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Kuwait Telecom Company KTC awards Leo Burnett Kuwait creative account

Mon, 2008-08-18 12:37 - By

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Announcement, Advertising, KTC, Kuwait Telecom Company, Leo Burnett Kuwait, Saudi Telecom Company, STC

Leo Burnett Kuwait, a leading creative agency, was recently awarded the creative account for the Kuwait Telecom Company (KTC) - the newest telecommunications company in the Gulf state.

The creative account, which will begin with the company's launch, comes in addition to the successful ongoing partnership between Leo Burnett in Saudi Arabia and KTC's mother company Saudi Telecom Company (STC).

The Kuwait Telecom Company, which will be Kuwait's third telecommunications operator, will offer mobile services throughout the country.

Speaking about KTC's selection of Leo Burnett Kuwait, Mr. Salman Al Badran explained; 'As a creative network, Leo Burnett Middle East and North Africa has consistently proven its scope of innovation and expertise across all sectors, with client successes spanning the borders of the entire region. Most importantly, we were highly impressed with Leo Burnett's knowledge and understanding of the telecommunications sector, and the agency's demonstration of how to efficiently communicate our company's messages in Kuwait's competitive telecoms landscape.'

'Our ongoing relationship with the agency in KSA has proven that Leo Burnett Kuwait is the natural choice, and with the agency's unique mix of enthusiasm and dynamism, we are looking forward to working with the team for creating a real impact in the country with the KTC brand,' he added.

The award of the KTC account is a strategic development for Leo Burnett's Kuwait agency in terms of its continued portfolio growth; complementing the agency's broad base of existing clients and leading the agency to double the size of its operations within the country.

Kamal Dimachkie, Managing Director of Leo Burnett Dubai and Kuwait commented; 'At Leo Burnett we passionately believe in- and are committed to- building brands, and we are very excited to be extending our creative prowess to building the profile of KTC. The company will be a very real contender in Kuwait's bustling telecoms sector, and we look forward to the challenge of soon making the KTC brand an industry leader.'

Rasha Al-Azem, General Manager of Leo Burnett Kuwait added; 'There is such high potential for growth in the telecoms industry here, and creative agencies have a very significant role to play in this battle of the brands. This is an excellent opportunity for Leo Burnett Kuwait to demonstrate each of the capabilities that form the heart of the agency's work.'

Leo Burnett Kuwait has received a number of important wins since commencing operations in 2007, including international restaurant chain Nando's, and Starbucks - one of the most famous names in the worldwide coffee shop phenomenon. The agency currently extends its brand building expertise to a broad range of clients including the Avenues Mall - Kuwait's largest shopping mall, Mabanee, Philip Morris, Kuwait-based Global Investment House, and Alshaya brands Vavavoom and Milano.

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Saudi Telecom and Manchester United sign five year partnership agreement

Mon, 2008-08-18 12:28 - By

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Media Business, Advertising, David Gill, Dr. Muhammad Al-Jasser, English Premiership, Manchester United Academy, Saudi Telecom, Sponsorship, STC

Saudi Telecom and Manchester United have signed a five-year agreement uniting the two number brands in marketing campaigns and promotional activities. STC will have a presence inside the 70,000 capacity Old Trafford stadium and will be featured on the club’s website. STC will be conducting prize draws to attend Man U matches and each year 70 Saudi students will train at the Manchester United Academy.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be playing ball with Manchester United,” said H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al-Jasser, Chairman of Saudi Telecom. “The partnership will significantly raise STC’s global profile since the club has a huge fan base throughout the world and a strong following among football fans throughout the Middle East and especially in Saudi Arabia.”

Dr. Al-Jasser went on to explain some of the advantages of the prestigious partnership: “As sponsor, STC will have a presence inside MUFC’s 70,000 capacity Old Trafford stadium and will be featured on the club’s website, which is the most visited sports website in the world. In addition, STC will be conducting prize draws in which the winners can attend key Man U matches and also, the club will send four emails a year to registered fans in the region. Furthermore, under the terms of the agreement, each year 70 Saudi students will have the opportunity to go for a period of training at the Manchester United Academy, one of the world’s most prestigious football training centres.”

As part of the agreement, all STC’s business units will have full use of the Manchester United logo in marketing campaigns and usage of the club’s logo and players’ photographs in STC retail centres.

“One of the most exciting aspects of our partnership with Manchester United is that it gives us the opportunity to attain new levels of marketing excellence,” continued Dr. Al-Jasser. “The club has a brilliant track record of global success in branding and we will be working closely with a specialist marketing team from MUFC to develop innovative ideas to support the partnership. As an example of what’s to come, in line with the popular trend in cell phones STC is already in the process of creating and activating a Manchester United mobile.”

Announcing the deal, David Gill, Chief Executive Officer of Manchester United said: “Manchester United is delighted to announce a new five year partnership with Saudi Telecom, the largest telecommunications company in the Middle East. This historic deal will give Saudi Telecom exclusive rights as the official mobile communications partner of Manchester United in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with access to unique mobile phone content, including player interviews, goal replays and match reports.

He went on to say: “This ground breaking partnership will bring the action of Manchester United direct to our millions of fans across Saudi Arabia. Our match earlier this year in Riyadh demonstrated the passion our Saudi fans have for Manchester United and we are excited to be partnered with Saudi Telecom, the region’s biggest player.”

Sport is big in Saudi Arabia and provides numerous opportunities for marketing communications and CSR initiatives. STC was in the forefront in recognizing this and was quick to act when the Saudi Youth Welfare Organization in charge of all sports clubs decided to make the clubs self-funded.

After the YWO gave the clubs the right to sell media spots for their own games and to market club merchandise such as team jerseys, STC came up with an innovative program called “nadeek yo nadeek - “Your club is calling you.”

STC went to the clubs and said: “You have extensive content and you have your fan base. Let us connect you with your fans so that they can be continuously updated about your movements, match schedules, player selection and match results. We will partner you, buy the copyright from you, brand it, campaign it, advertise it, sell it and share the profit with you 50-50.”

The proposal was something that the clubs had never thought of and they liked the idea. STC closed deals with all of the 12 major league clubs and to give them additional support also bought the jersey rights and the sponsorship rights for the TV stations that aired the league games.

By adopting a holistic approach STC has achieved tremendous success and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first and only company to sponsor 12 clubs in the same league at the same time and still holds the record to date.

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