Ad Talk
UM MENA has launched their first digital conference for the LEVANT region. The exclusive invite-only event, which took place early September was attended by over 170 marketing professionals from Lebanon. As pioneers of the media industry, UM MENA’S aim was to educate and inform marketers on how to plan and implement digital strategies for 2016, understand the value of their online investments and the delivery of the right digital experience to their consumers.
The event led by Digital Director, Zadi Hobeika - kicked off with a key note by Joe Nicolas, Head of Product at UM MENA who heads up an integrated portfolio of specialised services at the agency including digital, content, innovation, social, mobile, data and strategy. He discussed the evolution of media consumption and the impact of the availability of new media on marketing strategies in this region.
Also speaking at the event were Ruairi Conroy – Sales Director EMEA at Adroll; Ian Manning – Head of Agency MENA at Facebook; Omar Kfoury - Head of Sales LEVANT from DMS; Elie Abou Saleh, Commercial Manager MENA at Anghami and Rayan Karaky, Head of Double Click MENA at Google who were there to present their learnings of the MENA market and case studies of best practices from their products and services.
“It's great to see such initiatives happening in Lebanon; having some of the biggest marketers, key publishers and technology players in one room sparks exactly the type of conversation the industry needs. Hopefully we will see more attention being given to the Levant region when it comes to digital advertising as this region has some of the most creative and talented people which could bring new ways and approaches to ad technology and its usage. It's a great step in the right direction", said Rayan Karaky, Head of Double Click MENA
Colette Cherfane, GM of UM Beirut said, “We wanted to do something this year for our clients, marketers and business owners to educate them and assist them with creating effective digital marketing strategies in line with the trends we have been witnessing and forecasting at UM MENA. We received an incredible response to the event and Think Digital with UM will now be an annual fixture in the LEVANT’S media and marketing calendar”
The event being the first of its kind in the LEVANT region was a huge success and was attended by senior decision makers from companies such as Mcdonald’s, Byblos Bank, Porsche to name a few.
Nada Tawil, Head of Group communication at Byblos Bank said, “Think Digital with UM has set the tone for seriously developing the digital media scene in Lebanon. By inviting world-class speakers from Google, Facebook, DMS, Adroll and Anghami who helped shed the light on innovative ways for Lebanon to catch up with the rest of the region in regards to both digital and social media communication strategies, UM MENA has undeniably positioned itself as THE media agency for digital communication in Lebanon. We are proud to be part of this cluster of successful communicators and we look forward to developing Byblos Bank’s digital communication with our UM partners.”