UM MENA launched its first digital conference for the LEVANT region earlier this month. UM MENA said that ‘the aim was to educate and inform marketers on how to plan and implement digital strategies for 2016, understand the value of their online investments and the delivery of the right digital experience to their consumers.’
The event led by UM’s Digital Director, Zadi Hobbies started with a keynote by Joe Nicolas, Head of Product, UM MENA who discussed the evolution of media consumption and the impact of the availability of new media on marketing strategies in this region.
Other speakers included Ruairi Conroy – Sales Director EMEA at Adroll; Ian Manning – Head of Agency MENA at Facebook; Omar Kfoury – Head of Sales LEVANT from DMS; Elie Abou Saleh, Commercial Manager MENA at Anghami and Rayan Karaky, Head of Double Click MENA at Google.
“It’s great to see such initiatives happening in Lebanon; having some of the biggest marketers, key publishers and technology players in one room sparks exactly the type of conversation the industry needs. Hopefully we will see more attention being given to the Levant region when it comes to digital advertising as this region has some of the most creative and talented people which could bring new ways and approaches to ad technology and its usage. It’s a great step in the right direction”, commented Mr Karaky.
Colette Cherfane, GM of UM Beirut said, “We wanted to do something this year for our clients, marketers and business owners to educate them and assist them with creating effective digital marketing strategies in line with the trends we have been witnessing and forecasting at UM MENA. We received an incredible response to the event and Think Digital with UM will now be an annual fixture in the LEVANT’s media and marketing calendar”
The event was also attended by senior decision makers from McDonald’s, Byblos Bank, Porsche and many more.
“Think Digital with UM has set the tone for seriously developing the digital media scene in Lebanon. By inviting world-class speakers from Google, Facebook, DMS, Adroll and Anghami who helped shed the light on innovative ways for Lebanon to catch up with the rest of the region in regards to both digital and social media communication strategies, UM MENA has undeniably positioned itself as THE media agency for digital communication in Lebanon. We are proud to be part of this cluster of successful communicators and we look forward to developing Byblos Bank’s digital communication with our UM partners,” shared Nada Tawil, Head of Group communication, Byblos Bank.
