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.

ArabAd: How do you deal with a market said to be “unsophisticated”?

Fadi Mouannes: What does unsophisticated mean? All Kuwaiti clients are looking for quality services. If they find them in simple concepts, so be it. They want to have the best creative service, the best media plan, the best promotional ideas, the best art work… Our challenge is to meet their quest for the best.

There are two types of clients. Those who know what they want. They understand the business and are professional enough to understand our business to know what we should give and to know what we are giving. There are also those who want the best but do not understand the business. They leave it to us to come up with ideas that would fulfill their objectives. So it is a challenge either way and it is very important that educated people — and there is a majority who are educated — take the leadership.

Originally published in ArabAd, December 1998

Six new members were elected last month to the board of directors of the Syndicate of Advertising Agencies, including Said Sabbagha, who was re-elected as president of the Syndicate. Ten candidates ran for the election, but Andre Rizk, CEO of Rizk Advertising and Associates, withdrew from the race leaving nine candidates who got the following results: Said Sabbagha (48 votes), Erwin Guerrovich (46), Nouhad Beyhum (42), Ramsay Najjar (40), Gaby Hayek (34), Philippe Skaff (30), Wadih Rizk (19) and Jihad Abu Jaoudeh (13).

Originally published in ArabAd, January 1996

Said Sabbagha

Erwin Guerrovich

Ramsay Najjar

Gaby Hayek

BEIRUT – Mr. Emile Kayrouz, a senior executive at Intermarkets has left the network for another network, last September, on the media side this time. Emile Kayrouz joined La Régie Libanaise de Publicité, as advertising and marketing director. Kayrouz was general manager of Intermarkets Lebanon, and assistant to the president of the network.

Kayrouz’s decision to leave Intermarkets was prompted by the desire “to reshape my future”, as he told Arab Ad. “I found it a good opportunity, and I found I had a lot in common with RLP’s president Mr. Najah Abi Assi, on both the professional and ethical levels.” Kayrouz felt he has many things to give on the media side, given his professional background, at a time when advertisers are becoming more cost-efficient oriented and media more competitive. Kayrouz will be deeply involved in development and would enjoy a partnership status in future projects.

RLP has currently a network of four offices in Beirut, Kuwait, London and Paris, and it represents a host of media, among which the Lebanese Assayad, Ashabaka, Sahar and Scoop,and the Kuwaiti Osrati, Al Yaqza, Burda Arabic edition, Al Watan International; it recently pitched for Tele Liban, and acquired the Arabic daily Ad Diyar. But Abi Assi may not be interested in relaunching his activities in Lebanon on a large scale if his bid for Tele Liban did not materialise.

Kayrouz is a 1974 AUB graduate in Economics. He attended post-graduate studies and earned diplomas of Advertising and Marketing Administration, and Institute of Marketing from the Watford College of Technology in London in 1976.

Kayrouz joined Publirizk for five months in 1975, as a marketing manager; he was then an Associate Manager at the Saudi Research monthly – Jeddah in 1976, then he joined Intermarkets as a Regional Account Director based in Bahrain in 1977. In 1980, he was appointed General Manager of Intermarkets Cairo office, then GM of the Beirut office in 1982. In 1988, he was promoted to the post of Assistant to the President of Intermarkets.
Kayrouz will be based in Beirut, but his job requires much travelling.

Originally published in ArabAd, 1988

Edmond Moutran

Edmond Ibrahim Moutran was born in Beirut, 1994 and graduated from Choueifat International College, Choueifat, Lebanon. Received his Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Higher Studies in Mass : Communication from Southwest Missouri j State University in 1972.
Joined Intermarkets as Gulf Area Manager in January 1973.
Eddy opened Intermarkets’ Bahrain office in February 1973, and remained as Head of Intermarkets Bahrain till 1983, when he became Managing Director of Burson Marstellar (a PR agency) in 1979 maintaining his duties as MD Intermarkets Bahrain as well.
Founded MEMAC (Middle East Marketing and Communications) in January 1984, with one client, four people, j and a capital of US $25K. 1984 Bahrain- 1986 Jeddah – 1987 Dubai – 1990 Kuwait – 1990 London- 1994 Lebanon- 1997 Egypt.
Today MEMAC has a network of 7 offices with 171 people, and a turnover of US$85 million.
Founding member of the GCCAA, is an IAA Bahrain member since 1977. e became a board member of Ogilvy&Mather Africa in 1996. Initiated and became the first Chairman of Middle East Advertising Agencies Association (MEAAA)

Originally published in ArabAd, May 1998

Fady Mouannes

Leading American advertising industry journal “Advertising Age” has named Intermarkets as the leading agency in Kuwait for the second consecutive year.

The findings are published in the journal’s recent worldwide Agency Report which identifies Intermarkets’ 1996 growth rate of  20.5%.

Intermarkets Kuwait Managing Director Fady Mouannes commented, “We are extremely proud to lead the field in Kuwait once again, which is a great accolade to a professional team effort and a tribute to all our clients.

“We were the biggest spenders in advertising volume in most of the local print media for 3 consecutive years 94, 95, 96. We continue to grow the operation and look forward to an even more successful 1997.”

Originally published in ArabAd, June 1997

Roger Fennings

Roger Fennings, Managing Director of Intermarkets Public Relations has announced a number of staff promotions and new appointments.

Bashar Al Kadhi

In current staff promotions, Bashar Al Kadhi is named Senior Account Director.

Fakher Daghestani

Fakher Daghestani is promoted to Account Manager.

Sue Nigoghossian

In new appointments, Melanie Gill joins Intermarkets Public Relations as Account Director. She joins the company from Total communications. Sue Nigoghossian is appointed as Account Executive. She was formerly with IPR.

In an earlier appointment, Nelly Abd-El Hamid joins Intermarkets as PR assistant.

Since its foundation five years ago as part of the Intermarkets group, Intermarkets Public Relations, names among its clients BP, Coca-Cola, Motorola, Nissan, Polaroid, TAG Heuer, Visa International and 3M.

Intermarkets Public Relations is the exclusive Middle eastern affiliate of Burson-Marsteller, one of the world’s leading international public relations consultancies.

Originally published in ArabAd, July 1997

Tylda Ghosn

In line with the forward vision of Lebanon’s future, coupled with the regional scope of operations Intermarkets has announced the following changes. Area vice President, Nadim Sfeir, will become general manager of Intermarkets-Lebanon and will be based at the Beirut head office. He will continue to assume his group corporate responsibilities over the Levant, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Tylda Ghosn remains Area Creative Director. Makram Zeenny, transferring from Damascus, will also be based in Beirut, and will assist Nadim on both Lebanon, Levant and Egypt territories.

Makram Zeenny

Nadim Sfeir

Originally published in ArabAd, October 1998

Antoine Aad and lucky old-time friend Mahmoud Nahas

Mahmoud Nahas is a very happy man. Thanks to Christmas card and a lottery ticket he received last month. The ticket won the jackpot of LL 200 million. No chicken feed for a man who has been making coffee at Intermarkets advertising agency for 30 years.
“I’ve been buying these tickets every week for as long as I can remember,” he said. “I still can’t believe that I’m really the winner. It’s such a beautiful surprise to start the new year.”
Upon discovering that he had won, the office celebrated with cake and a party. “We were all so excited for him that we couldn’t get any work done that day,” said a colleague.
“We had a feeling that somebody in the office won first prize. Another employee had all the numbers but one, which netted her LL2million.” Antoine Aad, CEO of Tree Ad, has been sending more than 1,500 lottery tickets a year as gifts to staff in the advertising industry for about 10 years now. But this is the first time that a ticket has paid dividends.
Aad admits that this year he opted for the cheaper tickets New Year’s tickets he usually distributes, due to the current economic situation. But he could not be happier about Nahas’ good fortune.
“My association with Nahas goes back 30 years, to when I worked with him for Intermarkets,” he said. “He is a friend and I’m happy for him.”
Originally published in ArabAd, January 2000

Tylda Ghosn

by Zaza Khalaf

Experts have long declared that artistic people make bad managers. The same has often been said about women. Tylda Ghosn has proven both these proclamations wrong. One of still very exclusive group of female agency heads, she is also undoubtedly the most creative.

That is actually the first thing that strikes you on meeting her. It was no surprise then to learn that her first ambition was to design jewellery. However, with no such school available in Lebanon, she decided to pursue other prospects at ALBA (Lebanese Academy of Arts). As luck would have it, she went the very day of the advertising entrance exam! Needless to say, not only did she pass the exam, but also graduated with flying colours in 1984.

After graduation she resolved to take a month’s break; she managed one week. Incapable of staying without work, she applied to H&C Leo Burnett and embarked on a fruitful seven year collaboration. Recalling those days, Ghosn remarked, “it was an intensely active time on the Lebanese ad scene, the golden ad era; there were so many agencies, now major players, which were just starting to Brow.”

H&C was probably the most prominent among them and Tylda Ghosn made her mark. Hers was the talent behind ads like Dewar’s “Stuck On You” elaborating on Farid Chehab’s hit theme: “When it’s love, it never varies.” And she followed with the publicly acclaimed “I witnessed…” ad for Ancestor whisky.

Unfortunately, even the most successful partnerships come to an end, and so, for reasons she tactfully chose not to disclose, Ghosn left H&C in 1991. She got married immediately afterwards, giving her the opportunity to take a break and dedicate herself to family life. But true to form again she could not bear staying without work for long.

“Some women are made to raise children, and some to work,” she explains. “Offers started flooding from everywhere. I was really flattered! I mean, you stay with a company for so long, you’re creative behind closed doors!”

Among the offers, one was challenging enough that she could definitely not turn it down: Intermarkets approached her to set up a partnership. “All my friends warned me about getting into a partnership” she confessed, “you know, it’s like a marriage and you are somehow stuck with it!”

The offer involved a 50-50 partnership with the new company securing great independence and creative control. For Ghosn, the opportunity was too good to forego. And so, Gemini was launched in June 1992. While the name may seem unusual for an advertising firm, the way it was actually chosen is even more peculiar. Ghosn explains: “I had been making lists and lists of possible names for a long time. In the end, I had so many I could have written a book! But on the very day of registration I still had not found one that completely suited me. In despair I asked my partner, Erwin Guerrovich, what the horoscope was for that day. Alas, Gemini it was.”

Specially made for Fransabank

On the subject of Guerrovich, her partner, Ghosn has nothing but praise: “Erwin is a great partner; he doesn’t interfere; he dosen’t question our decisions; he’s always there when you need him, just like a friend.”

Of course, Gemini must obviously be doing something right to keep the relations running smoothly. And, as Ghosn admitted, this doesn’t exclude competing with Intermarkets: “Oh yes, we definitely do compete with them,” she affirmed. “Some clients fear the big companies. We at Gemini give the required time for every client.”

On the subject of competition in Lebanon. Ghosn is equally frank: “Gravissimo! They are fighting with every kind of weapon. The media scene is a complete carnival and everyone is copying everyone else. And the agency – would you call one man working with his secretary an agency? I mean those people have no overhead costs. How much do you think they need to operate? They are just media booking boutiques, and they are cutting everyone’s profits! What can you say to a client who has been given a better price from that kind of agency.”

Finally, on the subject of clients, Ghosn doesn’t consider them entirely blameless either. As she reported, “The client used to be king – he’s now emperor! Some give you a brief one day and ask for something else the next; some just argue for the sake of it. Agencies are also to blame for this situtation as the client doesn’t understand what various things cost, especially new technology, and by cutting prices to snatch each others’ clients we are sabotaging the whole system. It’s getting absurd!” Serious again, she adds a heartfelt appeal: “The clients must act like a civilised person and we “professionals”, agents and media, must act with respect. Believe me, I’m in this business because I love it – and the day the business stops pleasing me, I will quit.”

Until that time, Ghosn is managing to survive with poise and determination. “I don’t give and take on matters of money. I try to give my clients more than they have asked for; a perfect and complete package: a concept with all its facets,” she insisted. Gemini does offer a thorough deal, from the initial creation to the marketing stages. For example, the Ksara promotional campaign was completely designed by Gemini, including the girls’ outfits! From the time Ksara entered the Wine Expo in France, Gemini only had four weeks to come up with a booklet. The result was a small black gem of a brochure and, scores of compliments from home and abroad for all the staff.

Such attention to details has meant that Ghosn spends long hours at the office: “Of course when you love what you do, you give without counting…,” she confessed.

Even though it also means spending long hours away from your baby daughter?
“Oh please don’t remind me! It’s hard enough,” she admits as she proudly shows me a picture of her family. She puts the picture back on her desk and we move on to more theoretical notions about being a woman in advertising.

“Yes, I believe women are more sensitive and more…’entier’ – when they give themselves to something, they give completely, and we do persevere!” A quality she finds essential to survival in the advertising world today. “You have to be a hard worker in this business, you really should love people and have patience, lots of patience. Women usually are quite good at dealing with people.”

Any gender-related problems with her staff?

“Oh no, an agency is a team and your mentality and enthusiasm rubs off on the staff.”
And clients?

“Not really, I think they overcame my being a woman, if that is what you are insinuating!”

We both laughed.  The interview had gone on longer than either of us had realised.

Everyone else had long since left the office. But Ghosn had time for one last reflection on the future of the business she cherishes:

“It’s sad that today in Lebanon we are neglecting our educative mission. People have come out of a long war, and the media should be helping to promote and restore our culture. I believe we have a role to play in educating the public. We should do our share to help our country move forward. With my ads, I try to sell dreams, beautify images; I try to change someone’s day a bit…, and my clients’ sales a lot! I would love to be part of what makes the Lebanese say every morning: ‘Good morning Lebanon, welcome back to real life!”

Originally published in ArabAd, August 1994

Here is one of the lists I found for Intermarkets Advertising with all the employees that worked in the Intermarkets offices around the World from 1966-1988.

I know the list is incomplete, but I have others and will publish them later. You will find: Intermarkets advertising Europe, Intermarkets advertising Kuwait, Intermarkets Advertising U.A.E., Intermarkets Advertising Bahrain, Intermarkets Advertising S. Arabia, Intermarkets Advertising Lebanon, Intermarkets Advertising Egypt.

This should be of special interest to the people that forgot who schooled and taught them advertising. In other words, who made them who they became today. I for sure, know that if my father was alive, he would be surprised of how fast some forgot. Stay tuned, more interesting docs coming.

Intermarkets Advertising Europe

Intermarkets Advertising Kuwait

Intermarkets Advertising U.A.E.

Intermarkets Advertising Bahrain

Intermarkets Advertising S. Arabia

Intermarkets Advertising Lebanon

Intermarkets Advertising Egypt