general manager at Havas Creative Dubai, said: “The addition of Coty’s brands to Havas Middle East’s portfolio of clients reinforces the success of a fully integrated model. From PR to social media strategy and community management, we can structure our teams to every communication need that Coty might have.”

Coty recently worked with social camera app Snapchat to let customers affected by Covid restrictions try on make-up using augmented reality.

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November 29, 2020

WPP plans to merge Geometry with VMLY&R, and Grey with AKQA Agency holding group WPP has announced two mergers between its companies. Seven-year-old brandactivation agency Geometry is to be folded into a new company under VMLY&R, focused solely on commerce. And Grey, the 103-yearold creative agency will be merged with sister digital shop AKQA to form AKQA Group.

VMLY&R Commerce will combine Geometry’s relatively newly established expertise in creative commerce with the same expertise under VMLY&R. The company will be led by Beth Ann Kaminkow, currently global CEO of Geometry. Kaminkow will now report to Jon Cook, the global CEO of VMLY&R. VMLY&R Commerce will operate as a distinct company within the VMLY&R global network, and will commence operations from January.

Geometry will no longer exist as a brand, except in Japan, where the agency operates under the GeometryOgilvy banner.

VMLY&R Commerce forms part of WPP CEO Mark Read’s broader plan to make commerce a “powerhouse capability” within WPP, Kaminkow told Campaign. Eventually, smaller agencies will align under the

VMLY&R Commerce global banner, and the company will be looking to acquire complementary businesses in the commerce technology stack, Kaminkow hinted.

The new company will work “hand-in-hand” with media network GroupM, which has also been building its muscle in the commerce space. “Breaking down those silos and bringing our teams closer together around vertical expertise like this is becoming more fundamental to the way our clients are approaching their marketing media mix,” Kaminkow said.

The news follows hot on the heels of last week’s merger of WPP agencies AKQA and Grey to form AKQA Group.

That merger was designed to create an “industry powerhouse” that combines creativity, innovation and brand-building at scale, WPP said.

The group has insisted, however, that it will keep the Grey brand “for some time”.

Ajaz Ahmed, the founder and chief executive of AKQA, will be chief executive of AKQA Group, and Michael Houston, chief executive of Grey, will be president and chief operating officer.

WPP has said there is a

Beth Ann Kaminkow, currently CEO of Geometry, will lead VMLY&R Commerce

complementary fit between the two agencies in terms of clients, capabilities and people, and pointed to previous, “successful” internal mergers such as Wunderman and JWT to create Wunderman Thompson and VML and Y&R to create VML&YR. In both cases, the older agency

brand – J Walter Thompson and Young & Rubicam – was included in the name of the new merged entity.

But in the case of AKQA Group, “we felt it was better to have a singular name”, Read said.

Clients of the combined group will include Nike, Procter & Gamble and Volvo.

NESCAFÉ DOLCE GUSTO COFFEE AT HOME

LG WEAR LOVE MORE

What If Creative Studio has produced the annual online spots for Nescafé Dolce Gusto, under the watchful eye of Wunderman Thompson Dubai. The campaign runs three 20-second spots, all aimed at raising awareness to the Nescafé Dolce Gusto collection, and in particular promoting new flavours coming out early next year. Helmed by director Jad Eid, these tongue-in-cheek comedy situations describe moments of pure joy and relaxation around a great cup of coffee using Nescafé Dolce Gusto machines to experience a world of coffee made in the comfort of your home.

There are three films in the series promoting the LG’s Wear Love More campaign where viewers share stories of their favourite pieces of clothing. This is an initiative to promote LG’s AI DD Washing Machine, which gives 18 per cent more care than their previous model, meaning you can wear the clothes you love more. The films are emotionally rich and encapsulating, yet simple and straight to the point.

Agency Wunderman Thompson Production house What If Creative Studio Exec producer Nasrallah Saad Director Jad Eid DOP Elias Trad Production manager Mario Calcagni Equipment rental Highend Films Post-production Maisa Al-Beik and Nested VFX Sound design & mix Khaled Hamdy

Production house Boomtown Productions Agency HSAd Director Rory McLoughlin DOP Nadeem Rifai Producer Zoey Gumbs Colouring Serene Issa Editor Suresh Nair Sound design and mix Matt Faddy, BKP

November 29, 2020

Campaign announces Marcomms360 – Predictions 2021 virtual conference

By Austyn Allison Campaign is pleased to announce the latest edition of our flagship Marcomms360 conference.

Marcomms360 – Predictions 2021 will take place virtually on December 14-15 and will be free to attend.

We are continuing with our successful predictions format, adapted for online, where industry leaders will present their outlooks for specific areas of media, marketing and advertising for the next 12 months.

The sessions will be succinct and to-the-point and there will be room for questions. The event will take place over two subsequent mornings.

To add to the wealth of insights, we have also worked with our partners at The Marketing Society to present leading regional client-side marketing leaders giving their outlooks for their industries and the wider marketing ecosystem.

The conference is supported by: Platinum Sponsor Accenture Interactive; Gold Sponsors Choueiri Group, Snap, Hearts & Science, MullenLowe, Vamp and mFilterIt; and Strategic Partner The Marketing Society.

Speakers include David Fregonas and Kristine Lasam from Accenture Interactive (Lasam will be interviewing Pablo Vargas, the

Platinum sponsor

Gold sponsors

Strategic partner

Presented by

The event will be hosted virtually and free to attend

founder of Mayan Warrrior and the man behind the Burning Man festival); Vishal Badiani and Amer Chehab from Snap; Fadi Maktabi and Dana Sarkis from Hearts & Science; Mounir Harfouche from MullenLowe; Dhiraj Gupta from mFilterIt; Karl Mapstone from Vamp; Khaled Ismael from TetraPak; Peter De Benedictis from Microsoft; Mike Fairburn from Sony Music; Cherry Fu from Oppo; Beverley D’Cruz from

Yum’s Pizza Hut; Maria Gedeon from Majid Al Futtaim; and more.

If you want to know what 2021 has in store for media, marketing and communications, get your notebooks ready and block off two mornings in December. We can all learn from the experts and big names who will be taking to the digital stage at Marcomms360 – Predictions 2021.

There are more details at campaignme.com/marcomms360.

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Unstereotype Alliance arrives Convened by UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, the Unstereotype Alliance has launched its UAE National Chapter with a coalition of partners committed to tackling harmful stereotypes of women and men in media and advertising. The UAE National Chapter will focus its work on broadening the representation of women and men in nontraditional roles.

The Unstereotype Alliance, a thought and action platform that seeks to eradicate harmful gender-based stereotypes in all media and advertising content, launches its UAE National Chapter with a core group of seven national and global companies – Etihad Aviation Group, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Omnicom Media Group, Snap Inc. and Unilever – alongside UAE industry association the Advertising Business Group, and the Dubai Lynx festival. The partners have come together to empower women in all their diversity to help create a gender-equal world.

The UAE National Chapter represents the first outpost of this global UN Women initiative in the Middle East region, and the sixth National Chapter of the Unstereotype Alliance.

ENHANTEUR BACK TO LIVING

BAWABAT AL SHARQ MALL FACE YOUR FEAR

We live in stressful times, and working from home can escalate the stress between couples. Enchanteur body lotion leveraged this insight and created communication portraying a successful woman and how Enchanteur transforms these stressful times to magical moments. Instead of flaring up and letting the situation get to her, she applies a bit of ‘magic’ – Enchanteur body lotion – and immediately reverts to her calm and controlled self. Towards the end, she playfully scores off her husband by grabbing the car keys just to show him who is in the driver’s seat.

Bawabat Al Sharq Mall launched its Movember campaign to raise awareness about men’s health issues. The Face Your Fear initiative urged men to get tested today for prostate and testicular cancers. The campaign was launched digitally and supported by on-ground activation and branding. The main activity of the campaign was to get people to participate by drawing a moustache on their facemask, as their faces were covered due to the ongoing Covid-19 safety protocols.

Agency Axis Integrated Executive director Mukhtar Mody Account director Vidya Panicker Creative Jane Summers

Agency AMC – Advertising & Marketing Consultants Creative director Imran Mohideen Senior art director Tamer Shams Copywriter (English) Samir K. Shaji Copywriter (Arabic) Asem Hatem Motion graphics Zaharan Hameed & Yasser Shaker Account director Rabiah Atat Social media Katrina Salaysay, Ghazal Hawwash, Bhavi Ann

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November 29, 2020

MARKETING

FACES TO WATCH

2020

O

ur annual Faces to Watch lists, showcasing the brightest and best agency talent aged 30 and under, have been some of the year’s highlights for a while at Campaign. But we have long been asked why we don’t also celebrate young leadersin-making on the client side, who often work hand-in-hand with the agency people we’ve listed.

So we’ve gone and done it, and this list is just as encouraging to read.

Cynics have said that they use our Faces to Watch as a catalogue for potential hires, but I suspect they will be hard-pushed to pull these marketers from their current employers. The young marketers all seem to have found jobs where they are thriving and content, proof that top employers get top talent, and that top talent chooses to stick around to do great work.

CAMPAIGN EDITOR AUSTYN ALLISON INTRODUCES THE CLIENT SIDE’S RISING STARS

All the faces you’ll see on the coming pages have been nominated by their colleagues, their bosses or their agencies. In other words, they have earned the respect and admiration of those they work with. We had to cut a lot of very impressive references, achievements and endorsements in the interests of space, but you can see how highly industry colleagues rate the Faces to Watch.

It is interesting to compare them with the Game Changers elsewhere in this issue. The Game Changers have reached the top of their profession, while the Faces are on their way up. But they share many of the same traits: dedication, enthusiasm, a sense of teamwork and, imporatantly, being nice people to work with. I’m sure many of today’s Faces to Watch will be tomorrow’s Game Changers. Watch and see.

November 29, 2020

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JOANA LIMA, 30

Assistant social media manager, Babyshop, Landmark Group As I’ve developed and evolved within my career, passing through many facets of the retail business, I find myself motivated by enriching our community via social media. Along with my agency support, colleagues and mentors, my greatest achievements span from transforming Babyshop’s social media presence to creating a robust social strategy during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nominated by: Mitin Chakraborty, head of marketing, Babyshop, Landmark Group I am delighted to see Joana in this list. Her expertise in social media marketing – from content strategy to media execution and partner management – is par excellence. She has been instrumental in transforming Babyshop’s community and content standards and I couldn’t be prouder of her achievements in such a short time. A disciplined and a wellorganised individual, she is always on a learning mode. More than anything else, she’s a pleasant person to work with.

MOATEZ HABAYEB, 29

Digital marketing manager Middle East and Africa, Schneider Electric Nominated by: Alex Malouf, communications director, Schneider Electric Moatez has shown an incredible ability to come in and transform the digital function. He’s done the hard planning work, he’s got the team trained up on digital tools and he’s pushing us to where we want to be creatively. And we’re only just beginning on our digital journey with him at the helm.

Moatez is a smart, sharp young man who has come in, has taken on a big challenge handling our digital work over the Middle East and Africa, and has risen to the challenge in 2020 by putting in the time and encouraging the whole marketing team to step up and deliver more value via digital channels. He’s a star in the making.

Praise from the boss: Firdaus Shariff, vicepresident, marketing, communication and digital customer experience, Middle East and Africa, Schneider Electric

Moatez is a can-do person, and he’s done so much this year. He’s had arguably the biggest and hardest job of the whole team, and he’s not just risen to the occasion but he’s helped everyone else do the same too. He’s really grown in his digital abilities, as well as his leadership. And I’m so lucky we have him as part of the team.

WASEELAH AL-KHAFAJI, 28

Marketing executive, Al Masaood Group Nominated by: Fathima Riha, account manager, Digital Farm Waseelah is a very approachable person, and this helps a great deal as an agency point of contact. She is open to ideas and has achieved a lot within her organisation in a short span of time. We’ve been able to create some amazing content for Ducati UAE’s social media handle under her guidance and support. Even with very B2B products, like Al Masaood Bergum and Al Masaood CV&E, it has been a very smooth process for the agency to understand the client and its products, and has aided in delivering the right social content.

She is very friendly, approachable and open to new ideas. She facilitates new ideas from the agency while also guiding us through the brand tone of voice and shedding light on the end consumer and what they’re looking for. Her briefs are very clear and it is a smooth process, from ideation to the output. She is also a perfectionist, and this has helped us deliver good quality content for brands including Ducati UAE, ARB 4X4 Emirates, Al Masaood Bergum and Al Masaood CV&E. Praise from the boss: Marwa Kaabour, group corporate & communication manager, Al Masaood Group Waseelah has three golden nuggets of traits: She is a natural-born leader with no shyness to speak her truth and lead a pack; a creative mind with potential to expand and see possibilities; and a young lady with an ability to project-manage a task and see it come to fruition from beginning to end.

MONA MEDHAT FARIS, 30 Regional brand manager, haircare, Johnson & Johnson

Nominated by: Salim Mokhtari, skin health marketing manager, Johnson & Johnson Mona joined Johnson & Johnson in 2017 and has since become a key contributor to fast-growing segments of our portfolio. She was appointed across strategically important brands in various life cycles. From state-of-the-art new product launches to redesigning brand strategies, her ability to do it all has been instrumental to our skin care portfolio. Prior to joining J&J, Mona worked for two years in L’Oréal Middle East.

Mona is an incredible person, business leader and marketer. Through her portfolio of brands, she is instrumental in shaping the future of our haircare business by transforming in-market insights into growth drivers. Thanks to her incredible end-to-end marketing passion, we are on our way to revolutionise the way consumers use haircare at home, and with that creating a multi-million-dollar business for J&J in Africa, the Middle East and Turkey.

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November 29, 2020

RENSKE HUISKAMP, 27 Marketing coordinator EMEA, Collinson

Nominated by: Amy Stafford, B2B marketing manager, EMEA, Collinson Since Renske joined Collinson, she has consistently remained proactive in her approach and demonstrated key skills in planning and executing marketing campaigns, making sure what we deliver is insightful, on-brand and showing Collinson’s services and products in all its glory. Renske has also played a key part in delivering internal global initiatives and activities to our office, demonstrating her fantastic team-player and people skills.

Renske’s warm, friendly nature is appreciated by all her colleagues.

She grabs every opportunity and shows willingness and enthusiasm to support and deliver marketing campaigns across the Middle East and Africa.

AHMAD DOHJOKA, 28

Campaign lead, Department of Culture & Tourism Abu Dhabi Ahmad is a digital marketer with more than seven years’ experience in managing digital campaigns across various industries in the region. During his career, he’s sat on both sides of the table; having worked with agencies in serving various brands, such as National Geographic, Mubadala and Abu Dhabi Media.

For the past three years, Ahmad has been working on the client side with the Department of Culture & Tourism Abu Dhabi, where he has led more than 50 digital tactical campaigns promoting events, exhibitions, cultural attractions and hotels in Abu Dhabi. In addition, Ahmad has been leading the destination marketing efforts in several international markets to increase Abu Dhabi’s brand awareness and drive consideration through media campaigns, global partnerships and influencer marketing campaigns.

Nominated by: Yasmine Al Sakka, social media professional, Department of Culture & Tourism Abu Dhabi I have had the honour to work with Ahmad for more than five years now, where we’ve worked on both sides of the spectrum. We worked together on the agency side, and we’ve re-met at the client side.

Working with Ahmad has been, and still is, an incredible experience. He’s dedicated, logical, analytical, focused and very creative. Our collaborations have always been fruitful, and he brings to the table innovation and a 360-degree holistic marketing approach. His forward thinking and continuous seeking of knowledge always provide grounds for new perspectives that transcend any project he works on.

Praise from the boss: George Kalliamvakos, vicepresident of digital, Department of Culture & Tourism Abu Dhabi Ahmad is a data-driven, omnichannel marketing professional who brings insights, creativity, optimisation recommendations and results to every project he handles.

Praise from the boss: Jean Collins, B2B marketing director, EMEA, Collinson From the moment Renske joined Collinson she got to the ground running, immersing herself in many varied projects and campaigns. It was clear from day one that Renske was a doer and very proactive. She has made great relationships across all regional and global

teams across the business. Renske is always on hand to support our global people and cultural projects and champion them in our region.

Renske brings productivity and positive energy to Collinson each day. She is a real team player and we are very lucky to have her on the team

SUSANNA JOSEPH, 26

Senior digital marketing manager, The First Group Nominated by: Amit Sangekar, marketing director, Xpress Money Susanna was amongst the first to introduce a structured approach to digital marketing in our organisation. She was not afraid to challenge the status quo and suggest alternative strategies. What sets her apart at such a young age is she was willing to take risks and yet make the whole process inclusive to even those who were sceptical of it. She would take it on herself to educate and train those who found digital marketing daunting.

She would bring this whole new energy to the team and ensure that no one lost track of the organisation and business objectives, and made sure to exceed expectations with the projects she works on. As much as she challenged old practices, she has never failed to listen and accept a valid viewpoint from others.

Praise from the boss: Ronel Venter, director of group marketing & digital, The First Group Susanna initially joined the team to manage end-to-end digital marketing for The First Group. Although the results from her campaigns speak for themselves, her strengths lie in being able to adapt quickly and be hands-on with marketing projects across the group. In the time we have worked together she has taken on several new responsibilities in marketing for the group with an open mind, and has delivered a unique perspective on projects she has worked on.

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November 29, 2020

ANU VAN DER SARDE, 27

LORAIN MANOJ, 26

Head of marketing & communications, Media One Hotel

Marketing coordinator, University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD)

Anu, a Dutch national with Indian roots, spent her latter educational life in Hotel School The Hague and graduated with a BBA in hospitality management. During her earlier years, Anu gained a good all-round perspective of hospitality with intern stints covering F&B and front office before cutting her teeth in her first full-time role, after graduating, with Marriott Group and gaining valuable experience in Al Maha Desert Resort, Le Meridien Al Aqah and then Four Points Sheraton’s Downtown and Sheikh Zayed Road properties. Anu joined Media One as head of marketing and communications in April 2019

Nominated by: Brendan Vyner, director of marketing and student recruitment, UOWD Lorain has worked tirelessly, and for someone at such a young age is incredibly gifted and shows talent beyond her years. Her hard work has been critical in ensuring our digital marketing strategy for 2020 resulted in the strongest student intake we have had in seven years. Quite an achievement in the midst of a global pandemic when we had no events, no campus and no international students allowed to fly in.

Lorain has been instrumental in ensuring our diverse student base can locate our communication with her exceptional SEO skills.

Nominated by: Mark Lee, general manager, Media One Hotel Since joining Media One 18 months ago, Anu has been an important addition to the senior team and, through her leadership, has driven the marketing and communications team to ensure all aspects of Media One, as a destination, remain top-of-mind with comprehensive media coverage and strategic campaigns to targeted guest profiles.

Leading a team of four, Anu has re-modelled the department, whose remit covers graphic design, all social media channels and working hand-in-hand with the F&B team to strategise and execute promotions for four F&B venues.

SHAHD RASHED, 26

Praise from the boss: Lynne McGarvey, head of SWAT, Media One Anu’s impact has extended beyond her own team and we have really noticed the effect it has had on the whole team over the last year. Anu is a real team player and will not hesitate to jump into operations to assist, and was particularly involved in the two What’s On Lock-Ins that Media One hosted in August. Anu’s calm demeanour combines well within the overall senior team and she is well respected not only amongst her peers but also by all enthusiasts at Media One.

Campaign manager, IBM Marketing Services Centre

Nominated by: Sophie Stanton, vice-president of marketing / CMO, IBM Middle East and Africa Shahd is one of our young marketing talents who represent the future of digital marketing at IBM. She is dedicated to learning and growing her skills and is known for her can-do attitude and high sense of ownership of key projects from initiation to completion. She is able to liaise successfully with MEA and global stakeholders to ensure successful implementation of her campaigns and follows best practice in everything she does.

RAFAE IFTIKHAR ALI, 29 Marketing & communications manager GCC, Visit Britain

Nominated by: Tarun Shyam, cofounder, Street FZC Rafae is a multi-award-winning marketer, having picked up 13 accolades at the Sports Industry and Digital MENA Award ceremonies over the last few years. Constantly seeking a new challenge, Rafae has worked across several industries from sports and retail to tourism.

Rafae is an exemplary client and has always been a very supportive collaborator. I believe his work hasn’t received the attention it deserves. His experience and potential set him up as a marketer to watch for sure.

Rafae was responsible for Sun and Sands Sports’ massive growth from 2015 onwards.

November 29, 2020

NOOR ALQASSAB, 29

Community manager, Arla Foods

Nominated by: Paul Kelly, partner, D/A (Digital Ape) Noor is a Saudi who studied at AUS and spent time in the agency world before stepping across to the client side to great success. During her time in the agency world she was instrumental in winning new work, providing her Saudi perspective in helping position new and existing clients and showing creativity.

At Arla Foods, Noor is a key part of the team handling social marketing and community development for flagship brands like Puck, Lurpak and Arla Organic, helping drive their considerable growth by developing social communities around the brands. These communities inform her insight and creativity, helping foster real and tangible outcomes for those brands. This is through both her approach to brand communications and input to content that engages audiences. Her approach has helped fuel significant growth for the brands, working within Arla’s broader in-house agency team, The Barn, and external agency partners.

I’ve known Noor since 2017 and seen her professional growth both as a manager and client.

She has developed her creativity into something

VERONIQUE GREGOREC, 30

that can match insight into action, resulting in great growth of social presence of the brands she works with. This fosters a real sense of community for the followers of those iconic brands, which is very unique in the FMCG space. Being able to do this with multiple stakeholders and still manage the outcomes is something that usually takes far more experience, and it’s exciting to see her grow into these roles and, more importantly, have a real impact on the bottom line.

Praise from the boss: Rania Hatoum, regional digital lead, Arla Foods Noora brings energy and creativity to her role, which helps bring the brand closer to its consumers.

Through working with the team at our internal agency, The Barn, to our external agency partners, we are able to create successful strategies to make sure we continue to grow our products and brands in the eyes of consumers – giving them new reasons to enjoy cooking and providing nutritious choices for their families. Noora’s energy, insights and creativity are very much central to our team.

ALIA ALFALASI, 23

Marketing & communications manager, Studio One Hotel

Marketing campaign manager, Gulf and Levant, IBM

A multi-lingual marketeer, with fluency in four languages and learning two more, Veronique graduated from University of Wollongong Dubai with a master’s in strategic marketing, having previously obtained a bachelor of science in international hospitality management from Lausanne. Her work experience before joining Studio One includes being a senior account executive at Aurora Advertising, specialising in fashion, lifestyle an sports retail accounts, before moving to Gevora Hotel as marketing manager for 18 months.

Nominated by: Srbana Gavrilovic, operations manager, Studio One Hotel Veronique has been an integral player of the Studio One pre-opening team and has led the development of the Studio One brand identity as a neighbourhood destination. She has worked on setting up the website, managing all social media channels, creating innovative marketing campaigns and working closely with media publications to gain important coverage and quickly establish Studio One Hotel as a new, fresh edition to Dubai’s hotel market. More

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recently, Veronique’s role has expanded to include Italian restaurant Larte and (soon to open) The Void.

We do not use an agency at Studio One, and this only serves to highlight Veronique’s talents as a real all-rounder. All of the graphic design work for Studio One and Larte promotions have been created in-house by Veronique, which has not only saved thousands of dirhams, but has meant we are able to quickly turn around ideas from conception into active promotions, live on the market, in a very short time frame.

Nominated by: Sophie Stanton, vice-president of marketing / CMO, IBM Middle East and Africa Alia is one of our young graduates as part of IBM’s Nujoom Emiratisation programme. In a short time, she has managed to lead marketing for one of our biggest units in one of our biggest regions. She has a continuouslearning mindset and her focus on gaining in-depth marketing, technology and soft skills is a highlight of her openness to learning and growing within the industry.

Praise from the boss: Riad L Aoun, marketing manager, IBM Gulf and Levant Despite her young age and being in IBM only for one year, Alia has shown dedication and passion for marketing and has led a number of key campaigns for one of our biggest units in the region with great results.

She is an eager learner and is always on the lookout for opportunities to grow her interpersonal and professional marketing skills.

VIPUL VISWANATH, 30

Assistant marketing manager, Apparel Group Vipul diligently planned and executed the back-to-school campaigns for Skechers and Athlete’s Co. He overachieved the sales target across GCC, keeping the marketing budget to a minimal 3 per cent of sales projected, with a growth in revenue of 12-15 per cent.

He is spearheading all marketing activities for brands within the footwear and apparel category, including Skechers, Athlete’s Co, Hush Puppies, Havaianas, Designer Shoe Warehouse, Crocs and Aeropostale.

He plans and executes CSR-led campaigns amd activations within the GCC. These include the Skechers Box activation, where more than 5,000 pairs of shoes were donated to children in need.

Nominated by: Ashwani Saklani, marketing manager, Apparel Group Profoundly passionate about anything Vipul sets his heart on, he stands out in a crowd, communicates effervescently, learns chop-chop and works persistently. He possesses excellent interpersonal skills, critical analysis and a never-say-die attitude.

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November 29, 2020

Win a life The biggest prize giveaway of 2020 offers Channel 4 listeners the chance to live free for a year

W

e at Channel 4 Radio Network are known for our unique promotion initiatives that engage and excite audiences. With the support of our partners and clients, we have been super-serving audiences in the UAE with the biggest winning moments for the past two decades.

Although the year 2020 did not turn out the way everyone expected it to, we are making sure that it ends on a high note for our audiences. After promoting and officially sponsoring the biggest gaming moment in the UAE – Dream 11 IPL 2020 – we bring to you a lifechanging game play that will have one of the biggest giveaways on the radio. We present to you Channel 4 Radio Network’s Win a Life.

Win a Life is a network-wide radio promotion that will give one person a chance to win a life for an entire year. The prize-winning, which will be hugely popular and massive, will cover all aspects of living in the UAE – from a rent-free high-end apartment for a family to home furnishings, kitchen appliances, car rental, utility

bills, fuel, groceries, outings, restaurant bills, shopping, staycations, vacations, airline return tickets, gym and much more – for an entire year. Starting on November 15, 2020, the game is to win everything from A to Z of living life in the UAE. With a grand finale network winner declared on Christmas Eve, we aim to extend the Win a Life winnings to three runners-up and weekly winners, who will get their share of a pool of lifestyle prizes across our stations, 104.8 Channel 4 FM, 89.1 Radio 4 FM, 107.8 Al Raba FM and 101.3 Gold FM. This promotion is our combined network attempt with our partners and clients to give back to listeners in the UAE who have endured a challenging year. By way of this network radio campaign, we are also giving back positivity to our listeners who have endorsed our stations, our presenters and our social media influencers with all their support.

Our campaign execution runs across multiple platforms with various touch points for entry into the game play, reaching out to an audience that is always connected and online.

Channel 4’s chairman, Abudulla Mohammed Al Murad, says: “At Channel 4 we have been known for going against the tide. From a typical business point of view this is not the year to invest in such a huge campaign, but my thinking is different. In my opinion, this is the perfect time when we should create something that can touch the lives of the people, something that can have an impact on their lives, something that can bring little bit of happiness and joy to their life in these difficult times. The year did not start on a bitter note, and we should try to ensure it doesn’t end up on a bitter note.”

Our inspiration for Win a Life is the support we have had from our partners, clients and, most importantly, our listeners and our social media followers. Win a Life is our way of expressing gratitude for their loyalty to us.

As we look forward to an optimistic 2021, we are futurefocused on audio innovations with the

help of our talent and more engagement opportunities.

We are investing in developing podcasts, which is the future of audio entertainment.

We have produced a wide variety of podcast content in English, Arabic, Hindi and Malayalam. In the last few months, this content has garnered us a high volume of streams and downloads; the numbers are increasing every single day.

Our presenters are already social media influencers amongst their target audience, with thousands of followers on key social media platforms. We will continue to keep our activations and interactions in a hybrid model, both on air and on social media. This will not only help clients amplify their campaigns with us, but also facilitate tracking of the reach and engagement indexes.

The LIVE events market has suffered the most in the last few months. We are offering our continuous support to this industry. Even in a year like this, we have actively promoted some of the events that took place, including the Tomorrowland virtual concert, DXB Break Out, Arabic concerts and various corporate social responsibility initiatives for Beirut.

We will also be the partners for the biggest Arabic concert taking place on New Year’s Eve in Dubai.

All in all, it’s going to be an onwardsand-upwards kind of story for Channel 4 Radio Network, our listeners, clients and partners.

“Our inspiration for Win a Life is the support we have had from our partners, clients and our listeners and our social media followers. It is our way of expressing gratitude for their loyalty to us.”

By Mohammad Jundi, network sales director, Channel 4 Radio Network

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November 29, 2020

MARKETING 2020

This is the second edition of our annual Marketing Game Changers, which aims to recognise and celebrate those client-side marketing leaders whose actions and insights have made the greatest impact on their brands, their industries and the region’s marketing community over the past 12 months – a period where the game has changed for us all, thanks to the challenges of Covid-19. The list profiles the men and women we feel have shaped our industry in many ways, and offers insights into what they do, how they do it, why they do it and what it means for the rest of us.

Congratulations to all the 2020 Game Changers.

November 29, 2020

15

KHALED RASHED ALSHEHHI Executive director, marketing and communications, The UAE Government Media Office

What is your objective in your current role?

To inspire people at home and abroad to fulfil their ambitions, through our creative approach to nation branding and public diplomacy.

Director of digital marketing at The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives

Do you have a guiding principle?

Aim higher and you will achieve greater.

YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 6 YEARS WITH ORGANISATION: 6 PREVIOUS JOBS

• Executive director of digital communications, Public Diplomacy Office • Director of digital marketing, World Government Summit • Director of managed services solutions, Etisalat RECENT CAMPAIGNS

• The World’s Tallest Donation Box • 10 Million Meals • The Well of Hope • The First Arabic Countdown • Mars Shot • The Emirates Nation Brand/Impossible Is Possible

How do you make agency relationships work?

Treat everyone with respect and honesty, in a spirit of shared ownership of the product of your partnership.

What have you learned from a specific failure?

When I face a challenge, I tend to learn a hard lesson that will ultimately lead to success.

What work do you wish you had done?

A marketer’s job is to move people, emotionally and physically, and inspire them to take an action. Nike does a superb job of this and I love their work, like their “You Can’t Stop Us” video.

Who inspires you professionally?

People with the ability to go beyond what is and envision what could be, challenging themselves and testing their limits to achieve excellence.

How has Covid-19 changed your business?

Our resolve, our mission, has remained unchanged. The way it has been expressed in terms of projects and how our work has been organised have changed somewhat. We’re driven by the long term rather than the next quarter.

What is the biggest challenge in marketing at the moment?

Making people fall in love with advertising again.

What is the next big trend in marketing?

It will undoubtedly be technology-led, artificial intelligence will be part of it and it will be driven by effectiveness. For me, it is predictive marketing, even faster than real-time.

What can we expect to see from you and your brand in the next year?

One thing is for sure: We will be celebrating the UAE’s Golden Jubilee, marking the 50th anniversary of the nation. Even though there is more and more tech and automation in marketing, we will be even more human and individual in our communications.

RAPID FIRE What are you working on?

Finishing my master of Laws – LLM, International Business at Université Panthéon Assas (Paris II).

Who are you following?

HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

What are you craving?

The Spartan Race in the Alps.

What are you hiding from?

Sugar and sweets.

How are you playing?

Discovering new hikes every weekend.

What are you listening to?

Hack to Start, a podcast focused on interesting people and the innovative ways they achieve success.

What are you reading?

The Naked Diplomat

by Tom Fletcher.

What are you watching?

Netflix.

Where are you isolating?

In the gym.

What did you learn over lockdown?

Professionally, that remote work works.

Personally, that we need more kindness in this world and our families around us.

AGENCY REFERENCE

Mounir Harfouche, CEO, MullenLowe MENA

RE CENT ACHIEVEMENT S Our work has won awards this year (4 Wins and 1 Gold in Shorty Social Good Awards; 6 Cresta Awards; an Honoree Webby Award; and more than 40 finalists), but the other achievement is the pride of changing lives. Concretely, that is 10 million votes (and 10 million trees) for the Emirates’ Nation Brand campaign, water for 1 million people with The Well of Hope initiative and 1.2 million meals with the World’s Tallest Donation Box.

Khaled has played a significant role as a key driver behind many innovative government initiatives over the last 12 months.

His achievements are not limited to the efficiency and impact of the campaigns he is behind; his achievements stand to continuously drive the mindset of purposeful creativity. I believe his main success is the ability to think as a brand, from a government point of view, while communicating strategically and creatively. This allows for his campaigns to resonate with people in a unique way, simultaneously creating populist movements.

I’ve had the chance to work alongside Khaled for almost a year. We achieved the bulk of our work together during the Covid-19 lockdown and have worked on many great initiatives together.

From our growing number of collaborations, the one I am most proud of is also the one most recognised. The World’s Tallest Donation Box was an impossible task with a beautiful outcome. It was executed during Ramadan and while the country was in total lockdown. Despite the many challenges and limitations, we managed to deliver a large-scale integrated campaign with significant results that provided relief to so many people in need. Khaled played a major role in making the campaign a success.

Khaled represents what the nation stands for: ‘Impossible is possible.’ He is one of the most hardworking people I have had the pleasure to work alongside, and if he believes in an idea he is ready to take risks and challenge any obstacle to bring that idea to life. This quality is valuable and extremely rare to find. Khaled does not compromise, and that’s truly what it takes to achieve the impossible. He thinks holistically, and if you analyse any of his campaigns you’ll see how functionally integrated they are. Khaled also possesses a unique way of inspiring creativity and innovation, in addition to a strong instinct towards knowing what will work and what won’t.

On a personal level, I’ve learned that passion is and will always be the key driver of change. Then comes commitment and hard work to make things happen. On a professional level, I’ve learned that sometimes the simplest of human ideas can also be the greatest if you know how to look at them beyond one channel or touchpoint. To create impact, one needs to scream and not whisper – loud enough that millions can hear and feel your message. Finally, I’ve learned that the most relevant ideas aren’t necessarily the result of a brief, but the result of a constructive conversation and the drive to create something meaningful.

16

November 29, 2020

ALICE BÉZIRARD-FISCHER Media lead, Coty YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION : 3 YEARS WITH COMPANY : 4 SIZE OF DEPARTMENT : 10 PREVIOUS JOBS

• 2011-2014: Global account manager at Awin (Europe’s leading affiliate marketing agency) • 2014-2017: Head of Affiperf (trading desk) at Havas Media Middle East RECENT CAMPAIGNS

Measuring impact of online advertising on in-store sales – Bourjois (September 2019). Reinventing product trial in a post lockdown world – Max Factor, Rimmel, Bourjois (May 2020).

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Throughout my career I have had the fortune to be part of transformational initiatives, from launching a trading desk from scratch in the region to leading the in-housing of digital media at Coty in the Middle East.

What is your objective in your current role?

Make sure that we are always innovating and the first to try alphas and betas.

Do you have a guiding principle?

Always move forward.

How do you make agency relationships work?

They work best when both client and agency interests converge, and everyone truly feels as one team.

What have you learned from a specific failure?

I’ve learned to step back, evaluate and action-plan. There are a lot of learnings in failure, but it’s the analysis that drives change.

What work do you wish you had done?

I love the Burger King guerrilla tactics. I also love brand integrations, and hip hop is one of my passions; I think the recent Drake and Nike collaboration is a brilliant use of product placement.

Who inspires you professionally?

Too many to mention, but I’ve had a lot of mentors in my career who share the same traits: they are fearless and will do what’s right for tomorrow vs. right now.

How has Covid-19 changed your business?

It changed everything. From the way we engage with consumers to how we’ve become more efficient and focused in the way we deploy media.

What is the biggest challenge in marketing at the moment?

In beauty, maintaining aspiration in a hyper-fragmented media ecosystem.

What is the next big trend in marketing?

The transformation that we will see from the rollout of 5G – augmented reality will be everywhere.

What can we expect to see from you and your brand in the next year?

Striking a better balance between brand-building and e-commerce.

AGENCY REFERENCE

Antoine Challita, head of CPG in MENA, Snap Inc

RE CENT ACHIEVEMENT S Getting away from the digital media bubble, and expanding the work we do into other departments, working much closer with production, retail partners and our own beauty advisors.

Alice has been a key player and contributor to our partnership with Coty Inc. Over the last 12 months we have managed to work closely with Alice to leverage leaned-in audiences in the Discover side of Snapchat, and help build brand equity and proximity for Coty’s consumer beauty products. Alice has been very perceptive as well for opportunities in Snapchat’s camera-based advertising solutions that create and accelerate consideration and demand for Coty’s brands.

I am very proud of our partnership and how we have managed to work with Alice to ensure that Snapchat’s advertising solutions’ value gets captured efficiently across Coty’s business. What has been enriching for us is the insights and feedback that come across our many collaborations. The way our partnership grew over time – and how Coty sees us as a valued partner – is something that we constantly celebrate at Snap.

What we pride ourselves on the most would be the ongoing work we are doing with Coty on augmented reality (AR). The best output we have usually comes from the clarity in thinking of decision makers on the advertiser’s side. In the case of Coty, Alice formulated a clear problem that we had a solution for. I recall some of our conversations when we were tasked to support Coty in attracting existing and potential shoppers to try on beauty products in a safe way at home and in the retail environment. Given the utility Snapchatters see in our camera, and the scale we see in usage across the world and in this region specifically, we identified the effective routes to deliver on Alice’s objectives. The information and business results that Alice shares with us throughout these projects keep us engaged and we are really proud to have delivered top-line business results.

I would say that Alice is clear on what she wants and is very collaborative. she doesn’t mind debating ideas, but she is very conscious that there is time for discussions and time for getting the job done.

RAPID FIRE What are you working on?

Becoming a better photographer. I also recently attended a street art workshop as part of Expo 2020.

Who are you following?

Cinema Akil, SoleDxb, The Good Life, and a lot of Street art artists across the world.

What are you craving?

Din Tai Fung. I go there at least once a week.

What are you hiding from?

Covid-19.

What are you playing?

I discovered Overcooked during lockdown. It is my first time playing games with my husband on the PS4, and I am addicted.

What are you listening to?

Mostly US and French hip-hop.

What are you reading?

I just finished The Culture Map by Erin Mayer, and am starting a French graphic novel about the history of hip hop.

What are you watching?

The Queen’s Gambit. Who knew chess could be visually exciting?

Where are you isolating?

At home.

What did you learn over lockdown?

Stop planning.

‘After corona’ is the new ‘Inshallah’.

November 29, 2020

17

PETER DEBENEDICTIS CMO, Microsoft, Middle East and Africa Board member, Marketing Society Middle East Board member, Dubai College Advisory Board Member, WAX.IO (Silicon Valley startup) YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 4 YEARS WITH COMPANY: 4

SIZE OF DEPARTMENT: 20+ PREVIOUS JOBS

Do you have a guiding principle?

I have three golden rules: Marketing for marketing’s sake doesn’t work.

Marketing has to have a clear target audience and desired and measurable business impact. ‘Spraying and praying’ doesn’t work.

Open and transparent feedback (positive and negative) at all levels of the organisation builds trust and fosters great team work.

‘Disagree but commit’ to a collective decision, even if you are not 100 per cent convinced.

What have you learned from a specific failure?

I was told ‘it’s not possible’ once and I believed the person who told me, which led to the project being delayed. In the end, it turned out it was possible and I learned from that incident not to accept that the other person is an expert and ‘knows best’. Now when I am told ‘no’, I see it as a personal challenge to make that into a ‘yes’.

• CMO, GE Healthcare • Marketing director, Philips • Marketing director, FedEx

What work do you wish you had done?

The work that Burger King has been doing over the last two years is really innovative, clever,and daring. It’s a shame I don’t like fast food or they would have me as a loyal customer.

NOTABLE CAMPAIGNS

Who inspires you professionally?

I have been blessed with some really great managers and mentors over the years. Linda Mahoney, the founder of Better Homes, was a big influence on me in my early years. She hired me at 19 with no work experience, and working with her helped me finance my university education. She started her company out of her garage and became the leading real estate company in the region.

She never quit, even when faced with some incredible challenges, and on top of being a great business person she’s just a wonderful human being who has gone out of her way to help countless people in Dubai over the last 30 years.

• Forward Together (2020) • Work x Life (2019) • Cloud Society (2018; Effies Gold Winner)

How has Covid-19 changed your business?

Working from home has become the new normal for millions of students and professionals over the last year, and Microsoft Teams has enabled this transformation, with billions of meeting minutes being logged around the world and, indeed, here in the region. In the past, technology and applications on the cloud were seen by some as a novelty, whereas today, as a result of the pandemic, these are increasingly become an essential way of working and living. Microsoft is in the middle of this transformation, which carries with it our mission to empower every person and organisation on the planet.

RAPID FIRE What are you working on?

The 2021 marketing plan.

Who are you following?

Seth Godin and Rachel Botsman.

What are you craving?

Travel.

What are you hiding from?

Creating slides for meetings.

What are you playing?

Father-and-son indoor cricket every Saturday.

And Fortnite.

What are you listening to?

70’s classic rock on Spotify.

What are you reading?

I just re-read Lord of the Rings.

What are you watching?

Money Heist (in Spanish).

Where are you isolating?

At home in my second-floor ivory tower overlooking the garden.

What did you learn over lockdown?

Working from home brings opportunities and challenges. I look forward to a more hybrid work environment for the future.

What is the biggest challenge in marketing at the moment?

B2B marketers have historically depended heavily on in-person events to drive customer engagement. The shift to digital engagement has been a real challenge for some, as they did not have the digital marketing skills, technology platform or infrastructure to rapidly make the shift. The challenge going forward, as many organisations digitise their approach, is how to differentiate, which requires marketers to think more like television producers than event planners.

AGENCY REFERENCE

Tarek Daouk, CEO, Dentsu MENA

ACHIEVEMENT S Leading a team of world-class and diverse marketers at Microsoft, who deliver outstanding work is a great privilege and one of my career highlights. As a boss once used to say to me, “Today is the good old days.” In other words, treat today as the best of times and usually it will be.

Peter was quick to mobilise the marketing programme and respond to the unforeseen challenges businesses were suddenly faced with as a result of the pandemic. He has continued to drive the strategic vision and spearhead an ongoing programme of partnerships and collaboration.

I was introduced to Peter when I joined Dentsu two and a half years ago, when he was also relatively new to the role at Microsoft. I’m proud of the partnerships that we’ve formed between Microsoft and key global and regional players in the media scene. The hero campaigns that we’ve delivered in the past couple of years – Work x Life and Forward Together – both provide a platform for brand building and full integration, allowing us to move ever closer to an audience-first strategy, something that was completely unimaginable three years ago.

Peter is hugely talented. Not only is he a born leader and a natural communicator, but he is also in possession of an infectious, proactive approach to any problem that needs solving. This – plus his strong vision, articulation and warm character – makes him a unique talent who is absolutely fantastic at what he does. His ability to effortlessly transport us into the Microsoft world within five minutes of opening a meeting continues to strengthen our partnership. Long gone are the days of the client-agency relationship; we are, and will continue to be, an extension of his team working to deliver on the same goals and vision.

Peter is very progressive. He has an open mindset and has led the way in collaborative culture. He is always on the lookout to test and learn, and this mindset has allowed us to explore and dive into different opportunities and yield great results.

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November 29, 2020

CHERRY FU Marketing Director, OPPO GCC YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 1.5 YEARS WITH COMPANY: 1.5

SIZE OF DEPARTMENT: 20+ PREVIOUS JOBS

• Deputy director of strategic partnerships of Hujiang.com, Shanghai – the leading online learning platform in China • Marketing manager of New Fire Co, Shanghai • PR manager of Hippotac HK Co, Shanghai RECENT CAMPAIGNS

• #OPPOGamingChallenge, an engaging activation with Dubai Tourism at Mall of The Emirates • #FameOPPOrtunity digital entertainment challenge on TikTok • #FindMore content creation campaign partnering with renowned regional influencers to inspire the people of the UAE • Regional launch of Reno4 Series at an interactive and engaging virtual event titled ‘Own the Night’

What is your objective in your current role?

Although we have reached the top-five smartphone companies by shipment in a short span of five years in the region, our goal remains to get more consumers in MENA to know and experience the OPPO brand.

Do you have a guiding principle?

At OPPO, we are guided by the Chinese philosophy of ‘Benfen’, which has several levels of meaning, but is based on doing the right thing. We believe our mission is to share our technology to make our customers’ lives easier.

How do you make agency relationships work?

We select agencies that have the same dream and passion for OPPO as us. All our partners are thoroughly immersed in the brand through structured onboarding and ongoing briefings. We work together as one team, sharing ideas and opinions. By always keeping an open mind and passion to explore, we have achieved great success with our agency teams.

What work do you wish you had done?

At OPPO, we believe in globalisation and this is something I’m so excited about, as I’d like to create more marketing campaigns that are connected to the local culture of the markets we operate in.

How has Covid-19 changed your business?

Covid-19 has changed the way the world does business. The sudden switch to a digital-only lifestyle made us face a changing business model and a new way of marketing. But we were able to keep a positive outlook and look ahead. Almost overnight, we pivoted from physical, high-touch events to creating an equally engaging online journey with virtual launch events. We successfully launched three smartphones – Reno3, our flagship Find X2 Pro and Reno4. We also continued with exciting online campaigns to keep our customers engaged.

RAPID FIRE What are you working on?

Elevating life through technological artistry.

Who are you following?

HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid What are you craving?

The end of the pandemic What are you hiding from?

Nothing.

What are you playing?

Switch.

What are you listening to?

Jazz.

What are you reading?

Campaign.

What are you watching?

Tech reviews.

What did you learn over lockdown?

Always keep a positive attitude.

What is the biggest challenge in marketing at the moment?

The uncertainty brought about by the pandemic is definitely a challenge. Its influence on consumption patterns keeps changing as various countries and regions face new waves of the disease. This means that we need to keep adjusting our marketing strategies to find relevant ways to communicate and engage with consumers. We strive to stay close to our young creators and entrepreneurs by leveraging the platforms that are popular and trendy during the current times.

What is the next big trend in marketing?

In the tech space, 5G is a huge influence. Also, the growth for disruptive technologies such as XR, VR, AR and MR over the next 10 years will be massive.

Together with 5G, each of these technologies changes the perception of ‘reality’ to its user. The technologically driven world we live in is heading for a major shift, as these disruptive technologies, together with 5G, approach mainstream adoption. This is something I take into consideration in marketing, as I’m very excited to see more ‘reality’ experiences being implemented through marketing campaigns.

What can we expect to see from you and your brand in the next year?

We are working to integrate all our products into a smart device ecosystem for the era of intelligent connectivity. From a marketing point of view, we will continue to create more attractive campaigns that engage with our consumers and bring out the best in them.

RE CENT ACHIEVEMENT S

• Increasing the brand awareness of

OPPO in GCC region. Maintained a top-four media exposure rank in the smartphone field.

• Re-inventing OPPO’s marketing

strategy during Covid-19 and successfully launched three new smartphone series through engaging virtual events.

• Released the campaign of Mohamed

Salah, international football legend, as OPPO’s brand ambassador in MEA.

AGENCY REFERENCE

Bassam Saifi, senior account director, Impact Porter Novelli Joining a young yet highly innovative smartphone brand like OPPO comes with challenges such as launching an average of four new smartphones per year, in addition to a busy overall marketing calendar. To boost the reach and awareness around OPPO’s flagship Find X2 Pro smartphone, Cherry was behind the successful Find More campaign, that saw OPPO partner with key regional influencers including the UAE’s first female director, to inspire the people of UAE to be more creative.

Another achievement I’d consider Cherry is proud of would be the #FameOPPOrtunity digital entertainment challenge launched on TikTok to highlight the camera capabilities of the latest Reno4 series. The outcome of the show that was streamed live on YouTube was amazing, with more than 12,000 users tuning in to watch the launch.

Cherry is an experienced marketer who has worked with big global companies. Her dedication, inspiration to share knowledge and openness to learn new things from across the team is something I very much admire in her. She plays a key role in bringing closer both the HQ team in China and the local regional team here in Dubai. From her I’ve learned to look at every campaign from a broader perspective. Just like OPPO following the Chinese philosophy of ‘benfen’, which means one’s part or duty, Cherry was a role model in inspiring the team to do their duty with professionalism and passion.

November 29, 2020

21

MARIA GEDEON Marketing director, Majid Al Futtaim Leisure, Entertainment and Cinemas YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 4 YEARS WITH CURRENT COMPANY: 4 SIZE OF DEPARTMENT: 65+ PREVIOUS JOBS

• 2002: Founder of TACT • 2005: Founder of Select, one of the most established events and staffing companies in the region • 2006: Marketing manager, Turret Media • 2009: Director of marketing and communications at Zayed Sports City RECENT CAMPAIGNS

• #ThankYou Campaign showing appreciation for healthcare workers and frontliners during the global pandemic • #WeMissYou Campaign for guests during the closures

What is your objective in your current role?

To instil a data-driven, customer-obsessed culture, lead with empathy and find my true purpose.

Do you have a guiding principle?

I firmly believe that if you persevere, are curious and are passionate that anything is possible. Also, be kind to people.

How do you make agency relationships work?

Collaboration is key to maintaining a successful relationship, and any agency you work with should be considered an extension of your wider team. It is also essential to have mutual trust and a common north star.

What have you learned from a specific failure?

That I should not be afraid of failing and that failing doesn’t make me a failure as long as I continuously learn and improve.

Who inspires you professionally?

Richard Hease, chairman and founder of Turret Media, a successful serial entrepreneur and my first employer.

How has Covid-19 changed your business?

We’ve had to adapt to the new normal in a lot of different ways – from operations down to the way that we engage with our valued guests through a reinvented customer journey. Majid Al Futtaim is a customer-centric company and it was essential that we monitored and understood how habits were changing. Throughout the pandemic, we have been conducting waves of extensive guest research to better understand our guests, and have adapted accordingly.

What is the biggest challenge in marketing at the moment?

Marketing as a function has undergone a massive transformation over the last two decades, requiring new capabilities and skills. It is imperative to be able to adapt to these changes and evolve in order to succeed and stay relevant.

What is the next big trend in marketing?

Automation, data analytics, personalisation and hyper-personalisation, as well as AI, will remain hugely important. AR and VR will also significantly improve and marketers will change.

What can we expect to see from you and your brand in the next year?

We are currently in the process of planning for the year ahead. Building on the success of this year, we have really creative, innovative and exciting campaigns coming up that I’m sure you will be seeing and hearing a lot about in 2021. As always, we will continue to push the boundaries, be bold and keep our guests at the centre of everything that we do, creating great moments for everyone every day

RE CENT ACHIEVEMENT S

• Developed Majid Al Futtaim LEC data strategy and first ever customer marketing models using advanced analytics

• Created an in-house creative and production agency as well as a social media centre of excellence

• Led all communications during Covid-19 including crisis

communications, consumer sentiment research, reopening plans and social content

• Designed F&B home delivery marketing strategy to continue serving customers during the lockdown

• Conceptualised and launched the VOX Cinemas Drive-In during Covid-19

• Won several awards, including: Best Cinema Experience at 2020 MENALAC Awards (VOX Cinemas) ComScore’s Highest Grossing Exhibitor of the Year in the Middle East at the META Cinema Forum (VOX Cinemas) World’s Best Indoor Ski Resort at the 2020 World Ski Awards (Ski Dubai)

RAPID FIRE What are you working on?

2021 annual operations plans, gaming, the future of entertainment, F&B expansion plans and Christmas at Ski Dubai.

Who are you following?

Joe Biden, Richard Branson, Kamala Harris, HE Noura Al Kaabi, Elon Musk, Satya Nadella, Jeff Bezos, Jacinda Ardern, Roger Federer, Bill Gates, Nadine Labaki.

What are you craving?

French fries, all day every day.

Who are you hiding from?

My kids.

What are you playing?

Tennis.

What are you listening to?

Nina Simone.

What are you reading?

The Ride of a Lifetime, Robert Iger.

What are you watching?

The Morning Show.

Where are you isolating?

On my terrace.

What did you learn over lockdown?

To be grateful for the small things.

AGENCY REFERENCE

Peter Bellini, head of PR and influence, Memac Ogilvy This year has seen Maria and the team at VOX and Majid Al Futtaim Leisure, Entertainment and Cinemas rise to the challenge of Covid. They have managed the impact of the pandemic across the region, adapting to it and working tirelessly to see the business thrive again. With her team, Maria has driven the introduction of a host of great innovations including: VOX Cinemas Drive-In, Contactless and In-Seat Delivery, Friends and Family Screenings and Distraction-Free Cinema. And it isn’t just great because I am saying so; there are a wide range of awards to prove it. From Best Innovation in Health & Safety and Best Cinema Experience to winning the World’s Best Indoor Ski Resort at the prestigious World Ski Awards for the fifth consecutive year.

The work our teams did together on the launch of VOX Cinemas Drive-In at Mall of the Emirates was innovative, grounded in deep insight of the customer, relevant, and fun. A great idea, at the right time, based on deep customer insight that became more than just the talk of this town. Maria is definitely the right person for Majid Al Futtaim Leisure, Entertainment and Cinemas to have at the fore of communications as we move beyond the pandemic to bring people back to the memory-making experiences that we were all so fond of and have missed out on in 2020.

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November 29, 2020

BANALI MALHOTRA Director of marketing, RAKBANK YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 5+ YEARS WITH COMPANY: 15+ SIZE OF DEPARTMENT: 25+ PREVIOUS JOBS

Head of partnerships, American Express (India) RECENT CAMPAIGNS

• RAKfoodie Campaign • Launch of RAKBANK Emirates Skywards World Elite Mastercard Credit Cards • Launch of SwatchPAY! Contactless Payments • Rebranding of RAKBANK Elite and RAKBANK Business • Skiply App for school payments

What is your objective in your current role?

To evolve the RAKBANK brand image by continuously tweaking the brand narrative that is relevant to the current market situation and customer sentiment. Whilst doing the brand job, I am also responsible for supporting the bottom line through acquisition across the product portfolio, utilising the latest data-driven performance marketing tools and platforms.

Do you have a guiding principle?

To punch above your weight. When I was brought on board, RAKBANK was a lesser-known local retail bank. Over the years, I worked closely with the management and the agency in leading the brand’s journey from a local challenger brand to a dominant retail brand in the UAE. While we couldn’t match the huge media spends of leading banks, we increased our share of voice by developing a brand personality that cuts through the clutter. All RAKBANK communication had to tick four boxes: Cheeky, Combative, Confident, Clear.

The communication was very ‘un-bank’ and hence became the talk of the town.

So our communication style was fresh and unique ,which meant the consumers and the competition could love us or hate us, but definitely not ignore us.

How has Covid-19 changed your business?

The pandemic has expedited digital adoption across various aspects of business and personal life. This has also led to new consumer habits, which will influence the buying process in the near future. Due to the financial impact of the pandemic, consumers have become price-sensitive and spend only on necessities. With this background, creativity and innovation have become crucial in every aspect of our communication strategy.

We continuously evolved our communication strategy through the pandemic.

Phase 1: Emphasizing safety through a social campaign. Phase 2: Empathetic communication. Phase 3: Relevant product communication.

What is the next big trend in marketing?

Martech and adtech will be at the core of the communication strategy.

Technology platforms will have to adapt to the increasing ethical and legal challenges related to user privacy, tracking and intrusive targeting. We are already witnessing a transition to a cookie-less approach by the leading browsers. Brands will have to build tech stacks to collect and mine the firstand second-party data. At the same time, maintain a fine balance between hyper-personalisation and privacy. I see an increased shift towards datadriven prediction models built using AI and ML. These will empower marketers to make smarter decisions in real time. Brands will have to continue to stay relevant and play a meaningful role in the consumer’s life by creating authentic experiences at every consumer touchpoint.

RAPID FIRE What are you working on?

Data-driven and insights-based story-telling; evolving the RAKBANK brand narrative to reflect empathy and care.

Who are you following?

Jacinda Ardern.

What are you craving?

Green tea.

What are you hiding from?

Pessimism.

What are you playing?

Golf.

What are you listening to?

Jazz, alternative rock, Sufi.

What are you watching?

Downton Abbey; Emily in Paris.

Where are you isolating?

Home, sweet home.

What did you learn over lockdown?

Life is unpredictable, hence it should be lived to the fullest

What can we expect to see from you and your brand in the next year?

In line with the digital-first strategy, we will be soon launching innovative digital platforms across multiple categories. These will bring drastic changes to the status quo and disrupt the way business is done. Focus on data is crucial. We have created dashboards and KPIs as a part of data governance and usage. Moreover, our focus has shifted from ROI to ROD (return on data).

RE CENT ACHIEVEMENT S

• RAKfoodie campaign swept

the 2019 MMA MENA Awards, winning five Golds, one Silver and two Industry awards.

• Spearheaded in-house data-

management strategy through the successful implementation of DMP & CDP platforms to collect first-party data and prepare for the cookie-less future.

• Memotraits (memory + portrait),

a social experiment, involved capturing the fond memories of watching an FC Barcelona match live. Postgame, the fans’ memories were captured using an EEG headset and converted to art.

AGENCY REFERENCE

Jad Daou, business lead, UM MENAT How long have you worked together?

You almost lose track of time when you enjoy working with your business partner, but if I recall it’s about one and a half years of growing stronger together.

What collaboration are you most proud of?

First and foremost, the collaboration between RAKBANK and UM as partners working together to achieve the same objective is by the far the one I am most proud of. A partnership built on trust, transparency and value. As for specific RAKBANK comms, I am most proud of our RAKfoodie campaign and the impact it created among consumers. Lastly, I am also proud in advance for our continuous fruitful partnership.

How would you describe Banali as a professional?

Inspirational, collaborative, assertive and most notably a person with high integrity. She continues to push us and the team to think larger than life and push the boundaries to punch above our weight, which is Banali’s guiding principle.

What are you working on next?

In line with our digital-first strategy, we will work a lot closer on martech solutions in the coming year to move upwards along the digital maturity curve ,which will allow us to bring drastic changes to the current status quo and disrupt how business is done within this sector, while keeping customer relevancy and data-centricity at the heart of everything we do.

November 29, 2020

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VIKRAM KRISHNA Executive vice-president, head of group marketing & customer experience, Emirates NBD PREVIOUS JOBS

• Head of retail loans, Emirates NBD • Head of retail products & marketing, Emirates Bank • Senior vice-president, marketing, retail assets, HSBC, India • Vice-president & head of mortgages, North India, CitiFinancial RECENT CAMPAIGNS

Emirates NBD’s public awareness campaign on safe banking It Wasn’t Me raised awareness of a serious issue in a light-hearted video that parodies Shaggy’s popular song. The video went viral and is a great example of how humour and creativity can be used to educate consumers and influence social change.

What is your objective in your current role?

To me, the best marketing comes from the passionate endorsements of engaged customers – which is why my goal is to continue working with my team of passionate market-leading professionals to build sustainable customer relationships and create meaningful impact within the communities we serve, while we generate shareholder return on investment.

Do you have a guiding principle?

My guiding principle in life is to be honest, genuine, thoughtful and caring.

I aspire to be able to constantly create opportunities for the people around me to prosper and become better together.

What have you learned from a specific failure?

Never let success get to your head and failure get to your heart. Also, I strongly believe that you only fail when you stop trying.

What work do you wish you had done?

This year has fuelled some really outstanding work across the world. The industry adapted quickly to the post-pandemic reality and worked hard to create impactful and meaningful change. I really liked the recent campaign

by Burger King encouraging people to eat at KFC, Subway, McDonalds, etc. ahead of the second lockdown. The campaign embodies the true spirit of empathy and support we have seen this year, putting aside competitive differences and recognising the need to help people keep jobs and enable the industry to survive.

Who inspires you professionally?

Elon Musk is someone I follow for his incredible imagination, passion and spectacular execution.

What is the next big trend in marketing?

Today’s hyper-connected consumers expect us to understand, anticipate and react to them in real time. To do so, marketers will need to develop an ecosystem that caters to this demand using data and technology to drive personalisation at scale. We have to use every bit of information available to make an impact. Organisations need to realise that their customers are already accustomed to highly personalised Facebook, Netflix and Amazon experiences, making customisation a minimum requirement for future success.

What can we expect to see from you and your brand in the next year?

Our focus will be more on financial literacy and social content to support our customers and the community, along with further developing our marketing technology and continuing to lead digital innovation.

RE CENT ACHIEVEMENT S I am proud of the recent work we have done in enhancing our data analytics, transitioning from a product-centric to a customercentric approach. Our customers now benefit from more targeted communications that match their needs, and we have significantly increased our campaign conversion rates, resulting in improved revenue, profitability and, most importantly, customer satisfaction. We recently became the first bank in the MENA region to be covered in Facebook’s Global Success Story section for our digital engagement strategy in launching the Emirates NBD LuLu 247 MasterCard credit card.

RAPID FIRE What are you working on?

Conserving natural habitats all over the world.

Who are you following?

Greta Thunberg.

What are you craving?

I miss spending time with my family in New Delhi.

Who are you hiding from?

Pessimists.

What are you playing?

The sound of the birds chirping in my garden.

What are you listening to?

Podcasts from The Economist, the BBC and Robin Sharma.

What are you reading?

100 Year Life by Lynda Graton and Andrew Scott.

What are you watching?

Companies and individuals innovating to thrive in a post pandemic world.

Where are you isolating?

In my garden, watching my plants flourish.

What did you learn over lockdown?

No matter the situation, start every day with a positive thought and a grateful heart.

AGENCY REFERENCE

Jon Marchant, managing director, FP7 McCann Dubai I must admit, I found it slightly odd at first that Vikram had been nominated for a ‘game-changers’ award, for the simple reason that he has been a true leader at Emirates NBD for more than a decade and has been such a stalwart of our marketing community here in Dubai. That said, it is testament to his character and commitment for continually driving the bank forward. Someone once said, “Anyone can steer the boat when the sun is shining, and it is only in stormy weather that you will see a true captain.” In this most torrid of years, under Vikram’s leadership the bank has weathered the storm admirably, posted solid results and put out some consistently excellent content across 2020.

On a personal level we’ve worked together for three years exactly, but FP7 McCann and Emirates NBD’s partnership is now over a decade long, which says a lot for the loyalty Vikram has shown, and is continuing to show, in our formidable partnership.

When a partnership lasts more than 10 years, that’s quite a back catalogue. But rather than single out any one piece of work, I would say our best collaboration has been Vikram’s dogged determination to drive the digital transformation at Emirates NBD over recent years, and how we have enjoyed contributing, in a relatively small part, to be with him on that journey. We’ve been bringing to life, through our campaigns and activations, all of their digital innovations over the years, culminating in the bank being named Most Innovative Bank in the World globally in 2018. That was collectively our proudest moment, for sure.

A brave and bold leader, Vikram always keeps his mind open to continually exploring new ways and new approaches to drive the bank’s marketing and innovations. He is a marketer who will continuously aim for perfection. He trusts my team and you can see that he takes our counsel where required. His encouraging style and passion is infectious, and this definitely drives the agency to continuously come back with stronger work. Lastly, he is a thoroughly decent chap with a cracking sense of humour and a smile that can light up any meeting room.

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November 29, 2020

FAHAD OSMAN Regional director, gobal business marketing, MENAT, TikTok YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 1 YEARS WITH COMPANY: 1 SIZE OF DEPARTMENT: 25 PREVIOUS JOBS

• 2016-2020 Head of digital and brand, MEA, IBM • 2015-2016 Head of brand strategy, MENA, Twitter • 2012-2015 Business director, head of UAE, OgilvyOne

What is yourobjective in your current role?

To try deliver on the same amount of revenue that our competitors delivered in eight years, in two. And to try and have some fun doing it.

RAPID FIRE

Do you have a guiding principle?

I have two – and they are connected. Hyperfocus ,and increasing the average from one day to the next. Make sure you know why things are being done before thinking about how (and it always has to tie back to profit). This means that the team will always focus on either efficiency or innovation. The average, whether it’s average revenue per month, activity, quarter or customer, should, if you have implemented correctly, rise from one day to the next (or at least from one month to the next).

Who are you following?

On TikTok, too many to count.

There is just so much great content on there, I double tap to like and then tap to follow almost in equal ratio.

How do you make agency relationships work?

Honesty and balance. They need to make us braver and we need to make sure that they don’t jump off a cliff. And we need to be able to give and receive feedback without ego. Having spent some time agency-side, I can tell you that there is nothing worse than a master-slave relationship; nobody wins.

What are you craving?

Carbs. And world domination.

What have you learned from a specific failure?

Measure twice, cut once. When I first came into the agency world, I had a project with one of the big FMCGs – and I assumed a technical spec. Long story short, the project took three times as long as it was supposed to.

What work do you wish you had done?

I love the Wendy’s social platform. I wish I was there when they decided to engage that guy for #NuggsForCarter and I will, one day, get a brand from this region to do something that random, yet on-brand.

Who inspires you professionally?

Not being facetious, my wife. She is the epitome of putting your mind to something and making it happen. She went from corporate to freelance to business owner to award-winning author. She pushes me to believe that nothing is unachievable with a little bit of thinking and a lot of elbow grease.

How has Covid-19 changed your business?

I think this story is well documented, but people changed their interests during the height of the pandemic response. When the world really needed a break from what was in the news and in their timelines, they turned to us.

What is the biggest challenge in marketing at the moment?

I say this as a very performance-focused marketer: The marketing world, with everything that is going on, is deprioritising creativity and brand-building. This is a very dangerous path to go down, for the industry and for brand continuity.

Our customers want to hear from us beyond what we have to sell and how much it costs. Otherwise, they will forget about us.

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT S Sure, I was running an agency at this very young age, was the first person on the ground in this major platform in the region and made the first million dollar sale, singlehandedly won a Dubai Quality award… but those have a shelf life and don’t mean anything to anyone but me.

I believe that my main achievements have been the people I have had the honour of mentoring over the last 10 years. Campaigns come and go (and become redundant). Awards get forgotten. But when you invest in people, they continue to grow and make a difference.

What is the next big trend in marketing?

The current big thing is brands scrambling to integrate e-commerce where none existed – and the results are, well, mixed. I think, logically, the next big thing in marketing is marketers learning the hard way how to be nice to the e-commerce guys, or learning the even harder way what user journey planning actually means (not what we think it means).

What can we expect to see from you and your brand in the next year?

More products, more capabilities, bigger audiences and even cooler campaigns on the platform. Off the platform, expect to see a lot more from us. More data, more community outreach. More partnerships and, if I have anything to do with it, a generous sprinkling of bad puns.

AGENCY REFERENCE

Fadi Khater, founder and managing partner of Netizency Fahad is an extremely knowledgeable person in all topics (not only marketing).

He is a bit of a nerd, which is an excellent trait in today’s digital marketing world.

He has an assertive personality, and does not shy away from making decisions contrary to many marketers in today’s world. He believes in trial and error, and is not afraid of failure, which are the ideal attributes for the person managing the marketing for TikTok in the region.

What are you working on?

B2B brand love.

What are you hiding from?

Doing my expenses and other admin.

Admin sucks.

What are you playing?

Super Smash Bros Ultimate with my boys. Just finished unlocking all 74 characters. I now hear the theme music in my sleep.

What are you listening to?

Whatever Spotify tells me to. If left to my own devices, I would only listen to three songs on repeat.

What are you reading?

We’ve just started a ‘Business Book Club’ in the team.

This time round it’s Radical Candor by Kim Scott.

Otherwise, I am doom-scrolling Reddit What are you watching?

My wife and I spend about 45 minutes a night trying to decide what to watch between OSN, Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Then we go to bed.

Where are you isolating?

Same place as always. In my head.

What did you learn over lockdown?

How little you need to be in the office for most things.

Also, how much you do need to be in the office for everything. Also, how long a four-year-old can be entertained by a piece of cardboard and a Sharpie.

November 29, 2020

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PRIYA SARMA Senior sustainability head, Unilever MENA, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus & Turkey Founder and board member, Advertising Business Group (ABG) MCBG industry representative on UAE Private Sector Advisory Council, UAE Federal Competitiveness & Statistics Authority (FCSA) YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 1.5 YEARS WITH COMPANY: 12 PREVIOUS JOBS

• 2008-2019: Head of corporate communications, Unilever MENA • Regional account director, NAMET, Lowe-Look, Egypt • Account manager, Equity Advertising, Egypt

What is your objective in your current role?

Translating Unilever’s global sustainability commitments locally via advocacy and partnerships.

Do you have a guiding principle?

Compassion, inclusion, integrity.

How do you make partner relationships work?

Inclusion and transparency.

What have you learned from a specific failure?

The value of strong but realistic planning. The ability to be flexible and pivot when faced with challenges. The need to get involved in the details for a successful execution.

What work do you wish you had done?

The launch of Love Beauty and Planet – a brand that believes that looking good and doing good go hand-in-hand. A small, hand-picked Unilever team took Love Beauty and Planet from an idea to reality in less than 12 months – an incredibly fast timescale in which to create an entirely new brand.

Who inspires you professionally?

Women who combine kindness with strength of character inspire me immensely. Lately, it’s Kamala Harris, US vice-president elect. She is intelligent, articulate, inclusive and a fighter against injustice, advocating for those who cannot fight for themselves.

How has Covid-19 changed your business?

Our belief in the need for increased collective contributions towards addressing climate change has led to new ambitious commitments being announce recently.

RAPID FIRE What are you working on?

Keeping our plastic in the loop and out of the environment.

Who are you following? @KamalaHarris.

What are you craving?

A visit to my parents.

What are you hiding from?

My inner voice and the struggle between focusing on ‘me’ vs ‘we’.

What are you playing?

Stayin’ Alive.

What are you listening to?

Dr Andrew Huberman.

What are you reading?

The Glass House by Amitav Ghosh.

What are you watching?

Line of Duty on Netflix.

Where are you isolating?

My garden.

What did you learn over lockdown?

The deep interdependence, between people and planet.

AGENCY REFERENCE

Hannah Beswick, Head of Partnerships, UN Women Liaison Office for the GCC

KEY ACHIEVEMENT S Launch of the UAE chapter of the Unstereotype Alliance with UN Women and positioning Unilever in the UAE as a leader in driving a sustainable business over the past few years.

Setting up the ABG in November 2016.

Supporting governments and communities across MENA during COVID-19 via monetary and product donations. (Unilever was one of the first companies to participate in the UAE campaign that donated 10,000 meals, illuminating 10,000 lights on Burj Khalifa).

Priya has been the leading corporate force in establishing the UAE National Chapter of the Unstereotype Alliance, a thought and action platform convened by UN Women – the United Nations’ entity for gender equality and women’s empowerment – that seeks to eradicate harmful gender-based stereotypes in all media and advertising content. This member-led initiative seeks to collectively use the advertising industry as a force for good to drive positive change all over the world.

Priya has worn two hats throughout the co-development of the UAE National Chapter over the course of the past two years: as a senior member of Unilever’s sustainability team in the region, and as a board member of the Advertising Business Group. She has brought both organisations on board to the UAE National Chapter as founding members and has undertaken extensive outreach to bring aboard several other members, which led to the recent launch of the first outpost of the Unstereotype Alliance in the Middle East.

The work that Priya has done as a key interlocuter of the Advertising Business Group – particularly noting key research that was recently undertaken in partnership with Zayed University, which demonstrates the public demand in the UAE and GCC to portray women in increasingly progressive roles – served to create the baseline for the UAE National Chapter’s strategic plan and first year of work, which will focus on broadening the representation of women and men in non-traditional roles in media and advertising.

It should be recognised that Priya undertook the work of bringing together private sector partners to work towards the creation of the UAE National Chapter outside of her regular professional duties. Priya is personally and professionally committed to creating a world where gender equality and the empowerment of women are the norm, fully cognisant that in order to achieve these ends we must break down stereotypes in media and advertising – as the content we consume every day shapes how we see the world for ourselves and others – and can either constrain or expand the way that we view women’s and men’s roles in society.

Over the course of the two years that I have known Priya, she has simultaneously demonstrated bold leadership and humility, prioritised a team-based approach with a laser-focused vision on results, and has shown at every turn that she is a consummate professional. Priya is a delight to work with, and I consider myself lucky to call her a colleague and a friend.

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November 29, 2020

OZGE ZORALIOGLU Chief marketing officer, KFC, Yum! Brands Chief development and growth officer, KFC YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 3 YEARS WITH COMPANY: 6 SIZE OF DEPARTMENT: 14 RECENT CAMPAIGNS

Through contactless, safety, and free delivery campaigns, we showed our customers that they could continue to trust KFC to deliver our bucket of chicken and bring moments of joy within an easy, affordable and accessible way for all.

What is your objective in your current role?

My goal is to make KFC the most loved and trusted brand in a relevant, easy, and distinctive way. It is also to continue to keep our teams and customers safe. It is our number one priority and will continue to be.

Do you have a guiding principle?

Yes, I aim to lead with smart, heart and courage – and to be authentic in everything I do. I value integrity, honesty and fairness, and these are pretty core to how I endeavour to be my best self.

How do you make agency relationships work?

The foundation of any relationship should be based on trust and transparency.

When you have that, great things can be achieved together. We have been fortunate in our agency partners because there is a true sense of collaboration and an allyship in the ways we all come together. I think that this stems from the fact that our agencies have a real passion for the KFC brand and are always committed to helping us take it to new heights.

What have you learned from a specific failure?

First, that it is OK to fail. Everything happens for a reason, including your failures. When I was young, I dreamed of being a prima ballerina but had an incident where I broke my leg, which essentially ended that aspiration. After a lot of perseverance, I was able to craft out a new passion for myself, and build a new dream. And here I am today.

Who inspires you professionally?

I’m surrounded by wonderful people who are passionate and who strive to be the best. They continue to inspire me every day.

How has Covid-19 changed your business?

Like most brands, Covid-19 was a moment for us to pause and reflect. We’ve always focused on prioritising safety – both for our people and for our food – but the pandemic really reminded us just how precious our people are and of the fact that they come first. This has also amplified our drive to continue to build and maintain not only the trust our employees have in us but, importantly, our customers as well.

RAPID FIRE What are you working on?

We are currently working on our 2021 big bets and strategy.

Who are you following?

Yuval Noah Harari.

What are you craving?

Our original recipe chicken, what else?

What are you playing?

Tennis.

What are you listening to?

Michael Kiwanuka and Kovacs.

What are you reading?

The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur.

What are you watching?

The Queen’s Gambit.

What did you learn over lockdown?

Be thankful and feel blessed with whatever you have.

What is the biggest challenge in marketing at the moment?

I don’t think our core challenge has changed much, which is to establish and maintain an authentic relationship of trust between our brand and the people who love our fried chicken. Marketing during a time of Covid-19 and meeting our consumers in the new normal has made things interesting, of course, but the challenge will always be the same.

What is the next big trend in marketing?

Marketing off-premise channels and access everywhere and every way has been accelerated by Covid-19. This is why having a data-driven mindset is extremely important to empower brands to be at the forefront of consumer consideration and understand what role brands play in meeting consumer needs.

What can we expect to see from you and your brand in the next year?

Not to give too much away, but we have a slightly different ‘vibe’ about us these days. We’re looking forward to showing you what more we have in the works.

AGENCY REFERENCE RE CENT ACHIEVEMENT S I would say my achievement has been to continuously and consistently put people and our KFC brand first in every tough business decision I have ever had to make. For me, this is at the heart of what we do, and they always come first.

Fadi Maktabi, managing director, Hearts & Science We have worked with Ozge for three years and counting. She has been the driving force behind pushing for greater business transformation and commerce enablement for the KFC brand across MENA. In 2019 we worked closely to make sure that the brand’s e-commerce ambitions were met by upgrading the tech infrastructure, data collection and customer journey for an optimal desktop, mobile and app world.

We are very proud of where the brand and business are today, as the level of partnership is unparalleled. We work very closely on metrics that matter for the business to drive more transactions and sales and build brand. I am proud that through the years we have been able to move KFC to become a leading data-driven brand.

Ozge is curious, creative, dedicated, empathetic and, above all else, operates with a true partnership mentality.

Now, we are continuing the journey we started in 2017 together in generating more sales overnight and a stronger brand over time.

PARTNER CONTENT

November 29, 2020

Google-certified creative partner Ad-Lib launches first API integration to DV360 Technology can produce creative variations with a fraction of the traditional legwork

D

id you know that creative accounts for 70 per cent of campaign performance? More surprisingly, studies show that 97 per cent of all targeting strategies have no targeted creative in place. Ad-Lib, an AI-assisted creative technology platform, started by an ex-Googler, has set out to help make advertising more useful to consumers, and the first task on the list was becoming a Googlecertified creative partner in the region.

Why is this important to brands?

Being Google-certified enables Ad-Lib to support brands across the full Google stack using integrations with Studio,

Campaign Manager, Google Ads, YouTube, and the latest integration of Display & Video 360 (DV360).

In layman’s terms, it allows their tech to support brands, personalise and optimise digital content by cutting out a fraction of the painful workload – reducing time and cost for advertisers.

It also means they have additional layers of data to amalgamate and help brands drive better creative decisions.

Through this partnership, Ad-Lib proudly pioneers the first application programming interface (API) integration to DV360, allowing them to directly pull in line-item IDs and facilitating the process between connecting creative to targeting strategies put in place by the media agency.

Ad-Lib, who are also certified partners across the UK, USA, Australia, Singapore and Spain, are no strangers to the Google team, housing several ex-Google employees such as founder Oli Marlow-Thomas and CEO Adit Abhyankar, as well as executive creative director Patrick Collister.

“Data-driven creatives support better campaign performance and provide useful insights on creative success metrics. Google has been working with partners to demonstrate the value of data-driven creatives and facilitate execution. As a certified Google partner, Ad-Lib has collaborated closely with Google on elevating client creative performance and simplifying data integration through DV360 API integration,” says Mirian Itani, head of strategic partnerships at Google.

Ad-Lib have been a dynamic creative optimisation (DCO) partner on numerous projects across global brands in multiple sectors from FMCG, automotive, travel/tourism, e-comm, hospitality and many more.

Oli Marlow Thomas, Ad-Lib founder and president – who worked at Google as the creative lead at DoubleClick for five years before breaking away to create and build the company – has been pushing creative into the technology process for years, to run against line items and targeting strategies.

“It used to be those targeting strategies were assembled manually, but now we can pull the strategies from a demand-side platform and assemble them to run against the creative media strategies,” he says.

While Ad-Lib continues to grow globally and regionally, its ever-evolving technology will also follow suit. Being a service provider in

“While Ad-Lib continues to grow globally and regionally, its everevolving technology will also follow suit.”

By Janira Hernandez, Head of Client Services MEA, Ad-Lib Digital

the ad-tech space means constantly expanding and learning, but more importantly applying this knowledge to your technology.

Through the Google and Ad-Lib partnership, together they are helping brands deliver successful campaigns and bridging the gap between media, creative and data silos.

To find out more about Ad-Lib reach out to janira@ad-lib.io, or visit the website at ad-lib.io for more details.

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PARTNER CONTENT

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November 29, 2020

‘Tis the season to be swindled mFilterIt’s Debsena Chakraborty offers tips on optimising your digital marketing channels to minimise fraud this sale season

By Debsena Chakraborty, GM sales MEA, mFilterIt

T

he discount-day phenomenon that is Black Friday, has now firmly cemented itself in most markets, but the whole of December – and beyond – is well established as a highlight for online retailers as much as traditional brick-and-mortar shops.

One thing that 2020 has ensured is the fact that users are more comfortable shopping online than they ever were. What this means is that every e-commerce platform is gearing up to make huge spends online this season.

Online advertising is not without its flaws. As spends go higher, the bad players get more opportunities to swindle your marketing budgets, making it a very lucrative season for them too.

But there are things that you can do to reduce ad fraud at your end. Some of the recommendations for advertisers to help optimise their performance campaigns are the following:

Look for organic stealing. As the season is that of shopping, so there is a huge chance that customers will organically convert without an outside force. Fraudulent publishers use this to falsely attribute sales to themselves.

So, look out for install partner name vs event partner name in your attribution system. You will most likely find a pattern there.

A large e-commerce player in the region noticed that affiliates were stealing organic users to meet cost-per-sale KPIs. It can easily happen to anyone when you do not use a tool.

Look for click-spamming. There is an

acceptable number of clicks that a user generates before buying something. This number should not be more than 30 in a month. Taking that as a threshold, look for how many clicks are coming per user.

You will be surprised to see that there will be a ton of users giving you more than 100 clicks in a month.

These are bot-generated clicks and not from real users. These clicks are fired only to falsely claim attributions.

Retargeting partners quite often click-spam to claim a good conversion. Look out for the clicks-toconversion rates. Set a benchmark.

Look for click-to-open time. When you click

on an ad, it takes 1-2

seconds to open the app. Let’s factor in other variables and say 10 mins is the maximum time that it will take for the app to open. Well, 10 mins is a lot of time, but for a working theory let’s take 10 mins. Now analyse how many clicks led to an app open in that period. You will see a pattern and you will know if there is a deep-linking issue or a click-spamming issue.

Look for acquisition partners running re-targeting campaigns. There is a clear demarcation between

acquisition and remarketing. Often remarketing is more expensive because your customers have already shown some interest, but some bad publishers use this remarketing inventory to acquire users with good conversion rates. This is especially true when you are working on cost-per-action (sale, subscription or registration) models.

This is very common. Acquisition is no longer set at install level. The partners need to show sales, and hence they go retargeting right after acquisition. Most often than not, they will be click-spamming.

Other than these you can also choose to monitor coupon sites and Google search. In coupon sites, users are provided with fake or expired coupons typically as a clickbait, and then your affiliate will claim the conversion. Brand bidding on Google is similar.

Affiliates bid for brand keywords and take away organic users, in turn increasing the bid rate on your own keywords.

At mFilterIt, we ensure we provide value to the entire ecosystem. Our services not only help advertisers but also agencies and networks. We work to stop bad players from reducing faith in the entire ecosystem, and in the process we help everyone garner more from their efforts and investments. As an advertiser, it is important for you to ensure your marketing budgets are well spent; as an agency you have to ensure you buy the right kind of media and deliver optimised results to your clients; and as a network you have to ensure bad publishers are not giving you a bad name in the region where the number of good networks is limited.

For more information please visit www.mfilterit.com or email us at contact@mfilterit.com.

November 29, 2020

MATTER OF FACT

News, views & trends from across the spectrum

29

NOW IS THE FUTURE

THE VIRAL NATURE OF AUTHENTICIT Y History books are rife with events that changed the course of the world, and while we believed that the digital revolution was the game changer of our generation, Covid-19 had a whole other perspective to offer. This led to stricter measures to reduce the visibility of the fake news and misinformation that were endemic to the fear and global panic the pandemic induced. We’re still implementing technology across sectors and advancing, but it’s no longer the ‘sell, sell, sell’ approach that technology usually utilised.

A great focus was placed on mental health this year, made evident through the nature of thought leadership and crisis communication content as well as through the bolder CSR activities that were being presented. This resulted in an interesting uptick in brands using memes and nostalgic content to communicate because audiences want to engage with brands that offer genuine value as opposed to aggressive sales tactics.

55

Ahmad Itani is a passionate educator and entrepreneur who is the founder and CEO of public relations consultancy Cicero & Bernay.

The ratio of 13- to 35-year-olds who communicate with memes on a weekly basis

101M

The amount of posts with disinformation that are being actively moderated and removed

Audiences are more socially conscious and aware

88 Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are still the dominant platforms

The increase of nostalgia engagements during the lockdown

Source: www.socialmediatoday.com

GAME CHANGER Popping the lid on Mental Health

In a progressive move of support of Movember, which aims to raise awareness of men’s health, including mental health, Pringles has revealed a shaved down version of its recognisable mascot. This is the first time since the company’s launch in 1968 that Mr. Pringle has appeared as such. Mental health is important, and it is encouraging to see brands with strong market presence embrace the cause so boldly.

B R E A K I N G T HE NE T Burgers are king

The lockdown hit brick-and-mortar the hardest, especially restaurants. While Burger King is not exactly a mom-and-pop shop, giving their primary competitor a shout out on social media, with employees at the heart of their intention, was what this lockdown needed: wholesome love and an outreach of support that went viral for all the right reasons. A genuine PSA by Burger King? We hope so.

#N OT CTRL+C, CTRL+V isn’t the solution

Recently, influencers have become more selective about what they promote, in order to maintain authenticity towards their audience. It’s surprising that a celebrity with a wide reach, and who undoubtedly has a whole creative and digital support team behind her, would copy and paste a caption and instructions without a quick review. How do we know what’s authentic any more?

30

November 29, 2020

A VIEW FROM

Ramsey Naja EXCESS ALL AREAS

T

he Covid-19 pandemic may have brought with it a colourful palette of mental diseases, emotional traumas, family breakdowns and fascinating new cholesterol readings, but you can also argue that the lockdown it forced upon us gave us new perspectives too. We discovered, amongst other things, that work from home is a damn sight more attractive than work from a cubicle, that schools prevent infanticide and that access to Netflix should be enshrined in the Bill of Human Rights.

But, more interestingly, it also gave us a new outlook on the notion of excess.

Excess, you see, has always been seen as a lack of moderation: too much of this, a surfeit

You see, we have always been conditioned to the notion that too much of a good thing is sinful when, in fact, evil lies in too much of the unnecessary. of that and the consumption of more than you should be allowed. Excess was the life of Charles Bukowski, the Rolling Stones in hotel rooms, the Lebanese Sunday meal and the American standard for the size of pizza. But as it turned out, this definition was completely beside the point. Excess, we discovered, is not in the extremes: excess is in the middle.

You see, we have always been conditioned to the notion that too much of a good thing is

Ramsey Naja is the sinful when, in fact, former CCO of JWT evil lies in too much MEA; @geminisnake of the unnecessary.

That’s because the consumption society was not built on yachts, Ibiza summers and binge watching. Its true centre of gravity sat in the superfluous and its disposability.

This is where negative excess thrives.

We buy toys with a lifespan that doesn’t exceed minutes, we upgrade electronics for performance increments that are largely irrelevant, we dump clothes at the whim of influencers and replace what we could actually repair. It all sits in that large space that exists between necessity and pleasure, and delivers neither, except for a little burst of dopamine, soon replaced by irritation.

A quick calculation will tell you that the largest part of household expenditure does not lie in the holiday, the spa weekend or, indeed in the supermarket basics. It is actually in the superfluous disposables that end up either in the trash or in that forgotten heap in the garage. What the new perspective tells us is that, in these times of financial strain, we should be cutting back on neither the essentials nor those joyful, occasional excesses that give us joy, satisfaction and bragging rights.

We should be slashing the expendable tripe that blights and clutters up our lives instead. Considering the gigantic body of disposable, unnecessary, superfluous and unnoticeable advertising communications out there, it is a lesson that brands would do well to learn.

Motivate Publishing Group Head Office: 34th Floor, Media One Tower, Dubai Media City, Dubai, UAE. Tel: +971 4 427 3000, Email: motivate@motivate.ae Dubai Media City: Motivate Publishing FZ LLC, Office 508, 5th Floor, Building 8, Dubai, UAE. Tel: +971 4 390 3550, Fax: +971 4 390 4845 Abu Dhabi: Motivate Advertising, Marketing & Publishing, PO Box 43072, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Tel: +971 2 677 2005, Fax: +971 2 677 0124, Email: motivate-adh@motivate.ae London: Motivate Publishing Ltd, Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London NW1 3ER. motivateuk@motivate.ae www.motivatemedia.com EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer Managing Partner and Group Editor Ian Fairservice Editor Austyn Allison Editorial Intern Sofia Serrano DESIGN Art Director Sheila Deocareza Junior Designer Thokchom Remy ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Tel: +971 4 427 3000 Chief Commercial Officer Anthony Milne Group Sales Manager Nadeem Ahmed Quraishi (+971 50 6453365) Group Marketing Manager Anusha Azees PRODUCTION General Manager S. Sunil Kumar Assistant Production Manager Binu Purandaran HAYMARKET MEDIA GROUP Chairman Kevin Costello Managing Director Jane Macken

The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the readers’ particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review. Campaign Middle East includes material reproduced from the UK Edition (and other editions) of Campaign, which is the copyright of Haymarket. Campaign is a trademark of Haymarket and is used under licence. The views and opinions expressed within this magazine are not necessarily those of Haymarket Magazines Limited or those of its contributors.

TECH TIPS

YouTube launches audio-only ads YouTube has launched an audio-only ad format for brands to place against music and podcasts.

In recognition of YouTube being used as a platform for ambient and focused audio listening, the Google-owned platform is launching the new ad format in beta, with the same measurement and brand safety features used in video campaigns.

Audio ads are creatively led by the voiceover or other sounds that feature in a YouTube ad, and the visual component is typically a still image or simple animation.

Similar to video ads, audio ads are bought via auction with Google Ads and Display & Video 360 on a cost-perthousand basis.

YouTube says they will feature the same audience-targeting options, bidding strategies and brand lift measurement capabilities.

YouTube’s internal tests of audio ads, carried out between June 2019 and March 2020, found that 75 per cent of measured audio ad campaigns on YouTube drove a “significant” uplift in brand awareness.

The company says one of its early testers, the California-based picture sharing and gift card service Shutterfly, found ad recall among interested shoppers was 14 per cent above its benchmark level, while favourability was lifted by 2 per cent.

YouTube says 50 per cent of its loggedin viewers who consume music do so for at least 10 minutes a day, while more than 2 billion logged-in viewers watch a music video each month on the platform. Again, these statistics are supplied by YouTube itself, without third-party verification.

Meanwhile, YouTube has a comparatively tiny number of users – 30 million – that pay to subscribe to YouTube Music and Premium. This number grows to 35 million when you include those who use free trials, which are usually offered for a month.

It is also launching “dynamic music line-ups”, which are dedicated groups of music-focused channels across popular music genres, such as hip hop and K-pop, or moods or interests like fitness.

November 29, 2020

31

Vive la difference

T

his is the issue where we publish our list of Marketing Game Changers.

It’s the second year we’ve done it, and this year it was even harder than in 2019 to select those marketers whose actions and insights have made the greatest impact on their brands, their industries and the region’s marketing community. 2020 was a pretty game-changing year in itself, and I’m sure there’s not one marketer out there who hasn’t had to reinvent huge amounts of themselves, their role and their brand’s messaging to cope with world events.

But we did select 10, and they are listed on pages 14-26. You can read about them, their roles, their philosophies and how they see the industry.

I’d encourage you to do that. I learned a lot from reading their insights, and what their agencies have to say about them – and I’m not even a marketer.

I was, however, co-opted along with a lot of legitimate, full-time marketers (some of whom appear on this list) to help judge a brand-of-the year award recently. And that was an eye-opening experience. As editor of Campaign Middle East, I have the privilege of being able to ask the best marketers in the region to write for me, and the good luck that they often say yes. We carry a lot of insightful articles written by industry players, where they present well-argued, carefully considered points of view. So it was fun to see marketers making their minds up behind the scenes.

As I and the marketers debated which brands we admired and which were yet to impress us, which brands we felt had excelled in 2020 and which had not risen as well to its challenges, I was struck both by how much disagreement there was, and by how constructive that disagreement could be. Some of it was down to whether we had interacted with the brands in question, some of it was down to what we felt their marketing was trying to achieve. One of the writers in our Digital Essays supplement (which is bundled with this issue) argues that marketers can no longer think of themselves as consumers, and I’ve long been tempted to disagree with that.

But my judging experience has at least taught me that there are as many ways of looking at marketing as there are marketers out there, and each brings his or her own nuances to the table.

In the end, we voted. The organisation behind the judging will soon name that brand, and even if it’s not the one I voted for, I’ll now know why the winner won.

And I’ll stand by that – because one of my take-aways from the Game Changers is Peter De Benedictis’s mantra of Editor “disagree but commit” when working in teams or as a committee. austyn.allison@motivate.ae A new feature in this issue is the @maustyn Marketing Faces to Watch. It’s a clientside version of our ever-popular agency Faces to Watch series, and profiles a selection of the region’s amazing young talent aged 30 and under. It makes perfect sense to have these rising stars profiled next to the leading lights of the Game Changers, as it’s no great leap of imagination to expect many of them will move between lists as their careers develop.

If you’re not on either list, my commiserations, but have a good read.

You’ll see how all the Faces to Watch are nominated and supported by their colleagues, bosses and agencies. And at least two of the Game Changers list their early bosses as big influences in their careers. A month of names and lists and judging has reminded me that the whole industry is connected more than we sometimes think. And that the differences in opinions between all the people who make it up are what keeps it strong and interesting.

AUSTYN ALLISON

The meek shall inherit the earth I

A VIEW FROM

DAVE TROTT

Dave Trott is the author of Creative Mischief, Predatory Thinking and One Plus One Equals Three

n 1945, Averell Harriman was the US Ambassador to the Soviet Union.

Tensions were high, it was the end of the Second World War but the beginning of the Cold War. But, in a gesture of friendship, the Young Pioneers of Russia made a presentation.

They gave him a carving of the Great Seal of the United States of America.

This is a copy of the seal that must go on any official document: an eagle with an olive branch in one talon and a quiver of arrows in the other.

The Young Pioneers was the Russian equivalent of the Boy Scouts or the Girl Guides.

The ambassador was touched that young people should want to extend the hand of friendship.

It was a hopeful sign for the future of the two superpowers.

He hung it in his study; he used to look at it during important meetings.

It was a good reminder that some hope existed amongst all the tensions.

The Great Seal hung on his wall for seven years.

During many important and stressful meetings and briefings.

In 1952, a British radio operator accidentally began picking

up conversations from the US ambassador’s study.

The FBI hired a British radio technician to investigate.

They found the Great Seal actually contained a listening device so sophisticated that it couldn’t be detected.

It needed no batteries, it sent no signals, it lay dormant until activated.

Voices caused a membrane to vibrate slightly, which could then be tuned into by a Russian radio operator using the correct wavelength.

Because it wasn’t made of metal and wire it couldn’t be detected by any of the anti-bugging sweeping devices.

It was a brilliant piece of thinking.

But the most creative part for me was the way they got it into the embassy.

It was presented by a charming group of children, the one thing you absolutely wouldn’t expect.

The people that your heart wants to believe are more innocent and pure than cynical, suspicious adults.

And that was the creative brilliance for me, to look where everyone else wasn’t looking.

While the superpowers were concentrating on competing with nuclear bombs, missiles, satellites,

tanks and aircraft carriers, what’s the one thing no-one’s worrying about?

A group of children giving a wood carving as a charming present.

That is really getting upstream of the problem.

Changing the game to something that isn’t even recognisable as part of the game.

Of course, in reality, the children didn’t even know what they were presenting.

Which, to the recipient, just makes it seem much more innocent.

As Marshal McLuhan said: “The medium is the message.”

Which is another way of saying that the execution is often more powerful than the content.

That’s how the mind works.

You’ll often hear: “The commercial with the puppy and the baby was lovely.”

But they can’t remember the name of who it was for.

This is great if you’re trying to slip a bug into a foreign embassy.

Not so good if you’re making an ad where you want people to notice who ran it.

After all, if they can’t remember who ran it, how can they buy it?

No matter how much they love the ad.

It’s worth remembering we’re not in the pure entertainment business.

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November 29, 2020

Oppo… ‘A campaign that tells a story instantly wins my heart.’ (RY)

Ritz… ‘Do More is a powerful call to action.’ (MB)

Rakbank… ‘The numbers and results of this case speak for themselves.’ (MB)

Rouge Artist… ‘I fell in love with this campaign.’ (RY)

Always… ‘I found this one a bit troublesome.’ (RY)

November 29, 2020

33

Private View REEM YOUSSEF

MASSIMILIANO BIBBÒ

Junior communications executive, Active DMC

Creative director, Filmmaster MEA

Title: Find More Agency: M&C Saatchi Production house: Electriclimefilms Director: Damiano Fieramosca

I love campaigns that inspire me and make me want to spend more hours brainstorming ideas for my clients. The below five campaigns certainly achieved that (and some sparked some jealousy as well).

OPPO: FIND MORE (1) M&C Saatchi with Electriclimefilms crafted this film series elegantly, initiating in the proper way the local chapter of the global campaign. The selection of the ‘Explorers’ is on point. I like the intense and contemporary cinematography, combined with stylish locations and intimate shots of the heroes. The product is present, but never in your face. These films elevate the brand look, while the concept continues to distinguish the innovative approach of Oppo. I’m curious to follow the campaign’s next steps; there’s a lot of creative potential.

Title: Do More with Ritz Agency: Youexperience CIO: Vijay Simon Agency producer: Magali Beylouni Director: Massimo Zambiasi Executive producer: Rula Bevilacqua Managing partner: Antonio Sabatella Production house: Tomorrow Film Post-production: Tomorrow Film

OPPO (1): I love Oppo; it’s the definition of a brand with great potential waiting for a ‘break-through’ moment. Also, a campaign that tells a story instantly wins my heart.

Although, I wish they focused more on the actual phone rather than just the camera.

RITZ (2): A very commendable video. What’s not to love? It instantly made me think: ‘Where can I buy some now?’ It’s short, creative, to the point, and that crunchy sound effect is mouthwatering. You can tell this was fun filming as well.

ROUGE ARTIST (3): I fell in love with this campaign. The diversity, the storytelling and the script were all on point. More importantly, it actually made me want to “find my Rouge Artist” and tell my story. I liked their choice of influencers, and how each one told a different story. I watched video after video looking for the story I can relate to most.

ALWAYS (4): I found this one a bit troublesome. I would have preferred if they only focused on how brave we are as women, rather than starting a comparison between the two genders.

Also, I personally think an older girl would have worked better. Did it feel empowering? Yes. Did I love it? Hmm… maybe not.

RAKFOODIE (5): Rocky movie, anyone? I loved the idea, and I commend them for the awesome job they did – from the research to the execution. When it comes to the theme, the boxing and food combination is certainly unusual, but hey, I guess it worked for them. I personally enjoyed watching the video and felt like I wanted to clap for the creators by the end of it.

RITZ: DO MORE WITH RITZ (2) Definitely, you can Do More with Ritz. And easily you can Do More with this concept. These nicely executed campaign films are short, fun and straight to the point with the “Plain. Topped. Dipped” message. But “Do More” is a powerful call to action and a pure principle that opens up many original executions within the brand reach: UGC contributions, food recipes, social media contests, even CSR activations, to name some examples.

MAKE UP FOR EVER: ROUGE ARTIST (3) Lightblue Media hit it right with the vibrant campaign ‘Rouge Artist’ for Make Up For Ever. The group is assembled correctly, resulting in a legit choir of voices that empowers the target. Each of them expresses their own personality and points out their shade/number. The edits are fresh, and the remix of “We Will Rock You” by Bishop Briggs in the background is the perfect choice of music.

ALWAYS: DREAM. DARE. DO ALWAYS (4) We all know P&G and Always became relevant brands for women and girls all around the world, introducing emotional and game-changing concepts through iconic campaigns. This piece is yet another powerful, edgy and consistent score for the Always brand in the femcare segment. The “period conversation” this time takes a bold approach, more confident and fearless, with cunning fun.

I found the casting of the young girl to be impeccable, as she firmly delivers the “Born Brave” manifesto in both languages. The editing style is colourful and energetic, but nothing extraordinary.

RAK BANK: RAKFOODIE (5) Rakfoodie is not just a creative ad campaign from Rakbank, but a fully-fledged tech operation to provide a new service for food seekers. The idea foundation is developed with the building of a tech platform of data analysis, target segmentation and geo-localised communications.

Everything ends with the right discount/promotion for the right customer at the right moment. The numbers and results of this case speak for themselves.

Oppo

Ritz

Make Up Forever

Title: Rouge Artist Production company: Lightblue Media Executive producer: James Hulbert Directors: Seth Wright, James Hulbert DOP: Toby Plummer Studio: Garage

Always

Title: Dream. Dare. Do Always Agency: Leo Burnett Beirut Regional creative director: Ralph Arida Associate creative director & Arabic copywriter: Lama Bawadi Sr. art director: Despina Memarogli Art director: Carl Kaed English copywriter: Mariam Shour

Rakbank

Title: Rakfoodie Technology partner: InMobi

34

November 29, 2020

The Spin We were impressed to see a recent announcement that the Breastfeeding Friends Association has been going for 20 years now. The Spin likes its friends, but normally we just buy them the occasional drink.

This UAE New Year’s Eve party is apparently inspired by the James Bond film Goldfinger. It’s been a while since we saw the film, but The Spin seems remember it involved a lot of golf – and Sean Connery’s outfits differed a little from these models’.

Who doesn’t love stationery, right? And who doesn’t love the smell of fresh wood shavings? But while “number two” might call to the American mind what many of us think of as an HB pencil, it’s got a slightly different connotation in other parts of the world. And might not the most alluring name for a perfume.

The Spin is deeply alarmed at the Guardian’s news about this new danger to rivers in the UK. We will now be looking for alternative ways to pamper our pet flea.

The Spin couldn’t help but admire the irony when we got one of those alltoo-familiar email recall messages. You know, the ones that are desperately trying to pull back a message sent too soon. What was the email about?

Facebook’s #ThinkBeforeYouShare initiative.

CAMPAIGN DIARY

Marketing Mania December 6-9 Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai

There is a new kid on the block that promises to rock your world. Marketing Mania, a creative and digital festival, is coming to Dubai this December. It promises more than 10,000 marketing, design, advertising, social and creative professionals under one roof , with competitions, activations, demo zones, performances, live art and training as well as high-profile speakers.

Marcomms360 – Predictions 2021 December 14-15; hosted online

Are you ready for the leading media, marketing and communications event in the region? Campaign brings together leaders, experts and top thinkers for a power-packed session on the future of the industry. Our agenda for this year’s Marcomms360 – Predictions 2021 is crafted to bring inspiration, vision and clarity to navigate the year ahead.

Marcomms360 is a two-day virtual event scheduled for December 14 and 15, 2020.

For more details: marketingmaniashow.com For more detail: campaignme.com/marcomms360

THE MIDDLE EAST’S LEADING ARABIC TECHNOLOGY & BUSINESS MEDIA PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY | ENTERPRISE | BUSINESS

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IN ASSOCIATION WITH

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November 29, 2020

INTRODUCTION

CONTENTS

T

5 UNCOVERING NECESSARY TRUTHS

he 2020 Digital Essays are dominated by the same theme that has dominated the whole year for everyone everywhere, in every line of business: Covid-19.

We’ve all seen the memes. Coronavirus has accelerated digital transformation more than the most highly paid consultants, the most dedicated digital officers and the most committed C-suites could ever have done. As the pandemic took the world’s population away from their social lives and moved them into cyberspace, business followed. E-commerce boomed, and marketing followed.

Much traditional media, including print, out-of-home, radio and cinema lost its reach – in some cases entirely – and lost its allocation of advertising budgets accordingly. And clients were spending a lot more time than ever before examining the effectiveness and efficiency of their digital spend.

What better time for digital, media and even creative agencies to demonstrate their online offerings? These shops not only got out their tech big guns but also reviewed their own performances closely to see where they could build and improve on what they already had.

Here you can read about a lot of those learnings. There is the latest thinking on data and personalisation, which is developing into ‘empathy’ not only from a creative point of view, but also in terms of using smart digital media technologies to address the right people the right way at the right time.

The pandemic may have helped drive the humanisation of digital marketing, but this trend will also help address the imminent loss of third-party cookies. If brands want people to share their first-party data, they need to speak to them like people rather than seeing them as raw numbers.

So read on to find how the industry is tackling some long-running issues, and how Covid-19 has accelerated the transformation of digital marketing at a pace no one could have foreseen a year ago.

3

Alejandro Fischer, head of strategy, OMG MENA

7

TRUE EFFECTIVENESS DURING A PANDEMIC

Roxane Magbanua, business unit director, PHD

8 THE INVISIBLE DISRUPTOR

Stacy Fisher, head of digital transformation & innovation, Publicis Media

9 AIM TO PLEASE

Kishore Pandurangan, measurement lead, Choueiri Group

11 IN IT TOGETHER

James Dutton, regional digital director, UM Worldwide

12 THE BATTLE FOR THE FUTURE OF ONLINE IDENTITY Nader Bitar, deputy GM, MMPWW

13 IT’S BUSINESS AS ‘UNUSUAL’ AS REALITY SETS IN Ayman Haydar, CEO of MMPWW

15 RIP IDFA

Saif Jarad, managing director, Chain Reaction

19 FROM T TO Z

Natale Panella, head of digital, Fusion 5

21 THE THREEFOLD ANSWER TO THE DIGITAL MARKETING FUTURE Karim Masri, digital lead, Saudi Arabia, Magna

25 IS IT PERSONALISATION OR INDIVIDUALISATION? Stuart Mackay, general manager, Reprise

27 THE CHANGING DIGITAL LANDSCAPE

Criteo and Amash Malik, senior director of performance marketing, Bayut and Dubizzle

29 OPTIMISE THE DIGITAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE TO BETTER COMMUNICATE TO DIGITALLY SAVVY AUDIENCES Shadi Abdulhadi, founder and CEO, Boopin

AUSTYN ALLISON

EDITOR, CAMPAIGN MIDDLE EAST

Cover design by Thokchom Remy

30 FIVE DIGITAL TRENDS TO FORESEE

Yves-Michel Gabay, managing director, Gamned MEA

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DIGITAL ESSAYS 2020

November 29, 2020

UNCOVERING NECESSARY TRUTHS

OMD MENA’s head of strategy, Alejandro Fischer, discusses how technology and empathy should work in parallel to uncover the true desires of your consumer

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he minute we become marketers or take a marketing-adjacent role, we stop being a consumer. It is a hard pill to swallow; we are sure we still think as a consumer, but we do not.

According to the 2019 ‘Empathy Delusion’ report by Reach Solutions, “There is a persistent belief in the industry that we have stronger empathy or that we are trained to overcome our biases. But it turns out we are more likely to be driven by these biases than the modern mainstream.”

Our intentions are good, but the truth is that we operate in our own echo chamber because we surround ourselves (professionally and personally) with people who share similar views and access the same information as us, and when we need to speak to consumers that don’t behave or think like us, we struggle.

If we look at GlobalWebIndex (GWI) and compare people in an advertising/ marketing function with the average population of the UAE, we can see huge differences in the way people in our industry consume media, purchase goods and engage with technology, compared with the mainstream. In other words, we act and think very differently from the man on the street. We as marketers are excited by all the technological tools we have at our disposal to reach and interact with our consumers, but we don’t always stop and think whether that’s what we should be doing. We believe in a world where consumers are dying to engage with the virtual reality (VR) experience of a laundry detergent, a world where consumers go around the city scanning QR codes and would much rather spend their time watching branded content than their favourite shows. Some do, most do not. This empathy gap doesn’t only manifest itself in the way we activate, but also in the way we approach marketingdriven solutions based on our interpretation of what people value and stand for.

While it is in many ways harder to make better planning decisions on behalf of our clients, we’ve never been so equipped to challenge our assumptions and overcome

our biases. Never have we had so much access to what consumers are thinking and doing, and how they truly interact with brands. But with great data comes great responsibility. This is where empathy comes in.

Empathy is a compass that helps us navigate the complex decisions between what we could do and what we should do.

We tackle every brief by looking to understand the people we want to reach, by putting ourselves in their shoes and seeing the world through their eyes.

Empathy alone will never be enough, and we are privileged at OMD to have access to more than 15,000 signals using our precision market and insights platform, OMNI. With an almost infinite choice of information, the role of empathy is to prioritise what we look at, based on the specific problem we are trying to solve.

Mapping this is only the first stage. If you were a fly on my office wall you would find scribbles of matrices across endless white boards. The second is to add the hypotheses that challenge any pre-existing audience assumptions. It takes a lot of conscious effort and front-of-mind acknowledgement to avoid biases. When working on an audience exercise, I like to use Post-It notes to break down what we think we know and what we actually know about the person we are trying to reach.

Empathy is not a philosophy; it is the way in which we interpret the data and uncover the multiple truths hidden within it. But it is only once we combine empathy and signals that the magic truly happens (for us this is the marriage of our empathy-driven process and OMNI).

Because, once we isolate audience opportunities and problems to solve, we can stress-test our hypothesis by modelling the consumer experience, make our findings actionable by turning insights into highly targeted and addressable audiences, and apply statistical rigour to our understanding of how consumer behaviours drive brand and business results. This audience-centric approach does not only apply to understanding and addressing consumer needs; it is at the core of how we define success.

EMPATHY IN ACTION We use empathy to separate what we measure from what matters and measure long-term vs. short-term success based on real human impact vs. vanity metrics. We do this to ensure we can optimse based on how consumers truly reacted and interacted with our messages vs. how we wished we performed. We pay a lot more attention to brand health impact, the quality of our interactions and what our consumers do post-click.

When we take time to truly understand our audiences, we can create more value, and when we combine this with evidence and data-based solutions, we drive performance and growth. Compelling value creation can only happen when we merge data-based solutions with evidence to uncover deeper insights into our audiences, which in turn drives performance and growth.

By ALEJANDRO FISCHER, head of strategy, OMD MENA

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DIGITAL ESSAYS 2020

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rom an advertising perspective, the Covid-19 pandemic has been a real-world presentation of the effectiveness vs. efficiency discourse that has dominated industry circles in recent years. As identified by Les Binet and Sarah Carter, effectiveness is “the extent to which you’ve reached your goals,” whilst efficiency is “a measure of effort needed to reach them”.

Overwhelmingly, the theory has fallen in favour of efficiency that works in service of effectiveness. As the reality of the pandemic hit, we saw very quick decisions made towards improving efficiencies, namely through budget cuts to advertising spends. It’s an understandable move in a time of crisis, but it’s also arguable that we haven’t applied that same clinical thought to protecting the infrastructure that helps us develop great work. As our industry continues to navigate uncharted territories on shrinking budgets, what techniques can we employ to help us best invent a future where highly effective work can flourish?

2020 has been a mirror to our industry, a stress-test for agile working, digital transformation and tech capabilities. This has been the year that saw the accelerated transition of these ideas from buzzwords into tangible, working principles.

Previously, it was key to talk of these ideas to stay relevant. Now it’s key to adopt them to stay in business. But we’ve only really just got going. With a fail rate of 70 per cent for digital transformation initiatives (according to McKinsey & Company), it’s clear that beyond the current acceleration we still have a long way to go.

The effectiveness vs. efficiency debate was a hot topic prior to the pandemic; it is more pertinent now than it has ever been.

With falling budgets, uncertain prospects and our own adaptation to new ways of working, there are challenges everywhere for agencies and advertisers alike. Here, we identify a three-part strategy to not only protect our need to deliver effective work now, but to help it flourish in the coming years.

1. EFFECTIVE TOOLS Investing in the right tech platform is crucial to pivot this conversation.

Technology should be built in such a way that it offers both the capacity and flexibility to provide best-in-class tools and applications in a single environment, thus allowing multiple scenarios to be created in delivering the objectives. There are six pressing questions that must be answered to deliver true value: What is my ad-generated revenue?

What are my media-driven sales?

How profitable is my media investment?

What is the optimal budget for my brand?

How much incremental spend can I add to grow my brand further?

How should the budget be allocated across the channels?

November 29, 2020

These are burning questions we obsess over. In Q1, before the pandemic peaked in the region, we took to OMNI, our proprietary data-driven planning tool, to optimise budget splits across our brand portfolios to ensure short- and long-term growth. We are fortunate that we can benefit from pre-built modelling curves to help us determine the relationship between organic base sales and mediadriven sales to assist the resetting of business operations and overall marketing mix. Unlike other market mix modelling solutions that take months to build, OMNI Investment Planner has the ability to deliver proper response curves bespoke to the brand in just three weeks; a win for clients when decision making at speed is imperative.

2. EFFECTIVE TALENT Staying agile is critical when times are tough. It is essential to mix different expertise with an eclectic group of not only data scientists, measurement specialists and technologists. Also, be inclusive of creative thinkers, strategists and analysts to grow your business in the era of effectiveness. More than ever, in a world where connectivity is often happening behind screens and away from the office, it is necessary to gather a diversified team who together can break norms and collaborate to unlock further business potential.

3. EFFECTIVE TECH The arguments to not invest in intelligent automation are diminishing by the day.

Creating an automated dashboard that integrates media metrics and, with sales figures in a single view, boosts productivity as it saves time and effort in reviewing multiple set of reports and swiftly unlocks the areas to be improved and optimised. Automating the process to break silos and getting visibility on all business aspects is highly critical to optimising business results. Evolving the measurement framework to be based on clear attribution models provides a clear view of the path to purchase across multiple channels by assigning fair credit to each interaction. Ultimately, having clear benchmarks and actionable metrics will unlock a higher level of effectiveness in performance marketing.

In the industry predictions written at the back end of 2019 for this year, a number of high-profile publishers riffed on the idea of ‘2020 Vision.’ One year on and a multitude of unpredictable events later, it’s now apparent that the only 2020 vision is in the hindsight we have on the many lessons learned. With the welcome news from Pfizer that a highly effective vaccine may well be imminent, it’s imperative that we heed these lessons.

Our societies may soon return to a sense of normality, but our obligation to deliver effective work will only continue to grow.

By ROXANE MAGBANUA, business unit director at PHD

07

DELIVERING TRUE EFFECTIVENESS DURING A PANDEMIC Roxane Magbanua, business unit director at PHD, reveals guiding principles on how to effectively navigate in a challenging climate through tools, talent and tech

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DIGITAL ESSAYS 2020

November 29, 2020

THE INVISIBLE DISRUPTOR

Publicis Media’s Stacy Fisher looks at how marketers must transform digitally as they emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic

B

y now, everyone is well aware of the unprecedented times we are living in. How overused the word ‘unprecedented’ has become. But I digress. There is no need to recap or labour over the implications Covid-19 has already had on the world and those that are yet to be seen.

Rather, I’d like to focus on how you can acclimatise through the power of digital transformation. But first, let’s look back at how the year started.

2020 started off on an awkward foot. We faced countless unexpected events – there were wildfires in Australia, a Ukrainian plane crashed in Iran, and Kobe Bryant died, just to name a few. Then, the world as we knew it transformed with the flip of a switch, with the declaration of a global pandemic, a first for nearly all humans to experience in their lifetime. The invisible being, Covid-19, spread among us faster than anyone could have planned for and forced most to accommodate work-fromhome immediately, which was once a taboo way of working that required the manager’s approval.

At the start of the year, in our marketing world, advertisers were moving along their digital transformation journeys by placing greater importance on the usage of their own data, shifting budgets to digital channels and growing their e-commerce capabilities. These topics have been discussed for years, and while some clients were early adopters, many lagged behind. In MENA, common barriers for digital transformation included data privacy concerns, sub-par e-commerce logistics, lack of proper data collection, faulty attribution and, above all, the fear of change and uncertainty.

Now we are witness to the biggest disruptor to humanity in modern times, and with this change we need to stop talking about it and start acting on it.

Businesses need to embrace digital transformation immediately but also understand how the world’s transformation isn’t over. The world will continue to evolve, and do so at a fast and unpredictable rate. This begs the questions: How can a company be prepared for this if they haven’t already caught up to where we stand today? And, how can one adapt quickly so as not to be left behind? These are tough questions to answer, and if companies aren’t discussing them as part of crisis management planning, it shows there’s

quite a bit of reality checking that needs to be done. In an effort to bring some focus, I will shed some light on the key principles and areas to address in the realm of digital marketing transformation (DMT).

I view DMT as revamping your digital marketing techniques to leverage the appropriate technologies, data, people and infrastructures to effectively communicate to your prospective and current customers in a seamless and user-friendly way to deliver on your business results. Likewise, it is creating and maintaining a digital presence that is easily accessible and flexible to adapt with consumer usage patterns while providing the most current information. The main elements fuelling our DMT methodology hinge on distinctive pillars rooted in an unbiased approach: Uncovering and being honest with exactly where the business is today. This is all about creating an environment of truth so business stakeholders can acknowledge where they stand and reach a unified consensus among themselves.

Fearlessly leading clients and businesses to be comfortable with change and the evolution of their current marketing practice. Critically ensuring C-suite buy-in and alignment to transform.

Empowering key stakeholders to make bold decisions by educating them on solutions and technologies needed to succeed.

Pacing the transformation so as to not take on more than a business can possibly handle.

To embark on this journey, adopt the philosophy that collaboration is key. It is time to set our egos aside.

In our process, we first audit our client’s business by asking questions across a range of categories so we can generate a score to classify their digital maturity. Some of the categories we assess include paid and organic media tactics, audience targeting, data and analytics strategies, organisational setup and decision-making processes,. Conducting such a discovery session can be uncomfortable for clients as they realise they might not be as progressive as they thought. It’s important not to play the blame game at this time, and it’s equally as important to hear everyone’s answers so as not to overlook potentially important details.

Once we have the score across all categories we’ve assessed, our consultants curate a tailored plan showcasing the best recommendation to progress to the next level. We’ve developed our own blueprint to ensure each area is tackled from all possible angles within what we offer (data science, commerce, performance solutions, search engine optimisation, user experience design, user interface design, technology & operations, talent and more).

Generating this custom roadmap for our clients requires our own utmost collaboration and capability linking across our teams. Once clients agree to the plan, we tackle the groundwork to implement our solutions, train teams to effectively adopt the new technology or concept, troubleshoot any issues and, finally, repeat the process to ensure you are advancing your score. Proper implementation and solution adoption are necessary to advance. Far too often I’ve seen clients pay to know the answer, but not care to see it carried forward.

Measuring the value and success of the DMT solutions that are implemented can be difficult if criteria to define success isn’t agreed upon before making the change. Client stakeholders should align on what success looks like for their business.

Please keep in mind quantifying hard metrics might not be possible if you are first-to-market. The most important agreement you should make when it comes to measurement is the acceptance of failure and the learnings that come with it. And, of course, to celebrate and acknowledge positive outcomes that deliver impact to your business.

Progressing your business is possible when you keep an open mind. Never stop learning, and be humble enough to accept learnings from those around you. Just remember, today the biggest competitive threat to your business is not using your time effectively to transform. Your competitors likely have already forged ahead. If they haven’t, they are preparing to do so. Don’t let time get the best of you. Nobody needs another global pandemic to finally make the changes they need to.

By STACY FISHER; head of digital transformation & innovation, Publicis Media

DIGITAL ESSAYS 2020

November 29, 2020

09

AIM TO PLEASE Choueiri Group’s Kishore Pandurangan examines how to achieve on-target delivery in a hyper-complex digital world

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hile digital ad spending occupies a lion’s share of global ad spend, according to Emarketer, the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the global advertising industry hard, with companies worldwide slashing marketing budgets amid deteriorating economic conditions. Ahead of the recovery expected in 2021, marketers are asking themselves how to do more with less money, resources, and time.

According to Nielsen, nearly 40 per cent of online ad impressions miss their target demography.

As impressions make way for a rise in audiencebased buys, agencies and brands are discussing the need for more effective and robust tools to verify their audiences.

With the risks of off-target delivery consuming ad spend, reducing return on ad spend (ROAS), skewing performance data and damaging brands, agencies have to safeguard their campaigns to make sure they get exactly what they pay for.

SOLUTIONS IN THE MARKET In a world of limited third-party verifiers, Nielsen’s Digital Ad Ratings (DAR) leads the pack. Powered by large consumer data sets and high-quality panels, DAR is often referred to as an industry standard for digital audience measurement.

It helps measure, optimise and improve the reach of digital ad campaigns by providing advertisers with a comprehensive, next-day view of an ad’s audience across digital platforms without any personally identifiable information (PII).

THAT SAID… DAR still presents a number of challenges for advertisers, agencies and publishers, especially within the region.

1. UAE ONLY: While DAR does have a global presence, within the MENA region it is only available in the UAE. 2. LOW TRANSFERENCE: Given the stark differences in demographic makeup between the UAE and other MENA markets, local findings cannot be extrapolated.

3. NO REGIONAL BENCHMARKS: Due to the lack of regional benchmarks, the closest available benchmarks are in Europe (e.g. Turkey).

NOTHING IS CERTAIN Despite the lack of regional benchmarks, a review of global benchmarks has shown that on-target percentages typically fall in the 50 per cent to 70 per cent range on gender alone, dropping down to 40 per cent to 60 per cent once the age criterion is added.

This reflects the unfortunate reality of today’s market, where the odds of an ad impression hitting a target are little better than a coin toss.

With limited access to user demographics and a lack of user login data, digital publishers are facing a growing dilemma as they struggle to build accurate user demographics at scale. Moreover, as the third-party cookie crumbles, marketers, agencies and media owners alike are scrambling to find

alternative ways to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns without losing data.

This brings us to the watering hole where publishers must ask themselves how they can collect, harness and scale up user demographics.

THE WAY FORWARD So, how can we build data in an almost cookie-less world? Publishers must prioritise first-party data and build independently maintained ID graphs and in-house data repositories. Demographic, behavioural, location-based, interest- and responserate data can then be collected and combined to form audiences and segments.

Here are some ways publishers are enriching user data: COLLECTION: Encouraging site login through improved authenticated experiences or other consumer-oriented incentives, which helps increase deterministic data and decrease reliance on cookies.

MEASUREMENT & CORRECTION: Verifying the accuracy and authenticity of seed segments to create an effective AI-based lookalike model, as well as using Nielsen DAR or in-house solutions to verify the accuracy of modelled data.

SCALE-UP: Increasing the scale of demographic data by using lookalike modelling to build larger audiences from smaller seed segments. This can be done for any attribute, ranging from age to gender to clickers in a particular campaign.

PREMIUM PUBLISHERS HAVE AN EDGE As third-party cookies meet their demise, premium publishers that have already gathered substantial data on the interests of their users are making the most of this information by building fences around what has become their unique value proposition (UVP).

In addition to generating rich, authenticated and proprietary data, premium publishers have the capabilities of offering powerful contextual targeting, deeply rooted in user interaction with their diverse content environments. While this gives premium publishers an edge, what they own in data quality, they often lack in scale. Therefore, embracing new technologies to scale-up user data is crucial in order to build good quality lookalike models led by good quality seed segments.

MEASURE… MEASURE… MEASURE… With the lack of third-party on-target verification tools and Nielsen’s DAR limitations, the search for alternatives is on.

For media owners, one way to compensate for the lack of demographic verification solutions is to invest in ‘zero-party data’ (data that customers intentionally and proactively share). As opposed to first-party data and implied identity, zero-party data provides organisations with explicit consumer identity and can be used to verify audience seed segments as well as lookalike modelling results.

Zero-party data also aligns with customers’ desires for personalisation, enabling them to make demands from brands in exchange for their personal information.

ULTIMATELY… While new and effective technologies are bound to emerge, deploying existing technologies like those described above can give publishers, agencies and advertisers increased clarity on audience targeting as well as a chance to increase their ROAS.

By KISHORE PANDURANGAN Measurement Lead, Choueiri Group

DIGITAL ESSAYS 2020

November 29, 2020

11

IN IT TOGETHER

UM Worldwide’s James Dutton says marketers can learn from the software industry about the power of partnerships

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020 is annus horribilis. Worldwide, economies have come to a pandemic-driven screeching halt, with some sectors so badly hit their entire future is in peril. Pandemic data suggests it’s here for the long-term, so we need to think creatively about how we grow in these conditions by looking for alternative pathways for success through partnership evolution.

To evolve, marketing needs to take agile insights from the software industry. There is increased technology usage in marketing, yet minimal technology thinking. Look how Microsoft has become the mammoth it is today: 95 per cent of its revenue comes from partnerships, and Forrester research shows 76 per cent of companies agree partnerships are imperative for revenue goals.

The idea of partnerships is paramount, given the uncertainty where consumer expectations and perceptions of brands have been altered. Let’s explore how partnerships have enormous potential for growth across both brand and commercial metrics for sustained success.

BRAND An unexpected partnership earlier this year was formed between Xbox and Rough Guides. It was brokered by McCann London and promoted virtual sightseeing and unlocking a new perception of the console experience, through a travel book featuring worlds from games such as Halo 5 and Forza Horizon 4.

In transformative 2020, e-commerce grew with a reported five years’ change in as many months. This trend will continue, so the real challenge is to work together to share knowledge, assets and platforms.

This summer we orchestrated Talabat and Shake Shack to partner in a market-first Facebook launch of collaborative ads for food delivery. Brands working together have the opportunity to build better customer relationships and move faster to build services and products. The time is ripe for brands to combine, with infinite possibilities.

MEDIA Ten years ago, when Cisco and Ubisoft were brought together inside Splinter Cell on the Xbox, I saw a huge future. Today, the explosive growth in mobile casual gaming driven by lockdowns will open up amazing opportunities for brands to partner with game developers.

The music industry has had a tumultuous few decades, with music consumption transforming through the MP3 player to the global streaming phenomenon. Tiktok now paves the way for new artists to be discovered through engagement with TikTokers in what Rolling Stone magazine calls the industry’s new fame machine, with creative partnership opportunities for brands to work with creators to connect with consumers.

Earlier this year Mediabrands and Google created a consumer packaged goods marketing maturity white paper tapping into joint-research experience and client experience. The role of brands, agencies

and publishers has evolved, with each enhancing the other. With the right alliances, we can build more targeted research and consumer insights.

TECHNOLOGY More than 7,000 martech companies are vying for your budget, so it’s easy to become overwhelmed, especially when this is added to the regular office software we use daily.

Technology partnerships can realise significant gains in operational efficiency. Working with UK based software start-up Goa, we have started working to improve the efficiency of search optimisation to make teams more efficient. We’ve also started looking at how we can work with software companies to extend the reach of media, such as exploring Google Assistant integrations for our app-focused clients.

Your technology partnership should cover implementation, end-user training and joint projects to craft custom solutions. With remote working, we’ve seen frictionless workflows develop, like shifting from Outlook to Teams or the move from network shares to collaboration software such as Trello, which can simplify campaign workflows while managing individual contributor tasks.

“IN 2020, E-COMMERCE GREW WITH A REPORTED FIVE YEARS’ CHANGE IN AS MANY MONTHS. THIS TREND WILL CONTINUE, SO THE REAL CHALLENGE IS TO WORK TOGETHER.”

DATA Some are predicting a 2021 data apocalypse, with cookies and device IDs disappearing and devastating performance media. So, we’re now at a tipping point where solutions we’ve relied on for years are losing steam. Solving this will need thorough evaluation protocols and new data partnerships, so working closely with partners including The Trade Desk and Lotame, we’re evaluating identity solutions and testing ways to integrate new audience solutions. We expect a growing demand for first-party-data capture projects and for solutions such as customer data platforms to onboard and extract data value.

Brands are seeking to develop data brokerages, partnering with publishers directly to create marketplaces or co-operatives, so there’s scope to partner and solve industry-wide challenges.

In positive signs, we’re seeing recovery with out-of-home (OOH) investments scaling up. As our targeting needs change, it’s important to work with data experts such as IQ Data who provide a deep understanding of location data to help capture audiences effectively. This is only going to grow as digital OOH solutions are scaling up across the region.

IN SUMMARY Now is the time to explore and deepen relationships, and to open-source thinking when it comes to driving growth. With the possibilities at hand, kickstart your creative processes and start discussions to build a better growth ecosystem in partnership.

After all, we’re better when we work together.

By JAMES DUTTON, regional digital director, UM Worldwide

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DIGITAL ESSAYS 2020

November 29, 2020

C

ast your mind back to the start of the year. Trump was yet to be impeached, the coronavirus had yet to fully enter into the public consciousness and Google had just revealed its plans to shake up the advertising world by removing support for third-party cookies. Cue: shock, horror and panic. It all seems so long ago, given everything that has happened since. And yet, as we close off another year, the answer to what digital marketing will look like in a post-cookie era remains unclear.

It’s like waiting for the other shoe to drop. We know it’s coming, but don’t know when. That’s not to say that developments aren’t happening, both in the background and publicly. If we thought 2020 would give us a reprieve after Google announced a two-year transition period, Apple gave no such forewarning, revealing major IDFA changes in the summer, essentially sending the industry into chaos.

By making the IDFA opt-in, the power will shift to the user, sure, but make no mistake – these changes are designed to safeguard Apple’s very own walled garden and power within the ecosystem too. Still, after a huge backlash, Apple bowed to pressure (perhaps for the first time) to delay the implementation of these new privacy measures until early 2021, to give mobile advertisers and publishers time to prepare. It’s not exactly a win, but a “stay of execution” for now.

The themes of compliance and identity have been big talking points this year and while browser crackdowns have been inevitable for some time, the balance of power is off between the likes of Safari, Google and Firefox and the rest of the ecosystem. When it comes to programmatic advertising 3.0, we can’t wait for changes to come; we need to already be building alternative solutions and strategies.

THE BATTLE FOR THE FUTURE OF ONLINE IDENTITY Privacy, measurement and audience targeting will come into sharper focus in the post-cookie era, says Nader Bitar, deputy GM, MMPWW.

Now is the perfect time to seize this opportunity and develop other ways to target users. Companies can build their first-party data pool using contextual advertising, creating content catered to their users/brands, develop universal IDs for user identification on mobile and begin to prepare a whitelist of premium publishers. The onus, however, will be on businesses to find workarounds, not loopholes, to ensure audience targeting remains beneficial and compliant for all.

Also, let’s be clear here, targeted audiences bring data into the ad-buying equation, which makes precision marketing handier, and as a result enables advertisers to connect with their audience at the right time, place, and environment. The contextual strategy gives personalised content to users and, with a blend of mar-tech and ad-tech methods, advertisers can start connecting and understanding their users beyond online.

This is more important than ever, given that the consumer journey is no longer linear; they are not so easy to predict in their behaviour or intent to purchase any more.

This is the ad-tech shakeup we’ve been predicting for years. We’ve moved beyond the rumbles of fraud, viewability and brand safety issues that have plagued us in the past, and are now looking to reform the whole digital advertising landscape. A fire has been lit under all the key players in the ecosystem, each battling for dominance and position in this new cookie-less world.

In January, Google unveiled its privacy sandbox, a proposed set of web standards designed to help protect user privacy, while still allowing for advertiser targeting and measurement capabilities. The initial reaction was disappointing, mainly because it was largely speculative in content. However, experiments since have been more hopeful, particularly with regards to the ‘federated learning of cohorts’ (FLoC) and TURTLEDOVES proposals outlined in June. (That’s a whole other article; it could well be the gamechanger Google is hoping for.)

More concrete at this stage is Lotame’s Panorama ID, “the first global, peoplebased identity solution for a cookieless open web”. Promising marketers and publishers increased ad targeting accuracy and scale, effective measurement and a way to safeguard user privacy, it’s certainly a big step in the right direction. Trade Desk and LiveRamp’s newly announced collaboration also holds promise. Together they are aiming to consolidate identity and empower addressable advertising and measurement without relying on device identifiers or third-party cookies.

This is only the beginning. More solutions will come in time, however, we must be cautious that these new proposals don’t end up creating further privacy concerns. New forms of data leakage could be one possible outcome if we’re too quick to race towards the seemingly perfect solution. What is clear is that privacy is no longer an afterthought, but a central piece to the puzzle in reshaping the future of online identity. Let the battle begin…

By NADER BITAR, deputy GM, MMPWW

DIGITAL ESSAYS 2020

November 29, 2020

U IT’S BUSINESS AS ‘UNUSUAL’ AS REALITY SETS IN As everything continues to converge – regulation, oligopoly dominance and an unyielding pandemic, Ayman Haydar, CEO of MMPWW encourages a pioneer mindset to turn challenges into opportunities

sually, about now I’m getting ready to make my predictions for the coming year. I’ll look back, consider what’s happened over the last 12 months and then, like the all-knowing being that I am (I’m joking), I’ll deliver my verdict. Trying to sum up 2020 without reverting to the usual clichés, however, is a tough ask. My reactions have ranged from annoyance to some form of acceptance with, yes, admittedly, some mild expletives thrown in between.

I’ve never liked the idea of forecasting the future and I like it even less now. With so many variables in play and no clear end in sight to the disruption, now is when businesses find out the true meaning of agility.

Paying lip service to change won’t get you anywhere in the pandemic age; you have to mean it, and crucially, be ready to act on it.

In our industry there have always been highs and lows – such is the divisive nature of digital advertising today. Back in April, this medium was the easiest to pause as brands scrambled to realign budgets and change tack with their messaging. The irony is not lost on me that after spending millions of dollars personalising on such a granular level, these companies then needed to shift to just one mass message, and more often than not that was: ‘We’re here for you.’ Seven months on, this no longer rings true. It’s ‘business as unusual’ for both brands and consumers, each trying to recapture a sense of normality.

As the festive season looms, the stark reality is that we’re in this for the long haul. Come midnight on December 31, we’ll still be expected to wear masks, practice social distancing and find new and increasingly more inventive ways to connect with people. Bah humbug. I’m a realist, so yes, that’s what we’re facing but that doesn’t mean we need to roll over and play dead.

No, now is the time to turn these challenges into opportunities. I don’t say this lightly, I know it will be hard, but that’s what being a pioneer is all about. Risk, reward and fearlessness.

Look at new(ish) and emerging mediums, such as DOOH, CTV and audio – all finding new relevance in an evolving digital landscape. Personalised experiences remain the unique selling proposition as the market becomes more competitive and user choice expands. Influencer marketing continues to be a fledgeling vertical (particularly in this region) as online interactions become more commonplace in lieu of in-person events.

Ultimately, whatever we have known and clung to in the past is no longer a guarantee of success. In truth, nothing worth having comes easy anyway; it’s just taken a global pandemic to remind us of that fact. Coupled with all the changes happening in ad tech right now, from Apple’s impending IDFA changes to Google’s rollout of its privacy sandbox, uncertainty is high. Much of what’s planned is theoretical at this stage, but the fact that both these platforms continue to ‘hold court’ on dictating how the digital landscape will change does not sit well with other stakeholders, and rightly so.

I will say this, though: accountability is coming. The hammer has fallen on big tech in recent times, leaving nowhere to hide. Don’t get me wrong, we’re still a long way from seeing Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple (GAFA) regulated on a wider scale. You only need to look at the advertising boycott

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Facebook recently endured as proof that we’re not ready to sever ties just yet. Q3 earnings for the big four were impressive.

Facebook’s revenue shot up 22 per cent, adding 1 million active advertisers during this period. Google raked in $37.1bn in advertising revenue, Amazon’s advertising arm was up 51 per cent to $5.4 bn in revenue and Apple reported its highest ever thirdquarter performance, up 11 per cent year-on-year.

Particularly in Facebook’s case, Zuckerberg has little to fear right now. The influence his platforms continue to wield won’t easily be pried away; he is the CEO of a new type of mainstream media – a place where information is shared, exchanged and, until very recently, not fact-checked or challenged.

If 2016’s election was a wake-up call, then 2020 was where we fully realised the enormity of this platform’s scale and reach.

It’s little wonder we find ourselves at a crossroads for what to do next. There’s no playbook to follow and, with so many things converging at once, it’s do or die for most businesses right now. My take is what it always is: Believe in the people around you, don’t be complacent and lead by example. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable, essentially.

So, glass half full, empty or somewhere in between, speak your mind, keep supporting one another and let’s challenge the status quo to create a digital advertising landscape that benefits the many and not just a few.

That’s the kind of optimism that I like – one that’s rooted in reality.

By AYMAN HAYDAR, CEO of MMPWW

DIGITAL ESSAYS 2020

November 29, 2020

15

RIP IDFA What the death of Identifiers for Advertisers means for the advertising and publishing industries

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pple CEO Tim Cook has thrown a spanner in the works of advertisers and publishers who track their customers’ online behaviour with IDFAs (or Identifiers for Advertisers).

During the “WWDC 2020” last June, Apple announced that iOS 14 would ask app users to opt-in if they want to be identified to advertisers, rather than being opted in automatically.

Unsurprisingly, the news has been greeted unfavourably by the advertising and publishing industry.

With the upcoming changes to iOS 14, apps that want to use an IDFA will trigger a consent message saying: “[App] would like permission to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies.

Your data will be used to deliver personalised ads to you.”

So, how big will the impact of the change be for advertisers and publishers, and what can they do to prepare?

What exactly is an IDFA? I like to call it “the Apple version of a cookie”. An IDFA is an ad identifier embedded into every iOS device. With an IDFA, publishers and advertisers are able to track which mobile apps an iOS user installs and uses and the exact source the installation came from. IDFA associated data not only helps to properly attribute conversions but also collects data that will be used to boost and optimise future campaigns.

In short, it’s the foundation of the advertising industry for iOS apps.

Why is Apple doing this?

Remember the Cambridge Analytica scandal? Well, that scandal and other big data-breach incidents have caused Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, to criticise Facebook and other competitors that base their business model on harvesting personal information for advertising, in the strongest possible terms. In fact, he went so far as to equate their data privacy policies to “surveillance”.

Apple’s crackdown on user tracking has been some time in the making. A few years ago, the company made it possible for users to opt-out of IDFAs by introducing limited ad tracked (LAT).

Similarly, Apple has been at the forefront of restricting the use of cookies in its Safari browser, with the launch of intelligent tracking prevention (ITP) 1.0, in 2017 and, of late, ITP 2.3, which prevents most traditional methods of tracking users.

By SAIF JARAD, managing director, Chain Reaction

So, what’s the impact on the industry?

I expect this opt-in requirement to be ubiquitous within the Apple ecosystem shortly after the opt-ins become mandatory, which is expected to be early next year. The initial impact on brands and agencies would be: Device-level frequency capping wouldn’t be possible.

Traditional retargeting is going to cease to exist, since most retargeting is happening on the proliferation of IDFA. Mobile attribution is going to be very difficult unless mobile measurement partners (MMPs) come up with innovative solutions to such a challenge.

Agencies and brands may need to rely more on first-party data they collect from their own apps or their clients’ apps.

Although Android mobile devices account for more than 70 per cent of the GCC market, here at Chain Reaction we manage more advertising spend targeting iOS devices than we do for Android devices.

This, of course, varies by client and by market. For instance, our overall clients’ mobile spend is about 55 per cent on iOS devices versus 45 per cent on Android devices.

This is mainly due to iOS users being more valuable to brands as they are more affluent compared with Android users. Therefore, it’s impossible to advertise without targeting iOS users.At the same time, initial expectations of opt-in rates are low and don’t exceed 20 per cent and with the latest iOS releases being adopted very quickly worldwide.

Any good news?

Well, meet the SKAdNetwork. For the past few years, Apple has been developing a “privacy-friendly” mobile attribution system for advertisers

called SKAdNetwork, which is actually a way to track installs, conversions and attribution without device ID or personal information.

The SKAdNetwork is not going to provide advertisers with the amount of valuable and granular data they are used to getting from using IDFAs, but it’s still a good method for brands and agencies to understand the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns, even though it’s a high-level data insight.

More good news is that new challenges always create opportunities, and this is often the case in our industry. Some of the most famous ad tech and MMP companies have thrived when they have provided solutions to challenges the online advertising industry began to face.

With new changes, there’ll be winners and losers, as always. As marketers, it’s our job to adapt to the new challenges, technologies, regulations, and consumer trends. I also believe we have been, as an industry, very adaptive to new changes.

And if the Covid-19 pandemic shake-up has taught us one lesson, it would be how we as humans can adapt our lives and the ways we do business to overcome obstacles and keep moving forward, putting one digital foot in front of the other.

“SOME OF THE MOST FAMOUS AD TECH AND MMP COMPANIES HAVE THRIVED WHEN THEY HAVE PROVIDED SOLUTIONS TO CHALLENGES THE ONLINE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY BEGAN TO FACE.”

DIGITAL ESSAYS 2020

November 29, 2020

FROM T TO Z

Fusion 5’s Natale Panella explains that a humantechnology hybrid is better, whatever the model

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e keep hearing about digital acceleration, automation, technical improvements and enhanced technology stacks; however, little importance has been given to the most critical component of marketing success: the human aspect.

So how are we making sure that teams are ready for the digital transformation and are consequently adapting to the new industry requirements?

We have got the right technology, beautifully integrated solutions to fit all client needs, that can easily be implemented. We also have access to the platforms facilitating the creation, implementation and optimisation of the campaigns that are on offer.

Marketers no longer have to worry about the grimmer days when campaign creation and optimisation used to require substantial manual work, with many hours invested in troubleshooting, attribution issues, inventory exclusions and other challenges. Things have fortunately changed.

Today, marketers are allowed easily to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that provide automated optimisation towards the campaign’s goal, be that conversion, engagement or reach.

The creative discipline has also become more straightforward, with creative processes and adaptations pared back in favour of dynamic formats that automatically adapt messages and creatives for the right audience.

Since operations have now become simpler and more accessible, smoother and with less human effort, it is a game of global media players. The democratisation of the media and the unlocking of business opportunities for small and medium-sized business has resulted in the perception that everyone can run ads.

Teams have been formed with resources specialised in a single discipline, be it social media, search, display, affiliation or analytics, and have been communicating and executing under their discipline’s scope. The former is what is commonly known as the T-model or generalising specialism, the brainchild of IDEO chairman Tim Brown.

In essence, the T-model expects a person to become very knowledgeable in one specific field and then to expand her capabilities towards a wider

“SINCE THE EFFORT REQUIRED HAS DIMINISHED, THE SPECIALIST HAS BEEN FORCED TO ABANDON THE ONCE-EFFICIENT T-MODEL AND IT IS NOW ESSENTIAL FOR SPECIALISTS TO BECOME GENERALISTS.”

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breadth of basic disciplines. T-shaped professionals are experts in one or two disciplines (the vertical bar) and have also mastered other complementary skills (horizontal crossbar) that make it easier for them to adapt in any environment. Complementary skills include the ability to work effortlessly with others, the ability to apply knowledge across disciplines, the ability to see from other perspectives and an understanding of fields outside their area of expertise.

Now let’s apply the model to a marketer professional in search marketing as an example.

The marketer acquires in-depth knowledge in a specific area, such as on-page optimisation, keyword research and targeting, personalisation and localisation, with little or no focus on email, display, social media or video marketing. The million-dollar question is, could this person fit in our dynamic and continuously changing digital environment? Could they adapt to a variety of challenges and workload increase towards one of the other disciplines? Not so much.

Since the operational effort required for a campaign has diminished over time, the specialist has been forced to abandon the once-efficient T-model and it is now essential for specialists to become generalists. A broader set of skills focused on different networks and disciplines is now a must in order to be successful.

While some might still argue that an organisation needs the right level of resources in each discipline to ensure a smooth business operation, the unexpected circumstances of today have forced organisations to change. How? By strengthening their processes and teams and gearing towards a more dynamic and flexible approach, where hybridisation becomes the real skill to succeed in our crowded world of digital marketing.

But how are we adapting and forming hybrid marketers? First, by establishing shared knowledge pools of information, where cross-functional topics are available based on verticals, business case, channels and objectives. Second, by setting up and leveraging constant training across functions.

People that are responsible for the networks might debrief and re-assess the new tools and methods and debrief other team members on the relevant business case applied to the company. Third, by re-shuffling roles and responsibilities, following a squad scheme that supports the client’s objectives first. So if the client has more focus on social media paid activities, we use specialists from other areas to support the goal.

The winning formula is to evaluate results as a whole and establish a culture where shared tactics and techniques are at the core.

Change is the only constant in our industry. It is necessary to pay close attention to the trajectory of the industry and to stay on the forefront by learning new applicable skills.

We now need to adopt the Z-model, where a specialist can broaden her skills and widen them towards new disciplines by getting into more profound, more insightful and impactful connections in the constantly changing digital world.

Digital marketing teams need to become more like basketball teams, where everyone has a role but with each player having a balanced set of responsibilities in both attack and defence. Scoring isn’t just the privilege of forward players, like in football, but rather an objective for everyone in the team.

By NATALE PANELLA, head of digital, Fusion 5

DIGITAL ESSAYS 2020

November 29, 2020

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THE THREEFOLD ANSWER TO THE DIGITAL MARKETING FUTURE Marketers must work with data and data scientists to decode and address consumers, writes Magna’s Karim Masri

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ookie-based data is a key component of digital marketing. Online marketing businesses have got into the habit of resorting to cookies for targeting, retargeting and determining user behaviours. This has caused digital marketers to focus specifically on third-party cookies, which, unlike their first-party counterparts, are set by other websites for cross-site tracking and ad serving. This is the digital marketer’s idea of a juicy steak, since third-party cookies are designed to track users’ ‘trail of crumbs’ and, to put it shortly, lead them straight to the candy cottage. This level of dependency on third-party data will change in the coming years, and our industry will need to embrace it.

Let’s focus on this change and the upcoming transformation that comes with it. With the cookie era being almost over, digital marketers are fueled with the challenge to mega-charge their first-party data. Let’s call it the first-party cookie redemption, since it offers businesses plenty of opportunities to self-grow and discover their potential. A brand’s first-party data can without a doubt provide a highly valuable comprehension of its audiences bespoke to the brand’s products and services.

Through implementing this self-reliance strategy, brands acquire a more microscopic view of their target audience.

Furthermore, if this detailed level of audience intelligence is merged with data science, brands can ultimately plan their marketing campaigns and inbound strategies more effectively. The caveat here is brands will need to have the appetite, skillset and bandwidth to perfect their performance and create meta-strategies for data analytics and optimisation.

Achieving our end goal: the perfect shot at the perfect customer To enhance our ability to achieve digital marketing goals, we also need to introduce the notion of machines and their contribution towards our

objectives. Although artificial intelligence (AI) has hyper-organised modern consumerism in the marketing world, user demands and behaviours have become far more complicated to decode.

With AI technologies having revolutionised digital marketing in the modern world, brands are scavenging for a merge that tracks our complex and individualistic preferences as humans.

Our duty as digital marketers is therefore to become more data-literate and embrace the technology that helps facilitate brands requirements. The lack of data literacy in creative marketers is a common cause of friction in the digital marketing field. Marketers tend to focus solely on detail-packed creative endeavours, while dismissing the hefty contribution of data science to teams traditionally associated with being the guardians of an organisation’s data. That is why we must add analytical efforts to our creative aspirations. To grow our businesses’ sustainably in a virtual world, we need to merge the skillsets of both marketers and data scientists to reach golden standards in precision marketing; which, essentially, is getting the perfect shot at the perfect customer.

The brainpower behind digital marketing success This brings us to the marketing quest of the century, set towards increasing important business key performance indicators such as return on advertising spend and customer engagement. Ultimate brand success results from the fusion of creative marketing, data analysis and data

science. The difference between a data analyst’s and a scientist’s job is that a data analyst reviews an organisation’s historical data, whereas a data scientist anticipates an organisation’s future. Briefly explained, a data analyst delivers accurate assessments of what works for a brand and what needs developing by using graph methods, data visualisation tools and analytics dashboards.

They dig into your past and aim to make sense of it.

A data scientist, on the other hand, designs experiments and predictive models based on available data to test probable outcomes and set smart objectives. Data scientists are expected to have equal expertise in the fields of mathematics and computer programming.

Of course, marketers don’t need to know exactly what goes on under the data science black box – that’s the job of those who speak machine. However, a mutual appreciation between marketers and data scientists is key to customer engagement, considering that data scientists decode complex customer behaviours and marketers funnel them to meet their brand goals. It takes advanced statistical algorithms and machine learning tools to get this done. It may also take a significant amount of time, resources and thorough planning to turn this venture into successful digital marketing.

To spark motivation in this area and make this happen requires a start. The start could be as simple as sitting with the data scientist and explaining to them what the marketing or business goals are.

Through open communication, this will build a crossover between the brand’s performance history, interpreted through data analysis, and the future objectives pursued by brain power fused with data science.

And there you have it: the breakthrough to an elevated digital journey is on its way.

By KARIM MASRI, digital lead, Saudi Arabia, Magna

DIGITAL ESSAYS 2020

November 29, 2020

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IS IT PERSONALISATION OR INDIVIDUALISATION? Companies that don’t invest in technology to get closer to their customers will run into trouble, writes Reprise’s Stuart Mackay

“I

f you don’t know me by now, you will never, never, never know me,” aren’t just lyrics in a song.

Brands are still failing to achieve what feels like an absolute basic requirement of the digital age by not providing personalised customer experiences. The ability to make customer experiences as relevant to the individual as possible still seems like fiction. If a brand knows my purchase history, behaviours, preferences and intent, why can’t it simply interact with me on a personal level?

THE PERSONALISATION ROAD-BLOCK One of the main reasons is that it is simply not a priority for organisations to invest in the resources or technologies that have the ability to enrich a customer’s experience and convert that experience into sales.

Crazy, right? Unfortunately, 74 per cent of market leaders that took part in a recent Forbes survey indicated that less than 10 per cent of their marketing budgets are dedicated to personalisation. Hence the size and scale of the issue that we continue to face.

Another challenge resides around bringing data in from different silos and making sense of it in order to be able to address customers on a consistent, one-onone basis. The cleansing of this data becomes absolutely crucial to ensure its accuracy and quality. However, most organisations lack the analytical skills and technology to be able to deal with the complexity of this challenge.

Personalisation is not just an exercise that is carried out by a single function within an organisation; it is a brand-wide initiative that needs to be driven from the top down.

It needs the full support and investment of the leadership team, given what is at stake if personalisation at scale is not achieved in the near future. Given that data is spread across so many touch points within a business, it is crucial to develop an omni-channel approach to data collection to avoid the silo effect of departments not collaborating. After all, treating data in a siloed way will only lead to a limited view of the customer’s intent.

Aimee Irwin, vice-president of strategy at Experion, says: “People are using many different devices as touchpoints. To really get that complete view of the customer, you need to be able to connect all those touchpoints.”

THE PATHWAY TO PERSONALISATION… There is no better motivation than the death of the third-party cookie to spur an organisation into seeing the need to develop a first-party data strategy. Auditing and taking the time out to develop this strategy will allow an organisation to map out exactly how to achieve personalisation for its consumers. Whether it’s through technology, AI, website and traffic, content and performance, or personas and audience behaviours, having this understanding early will define how you are going to reach the customer in the best way across any channel.

Technology is always going to play a key part in determining an organisation’s success on the personalisation battlefront, whether that is introducing artificial intelligence and machine learning to personalise your customer interactions at scale, or through the deployment of a customer data platform (CDP), customer relationship management (CRM) system or marketing automation platform. Either way, you shouldn’t shy away from any of the aforementioned, given they will be key to your success.

Tealium’s Matthew Berger says that through the introduction of a CDP you are able to deliver the following benefits: 1. Deliver a single view of the customer. CDPs unify first- and third-party data sources to form a comprehensive 360-degree view of your customer across devices and channels, making that data available to your other tech and across the business.

2. Affect marketing and customer experience.

Customers are using more channels and devices than ever before, while demanding exceptional and relevant experiences. With a comprehensive set of customer data, CDPs fuel multi- and cross-channel marketing with comprehensive, trusted data.

3. Tear down the data silos. The value of customer data extends across a business.

CDPs give teams the ability to access and leverage customer data across departments accurately and effectively.

4. Put the customer at the centre. In order to enact customer-centred marketing, you must know your customers. CDPs equip you to manage your customer relationships and market with your audience in mind.

5. Enable operational efficiency and business agility. CDPs let businesses build and connect tech stacks that adapt to everchanging consumer behaviour with turnkey integrations, saving hours of integration.

Audiences and business rules are set up centrally and applied across technologies, saving huge amounts of time and money.

Personalisation is an expectation that all consumers are starting to have when interacting with brands. This has been, and continues to be, highly influenced by the experiences provided by GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon).

If it is not addressed as a priority, challenger and digital-first businesses will lure your consumers away, given they are able to provide an immediate and more personalised customer experience. Develop strategies for both first-party and third-party data sources, invest in technology and either upskill your workforce to be able to deal with the challenge at hand or solicit the help of a partner who can support you on your journey.

McKinsey and Company says: “The true prize… is delivering experiences that are world-class to the consumer and deliver value to the business.

Personalisation is a crucial weapon in the marketer’s arsenal to achieve that goal.”

By STUART MACKAY, general manager, Reprise

DIGITAL ESSAYS 2020

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o one could have predicted what transpired in 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic sparked unprecedented events and severely impacted economies and companies the world over. But it’s been a slightly different story with Bayut and its parent company, Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG). In April, EMPG acquired several global brands and aggressively expanded across Asia, Mexico, North Africa and the Middle East.

Bucking global trends, the company’s success stems from a digital-first, innovation-led culture.

Bayut, the UAE’s leading property portal, helps consumers understand and research the real estate market and make an informed decision, aided by tech. For example, users can filter out properties checked in by an agent or look at 3D floor plans to experience the space without physically visiting.

“EMPG’s growth shows a commitment and dedication to the cause of solving problems and offering solutions tailored for local markets,” says Amash Malik, senior director of performance marketing at Bayut and Dubizzle. Malik also heads the central team for performance marketing for EMPG. While the business landscape underwent a seismic shift, digital companies were better placed to weather the storm. Global data from Criteo shows that the ongoing Covid-19 crisis significantly affected the e-commerce landscape.

Malik says: “The UAE’s national agenda – which includes world-class healthcare and education, a competitive knowledge-based economy and sustainable development – is all underpinned by digitalisation. We are driven by the same vision at Bayut and Dubizzle. Our focus has been on innovation, on building technology-led products to help our customers find the right solutions and reach our agents and partners.

“Digital platforms and technology are an integral part of our everyday life now. From shopping for groceries to big transactions such as property or real estate, which are probably the biggest purchases in one’s life.” A recent Criteo survey of more than 10,000 people showed that globally half of consumers say they will purchase more online because of coronavirus.

While the pandemic accelerated digitalisation across several sectors, it also affected businesses in different ways. “During the earlier peak of the coronavirus and the lockdown, we saw a dip across our different verticals,” says Malik. “However, Bayut has recovered since then and the growth trajectory is in the right direction. This indicates a general market recovery, but also the trust that consumers place in our product and brand. Some categories, such as used goods, recovered quickly since the initial lockdown and even exceeded the baseline numbers within a month after the lockdown started.”

Criteo data shows that technology has had a tremendously positive impact on the retail sector in the last few years and will play a key role in how retailers can stay relevant during these uncertain times. Even before the pandemic, mobile web-based purchases in the region had been on the rise.

Soon after the lockdown, Malik says, Dubizzle and Bayut’s advertisement and marketing platforms started yielding much greater audiences because of the increased adoption of digital across the population. “The UAE telecom authorities said that there was a 17 per cent increase month-over-month in YouTube and Facebook activity immediately after the lockdown,” he says. “These are already highly adopted platforms. This has been our experience as well. With Criteo, we saw an increase in available impressions by almost 70 per cent.”

November 29, 2020

THE CHANGING DIGITAL LANDSCAPE Criteo talks with Amash Malik, senior director of performance marketing at Bayut and Dubizzle

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Malik cites a McKinsey October 2020 study, which noted that spending intent has shifted to online across many categories. Mobility trends available from Apple indicate a sharp dip in mobility, with respect to the baseline in April. It has continued to increase since then. Last month, it stood at about 150-200 per cent of the baseline – showing how quickly consumers have rebounded and adapted to the new normal.

On the back end, operating a business while in lockdown has been challenging. In the UAE, it has been a time of introspection for business leaders and for reassessing values and priorities. Malik is all praise for the EMPG leadership. “There was a clear message of being strong, going upward and beyond,” he says. “At Bayut, not one employee was laid off due to the pandemic.”

“We have always strived for excellence, and will continue to do so, despite the pandemic,” says Malik. “There have been some changes in the way we work. Along with social distancing, we adopted a wider use of technology such as video conferencing instead of physical meetings. However, our long-term plans remain the same. We are stronger and more confident in our ability to grow and deliver in all circumstances.”

Bayut also announced relief packages for clients and launched products – such as live videos – to help partners and consumers connect virtually to find the right home.

Malik used the lockdown to upskill and expand his knowledge, not only in his core fields of data programming and marketing, but in fields such as economics as well. He says: “When working remotely, organising and planning effectively not only helps productivity but also ensures a healthy work-life balance. This lesson has been a key takeaway for me. I try to learn at least one new thing every day. It is imperative to keep a constant active learning cycle going, especially in a fast-paced, ever-evolving business and digital landscape.”

And if there is one thing he could tell himself in hindsight, what would it be? “Simply that it gets better. Today will not last forever. And tomorrow will be better than today.”

DIGITAL ESSAYS 2020

November 29, 2020

29

OPTIMISE THE DIGITAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE TO BETTER COMMUNICATE

TO DIGITALLY SAVVY

AUDIENCES

Covid-19 has accelerated the development of online experiences and consumers have kept pace, says Boopin’s Shadi Abdulhadi.

This makes it ever more urgent for brands to improve their digital offerings

T

he past nine months alone have produced more digital transformation and behavioural change than the last decade. Many of those who were early adopters of digital transformation benefited from this shift, while others were displaced, making their need more urgent. This required entire organisations to reconsider the value offered by their products or services and communicate this value to the end-user or customer.

It is time for all brands to start working on marketing strategies that concentrate on defining an optimum customer experience (CX). The focus earlier was continuously on creating a differentiating factor or unique selling proposition (USP) for a product or service while the overall CX was overlooked and deprioritised.

Much as you might hate the phrase, this is the “new norm” that we need to adapt to. The consumers are more aware of the competition in the market and they have become picky. The consumers are now pickier with what they purchase and use and are very well informed about their needs. The “wants” for many people are now postponed until a vaccine is available or until they are more secure about their jobs and income sources.

Brands now need to further absorb consumer behaviours and adapt. Over the past five years at Boopin, we have been talking to our partners and clients about the importance of moving from “What I have to offer” to “What does the consumer want?”

During lockdown the only way to access your favourite brands was via the internet. That has

given the opportunity to consumers to be more digitally empowered than ever, thus making it difficult for brands to sustain existing customers and gain new ones. The way to connect with customers in the new norm is through trust and in delivering an outstanding CX. Long after Covid-19 becomes a memory, the consumer will still be used to things like social distancing. Therefore, you can only expect that the consumer will interact with multiple online touchpoints as a learned habit that is hard to let go of.

Only brands that optimise their online experience will survive and thrive. This is all being made worse with third-party cookie data losing support in the near future – as soon as 2022. Consequently, most brands are playing catch-up with consumer data collection as they rush to empower their first-party data pools.

The deep understanding of the need to create an overall CX means we have onboarded and partnered with the biggest global players to ensure that we remain on top of the offering, but also sail into the future without any issues. Boopin therefore onboarded the latest in ad tech tools – from data management platforms (DMPs) to customer data platforms (CDPs) – to orchestrate a great consumer experience. Taking such a step was risky but is now paying off as our partners learn more and more about the importance of speaking to the customer the way they want to be approached and spoken to.

We are in the business of creating unique and customer-centric approaches that break the barriers

of basic channel optimisations. Any approach now focuses on speaking honestly and transparently with all stakeholders to maximise revenue. Mapping out curated solutions and CX initiatives will maximise the return on media investment (ROMI).

If you have not taken this step yet, you are late.

But this can be fixed as soon as your brand is able to absorb, learn and progress. The likes of CDPs are just the beginning and, with the development of artificial intelligence (AI), we will only witness more changes that we should be prepared for.

We no longer label brands working with us as clients. Adopting internally solid CX strategies has allowed Boopin to lead the digital transformation of our partners.

We have invested great resources into obtaining licences and offering them to partners as we are entrusted with their development and growth.

Over the past five years, we have maintained high satisfaction scores and won more business that has seen us continuously learning, growing and developing.

By being open-minded and ready for change, Boopin can assist you in taking your business to the next level as you appeal to your core consumers while onboarding new ones at the same pace as digital is evolving. In this digitally driven age, being digitally savvy is not about having the latest smartphone or smartwatch, but is about your ability to understand, develop and communicate approaches that revolve around the human.

By SHADI ABDULHADI, founder and CEO, Boopin.

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DIGITAL ESSAYS 2020

November 29, 2020

DIGITAL ESSAYS 2020:

FIVE DIGITAL TRENDS TO FORESEE Gamned’s Yves-Michel Gabay sees transparency, ethics, AI, video and influencers shaping the year ahead

C

ovid-19 unexpectedly reshaped our daily lives. At a time when our mobility is limited, companies focus on digital to communicate, sell and entertain. While 2020 is coming to an end, what can we expect from 2021? What trends do we have to consider when planning our advertising strategies for next year? Here is my opinion in five major key points: 1. MORE TRANSPARENCY FOR BRANDS. 60 per cent of Gen Z proudly claim they want to change the world and rethink their consumption through the prism of digital. They are sharing their opinion on social media, scanning products and analysing their composition, selling their clothes and used goods, and discovering new brands and products. Covid-19 saw a new generation rise: Generation N (for “new economy”). For this generation, transparency is a major factor as it builds up trust, which ensures engagement and loyalty. If transparency is key for brands, it’s also expected from digital marketers.

2. A MORE ETHICAL USE OF DATA Over the past years, using data has been a common practice in digital marketing.

Google and Facebook won over the market by offering many targeting options: socio-demo, context, intentions, lookalike… The arrivals of the General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act as well as the coming end of cookies have changed the game. The collection of data now requires consent from an educated consumer, so it’s fair to say that we have less data but better data. The marketing Holy Grail is first party-data.

Trustworthy brands and media will still be able to collect data easily, and artificial intelligence offers predictive analysis in the blink of an eye. The new

generation of consumers are perfectly aware of how the internet works and constantly question themselves about the use of data, so it’s time to make a more ethical use of data.

addressable TV, even though the latter is not yet available in the region. It is getting bigger and bigger in the US and Europe, opening a new platform of expression for smaller businesses.

3. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) WILL BOOST PERFORMANCE Artificial intelligence and machine learning allow us to customise, follow and optimise hundreds of media buying strategies simultaneously. Not only is it fast but it also allows us to anticipate the behaviour of each person – which is impossible for a human brain. That’s why AI will be tomorrow’s new musthave for marketers. AI is amazing in terms of performance as it enables us to address customers with the best message possible. For a brand, the benefit is huge and immediate: less waste and a better acquisition rate. Today it’s possible to broadcast personalised banners and videos on a very large scale. Spotify is one major brand that already make great use of it to push customised musical preferences to its users. At a time when we all want to feel special, personalisation is remarkably effective.

5. THE ONGOING POWER OF INFLUENCERS If anyone understands the need for brands to create experiences for their audiences, it’s influencers. If some international brands count on major influencers and their billions of followers, it’s not a path that everyone is keen to follow. Proximity is trendy and brands multiply their collaborations with “micro-influencers” and their very engaged communities. They are now aware that quantity doesn’t necessarily mean quality and that they have a better chance of conversion with audiences who truly trust and value the opinion of the influencers they follow. Companies like Ykone, have been developing this approach for years now. Also, it is now possible to use the content produced by your influencer through media campaigns to extend their reach. Let’s keep in mind that word-of-mouth has always been the most effective communication technique – with influence marketing and programmatic, we are only making it digital.

4. VIDEO OR NOTHING Video is everywhere and impossible to ignore on all social media networks.

More than 8 billion videos are streamed daily on Facebook, and 5 billion on YouTube. One person in three buys a product after seeing a video, which explains why ad spending on this format keeps on increasing. The key to a good video campaign is to make it short and impactful. A study by Vivendi Brand Marketing revealed that your target loses its interest for your content after only eight seconds. Another interesting trend is programmatic TV, which comes together with over-the-top (OTT) and

In 2021, programmatic advertising will probably exceed 68 per cent of digital ad spend. But it won’t be AI, a new social media network or influencers who will make the next year. It’s the consumers.

They will continue to be demanding and ask brands for more: more value, more engagement, more honesty. So, if you only remember one thing, it’s to remain aware and stay agile.

By YVES-MICHEL GABAY, managing director, Gamned MEA.

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