Dubai Lynx 2012 to award PR, Mobile categories and Production companies January 18, 2012

Posted by Farrukh Naeem at www.copywriterjournalist.com in : Featured Main Post , add a comment

Dubai Lynx 2012, the leading competition and awards for advertising creative excellence in the Middle East and Africa, presented by Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, will be featuring a total of 14 categories this year – including two new additions – PR and mobile in its fifth successful year.

Readers of CopywriterJournalist.com would remember that this blog has brought some of the most comprehensive and fastest blog coverage of the Dubai Advertising festival through its early years. We have been covering this event, made possible with the excellent support of the Dubai Lynx Press Team.

Dubai Lynx 2012 – Key Dates:
Delegate Registration: Now Open. Early Bird Discount available until 2 February 2012
Entries Open: Now Open
Entries Close: 2 February 2012
Festival Dates: 4–6 March 2012, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE
Dubai Lynx Awards: 7 March 2012, Madinat Arena, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE

Lynx Palm Award – a small step for Lynx, a giant leap for production companies
2012 will be the year that production company execs can run up to the stage and shine in the limelight for their award-winning work at Dubai Lynx. The Lynx Palm Award will debut this year to honour the most awarded production company in the Film and/or Film Craft entry sections.

Wunderman/Y&R Young Marketers School at Dubai Lynx
Young marketers and brand managers will get a chance to attend the brand communications programme at the new Wunderman/Y&R Young Marketers School at Dubai Lynx 2012. Focusing on the importance of creativity in brand communications and strategy, participants will learn about current market trends, the client-agency relationship and how to produce strong communications for their brands.

The School is open for applications from marketers and brand managers, aged 32 years or younger who work at a client organisation. It will be held during the Festival on 4-6 March 2012 and the programme will include seminars, workshops and exclusive tutorials. If you would like to register, please email your CV to Steve Latham at stevelatham@canneslions.com.

CopywriterJournalist.com is pleased to see that agencies in the region are taking creative steps to get young client-side suits oriented to agency life. Therapy is best when it begins early, we say.

A creative copywriter is looking for a job – will you hire him? March 15, 2011

Posted by Farrukh Naeem at www.copywriterjournalist.com in : Advertising,Copywriting , 7 comments

How hard can finding a good freelance copywriter be, specially in a place like Abu Dhabi or Dubai, UAE?

Creative Directors, headhunters and recruiters in the region will tell you it’s not easy.

It’s easy to get a lot of CVs and resumes and people eager to show portfolios of work for copywriting.

But give a potential copywriting hire a piece of long copy to write, and everything starts to fall apart.

For me as an independent freelance copywriter and social media consultant based in Abu Dhabi, near Dubai, UAE – I’ve been seeing the demand for long copy rising even more with the increasing role of digital content in brand communication. Ironically, long copy writers are becoming an endangered species.

Good news for the surviving relics like me who love to string words together. Sentence by sentence. Who haven’t sacrificed their craft for prose at the altar of creative awards. Whose portfolio is not simply a series of mostly unpublished visual puns. Old fashioned wordsmiths who can write like they talk – and end up convincing people with ‘salesmanship in print’ as the ad legends preferred to call the art of copy.

Coming to the point of this post, here is an email I received from someone who wishes to apply for a copywriter job. This email is a good sign of the times.

And a serious reminder that if you do find a copywriter who can write long copy and write it well – hold on to him. Pamper him. Pay him well. And don’t let him out of your sight. Or…

Application received by CopywriterJournalist.com for a copywriting job

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Copywriter Job Application

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So, what do you think are the chances of our friend above landing a copywriting job? Would you be interested in seeing his 500+ ad concepts? I am really curious to read the 46 TVC scripts and press ads.

Haidar Taleb – an ideal brand ambassador for Masdar Abu Dhabi January 7, 2011

Posted by Farrukh Naeem at www.copywriterjournalist.com in : Featured Main Post,Social Media , 3 comments

When brands endorse or invest in personalities who would be their ambassadors, it’s usually movie stars, teen idols, athletes.

Why choose a brand ambassador?
Millions of dollars change hands and the popularity of the star rubs off on the brand. For new products, a famous endorsement can mean first time trial and even a big credibility boost.

At the turn of the year, CopywriterJournalist.com came across a communication campaign that merited a dedicated blog post in the context of strategic marketing and brand initiatives in the UAE and the Middle East.

It’s not a brand ambassadorship where a company pays a celebrity to say good things about their brand in the hope that their fans and their credibility will boost the brand image.

It’s more inspiring than that.

Meet Haidar Taleb – he’s blazing a new trail in responsible innovation
Haidar Taleb was diagnosed with polio when he was 4 years old and has used a wheelchair to move about ever since. Despite the odds, he stands tall in terms of his achievements.

When the UAE was being decked up for National Day celebrations in UAE, 47-year old Haidar was busy planning a different kind of tribute to his country.

Haidar Taleb solar wheelchair inventor with Masdar representative

Haidar Taleb and his team along with Sara Al Khalufi of Masdar

On November 11, Haidar Taleb crossed 88 miles in a motorised solar wheelchair becoming the first person in the world to do so in 14 hours. Non-stop. He created a Guinness World Record. With sheer determination.

And that was just the beginning.

Soon after, Haidar travelled more than 200 miles from one corner of the UAE to another in his solar powered wheelchair to raise awareness of the need and importance of renewable energy across the UAE.

Haidar Taleb solar wheelchair inventor in Abu Dhabi on UAE National Day

Haidar Taleb on his 200 mile journey for UAE's National Day

Starting his 11-day journey in Fujairah, he passed by schools, universities, police stations, and social centres for people with disabilities, completing his journey in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, on 2 December, the National Day of the UAE.

“With this journey I hope to raise awareness of disability and sustainability, as well as what we can achieve as individuals if we have the courage and determination to try. When we have this determination, there are no limits to our creativity. That is the message I want to spread.”
Haidar Taleb

Welcoming Haidar Taleb to Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the current base of CopywriterJournalist.com and we were there to welcome Haidar to our city and cheer him on and accompany him across the city up to the finishing point of his 7-emirate journey – the Abu Dhabi Breakwater at the end of Corniche.

Haidar Taleb completes his UAE National Day journey in Abu Dhabi

You’ve read the previous post and video on how people celebrated the 39th UAE National Day in Abu Dhabi. This post is about how CopywriterJournalist.com celebrated. With Haidar.

Haidar Taleb completes his 7-emirate journey in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi

How is Haidar Taleb’s journey related to brands and brand ambassadors?

It is. In a smart and intelligent way.

Haidar is not just a determined man who has created a world record. He is the inventor of the solar powered wheelchair he uses. His world record attempt and journey across the UAE, as well his development of the wheelchair, has been supported by Masdar.

Masdar is Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted initiative for the development, commercialisation and deployment of renewable and alternative energy technologies and solutions. They are also the people behind Masdar City – Abu Dhabi’s clean-technology cluster located in what aims to be one of the world’s most sustainable urban developments powered by renewable energy.

CopywriterJournalist found the support of Haidar Taleb by Masdar meaningful and more importantly thoughtful too. From a strategic communication and social media perspective, the brand kept Haidar in the forefront.

An integrated social media and online campaign

The campaign had a dedicated website – Be With Haidar. It had its own Twitter account, Facebook page, geotagging, Flickr stream, and a YouTube Channel too. The ‘support wall’ on Haidar’s website is a great reflection of the way this campaign touched people.

The bigger picture for Masdar’s choice of Haidar Taleb – in CopywriterJournalist’s opinion
The money spent by Masdar in sponsoring Haidar is going into developing a wheelchair that runs on solar power, to make it commercially viable. Haidar might not be a celebrity or a superstar but his work would do more for our world than a million dollar ad campaign.

For an Abu Dhabi and UAE based brand that is committed to renewable energy – we feel Masdar has made a very smart choice. They haven’t announced Haidar as an ‘ambassador’ but the way we see it – he’s helped us see his sponsors in positive light. More brands should follow suit – if not for commercial reasons, at least as part of their CSR initiatives. We’ll love them for it.

Founding editor of CopywriterJournalist.com, Farrukh Naeem and Hassan Kiyany, an Emirati director and film maker also made a short film as a tribute to Haidar. You can watch it on Farrukh’s Copywriter in UAE blog and Hassan’s blog.

Freelance Copywriting Tip – How to spot a bad client in 60 seconds December 29, 2010

Posted by Farrukh Naeem at www.copywriterjournalist.com in : Advertising,Copywriting,Freelancing , 4 comments

1. Wants to know your fee BEFORE seeing your work

2. Wants a quote before explaining scope of work

3. Keeps repeating ‘it’s a very simple job’ (NOT)

4. Asks you to meet his ‘committee’ or ‘board’ first

5. Says ‘Actually, I can do it myself’ if I have time

6. Says ‘Don’t worry about the money – we always pay’ – even if you haven’t expressed your worry

7. Reluctant to pay anything upfront or even on delivery – and mentions ‘if approved’

8. Wants multiple options but only wants to pay for one

9. Does not have content and asks you to look up other websites to get content

10. Asks you to call him back if you want his business – great clients call you first if they have seen and liked your work

Got more tips to spot evil clients? Share them in the comments! Are you a client who does this? Confess!

Is Groupon coming to the UAE? With City Deal and Cobone? December 26, 2010

Posted by Farrukh Naeem at www.copywriterjournalist.com in : Marketing,Social Media , 5 comments

As our readers in the UAE know, we already have a fair share of group buying sites – many looking like clones of earlier ones. So far, GoNabit has been fairly successful in the UAE and has a headstart.

Newcomer Cobone is by the Jabbar Group – the guys who own Souq.com – and they must have deep pockets we presume because their ads have been spotted by us all over the Google Content network, YouTube and Facebook.

Then, we have Cityloots, YaDig, Makhsoom, UAEdeals, LowCostDubai… is it overkill?

Whatever it may be – it looks like the site that whose name is synonymous with this category – Groupon – seems to be waiting in the wings to land here in the UAE.

Here’s what CopywriterJournalist has spotted on the website Groupon.ae:

Although Abu Dhabi, Dubai or the UAE are not listed on the Groupon.com website as upcoming cities, and the UAE site’s design and content differs from it, we noticed a perfect match with the design and content of http://www.citydeal.ie

Although Groupon and CityDeals seems to be working in partnership in some countries with a joint logo, and the Groupon UAE website links to City Deals UAE – the Twitter account linked from Groupon.ae is promoting and retweeting Cobone.com. Are we looking at a merger? A JV? And why the need for three brand names?

We wish they had named their Facebook page a little more wisely too. Here’s what it looks like:

Groupon in UAE Facebook page

So what exactly is is ‘Arabic Emirates’? Maybe the problem is that the ‘Groupon UAE’ page has already been taken by these guys in the picture below who don’t seem to be affiliated with Groupon.com - the ‘creative’ font and the UAE flag sort of gives it away:

Wouldn’t it be really nice if we had businesses surprising us with innovative new ways of doing businesses rather than showing us how good of a ‘me-too’ brand they can be?

Note: Groupon is a late entrant in a market where its business model reached before it. But how many group buying sites would we have before we’ve had enough?

As marketers, we at CopywriterJournalist.com hope that the brand positioning and personalities of these players would be built differently and consumers will have a greater choice. Specialised deal sites for different tastes could be fun too!

39th UAE National Day Celebration Images from Abu Dhabi December 13, 2010

Posted by Farrukh Naeem at www.copywriterjournalist.com in : Advertising , add a comment

The 39th UAE National Day in 2010 was one of the most memorable with people from all nationalities joining in the celebrations as always. Buildings lighted up. Cars decorated in the most unexpected ways. And wars of foam. Here are a few moments captured in the capital – Abu Dhabi.

John Carlton’s Simple Writing System Workshop by Stan Dahl in Dubai, UAE November 12, 2010

Posted by Farrukh Naeem at www.copywriterjournalist.com in : Advertising,Copywriting,Events , 3 comments

Would you like to attend an intensive 6-hour interactive workshop based on John Carlton’s Simple Writing System right here in Dubai, UAE, with a 100% discount on the course fee? Read on…

For all those readers who’ve been asking for copywriting advice
Being one of the first blogging copywriters in the UAE, I’ve been asked so many times on my blog on advertising in the UAE and the Middle East about copywriting courses. I’ve been helping people with copywriting advice and tips myself but haven’t been able to point them to a course here because there isn’t any to my knowledge.

This week, it’s a different story.

John Carlton’s Simple Writing System comes to Dubai – all the way from San Francisco
On 14 November, three days from now, Stan Dahl who is the business partner of John Carlton, will be in Dubai to present John Carlton’s Simple Writing System. It will be an interactive 6-hour workshop by Stan that I think could benefit anyone to whom content is important – from traditional copywriters to people who market or communicate online.

Stan Dahl’s workshop is part of a paid event – the annual Unlimited Power Online event organised by Ernesto Verdugo, Gautam Ganglani, Elin Kilicarslan and Kim Wusten. I’ve been attending many events of this team since they first started three years ago and have blogged about it too.

The BIG NEWS, for which I am making this post is this…

20 free seats to Stan Dahl’s workshop in Dubai. Claim yours now!
Ernesto has offered a 100% waiver of the workshop fee for 20 readers of my blog.

Yes, readers of my blog can attend this rare 6-hour Simple Writing System workshop for free. If you act really FAST (only 2 days to go).

Stan Dahl’s workshop in Dubai – the details:
Date: Sunday, 14 November 2010
Time: 14.00 to 21.00 hrs (Timings subject to change)
Venue: DUCTAC, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

All you have to do to get a chance to attend this workshop for free and to stay updated with any such opportunities in the future for copywriting and related updates is to submit your details in the form below. Even if you miss the event or are not among the 20 lucky people to get the free seats, submit your details if you’d like to receive news of future copywriting events, courses and useful copywriting updates from me.

And if you are still wondering who John Carlton is…
John Carlton’s website calls him “the most ripped-off and respected copywriter alive”, he is the man behind rebelmarketer.com and SimpleMarketingSystem.com where he is recommended by the likes of Frank Kern, John Reese, Perry Marshall, Yanik Silver – the who’s who of the internet marketing world. He also seems to be the copywriter’s copywriter, with glowing testimonials from Dan Kennedy, Kevin Hill and Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero.

John Carlton Farrukh Naeem UPO Dubai

I had met John and Stan when they were in Dubai for the first edition of Unlimited Power Online in 2008. This time it’s going to be Stan, John’s business partner, who’s presenting. Looking forward to a useful workshop on Sunday.

Call me at 0507151722 if you want to attend but find the above very confusing.

GEMAS Effie Awards 2010 in Dubai showcase rising use of social media in the Middle East November 10, 2010

Posted by Farrukh Naeem at www.copywriterjournalist.com in : Advertising,Advertising Awards,Events,Featured Main Post,Marketing,Marketing Awards,Social Media , add a comment

The Middle East’s advertising effectiveness is put to test at the annual GEMAS Effie Awards every year in Dubai, UAE. This year, the Award presentation ceremony was held on 4 November at Joharah Ballroom in the enchanting Madinat Jumeirah complex.

The breathtaking Madinat Jumeirah venue

Siobhan Adams, the Managing Editor of Gulf Marketing Review and a good friend had extended a special invitation to CopywriterJournalist to attend, as always. And an event like this needs to persuasion, of course. So here is what it was all about. From a non-corporate, e-journalist point of view.

What’s different about GEMAS Effies?
It’s a great place to see effective advertising rising above the self-serving clever ads designed to win creative awards. It’s the right place to spot marketers who ask for results. It’s an advertising and marketing award where the jury is not composed of ad people alone but also people from the research and marketing side. It’s a hard award to win by chance.

Who’s behind the GEMAS Effies?
The people behind the award are Mediaquest – the publishers of Gulf Marketing Review (GMR) and Communicate. And if you’ve been reading the news – over the years they’ve acquired many good titles and added more variety to their portfolio.

Alexandre Julien Hawari Mediaquest GEMAS Effies

Alexandre Hawari and Julien Hawari of Mediaquest Corp with Roy Haddad of JWT MENA

Of suits, ties, and the-client-is-with-us effect
The function was like most advertising awards ceremonies. Suits. Ties. Miniskirts. Dinner. And the best part of it all – the coveted metal!

As opposed to the creative awards, maybe because we agency people tend to behave a bit when on the same table with our clients, some creatively-inclined people might have missed the sound of stadium horns that would be heard if this was a creative award. Oh yes, and the winners did not get to deliver any Oscar-winning speeches. Instead, time was given to showcase the numbers of the winning campaigns in the gigantic screens. All results. No BS. Nice.

Media-Marketing-Agency-Client – an award that pleases all
It was interesting to note that many awards were submitted by media agencies rather than advertising agencies. Is it because those were media innovation ideas. Did the media agencies create those campaigns? Or was it simply because the media agencies are in a better position to track statistics? It would be interesting to know.

Social Media has arrived in MENA. With a bang.
In the earlier edition of this award, CopywriterJournalist.com had been the rare tweeter live tweeting the event. But the rising power of social media was hard to miss this year – in award entries as well as in the volume in live tweets being generated as the awards were announced. The award had its own dedicated hashtag:

GEMAS Effies Awards 2010 Dubai UAE Twitter Tweets Hashtag

Facebook activations, site visits, registrations dominated the presentations. Of course, the entries also inspired, enlightened, entertained the audience.

Anything that’s online gets more bang for the bucks, or dirhams. We all know that. And while years ago this blog was posting about digital agencies lamenting the miniscule online budgets, digital and social is now where the money’s at.

That’s one good thing that has come out of the recession – well deserved respect for the digital landscape in the region. A greater focus on accountability for every dollar spent.

Digital campaigns offer measurable results

The awards and its winners are an indication that we are moving from exposures to engagement. From viewers to followers and fans. This was evident in most of the entries. And it made us digital addicts feel good all over.

Oh. And the funniest part was…
Not the one about an agency coming up and receiving an award only to have another agency sneak up and whisper in the MC’s ear that THEY were the real winners. So, the first group had to give back the award which was then presented to the actual winners. It wasn’t funny. Heartbreaking rather.

What really was funny and a big hand to the organisers for making it happen was the funny thing called Sugar Sammy. He had the audience in splits with his live and interactive act about why he loves Lebanese girls. No prizes for guessing why he chose that demographic in this city. It worked. Big time. But before you get get carried away now – on to some serious business.

GEMAS Effies Awards 2010 Winners
TBWA\RAAD ME won the Grand Prix of the night for its uaeexplorer.com campaign for Standard Chartered.

$TBWA\RAAD ME GEMAS effie 2010 Grand Prix Winner$

TBWARAAD ME team jubilant after receiving their GEMAS Effie 2010 Grand Prix Award

Boutros Boutros, Divisional Senior Vice President, Corporate Communication of Emirates was declared Marketer of the Year.

FP7 Bahrain seemed to be stealing the show with their Batelco work with a certain Mr Fadi Yaish (you’ve seen him in the awards pictures in years gone by on this blog) making a comeback on the awards circuit, this time for effectiveness. And he was the best dressed man for the GEMAS marketing event in the eyes of CopywriterJournalist because this blogger has a weakness for social media. Here’s why:

Fadi Yaish wearing his brand's Facebook link

So, as you can see, Facebook and the rest of the digital amazingness was everywhere.

CATEGORIES

Cosmetics & Fragrance
Silver: Beiersdorf | How Nivea Angelstar wowed teens in the ME | OMD & Horizon Draftfcb

Non-FMCG
Gold: Henkel Arabia | Arwa3 Abaya Persil | OMD
Gold: Exotica | Valentine | Leo Burnett Beirut

Sports Marketing
Silver: Batelco | World Cup: Debate the Game | FP7/BAH
Bronze: Coca-Cola | FIFA World Cup Anthem Waving Flag | UM Dubai

Electronics/Computers
Silver: HP Middle East | touch GITEX Now | OMD
Bronze: Arab Business Machine | Love iPod | LOWE MENA

There were no winners in the Media and Travel, Tourism & Transportation categories. So brands in this category, take note.

Agencies not seen much in action this year were digital players Flip Media and direct players Wunderman – favourites of CopywriterJournalist.com. Digital and direct one would think have the best advantage in the effectiveness game.

So how has the year been for you? How did your agency fare? Let’s discuss this and more in the comments…

Important information if you are subscribed to my blog posts by email November 7, 2010

Posted by Farrukh Naeem at www.copywriterjournalist.com in : Advertising , add a comment

If you’re subscribed to CopywriterJournalist.com’s latest blog posts via email (Feedburner), please read this post.

I am moving my subscribers to the spam-free and reliable AWeber service.

All my Feedburner subscribers will receive an email (from AWeber) asking to confirm their subscription to Farrukh Naeem’s updates.

Please follow the instructions in that email so that you’re subscribed to the new emailing system.

A special gift awaits you when you’re done with the process…

20 free tips on using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google like a pro for better business leads and more productivity.

I’m sure you’d find it useful. Unless you don’t use any of the above. What’s your planet, then?

20 free social media tools and tips for your business

Posted by Farrukh Naeem at www.copywriterjournalist.com in : Advertising Awards,Events,Marketing Awards,Social Media , 2 comments

How would you like 20 free ready-to-use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google tools and tips for your business?

I was recently invited to speak at a social media seminar and panel discussion for Tamakkan – a forum for entrepreneurs and innovators in Abu Dhabi on 26 October. I saw it as a great opportunity to give away as many strategic, time and money saving tips I could give to my fellow entrepreneurs.

It was a truly engaged and amazing audience – as you can see in the picture below:

A lot of friends, peers, clients and social media enthusiasts were unable to attend and wanted me share the tips with them too.

So, I have spruced up the presentation and put it up online, specially for all of you.

To read all about the Tamakkan seminar and to get access to my presentation, please visit the link below:

20 Free Tips on Using Social Media For Your Business – Presented at Tamakkan, Abu Dhabi, UAE, by Copywriter in UAE.

SPECIAL NOTE FOR MY BLOG SUBSCRIBERS: You will also be getting an email from AWeber, the highly reliable spam-free service I now use to send useful information and tips to my readers. Please follow the instructions in those emails to confirm your subscription so that I can continue to send you cool stuff. Thanks for your support – it’s what keeps me going!

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