Having built an advertising empire that is on the brink of its Golden Jubilee celebrations, Akram Miknas has contributed significantly to the advertising and marketing industry in the Middle East & North Africa region.
From advice to his son, to the one regret of his professional career, Akram Miknas gets candid in this conversation with The Arabian Marketer…
What is the one lesson that you hope Tarek Miknas will always remember in work and in life?
There are two things that are very important to me. I would like him to be involved in some sporting activity. I understand the value of it now, and to not smoke. I want him to have a balanced life, and stay healthy. We do not understand how important the body is when we are young, and then suddenly it hits you. The other thing, which I think he already has, is to be passionate and persistent. When you have passion, things like age do not matter. It is the best advice I can give. Tarek is both passionate and persistent, and I hope he continues to be so.
If there was one thing you could go back and change about the business you have built in the last 50 years, what would it be?
More hair! I think I would have liked to have more money when I had started out. I could have done better for my clients, for myself and for everybody else. That perhaps is the only regret – the fact that I was not able to do more.
Which of the industries that you have dabbled in, interests you the most?
Advertising has always been my first love, but in this case, I have to also say the construction business. It involves architecture, creativity and eventually it has a purpose to it. Sometimes people don’t realize why something is built. When I had built this place, I did it with a vision. And that vision then included how to make it come alive with every member of the MCN family. That end result is what I like about it.
Armed with the wisdom of a generation’s hero and the learnings of a new world, Tarek Miknas stresses the importance of purpose…
What are the lessons or advice that you take from your father?
The most important thing that I have learnt from him is hard work, and to love what I do. Whatever we do, becomes a part of our life. We will live with it 24 hours a day, so, just keep going on and keep fighting.
What are the principles that you hope to bring to the agency that will keep FP7 going strong for the next five decades?
Whenever you move forward, it is very important to look back at what built the place. That’s why when we first started in 2010, we put together our brand book and had a purpose for the agency. An agency from the Middle East, born and raised here; we have a point of view and a reason why we are doing this versus our competitors. We identified our brand purpose to be ‘the Voice of the New Middle East’. As long as we believe in one thing centrally, which is to give the most meaningful product to our clients, and do this with the heart and the spirit that the company was built with, we will keep moving forward. This agency is by its people, and they are all ready to keep evolving together. The approach may shift but the purpose remains the same.
Do you see yourself go beyond advertising and communication?
Yes, because I see myself getting really tired one day. And there are so many things in the world that I would love to do. That is another thing that I have learnt. It is really important to know when your time is up — you have everything that you have done, and you are ready to step back and hand over the reins to someone else.
