A 'full communications industry'

Dubai: The new World President of the International Advertising Association has said he wants people working outside advertising to join the organisation.

Joseph Ghossoub said the group should encourage professionals working in public relations or market research to become involved in the group's activities.

The 50-year-old chief executive of The Holding Group made his comments in advance of this week's opening of the IAA World Congress.

Ghossoub has taken the helm after a long association with the IAA which has included stints heading up the group's UAE chapter and acting as IAA's Middle East and North Africa area director.

"Since the beginning of my involvement with the IAA, I have wanted to give back to the industry that has given me so much. This industry is what I have known since I started my career," he said. Ghossoub said he wanted to "achieve a lot of things" during his two-year period as World President, which follows two years as President-Elect.

He said he was keen to make the IAA "more relevant" and to promote co-operation between publishers, agencies and clients.

He added: "We want to be more attractive to the younger generation and young professionals, more attractive to all participants in the industry."

He said that the group's name, by specifying only advertising, could sometimes deter people in associated industries from joining.

"Advertising used to be a one-stop shop, but now it's a full communications industry, yet some industry players like public relations or research are not involved because of the name is the IAA.

"My job is to rectify this and find appropriate ways of making sure they get the message that it's not just for advertisers, it's for all players," he said.

He said he wanted to encourage the industry to continue to promote social responsibility and self-regulation.

Ghossoub added that the organisation's role in education was also important and he was pleased that a separate education cong-ress was taking place alongside this week's main gathering.

The office of World President is coming to the UAE at a time when the country's advertising industry has reached international standard, Ghossoub said.

"It's on a par with or better than most parts of the world. It's definitely on a par with the Western world or the developed world," he said.

Fifteen years ago, when Ghossoub joined the IAA's World Board, he said local standards of advertising were "absolutely not" up there with the best in the world.

"Then there were hardly 100 industry members but today you can count over 20,000. The growth is a function of what Dubai has done over the past few years," he said.

Ghossoub graduated with a degree in business administration in his native Lebanon 25 years ago and went on to work in Leb-anon, Saudi Arabia and the UAE managing multinational client portfolios.

He joined Team Advertising as Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer in 1993.

Currently Ghossoub is chief executive of The Holding Group (THG), parent company of Team/Young & Rubicam, Intermarkets Advertising, ASDA'A Public Relations, mediaedge:cia and Wunderman.

Under Ghossoub's leadership, THG has become what is now described as one of the Middle East's largest communications groups, with offices across the Arabian Gulf, the Levant, North Africa and elsewhere.

He served as vice president of the International Advertising Association's UAE Chapter and was elected President in 1995.

Later, Ghossoub was elected international vice president and area director of the IAA MENA, a post he held since 2000.

He is said to have played "a major role" in winning the bid for Dubai to host the 40th IAA World Congress.

Tanvir Kanji, IAA president for the UAE Chapter, the IAA's largest chapter, said: "Joseph Ghossoub has made tremendous headway for the industry in the region and helped direct the spotlight on our important part of the world."

Ghossoub, who is married with three children, has been involved with the Lebanese Business Council and has been an advisory council member of the American University in Dubai and the American University in Sharjah.

He was also instrumental in the creation of the UAE-Lebanon Friendship Association.

He was appointed by the Government of Dubai as a member of Dubai Media Inc, which is chaired by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

In 2004, Ghossoub was made a Knight of the Order of the Cedar Lebanon's highest civilian honour in recognition of his work in promoting regional understanding and co-operation.