Dubai: One of the pioneers of the region’s ad scene, Eddie Moutran, has been named as the Dubai Lynx Advertising Person. The ceremony is scheduled for March next.
“Eddie Moutran has worked tirelessly to grow his small agency into a business of formidable force that continuously innovates and drives the industry forward,” said Terry Savage, Chairman of Lions Festivals. “His passion for advertising, his outstanding entrepreneurial and leadership skills along with his drive to do good for the industry, has earned him much respect and admiration from his peers.”
Moutran joined Intermarkets, the region’s oldest advertising grouping, in 1973 at its Bahrain office. In 1984 he set up his own agency, Middle East Marketing and Communications (Memac) in Bahrain with four people, one client and $13,000 as capital. The company now extends to 15 offices in 13 markets with over 1,000 people serving 150 international, regional and local brands.
In 1986, Memac entered an affiliation with Ogilvy & Mather and 12 years later, following a minority equity ownership by Ogilvy, changed its name to Memac Ogilvy.
Clients include American Express, Coca-Cola, Ikea, VW, Al Marai, BAT, IBM, Unilever, Al Jazeera (airline), Al Jazeera (TV station) and Arab Bank.
“The evolution of our industry has made it clear how incredibly fragmented it has become, and how much greater, bigger and bolder ideas are needed to make our client brands stand out,” said Moutran.
