WPP acquires majority stake in leading Middle East venture

WPP announces that it has acquired a majority stake in Team Y&R Holdings, the region’s largest diversified communications conglomerate, founded by Talal Makdessi (ArabAd Man of the Year 2007), established in 1997 and in which WPP has held a minority stake since 1999, and which operates in the MENA region. [Read full story...]

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Intermarkets announce new link with internet design specialists

Intermarkets, has announced an affiliation with the London-based FISH consultancy, specialists in Internet web-site design and promotion.

Considered pioneers in multi-media and the fast expanding medium of the Internet, FISH designs and builds award winning web-sites for a number of top blue-chip clients using a unique blend of creativity, marketing know-how and sophisticated technology.

Recent successes include nominations for the prestigious YELL Best Site Design Awards in the UK, for work on the Blockbuster Entertainment and The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) web-sites, the latter having been recently launched by HRH Prince Philip at St. James’ Palace, London. [Read full story...]

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Fadi Mouannes: Intermarkets succeed because it cares

Fadi Mouannes: Intermarkets Kuwait was established in 1968, long before the invasion of Kuwait and was among the first agencies to resume activities after the liberaton. Since then, we have been steadily growing and we have been recognised as the first agency in terms of media spending, especially with newspapers who swallow up to 60 percent of the advertising budgets.

We are a full-fledged agency that offers all the services the market requires. Our 35-strong staff are equipped to offer all kinds of services the market needs and at the same time we enjoy the full support of the Intermarkets network. Eighty percent of the accounts we handle are local. On the creative level, we have recently won six awards at the Al-Anba’a Advertising Awards.
[Read more...]

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Intermarkets get’s up close and personal

Intermarkets Advertising successfully held its second private airshow from the roof of its offices in Dubai. Over 200 clients and friends joined the Intermarkets team over the four days of the Duhai Airshow and enjoyed their own private view of the exciting air displays.

This year’s hospitality theme was traditionally Arab with a Bedouin lent. Intermarkets served their guests the traditional cuisine including a buffet of cold delicacies, a Shawarma stand and Sheesha.

Ramzi Raad, Executive Vice President of the Intermarkets Group was on hand to greet guests as they arrived, alongside the Agency’s team from the Dubai office. Visiting from Beirut, Erwin Guerrovich, the Group’s Chairman, and Khalil Bitar, Senior Vice President – Finance and Administration, also joined in welcoming the guests.

Originally published in ArabAd, 1998

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Tales of war and peace

Erwin Guerrovich: clients will have to be more adaptable

Intermarkets founder, chairman and CEO Erwin Guerrovich gave Karen Thomas a progress report on how Lebanon’s reconstruction is effecting agencies and the media.

Israel’s bombardment of southern Lebanon and Likud’s subsequent election victory have hit Lebanese business confidence hard. Despite these setbacks, the international business community has kept faith in the reconstruction process and in Lebanon’s ability to pay back its debts. However, after 17 years of war, Lebanon has learned to function on psychological rather than economic factors says Intermarkets chairman and CEO Erwin Guerrovich.

Israeli raids on southern Lebanon led to a crisis in consumer confidence during the critical spring peak of March-June, he told GMR in an exclusive interview in Beirut.
Lebanese advertising expenditure fell dramatically after the south was evacuated and consumer confidence slumped to its lowest ebb in years. Agencies will not start to recoup their losses until the second annual peak from October to December, if then, Guerrovich said. [Read full story...]

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IAA hosts debate on audio-visual law

Table of honour from left: Erwin Guerrovich of Intermarkets; Mustapha Assad, Publi-Graphics; May Kahale, Information Advisor at the Presidential Palace; Deputy Joseph Moghaizel; Jean-Claude Boulos, Inter-Regies and Walid Azzi Publisher of ArabAd

The Lebanese Chapter of the IAA has been host late last month to a luncheon at the Beirut Riviera Hotel during which MP Joseph Moghaizel dwelt in detail on the introduction of the new audio-visual law.

The luncheon which was attended by IAA members and their guests in the industry witnessed a lively discussion on the subject which at times reached a heated level.

Speakers pointed out that the law contained many loopholes and asserted the difficulty of implementing some of the articles included in the law.

Originally published in ArabAd

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Ailamia Intermarkets opens public relations business in Saudi Arabia

Mr Robert Leaf, Prince Bandar bin Saud bin Khaled Al Saud with Mr Erwin Guerrovich

A new communications agency, Ailamia Intermarkets, has been launched in Saudi Arabia.

The company is a 51/49 joint venture between Ailamia, a Saudi company owned equally by the King Faisal Foundation, ARA Group International; Syahya, the national company for tourism, and the Saudi Hotels and Resorts Group and Intermarkets Public Relations. The company will offer clients public relations, marketing, research, promotion and direct marketing.

Ailamia Intermarkets is an exclusive affiliate of Burson-Marsteller, who took an active role in establishing the joint venture. The Chief Operating Officer is Mike Verligans (38), a former UK Government Information Officer with added experience in banking and the PR Consultancy business.

Originally published in ArabAd, January 1997

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Intermarkets’ annual regional meeting… ‘To be the best’

The Intermarkets Advertising Management Group recently held their annual meeting at the Royal Abjar Hotel in Dubai. The meeting reviewed the group’s achievements during the past six months, which saw the winning of such prestigious accounts as Rothmans of Pall Mall, the British Bank of the Middle East, Trisa and Alberto Culver, in addition to a number of other local accounts in the respective offices of the Intermarkets network.

The Group also reviewed the final plans for the introduction of direct/integrated marketing services via the joint venture company Tequila Middle East, which will operate as a sister company much like the highly successful Intermarkets Public Relations, the Middle East affiliate of Burson-Marsteller, the world’s largest public relations consultancy. The meeting finalized Intermarkets’ expansion strategy up to the year 2000, a strategy aimed at fulfilling the group’s goal “To Be The Best”.
[Read more…]

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NCB wins the ‘Golden Sword Award’

The National Commercial Bank won the Golden Sword Award for the best print ad in all the advertising categories, at the Sword Press Award ceremony.

NCB also won a Silver Sword Award for the best print ad in the Financial Institutions & General Services category. Intermarkets Advertising visited NCB chairman Sheikh Mohamed Bin Salem Bin Mahfouz on this occasion to present both the awards.

NCB chairman thanked Intermarkets and the NCB Marketing Teams for their experience in implementing a strategic advertising plan. He also thanked the Saudi Research and Publishing Co for their support to the advertising industry through organising the Sword Award Press Competition.

Originally published in SAUDI GAZETTE, May 1996

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Message from Ramzi R. Raad

Ramzi R. Raad, IAA vice-president, area director for Middle East & Africa, executive vice-president of the Intermarkets Group

The Lebanese communication industry has been unique in its struggle to develop and expand, despite all the destruction that was inflicted on the country, and its other business sectors over the past 16 years. Accordingly I hasten to salute your forum on “Gateways to Reconstruction”, its organizers and distinguished participants, your gathering today is a further demonstration on the leadership of Lebanon’s Chapter of the International Advertising Association.

Rebuilding for us as communicators, entails the encouragement of our members that are abroad to actively return to their homeland. Of more importance however, is the need for all participants at this Forum to cooperate in order to ensure that the self-regulation, the disciplines and the professional upgrading tools that we have introduced to the Arab advertising industry, are revived and adapted in Lebanon, where all of these were started.

I sincerely regret not being able to join you at this Forum, however I wish you and Lebanon great success. I seize this opportunity to remind you that while all of you are meeting to develop more Big Ideas for the reconstruction of Lebanon; other members and graduates of the Lebanon Chapter remain to be very active overseas — at this specific moment — rebuilding the image of Lebanon through their voluntary work and dedication to the International Advertising Association and what it stands for. (Ramzi RAAD)

Originally published in GATEWAYS to Reconstruction, September 1991

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