Third OMD Creative Masterclass to focus on innovations in mobile advertising and branded entertainment

OMD’s first Creative Masterclass of the year and the third in the series will focus on mobiles, music and movies as the new ways to get close to audiences.

The one-day conference, organized by OMD Middle East and London-based C Squared, will be staged on May 28 at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel Conference Centre, where 250 invited guests are expected to attend.

Among the speakers addressing the audience of marketing and media executives are Charlie Stopford, Nokia Global Activation’s head of media and former European media director at Unilever, Alistair Hill, a senior analyst at M: Metrics consultancy, CitizenSound’s Paul Bay and Nigel Waller, chairman of the Branded Content Marketing Association.

They will identify the latest developments and trends in their respective media platforms and help the audience conceive creative ways of deploying them to communicate with consumers more effectively.

‘The first two OMD Creative Masterclasses have proved tremendously useful to create a solid foundation and common ground between our clients and teams on the issue of media creativity,’ explained Eric Bequin, OMD MENA’s regional managing director.

‘Without a shadow of a doubt, our investment in our creative product has lifted our performance, both internally and externally. There is an eagerness to break with convention and provide the clutter-cutting benefit of innovation to our clients’ brands.’

Unlike the previous editions, this OMD Creative Masterclass is themed and focuses on key topics of interest to regional advertisers.

The region’s record mobile penetration figures indicates that consumers are in the process of leap-frogging fixed-line Internet and rely more and more on broadband mobile Internet.

Branded content, be it music or movie/TV based, is also on the rise thanks to the engagement value it carries.

‘This event is evolving to meet our clients’ expectations, current and future,’ added Shadi Kandil, General Manager of OMD Dubai.

‘If a conventional approach to media is still required to meet the most basic of goals, innovations are the boost and differentiator brands need to score with consumers.

Sticking to tried and tested formulas will only get us so far so we must push the envelope. It is our duty to stay alert to market developments and capitalize on trends as early as possible.’

‘The OMD Creative Masterclass is a great initiative. It proved very stimulating, with interesting findings and options to consider,’ said Jumeirah’s Emma Fraser of the first OMD Creative Masterclass.

Co-organizer C Squared is a consultancy for the global media industry and publishes magazines, such as Cream and M&M, as well as running the Venice Festival of Media.

Its CEO, Charlie Crowe, applauded the region’s enthusiasm for media creativity.

‘When we launched the first Masterclass in the Middle East with OMD, we never expected it to grow from strength to strength in such a short time. It is fascinating to see the Middle East produce such exciting work and have some of the case studies selected by Cream being awarded trophies in media competitions,’ he enthused.

The event is sponsored by Rotana Media Services, Fox Movies, Arabian Business and Kassab Media to demonstrate their support for creativity in media.

Tags: Alistair Hill, Arabian Business, Branded Content Marketing Association., Charlie Crowe, Charlie Stopford, CitizenSound, Fox Movies, Kassab Media, Nigel Waller, OMD, Paul Bay, Rotana Media Services, Shadi Kandil

OMD Middle East tames the Dubai Lynx

OMD, the advertising industry’s global leader in media creativity, reinforced its regional credentials by becoming the most awarded media agency at the 2008 Dubai Lynx Awards, dominating the newly introduced media category with seven awards.

This domination became visible from the media shortlist, drawn from 112 entries in total, with OMD claiming one third of the media shortlist (9 out of 29) and receiving almost one third of the total awards given on the night (7 out of 24).
OMD won a gold award for Wrigley’s Extra’s ‘Right Time Right Place’ campaign in the Best Use of Television/Cinema category. OMD Digital also received gold for Barclays Bank’s ‘Game of Tag’ campaign in the Best Use of the Internet/New Media category.

The network received silver awards for Nissan Middle East, Du and Dubai Summer Surprises and bronze for Kellogg’s Coco Pops and PepsiCo in various categories. Significantly, OMD was the only media agency to be awarded gold, silver and bronze in the Best Use of the Internet category.

About half of the awards were won by local or regional brands, which shows how strongly they have embraced best practice and innovations in their communications.

‘As a government department, the DSF Office constantly endeavors to achieve the highest standards of creativity and innovation in every aspect of its operation. The mobile portal, launched during Dubai Summer Surprises 2007, was one of our pioneering marketing initiatives that have received wide acclaim across the region,’ said Laila Suhail, CEO of the DSF Office.

‘du is committed to changing people’s perception of communication and the key to effectively doing this is by working with an agency that shares our vision,’ explained Hala Badri, du’s VP of corporate communications. ‘OMD has brought this goal to life very effectively and we look forward to building du into an even stronger brand, in line with our brand values, through this creative alliance.’

These seven awards further illustrate OMD’s creative credentials, following on the agency’s success at the GEMAS in January and the MENA Cristals in February.

‘This is the result of the groundwork we’ve been doing last year to enhance our creative output,’ commented Shadi Kandil, general manager of OMD Dubai. ‘The introduction of our thought-starter unit OMD Ignition and the OMD Creative Masterclass has now been fully validated. Clients are seeing the benefit of this investment in more ways than one.’

‘This is yet another testament of OMD’s passion for the Wrigley business and their drive to make the most out of our advertising dollars. In today’s cluttered media environment it’s essential to go beyond the ordinary and OMD consistently breaks the mould. Their ideas deliver results and ultimately that’s what matters,’ Pierre Nassif, Wrigley’s brand manager, said.

The performance of OMD Digital can’t go unnoticed either. It received two awards, including one gold, giving the region’s leading digital media agency a huge thumbs-up. ‘The Dubai Lynx are the first real endorsement of quality digital media work,’ Dimitri Metaxas, group director of OIMD Digital, explained. ‘Most other awards tend to reward creative digital work rather than the media thinking and execution.’

‘Media innovation and clever placement are the keys to success for breaking through the prevalent advertising clutter in media,’ stated Zeeshan Saleem, Barclays Bank’s head of cards & retail assets. ‘OMD Digital’s online media innovation capabilities have led to innovative online placements of our banners, which generating major interest and numerous enquiries for Barclays.’

The 2nd Dubai Lynx Awards were part of the first Dubai International Advertising Festival, honoring creative excellence in TV/Cinema, Print, Outdoor, Radio, Direct Marketing, Media and Interactive advertising. High-profile international jurors awarded the coveted Dubai Lynx trophies to establish the definitive standard for creative excellence in the MENA region.

Tags: Dubai Lynx, Laila Suhail, OMD, Pierre Nassif, Shadi Kandil, Zeeshan Saleem