Copywriter Journalist

Advertising blog by Farrukh Naeem, journalist and copywriter in UAE (Abu Dhabi, near Dubai)

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Creative BTL advertising visualiser cum designer vacancy in Abu Dhabi March 30, 2008

One of the most creative advertising agency networks in the world is looking for a creative visualiser cum designer for its Abu Dhabi office.

You need to be passionate about BTL stuff. Everything from brochures and leaflets to website design and emailers.

The ideal candidate would be young and hungry to prove that BTL has as much award-winning potential as ATL. Of course, if you’ve already proven your mettle, you’ll sail through the shortlisting with your portfolio.

You’d have the ability to take a brief and deliver to it. On time. On quality.

Of course, you’d be fluent with designer things like Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator - the works.

What you’ll get is a warm and progressive agency atmosphere. Young and driven team mates. Focused and motivating creative direction. And a chance to grow as fast as you can take it.

If your mom and dad don’t allow late nights, or if you look down on BTL - this post is not for you.

But if laying out long copy as well pages, if designing brochures and publications, direct mailers and collaterals is your game, this is the opportunity you could be waiting for. In Abu Dhabi - the city that’s buzzing with activity minus the diversions and jams.

Rush your CV/portfolio to farrukh.copywriter(at)gmail.com and let me know why you think BTL rocks!

The position is full time, based in Abu Dhabi and needs to be filled immediately.

2nd Dubai Lynx Awards entries cross the 2000 mark in 2008 March 29, 2008

The 2nd Dubai Lynx Awards, part of the 1st Dubai International Advertising Festival to be held in Dubai, UAE, have received more than 2000 entries this year.

The awards for creative excellence in the Middle East have grown by around 20% by number of entries. 17 countries in the region are competing for the coveted Dubai Lynx trophies.

Entries for Dubai Lynx Awards 2008 - Break-up by category

As you can see, TV, Print and Radio categories have received almost as many entries as last year. The Outdoor category seems to have exploded this year jumping to almost twice the number of entries. Could this have to do with lots and lots of real estate ads? One hopes these are creative ones because size isn’t everything.

It’s heartening to see the new category ‘Media’ starting off strong with more than a hundred entries this year. Watching interesting media innovations would be interesting.

While Radio continues to reflect the little attention that is paid to it, and the general lack of creativity in the medium in the region, what is a little disappointing in the digital age is to see Interactive entries also trailing far behind press and TV.

The toughest competition is going to be in print as is obvious. Judging from last year’s entries and of course being a practising creative for half a decade here in the UAE, I had a feeling that Interactive and Radio would be easier to compete in, and that feeling was right after all.

The surprisingly low number of Integrated entries as opposed to single press, TV, outdoor entries may be the result of two factors. Some people feel that this region is less priented towards campaign thinking and more towards tactical one-off ads - resulting in some brilliant ads which cannot be strung together in a single campaign.

Also, at the time agencies were applying and submitting entries for Dubai Lynx, many people were finding it hard to understand the process of submitting ads as campaigns. What they were trying to figure out was whether 3-4 ads in a campaign have to be paid in full individually and submitted as ‘Integrated’ or is there another ‘Submit Campaign’ option. I think it was the former. Perhaps the ‘Submit Ads As Campaign’ process needs to be simplified next time.

What do you think is the reason for having more than 800 entries in Print alone and only 27 entries in Integrated? Are creative people in the region making brilliant ads but not brilliant campaigns? Are we too focused on short term creative flashes? Are our clients more concerned here about instant gratification?

Or did we just find it cheaper to submit many single ads than put lots of money on one campaign?

Your comments and insights and disagreements too are welcome in the ‘Comments’ section of this post…

Down memory lane: In the first Dubai Lynx Awards last year, this blog quite possibly had the world’s most extensive coverage with reports, views and pictures of winners. Have a look at these posts to get the feeling of what it’s like:

1. Dubai Lynx Winners (with pictures) Part 4 - Gold Winners in Print and TV/Cinema
2. Dubai Lynx Awards Winners Part 3 (with pictures) - Gold winners in Integrated and Interactive and Direct
3. Dubai Lynx Awards winners Part 2 (with pictures) - Gold Dubai Lynx for Outdoor advertising
4. Dubai Lynx Awards Winners Part 1 (with pictures and download links of Dubai Lynx winners): Global jury selects 111 top ads in the Middle East

Keep It Clear ad for Clear anti-dandruff shampoo March 9, 2008

Clear anti-dandruff shampoo had a brilliant press ad in OK! Middle East’s 21 February edition (Issue 158).

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Ikon Advertising puts women first with Jill and Jack press ad March 8, 2008

Ikon Advertising published a good press magazine ad ‘Jill and Jack’ on the occasion of Women’s Day on the back page of Khaleej Times weekend.

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Dubai Lynx Academy to sponsor 20 students for Dubai International Advertising Festival March 5, 2008

The Dubai International Advertising Festival is based around the theme ’Learn to Win‘. And in line with that central theme, professionals and students from the advertising industry will have a chance to not just be inspired by award winning ads from the region and around the world, but also by the seminars and workshops that will be conducted by the top ad gurus like David Droga and Piyush Pandey.

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Dubai Lynx announces Advertising Person of the Year Award in Dubai, UAE

The 2nd Dubai Lynx Awards Ceremony will honour the Advertising Person of the Year with a trophy at the first Dubai International Advertising Festival on 2 April 2008. This announcement was made at a press conference held by the organisers yesterday in Dubai Media City.

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• About...

  Farrukh Naeem is an advertising copywriter and journalist based in Abu Dhabi, right next to Dubai, UAE.

  
  This blog aims to highlight news, views and opinions on advertising, marketing, corporate communication, PR and creativity in business.

  
  Feel free to email Farrukh at farrukh.copywriter(at)gmail.com or have a friendly chat with him on his cellphone at 00 971 50 7151722 if you are:

  * an editor or journalist looking for insightful coverage of the advertising and marketing scene in the UAE and the Middle East

  * an eccentric creative director who believes good soulful copy isn't dead, yet

  * a brand manager or marketing communications chief wishing to have coffee with a copywriter who's studied Philip Kotler, heard Tom Peters, and can understand marketing strategies and annual reports

  * an advertising, marketing, media, or public relations professional with some hot, sizzling news, event or opinion you want me to feature on this blog

  * a young, enthusiastic person looking for simple tips for your advertising or journalism career but being brushed away by those who have made it big but forgotten how they, once upon a time, were like you too...

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• Copyright (c) 2008 Farrukh Naeem. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  No part of this blog including text, pictures, opinion, quotes, ads, illustrations may be reproduced, posted or published without the expressed written consent of the author. For permission to republish this blog's content, please write to farrukh.copywriter(at)gmail.com. If you are in a rush, you can speak to me on +971 50 7151722. You are welcome to cite or quote text excerpts (not images) of this blog under Fair Use conventions provided that you credit the source as Farrukh Naeem and link back to www.copywriterjournalist.com.

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