Dubizzle appoints Arto Joensuu to head regional marketing strategy

With over ten years' experience in crafting digital campaigns on a global level, Joensuu set to lead Dubizzle's marketing communication efforts across the Middle East and North Africa

Dubai, UAE - July 12, 2011: Dubizzle--the region's leading online classifieds and community portal--has appointed Arto Joensuu to head the company's marketing efforts across the Middle East and North Africa as Director of Marketing, based out of the group's headquarters in Dubai, UAE. Now operating in 14 countries and over 22 cities within the region, Joensuu will oversee all advertising, PR and social media activities for Dubizzle while managing new market operations in partnership with local teams.

Throughout his career, Joensuu has held several leadership roles in the area of digital media. He comes to Dubizzle after most recently serving as Head of Digital Marketing, Middle East and Africa at Nokia. Joensuu's experience also includes various positions managing social, search and multimedia programs, as well as pioneering mobile marketing at Terra Mobile in Finland. Joensuu has been awarded with several industry recognitions during his career and currently acts as a prominent spokesperson on digital marketing and social media within the Middle East. Joensuu will officially begin with Dubizzle as of July 24, 2011.

"With Arto's deep understanding of digital media and his comprehensive leadership experience, we will work toward broadening Dubizzle's services across geographic markets, languages and platforms," comments J.C. Butler, co-founder of Dubizzle. "We are very excited to have him as part of the team and look forward to expanding free online classifieds within the MENA region."

Noting Joensuu's thorough understanding of how offline and online media can elevate a brand, Sim Whatley, co-founder of Dubizzle, believes that having a director as experienced as Joensuu will further establish the brand's name across the region. "Arto brings a wealth of knowledge to this position, and we are confident in his ability to lead with great passion and success," says Whatley.

Dubizzle has already proven widely successful in a number of regional markets, currently welcoming over 1.5 million unique visitors a month and more than 70 million page views from across MENA. This summer, Dubizzle extended its offerings across digital platforms as it launched a mobile version of the website, giving consumers the ability to easily access its services from any mobile device while on the go.

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About Dubizzle.com
Dubizzle.com is a leading free classifieds and community website for users in the Middle East and North Africa. Since its launch in 2005, Dubizzle.com has become the number one portal for users to buy, sell, or find anything in their community. Dubizzle.com is headquartered in the UAE, and is available in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates. Dubizzle.com is accessed by over 1.5 million unique visitors with more than 70 million page views on a monthly basis.

For further information about Dubizzle, please visit www.dubizzle.com

Twitter page: www.twitter.com/Dubizzle

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/team.dubizzle

Media contact:
Dubizzle.com
Hassan Al Shouli
Tel: +9714-4279779
hassan@Dubizzle.com

Memac Ogilvy & Mather
Daniel Mercado
+9714-3050320
daniel.mercado@ogilvy.com