Fede Garcia, Global Chief Creative Officer at BCW, Named Executive Jury President

NYF's Executive Jury Resumes Live Judging In NYC; Advertising Awards Removes All Categories Awarding NGO Work

New York Festivals International Advertising Awards are now open for entries for the 2022 competition.

After two years of a global pandemic and sweeping industry changes, New York Festivals will resume face-to-face in-person Executive Jury judging with an all NYC-based international Executive Jury.

For the 12th year in a row, the New York Festivals Executive Jury will thoughtfully review creative entries from around the globe. Fede Garcia, BCW's Global Chief Creative Officer will helm the live judging which is scheduled for two consecutive days in June 2022. Together, a wide spectrum of international world-class business and creative leaders working in New York will select the 2022 World's Best Advertising(r) winners.

"NYF is thrilled Fede Garcia is onboard as Jury President for 2022," said Scott Rose, Executive Director, New York Festivals Advertising Awards. "As a creative leader, he's known for big ideas that challenge convention, and he has a reputation as a creative who understands and embraces innovation. He brings to the jury panel a thorough understanding of creating multifaceted groundbreaking work for prominent brands."

"New York Festivals Executive Jury is held in incredibly high esteem, and I'm honored to serve as this year's Executive Jury President," said Garcia. "I look forward to judging the short-list with our stellar jury panel of exceptionally innovative and creative professionals. I look forward to lively deliberations and brilliant disruptive work being awarded."

Garcia's 27-year career has spanned advertising roles in Buenos Aires, Tokyo, and New York. He brings years of creative leadership, strategic rigor and a global perspective to his role as Executive Jury President. The breadth of his creative experience within the industry will foster an atmosphere of creative collaboration and thoughtful examination of the work throughout the judging process.

As BCW's Chief Creative Officer, Garcia is responsible for driving powerful and provocative creative and expanding the agency's bench of creative talent worldwide. A native of Argentina, Fede previously spent four years with Huge, most recently as Global Executive Creative Director. He also served as Group Creative Director at Translation in New York, where he worked on the NFL, History Channel and HBO. Fede worked with Ogilvy Tokyo for four years where he oversaw the creative development of celebrated campaigns for many of the agency's premier accounts, including Coca-Cola, American Express, IBM, Citizen, and more.

New for 2022, NYF's Advertising Awards has removed all categories that award work for NGOs from the competition category roster.

"The 2022 Advertising competition will champion 'real work' for brands," said Scott Rose. "There is no shortage of societal and global issues that need to be addressed and the people who have the megaphone and are steering the ship to tackle these issues are true heroes. But we're narrowing the competition's focus down to creative work that drives commerce. With so much attention, rightfully, on societies' issues, the 'lift' is even harder for brands, and we want to acknowledge that and make a fair lane for that work to compete."

The creative partnership with industry icon David Sable will continue for 2022. New episodes of NYF's video series, Creativity From The Other Side, premiers with an interview with Garcia.

The New York Festivals Advertising Awards competition receives entries from more than 60 countries and are judged by more than 400 members of NYF's Executive Jury and Grand Jury, who collectively cast their votes to select the year's trophy-winning work.

The 2022 Executive Jury and Grand Jury panel selection process is in progress. Executive Jury sessions will convene in June.The deadline to enter the 2022 New York Festivals Advertising Awards is April 1st, 2022. For more information on categories, rules and regulations or to review the 2022 entry guide visit: HERE. To enter your work, please visit: HERE

With a fascinating sneak peek into the heart-warming story of a young black boy and his magical dreadlock mentor, the teaser of upcoming 2D animation feature JG and the BC Kids is creating a huge buzz among fans and netizens.

Actor Will Smith shared the teaser of the movie on his social media platform yesterday. JG and the BC Kids is conceptualized by renowned American actress and Smith’s former co-star Janet Hubert. The feature is being co-produced by global animation major Toonz Media Group, Ericka Nicole Malone Entertainment and Janet’s Elijah Rock Productions.

Written by Janet Hubert and Yvette Kaplan, the movie has a star-studded cast and crew with Emmy Award-winning composer Wendell Hanes helming the music. Actors Raven Goodwin, Cheryl Alexander, Ezra Knight, Jasmine Hanes, Blaze Berdahl, Ahmad Maksoud and Joey Taranto lend voice to the main characters while Hubert herself voices the narrator and several other characters. Hubert is an established voice actress who has voiced many commercials including the voice of BAYER. The movie is directed by Ron Myrick, Indra Narayan Datta and Antony Leo. Click here to watch the teaser.

JG and the BC Kids was born out of the compelling need to create a children’s animation property that broke stereotypes and represented characters from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The movie features two black central characters - a schoolboy and a young science whiz who is trapped inside a fractal world. Herself an African American mom, Daytime Digital Emmy nominated Hubert says when her son was born, she struggled to find toys, accessories and even story narratives that he could relate to. In a world where her son’s identity was starkly under-represented, Hubert wanted to create something to inspire him, and millions of other kids like him. 

“It is time for change and I decided to be and make the change that I seek. I am so proud of this production and our grassroots team who joined me on this journey of creating JG and the BC Kids,” said Janet Hubert.

“This is a project that really resonates with the times that we live in. For the Toonz team, we feel extremely honoured and proud to be part of this path-breaking feature film. I am very happy with how the movie is shaping up. Kudos to Janet and the entire team. I am sure that JG and the BC Kids will create a lot of excitement among the audience as well as in the industry,” said Toonz Media Group CEO P. Jayakumar.

"What an incredible journey to be an Executive Producer of this movie as this story will inspire millions of children around the world that in spite of the challenges they may face, if they believe in themselves and the beauty of their imagination …they can win," said Ericka Nicole Malone.

Based on Hubert’s book ‘A Sneaker Feature’, JG and the BC Kids will bring street smart and book smart kids together to create life smart kids. JG , the female superhero and her band of darling dinosaurs will mentor and encourage children to believe in themselves. Targeted at 5-9 year-olds, the movie has been produced in vibrant 2D animation with a blend of hip as well as poignant, positive music that will be loved by parents and kids alike. The pre-production work of the project has been completed at Toonz's Ireland-based Emmy Award-winning studio Telegael. JG and the BC Kids is slated to be released in March/April 2022. The movie will be marketed worldwide by Toonz Entertainment, a subsidiary of Toonz Media Group, led by Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Bruno Zarka.

The One Club for Creativity has announced six top creatives from Lebanon and UAE who will serve on the diverse jury for the ADC 101st Annual Awards, one of the world’s longest running and most prestigious global competitions celebrating excellence in craft and innovation in all forms of design and advertising.

Along with this year’s jury chairs announced last month, nearly 250 highly-qualified creatives from 48 countries will judge work from around the world.  Jurors from the region, and their judging discipline, are as follows:

Akhilesh Bagri, CCO, Serviceplan Middle East Dubai (Advertising)

Carla Conte, founder, CD, Brand Creative LLC Dubai (Spatial Design, jury chair)

Nada Debs, founder, CD, Studio Nada Debs Beirut/Dubai (Packaging/Product Design)

Sarah Guessoum, ACD, creative lab, TikTok Dubai (In-House)

Bahia Shehab, professor of design, The American University in Cairo (Typography)

Karim Sherif, regional CD, Havas Middle East Dubai (Interactive)

The complete ADC 101st Annual Awards jury can be viewed here.

“For more than a century, the ADC Cube has been awarded for the world’s best work based on excellence in craft, design and innovation,“ said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club for Creativity.  “This strong tradition continues today in the hands of this year’s global jury members, a diverse, gender balanced group who are recognized creative leaders in their fields.”

Entries can be submitted now, with fees increasing after each deadline period.  Regular deadline is January 31, 2022, with extended deadline of February 18, 2022 and final deadline March 4, 2022.  No physical entries will be accepted this year due to the ongoing pandemic, all entry media must be uploaded into the online entry system.

Judging will be conducted online, starting in March 2022, with finalists announced in May.  ADC 101st Annual Awards Gold, Silver and Bronze Cube winners will be announced during Creative Week in May 2022. 

A special tiered pricing structure makes it easier for smaller agencies, studios and freelancers to participate in the ADC 101st Annual Awards.  Larger agencies and brands pay the standard entry fee; smaller shops get a discount on entries (amount varies by discipline), and freelance creatives and one-person shops are eligible for an even greater reduction in their entry fee.

Branding for the ADC 101st Annual Awards was developed by DDB Paris.

Jack Dorsey Steps Down as Twitter CEO, Board Unanimously Appoints CTO Parag Agrawal as Successor

Dorsey to Remain on Board of Directors

Bret Taylor to Become Independent Chair

Twitter, Inc. announced that Jack Dorsey has decided to step down as Chief Executive Officer and that the Board of Directors has unanimously appointed Parag Agrawal as CEO and a member of the Board, effective immediately.

Dorsey will remain a member of the Board until his term expires at the 2022 meeting of stockholders. Bret Taylor was named the new Chairman of the Board, succeeding Patrick Pichette who will remain on the Board and continue to serve as chair of the Audit Committee. Agrawal has been with Twitter for more than a decade and has served as Chief Technology Officer since 2017.

"I've decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders. My trust in Parag as Twitter's CEO is deep. His work over the past 10 years has been transformational. I'm deeply grateful for his skill, heart, and soul. It's his time to lead," said Dorsey.

Bret Taylor, Twitter's incoming Independent Board Chair said, "On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Jack for his visionary leadership and unrelenting dedication to Twitter since its founding. Jack returned to Twitter and turned the Company around at the most critical time. The progress since then has been nothing short of incredible. Jack has given the world something invaluable and we will continue to carry it forward."

Taylor noted, "Parag understands Twitter and appreciates the Company's unique potential. He has been instrumental in tackling our most important priorities, including accelerating our development velocity, and I know he'll hit the ground running to strengthen execution and deliver results. The Board has the utmost confidence in Parag."

"I want to thank the Board for their confidence in my leadership and Jack for his continued mentorship, support, and partnership," said Agrawal. "I look forward to building on everything we have accomplished under Jack's leadership and I am incredibly energized by the opportunities ahead. By continuing to improve our execution, we will deliver tremendous value for our customers and shareholders as we reshape the future of public conversation."

Continuing its run of client-winning success, Dubai’s leading boutique agency, Shakespeare Communications, is now the UAE representative of Blue Amber, the most significant property development in East Africa to date.

UAE residents are now invited to invest in a limited number of two-bedroom, two-bathroom luxury seaside villas in an exciting new, first-of-its-kind resort development in Zanzibar, called Blue Amber.

Blue Amber is a stylish new exclusive mixed-use, waterfront resort development which stretches along four kilometres of magnificent, unspoilt Indian Ocean coastline – occupying 410 hectares of tropical landscape on the north-eastern side of Zanzibar. It incorporates residential, hotel, tourism, and community and public amenities - and is the largest resort development of its kind in East Africa set to be Zanzibar’s premier island resort hotel.

Founder of Shakespeare Communications, Ananda Shakespeare, says: “Our very first client some seven years ago is a real estate broker, who remains with us to this day. Blue Amber is a fantastic client win for Shakespeare Communications, at a time when we are seeing resurging interest in the property market. A property purchase at Blue Amber includes residency and tax breaks, so I believe it holds great interest for locals and ex-pats, looking for a solid investment in what looks set to be a dramatic addition to East Africa’s burgeoning luxury property sector.” 

Included in the Blue Amber development is Shirazi Resort and Villas which comprises just 54 luxury pool villas, a leisure centre and premium four-star resort hotel, set within a secure, private estate and designed to maximise the spectacular views of either ocean, lakes, or the golf course.  These villas are available to purchase, with prices starting from $197,125 USD for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit with a roof-top terrace, or from $319,000 USD for a double-storey three-bedroom, three-bathroom villa.

Given the location of this aspirational development, while Shakespeare Communications will handle media relations for the UAE market, the project is being looked after in South Africa by local experts Manley Social Communications Hub. Both companies are proud members of the PR World Network. 

Seeks to Innovate Together Towards the Next 50

As the UAE marks its golden jubilee milestone, Cisco celebrates the nation’s remarkable successes as a young country that leads across innovation and technology and inspires communities and countries to build a better future.

Since 1971, when the union was formed, the United Arab Emirates has created a fertile landscape for explorers, innovators, and investors from around the world to gather and build cities of the future.

Commenting on the celebration, Cisco’s Managing Director in the Gulf Region, Shukri Eid, said: “Innovation has been at the heart of this nation’s vision, and it continues to be the north star for designing the next 50 years. Through determination, perseverance and wise leadership, the UAE is consistently at the top of regional rankings in global competitive indices and technology has played a pivotal role towards this status.”

“As the nation celebrates its golden jubilee, we at Cisco stand ready to enable the UAE towards crafting the next phase of development over the next 50 years by creating a knowledge-driven economy focused on growth, progress and prosperity,” Shukri added.

Cisco opened its first office in Dubai in 1994 and since then its business in UAE has grown from strength to strength. In 2009, Cisco expanded its presence and opened two new offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Over nearly three decades, Cisco has been proud to play a role in the UAE’s journey to fast-track digitization across sectors including Business Innovation, Smart Cities and Talent Development. Key collaborations include:

Striving to Secure UAE’s Digital Future

Since 1999, Cisco’s Networking Academy (NetAcad) program has been empowering UAE residents to develop their skills in IT, so that they may enter or progress in careers involving networking, cybersecurity and IoT. In the UAE alone, Cisco has 44 active networking academies, and has trained over 88,700 students, with 49% female participation.

Providing critical infrastructure

Since its establishment, Tecom has chosen Cisco as a key partner in the development of Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City, providing not only critical solutions like Cisco IP Telephones and Ethernet, but also knowledge transfer by training its team of engineers to reach global qualification standards. Moreover, in 2002, Dubai Internet City (DIC) signed an agreement with Cisco to deploy advanced Internet and telecommunications infrastructure across the complex. As part of the agreement, Cisco helped DIC to enhance its internet architecture and grow its business to provide next-generation telecommunication services.

Creating Impact in the UAE

From helping Masdar to create smart-grid projects in 2009, to transforming Abu Dhabi into a sustainable knowledge-based society with (ADSIC) in 2010, Cisco has been part of many future-agenda projects in the UAE, which helped the country to be the most digital-ready in the region.

Raising the bar for innovation

In 2017, Cisco also opened its Innovation and Experience Center in Dubai – combining the company’s technological capabilities with a customer experience center, illustrating how digitization can advance sectors including education, healthcare, retail and finance.

Supporting national digitisation agendas

For close to four years, Cisco has been collaborating with the UAE government, local industry and academia to fast-track technology adoption and deliver impactful digital outcomes, as part of its Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program – which focuses on contributing towards many of the aspects explored in the Digital Readiness Index.

Delivering the most digitally connected event in World Expo history

As a Digital Network Partner of Expo 2020, Cisco worked closely since 2018 with the organizer to help deliver highly immersive digital experiences for Expo 2020 Dubai, the region’s most anticipated event. Today, with help of Cisco, the world is witnessing the most digitally connected and immersive event in Expo history.

Preparing for the next 50 years

Since the preparation for the next 50 years has been announced, Cisco has been chosen as a trusted partner to contribute to the UAE’s ambition of attracting 3,000 coders every month to the country’s workforce. Moreover, Cisco is collaborating with the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology in a series of initiatives that will support UAE’s industry and advance technology SMEs in their digitization efforts and provide them with capabilities vital for their success, prosperity and competitiveness.

WARC Rankings 2021 are released - the most awarded campaigns and companies for creativity, effectiveness and media excellence in the world

The ultimate global independent benchmark for marketing, the WARC Rankings 2021 are a compilation of 2020’s most important industry awards

The WARC Creative 100, Effective 100 and Media 100, a suite of global rankings and the ultimate independent gold standard for marketing communications, are now released featuring the most awarded campaigns, agencies and brands in the world for 2020.

Compiled by WARC, the international marketing intelligence company, these annual league tables are produced by combining the winners’ lists from the industry's most important global and regional awards shows - as determined by the WARC Rankings Advisory Board and a worldwide industry survey - and by applying a rigorous proprietary three-step methodology. 

Following the disruption to the awards industry caused by COVID-19 with many shows paused in 2020 and resuming in 2021 to judge two-years of work, the release of the full WARC Rankings 2021 were postponed from Q1 until now. The WARC Rankings 2022 (work tracked during 2021) will be released in Q1 next year.

Amy Rodgers, Managing Editor, Research & Rankings, WARC, said: “The results of the WARC Rankings 2021 bring together the most awarded campaigns and companies of 2020 and are a fantastic showcase of a combination of the best work the industry produced pre-pandemic as well as exceptional work notable for its response to the volatility caused by Covid-19. Not only do these Rankings provide inspiration, but they bring recognition to outstanding campaigns and the talent of our industry.”

Mark Read, CEO, WPP, said: “If our role is to make the best work, connect brands seamlessly with audiences and produce outstanding results for our clients, then there’s no better endorsement than to top the WARC 100 rankings for creative, media and effectiveness. It’s a wonderful tribute to our fantastic people, agencies and clients, and my thanks goes to them all.”

Liz Taylor, Global Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy, said: “Topping the WARC Creative 100 speaks to the borderless creativity that unites Ogilvy’s global creative network, and what’s possible when creative thinking stretches across departments, geographies, and cultures to become a shared mission. What makes us most proud of this achievement is that it recognizes work delivered during a year where creativity helped us deliver through unimaginable circumstances. Our sincerest thanks to every person who works at Ogilvy for their passion and ingenuity, and to our brave clients for their partnership, trust, and collaboration.”

Adam Gerhart, Global CEO, Mindshare, said: “We are thrilled Mindshare has been named the number one media network in the world and Mindshare Shanghai the number one media agency office in the WARC Media 100. Our belief in driving Good Growth for our clients is brought to life through the creativity of our teams across the world, finding new and innovative ways to connect with consumers to create enduring and sustainable growth for our clients whilst also ensuring that growth benefits society and the planet. My congratulations and thanks go out to every person at Mindshare who does this every day across our network, to our clients who are true partners and believers in our people and our mission, and especially to those Mindshare teams in Shanghai (#1 Agency Office), Ho Chi Minh City (#3), Mumbai (#5), New York. (#14), Jakarta (#18), Taguig (#42) and Chicago (#50).”

Suzanne Powers, Global President & CSO, McCann Worldgroup, said: "The WARC honor as the #1 most Effective network for 2021, is a testament to our teams’ unwavering dedication to using the power of creativity to drive impact for our clients’ brands across all of our regions. We’re so proud of everyone and humbled to partner with such incredible clients to drive their business forward."

The most highly ranked campaigns and companies of the WARC Rankings 2021 are as follows. 

Creative 100 

Campaigns: 

Moldy Whopper · Burger King · INGO Stockholm / DAVID Miami / Publicis Bucharest · 800.9 points

Stevenage Challenge · Burger King · DAVID Madrid / DAVID Miami · 483.5 points

The E.V.A. Initiative · Volvo · Forsman & Bodenfors Gothenburg · 272.1 points

Brands:

Burger King · 680.3 points · no change from #1 

IKEA · 564 points · up from #4

Diesel · 359.7 points · up from #9

Advertisers:

Restaurant Brands International · Canada · 816.9 points · no change from #1

Anheuser-Busch InBev · Belgium · 811.3 points · up from #3

IKEA · Sweden · 564 points · up from #8

Agencies:

DAVID Miami · Ogilvy · 483.6 points · up from #23 

Impact BBDO Dubai · BBDO Worldwide · 477.9 points · up from #5

Publicis Milan · Publicis Worldwide · 386.6 points · up from #7 

Networks:

Ogilvy · 2186.1 points · up from #5 

BBDO Worldwide · 1409 points · down from #1

DDB Worldwide · 1128.9 points · down from #2

Holding Companies:

WPP · 3724.3 points · up from #3

Omnicom Group · 3680.2 points · down from #1

Interpublic Group · 2480.9 points · down from #2

Countries:

USA · 3603.2 points · no change #1

UK · 1111 points · no change #2

Brazil · 1083.6 points · no change #3

Media 100

Campaigns:

Rabbi Bot · Always · MediaCom Connections Tel Aviv / ACW Grey Tel Aviv / GO Digital Marketing Netanya · 95.4 points

The Shape of History · Hulu · UM Los Angeles · 81.1 points

Naming The Invisible By Digital Birth Registration · Telenor · Ogilvy Islamabad · 70 points

Brands:

McDonald’s · 135.3 points · up from #8

Nike · 118.6 points · up from #4

Always · 92.7 points · new entry

Advertisers:

Unilever · Netherlands / UK · 346.4 points · no change #1

Procter & Gamble · US · 278.8 points · up from #3

The Walt Disney Company · US · 183.7 points · up from #10

Agencies:

Mindshare Shanghai · Mindshare Worldwide · 215.4 points · up from #2

MediaCom Connections Tel Aviv · MediaCom · 184.1 · up from #6

Mindshare Ho Chi Minh City · Mindshare Worldwide · 122.2 points · up from #15

Networks: 

Mindshare Worldwide · 774.6 points · no change #1

MediaCom · 695.7 points · no change #2

IPG Mediabrands · 585.5 points · no change #3

Holding Companies:

WPP · 2038.9 points · no change #1

Omnicom Group · 1206.9 points · no change #2

Interpublic Group · 958.9 points · no change #3

Countries:

USA · 1274.4 points · no change #1

UK · 711.5 points· no change #2

China · 431.1 points · no change #3

Effective 100:

Campaigns:

I’m Drinking It For You · DB Export · Colenso BBDO Auckland / Carat Auckland / Red Star Auckland · 51.7 points 

Can’t Touch This · Cheetos · Goodby Silverstein & Partners San Francisco · 50 points

Michelin Impossible · KFC · Ogilvy Sydney · 47.2 points

Brands:

McDonald’s · 209.8 points · no change #1

KFC · 163.3 points · up from #4

Coca-Cola · 135.9 points · down from #2

Advertisers:

Unilever · Netherlands / UK · 240 points · no change #1

McDonald’s · US · 209.8 points · up from #6

The Coca Cola Company · 166.3 points · down from #2

Creative Agencies:

FP7 McCann Dubai · McCann Worldgroup · 95.8 points · no change #1

Colenso BBDO Auckland · BBDO Worldwide · 92.9 points · new entry

BMF Sydney · Enero Group · 92.1 points · new entry

Digital / Specialist Agencies:

Ingage Istanbul · Group M · 46.6 points · up from #46

AFFINITY Sydney · 39.5 points · new entry

Tribal Worldwide Bogotá · DDB Worldwide · 35.7 points · new entry

Media Agencies:

Carat London · Dentsu International · 61.3 points · new entry

Mindshare Istanbul · Mindshare Worldwide · 56.8 points · up from #4

Carat Auckland · Dentsu International · 51.6 points · up from #35

Networks:

McCann Worldgroup · Interpublic Group · 694.1 points · no change #1

BBDO Worldgroup · Omnicom Group · 683.3 points · no change #2

Dentsu International · Dentsu · 569.7 points · up from #5

Holding Companies:

WPP · 1897 points · no change #1

Omnicom Group · 1749.7 points · no change #2

Interpublic Group · 1358.7 points · no change #3

Countries:

USA · 1171.1 points · no change #1

China · 699.4 points · up from #4

India · 629.6 points · down from #2

vivo continues to invest in and support major international sporting events, reaching new consumers and football fans across markets

vivo announced that it has joined hands with one of the world’s biggest sporting events this year - FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021TM, from November 30 to December 18, to bring an unforgettable experience to football fans worldwide. As part of a six-year sponsorship agreement between vivo and FIFA, vivo has been the official smartphone sponsor of FIFA competitions since May 2017.

The collaboration provides vivo with a global platform to connect with international football fans and introduce its brand to a broader customer base. As a company that celebrates the ‘joy of humanity’, this is an excellent opportunity to showcase how innovative smartphone technology can capture the most exciting, emotional, and incredible moments.

A Big Step Forward in International Presence

The Middle East is vital to vivo’s global business. Since its 2019 debut in the Middle East, vivo’s focus and commitment have been making superb product experiences available to local customers. The company has seen rapid market share growth owing to its localized product and marketing strategies. Through launching well-performing lineups, including X series, V series, and Y series, vivo has become one of the most beloved smartphone brands in the region. Putting users at the center and constantly innovating to deliver pioneering smartphone technologies, vivo also invests heavily in R&D.

As the first FIFA pan-Arab tournament, FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021TM, is set to attract wide regional attention and beyond. Through the sponsorship, vivo looks to connect with and expand its widening customer base of over 400 million people worldwide. 

“We are excited to connect with FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021TM fans, who are as passionate about the beautiful game as we are,” said Jet Xu, Head of Middle East Business, vivo. “By leveraging our collaboration with FIFA, we hope to bond with regional customers through the football spirit, and further establish vivo’s creative, joyful, and international brand image.”

Seize the Exciting Moment with the X70 series

Along with the tournament, vivo’s new flagship X70 series is going to be launched in the region in December. Co-engineered with ZEISS, a technology leader in the world of optics for 175 years, the X70 series has taken smartphone photography capabilities to a whole new level, making it the perfect companion for football fans. Boasting professional-level camera capabilities, the X70 series is the ideal partner to capture the best moments of the game.

The sponsorship of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021TM is a clear signal of vivo's continuing expansion into international markets. vivo sees the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021TM as an excellent opportunity to gain more international exposure and strengthen its position as a global brand. Looking ahead, vivo strives to grow internationally through creating immersive customer experiences and advancing its groundbreaking smartphone technology.

PR guru, Jack Pearce, MEPRA co-founder and Matrix Public Relations founder honored for his outstanding contribution to the industry

Homegrown communications agency Matrix Public Relations was among the big winners at this year’s Middle East Public Relations Association’s (MEPRA) Awards scooping a total of seven awards and bragging rights - its largest and most impressive trophy haul so far.

Dubbed as the largest-ever awards since its inception, the MEPRA Awards, which took place at Atlantis the Palm, Dubai, on November 24, brought together a total of 88 agencies and in-house comms teams across the region to battle it out in 56 categories.

During the premier annual awards event, which hosted more than 500 in-person guests this year, Matrix Public Relations emerged the Gold winner in two hotly contested categories, scooped Silver trophies in three coveted categories and Bronze in one as listed below:

Gold - Best Crisis Communications/Issues Management Strategy Award: Kaya Skin Clinic (leading skincare clinic chain in the region)

Gold - Best Fashion or Beauty Campaign Award: Kaya Skin Clinic’s campaign titled Empowering Women in Their Fearless Pursuit of Beauty

Silver - Best Business to Business Campaign: Milestone Systems (industry leaders in providing video management software)

Silver - Best Use of Sponsorship: Dabur International (one of the largest FMCG companies in the region)

Silver - Best Healthcare Campaign: Kaya Skin Clinic 

Bronze - Best Retail Campaign: Kaya Skin Clinic

“We are delighted and proud to have been recognised for our hard work, creativity and resilience by our industry peers. There is no doubt that Matrix Public Relations is a force to reckon with in the technology and blockchain PR space, but have scored big wins in retail, healthcare, fashion, beauty and crisis management too. This recognition for our campaigns that went beyond the bottom line to add value to our clients will inspire the team to continue on this path,” said Hilmarie Hutchison, chief executive officer, Matrix Public Relations.

In recognition of his phenomenal contribution to the Middle East public relations industry, Jack Pearce who is also the co-founder of MEPRA and founder of Matrix Public Relations was bestowed the Chairman’s Award - one of the highest honours in the industry.

“I am deeply honoured and grateful to be awarded the Chairman’s Award by MEPRA. As the co-founder of MEPRA, I am also proud of the association’s achievements over the last 20 years. MEPRA has achieved and surpassed the goals and objectives of its founding fathers. MEPRA continues to not only set standards of excellence in the communication industry but also serve as a resource center where professionals can get industry insights, network with peers and further their professional skills,” said Jack.

61% of clients set to approach their banks for new services, says new Arthur D. Little and M2P Solutions study

Beyond banking gaining traction across international markets: Successful ‘Super Apps’ converging e-commerce and financial services valued between USD 4 – 40 billion

70% of UAE customers aged 25-44 primed to approach their banks for new offerings

New customer-centric approaches are crucial: 45% of UAE clients are willing to move banks altogether in search of bigger and better opportunities

37% of traditional clients are currently unaware of their bank offers beyond banking services

Across the UAE, the banking and wider financial services sector is changing faster than most individual incumbent banks, with consumer forces disrupting their roles, structures, and competitive environment. As financial and lifestyle services continue converging and financial products become even more embedded within customer propositions, enriching existing banking offerings with lifestyle services will enable local institutions to build deeper, wider end-user relationships while consolidating their relevance status. Arthur D. Little (ADL), the leading management consultancy firm with the longest-standing presence in the Middle East region, expounds this viewpoint in their latest report entitled Beyond Banking: Is there an opportunity for banks to go beyond banking in the UAE? Based on a recent survey Arthur D. Little conducted in collaboration with M2P Solutions, a leading application programming interface (API) infrastructure company, the report explains why the national banking sector is likely to drive newer ways of banking in due course and details the necessity for adopting multiple partnership-based strategies in the evolving ecosystem. 

Beyond banking outlook in the UAE

In line with an analysis of 2,000 UAE retail bank customers, the report substantiates the view that the retail banking market is coming under mounting pressure, with 45% of traditional banks’ clients ready to switch to competitors within the next six months. Low rates, regulatory changes, and various new players entering the financial services landscape – including Fintech companies, retailers, and telecommunications providers – are behind this trend. As such, banks have begun taking proactive steps to go beyond traditional banking, expanding into growth territories away from financial services. These efforts have subsequently resonated with customer bases: 61% of clients are now ready to turn to their primary bank for a beyond banking proposition, as are 70% of customers aged 25-44.

Pierre Mariani, Partner, Financial Services Practice, Arthur D. Little Middle East, said: “Evolving customer demand accelerated digital transformation and entry of new players are disrupting the traditional business models of UAE banks. These trends will continue to reshape the financial sector in the years to come, and banks that fail to embrace the change and make the necessary adjustments to serve their clients beyond existing services will inevitably fall behind. Therefore, a holistic approach is required by banks striving to retain customers, capitalize on future opportunities, and truly go beyond banking as they know it.”

As per the report, the appetite for beyond banking propositions is increasing among banks and customers alike, with the share of positive outlook customers set to increase from 61% to as high as 68% because of complementary services opportunities across entertainment, education, retail, and food. However, there are several considerations for the wider UAE banking community before such avenues can be pursued successfully.

Key considerations for UAE banks

Having examined the beyond banking landscape, the report provides a comprehensive overview of the most pressing considerations pertaining to banks’ beyond banking efforts. Firstly, banks need quickly redesign their respective diversification strategies. To remain relevant in the future, they must understand and track dynamically changing markets to avoid building on outdated perspectives. Secondly, they should build on a vision, deciding whether to lead their own ecosystems or participate in an existing one. Moreover, the other top most considerations concern SME banking and customer-centricity. Beyond retail client franchises, SME banking is identified as a new growth territory to explore, while banks can adopt customer-first approaches and ultimately enjoy beyond banking success by closing existing data, digital maturity, and talent capability divides. 

“Making full use of beyond banking avenues and presenting customers with newfound value through diverse, attractive offerings hinges on a forward-facing approach from the outset of such projects,” added Vaanathi Mohanakrishnan, Business Head, M2P Solutions. “If banks do heed this recommendation and pursue such an approach, their efforts to elevate the appeal of current offerings while pairing them with various lifestyle services will certainly accelerate progression on the beyond banking route.”

Beyond Banking: Is there an opportunity for banks to go beyond banking in the UAE? also provides insights and information regarding the drivers of changing banking customer demands, the importance of data sharing and customer trust, and why UAE banks require bold investments and partnerships.