GREECE 2015 AD

In August 480 BC, a handful of Greeks managed to change the course of history helping shape Western civilization as we know it. It took nearly 2,500 years for an act of defiance as significant as the battle of Thermopylae to take place again and the parallels between these two historic events couldn’t have been starker.

On July 5^th 2015, the day of the Greek Referendum, a coalition government comprising two groups representing vastly differing political convictions managed to rally the vast majority of the Greek nation behind a resounding NO vote blocking the advances of the modern-day enemy, the same way Leonidas and his 300 Spartans had united the conflicting Hellenic state-nations against the advancing hordes of Persians.

And as a modern-day warrior King, Alexis Tsipras, the Greek Prime Minister has had 72 hours ahead of him between the day after the Referendum and today to fight the battle of his life for the lives of millions of Greek people, exactly as long as Leonidas had fought for three days before his honourable death on the battleground.

Follow the link for the full article as it appears in Gulf News today or get your newspaper copy tomorrow

http://gulfnews.com/business/analysis/an-act-of-greek-defiance-with-echoes-from-history-1.1546452# 

Making sensible, not senseless sponsorship decisions

The total global sponsorship spending for this year is projected to be around the US$ 58bn mark compared to the estimated US$48.6bn five years ago. A significant chunk of this cash stems from the oil- rich GCC states particularly the major airlines and sovereign wealth funds of the UAE and Qatar which leverage lucrative sport sponsorship contracts in order to build global brand equity. 

According to some estimates, the UAE’s two major airlines, Emirates and Etihad are spending roughly $250 million between them on sports rights annually. According to various studies, Middle Eastern sponsorship today accounts for almost a fifth of sponsor spending in the European football leagues.

But as the price of oil continues to be under par compared to the recent past sponsorship dollars are likely to be viewed under a much more austere eye as marketing budgets across the region shrink. 

And while the likes of Emirates can sustain this level of funding indefinitely and irrespective of commodity price fluctuations, other corporates or SME’s active in sponsorship deals or planning to pursue similar strategies must already be thinking twice before committing marketing budgets towards sponsoring any sporting, cultural or CSR activities.

But how can companies and their CFO’s be convinced to invest in CSR or other sponsorship activities without being able to translate their investment into tangible returns?  Follow the link for the full Gulf News article to find out.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/making-sensible-senseless-sponsorship-decisions-george-kotsolios?trk=prof-post

Is free expression in social media about to come to an end?

#Socialmedia platforms should consider imposing self-censorship tactics to limit the detrimental impact certain content has on the way governments and businesses are run, according to @MichaelBloomberg, the American business magnate, politician, and philanthropist on the occasion of ‘Future Cities Forum, Dubai 2015’ event.

“The time it takes between taking over responsibility of a government, a company or a city and becoming accountable for it keeps shrinking due to the advent of social media. Until social media came about governments had a four-year mandate to deliver on their policies before they could fall prey to public criticism.

“Social media will end up censoring content,” he proclaimed verbatim.

Follow now the link for the full length online @Gulf_News article which appears in tomorrow's print edition: http://bit.ly/1BHjuIZ

2015 Challenges, Trends and Opportunities for the Advertising industry in the #UAE

The region’s advertising industry has much to do in 2015 to overcome the challenges, ride on the wave of emerging trends and fully capitalise on opportunities presented by the affluent #GCC economies.

One key trend that seems to preoccupy media planners and buyers is the growing appeal of mobile advertising in a region which is not exactly prepared — or conducive — to fully embrace the concept. Despite boasting in its ranks markets such as the UAE — where smartphone penetration is the highest in the world — the region comes in last globally with just 4.6 per cent in mobile internet ad spend as a percentage of overall #digital spend.

That compares with North America’s 42.8 per cent, Western Europe’s 21.2 per cent, Asia-Pacific’s 17.7 per cent and Latin America with 6.3 per cent. A key challenge is the slow adoption of mobile-friendly websites and until those proliferate to an adequate level, the mobile advertising segment will remain undervalued despite the massive potential presented by the early adoption in the UAE, in particular.

While no significant trends seem to be shaping ad spends on print and TV channels, outdoor is likely to remain one of the most effective local media, at least for those who can still afford it. According to experts, while high in demand, outdoor’s cost of entry in prime locations is so high that it is pricing out even major advertisers who are forced to look at more cost-effective alternatives.

In the UAE, cinema would feature highly on the list of those alternatives, due to the renaissance it is expected to undergo as a result of the opening of new malls and the ongoing redevelopment of the country’s biggest shopping destinations which will lead to the creation of many new state-of-the-art theatres.

Those with little or no advertising money to waste are likely to increase their investment in PR and social media strategies to help them achieve their communications objectives. For long considered as the caviar of the poor, PR’s popularity as an important component of the #marketing mix is gaining momentum and this could be a watershed year for the sector in the region.

Having managed to fully integrate social media in their services portfolios, most regional #PR agencies today possess a much more holistic capability and a robust offering that is as powerful in terms of achieving KPIs (key performance indicator) as it is compelling from an effectiveness view point.

The challenge for PR agencies is two-pronged: First they must quickly learn how to walk the walk and talk the talk while creating and delivering PR-led campaigns with strong social media interpretations and not the other way round. On a secondary level, they must have the foresight, ability and appeal to recruit a new breed of hybrid talent that, at least in this region, may not yet exist or hasn’t had the time to fully develop yet.

Read the full Gulf News article: http://bit.ly/1DE61EG

Limits to what social media can do for advertisers

Today’s sophisticated listening tools and online content monitoring systems capture and decipher in seconds ions of real time chatter and engagement metrics across Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. Brand guardians analyse this data to deduce conclusions pertaining to perceptions people around the world have of them and their products. 

Technology has transformed chatter into something of potentially incalculable value; consumer insights which come directly from consumers’ mouths or, to be more precise, straight from their social media accounts. Uncensored and un-vetted, impulsive and emotional ‘Likes’ and ‘Dislikes’ of the very people marketers vie to attract. Pure gold!

Or is it?

According to a recent study, robots, not humans, fake 23% of web video ad views.  Computers being remotely operated by hackers account for almost one in four views of digital video ads worldwide, according to a study that estimates such fraud will cost advertisers $6.3 billion dollars in 2015.

Also, according to a another recent report brands’ Facebook and Twitter posts only reach around 2% of their fans and followers, and less than 0.1% of fans and followers actually interact with each post on average.

What’s more, Facebook’s latest tweak to its news feed algorithm means that as of January 1^st brands’ unpaid posts are actually seen by even less users as the social media behemoth has publicly admitted that brands posting promotional content “will see a significant decrease in distribution.”

So is Social losing some steam?

To read the full article visit http://bit.ly/1AVDgWf for get your Gulf News copy tomorrow morning. To participate in the discussion with your comments visit http://linkd.in/1IqkZ4e

Staying ahead of the curve in PR

What will a #PR agency look like ten years from now? Are today’s PR firms in the Middle East awake to the challenges and the changes ahead? What about the communicator of the year? How would PR pros’ skill sets evolve to continue adding value and maintain their relevance in an environment that blurs boundaries between marketing communications disciplines’ practitioners? Read the rest of the @gulf_news article here http://bit.ly/13aHQkg

The definitive PR diary of Dubai's PR agencies

The month by month 2015 #MEPRA_org  @Dubai #PR agencies’ diary:


January – #DubaiShoppingFestival - During the 20^th edition of #DSF most brands will brief us to produce zero-cost, PR and social media campaigns that can create memorable and lasting impressions for consumers while creating an inexorable link with the legacy of DSF. Just sponsor a fireworks display and save yourself the trouble.    

February – The ‘F’ word (Food, what did you think?) – #DubaiFoodFestival, #GulfFood and #DubaiFoodCarnival will keep @Dubai PR firms busy during the leap month as restaurants, FMCG suppliers and lifestyle brands vie for a slice (pun intended) of the region’s most voracious food fanfare. Oh, and don’t forget the month’s music moments at the #EmiratesAirlineDubaiJazzFestival.

March – The mother of all months in trade events  – #DubaiInternationalBoatShow, #DubaiWorldCup, #EmiratesAirlineFestivalofLiterature, #ArtDubai, #DubaiFestivalofLights and the march goes on and on. From boats to bookies and books PR teams need to dig deep in their wardrobes for trendy hats befitting each occasion.

April – The cruelest month – This is when clients receive their hefty bonuses because of all the hard and intelligent work that WE did and for which we have NOTHING to show it for.

May – The month made for asking – May I get a raise? May I discuss my career path? May I take the Arabian Travel Market week off? You may never find out unless you ask but it is highly unlikely!

June – Ramadan, need I say anything more?

For the second semester visit: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141210080823-77099332-the-2015-mepra-org-dubai-pr-agencies-diary?trk=prof-post