New Memac Ogilvy and CB’a partnership launched in MENA

The Memac Ogilvy Group and CB’a Design Solutions have joined forces as equal partners to launch a new international design solutions company, called CB’a Memac, across the MENA Region; it was announced today, Wednesday 28 May 2008.

CB’a Memac has chosen Dubai for its Regional Headquarters and revealed plans to open ten offices across MENA over the next five years.

This new company has been formed by Memac Ogilvy; the leading MENA diversified marketing services group, and CB’a, the world-renowned design solutions company based in Paris, with branches all over Europe.

Both companies are part of WPP.

Memac Ogilvy began life in the Gulf twenty five years ago and now has offices spread across the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA).

Edmond Moutran, Memac Ogilvy’s Chairman and Chief Executive explained: ‘The Memac Ogilvy Group is experiencing rapid and record expansion across the region. This is for the whole range of our integrated, or 360 degrees, creative marketing services, which are provided for all types of clients to reach all audiences. Our disciplines now cover advertising, direct marketing, customer relationship management, digital influence, public relations and most recently activation.’

‘Now is the time to add proven world class design solutions to our MENA offerings. The aesthetic international creative style of CB’a and unique French flair has taken them to the highest levels of reputation in Europe. This will now join together with our key MENA knowledge and capabilities to create a leading brand consultancy across the region’ he added.

CB’a Design Solutions is a specialist in Brand Identity with its main expertise being: Packaging, Corporate Identity, Retail Architecture and Digital Design.

Today, their network comprises of 9 offices throughout Europe, which are leading projects around the world.

CB’a has an impressive portfolio of clients including: Nestlé, Unilever, L’Oréal, Emaar, Bank Al Maghrib, Hotel Fouquet’s Barrière, Carrefour and Alstom.

CB’a’s creative work was presented at the new company launch, including many other examples of award-winning activities.

The new CB’a Memac company brochure was also revealed in Dubai for the first time, illustrating creative examples with the backdrop of the inspiring Louvre.

Louis Collinet, founder and CEO of CB’a, added: ‘Since its foundation in 1982, CB’a has always remained true to its origins: Creativity and France. The combination of these two has ensured that the unique CB’a French creative flair has achieved recognition and continues to attract new clients around the world.’

‘Thanks to the vision, creative insight, dedication and strong leadership of Eddie Moutran, Memac Ogilvy has established themselves as the leader in 360 degrees communication solutions in MENA and starting today, combined with the CB’a French creative flair, together we will create new opportunities and achieve new successes.’

CB’a Memac chose Dubai for its headquarters because the Emirate has now become one of the world’s leading cities for retailing and branding activity.

It was the venue of the first ‘International Design Forum’ in 2007 and has a Design Museum under construction.

Government statistics confirm that Dubai is the number one duty free retail brand tourist destination in the world.

Also, according to a recent 2008 Report ‘How Global is the Business of Retail’ by CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), the UAE is ranked as the most international retail market outside of Europe, ahead of China, Russia, Singapore and the US.

Ayman Hammed commented: ‘CB’a Memac is a true product of its founders and their visions. It will combine Memac’s regional insights with CB’a’s creative flair to produce superior solutions for its clients. The time has come for firms in the region to have an alternative to what is on offer in this market. We will provide world class solutions that meet local needs and help our partners unlock their untapped potential. No place is more suitable for this task than Dubai.’

Tags: CB'a, CB'a Memac, Edmond Moutran, Memac Ogilvy, WPP

Dubai Internet City supports World Environment Day

Dubai Internet City (DIC), one of the largest managed ICT clusters in the region and a member of TECOM Investments, marked World Environment Day on June 5th, 2008 by making a significant contribution to a number of recycling drives in the region.

One programme is a joint initiative on ‘Computers for Recycling’ run by Dubai Municipality, Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Foundation, and Microsoft Corp that seeks to mobilise businesses by donating old computer hardware including laptops, scanners and printers. to worthy causes.

These include educational institutions, as well as social and charity organizations in the UAE.

Collecting old computer equipment from business partner members, Dubai Internet City will donate 102 used desktop monitors, 73 Central Processing Units (CPU), 53 laptop computers, 24 printers and a host of other computing equipment towards the recycling project, reiterating its relentless commitment to implementing green-friendly measures in the region.

Malek Sultan Al Malek, Executive Director of DIC, said: ‘The increasing pressure to keep pace with the incredible progress of technology necessitates commercial enterprises to frequently replace existing computers with advanced models. Enabling others to re-use computer equipment does not only help the community but also discourages the unnecessary disposal of IT hardware that are in usable condition.

‘As our gesture to mark World Environment Day, Dubai Internet City has urged all business partners to adopt responsible measures and donate outdated IT equipment including mobiles phones and batteries for the less privileged.’

Supported by Envirofone, Dubai Internet City will also facilitate the ‘Mobile Phone and Batteries’ recycling programme where special bins across the DIC buildings will be placed for DIC members and business partners to dispose of any unwanted mobile phones and used batteries.

To foster an environment-conscious free zone, Dubai Internet City is also running a recycling campaign during the week of World Environment Day, placing bins in every building of the ICT cluster to segregate recyclable material such as paper, plastics, glass and aluminium cans.

The material will be collected by Union Paper Mills, one of the largest producers of recycled paper in the Middle East.

Dubai Internet City is already part of a programme to collect and recycle waste material from 32 bins located throughout TECOM’s free zone clusters.

The initiative is at the core of the ICT cluster’s corporate social responsibility agenda, in coordination with its sister entities Dubai Media City and ENPARK, as well as the Radisson SAS Hotel.

Dubai Internet City has made tremendous contributions towards the social development of the region, supporting a number of environmental and social projects.

As part of its endeavour, it periodically hosts forums that explore avenues to boost entrepreneurship in the region, identifies measures to maximize the use of IT for achieving a more sustainable future, while finding ways to work with the media to disseminate messages more effectively to the public.

Tags: DIC, Dubai Internet City, Envirofone, Malek Sultan Al Malek, TECOM, Union Paper Mills, World Environment Day