Coca Cola

Most shared stories in January 2012

editor — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:37:56 -0800

Every month, hundreds of news stories and headlines are shared by mediaME users across social media platforms. January 2012 was a particularly active month. The mediaME editor has picked the most shared stories, which provide a summarized look-back at the month.

The most shared news and stories on mediaME.com in January:

MTV and Coca-Cola among brands that have used Facebook most effectively

editor — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:53:41 -0800

According to a new study by Fathom Analytics, YouTube, MTV and Coca-Cola are the brands that have most effectively used Facebook to connect with consumers. The study ranked the brand pages based on their number of 'likes', participation rates, growth in popularity, and the 'positive emotion' displayed in user comments. YouTube, secured the top spot with an index score of 90 points. Meanwhile, MTV had an index score of 88 points, while Coca-Cola had an index score of 87 points.

Zubair Timol: MENA is very responsive to the provision of Software as a Service (SaaS)

editor — Sun, 08 May 2011 00:34:28 -0700

mediaME speaks to Zubair Timol, Global Strategy and Area Director for Middle East & Africa at Meltwater News, part of Meltwater Group which delivers B2B solutions based on search engine technology, cloud computing and talent management software. Timol talks about levels of awareness in the region, market feedback and potential, and much more.

Q. Kindly introduce yourself and your company.

My background and professional training is in law. I am currently Area Director for the MEA region and Director of Global Strategy for Meltwater News. Having successfully started companies, whilst at university and beyond, it is the passion for entrepreneurship which attracted me to the Meltwater Group.

The Meltwater Group is a privately held software company founded in Norway in 2001, serving clients through offices located across North America, South America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia. Meltwater is committed to challenging existing business models by introducing disruptive technologies. The Meltwater Group delivers B2B solutions based on search engine technology, cloud computing and talent management software.

Just 9 years after being established in Norway, with $15,000 and a coffee machine, we are now a $100 million business with 800+ employees and 56 offices across the globe, and over 18,000 customers worldwide – a tribute to our staff and thirst for global ambition.

Q. Tell us about the services you specifically see potential for in the Middle East and North Africa market.

MENA has proved very responsive to the provision of Software as a Service (SaaS) and as a consequence, Meltwater News has a strong position in the MENA online media monitoring market. Our latest offering, Melwater Buzz, is strategically placed to cater for the social media boom, enabling clients to critically understand the commercial value of this evolving industry.

Q. What drove Meltwater to launch a Middle East offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai? Tell us about the resources you have allocated and your commitment to serving the region.

Meltwater aspires to create a global footprint, and both Abu Dhabi and Dubai are well positioned as gateways to the world. Strong levels of education, fantastic air travel facilities enabling easy access to Europe / Asia, and a cosmopolitan, thriving culture, reflected Meltwater’s personal growth goals. The UAE is the epitome of entrepreneurship and as such, we have been proactive in developing partnerships with universities, transferring senior management to mentor new employees, and spent a great deal of time adapting to the local customs and traditions of the UAE.

Q. Can you tell us about the online / social media monitoring platforms offered in Europe? What has the feedback for the MENA market been like so far?

Launched in 2001, Meltwater News is a real-time, online media monitoring tool, which has now grown to be one of the largest online media monitoring providers, with more than 18,000 customers worldwide.

Meltwater News monitors over 130,000 online sources from over 190 countries and 100 languages, monitored consistently throughout the day. These include major news outlets, trade publications, local and regional journals, weekly newspapers, tenders, influential blogs, as well as TV and radio transcripts.

Coca Cola (Middle East), Qatar Foundation and Nike (Middle East), indicate the diversity of clients we are currently working with and our growing presence within the market.

Since launching Meltwater Buzz in the latter half of 2009, we have successfully rolled the solution out across North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pac.

We acquired BuzzGain in February 2010, whose technology enhanced our existing social media service to provide a comprehensive, market leading social media monitoring and analysis solution.

Identifying that the next stage for businesses embarking on social media initiatives went beyond monitoring and analysis, we acquired JitterJam for $6 million in March 2011. A leader in Social CRM software, the JitterJam acquisition will provide marketing, communications and advertising professionals with the most comprehensive set of tools for tracking and engaging with customers on social channels.

We work with leading brands across Europe, inclusive of Starbucks (Spain), Software AG (Germany), and Rabobank International (Holland).

Meltwater Buzz has recently opened in Dubai during the first quarter of 2011 and has already experienced a positive response from the social media savvy businesses and organizations within MENA.

Q. Tell us about the levels of awareness and market development you have witnessed in the MENA region for digital service platforms in general, and specifically within the advertising and media sector.

Educating the market has been an instrumental part of operating within MENA. The concept of online monitoring and social media was often seen as a luxury to the traditional paper clippings orientated approach. However the advertising and media sector has been quick to adapt, focusing on the power of online driven decision making for consumers and the speed with which an opinion can influence advertising spend / media perception. MENA has an active and engaged online community and one that will continue to expand via the availability of mobile Internet devices.

Q. Is Meltwater planning new product launches in the near future?

Since our inception in 2001, when our CEO and founder, Jorn Lyseggen, identified ahead of the game that the world would be moving online, we have constantly been on the look out for opportunities in emerging markets and with emerging technologies.

Social media is the latest example of this. We used to live in a world dominated by a few very powerful media channels. These powerful media channels are now starting to break down. News is not dispersed as it used to – it is now in real-time.

So, yes, we are always looking to innovate not just our products, but also the diversity of technologies that we deliver to our clients. Naturally we cannot talk about any initiatives that may be in the pipeline, but as our track record demonstrates, we will evolve with the times, and with our clients’ needs.

Q. Anything else you would like to add?

One thing that really helps set us apart is our culture, and as part of this, our recruitment and HR strategy. This is not a cliché that is rolled out by many other organisations, but something that we are really proud of and passionate about.

For staff themselves, the payoff is a substantial one – much of Meltwater’s internal HR effort is focused on talent management and succession planning, with the result that all of the company’s 40-plus senior management have been nurtured from their starts in the international management trainee programme.

Just this year, we have secured some highly prestigious and competitive HR awards across different geographies, including Germany, UK and South Africa.

Meltwater is proud of its MENA workforce, and proud to be nurturing so much talent – not just for itself, but for the future of an immensely important but still nascent industry.

Paragon Marketing Communications work published in 17th International Book

editor — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 02:26:35 -0800

Paragon Marketing Communications one of Kuwait’s leading advertising agency has its work featured in Rockport Publications’ latest release titled ‘Recycling & Redesigning Logos’, making it the 17th international publication on advertising and graphic design featuring work by Paragon Marketing Communications’.

Recycling & Redesigning Logos explores the paradoxes involved in determining when and how much change is necessary in order to arrive at a more captivating and enduring visual logo personality. The book talks about redesigning of logos and about the questions one faces when redesigning, the most important being “Where do you start from?” The book shows case studies from around the world showcasing the brand stories of many corporations such as Coca Cola, Kodak, Burger King etc.

The book is authored by Michael Hodgson, principal and creative director of Ph.D, A Design Office – a firm whose design thinking approach is based on the idea of visual personalities: capturing the essence and soul of the client, then communicating those qualities throughout all applications from building signage and websites to identities and marketing collateral. When he’s not in the office, Michael can usually be found riding his bike in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Paragon Marketing Communications has been featured in 17 international books on advertising and graphic design some of which are: The Best of Business Card Design by Sibley/Peteet Design/Austin, Letterhead & Logo Design 9 by The San Francisco Design Office Mine, Letterhead & Logo Design 11 by Design Army, Logo Lounge 4 by Bill Gardner, Identity Crisis by Jeff Fisher, The Big Book of Self promotion by Peleg Top and Ilise Benun, Logo Lounge Master Library 3000 Initial & Crest Logos and Logo Lounge Master Library 3000 Initial & Mythology Logos by Catharine Fishel and Bill Gardner.

On this feat Louai Alasfahani the Managing Director and Chief Creative Officer, Paragon Marketing Communications said “Paragon Marketing Communications has started the new year with yet another achievement and we can safely say that the rest of the year has many more to offer”. Gaya Kruchlik, the Deputy General Manager added “We strive to create work that not just helps the clients but also sets trends and helps push the industry in Kuwait towards international standards”

UM Digital Boom Conference; Industry experts discuss the future of digital media in the region

editor — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 01:33:24 -0700

Media experts from around the region gathering in Egypt recently for the one-day Digital Boom conference organized by UM highlighted the importance of integrating online and offline disciplines to create successful brands stories. The conference aimed at establishing the most effective ways for online and offline media to work together to reach the right audience at the right time in addition to discussing social media impact, insights and measurement methods.

UM, the leading MENA specialist media marketing consultancy firm tied in with Google, Nielsen Media Research, and Egypt's major website developer Digital Republic to host communications professionals from various media agencies and brands communications managers in Cairo.

Participants at the one-day event included Wael Ghoneim, Head of Marketing MENA and Wael Fakharany, Regional Manager from Google, Diego Semprun, MD of Nielsen Online, Omar Mandoor, GM of Coca Cola Egypt, and Rania Elbakry, Digital & Direct Communication Manager at Mobinil. In addition to Karim Khalifa, CEO of Digital Republic, Ahmed Osama, MD of TE Data, Con O'Donnell, MD of Sarmady Communications, Tim Baker, MD of Hug Digital, James Harris, Head of Digital, UM-EMEA and various industry experts from the MENA region.

Paul Katrib, Regional Managing Director, UM highlighted the importance of new and emerging media to reach out to different audiences and optimize investment for brands. "This conference falls within UM's regional initiatives to keep pushing the potential of the digital platform within our communication strategies, and exploring the ways it could help us strengthen the connections between our brands and the consumer," said Katrib.

Dina Hashem, UM Egypt Managing Director said: "the event organized for the first time in the Egypt aimed to bring industry experts together to discuss global best practices to optimize the usage of online and mobile technologies and facilitate access to and enable target audiences to interact with the brands and share with their peers."

Participants discussed the market dynamics especially the internet infrastructure in the region, mobile advertising revolution, viral marketing and the essential consumption habits and profiles of internet users in the region. And various successful case studies such as Coca-Cola and Mobinil were presented following an overview of the digital media scene in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Rania El Bakry, Manager, Digital and Direct Communication, at Mobinil said: "It was a pleasure to be part of this wonderful event. It was a great opportunity for idea exchange among parties involved in the field of Digital Communication and it was a much needed event to help this field evolve and grow."

In his closing presentation, Karim Khalifa, CEO Digital Republic Egypt re-emphasized that digital is not only about banner ads, but it is about creativity, entertainment, engagement and interactivity as well as building a two-way relationship with your consumer and rewarding them for their interaction with your brand. He called on communication professionals to get ready to take their brands to the next level to reach audiences through mobile advertising, online TV, and location based marketing.

Coca-Cola | Quick Sand

editor — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 02:45:36 -0700

Advertising Agency: Fortune Promoseven, Egypt

Creative directors: Abdelsalam Abdelsalam, Mohamed El Zayat

Coca-Cola | Kung Fu

editor — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:42:38 -0700

Advertising Agency: Fortune Promoseven, Egypt

Creative directors: Abdelsalam Abdelsalam, Mohamed El Zayat

Coca-Cola | Cinema

editor — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:34:08 -0700

Advertising Agency: Fortune Promoseven, Egypt

Creative directors: Abdelsalam Abdelsalam, Mohamed El Zayat

Coca-Cola | Ambulance

editor — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:24:33 -0700

Advertising Agency: Fortune Promoseven, Egypt

Creative directors: Abdelsalam Abdelsalam, Mohamed El Zayat

Coca-Cola | New screw-top bottles

editor — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:11:05 -0700

Advertising Agency: Fortune Promoseven, Egypt
Creative directors: Abdelsalam Abdelsalam, Mohamed El Zayat