MIDDLE EAST
22
PRWEEK
23 November 2008
CASE STUDY
National hero
How Weber Shandwick helped take Ajaaj off the page to the stage
WHEN WATANI (translation: my took the character off the page and a girl. So they were present
nation)—a government-backed into the realms of live action. and they put on a little show
NPO, tasked with promoting The first step was the creation about the play—talking about it
Emirati culture and tradition to of a ‘futuristic cave’ in Modhesh in a funny way, as if the journal-
the younger generation—was Fun City. Using video screens and ists weren’t there. The grandfa-
looking for a way to connect with audio trickery, visitors were pre- ther was acting forgetful and say-
national kids aged 9-17, it came sented with a journey through the ing lots of funny things. So it was
up with a surprisingly creative history of Dubai. And a wind ma- quite comic.” And the journos
initiative: a comic book super- chine allowed them to experience were, she says, “very receptive”.
hero. the ‘presence’ of Ajaaj (who always Looking ahead, Watani hopes
“Watani felt the younger gener- arrives amidst a sandy cyclone). to take Ajaaj global. By 2010, the
ation is losing its ties to the older In August, Ajaaj took to the goal is to have an Ajaaj TV series
generation and to the country’s stage at Mall of the Emirates’ running in the UAE and abroad.
heritage and that Ajaaj—the first community theatre. A cast of And Sholkami expects her agen-mi expects her agen
Emirati superhero—might be a Emirati actors brought scenes cy to continnue
way to strengthen those bonds,” from the comic book to life— pushing the the
explains Susan Sholkami, account in Arabic and English shows— desert dynamomo,,
manager in the public affairs de- complete with flying cars and, of who, she saayyss,,
partment of Weber Shandwick, course, our flying hero. is fulfilling his his
Watani’s PR agency. “It’s a fun “Our role was to highlight the intended rolee..
way to get children to be aware of various phases of the transfor- “A lot of of
the UAE’s past and its traditions. mation of Ajaaj to the public,” Emiratis aatt-
So they’re enjoying at the same Sholkami says. “But you can’t tended the he
time as acquiring information.” just have a boring press confer- stage show,”
The Ajaaj graphic novels— ence for a superhero, right? So she says. “And d
seven so far, set in a futuristic we made a kind of mini show they weree
Dubai—have proven popular. with some of the actors from the very proud d
No mean feat, considering the play. In the comics, the main to see their r
target audience has been raised characters—apart from Ajaaj— country rep--
on a diet of MTV and Hollywood are a grandfather—representing resented in n
blockbusters. So this summer, the older generation of the UAE— this way.”
Watani and Weber Shandwick and his two grandchildren, a boy
BEST EVER
ONE TO WATCH
Presidential push
“I THOUGHT about becoming a ing, or advertising, or just spending
journalist, but I did some work hours on the phone trying to talk to
Chris Kinsville-Heyne, managing
experience and I hated it,” says 25- journalists,” she says. “They’re not
director of C3i Strategic Solutions bigs
year-old Anna Donnison, a con- often up for trying anything that’s
sultant at Impact Porter Novelli, a bit different and a bit outside of
up Barack
Dubai. “So I thought I’d go to the the box.”
fun side instead.” There are exceptions, she’s quick
MY FAVOURITE PR campaign has got
“Fun” is a word that crops up a to add. Such as Barclays. “It’s not
to be Barack Obama’s. I’m absolutely
lot in conversation with Donnison. just business media,” she says.
blown away by it. His campaign man-
She describes IPN as a “fun place to “They do a lot of CSR programs. A
ager, David Plouffe, should really be
work” and Barclays Bank as a “fun lot of trying to make the world a
nominated for some sort of award, be-
client”. It’s a far cry from the soul- better place. It’s not all about bank-
cause what he’s done is phenomenal.
destroying view that many journos ing. So I enjoy that.”
If you think of Obama as a brand, he’s
have of the PR business. A case in point, she says, is the
taken 24 months to make it up to Coca-
Not that Donnison treats her job “Stand up and take action” cam-
Cola. That’s what we’re talking about.
lightly. “Anna has come to the region Anna Donnison paign in aid of environmental
Obama—through an online PR
and very quickly grasped on to the
Consultant
awareness. “Barclays did a lot. 600
campaign—managed to get more
nuances of working over here,” says
Impact Porter Novelli
staff stood up, and we planted some
people to the polls than there have
Nathan Wilson, senior consultant at seeds in Safa Park. It was something
been since 1908. And he’s done it
IPN and Donnison’s direct line man- a bit different: the client trying to
through a grassroots campaign over
ager. “She was able to adapt to the make a difference.”
an incredibly short period of time. A
Middle Eastern market very quickly It was—you guessed it—“fun”.
lot of people use online as a digital
and very adeptly. She has the ability
soapbox—Hillary Clinton, for exam-
to deal with clients whether they’re
ple—‘Let me stand up and tell you what I think.’ And it’s not
Western or local. She’s also had
that at all. Obama used online in order to motivate people, in
quite a diversity of clients and that’s
order to get them out and vote.
really a testament to her inate abil-
Add to that what he says in his speeches. And the way he
ity to pick up on new sectors quickly
delivers a speech. It’s terrific. He delivers in little bursts. Five
and learn the language of whichever
or six words then pause. Five or six words then pause. The
client she is representing.”
whole thing is so well structured. It’s one of the most—I won’t
Having moved to Dubai from
say slick, because that has negative connotations—well-co-
Hausmann Communications in
ordinated campaigns I’ve ever seen in my life.
Sydney at the start of this year, Don-
What will be interesting is: Will he continue this online
nison says she quickly saw a few
information throughout his presidency? He’s getting people
marked differences in the Middle
involved and informed. And that’s why he’s successful. Not
East’s PR industry.
because he’s the first black man to become president.
“The Middle East is lagging a bit.
I’ve got to take my hat off to him.
There’s still a bit of confusion about
what PR is—they think it’s market-
www.mediaweekme.com
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