Dubai: A consummate industry insider, Pierre Choueiri, was feted as the “Advertising Person of the Year” at the 2017 Dubai Lynx awards late Wednesday.
“Choueiri Group is, and has been for almost 45 years, the largest media representation entity in the Middle East and Pierre has played an integral role in driving this growth,” said Terry Savage, Chairman, Dubai Lynx. “This award recognises and pays tribute to the work he has done to shape the advertising industry in the region.”
Choueiri Group companies market and manage the advertising space of 28 satellite and one terrestrial television stations, 13 print titles, 14 radio stations, and 40 plus web portals. It also operates a network of outdoor signs in the Gulf.
The group operates in the 10 markets covering the MENA region, Europe and Japan. The network includes 12 subsidiaries, six representative offices and more than 800 executives.
Meanwhile, the “Advertiser of the Year” honours went to Coca-Cola ME, while the top ad agency was Impact BBDO’s Dubai operations (followed by Memac Ogilvy & Mather and TBWA\RAAD in second and third spots). The agency network mantle also went to BBDO Worldwide.
In the category of independent agencies, the top prize went to Cairo-based Kairo, followed by Rèpublique in Beirut and Kuwait City-based Beattie + Dane. The media agency title was snapped up by OMD’s Dubai office, followed by Starcom (Riyadh) and MediaCom MENA’s Dubai operations.
For this year’s 17 award categories, 2,632 entries were handed in, up 4.5 per cent from last year.
“The Dubai Lynx awards exist to celebrate and champion creativity, while reflecting the ever shifting branded communications landscape,” said Savage. “This year saw submissions from 22 countries, including a first from Sudan and an increase in some of the more traditional categories such as print and outdoor.”
