Copywriter Journalist

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

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English copywriter job position in Dubai, UAE for award-winning advertising agency April 16, 2008

A hot and creative advertising agency based in Dubai, with a wall full of creative awards and a regional and multinational presence is looking for a full time English copywriter to join them immediately.

You need to have a stunning portfolio of ads across all media, and be an expert in BTL. Long copy should come easy to you. Brochures, leaflets, posters, direct mailers should be your forte.

The agency started out as a creative hot shop around 10 years ago. Swept quite a few coveted awards as it grew, adding PR, events into its portfolio. And very soon, you could be at a good position in its own independent BTL division as its chief copywriter?

Interested?

Rush you CVs to farrukh.copywriter(at)gmail.com and I’ll forward them on to one of the founders of the agency who’s looking to meet the prospective copywriter in Dubai asap.

NOTE: To keep track of new posts and advertising jobs in dubai and uae that I put up on this blog, you can bookmark it, favourite it or scribble www.copywriterjournalist.com on your wall. Best thing to do however is just fill in your emailin the ‘Get email updates FREE!’ box on the left hand side panel and click ‘Subscribe’. You’ll get automated email notifications when I put up a new post. Cool, innit?

Dubai Lynx awards winners and pictures April 4, 2008

Winners of the 2nd Dubai Lynx Awards were announced on 2 April in Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre on 2 April 2008.

The Dubai Lynx Awards ceremony was part of the 1st Dubai International Advertising Festival attended by over 1500 guests from over 17 countries.

A total of 180 Dubai Lynx trophies including Gold, Bronze and Silver were awarded. The competition was stiff this year with 513 ads making it to the shortlist from the 2023 entries submitted.

45 Dubai Lynx winners were declared for the Print category, Outdoor had 40 trophies, Direct winners were 28. Media was a new category introduced this year and it saw 24 winners. TV/Cinema had 20 winners, Interactive winners had 15 and there were only 4 winners in Integrated as well as 4 in Radio, the last two categories starting out with a very low number of entries.

Out of the 17 countries that partcipated in Dubai Lynx, advertising and media agencies in the UAE took home 127 trophies, followed by Qatar with 18 wins - thanks to FP7 Doha dazzling the jury with their work, Lebanon winning 12 trophies and Egypt grabbing 7 Dubai Lynx awards, including 2 Grand Prix. FP7 DOHA, Qatar, won the Print Grand Prix for EA Games BD Group entry called ‘Back Home’.

Leo Burnett Beirut won the Outdoor Grand Prix for Procter & Gamble’s ‘Natural Colours Change’.

Leo Burnett Cairo’s Melody Channel TV campaign won them the TV/Cinema Grand Prix. They had taken home the first Dubai Lynx TV Grand Prix for the same brand last year.

Bates Pangulf Dubai won the Direct Dubai Lynx Grand Prix for Dubai First credit cards ‘We Know Who You Are’ and in the Media category, the Grand Prix Dubai Lynx Award was won by JWT Cairo for Vodafone Egypt’s ‘Truck Stickers’.

No Grand Prix was awarded in the Interactive, Radio and Integrated categories, a weakness that I have earlier talked about in posts on radio and online advertising, and lack of campaignable thinking at times.

JWT Dubai was declared Agency of the Year with FP7 Doha coming in second, and Fortune Promoseven Dubai in third position.

MediaOne’s Abdul Shafeeq and Swapna Varma from the UAE were declared the winners of the 1st Dubai Lynx Young Creatives competition.

Useful links:
1. View Dubai Lynx Awards winners pictures and download winners list in Outdoor

Dubai Lynx Awards winners’ pictures in Outdoor category

Dubai Lynx Awards announced 40 winners in the Outdoor category, which had a large number of entries this year, following just next to the Print category. Here are the pictures of the Gold and Grand Prix winners of Dubai Lynx Awards in Outdoor…

Dubai Lynx Awards 2008 Gold and Grand Prix winners pictures - Outdoor Category

FP7 Doha team with their first Dubai Lynx Gold of the evening, for their Outdoor ad for EA Games

Click on ‘More’ below to see more pictures…

(more…)

Steve Harrison shares tips on pitching big advertising ideas to hesitant clients at Dubai Lynx April 1, 2008

On Day 1 of Dubai Lynx Awards and the Dubai International Advertising Festival, I was most interested in listening to the surprise session by Steve Harrison (not on the first released festival schedule but in the recent Dubai Lynx email notifications and updated schedule).

Steve has been described by Campaign magazine as “the greatest direct marketing creative of this generation” and his agency Harrison Troughton Wunderman has won more Cannes Direct Lions than any other agency in the world. Having worked at Wunderman and being passionate about direct marketing, how could I resist listening to someone who’s been the Worldwide Creative Director of Wunderman!

Steve’s presentation was about why clients buy bad work, and what can be done to stop them. Being a senior creative person who has to often present agency work to tough clients, I found Steve’s tips valuable and his interaction, engaging.

According to Steve Harrison, advertising agencies have to understand their clients before they can persuade them to buy great work. “You’ve got to start seeing the world through their eyes.” And one of the first key points to sell great work to clients - don’t sell bad work, don’t even take it to the client if you aren’t happy with it!

Also, before asking client to jump, agencies need to assure them they’ll take the client and his brand to the other side, that they know what they are doing.

“The client will never remember that you were three days late, but will always remember you for a bad campaign that bombed.”
Steve Harrison
Ex-Creative Director Worldwide - Wunderman

He cautioned agencies against producing dishonest work - ads that look like they’ve just been recycled from cliched, old concepts.

Steve’s answers were quick and witty. On being asked how clients that are family businesses should be dealt with, he suggested organising the pitch in their home with a smile. Businessmen may not be savvy about marketing but they know how to make money he said, and therefore, ads that will make them more money are sure to get their attention.

I asked Steve what he would do if the client loves a campaign but wants to change its big idea. Steve suggested doing a split test (like a true DM guy would). As well as presenting a completely new ad. A participant added that showing competitive ads could help. Of course, during his presentation he had already talked about getting the client involved from the briefing stage onwards in which case such a situation is less likely to arise.

The session was interactive with participants adding experiences of their market (a little too elaborately at times), talking about a ‘wine-women-wasta’ strategy, and the women in the audience objecting to the constant references to client’s wives.

As I was leaving, Steve thanked me for attending and said he liked my question and the insights I had shared with him on one of my campaigns. He’s delivering another seminar tomorrow but I might be battling agency deadlines. And making client logos bigger.

UPDATE - 10 April 2008: Samer Marzouq of Jazarah.net, another ad blogger buddy who had come all the way from Jordan, has a Video interview with Steve Harrison at Dubai Lynx in which Steve emphasises that clients must be trained by senior agency management on how to get their money’s worth out of an agency. I highly recommend the video.

Dubai Lynx shortlists, advertising seminars and workshops keep delegates busy on Day 1

The first ever Dubai International Advertising Festival and the 2nd Dubai Lynx Awards started off well on Monday, 31 March 2008.

Two things most looked forward to on this day were the shortlist of Print, Outdoor, Media and Direct categories and the chance to listen to David Droga - the first seminar after the inauguration of the festival by the Crown Prince of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Chairman of TECOM.

The shortlist announced today had a total of 383 entries - 195 in Print, 109 in Outdoor, 50 in Direct and 29 in Media. The overall standard looked pretty high this time.

The much awaited Droga5 seminar was packed with ad professionals eager to hear what one of the world’s hottest creative directors has to say about creating positive brand momentum. Seminars and workshops included those by Getty, Eardrum, IAA and EMAAR, Text Appeal and Jumeirah, Brandhome and Eurosport.

I met up with many friends in the ad business. Zeid Nasser of Adblog Arabia and MediaMe who’s come all the way from Jordan. Samer Marzouq of the Jazarah blog. Shehzad of Pirana Dubai, who has been on the jury of New York Festivals. Kerry Platts of Wunderman MENA, a wonderful CD to work with when it comes to Direct, who has been on the Cannes jury from UAE.

Amanda Benfell, the event’s PR and Press Manager, has been very helpful all along. The Press Centre is well equipped. The award-winning work showcased from Cannes and Eurobest makes one feel like a little, tiny dot in the creative universe.

If you’re at the Dubai Lynx, why not share your notes and experiences here? I’d be happy to post inputs from attendees on this blog for everyone’s benefit. And you’re most welcome to call me at 050 7151722 - maybe we could meet up for a coffee when I’m there. You could also show me your work if it’s made it!   

• 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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