Abdelrahman Eliwa, Business Develoment Manager for Moheet Internet Group, talks to mediaME about Moheet's history and achievements, the evolution of Internet news, the online advertising market in Egypt and the MENA region, Moheet's future plans and more.

Q.Kindly introduce yourself and tell us about Moheet (its history in summary).

I am the business development manager for Moheet Internet Group.

Moheet Internet Group is a digital media group that provides general news; sports news, entertainment, food recipes, games, jobs, e-learning opportunities, guides & information and social.

The company is owned by Arabia Inform, the pioneer in media monitoring and Arabic media analysis in the MENA region since 1996

Moheet.com was launched in 1998, to be the first Arabic news portal. The rest of the portals have been launched since 2008 and Moheet.com became become part of our group in 2009.

Currently, we have the following group of online properties: moheet.com, korabia.com, lahona.com, alfanonline.com, bayanonline.com, shoghlanty.com, shamlola.com, gamegoom.com, betshoof.com.

Our vision is to create and distribute top quality Arabic-language content through both web and mobile, to keep all Arabs informed.

Q. Tell us about the nature of Moheet’s strength in the MENA region.

According to our third-party partners, Nielsen and Double Click, Moheet network receives around 6 million unique users with over 150 million impressions and 70 million pages views per-month. 

More than 53% from the total visits come from Egypt, 28% from KSA and 16% from UAE. The rest of the traffic comes from different countries.

Q. Over the past decade, Internet news and content has evolved. How has Moheet changed with the times, and how has it maintained a leading position?

Actually, when moheet.com started, we focused on the objective of becoming the biggest Arabic reference for news in the MENA region. We did that by monitoring other media. Then, in 2002, we revamped Moheet to become an electronic newspaper that offers original content. Then we expanded the number of topics that moheet.com covers.

In 2007 we developed a new concept for Moheet; we decided to offer information and news as well as other interactive services.

In 2009 we developed a new business plan that offers a wide range of e-content through different channels WEB, WAP, ODB, I-PAD...etc, to revamp “Moheet Internet Group” to support our advertising and to achieve high penetration in the Egyptian market.

Q. As the business development manager of Moheet Internet Group, what are the areas in Moheet’s business model that you are working on developing or growing, and are there any new products or services to be launched soon?

There are several business models that we are working on, which we feel will create significant revenues:
1-    B2B: Digital Advertising through Moheet’s network
2-    B2B: Portal Management and Content Syndication services
3-    B2B: Partnerships with ISP companies to make Moheet’s content available for their clients
4-    B2C: Developing paid applications for Moheet to be available on mobile.

For the new products, we are in the process of launching a new bi-lingual TV guide called betshoof.com, covering over than 700 channels and allowing users to customize their channels to stay updated with latest movies. The second step will be developing each portal in a WAP version through partnering with one of Egypt’s big names to run the network on mobiles.

Q. As a major internet media outlet, what’s your prediction regarding the growth of online advertising expenditure in Egypt and the GCC and what are the main obstacles to faster growth of digital advertising expenditures in the region?

For the past three years, we have faced a serious problem with advertisers who do not understand the concept of online advertising and digital world. But this year, Egypt has around 100 million EGP in the market from advertising. 

As for the obstacles, I believe it’s mainly education, as most of the agencies and advertisers still need to learn more about online advertising and how it can positively affect their businesses.

For Moheet, we’ve only started an online advertising push from the beginning of 2010. B efore, it was so hard to convince advertisers. The only ad spenders were the big and well-known brands such as Coca Cola, Vodafone, Mobinil and they typically advertise on MSN, Google, Maktoob, etc…..

Q. Tell us about the Internet media market in Egypt. There’s an active publisher scene, but what are the levels of awareness among advertisers (clients) and agencies?

The online advertising market here in Egypt is growing very fast. In my opinion, it is growing even faster than the GCC market. This is because advertisers and agencies are beginning to change their mentalities through the organization of several workshops that aim at educating advertisers and explaining the level of importance and benefits of the digital advertising scene.

Q. What are the immediate future plans of Moheet? Are there any developments or announcements you are working on?

Moheet plans to continue to grow, to encompass distribution of content on both the web and other devices, as well as the development of new brands and new channels. Moheet’s team really believes that top quality and original content are the most attractive elements for users, and therefore, the more the content, the bigger the market. This, as a result, will support our advertising plans and fulfill our goal to become the market leader in this field.
 
Q. Is there anything else you would like to add?

I would like to thank my colleagues at Moheet, who contributed valuable information to this interview.
And I call on mediaME visitors to visit our group sites Moheet.com, Korabia.com
Lahona.com, Alfanonline.com, Shamlola.com, Betshoof.com, Gamegoom.com and Bayanonline.com.

Zafer Younis, co-founder of Modern Media Ltd. talks to mediaME about The Online Project, a social networking utilization company that provides solutions for brands. Zafer talks about levels of awareness when it comes to social marketing, the benefits of social networking and more.

Q. What is The Online Project?

The Online Project is a social networking utilization company with its operational offices in Amman and Business Development offices in Dubai. Basically, what we do is we figure out the most strategic use of social networking tools for our clients and apply it to their businesses.  

Q. Can you elaborate on what that means exactly?

What it means varies from client to client depending on their needs. We’ve worked with a regional telecom company to integrate social networking concepts into their customer service support so that they could identify problems and fix them instantly. We’ve done promotions for media companies to create viral hype about giveaways and events. And we’ve integrated social-work with social-media.

So what we do is figure out how social networking tools can be utilized to support your company and your brand from a 360-degree perspective.  

Q. Your background in the radio and events business provided your company with insights to the media market. How has that experience benefited The Online Project, and would you say that digital clients are similar to traditional media clients?

Our work in the radio and events business has given us plenty of experience in finding creative communications and marketing solutions. In radio, we kept our marketing costs to the minimum and focused spending on where it’s needed only, so we naturally started experimenting with social media marketing for our radio and events. There’s a science to doing it right though, and as we started to study that science, we wanted to be able to put that knowledge to use by offering that service to brands we work with. It’s just a natural extension of the communication solution.  

Q. In your opinion, what’s the level of awareness in the region regarding social marketing? Are clients setting aside budgets for it or does it suffer from the lack of digital budgets in general?  

There’s so much interest in activating social networking utilization right now because of how cost effective it is. But just because something is cost effective doesn’t mean it’s cheap. Companies should definitely set aside budgets for this and work with providers that have experience in the field. We’ve seen some genuine interest in experimenting with social media from leading companies and once they set the standard for how to integrate social media into their business plans and communication plans, I think other companies will follow and dedicate serious budgets and resources to this as well.  

Q. Would you describe your company as a digital agency or a specialized service provider? What is the position of The Online Project within the digital value chain (are you competing with agencies or providing services to agency and their clients?)

The Online Project is specialized in providing social networking solutions for brands. We work both directly with brands and through agencies to support their work with various clients.   

Q. Tell us about certain campaigns or projects you have executed successfully. 

In just over one year, we’ve done work for some of the region’s most recognized brands. The one I’m most proud of is a strategy we’re currently putting in place for UNICEF MENA. UNICEF is such an amazing international organization, whose work we really believe in and through utilizing social media, this will impact more change and drive more participation in their work.   

Q. Tell us about The Online Project’s involvement with its clients in the long term. Do you also provide training or continued support for clients upon launching a social marketing project? 

Most of the companies we work with don’t yet have the internal structures for this type of work, and it’s important for us and for them to develop it, so as part of our offer we build that capacity. We train the different teams to be able to execute correctly so that when our contracts end, or evolve, the company is confident that they can continue implementing the strategic work we’ve designed together.    

Jordan’s fastest growing events company, behind the scenes eventology has built a proven track record in organizing some of the largest and most complex events. The company brings art, science and business to the stage for a complete experience. mediaME spoke to the company founders.

behind the scenes eventology is widely recognized as a wholesome, complete events solution factory. In paying attention to even the smallest of details, all aspects are covered determining that cost effective services are delivered without compromising on the final output, because they believe every bit counts.
Young, creative, enthusiastic and dynamic professionals with a sparkling stream of ideas and a vast experience in the field of events and entertainment is what formulates the behind the scenes eventology team. They will provide you with a professional, event-valued occurrence, regardless of the size or budget.

mediaME spoke to Mohammad Najjar, Fadi Abu Shaban and Saleh Abu Shaban, the founders of behind the scenes eventology, regarding the market, competition, clients and future expectations.

Q. What is the aim of founding behind the scenes eventology ?

Mohammad: behind the scenes…hmm, well, we had already been working in this industry and shared a passion for events! Our mutual love, dedication and drive towards the making of an event can be seen the most when we’re in utter chaos and yet manage to remain a lasting smile. The field of events is our calling whereby we feel enlightened for we’d rather be the “masters” of events, the jacks of too many trades.

Fadi: Previous to behind the scenes eventology, we were searching for ways to fulfill our passion without limitation. We realized that the Jordanian market did not have one place wherein every request is met. There were too many vendors and each was recommending someone else. Hence, we came up with a “one stop shop.” An integrated solutions approach that permits our clients to save time while all the elements required are developed, implemented and managed with full quality.

Saleh: Yes…yes…I agree.

Q. What sets you apart from your competition?

Saleh: The key advantage to a successful company is to be diligent, efficient, and to deliver on time exactly what is required, needed, and also what is wanted. Yes, we guarantee delivery…because we will not allow our name to be included beside a job less-than-done. 

Fadi: behind the scenes eventology…monitors the industry. To deliver an incredible event we do our research. We invest in research; how to enhance our services; how to update our technology. Also, everyone knows our office environment…here, we’re a family, and we all share the passion for events and have the same vision. Our staff is provided a comfortable, productive setting with the latest technologies and unlimited opportunities to excel in our field including the ability to enroll in expert training courses…together we deliver.

Mohammad: It is true. We are a family.  

Q. Event management vs. eventology…tell us more!

Saleh: Of course…it takes behind the scenes one step further. We entered the market aiming to upgrade and revolutionize it. Even though we had established event management companies in the Jordanian market, we wished to set new standards; unconventional ones. We are witnessing a rise in the events business and people here are beginning to realize events’ effect and results. 

Fadi: In order for us to achieve a higher standard we need to continuously stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends whether the trend is a new vibrant color, or a new emerging young band that is yet to be discovered, or a great new technique in enhancing the light and sound effects upon the arrival of the speaker. The more we know the more we’re capable of producing phenomenal events behind the scenes…

Mohammad: I agree…and speaking of behind the scenes eventology, we are made up of individuals with specialized backgrounds that allow us to learn from one another too.

Q. What is the market’s feedback? How has the response been to this service?

Mohammad:  We are very blessed. We believe that from the very beginning, behind the scenes eventology left a lasting impression on the market. Our first event; U Max’s Launch was outstanding. From the set up, concept, and international entertainment… we received tremendous positive feedback. The audience was impressed with the quality, creativity, and overall experience. 

Fadi: Thankfully, our clients remain to be our main promoters; they praise our efficient time management, making the process easy, presenting creative ideas and concepts, informing them of the latest technologies, trends and most importantly for achieving the results to their objectives.

Saleh: Creativity is key here…because I’m the head of the creative department. Kidding. Actually, because the more creative we are in each of our events the more unique the event is…satisfying each and every client to their specific needs, wants and wishes.

Q. From our understanding you have already worked with regional, international clients? Tell us more about these projects?

Saleh: Handling The World Rally Championship during 2008 was fascinating. It is known to be one of the world’s biggest events, with billion of viewers worldwide. behind the scenes eventology was very proud to   had been one of the few event companies in the region to be considered and then picked to take charge of the championship.

Mohammad: Definitely a challenge that we successfully attained, meeting all the IFA standards and exceeding their expectations.

Fadi: Another event that I am truly thrilled with is the 4th IOC World Conference on women and sport. Held at the Dead Sea and hosting around 750 internationals from all around the world. We broke the records by delivering in three weeks total, of which ten days where for execution. It was one hell of a mission we were beyond happy… being able to impress and “ne3jeb” royalty and the internationals.

Saleh: A few other events worth mentioning are the Porsche Panamera launch, Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah’s ‘Hal Hlalak’ tent for the under privileged, hmm the Unicef projects and many more.

Q. Was there any feedback from international clients?

Saleh: Yes! Fadi went to London Metropolitan University after the IOC and when his lecturer, Johnny Allen heard of the event we handled, he asked to include the IOC as a case study in his event management books. 

Mohammad: Also, WRC is one we’re handling again this April. When a client returns…yup, that’s the best feedback. After the races during the closing dinner all our attendees said that it was by far the biggest dinner party the WRC ever threw.

Q. Is there any event you cannot handle?

Fadi: Hmm, probably but will we apologize before attempting to handle the event? Ha, no, no, we have a well-known motto in the office, “bring it on.” We love a good challenge. No matter what category the event falls under: festival, gala, championship, product launches, seminars or private functions…behind the scenes eventology will attempt to cater to our clients’ needs.  Whether the needs are generating more sales, celebrating loved ones or motivating employees…Do you have an event you don’t think we can handle? Please, bring it on!

Q. What are your plans for the future?

Mohammad: In the near future we will be working on exceeding people’s expectations (including ours) as we maintain being the leading events management company in our market until we venture into new ones.

Fadi: Definitely. Ah, with the knowledge that we aim to have a sub-division especially for private functions.

Q. Are you planning on expanding?

Saleh: Is there a company in the world that doesn’t wish to expand? I mean, of course. But, we don’t just want to expand and lose the quality of our events. We will expand in due time with studying every single detail to assure that our quality will not hinder…and our environment will remain to be one whereby we feel like a family.

Fadi: Yes, soon, I hope, you will be able to contact us for your events.

Mohammad: No matter where you are in the world.

Q. . Is there anything else you would like to add?

Mohammad: Yes, thank you God for allowing us to be a part of behind the scenes eventology and its journey, in allowing people to truly celebrate with smiles, laughter, hopes, and the words, “thank you, thank you…behind the scenes eventology!”

Fadi: Thanks to our parents, family, and friends who believed in us and demanded that we work really hard to achieve our dreams…and guess what? We’re living them. Yes, hard work does pay off. We’re the living proof of just how much it does. So, keep on working!

Saleh: We would like to thank our clients for giving us the chance to share their celebrations with them, and to all our vendors and suppliers who take on the pressure and work endless hours just to have a job well done.

Mohamad, Fadi and Saleh: And, most of all, thank you to each and every member of behind the scenes eventology family! Yalla, let’s get back to work!

((This interview was conducted by MediaScope Ltd. and was published in Arab Ad April 2010 issue))

Jumana Twal, the founder and CEO of Bidaya Corporate Communications, first started her career in the PR industry in 1991, when tools, resources and experience in Jordan were scarce and almost nonexistent. mediaME spoke to Jumana about the evolution of public relations in Jordan, its role, the effect of mass communications technology on traditional media and public relations and much more.

Q. You are considered somewhat of a veteran in Jordan’s public relations industry, share with us some of the highlights of your career and how the industry has developed over the years.

When I first started out in the industry in 1991, the PR concept was virtually nonexistent here in Jordan. Businesses did not recognize the important role that communications plays in the growth and expansion of their businesses.

The lack of PR resources meant that much of the information I learned and the skills I developed were self-taught. There was also no Internet in Jordan at the time, so I lacked the luxury of what it offers to PR professionals these days in terms of insights and knowledge sharing. My second experience was at Zain, Fastlink at that time, and in that post I was able to attend international PR conferences, trainings and workshops which quickly gave me the much needed tools and experience. Since then, the number of PR professionals in Jordan has grown and whilst there is still room for more improvement, the standards have risen. Unfortunately, a lot of organizations still regard PR as an add-on to their communications and marketing strategies. Yes, PR budgets are growing, but they are still well behind marketing budgets.

Q.  A lot of your work involves dealing with the media. How has understanding of the role of public relations evolved the Jordanian media?

The roles of journalism and public relations in Jordan are complementary, drawing strength and direction from each other. The development of the media industry has improved public relations practices and vice-versa. Whilst there are still some journalists that remain skeptic of PR practitioners, this relationship has evolved substantially over the years. It is important for us in the PR industry to recognize that the media is our partner for us to gain credibility and trust from the media. Having good media relationships is the key to success in the industry.

Q. As opposed to several other PR firms, you launched Bidaya and continue to manage it without an international partner or affiliate, why?

Although the PR industry worldwide draws some similarities with the PR industry in Jordan and the region, there are still some major differences in terms of the client’s view of public relations and the media’s view of public relations. Some of these differences make our job harder and others make our job easier.

I recognize the importance of having insights from experts who have been in the industry for longer and have already experienced the changes we are experiencing or have yet to experience, which is why Bidaya is a member of MEPRA and IPRA. However, I still think that professionals who started in the industry locally and who understand the market share value and insights that cannot be replaced by an international partner or affiliate. 

Q. Some say that social media could spell the death of the public relations industry. What are your thoughts on this claim?

There is some tension arising between PR and Social Media professionals on how these two industries will cooperate. The evolution in mass communications technology has made it possible to reach an extremely large audience through social media tools.

Traditional media and traditional PR practitioners are no longer able to singlehandedly control the messages that are being disseminated to the public. However, this does not mean that social media will be the death of PR; successful PR practitioners that build their agencies on effective communications, progressive PR practices, and long-term relationships will still have a lot to offer.
 
Q. Is there a rule of thumb that companies should follow when implementing online public relations, and social media tools in particular?

I truly believe that if we as PR practitioners are to be successful in effectively utilizing and implementing online PR and social media tools, we need to recognize that social media professionals are different to traditional media professionals. We need to build new long-term partnerships with these practitioners and find new ways to disseminate our messages to them. If you are able to build such a relationship it will enable you to reach your audience in a completely different way.

Q. In your opinion, how will public relations evolve as a discipline this decade following this revolution in marketing communications?

The balancing act of old versus new will be the major struggle for all stakeholders in the industry over the next few years. Relationship-building will remain a key element in the future of the industry. I believe that the future will involve a lot of focus on direct PR and more interaction with social media and traditional media professionals. Again, if you don’t recognize that these stakeholders are your partners and you treat them as such, you won’t succeed in the business.
 

Fayez Abu-Awad is a media and marketing professional with over 10 years of experience. He is the Executive Vice President for Boost Communications for the Middle East and Africa, a leading provider for mobile marketing and communication services for mobile Internet, SMS, MMS and mobile.

mediaME spoke to Fayez about mobile advertising in the region, its impact today, emerging trends and technologies, efficiency metrics, major clients who have utilized it and much more.

Q. Kindly introduce yourself and your company.

I am an entrepreneurial digital media professional with roots in telecoms and finance. I work for Boost Communications and serve as the Executive Vice President for the Middle East and Africa.  

I started selling advertising in 1995 for a computer magazine; I also sold what I believe to be the first banner campaign in the Arab world back in the spring of 1996 to the very insightful Mr. Joseph Hanania during his tenure at Compaq, based out of Geneva. I moved away from this industry to pursue graduate studies and came back to work in finance, IT and Telecoms. Then back to advertising, I found myself starting something new for Nokia which is still a power-house for mobile content, although it does need to regain its balance.  

I am proud to say that I’m a mobile advertising expert in MEA, starting the mobile advertising business for Nokia in the fall of 2007 starting with brown, not even green, fields. We sold MEA’s first mobile Internet advertising campaign (excluding South Africa) towards the end of 2007, the first brand mobile Internet advertising campaign, and executed it in February 2008 as well as the first mobile CSR campaign in MEA among other firsts in mobile Internet advertising campaigns.

Boost Communications is a Norwegian company based in Trondheim. It is a leading provider of mobile marketing and communication services for mobile Internet, SMS, MMS and mobile TV. For 8 years, Boost has been providing services for brands in mobile advertising, publishers, mobile operators, agencies, TV and Radio stations as well as developing unique competence for mobile football services.

Q. Tell us about the state of mobile advertising and marketing in the Middle East as you see it today. Can you quote figures and statistics?

In short, good; there’s a high rate of growth in ad spend from more brands. Mobile advertising languished for years under broadcast SMS which has been mostly unsolicited and highly untargeted. Mobile marketing for a while was crude and was offering very little insight into the consumer. If anything, it failed to gain the respect of the consumer who found it mostly intrusive. This form of mobile “marketing” continues to exist, unfortunately unabated, so long the region does not adopt tighter regulations concerning privacy and consumer data.  

There are many statistics out there but they all seem to agree that the future is bright for mobile advertising and may be extra bright for emerging markets such as the Middle East.  

Q. Coming from the field of mobile advertising, and now working in mobile content, tell us how these two fields combined to deliver impactful marketing communications.    

There is a virtuous cycle where content and advertising feed off each other, mobile is no exception; Content plays a key role in advertising and vice versa; content drives traffic and adds context to advertising if nothing else, while advertising is key for the promotion of content to attract traffic and to expand your reach beyond the established base of content consumers.  

The region needs to find the proper launch-pads for its own mobile content; a launch pad that does not cannibalize the existing consumer base on other channels but rather expands it while adding value.  
We still need a lot of relevant local mobile content and there is ample opportunity there.

Q. Tell us about particular clients Boost has served and major projects you have launched that you are proud of.

Al Jazeera Arabic and English mobile sites, http://ma.aljazeera.net and http://m.aljazeera.net, both of which have been growing in traffic exponentially since their launch about a year ago. Al Jazeera continues to set the standards in the adoption and utilization of new media to their full benefit.  

In terms of content and billing provision, being selected by Etisalat Group to be the supplier for the FC Barcelona mobile site is a key milestone in the region’s mobile content strategies as Etisalat Group was the first to actually acquire rights to such a big brand and the first to capitalize on these rights at true cutting edge delivery.

Of those, I note with pride Nakheel’s Ramadan campaign during the year 2008 which was the region’s first CSR campaign with a mobile dimension and the first campaign to solicit user content in the true interactive spirit of mobile marketing communications.

The campaign for Chevrolet Cruze is also very significant in the evolution of mobile marketing in the Arab world as it marked: First, repeat sale for the same brand (Chevrolet Aveo mobile component was part of the Dubai Lynx Gold award for the best integrated campaign category) and second, it is the first mobile advertising campaign to employ mobile application and a mobile site to complement ongoing activities both on and off-line.

Q. What measurement or efficiency metrics apply in mobile / wireless marketing? Are there specialized or industry bodies providing this service?  

The Internet is one continuum really, so there is no significant difference in metrics. However, the human interface is through devices that are different, and most importantly, are treated differently by consumers than fixed Internet devices (notebooks, PCs …etc) and these offer their own advantages and challenges.  

Targeting and the high involvement and interaction however, are where the real advantage lies for mobile marketing across the board. People in the Arab world have a love affair with their devices which I saw translated for many brands as exceptional performance (no matter how you measure it).

The Mobile Marketing Association is the global industry body which advocates for the industry and educates the business communities around the world. In the Middle East, we have the Arab Mobile Marketing Association but our numbers are still small.

Q. What in your opinion are the emerging trends and technologies in mobile marketing that will influence the direction of this industry in 2010?

The key trends that will continue to affect the Arab world have been high penetration, pervasiveness of handsets and devices that are significantly above average, short cycle of ownership, and successful operators who have invested heavily in networks and are actively pursuing opportunities to expand and capture opportunities in media and finance.

Technology wise, HTML5 is full of promise. We just have to wait and see.

Q. Anything else you would like to add or share with our readers?

Thank you for this chat and my best wishes of continuous success to mediaME. Keep up the good work.