In a regional first, OMD Digital, a company of the Omnicom Media Group, has successfully launched an in-game advertising campaign targeting the highly sought-after youth market in Saudi Arabia. This new offering from OMD Digital is the latest in its rapidly expanding portfolio of digital advertising services.

Thanks to the ground-breaking initiative, companies now have the opportunity to promote their brands in popular games through pre-defined billboards, such as virtual banners, street signs and other outdoor advertising spaces, adding a touch of reality to virtual worlds.

For its initial project, OMD Digital bought 250,000 impressions over two months in Saudi homes, across major X-Box and PC titles, including Burnout (X-Box 360), Guitar Hero (PC and X-Box 360), Tony Hawk’s Wasteland (PC and X Box 360), NFS Pro Street (PC and X-Box 360), Pro Evolution Soccer (PC and X-Box 360). The ads are downloaded onto new-generation game consoles and PCs linked to the Internet.

This is the first time this technology has been deployed in the region and in doing so, OMD Digital has created a welcome new revenue stream for game developers who face high levels of piracy in the Middle East.

“This is a hugely exciting new adventure,” commented Dimitri Metaxas, group director of OMD Digital. “Gaming is a very significant hobby for the Saudi youth, both males and females, and as such presents vast opportunities for brands to play a role in this activity and capitalize on their target audience’s interest. We are thrilled to be the first agency to develop such an operation in the Arab world.” He added that in-gaming also provides a great platform for clients who want to differentiate themselves from their competition.

Another part of the new offering is mobile advertising.  With record-high penetration levels and a large proportion of handsets in the region featuring the latest technologies, mobile phones are a valuable media channel for advertisers. OMD Digital is working on services covering mobile search, mobile social networking and location-based services.

To manage this foray into in-gaming and mobile advertising, OMD Digital has recruited Philip Schilling as Director of Planning. He has worked in Japan, USA, Belgium, Germany and Dubai, bringing with him a valuable online and digital business experience. Demonstrating his innovation credentials, Schilling co-founded a company in Munich, the first online music download store before iTunes was set up.

“Philip adds yet another string to our bow,” Metaxas explained. “Both on the personal and technical level, he fits very well with our team and our client portfolio. He also comes at a time when Web 2.0 is seriously taking hold in the region with advertisers looking for more and more innovative solutions.”

“There can be no doubt that the future is digital and that the region is set on an exciting course,” added Schilling. “The Middle East is fast closing the gap with the West and it’s a privilege to be a part of this. I’m particularly looking forward to working with the team at OMD Digital, who have amply demonstrated their ability to innovate and raise the bar here.”

This couldn’t have more fully illustrated than by OMD Digital’s success at the recent Dubai Lynx Awards, winning two awards, including one gold, for its work on the Barclays Bank and Pepsi accounts in the Best Use of the Internet/New Media category.

The Gulf, a new international weekly business magazine covering the six countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), made its debut on 10th of May.
 
Published by the international division of the Bahrain-based Al Hilal Group, The Gulf aims to fill a gap in the market for authoritative reporting and commentary on the Gulf region, focusing on business, financial and economic developments.  “We will be providing high-quality analysis, insight, opinion and data on the core markets of the Middle East,” editor Digby Lidstone said. “We are combining a weekly magazine with online news and information resources. The Gulf is an essential source of business intelligence for anyone with an interest in this dynamic region.” Lidstone was formerly the features editor of the London-based weekly Middle East Economic Digest (MEED).

The magazine has contributors in Asia, the Far East, Europe and North America. “We have also recruited an experienced international editorial team from around the world who are based in Bahrain giving the magazine a solid and professional base of reporting and analysis,” commented Abdullah Jonathan Wallace, The Gulf’s publishing director. “Given Al Hilal’s 30-year history as a pan-Arab publishing house based in Bahrain, we are drawing on our core competencies and contacts to provide insight and analysis on the booming markets of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait in particular, which have been traditionally under-reported elsewhere,” he said.

Wallace, who was the owner and editor-in-chief of MEED for 30 years, has put together a controlled circulation base of over 11,000, two-thirds in the GCC.  “We have drawn on Al Hilal’s huge databank of executives in all areas of industry, government, finance and commerce throughout the region. We shall be circulating copies in a rotating pattern, offering free copies for a month and then soliciting paid subscriptions.  Advertisers are guaranteed a weekly circulation of well over 5,500 copies,” Wallace added.

The Gulf will also be available on bookstalls throughout the GCC and in key cities elsewhere such as London, Paris, New York, Singapore, Beijing and Hong Kong.  However, only subscribers will have privileged access to the magazine’s online news portal: www.thegulfonline.com.

The first, 52-page, issue majors on the reality of the Gulf’s nuclear ambitions.  Other leading stories include the rise of Abu Dhabi, the creeping threat of inflation and growing speculation in the property market.

The Gulf is the latest magazine in a stable of titles that includes: the daily Akhbar Al Khaleej and the Gulf Daily News; Gulf Weekly; Oil & Gas News; Arabian Knight; Arabian Lady; Clientele; Gulf Construction; Gulf Industry; Middle East Medical, Oil & Gas News and Travel & Tourism News.

“Our portal tradearabia.com is now regarded as one of the region’s best for business news and information and is the repository of Al Hilal Group’s editorial knowledge going back to the year 2000,” said Ronnie Middleton, Al Hilal’s Managing Director. “Adding The Gulf to our output will strengthen and develop both tradearabia.com and all our other titles.”

Over the last 30 years, Al Hilal Group has expanded and diversified into a range of ancillary activities.  These include Hilal Computers (an IT solutions provider); Hilal Conferences & Exhibitions.

Left to right: Dinesh Lalvani, Yousef Tuqan Tuqan, Mohammad Itani and Martin Diessner.

Flip Holding Ltd is delighted to announce the promotion of Yousef Tuqan Tuqan and Mohammad Itani as CEOs for Flip Media and Neo Digital.

Yousef Tuqan Tuqan has been promoted to CEO of Flip Media, with overall responsibility for the development and growth of the largest interactive agency in the Middle East.

An industry veteran with over 11 years of regional experience, Yousef has served as Account Director at Flip Media since 2005, and has been responsible for business development and client servicing for the agency.

“Yousef has been one of our most vocal ambassadors, and has played a leading role in growing our agency into a global network of 150 dedicated Internet professionals.

His passion and experience have been invaluable in maintaining our leadership position, and this promotion is a vote of confidence in his ability to lead Flip Media into its next phase of growth,” said Managing Partner Dinesh Lalvani, Flip’s cofounder.

Mohammad Itani has been promoted to CEO of Neo Digital, Flip’s sister agency and the first dedicated online media agency in the Middle East. Mohammad has served as Head of Media since 2005, and has been instrumental in the growth of the agency and its reach beyond Dubai.

He has also been involved in the development of Neo Digital’s Search Engine Marketing team, which boasts 4 full-time specialists and one of the largest booking volumes in the region.

According to Flip Holdings’ Group CEO Martin Diessner, “Mohammad has shown great leadership in times of ongoing change in the industry, and has earned the respect and admiration of his clients, his team and his partners across the online media landscape.

I am confident that Neo Digital can continue to maintain its position as the fastest-growing and most innovative independent online media agency in the region.”

Managing Partners Dinesh Lalvani and Martin Diessner will continue their daily involvement in the group’s operation from Dubai, with a greater focus on the development of Brand Central, the most powerful enterprise-class advertising management and serving solution in the Middle East; and Chameleon, Flip Media’s complete website content management solution.

According to Dinesh “these key promotions represent a vote of confidence in Yousef and Mohammad to continue to lead their agencies into their next stage of development.

Both have been the faces of Flip Media and Neo Digital since their appointment in 2005, and we are proud to work alongside them as we continue to offer the best and most comprehensive digital marketing solutions in the region.”

Etisalat and the organizers of the Arab Broadcast Forum announced that this year's conference can be viewed for the first time on mobile phones, using Etisalat's Mobile TV service.

Any Etisalat customer with a 3G or 3.5G enabled mobile phone can subscribe to its mobile TV service by sending an SMS to 1010 with the message 'r mtv', and then tune into the conference by selecting Abu Dhabi TV from the menu of options.

Ahmed bin Ali, Vice President Corporate Communications at Etisalat said: 'The UAE today is the most connected nation in the Middle East, with the highest penetration of mobile, Internet and 3G subscribers. This creates an environment that encourages the dynamic creation of rich content.

Technology is opening opportunities for anyone to participate in the reporting of news, for example, and a growing pool of citizen journalists is emerging in the UAE as it is in the rest of the world. As such, it is appropriate that we are enabling this new generation of content producers to view the Arab Broadcast Forum over Mobile TV, as well as over traditional broadcast media and help as many people as possible to participate in the development of the industry'.

The Arab Broadcast Forum is taking place at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi between the 4th and 5th of May, and will bring together the leading thinkers in the broadcast industry to discuss topics such as 'The Arab League Media Charter' and the continuing growth of 'citizen journalists' and their increasing contribution to news content.

The entire conference will be broadcast LIVE on Abu Dhabi TV which is the official host broadcaster for the conference, and also one of the channels offered across Etisalat's Mobile TV service.

Edward Borgerding, CEO of Abu Dhabi Media Company said: 'Abu Dhabi TV is proud to once again serve as host broadcaster for this prestigious event. The Arabic media landscape is rapidly changing, fuelled by an ever-increasing pool of talented professionals. As technology is a key enabler of the media, and increasingly of television content, we are delighted that subscribers to Etisalat's Mobile TV service will be able to tune into the full live conference for the first time in 2008'.

Etisalat is the Diamond Sponsor of the conference and will be demonstrating its expertise in mobile TV and other multimedia services throughout the Forum.

Etisalat has been demonstrating the value of its Mobile TV services in the UAE for many years and is the region's pioneer in this technology.

It has broadcast many sporting events in previous years, in preparation for the commercial launch of its subscription-based service last year. Etisalat has since introduced similar services in Egypt and Saudi Arabia through its subsidiaries Etisalat Misr and Mobily.

Today, subscribers can access 15 channels including Abu Dhabi Sports, Abu Dhabi TV, Al Arabiya, Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera International, BBC World, CNBC Arabia, Dubai Sports, Emirates TV, MBC1, Sama Dubai, Melody Aflam, sharjah, Kairali and Melody Hits.

Mobile TV uses Etisalat's extensive 3.5G network, which covers more than 98% of the populated areas of the UAE.

To subscribe to the service, customers should have an appropriate 3G or 3.5G-enabled device and SMS 'r mtv' to 1010.

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sorouh Real Estate P.J.S.C announced today that it had succeeded in reaching its target of raising US$ 1 million through its world record-breaking Sorouh Faces campaign, as it unveiled a poster made up of one million pictures.

The poster, which will replace the current world record-holding poster on the final approaches into Dubai International Airport, will cover an area of 20,000m2.  Images were submitted through a dedicated website and via promotions teams who went to schools, universities and some of Sorouh’s major events and exhibitions throughout the Emirates – and for each image submitted, the company committed US$1 to charity.

At today’s launch, Sorouh, the leading Abu Dhabi-based real estate company handed over a US1$ million cheque to the UAE Red Crescent for a new charitable fund.  This new fund, which will be managed by UAE Red Crescent, will help to improve housing conditions of underprivileged residents in the Northern Emirates.

Masood Al Awar, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Sorouh, said:

“We are delighted that our milestone target of one million faces has been reached and it is wonderful that Sorouh’s US$1 million donation will help to improve the housing conditions of underprivileged people in the Northern Emirates.

“The “Sorouh Faces” initiative is just one of many areas in which Sorouh seeks to act as a socially responsible corporation. We are proud of our business ethics and are committed to giving something back to the UAE residents. Housing is one of our main areas of activity and we are proud that Sorouh has become a founding donor to this valuable corporate social responsibility program.

“Intrinsic to our corporate culture is our commitment to social investment and today’s US$1 million donation underlines our drive to improve poor quality housing in the UAE.”

Mr Mohammed Al Zaroni, General Manager, UAE Red Crescent, Dubai Branch, said:

“The fantastic results of the “Sorouh Faces” campaign underline Sorouh’s dedication to investing in the community in which they work. We value our partnership with Sorouh and we are very grateful for this generous US$1 million donation. This new fund will provide a valuable resource for disadvantaged people in the Northern Emirates and it will help the UAE Red Crescent to continue its valuable work in the UAE.”

Hawyia had successfully given the Al Redha Motors a new identity that is a visual shortcut to their main business.

“We have improved and developed Al Redha Motor’s identity in way that its line of business will be readily available and recognizable to its clients,” Hawyia Manager Yousuf Lootah said.

Mr. Lootah added that Hawyia is satisfied with the end result of Al Redha’s new logotype because it has energized the main activity of the latter and boost the character of the company in giving quality and reasonable services.

“Our team of expert logo designers chose to create a modern and playful logotype for Al Redha to easily attract the attention of its trendy clients and customers that has extreme passion for wheels,” explained by Mr. Lootah.

According to him, the team had a great time in conceptualizing the logo mark of Al Redha Motors because it unleashes their creativity and youthfulness in creating the design.    

“I believe that we have attained our task and goal for the logotype of Al Redha Motors which is to deliver the company’s trustworthiness, professionalism and reliability in a fresher look,” said Mr. Lootah. 

He further described that aside from the playful illustration of an automobile incorporated on the two letters “O” of the logo, forming the wheels and in slant to suggest movement, the different tones of blue that was used also gave the company a friendly and customer-oriented appeal.

Al Redha Motors is one of the fastest growing automotive companies in Dubai that has been recognized for its impressive services and competitive rates in the industry.

Likewise, Hawyia, one of the divisions of ContinentAd, is a logo specialist that has been distinguished for creating unique artworks and quality service.

Ali Al-Ahmed, Executive Vice-President of Planning and Strategy at Etisalat, said: 'The rapid increase witnessed by the Arab world in the area of electronic publishing, and internet broadcasting has emphasized that these new approaches will motivate innovation in media for the future'.

Al-Ahmed continued: 'Online media is helping to achieve a balance between the distribution of information and the actual facts that are of interest to consumers. Information Technology has given the world a chance to gain more knowledge through more television stations and a wider variety of media'.

According to statistics, the number of people using the Internet worldwide has reached 1.3 billion representing 20% of the world's population, and that there are now over 3 billion people using mobile phones.

With regards to the contribution of technology to the press in the Arab World, Al-Ahmed explained that the online media has provided the opportunity for many people in the Arab World to interact with the news.

'Modern applications for the Internet and Multimedia mobile devices provide the opportunity for anyone, anywhere to upload or download a video for specific events. This has connected viewers around the world to the news directly and quickly. Also by using a mobile phone anyone can capture an event and upload it on the Internet within minutes for millions of people around the world to view,' Al-Ahmed continued.

Al-Ahmed represents the largest Arab telecommunications company, with 63 million subscribers, including the companies that Etisalat manages internationally.

Etisalat has introduced the most advanced technical services to the region, which have accelerated the use of Internet and multimedia applications in the Arab World in general, and the United Arab Emirates in particular.

In the UAE, there are close to 197,000 subscribers registered on Facebook, 5000 UAE Facebook groups, and more than 19,000 'UAE' You Tube videos available from the Internet.

'Etisalat has played a major role in providing the most advanced technology in the region,' said Etisalat's Executive Vice President. 'The corporation has made significant progress in the areas communications networks and Information Technology, and has provided the most modern tools available on an international level which in turn made the United Arab Emirates a hub for hundreds of Arab and international media agencies. This will also see the rise in new services in the online Arab media, it is expected that this year will see the launch of electronic versions of newspapers across the UAE for mobile phones'.

During the forum, Al-Ahmed brought outlined the issues related to the Forum's main focus - 'Technology and the Integration of the Arab Media'. He highlighted the important role of advanced technology to support the media and the growing role of technology contributing to new forms of media, and to develop techniques that have changed the scope of media over the past few years.

With regards to the ability of the Internet to absorb this huge sum of information, photos and video, Ahmed said: 'The world of the Internet is rapidly changing and every day there are new developments. Therefore, it is difficult to predict how much these new services will affect the requirement for capacity on the network'.

The UAE hosts the Emirates Internet Exchange (EMIX), a part of Etisalat as well as landing points for all the major Eastward and Westward submarine cable networks.

Etisalat is also launching new submarine cable systems between the UAE and Europe (IMEWE - India, Middle East and Western Europe) and between the UAE and Africa (TEAMS - The East African Marine System and EASSy - East Africa Submarine Cable System).

Etisalat was established in 1976 and is today one of the major communications corporations on regional and global levels.

Etisalat is on its way to becoming one of the 10 largest communications companies in the world by 2010, and currently operates in 16 countries with international investments of estimated $40bn.

With an estimated market value of about $34bn Etisalat is ranked 16th globally in the telecommunications sector.

Hawyia has successfully launched the new identity for Red Line Waste Collection that will definitely make a mark in United Arab Emirates’ market.

According to ContinentAd Business Development Manager Yousuf Lootah, Hawyia is proud and pleased to give Red Line a logo image that will serve as its identity to Dubai and in its entire market. 

“It is our pleasure and privilege to be the designer and creator of Red Line’s logo because Hawyia is in one with them in their objective in protecting and safeguarding the environment,” said Mr. Lootah.

Mr. Lootah is optimistic that with Red Line’s new image and identity, it will certainly give its clients and customers the strong impression of their sincere vow in defending the environment and solid sense of service.

It is also, added by Lootah, Hawyia’s objective to place Red Line in the forefront of its industry through its more characterized identity that has been created by Hawyia’s pool of expert logo designers.

As explained by Lootah, the Red Line Waste Collection logo graphic icon features two arrows in opposite direction that symbolizes recycling which is the main function of the company. 

“The company name is rendered in metallic effect to show the modern feel and advance process in recycling that Red Line is carrying out while the red and gray colors that were used represent strength and reliability of the company,” Mr. Lootah explained.

Red Line was established in 2003 to serve the growing market of Dubai with the inspiration drawn from the keen awareness that environment truly needs protection and aid at present time.

On the other hand, Hawyia, one of the divisions of ContinentAd, is a logo specialist that has been recognized for logo designing due to its creative artworks, precision and dedication in providing quality service.

Fortune Promoseven swept the regional Cannes Creative Awards – Dubai Lynx 2008 – walking away with 28 different awards in multiple categories, including second and third in Agency of the Year. The network ranked number ONE in the Creative Rankings with the highest total of 223 points.
 
Fortune Promoseven agencies won in TV/Cinema, Print, Outdoor, Radio, Direct and Agency of the Year categories. The wins included a Grand Prix award – which honors the best in breed in each category. Fortune Promoseven Seven Doha and Dubai were the leading winners overall in the region, while entries from Beirut, Cairo and Kuwait also took their share of honours at the most prestigious advertising industry awards in the region.
 
"This is a milestone victory; I am immensely pleased with our success at the Dubai Lynx 2008. These awards cement our position as the no.1 creative and successful network in the region,” said Fadi Salameh, President and CEO of the MCN Network. "The local and international recognition from our peers in the industry is a testimony to our creative team’s hard work and, the faith and trust our clients have placed in us.”

“Our work has always been solid. There are numerous campaigns we work on every day that we didn't enter, that are winners in their own right. This is just the beginning of a journey, as the creative standards in the region are being challenged, each and every client and each and every brand we work on will gain from this momentum," Salameh added. 

Fortune Promoseven agencies picked up one Grand Prix (which went to Fortune Promoseven Doha), 7 Golds, 5 Silver and 15 Bronze awards. Azmi Yafi, CEO of Dubai operations said: “We have every reason today to stand creatively proud. I would like to extend the warmest congratulations to the creative teams and the entire network for this success, also to our clients who have given us the opportunity to create, excel and win. The bar has been raised. It will be a tougher job next time, I think we're going to have fun..." 
 
Marc Lineveldt, Creative Director, Fortune Promoseven UAE, said: “For me it was the night the mighty giant won the beauty contest. We walked away as the most creative network in the region. We'll be pushing even harder this year as I think this is only the beginning of an interesting and challenging phase for the network.”

SAMSUNG Electronics Co. Ltd, a global leader in the mobile phone industry, announced today its strategic focus on the
music phone category with the reveal of Elissa as its 2008 music category brand ambassador and the launch of the company’s newest music phone that meets the needs and tastes of all music lovers on the move.

SAMSUNG unveiled its flagship in the music category for 2008; the Impulz i450, a music-dedicated phone that brings both attractive dual-slider design and various multimedia features to SAMSUNG’s impressive 2008 mobile phones lineup. Also, the unique i450 package showcases 3 of Elissa’s hit singles Ayami Bik, Bastanak and Moush Kiteer Aaleik offered to SAMSUNG phones for a period of 1 year.

“It is my pleasure to be SAMSUNG Mobiles’ brand ambassador for its music category. My partnership with SAMSUNG is an ideal synergy with a brand that truly appreciates the importance of music in people’s lives” said Elissa. “The Impulz i450 is a great phone; its advanced features make it easier for my fans to listen to my music wherever they go” commented Elissa on the new Impulz i450.

Mr. S.B Kim, President of SAMSUNG Gulf Electronics commented: “We are thrilled to be working with an internationally and locally acclaimed artist such as Elissa and we are looking forward to our year ahead together”.
Kim added “The Impulz i450 is the perfect solution for all music lovers on the move. We are confident that the combination of superior sound quality, dedicated user-friendly music controls, and advanced mobile phone features will drive today’s music phone segment”.

The Impulz i450 is a dual slider which slides up to reveal a spacious alphanumeric keypad for making calls and down to reveal metallic speakers. It includes a touch navigation half-wheel which is an innovative arc that enables users to easily navigate the device when the phone is held sideways, putting the display in optimal landscape view. The phone features built in speakers that resemble professional stereo that appear when the phone slides down.

Impulz i450 combines extensive music player capabilities with super sound quality highlighted by ICEpower® amplifier developed by Bang & Olufsen to provide the listener with the ultimate sound experience. It features a dedicated music interface to make navigation and listening easier, and to store more music, the phone offers 35MB internal memory and microSD™ slot which is expandable up to 4GB.

Moreover, the phone’s 2.4” large LCD screen offers convenient multimedia mobile experiences including MP3 player, a 2 mega pixel primary camera with flash and a VGA camera for video calling Impulz i450 is now available in all major electronics outlets across the Middle East and Africa.
mobile phones

Abu Dhabi Media Company confirmed today that its new, much-anticipated quality English language newspaper will be called The National.

Editor-in-Chief Martin Newland commented, "The role of The National is to reflect society, help that society evolve and, perhaps most importantly, promote the bedrock traditions and virtues that must be preserved even in times of change and that is why we have called our paper The National."

The broadsheet, which goes on sale across the UAE on April 17, will contain 80 pages of intelligent and well-designed news, business, sports, culture and features coverage. An online version will also be available at www.thenational.ae.  The 200 strong news team, which includes award-winning journalists from the emirates and around the world, will provide local and international coverage from across the globe.

The National will be officially launched at a gala event on April 16 under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council.

Tamweel PJSC, the largest provider of real estate finance in the UAE, was named a 'Superbrand' at this year's Superbrands Award Ceremony, which was held recently at the InterContinental Hotel in Dubai Festival City. The award honours the UAE's most exceptional and widely recognised brands.

Commenting on this milestone achievement for the company, Wasim Saifi, Chief Executive Officer of Tamweel, said: 'Our brand is synonymous with the highest level of service and satisfaction, and it is a great honour to receive recognition of that fact from such an esteemed organisation and a jury of our peers. By focusing on delivering results on time and to the very highest standard, Tamweel has earned this exceptional status.'

'Superbrands' are selected by the UAE Superbrands Council, a group comprised of individuals who are leaders in various fields of business. Council members score brands on a 100-point scale, and all brands must be well known in the country. The council defines a Superbrand as any brand that 'offers consumers significant emotional and/or physical advantages over its competitors which (consciously or subconsciously) consumers want, recognise and are willing to pay a premium for.'

Receiving the award on behalf of Tamweel Nabil Abou Alwan, Head of Marketing and Product Development, said:

'Winning this award is a tribute not only to the dedication of Tamweel's employees, who strive to provide our customers with the highest levels of service, but to our marketing team, in particular, which has worked to cement in the minds of the public the values of the Tamweel brand. Awards such as this one demonstrate how successful we have been in reinforcing the company's unique product offering and service differential. Together, we will continue to focus on helping individuals and businesses here in the UAE and across the wider region realise their ambitions.'

Tamweel's success on the awards circuit has reached a fevered pitch in the last few months. In addition to being named a 'Superbrand,' Tamweel recently won 'Best Islamic Home Finance Product' at this year's Banker Middle East Awards, 'Islamic Finance Deal of the Year' at this year's Euromoney Awards and 'Structured Finance Deal of the Year' at this year's Islamic Finance News Awards.

Abu Dhabi Media Company has previewed its new national, English-language newspaper to media buying and advertising agencies before its official launch next month.

The newspaper is deemed to have a team of 200 internationally and locally recruited journalists and will focus on Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC), a new media firm fully owned by the Abu Dhabi government, is reportedly behind the paper’s launch.

ADMC was set up by the emirate’s government in June 2007 with a capital of 100 million dirhams ($27.2 million) as a holding company for the government’s media interests.

ADMC’s media stable includes Abu Dhabi Satellite Channel, Abu Dhabi Sport Channel, Abu Dhabi Radio, Emarat FM Radio, Holy Quran Radio, Al Ittihad newspaper, and magazines Zahrat Al Khaleej and Al Super and Majid.

Abu Dhabi Media Company, a diversified media and entertainment conglomerate based in the United Arab Emirates' capital, has appointed Ricky Ghai as Executive Director of Digital Media.

'Ricky Ghai joins Abu Dhabi Media Company to lead a new digital media age across the MENA region and particularly in the GCC,' said Edward Borgerding, CEO, Abu Dhabi Media Company.

Commenting on his partnership with the recently appointed CEO, Ghai said: "We have exciting plans for digital content creation and distribution in the region. We are in a very good position to develop and lead this fast evolving part of the media industry and we are confident Abu Dhabi Media Company will emerge as an icon of digital distribution in the region.'

Ghai has 20 years' of media experience across a spectrum of pay and free TV platforms in Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. He was also involved in the recent launch of British Telecom's pioneering iptv Video on Demand (VOD) service.

Ghai has a long history with content distributors and has signed complex content deals with all major film studios in the US. His former positions include SVP of Programming for TV3 Sweden and Executive Vice President of Programming for the Pan-Arab media network Orbit.

Abu Dhabi Media Company has appointed Edward Borgerding as its Chief Executive Officer. The announcement was made by His Excellency Mohamed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Media Company, a diversified media and entertainment conglomerate which is based in the United Arab Emirates’ capital.

”We believe Mr. Borgerding has the right balance of industry know-how, entrepreneurial spirit, management experience and understanding of the region,” says His Excellency Mr. Mazrouei. “The media industry in the Middle East and North Africa region -   and particularly in the Gulf - is entering an exciting phase and we believe that with Edward Borgerding’s leadership we can pioneer a new era of media.”

Commenting on his appointment, Borgerding said:  “Abu Dhabi Media Company, with its strong portfolio of integrated assets, is well-positioned to lead this fast growing sector through content creation, distribution and strategic partnerships at home and in the international arena.”

In his new role, Borgerding takes responsibility for some of the most valuable brands in the MENA region. These include the leading women’s magazine Zahrat Al Khaleej, Majid, Al Super and Al Ittihad newspaper, together with a suite of TV and radio channels including Abu Dhabi TV and Emarat FM. He will also oversee the launch of Abu Dhabi’s first English language newspaper next month.

Previously, Borgerding was Executive Vice President of Walt Disney International in Hong Kong and Senior Vice President of Walt Disney International Television in Hong Kong and London.

At Disney International, Borgerding oversaw the operating units of the Walt Disney Company in the Asia Pacific region, including India and the Middle East from 1998 to 2000.  This included television, home video, consumer products, digital media, theatrical distribution and Disney Channels. In 1995, he established the first Disney Channel outside the USA, in Taiwan.  Two years later, he opened the Disney Channel in Dubai and in Australia.g established a private equity firm in London and recently concluded the production of a 26 episode television series with Marvel Entertainment.