Nisha Varman is the BBC Motion Gallery Sales Manager for the MENA region. We spoke to her about this service for broadcasters, producers, advertising agencies and media companies.

Q1. Kindly tell us about yourself, your career and your current role at BBC Motion Gallery.

Born in Singapore, raised in Mumbai, I have worked in Singapore, Qatar and I am now based in Dubai to drive BBC Motion Gallery's content across the Middle-East and North Africa.

After spending nearly a decade in outdoor advertising with specific focus on airports namely Singapore Changi Airport and Doha's International Airport, I felt broadcast should be my next destination and nothing better than starting off with the BBC.

Q2. Tell us more about the BBC Motion Galery services, and the history of BBC's content services in the region.

 BBC Motion Gallery www.bbcmotiongallery.com offers media professionals from all walks of life the opportunity to access the world's most comprehensive collection of high-quality broadcast imagery for licensing and royalty-free usage worldwide. The site hosts 60,000 hours of footage all available to preview, purchase and download immediately.

BBC Motion Gallery licenses clips to the broadcast, corporates, advertising, digital media and education markets as, increasingly, Creative Directors, Corporate Communications Officers and TV Producers are recognising the benefits of using existing content in their creative projects.

The Dubai office is relatively new and was set up in response to a growth in enquiries and demand from customers in the Middle East for content, especially for advertising purposes and for use on digital screens. We offer the full Motion Gallery service in the region and felt it was the right time to have a representative there to deal with growing demand locally.

 Q3. Who are the main clients today in the Middle East for video galleries, and is there now a better appreciation and understanding of the value of original video material?

 The way I look at it, anybody with a screen is a potential client. Traditionally, we work with broadcasters, advertising agencies and production houses but we are exploring and encouraging new sectors like mobile phone media, IPTV sectors, education, websites and Corporate Social Responsibility drives. Nakheel's Blue Communities is one good example of how BBC Motion Gallery can be used to drive a social message.

There is a better understanding and in turn demand for original, forward thinking video material in the Middle East, especially for digital content to use, for example, within digital screen networks and on websites. The region as a whole is becoming a rich environment for creativity - broadcasters are using the Middle East to showcase material and independent production companies also seem to be setting up there now.

 Q4. What differentiates BBC's motion gallery compared to that of competitors in the video content field?

One of the key differentiators is the quality and the extensiveness of the Motion Gallery archive. It is an treasure trove of footage - from classic television moments, historic news items and scientific discoveries to beautiful scenery, great sporting feats and terrific landscapes - and the available material is constantly updated. The content itself originates from a diverse range of subjects covering natural history, sport, news, locations, art, music, celebrities, historic events and more.

The site is very easy to use. Anyone can access the site to browse  through the content available. Once a clip is found the user will  need to register to purchase and download a high quality version of the clip. As well as BBC sourced content it contains additional exclusive global content from partner broadcasters including the CBS News Archive and footage from global distribution deals with NHK, Japan's national broadcaster, China Central Television and ABC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, providing a completely rounded offering.

 Q5. What is the impact of Internet and mobile news and programming on services like yours? And do you supply major websites across the region with your services?

IPTV represents a big opportunity for any content owner. The key to capitalise on this opportunity is to be quick with up to date and relevant content. News content is especially important here and we are looking at getting news content direct to our customers for use on, for example, online newspapers. Another tool we are looking at is packaging together relevant content on a particular topic, region and so on. This bundled content is then ready and to hand and can be drawn upon to illustrate a story.

Q6. Is Arabic language content and Middle East specific video at the BBC evolving sufficiently to cater to the growing needs of the region's broadcasters and producers?

Middle East specific video content, by the nature of the BBC and its programming, is growing all the time. We are new to this region and are listening to the content requirements of our customers. We do not currently have Arabic language content but are looking at opportunities such as this if demand were high enough. It is worth noting though that many customers in the area do not actually need or require Middle East footage as it is relatively quick and easy for them to film it themselves, what they do require from Motion Gallery is footage they cannot shoot themselves.

 Q7. What's your general prediction for video content syndication in the Middle East in the foreseeable future?

That it is going to grow. There will be more outlets for content, distribution and syndication will be important. BBC Motion Gallery will look for the right direct customers and partners already established locally to take full advantage of these growth opportunities.

Skills in advertising are expected to be in high demand across the Middle East markets until 2010. Shadi Al Hasan , managing director of Flagship Projects Marketing, comments on shortages increasing vertically and horizontally, most significantly in creative fields and strategic planning.

"The past year has been a significant one for the advertising industry in the Middle East. As the region sees an unprecedented growth across various sectors, there will be further boost in demand for creative specialists who really understand the nitty-gritty characteristics of the market. Currently, the major shortage continues to be in the fields of strategic planning and creative conceptualizing and development," emphasizes Shadi Al Hasan, Managing Director of Flagship Projects Marketing, one of the fastest growing integrated marketing solutions providers in the region.

Al Hasan adds: "As an emerging market, the region still has significant challenges to meet such as growing the pool of available advertising talent. The Arab world shares the same culture, language and understanding amongst its states. From an agency's perspective, this homogeneity should boost the advertising industry and reduce the people's shortage as markets with high advertising demand could recruit people from less demand markets who still have strong grasp of the region as a whole."

"In a cut-throat competitive marketplace such as the Middle East, it is a well known fact that the people who work for any agency are the driving forces behind its success regardless its history or international network. Little wonder, there is a fierce war for talent especially bilingual professionals."

The supply of professional expertise in the region is unable to meet the current demand and agencies are recruiting more from overseas to compete for the limited talent pool.

"We forecast that it will take about three years to prepare enough talent to meet the demands we face today to fill junior and senior positions," Al Hasan says. "We are largely short of Arab talent for more senior positions, especially candidates with strong English skills and wealth of international experience."

"The Gulf market is offering an ideal opportunity for Arab professionals to gain knowledge and experience from their foreign counterparts. We should bring our domestic talent up to speed, and this is something that will only improve with time," he added.

Al Hasan says: "There is an overall shortage of talent and this is both the main constraint on growth and on maintaining high standards across the industry. In 2007 marketers were plugged into what was good and best in the communication world. Professional, talented and knowledgeable should be fostered in the region to cope with the proliferative number of brands arriving on a daily basis."

Al Hasan concludes that advertising associations should hold responsibility for enhancing the Arab advertising industry, taking it to a new level of professionalism and innovation through a 360º approach. This approach should include attracting the finest minds in the industry and nurturing new local capabilities."

Dana Adhami is a pioneering figure in the Middle East's digital media field. She is now the Head of New Business & Strategy at Catch Interactive, and provides us with insights into the latest trends and where the market is heading.

Q1. Kindly tell us about yourself, your career and your current role at your agency.

I have dual roles of new business and strategy at Catch.  Previous to that, I was responsible for managing the media unit at Catch for over two years, by making sure that all online plans and media schedules are aligned with client objectives and the diverse offering online provides. Recently, I was promoted to head new business and strategy for the agency where I am responsible for developing digital strategic insights for brands, researching & developing new online media opportunities for integration and driving Catch along with my team forward through thought leadership and innovation.

Q2. As one of the leading online media agencies, tell us about the pace of this media's evolution throughout the past couple of years.

It took TV 36 years to reach a large sizable audience, and radio about 13 years, online however took 5 years to grow into the mass medium it is today.   The pace of this medium is exponential, both on a global and regional level.  If we look closely at the Middle East, where online was purely about a 468x60 standard banner advertising not long ago, the dynamics have changed tremendously.

Today, marketing managers and interactive agencies are being challenged to raise the bar online. Display banners are no longer key, and have long ago been removed from the online advertising mix. 
Nowadays, new standards have been introduced in addition to new benchmarks.  Some of the  standards include specialized targeting such as contextual, behavioral, keywords, placement targeting, new banner formats, rich media platforms, among a few.  Our new benchmarks on the other hand, revolve around accountable ROI, digital versus traditional integration, innovative creativity and extending brands into interactive and engaging experiences.

One of the major positive changes in the last year or so, is the full adoption of search marketing and its importance in building brands and driving sales.  With Google having recently set up offices in the region, we are bound to see higher media spends on this medium, resulting in continuous change of the online media dynamic.

The pace is healthy, and indicates solid and positive growth, however I still feel that it is still a learning curve for all of us. Online advertising extends beyond a 30 second spot or a still visual that has set rules and dynamics.  As technologies change and mindsets evolve, new innovations will definitely be introduced into our medium.

Soon, currently existing in overseas markets, the concept of online advertising will evolve and grow into a larger picture to be known as digital advertising where more than one digital platform is integrated, i.e. mobile, search, Bluetooth, virtual worlds, viral…etc.   The meaning of integration will soon encompass integration of diverse digital touch points for effective reach and newness.

I also believe that clients will alter their mindset to start searching for return on involvement measures rather than the typical return on investment we all get grilled for.  I see that the future of online advertising evolving and developing into a new concept, what I like to call ‘engagement advertising’

Q3. What's preventing clients from committing a higher percentage of their advertising budget to online media, to better correspond to the time that consumers are spending on the Internet?

The reasons are numerous, and have been previously discussed by many online professionals.  Many say it’s fear of the unknown, yet listening to clients’ arguments who some claim that it is their online agencies who fail to challenge and push the envelope.

In my opinion, I feel that the reason for clients downsizing online budgets is to do with budgeting itself.  I believe that clients have been using and still are using the same budgeting schemes their existing or previous organizations instilled on them.  The mechanic needs to change as time and consumers change. 

Rather than fixating budgets on expenses, margins or forecasts of sales, clients need to extend the methodology to start introducing a percentage of innovation into their marketing plans/budgets.  The percentage can vary between 10-20%, but should allow clients to visit new territories with their brands and connect with new customers, one of them should be online or interactive initiatives.

Another reason is agency integration.  Now that many of the global agency networks have set their interactive departments, we are finding that the correspondence between the digital planners and traditional planners is a little inconsistent.  Digital planners are usually brought in after the media plan is set, and are used as complimentary vehicles to the communication mix, this usually results in budgets being finalized for traditional and downscaled for online.  Traditional agencies need to integrate their digital arms at early stages of planning to allow proper correspondence for consumer medium consumption.

Lack of metrics, research and auditing are also hindering online budgets from expanding.  This is taking time as the region progresses, however will mark change once audited and valid data is brought to place.

Finally, and I believe is a main reason for online budgets being set back is directly linked to talent, the more passionate and self-involved people become about the medium both on client and agency side, the more we will find that the idea of selling high budgets will become easy.

Q5. Would you say that online advertising on the region's major websites is fairly priced and what kind of impact on prices can we expect from the lower-price opportunities available on international sites and ad networks like Google Adwords?

Yes I believe they are fairly priced, especially when comparing to international sites and ad networks.  However, our market is unique and online rates are representative and directly linked to the value of communicating with the type of user using the medium in this region.  The internet in the US or UK is widely mass, with high levels of audience fragmentation and income levels, hence the low prices.   Also, a high contributing factor is the technological infrastructure available in those countries.  These platforms are deemed high in service diversification and user penetration, allowing online advertising to be low-priced.

 In our region, however, online is still growing at a pace to become mass, and the current online population is considered niche as far as income level and psychographics.  However, as more telecommunication companies branch out in offering and infrastructure within the region, the more this will impact internet connection prices.  Also this will result in an increased online population and internet usage creating standardized cost-effective and relevant prices for the industry.

Q6. Any closing words and/or a prediction for online advertising in 2008?

My closing words are for those who do spend budgets online both on the agency and client side. My predictions for 2008 start with my belief that clients will spend more time looking into ways to succeed online. This in effect will benefit and threaten many.

The CTR approach (Click Through Rate) will alter in importance, as more clients try to create meaningful interactive experiences with their customers, through involvement and relationship.

There will be large integration between TV (video) and the internet, in a way the internet is becoming more like TV and vice versa.  We will find that brands will embrace video within their online communication to sustain synergy across all mediums. This will definitely start pulling budgets from TV due to online’s capacity of extending the experience further through interactivity, higher user control and video streaming capability.

I hope, but this could be wishful thinking, that mobile marketing will start to integrate as a synergistic and consistent platform to online advertising, allowing interactive agencies a new level of creativity and user engagement, however only 2008 will reveal so.

Ziad Khammar is the trailblazing CEO of AME Info, and a long-serving pioneer in the region's online market. We spoke to him about the Digital Marketing 2008 conference which AME Info is organizing.

Q1. Kindly give us a brief introduction about yourself and your current position.
I have been living in Dubai for a little less than 2 decades. Over a year go, shortly after AME Info was acquired by EMAP for over $25 million, I joined as the General Manager.
I oversee the operation with the key aim of growing the business and maintaining our position as the leading business online resource in the Middle East.

Q2. Would you say that online media and services now available in the Middle East are capable of delivering the requirements of marketers, and are on par with international Internet media tools? 
I would somewhat agree with that statement, as there is a part of the media and services market that has moved at the pace driven by requirements of advertisers. The savvy and more experienced advertisers have pushed their own organisation and agencies to raise standards and on some occasions, be ahead of the game in comparison to international standards. There are some agencies and websites who have done a great job at offering internationally accepted ad serving technology and traffic measurement tools.
The industry is moving along at a fair pace and the reality is that there are many marketers who have not gone online yet, especially the major large advertisers from KSA, and we cant expect them all to jump immediately and practice the latest and most innovative digital marketing techniques before going through traditional methods and learning what works and what doesn’t work for their brand. I, as many others, want the market to move faster but in reality we are moving at the right pace for the majority of marketers.
 

Q3. What, in your opinion, are the main obstacles to more rapid growth in online advertising expenditure in the Middle East and how's 2008 looking so far?
1) Auditing and transparency: Clients have been demanding audits to be done across all media for years but I still see large multinationals still heavily spending with a large number of non audited media. I think a major obstacle to rapid growth is larger marketers not putting their foot down and saying NO to non audited media, print or digital.
Our last ABCe audit during Oct 2007, reported that we attracted 883,994 business readers to our website. To my knowledge, there isn’t a single regional magazine or newspaper that even comes to attracting this large an audience of business readers. Majority of these titles are non audited and still command larger pieces of advertising budgets.
We have some forward looking clients who spend a majority of their budget with audited media and are taking full advantage of reaching a huge business audience.  For the market to grow faster, clients need to take the initiative to stop spending on questionable media and invest in those who are aiming to be transparent. Such initiatives will force all media to get audited, marketers to spend their budgets more confidently and thus take the whole market up to a new level.
2) Lack of expertise: A major concern is the lack of digital expertise in the market including digital media planners, designers, account handlers and marketing managers. The high staff turnover rates occurring in the region and the huge lack of digital marketing experienced or passionate people should impact growth.

Q4. AME Info is an ideal example of a leading portal aimed at business users. How mature is the online business media scene in the Middle East, and is there a substantial and growing number of advertisers targeting such users/readers?
Online business media continues to mature as most marketers are aware that the highest reaching media in the office place is the computer/internet. I don’t have exact statistics, but the one common element between all business people during working hours is that they are working on a computer/laptop and can be reached through business websites or email. AME Info’s audited traffic peaks during working hours and with just under a million business readers, is enough justification that if the net is not included in the media mix, marketers will not be reaching this audience during the important decision making working hours.
Advertisers are growing as we have built an extremely strong brand, are regularly audited and currently the largest audited business media in the region. Our business is healthy, we are growing year on year and we are confident that we will continue to see high growth in the next few years

Q5. In 2006, EMAP acquired AME Info. How does AME Info's business integrate into EMAPs other activities in the region?
EMAP have been in the region for several years as the owners of MEED, the premium business intelligence provider and more lately with the successful launch of the Dubai Lynx Advertising Festival.  AME Info provides broad coverage of a wide range of sectors for business executives whilst MEED’s portfolio includes the well known magazine Middle East Economic Digest, specialist conferences and events as well as a website. These brands are all very strong and well known in their own right.  The products compliment each other and so we all work closely together to benefit from shared learning and experience at both a local and international level. This gives us a strong competitive advantage.

Q6. The Digital Marketing 2008 Conference is a pioneering initiative, what are the goals that you as organizers look towards achieving, and what kind of impact can you see it having on the industry as a whole?
After hearing for years that no one is taking the initiative to educate the market, conduct research and share ideas, we decided to do it ourselves. It is our first event and we hope to get industry professionals within an environment to learn and share their experiences. Our research showed that the lack of market data was a key tool needed to convince upper management to spend more online. In addition, marketers wanted to hear other companies’ success stories and how they got their organisations to move from traditional to digital.
The highlight of the event this March 24-27 will be the opportunity to be the first to receive exclusive Middle East research commissioned specifically for this event on business people in the region, Arab women and young Arab teens conducted by 2 highly respected research consultancies; You Gov and Real Opinions. We hope this event will be able to contribute to educating and raising awareness on how digital marketing can impact their business, and provide tools that marketers and agencies alike can take away and implement within their organisation that will positively impact campaign results.

Q7. Where do you see the online media market in the region going from here on the publisher, agency and client sides?
I would rather not differentiate the 3 as I truly believe that the market will only grow if we learn from past mistakes, understand more about the variance in deliverables when it comes to traditional vs online and try our best to get all 3 groups working together. Our event is aimed at bringing together all 3 groups in the same room to share experiences and therefore enable each individual to make their own digital marketing campaigns a success.  Our aim is to ensure that everyone will benefit from the already massive growth and the opportunities to come.

Grapheast is at the forefront of the regional graphic industry, offering the latest technologies through its strategic partnerships with global leaders in graphic fields, as well as providing innovative value-added services.

John Boutros, Grapheast’s General Manager talks about the company, its range of products and services including exciting new technologies which have been launched in Gitex 2007.

Q: Grapheast began its foray in the region as a system integrator with a special focus on the advertising industry in the early nineties and has since sustained a leading position in the graphic market. How did the company grow into a key player in the region?
The early nineties were witness to technological developments that were rapidly revolutionising the publishing industry in other parts of the globe, but these were yet to be delivered to the Middle East market. An Arabic graphic designer had a very limited option or if a product was available, he would not have access to expert information or support services. Grapheast filled this gap and tapped into a massive market opportunity by bringing the right solutions for a then emerging market. We began by introducing PhotoDisc and Aridi products, and then later added Phonyx, Arabic extension for Quark Express.
In 2002, Grapheast became a member of the MDS Group of Companies, which gave our company access to in-depth knowledge of the regional business environment as well as solid financial support necessary for the expansion of our operations. Since then, Grapheast has established strategic partnerships with global manufacturers including sole distributorship rights of Adobe’s products in the Middle East in 2003 as well as representation for Corbis among other industry leaders.

Q: With the company’s tremendous expansion, how has it maintained its quality standards and corporate goals?
The company set its vision when it began its operations, and we have always aligned our corporate targets and strategies accordingly. We aim to provide a powerful platform for raising the standards of the graphic design industry in the Middle East by sourcing and developing high quality solutions, which in turn, will help enhance the creativity, productivity, caliber and profitability of Arabic creative professionals.
In line with our goals, our company maintains three dedicated divisions that have their respective business focus. The distribution division, which handles the marketing and distribution of our products, maintains an extensive network of over 3000 resellers and sub-distributors and delivers leading brands such as Adobe, Corel, FileMaker, Extensis and MAXON among others across the region.
The image division is tremendously successful in distributing Corbis Images in addition to our own image library of local contents.
The solution division takes charge of high-end specialised products such as the new ORIS solutions for colour matching and ink saving, QUATO calibrated monitors, Pantone products and Pantone ink for Epson printers in addition to developing our own products for the graphics and publishing industry.

Q: As a leading player in the industry, Grapheast has been reputed for introducing the latest solutions through its strategic alliances with global manufacturers. What has been the impact of these partnerships from a business perspective?
Our input has not been limited to introducing new products but also in ensuring significant market reach for the international brands we carry. For instance, Adobe had three distributors before they appointed us as exclusive
distributors in 2003, and Five years later, we have achieved a tenfold increase in sales volume for Adobe. We replicated that accomplishment with Pantone, which had over 9 distributors in the region, and in June 2007, decided to appoint us their master distributor. Through our exceptional performance and added value, we create success stories for our global partners.
In addition, our collaboration with international companies has enabled us to fulfill our goal of helping the advancement of the local graphic industry by offering the latest technologies available for the graphic industry. We have generated huge response for our new range of ORIS solutions from CGS for colour calibration, proofing and ink saving for printers and publishers and have implemented our first installation less than three months after the launch. We will also deliver Maxon products, which will mark the beginning of our foray into the 3D animation market as well as our support to its continuing development.

Q: With in-house development activities, Grapheast has brought its own products to the market. Kindly tell us about the new solutions you have unveiled recently.
By developing our own products, we are able to cater to the unique needs of our clients in the region, which complements the range of products we carry and helps push these solutions in the market. When Adobe launched its first InDesign Middle East (ME) version, we realised that designers will not make the most of it without a good range of Arabic OpenType fonts; therefore, we have introduced in the last three years over 100 Arabic fonts under the name Khotout. More new Arabic fonts to come this year.
We also recently launched TextraNews, an editorial solution tailored to the demands of Arabic newspapers that will provide ease and security to editing and sharing stories. Three newspapers have availed of the solution with two already using TextraNews alongside InDesign ME version for the production of their daily pages. Further, TextraNews is not only suitable for Arabic newspapers but also for all Arabic publications.
Since 2003, we have published the first Image library offering images from the Arabic and Islamic world, and today, our website provides local and international graphic designers with over 5000 local images.

Q: What have Grapheast launched at the last GITEX show in Dubai?
We unveiled arPix Professional, a stand alone utility for both Mac and PC.  I will help users type Arabic text using Latin applications that do not support Arabic such as Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro or Flash. We have witnessed huge response for FileMaker Pro by providing our clients with tailor made solutions and programming, and we expect that the launch of the FileMaker Pro Arabic version will further boost its sales performance. Both arPIX Professional and FileMaker Pro ME will be supported with our range of Arabic fonts.
We introduced a number of InDesign plugins that are designed to boost user productivity including Easy Attributes and Easy Overset. Users will be able to change text attributes in multilingual work much faster, control overflowing copy more effectively.
We have also launched the first  Arabic type book, which will showcase the full range of fonts marketed by Grapheast including the Boutros International Arabic font collection as well as our new Graphics and Photography bookstore. Designers and photographers will no longer need to travel distance to bookshops, they will be able to browse our web store to order their books and have them delivered to their premises.

Q: The graphic industry has seen unprecedented boom over the years. How does Grapheast view its position in the future?
We are poised to further our leading position by expanding our channel network in order to better support our resellers and end users. In addition, we will continue our focus on technological development and value-added services. We will certainly continue expanding our Arabic font collection and further develop our website to provide exceptional services to our end users online.

Q: In your opinion, what have been your major challenges in the graphic market?
Our biggest challenge has always been piracy. Despite the fact that people appreciate the high quality of our solutions, many still opt for copying or buying pirated copies or refrain from ordering the right number of licenses. This has affected our returns, and consequently, we have to control our investments. As a business enterprise, we cannot afford to invest money on development unless it is profitable.
However, with the ongoing focus on anti-piracy campaigns, there has been a growing awareness on copyright issues since the early 90s. Users are producing artistic works themselves and have become concerned about infringement of their intellectual rights.