Communicate Magazine

In the interest of transparency

2006-10-10T16:57:00.000+04:00

Communicate recently hosted a roundtable discussion on outdoor advertising. It turned out to be quite a success: For the first time, outdoor suppliers, clients and media buyers sat together and had an open, animated discussion about what’s wrong with the industry in the UAE. As a result of our initiative, several major suppliers made a pledge to form a self-regulatory industry association to address the issues raised. You can read all about it here.

Obviously, this is a big step forward for the industry, and as much as we credit the outdoor guys for agreeing to do it, we couldn’t help feeling a little pleased with our role in bringing everybody together. We’re not saying it would never have happened without us. But it certainly wouldn’t have happened now without us. So we sent out a press release – partly to spread the news, partly to hold the outdoor guys to their word, and partly, we openly admit, to publicize what was basically a Communicate initiative.

Today we caught wind that Campaign is planning to cover the development in its next issue. Happy to hear that our friendly and esteemed competitor would be giving us coverage, our editor contacted Tim Addington, his Campaign counterpart, to ask if he would like any further information, perhaps a quote or two.

Addington e-mailed back: “Now as much as I would like to give Communicate the credit for acting as the conduit for this, I’m afraid that on this occasion I will have to pass! Sorry about that.”

Just so you know.

Jack of all trades …

2006-09-28T15:10:00.000+04:00

As befits a man whose job title is “fusionist,” Dubai Eye’s Mustafa Alrawi showcases his ability just as well over the airwaves as he does in print. His recent radio show in which he talked to Etisalat and the Telecoms Regulation Authority – the bodies involved in the UAE’s farcical VOIP censorship – made quite an impact. After an enlightening, light-hearted monologue about Mormons and polygamy (for which he later had to apologize), he showed that his time at Emirates Today has buffed up his hyperbole skills, by declaring, “We’re making history here!”

When a listener, annoyed by the less-than-taxing questions Alrawi was posing, texted in demanding an end to his “brown nosing,” Alrawi did what any gifted presenter would and fought back: “I have my own radio show and you don’t,” he quipped, triumphantly. His daddy, too, for the record, is bigger than yours.

Keep Talking

2006-09-06T11:48:00.000+04:00

Leave it to ad pundits from outside the Middle East to read sinister motives into the "Keep Walking" ads done in Beirut by Leo Burnett for Johnnie Walker.

Writes Dallas-based critic Mack Simpson:

"So which is it? Exploiting the ravages of war by attaching your brand to the destruction wrought; or attaching your brand to the ravages of war in order to exploit the Internet? Forget the bathtub; get me to a toilet. I think I feel queasy."

Oh, please. It's notable, to put it mildly, that we haven't heard many complaints like this coming from the Lebanese themselves.

The link comes via the normally enjoyable AdRants, which tell us that "Johnny [sic] Walker Bridge Ad Gets Undies in a Political Twist." They forgot to add "in Texas." (Gawker also picked it up.)

These ads are popular and effective in Beirut for a few very simple reasons. They're straightforward, unsentimental and -- crucially -- forward-looking. They also capture the Lebanese spirit of persevering (and maintaining a certain joie de vivre , to say the least) amidst utter turmoil.

Burnett's Beirut creative director, Bechara Mouzannar, deserves a high-five for the idea, as does the client for backing it so readily, especially when you compare the sickly "cry for Lebanon" campaigns seen elsewhere in the Arab world.

No can du

2006-09-04T16:51:00.000+04:00

The latest e-mail from du suggests the company’s time-keeping troubles are spreading. Under the subject “du Media Event - POSTPONED !!” the message ran:

“Much as we were looking forward to meeting you, we are extremely sorry to inform that the brunch scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday 5 September, 2006 has been postponed. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and look forward to meeting you soon.”

No word on when the brunch is postponed to, though, which at least shows that there’s consistency in du’s communications policy.

Modhesh as muse

2006-08-29T15:48:00.000+04:00

Philips suffered a barrage of local media abuse back in late May for its misguided offer of World Cup tickets to journos who wrote the most positive copy about the company, so it’s odd that the Dubai Summer Surprises organizing committee has escaped similar outrage over its “Press Creativity Award.” The award amounts to a $1,000 bribe for the journo who writes the most boot-licky story about that week’s theme published in a local news(yes, news)paper.

The media silence may be a mystery, but the award does provide an explanation for the ridiculous “Modhesh to star in Hollywood film” stories (with Hollywood apparently, according to Emirates Today, “desperate to produce an animated movie of the DSS mascot”) that appeared in July, presented as fact despite being based on the speculation of one man. It also explains the rest of the pile of DSS-related drivel throughout the summer, the contents of which should ensure rich plant growth in Dubai’s parks for years to come.

Congratulations to the winners. Your parents must be proud.

Simple missteak (ii)

2006-08-24T14:14:00.001+04:00

We received a an e-mail this week from Promoseven Weber Shandwick Public Relations about Arab International Logistics consolidating its name:
“We would highly appreciate it if the name ARAMEX (PJSC) is used in reference to the company in all media and journalistic reports and news about the Dubai Financial Market transactions,” said the message. The unfortunate subject line? “Arramex name – gentle reminder.”

Simple missteak (i)

2006-08-24T14:14:00.000+04:00

We normally avoid pointing out misspelled subject lines in e-mails from PR companies, for the simple reason that there are so many of them, but sometimes there’s a certain added hopelessness to the message. We recently received an e-mail from MCS Action headed “Standard Chartered Bank announces 15% porift.” The name of the account executive who sent it? Matthew Proffitt.

Nice plug

2006-07-16T14:49:00.000+04:00

Dubai creative firm Tonic may have not have brought home a Cannes Lion this year but one of their submissions (and a Communicate fav) has at least gotten some publicity via popular advertising blog, Ad Rants. The blog receives some 11,000 visits per day. The post (see below) may include some misspelled words, but I am sure the boys at Tonic are grinning ear to ear.

Wonderbra Censors Own UAE Ad In Nod to Local Culture
As an inside joke and in a nod to the United Arab Emerites' practice of censoring magazine content the government doesn't like, Wonderbra has turned the tables and censored its own ad but with a twist. Because the Wonderbra worn by the model in this ad apparently made her breasts so big, it took much more black marker than usual to cover her protruding breasts. In an insiderish manner, it illustrates the wonders a Wonderbra can provide while living within the boundaries of the country's censors.

Bad language

2006-07-16T12:34:00.000+04:00

The Dinglish (Dubai English, d’ya see?) article in today’s 7Days had a few amusing ideas in it. We especially liked “Jane drain” to describe the expat migration from Jumeirah. However, there were a few terms missing, such as “To 7Days” meaning to overhype or string out until threadbare, as in:

“It started off as a good idea, but they really 7Daysed it and it ended up as a big pile of Emirates Today.”

Crossed wires

2006-07-06T16:13:00.000+04:00

Today’s press conference for Efonica didn't go very well for Polaris – the PR team in charge.

The first flub came when the PR associate in charge of the conference accidentally CC'd me on internal communications to his associates. It was standard PR talk -- something like “don't let the CEO get too specific about VOIP and don't let him talk about Etisalat. We don't want to stir controversy.'”

They didn’t have to. The press conference was controversial enough with excellent aggressive questioning by a 7Days journalist. He stood up and asked the CEO of the company (which was announcing its VOIP services) how it was planning to convince Etisalat and the government to stop banning VOIP.

The CEO – visibly energized by the turn of the press conference – clearly hadn’t received the earlier e-mail, accidentally or otherwise, or else didn't care for his PR company trying to tell him what he could and couldn't say. He agreed with the reporter and went on to call Etisalat a monopoly and to call the country Third World due to monopolistic practices.

Interestingly, the new VOIP demo couldn't be completed because the Internet connection suddenly stopped working. Sometimes your punchlines get written for you.

Dunkin’ Donuts gets elitist

2006-07-03T15:15:00.000+04:00

Dunkin’ Donuts’ new ambient campaign around Dubai features posters on elevator doors with the punny copy “Need a lift?”

The ads were created by Turning Point Advertising for Continental Food Establishment (CFE), the exclusive franchisee for Dunkin’ Donuts in the UAE & Kuwait.

In a press release, David Rodgers, CFE’s general manager overstates, “It’s a very clever campaign, aimed at our target audience profile who are both intelligent, savvy, as well as mature – just like our brand.”

The rest of us childish, stupid consumers – baffled by the complexities of pointing at snacks on a tray to indicate preference – can get our sugary-dough fix somewhere else.

Get a grip

2006-07-02T13:29:00.000+04:00

Khaleej Times may have slightly overhyped its “Party Patrol” in the City Times supplement last week. The photo gallery – headline: “At the Zenith of Achievement” – was from an event which, we were told, “drew a huge number of well-known people in the city.”

The caption on the very first shot of these luminaries? “Guests at the event.”

Can anyone say “Thesaurus?”

2006-06-28T15:38:00.000+04:00

We received news today that MasterCard has unveiled a new corporate name and brand identity. MasterCard International was, it seems, no longer sufficient to “reflect the company’s vision and globally integrated structure.” A new name was needed. And after, presumably, many hours of meetings and many thousands (millions?) of dollars spent, they came up with one.

Deep breath. Maybe you should sit down.

The new name is: MasterCard Worldwide. Yay! Enough of that "International" nonsense.

We're going to stick our necks out and hazard a guess at the name that ran it closest. Was it .... MasterCard Global?

A rebranding effort is meant to boost a corporation's image by enhancing existing positive associations and creating new ones. "Financial services company" and "waste of money" really doesn't cut it.

Political incorrectness

2006-06-27T13:05:00.000+04:00

The drive to include all areas of society in the UAE’s prosperity is certainly admirable. But the Ministry of Labour should probably look into getting a PR professional – or, at the very least, a proofreader – to take a glance at its resolutions before it posts them online.

Ministerial Resolution No. (275) for the year 2006 is a particularly fine example of how to promote social inclusion while simultaneously setting it back several decades. It appears to be addressed to charitable foundations. The first article states: “The foundations have to take into account the right of the local retardeds to get a job suiting their capabilities and qualifications.” Yes. You read that right.

That’s bad enough, but in the second article people with a cognitive impairment don’t even qualify as human anymore. “It is not allowed,” the resolution states, “to reject the applicant because of its hindrance…”

Now that’s just retardeded.

You can see the whole thing here if you like

Release me (ii)

2006-06-08T16:47:00.003+04:00

Still, it made a refreshing change to receive a press release recall which explained what the problem was. Our second helping of PR buffoonery this week reverted to the classic style of not giving any details about why the original press release was no longer good enough. Although, in this case, we can hazard a reasonable guess.

The Golin Harris team had sent out a press release about Horizon. FCB’s new commitment to “full contact.” Misleadingly, this refers to greater communication between the agency’s constituent parts, rather than being grounds for a sexual harassment lawsuit. Anyhow, after a few paragraphs of marketing mumbo-jumbo there was a very interesting quote attributed to Eddy Azzam, managing director of Horizon. FCB in Dubai. Apparently, he said:

“We’re all in it together now – account management, account planning and creatives are now all part of the entire process from strategy to the creative output. No more silos. No more half-measures. Only full contact.”

Obviously, we were intrigued. No more silos? As in the grain storage facilities? Missiles? We called Golin Harris for an explanation. We didn’t get one despite promises that they'd call us back “in five minutes.” What we didn’t ask about was the “No more half-measures,” quote. We’d already interpreted that ourselves.

Two days later, though, we did get an e-mail with a “revised” release. Azzam’s first sentence was the same, but after it he now said: “It is the thoroughness of full contact.” No mention of silos. And no “no more half-measures.” Which presumably means the agency is still committed to them after all.

Release me (i)

2006-06-08T16:47:00.002+04:00

Quality PR work from the team at tamra-c2 this week. First we received the following e-mail (with the subject “Al Mal Capital Urgent Release”). We were, as you can imagine, close to hysteria as we waited for it to open. It read:

“Kindly find attached an urgent press release on Al Mal Capital. I would highly appreciate your usual efforts in carrying it in tomorrow’s newspaper.”

Which was amusing in itself, given that we’re a monthly magazine, rather than a daily newspaper. Sweet of them to try and trick us into thinking we had a cozy relationship thing happening with the “usual efforts” phrase though.

Anyway, after exhorting us to publish it “tomorrow,” the next day saw the arrival of another tamra-C2 mail.

“I have sent you yesterday a press release on Al Mal Capital, I would highly appreciate if you could kindly disregard the logo sent as I have realized I have clicked on the wrong one.”

Wow. Lucky you didn’t send that out to dailies demanding that it be published before they could possibly have received your recall then, eh? Oh.

VW scores with journos

2006-06-04T14:10:00.000+04:00

Kudos to Volkswagen for laying on a more-entertaining-than-usual press junket last Thursday for Dubai journos.

The company organized a boat trip on the creek to announce the launch of its new regional campaign and to say “Have a nice summer” to the lucky hacks who get to avoid the heat by taking a holiday.

Best bit was the table football tournament – with team pairings drawn at random. Eventually, the combination of Gulf News and 7Days proved too strong for the competition – especially amusing given their lackadaisical approach contrasted strongly with the beaten finalists, who were taking things a little too seriously. We were expecting Gazza-style tears. (And no – that’s *not* sour grapes at being knocked out in the first round).

The tournament tied in with the football (yes – football, who’d’ve thunk it? Isn't there some kind of big tournament soon?) theme of the new campaign. Too bad the “players” in the ad look about as genuine as the plastic table footballers.

Spin sources shrinking

2006-05-29T13:51:00.001+04:00

Campaign's 'The Spin' paid tribute to 7Days' retired 'Reporter' column this week, and not just with a farewell message. It also nicked The Reporter's final observation, that Emirates Bank's World Cup ad had used the wrong flags to illustrate the Italy vs Ghana match to which the lucky winner of their competition will go.

Imitation, flattery, etc...

Left hand/right hand

2006-05-29T13:51:00.000+04:00

Much of our editorial team’s time this month was taken up with discussing with various marketers how annoying it is around World Cup time when companies rush to associate themselves in some way – any way – with football. “What a transparently dishonest attempt to appeal to fans,” we would say. “Do these people think consumers are stupid?”

Meanwhile our sales team was busy making us media sponsors of the Emaar “Football Frenzy” public-viewing event in Media City, which ART (the official broadcasters of the event in the Middle East) assure us they will shut down for broadcasting without the appropriate licence.

Communicate, obviously, has always been an active supporter of the soccerball.

Happy, happy, joy, joy

2006-05-09T13:54:00.000+04:00

What’s up with Dr. Heyam Abdul Hamid, editor-in-chief of Emirates Today? After a recent, somewhat confusing, article about how journalists need to realize that they are involved in a business venture, today’s column – “Ensuring people see the positive” – asks, “Why are journalists and editors very often negative? One simple answer implies that journalists and editors usually consider themselves the conscience of society and it is known that conscience is usually negative.” It’s not a humor column.

Dictionary definitions of this “usually negative” word include “sensitive regard for fairness or justice” and “a faculty, power, or principle enjoining good acts.”

Hamid goes on to give some examples of what negative people do at work: “They complain that they do not receive raises and that recognition goes to poor contributors.” They also, she says, “say procedures within the company are not clear for them.”

“The worst effect of negativity,” she says, “is when journalists keep complaining and moaning without even suggesting any solution to change the situation to make it better.” Her advice for dealing with a negative person? Simple. “…cut short any discussion that progresses in a negative way.”

This is a shot in the dark – and I don't mean to be negative – but might there be some internal unrest in the Emirates Today office?

Laboring the point

2006-05-07T13:14:00.000+04:00

The Fairmont hotel bash for this year’s Arabian Travel Market had ‘Under Construction’ as its theme. Surprisingly, perhaps, this did not mean that the food was bland, undercooked, and delivered late with vital ingredients missing, but instead made for a pretty good party. Particularly well received were the creme brulee desserts, blowtorched on the spot by a lady welder. Our source admits to knocking six of them off himself.

He was less impressed, however, with the parting gift of a goody bag in the form of a tiffin box.

An offer you can refuse

2006-05-02T17:03:00.000+04:00

Poor Philips. Following widespread criticism in the local media, it has withdrawn its offer of a fully paid trip to a World Cup match (it didn't say which one - possibly Togo vs Korea?) for UAE journos “giving greater attention to Philips news.”

It seems the company has realized the offer basically ensured that anyone writing favorably about it in the next two months would face accusations of pandering to Philips in order to win the trip – and that any genuinely positive reviews of Philips’ products would, to all intents and purposes, be useless.

A letter from Philips to Communicate says the offer has been the “source of some misinterpretation.” Silly media. Somehow the innocent offer that whoever wrote the greatest amount of positive copy about Philips would win a free trip to a very popular sporting event was twisted into tales of attempted bribery and media manipulation.

In related news, IT departments at publishing companies throughout the UAE report network crashes as tens of thousands of Word documents titled “Philips totally rocks” are simultaneously trashed.

Hope Is Important

2006-04-30T13:24:00.000+04:00

MBC recently launched its “mother brand:” MBC Group, with the tagline: “We see hope everywhere.”

“Building this brand around the most important and relevant message in the Middle East right now, hope, seems only natural. We feel a big responsibility to use our power in the Arabic world to communicate and inspire the positive message of hope across our great region,” says Mohammed Al Mulhem, group director of marketing, PR and commercial.

And for any cynics unconvinced by his words, the schedule should move you to reconsider. For example: MBC 2’s listing for May 9 includes the movie Pretty Woman, which IMDB reviews as follows: “A man in a legal but hurtful business needs an escort for some social events, and hires a beautiful prostitute he meets... only to fall in love.”

A positive message of hope for many in this great region.

Mediaocrity

2006-04-30T12:08:00.000+04:00

The new media column in May's Communicate focuses on the local newspapers' over-reliance on printing press releases. Particularly those from state news agency WAM. And it seems the piece is pretty timely.

The day after the Arab Media Forum - where one of the main talking points was of the need for local media to stop this very practice - the front page of Emirates Today was occupied by a story titled "Mohammed hits back at 'UAE is third world nation' suggestions" which was lifted entirely from WAM and included insights like this:

"Regional delegates at the media forum said that Sheikh Mohammed's new book embodies the exciting experiment of a far-sighted leader, who is liberal in his thought, practices and responsibilities as both a statesman and an economist.

"The forum concluded that Sheikh Mohammed is a symbol of modernisation and progress in the fields of socio-economic, educational and human resource development, and a pioneer of Arab joint action."

The forum concluded? Really? And this was on the front page remember. The editors would have done well to pay more attention to the middle of the "story," which claimed "the Arab public were looking to the media for more than empty rhetoric."

Presumably, they're no longer looking to Emirates Today.

Gulf Air gaffe

2006-04-03T10:58:00.000+04:00

Gulf Air's recent press junket from Dubai to Bahrain to show off its flight simulators left our representative less than impressed and Gulf Air probably wishing it hadn't bothered.

Having been delayed in Dubai for a couple of hours (and it's only a one-hour flight), the trip was further disrupted when a passenger demanded that the doors be opened because he no longer wanted to go on the trip. After some discussion, it transpired that he was actually just intent on creating a further delay to allow his friend, who was in the terminal building, to come along on the trip too. The man was apparently so determined to get his friend aboard that he started to threaten the stewardess. Eventually, the pilot came out to calm things down, but was apparently willing to allow the guy to stay on board if his crew thought that was OK. They didn't. The guy was "asked" to leave.

Not the best PR event for the beleaguered airline. Although the simulators are, according to our man, "very cool."

Umm...Forgettable

2006-03-02T11:56:00.000+04:00

So the bleak, white-on-black billboards around Dubai telling us to "Forget London" turned out not to be, as we suspected, an escalation of Al Qaeda's marketing, but simply a teaser campaign for the new Harvey Nichols store in Mall of the Emirates.

Not a great teaser. Apart from the threatening tone, I wonder how the London store feels about being attacked by its own brand. They seem to be saying that the London store is no longer worth even thinking about. As well as tying in to the whole "Dubai is just as good (or better) than New York, Paris, Tokyo or London" nonsense that we hear all the time.

Oops

2006-02-28T11:47:00.000+04:00

Intriguing news from the Intercon Group this month. On the 12th we received a press release explaining how "thrilled" everyone there was with the appointment of Haitham Mattar as their new Director of Sales and Marketing for the Middle East and Africa region.

Only two weeks into his appointment, though, Haitham must have been shocked to read the latest Group release from Impact Porter Novelli, where he would have learned that Janet Abrahams had a new role as Director of Sales & Marketing for InterContinental Hotels Group, Middle East and Africa.

Not that thrilled then, eh?

* - Yes, we know he hasn't really lost his job .

Virgin on bad manners

2006-02-06T12:43:00.000+04:00

Virgin Atlantic has arrived in Dubai. And so has its typically cheeky marketing. In a clear challenge to Emirates Airline, signs are up in Media City suggesting that consumers should "Keep Discovering. Until you find the best." Emirates' tagline is "Keep Discovering."

Rumors that Emirates will respond in kind by introducing sexual puns into its ads are, sadly, probably untrue.

Pikasso Awards

2006-02-01T15:53:00.000+04:00

We've just uploaded our gallery of Pikasso Award entries. The Pikasso Awards are open to outdoor advertising from Jordan and Lebanon.

It's worth a look. There are some great examples of outdoor advertising at its best - and worst. In this month's magazine, we have a more in-depth look at 20 of the entries.

You can see the gallery here:

http://www.communicate.ae/pikasso.php

Enquiring Minds

2006-02-01T12:07:00.000+04:00

We're currently enjoying the third edition of the Dubai Enquirer (www.dubaienquirer.com), the online "newspaper" created by... someone in regional media. It's a bit hit and miss, but it's good to see some genuinely funny stuff being created here, in the style of The Onion and The Framley Examiner.

The articles about Bum City and striking financiers were very good, but our favorite thing so far was the headline in the first edition - "Dalai Lama in Banarama Karama Shawarma Drama"

Looking forward to issue four. We're running a sweepstake on how many weeks before Etisalat blocks it. Your guesses are welcome.

Truth in advertising?

2006-01-30T14:07:00.000+04:00

Regional advertising standards are, let's say, not as stringent as they could be. There are some pretty outrageous claims made by marketers, advertisers and PR companies. For example, the self-awarded seven-stars that the Burj used to trumpet in its press releases (although nowadays they tend not to as the media do it for them), or the constant use of "in record time" to describe how quickly developments are created, or "record-breaking" to describe, well, just about every new thing that happens.

Claims of health benefits can also be very entertaining. So can stories of celebrity visits.

We'd like you to hear from you with examples of this sort of stuff. We'll then try to contact the people concerned and ask them to back up their claims. Then we'll publish their responses.

You can either leave a comment, or e-mail info@communicate.vg

Welcome

2006-01-25T12:45:00.000+04:00

Hi,

This is the new Communicate blog. We'll be updating with news and comment about the Middle East advertising and marketing, and media industries.

And other stuff.