MIDDLE EAST
MIDDLE EAST
REGIONAL NEWS
Mediaedge bags
NEWS IN BRIEF
Online news
$53m in new business
from CNBC

DUBAI CNBC Arabiya has
Bulgari and Michelin accounts help soften the blow for media planning agency
launched a new website
which provides business
By CHARLIE NEYRA ing in the Gulf region as part of a glo- news, a stock market tick-
DUBAI Mediaedge:cia has raked in $53 bal deal. A UAE ad campaign for the er and interviews in Ara-
million by bagging new clients this year, tyre manufacturer has already begun. bic. The portal, cnbcarabi-
with fashion brand Bulgari the latest The French are also newly represented ya.com, is designed in line
win for the media planner. on the agency’s books by supermarket with its broadcast coun-
The agency’s international business Géant: Its website is being revamped by terpart and will include a
and development director, Yves-Michel MEC Interaction, through a deal struck “Matters of the Hour” sec-
Gabay (pictured)—who made the an- earlier this month. tion that allows users to
nouncement—says the revenue will “I can’t say the new wins have replaced simultaneously view news
help offset losses from clients hit by the the business that was lost, but it has giv- items being broadcasted
downturn, especially the banking and en us the ability to stay,” says Gabay. on CNBC Arabiya.
retail estate sectors which slashed their The WPP-owned operation is sticking
marketing budgets late last year. to its parent group’s edict of not hiring,
Mediaedge:cia’s latest win will see it han- and not replacing staff that choose to
7DAYS to
dle Bulgari’s media planning and monitor- leave the company. Gabay denies ru-
ing in the GCC, excluding the UAE. mours of staff being asked to take un-
produce eco
Another big client to join paid leave, adding that thanks to WPP’s supplements
Mediaedge:cia is Michelin, which has guidelines he is able to retain all his em-
signed on for media planning and buy- ployees. UAE Daily newspaper
7DAYS has teamed up with
Emirates Environmental
Client list
Reports of redundancies
Group (EEG) to produce
quarterly supplements
keeps
at Gulf News ‘inaccurate’
that publicise the latest
national and international
campaigns aimed at com-
growing
UAE Managers at Gulf News have slammed bating climate change.
“incorrect” industry reports which, they say, EEG will champion its own
at Asda’a
suggest 19 redundancies at the paper were events, campaigns and
made due to the financial crisis. announcements to the pa-
Annole Steyn, director of organisation de- per’s 250,000 readers. The
DUBAI Asda’a Burson- velopment, tells Media Week the job losses first supplement will be
Marsteller has signed up were in fact a result of “centralisations,” that published in September.
15 new clients since Janu- would have been implemented regardless of
ary, which will secure the current economic climate.
more than $3 million in “This is not a result of the economic situa- Mobision TV
annualised revenue for tion and for anyone to think that 19 jobs will
takes a roadtrip
the PR agency. make a difference to our bottom line—out
Chief executive Sunil of 2,086 staff—is not making a very accurate
John tells Media Week deduction,” says Steyn. “It has been reported
that despite tough mar- incorrectly and people are just trying to sensa-
ket conditions, Asda’a has tionalise something,” she adds.
picked up clients such A memo from Steyn to staff, stating there she meant positive changes—with redun-
as Aramex, Dubai Bank, will be “more changes”, was leaked to some dant staff being offered the jobs of anyone
Hewlett Packard, and media, but the development boss insists who resigns.
most recently Dubai In-
ternational Film Festival
(DIFF).
Star FM could be outshone
John says, “DIFF was UAE Abu Dhabi Radio Network director Ab- IRAQ Mobision’s mobile
a hard-fought battle. We dulrahman Awadh Al Harthi (pictured) says phone TV service is to be
did the PR for the first two Star FM will not be the only launch from Abu extended from major cit-
festivals, then it went to Ji- Dhabi Media Company in 2009—but re- ies to cover the country’s
Win, but DIFF came back mains tight lipped on what the next offering trunk roads following
to us after three years.” will be. the system’s commercial
He adds, “We did have Talking to Media Week following the launch launch in May. Mobision
some [job] cuts in January of Star FM, Al Harthi adds there will be a pro- senior vice president Jad
but that was only a small motional drive in June for Star FM, which Atallah says he is in dis-
number and since then plays Arabic and Western music. It will have cussions to launch the
there have been none.” shorter than usual three-minute ad breaks, service in other countries.
priced above market norms.
04 / 07 JUNE 2009
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