1st International Advertising Festival in Dubai - Mar. 31 - Apr. 2, 2008
By Cleofe Maceda
Dubai: About 600 delegates are gathered in Dubai from today to April 2 for the International Advertising Festival, the first of the regional festivals outside Europe.
The event is presented by Cannes Lions, the organiser of the largest gathering of worldwide advertising professionals and advertisers held annually in Cannes, France. Philip Thomas, chief executive of Cannes Lions, talks to Gulf News about the event.
Gulf News: What made Cannes Lions choose Dubai as the venue for the first of its regional festivals outside Europe?
Philip Thomas: There are a number of reasons, the most obvious being that this is a huge growth area in every way, a great place to launch anything. But beyond that we see more and more interest from the region at Cannes, more entries, more delegates - there is a massive desire to learn, and a desire to compete on the world stage.
In addition to all that, we have some excellent partners in the region who have been a great help, the IAA and Dubai Media City in particular. After a short time thinking about it, Dubai more or less chose itself.
How significant is the event to the advertising industry here?
Well, last year we had the Dubai Lynx Awards, which received 1,700 entries and was warmly embraced by the 1,200 guests who came on the night. Entries this year have grown by 20 per cent, and the gala awards were sold out very early. Six hundred or so delegates would be a great start.
People say Dubai is now the hottest brand in the region. Will the hosting of the festival further boost Dubai’s image as a brand?
The festival and the awards are for the whole of the Middle East and North African (Mena) region. But the fact that we chose Dubai, I suppose, says something about the infrastructure, and how attractive Dubai is for jury members, and overseas visitors to come to. People overseas are fascinated by Dubai.
Is the booming economy in Dubai or Mena region a boon to the advertising industry?
GDP, and the economic growth of a region, directly affects advertising expenditure. As the ad expenditure grows, so does creativity - clients take risk, agencies invest in people. You only have to look at countries like Thailand and Singapore to see the correlation.
Last year’s advertising spend in the UAE reached $1.3 billion, but some industry experts say the level of spending is still lower than the worldwide average. What are your thoughts?
I know the growth is spectacular, but as a percentage of GDP, I don’t think it is particularly low compared to other regions. The ad spend grows in tandem with the GDP growth, the two things are linked and always will be.