As the first decade of the 21st century comes to an end, MSN Arabia and Connect Ads co-hosted 'The Connection 2010', an annual symposium providing digital advertising professionals with the latest and most innovative initiatives and updates in the industry from leaders in their respective fields. The event took place lately in Mövenpick Resort & Spa El Gouna, Hurgada.

Mohamed El Mehairy, Managing Director Connect Ads stated: "The Connection 2010 hosted more than 200 digital marketing and media professionals from 15 countries across the Middle East and North Africa. Participants took part in sessions conducted by world class speakers employed by leading technology companies, including Microsoft, Facebook, Media Mind, LINKonLINE, ARPU+, OTVentures, MSN Arabia and Connect Ads.

The main areas of focus revolved around a variety of topics including brand building and leadership, mobile advertising trends, social media, measuring advertising performance indicators as well as a full regional update.

The forum highlighted where the digital advertising field headed to over the past couple of years. All topics were thoroughly discussed and analyzed via a series of presentations, case studies and speeches. They also were revolving in large part around the emergence of the digital advertising landscape and the seismic shift in the way all media is delivered.

Sherif Dahan, Managing Director MSN Arabia commented: "As a leading international portal in the Middle East region, it is always necessary to keep an open channel of communication with the market. The event was a great opportunity to share with our business partners part of our plans for the coming year. It was a very fruitful event full of energy. The feedback was great and got us further energized."

In the evenings, MSN Arabia and Connect Ads organized a variety of social events in the form of networking and gala dinners in order to ensure a memorable and enjoyable time at the symposium. This provided the guests with a perfect arena to mingle with the most prominent group of digital marketing and advertising talents in the entire MENA region.

Hanan Abdel Meguid, CEO OTVentures commented: "Matching the accomplishment of "The Connection 2008" was never going to be an easy task. This hefty challenge makes us all the more proud of this year's symposium, the reactions to which clearly indicate that this year's content and effort were highly appreciated by all participants who left us with a sense of significant added-value".