Sara Assaf

Managing Director Intermarkets Y&R

URGENT INTENSIVE CARE NEEDED

Unfortunately, the ad industry in Lebanon is not and cannot be in a better situation than the whole economy in this country. In a nutshell, Lebanon needs urgent intensive care on all levels and no one is currently providing it. The conflicts in neighboring countries are also not helping, and so businesses across all industries are going through rough times. This obviously affects advertising spending and to be frank, we feel we are going backwards instead of moving forward.

NUMEROUS CHALLENGES

The challenges are many. There is on one side the tough economic and political problems Lebanon is facing. It is hence becoming increasingly difficult to perform growth on a business level, but also to retain talents in Lebanon. On another side, the whole media scene is evolving towards more digital communication, while advertising agencies are still not coping with this move in a systematic and meaningful manner. Most big agencies have started working on this process a few years ago but a lot still needs to be done on this front.

INTERNAL SYNERGY A MUST

Key today is to be able to quickly adapt to new clients needs and offer them communication solutions that fully integrate the digital experience. For this to happen, there is an internal synergy that needs to be built-in within our agencies. WPP just announced the creation of a new agency, VMLY&R, uniting two leading brands to deliver a contemporary, fully integrated digital and creative offering to clients on a global scale. Y&R is an iconic creative agency, while VML has deep expertise in digital marketing. Hence VMLY&R’S proposition will combine brand advertising and brand experience, to create connected brands that drive value for clients. I truly believe this merge is THE PERFECT MATCH and can’t wait for the roll-out in our region.

We feel we are going backwards instead of moving forward