An agreement was signed in Jeddah between the international group ARA, represented by Walid Ibrahim el-Ibrahim, and the Choueiri group, represented by Antoine Choueiri. The agreement is aimed at developing the advertising market in Arab countries "to the benefit of advertisers and media".
The new management formed by these two groups will hold a meeting in the coming days with the representatives of the ad industry to inform them of the new details of the new marketing plan.
- Informed sources told ArabAd that FAL-DETECOM, previously Cellis, has awarded its creative and direct marketing to Intermarkets and its media buying to Carat.
Five agencies pitched for this important account, namely Leo Burnett, Impact/BBDO, L&R Communications and Carat.
- Flip media - one of the UAE's leading interactive agencies -- has launched Dubai's first Internet based DVD and Sony Playstation video rental store. The site is designed, programmed, and marketed by Flip Media. The website DVDCafes.com is the UAE's largest online shopping mall of DVDs that can be rented and purchased online.
- Zee Network - a leading Indian film and entertainment network - announced that it would establish its headquarters for international operations in Dubai Media City. Zee, will invest 30 million dirhams in the initial phase of the new facility, which will be equipped with one of the most sophisticated infrastructure and state-of-the-art studios..
- By the end of 2004, Qatar will have 21 cinemas, whereas, in 1996, there were only two cinemas.
- Orient Planet, a dynamic and fast-growing public relations and marketing communications agency in the Middle East, has signed a strategic partnership contract with Kalima, a leading Tunisian PR and marketing communications company, to enter the North Africa market.
Orient Planet, having achieved remarkable success in the Middle East region, has targeted North Africa for its expansion drive to tap the growing opportunities in countries like Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya by leveraging the local market expertise of Kalima, part of the Impact Group, a well-known and leading marketing and communications company in North Africa.
- The board of directors of MBC television has terminated the contract of its general manager Assaad Abou Jadayel and its marketing manager Mamdouh Abou Al Jabal.
- Fantasia and Pain D'Or moved back their advertising account to Team/Y&R after spending one-year with Impact/BBDO.
- U.S. Robotics, the global leader in Internet connectivity solutions, has appointed Orient Planet PR and Marketing Communications as its official PR agency for the Middle East region. With a realignment of its marketing strategy towards the development of broadband connectivity, as well as the wired and wireless networking segments, U.S. Robotics will seek to leverage Orient Planet's expertise in developing communications strategies for IT markets in the Middle East.
- 'HAWA'-- a private terrestrial TV channel, owned by an Egyptian businessman -- has been launched in Iraq. The channel, which will have political as well as entertainment programmes, will cater for a local market.
© ArabAd 2004
