Kraft

Memac Ogilvy appoints Eymard Saldanha regional head of advertising in MENA

editor — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 23:38:36 -0700

Memac Ogilvy & Mather announced today the promotion of Eymard Saldanha to the position of Regional Head of Advertising in the Middle East and North Africa.

Eymard will continue to head up the BAT Eastern Europe Middle East & Africa (EEMEA) account and part of the Global Leadership Team at Ogilvy on BAT. BAT is the single largest client within Ogilvy Africa and Middle East.

Eymard joined Memac Ogilvy in Dubai in early 1997 as Associate Account Director and was regularly promoted throughout the years. During his career at Memac Ogilvy, Eymard has managed multiple blue-chip accounts, including British American Tobacco (Pall Mall, Viceroy, Vogue, Rothmans, Peter Stuyvesant); Glaxo Smithkline (Panadol, Eno and Lucozade); Unilever (Dove, Comfort, Vaseline and Ponds), Kraft (Tang); and IBM (cross brand) among others.

In addition to his account handling and team leader responsibilities, Eymard has been involved in the general management of the UAE operations as well as new business development.

Making the announcement, Eddie Moutran, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Memac Ogilvy, said: "Eymard has proven time and again to be a key player in our organization. His 14-year stint with us is evidence of his commitment to his work and to his clients."

Fluent in English, Hindi, Marathi, and Konkani, Eymard graduated from Xavier Institute of Communications at Bombay University with a Post Graduate Diploma in Advertising and Marketing in 1990. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics & Sociology, also from Bombay University.

When he has a few hours away from managing his clients' advertising campaigns, Eymard is an avid motoring enthusiast (both 4 and 2 wheels) as well as being passionate about athletics, particularly basketball and tennis.

Cannes Lions International Festival of creativity selects Hill and Knowlton as first PR partner

editor — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 23:47:57 -0800

Hill & Knowlton, which has pioneered the PR industry's involvement at the annual Cannes Lions Festival, is to become its first ever PR partner. The week-long Festival, founded in 1954, has traditionally been an advertising dominated event but has recently expanded to include other communications disciplines including PR in 2009.

"This is a great honour", said Tony Burgess-Webb, chief marketing officer of Hill & Knowlton. "Creativity is fundamental to effective communications and Cannes Lions is the epi-centre for creativity in communications. By getting actively involved, we have tried to set a lead for the PR industry worldwide."

In 2009, the first year for PR award entries, H&K hosted its first PR seminar and first ever Cannes Lions 'tweet-up' with Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter to highlight the importance of social media. In 2010, H&K hosted another PR seminar with ImprovEverywhere and created a street event, a spoof 'VIP Party' gently satirising Cannes Lions' VIP party culture.

H&K also created a dedicated videoblog called Cannes Eye, webcasting two editions daily of interviews with leaders and CMO's from brands such as Kraft, J&J and Procter & Gamble.

Festival CEO, Phil Thomas said: "Cannes Lions has evolved way beyond pure advertising and creative PR is key to what brands want. H&K understood this very early on and have shown real leadership. We are pleased to recognise this by making them our first ever Official PR Partner."

The Cannes Lions Festival is the world's only truly global meeting place for professionals in the communications industry. In 2010 over 8,000 delegates from 95 countries attended seven days of exhibitions, screenings, as well as over 50 high-profile seminars, 30 workshops and master classes presented by renowned worldwide industry leaders.

Abu Dhabi Film Festival awards advertising campaign for its 4th edition to JWT

editor — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 03:43:55 -0700

The Abu Dhabi Film Festival (formerly the Middle East International Film Festival) announced today that it has selected JWT to develop its new advertising campaign for the 4th edition of the Festival, which will take place October 14-23, 2010.

The Festival recently launched its new name and brand, which, its management explained, was inspired by a drive to emphasise the Festival's link to its home and to recognise Abu Dhabi's role in boosting a regional upswing in filmmaking and creative enterprise.

"We are proud of our new name, which came naturally out of a strengthened mission to nurture a rich film culture in the UAE, as well as regionally and internationally. We chose JWT because their pitch showed a full understanding of where we are and where we want to take our Festival. We are confident that they are ideally positioned to capture and convey the bold spirit of the festival," said Huda Al Shamsi, Director of Marketing and Sponsorship.

To align with the Festival's new brand strategy and raise its profile, the advertising agency review was launched on 30 June 2010. Five agencies were invited to pitch for the 2010 campaign. After considering all proposals, Festival management confirmed its partnership with JWT on 3 August 2010.

JWT is part of WPP, one of the world's leading communications services groups. The agency looks back on more than 20 years of experience in the region and employs 80% Arab talent. As part of the largest MENA agency network, it counts multinational companies Nestle, UL, HSBC, J&J, Kraft and Nokia among its clients.

Memac OgilvyAction expands into Saudi and Lebanon

editor — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:32:55 -0700

Memac Ogilvy announced the launch of OgilvyAction (OA) divisions in Jeddah and Beirut as part of its regional expansion strategy. OA has been introduced in keeping with Ogilvy's 360° marketing philosophy to provide its clients with a more comprehensive advertising solution. The relatively new discipline has already established a history of success in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America and the Middle East region since 2008 where clients such as BAT, Chili's, Unilever, Kraft, KAEC, Kimberly Clark, Mars, BP Castrol, Heineken and Coca-Cola are beginning to tap into what OA labels "Winning in The Last Mile"™ - a marketing term that signifies the defining moment when the potential consumer becomes an actual buyer of a product.

OA is the brand activation arm of the Ogilvy Group that aims to drive sales and build brand equity by developing a deeper understanding of modern consumer behaviour and of the dynamics between shopper, brand and retailer. A global OgilvyAction Research shows that 1 in 3 shoppers choose their brand in- store, with 1 in 4 impulsively buying from an unplanned category. It is the job of OA's Dubai-based team of more than 30 professionals to develop ideas that influence the Middle Eastern consumer's behaviour along the path to purchase, towards and during "The Last Mile"™.

"We understand that in offering a fully integrated 360° marketing solution, we must adhere to the current regional consumer and retailer's needs so that we can develop new and creative ways to communicate our clients' brand on every level" says Edmond Moutran, the CEO and chairman of MENA Memac Ogilvy & Mather.

"Innovation has become an integral part of our business, particularly in the current economic climate during which clients in the Middle East look for more cost-effective means to communicate with their end consumer and this has been the main drive behind the success of OA so far," added Moutran.

The impact of the recession on consumer behaviour has created a prime opportunity for OA's creative solutions to be enforced, allowing 'win-win' shopper marketing solutions which ultimately drive sales.

"In the coming year OA is expecting to see shopper marketing grow rapidly and experiential work become increasingly responsible for driving sales at the venue, in the store and online," highlighted Claus Adams, Regional Director of OA MENA, "We will also see the convergence of digital from online to real life and in-store. Digital Activation will be the primary focal point."

Ultimately, "OA exists to close the sale for the clients, and it does this by offering four key pillars of service - shopper marketing, trade marketing, experiential marketing and consumer promotion; we have mobilized and trained experts in both Saudi Arabia and Lebanon to service clients in their respective markets and will continue to support them out of the UAE and the UK to ensure a smooth running and growth of the business," added Adams.

With 62 offices in 46 countries, OA's past clients include Maxwell House, Mercedez-Benz, Flora and Motorola. The result of OA's involvement in each company has culminated in a string of prestigious events, high-profile coverage and awards, such as a Gold Ex Award and Silver Reggie Award for the "Brew Some Good" Campaign for Maxwell House.

Kraft Cheese | Mousetrap

editor — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:39:03 -0700

Executive Creative Director: Chafic Haddad
Copywriter: Nrusingha Choudhary
Art Director: SM Ziyad
Photographer: Tejal Patni
Illustrator: Nabil Kamara