Dubai Lynx Awards dominated by GCC advertising agencies

Dubai: Ad campaigns in the Middle East may not as yet merit a full-fledged movie along the lines of this year’s brilliantly-conceived Oscar-nominated Chilean entry “No”. But even without a movie adaptation, there is still a lot going for the region’s advertising industry as creative ad and marketing themes connect with consumers and, at this year’s Dubai Lynx event, with the judges.

Awards in multiple categories were handed out late on Wednesday evening at the Madinat Jumeirah. The wins come on the back of what has been an outstanding year for the industry in general, with increased ad spends in all of the key markets — UAE and Saudi Arabia led the way, according to estimates — and a marked recovery in Egypt after a volatile period in 2011. Pertinently, entries from the wider region continue to be a feature of Dubai Lynx.

“The GCC continues, by definition, to enter more into Dubai Lynx; Lebanon too has enjoyed significant successes at Lynx over many years,” said Terry Savage, chairman of Lions Festivals and organiser of Dubai Lynx. Savage categorically dismissed suggestions that ad campaigns from this region tend to overplay generic themes — such as a “happy family” — and hardly ever address more complex societal issues of the day.

“I think the view of the happy family is not truly a reflection of the work coming from the region,” he added. “An entry from Tunisia — ‘Dictator Ben Ali’ — entered last year and met with both regional and international acclaim. And the fact that the Mena region won 21 Lions at Cannes — the most important [ad industry] award in the world — would suggest that the best work from the region is truly world standard.”

Erik Vervroegen, international creative director of Publicis Worldwide, affirms that the Lynx entries reflected what is happening. I did not see much of these ‘happy family’ campaigns.

“I saw lots of campaigns or ads using what is happening in the region or what happened in the past — war, politics, etc,” Vervroegen — who is also president of the film, print, outdoor and craft Dubai Lynx jury — said. “It’s clear to me that advertisers are much more conscious that they are playing a social role in today’s world, that it’s not just about selling products.”

Bolder advertisers

But Avi Bhojani, CEO at BPG Group, goes in for a contrarian view — “The million dollar question is that how many ads that you will see at Dubai Lynx tonight have actually been seen by consumers/ viewers/ readers in the past year. I would be surprised if it is more than 10 per cent.

“Most ads are specially created for award nominations… so it is not really advertisers turning bolder or staying conservative.”

The awards were preceded by three days of conferences and informal chit-chats featuring industry personnel. Creating the right digital content and nailing down the right platform were consistent themes.

In such a context, physical geographies do not matter any more, according to Elliot Polak, founder and CEO at Textappeal and one of the speakers at the Digital Lab sessions hosted by TBWA\Raad’s Digital Arts Network.

“Today people are very, very global and very, very local at the same time — they don’t live in artificial EMEA or APAC maps, they behave and consume according to their own interconnections and worlds,” Polak said. All that matters would be “culture”.

Optimism

Shifts in consumer intake of media requires framing communications strategies that are “social by design”, is how Facebook’s regional client partner, Scott Hicks, puts it.

“Lightweight interactions are an optimal way of reaching social audiences to build long term relationships and customer loyalty,” said Hicks. “Starbucks, for example, has seen 8 per cent higher spending by friends of fans on Facebook by engaging with them in a meaningful and consistent manner.”

There is now way digital is getting off the limelight this year and beyond. Questions remain as to how other media react to the changes in ad spend patterns. But the wider sentiment is of optimism.

“Overall I certainly see advertising in the region in general — and UAE in particular — getting more creative,” said Bhojani. “Budgets are getting better… but accountability of the spend is certainly increasing, and therefore the need for more creative solutions.”