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Happy New Year! Quit smoking yet? Joined the neighborhood gym? Signed up to volunteer at the pet rescue center? As 2010 begins, Communicate has taken on a resolution of its own: to stop asking industry insiders so many questions about the future (for at least a month). But just before the clock struck midnight, we asked as many people as we could what they think the coming year will hold.
Advertisers, marketers, branding experts, media buyers and planners are all hoping for the global credit crisis to ease up. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel they say, but most are treading cautiously. Resolute about working smarter, harder, and with a more developed team spirit, industry experts see 2010 as a year to redefine goals and values, and one where sustainability and accountability are key.
The fear of the credit crunch spilling over into 2010 is present, only trumped by the worry of a war breaking out in Lebanon, or anywhere else in the world for that matter. Work isn’t necessarily the industry’s only concern; while one of our subjects wishes Karl Marx would come back to life, another dreads seeing Daniel Craig as Bond again.
The hopes and fears of the regional advertising industry are as often original as they are similar, though some things are clear: everyone is looking to 2010 for respite from the grueling year that was 2009. Many (well, mostly those working in PR themselves) say the importance of public relations has been highlighted throughout 2009, and that the coming year will refine its significance in the marketing mix. And as was customary in 2009, digital will have tongues wagging in 2010, and anyone who hasn’t started embracing it will trail behind. Period.
So buckle up, 2010 has just begun. With lessons learned, mistakes made, and some egos bruised, the year may prove as challenging as the one before, but the industry is no doubt more experienced, and therefore better equipped to handle whatever troubles may come its way.
That’s our New Year’s resolution at least…flatter our way out of any situation. And quit smoking. And join the gym. And cuddle cats on a weekly basis.

We asked the same five questions of marketers across the Middle East:
• What is your New Year’s Resolution?
• What headline do you hope to read?
• What headline do you dread?
• What advice do you have for your industry?
• Complete the following sentence: 2010 will be the year of…
On the following pages we showcase a selection of their responses.

Joe Chemali, regional communication director, H&C LB
Headline you hope to read.
Lebanon back to being the hub of major multinationals.
Headline you dread.
Beirut Airport closed.
Advice for the industry.
Work together on creating national civic campaigns.
2010 will be the year of…
Prosperity in Lebanon.

George Slim, chief operating officer, Lowe Pimo Beirut
New year’s resolution.
Quit smoking I hope.
Headline you hope to read.
Lebanon is back.
Headline you dread.
Lebanon is back to the fighting.
Advice for the industry.
To have the passion for advertising and be patient – to think with their brains and not their pockets.

Kamil Kuran, managing director, LB Levant
Headline you hope to read.
Peace is imminent.
Headline you dread.
War is imminent.
Advice for the industry.
Work together to safeguard, nurture and grow the industry and the talents working in it.
2010 will be the year of…
Economic recovery and political uncertainty.

Katia Yasmine, director, TRACCS Lebanon
New year’s resolution.
The New Year’s resolution I would have for my company would be to make more people aware of the positive benefits of strategic public relations and communications. Companies in Lebanon tend to underestimate the importance of such a valuable tool, therefore, it is our resolution to make companies more aware and more willing to take a chance on public relations.
Headline you hope to read.
Public Relations Fever: every company wants a piece of it.

Joe Ayache, managing director, Impact BBDO, Beirut
Headline you hope to read.
Euro down, gold down, dollar up.
Advice for the industry.
Stay focused on the business, stay close to the clients they need us to be near them more than any other time.
2010 will be the year of…
Harder challenges.

Gavin Dickinson, Executive director of publishing, ADMC
New year’s resolution.
More from less.
Headline you hope to read.
Global credit crunch officially over.
Headline you dread.
USA declares war.
Advice for the industry.
Stay humble and remember 2009. There is enough for everybody and a good deal is not about you being happy and the other guy having nothing. Look after people.
2010 will be the year of…
An advertising industry that will be far more accountable.

Andreas Keller, Regional PR director, Weber Shandwick
New year’s resolution.
Professionally: to do better than we did this year (won’t be hard). Personally: to exercise more, which has been on my annual resolution list since 1995.
Headline you hope to read.
The markets have recovered and Dubai’s real estate market has stabilized.
Headline you dread.
The cost of living continues to increase or investor confidence has still not returned.
Advice for the industry.
If you’re still alive in 2010, you’ve been through the worst and should have a robust, tried and tested, business model that will enjoy more success in the future. The image and reputation of many companies nosedived in 2009, so executives are really starting to see the value of PR and how it needs to be an integral part of their business moving forward.
2010 will be the year of…
Cautious optimism and common sense.

Dr. Lance De Masi, President, AUD
New year’s resolution.
Keep focusing on the long-term because the long-term has arrived.
Headline you hope to read.
Advertising agencies finally redefine their raison d’être.
Advice for the industry.
Give potential employees a reason to believe.

Ronald Howes, managing director, MEMAC Ogilvy & Mather
New year’s resolution.
Looking forward to building and not wasting too much time doing the same things as others.
Headline you hope to read.
Memac Ogilvy reaps the benefits of its 2009 strategies.
Advice for the industry.
Working together would serve us better than pursuing individual advantage, which can leave us more exposed.
2010 will be the year…
When sustained growth takes precedence over greed.

Aboud Shami, group managing director, Impact BBDO KSA
New year’s resolution.
Not to stop dreaming, because dreams are foundations that help build it into reality.
Headline you dread.
George Bush to advise WTO.
2010 will be the year of…
Reinventing oneself to make a new beginning, to be innovative in moving ahead in life and business and to be creative in finding new expressions that have a positive outcome.

Bander Asiri, managing director, Al Khaleejiah Advertising & PR
New year’s resolution.
Focus on my core business, and only three new lines of business. Not to spread my people and supply lines too thin.
Headline you hope to read.
Demand higher then supply for the first time in 2 years.
Headline you dread.
The recovery bubble bursts.
2010 will be the year of…
The year of the early starters. 2009 was a year of the back burners, which was understandable. 2010 will be the real year for getting a head start over competition.

Kamal Dimachkie, managing director, Leo Burnett Dubai, Kuwait, Lower Gulf
New year’s resolution.
Stay the course and continue focusing on people, ideas and the power of creativity.
Headline you hope to read.
Year-on-year digital spend triples.
Headline you dread.
The advertising industry fails to adapt to digital.
Advice for the industry.
Invest in quality, invest in people and invest in ideas – the rest will follow.
2010 will be the year of…
Creativity, flexibility and resilience.

Bishara Ghawi, Team Y&R KSA
Headline you hope to read.
Acquisition, mergers and new ventures. In a nutshell, business at its best.
Advice for the industry.
Be best in the business, let alone in everything you do. This kind of time is a true test of your character, strength and inner knowledge.
2010 will be the year of…
Actual change and hope.

Dimitri Metaxas, regional executive director, digital, OmnicomMediaGroup
New year’s resolution.
Ensure that Omnicom Media Group is at the forefront of the industry’s technology fueled future.
Headline you hope to read.
Regional Internet spends now overtake [place mass media channel here].
Headline you dread.
Government blocks access to social media site for being inconsistent with the religious, cultural, political, and moral values of [place country name here].
Advice for the industry.
The infant digital media industry does not necessarily need to emulate our traditional counterparts, learn from them but start afresh, now is your chance.

Dany Naaman, Regional general manager, MPG Middle East
New year’s resolution.
Balance between professional and personal life.
Headline you hope to read.
There is a solution for global warming.
Headline you dread.
Worsening of the economic and financial crisis.
Advice for the industry.
Do not discount your efforts and your talents, think and act on the long term.

Tom Callaghan, joint creative director, Expression
Headline you hope to read.
Dubai copywriter’s novel bought by Spielberg.
Headline you dread.
Avail this offer to gift a kilo of gold.
Advice for the industry.
It’s only advertising: nobody dies.
2010 will be the year of…
My still refusing to Twitter.

Anthony Ryman, managing director, Grow (Qatar)
New year’s resolution.
Wake up with no hangover.
Headline you hope to read.
The world is OK.
Headline you dread.
End of the world as we know it.
Advice for the industry.
Honesty, clarity, transparency and partnership. No jargon, bullshit or lies. Oh, and Time really is moving faster and if you’re not “with it,” you’re a “has-been!”
2010 will be the year of…
Doing the Rumba, gracefully.

Sunil John, chief executive officer, ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller
New year’s resolution.
To improve my golf game.
Headline you hope to read.
World celebrates the opening of Burj Dubai.
Headline you dread.
Real estate values in Dubai sees a further drop of 20 per cent.
Advice for the industry.
Embrace change… get digital.
2010 will be the year of…
The double dip recession in global economy.

Choucrallah Abou Samra, managing director, OmnicomMediaGroup, KSA
New year’s resolution.
Personally: spend more time with my family, professionally: stimulate more creativity from clients.
Headline you hope to read.
Peoplemeters become a reality in Saudi Arabia.
Advice for the industry.
Prove the difference you make to clients and validate every decision with hard facts.

Hermann Behrens, CEO, The Brand Union Middle East
New year’s resolution.
To get my weight back onto the front foot like a prize fighter and create impact in everything I do.
Headline you dread.
Liquidity, what liquidity?
Advice for the industry.
Don’t sell your soul, work for those who recognize your value and are willing to pay you fair value for it.
2010 will be the year of…
Seeing the light.

Andrew Pidcock, managing director, Firefly
Headline you hope to read.
Dubai extends metro to Abu Dhabi.
Headline you dread.
Internet banned in UAE.
Advice for the industry.
Measure, analyze and sell.

Ian Butlin, general manager, TBWA/ZEENAH
New year’s resolution.
Secure more long-term relationships with clients and tighten up processes.
Headline you hope to read.
“Oman agency takes Lynx by storm.”
Headline you dread.
“GCC advertising spend set to remain at 2009 levels in face of continuing economic downturn.”
Advice for the industry.
(Agencies) Keep fighting the fight of creativity and one day the Gulf will sit alongside the other great advertising regions.
(Client) Treat your agency as an equal partner and not a supplier

Suhail R. Kambriss, Publicis Groupe Media commercial director, Egypt
New year’s resolution.
Work out, again.
Headline you hope to read.
Hugh Jackman and Megan Fox in a James Bond movie.
Headline you dread.
Daniel Craig in another James bond movie .
2010 will be the year of…
World Cup.

Marwan Qutub, CEO/co-founder 3 Points Advertising, KSA
New year’s resolution.
Take our creative output to a new level.
Headline you dread.
We thought 2009 was the worst!
Advice for the industry.
Challenge your clients to accept creative ideas.

Hubert Boulos, regional managing director, DDB
Headline you hope to read.
Karl Marx is alive.
Headline you dread.
Karl Marx shot by frustrated hedge fund manager over economic argument.
Advice for the industry.
It’s not only about the money habibi.
2010 will be the year of…
Increased polarization: The ongoing trend that sees the continuous erosion of the middle class will accelerate (most of them joining the poor and a few moving upwards to join the ranks of the riches). By extension the same would apply to products and services, where the mid price products will increasingly fail for the greater benefit of luxury and low cost offers.

Wael Nazeem, Clients service director, Saatchi & Saatchi Cairo
New year’s resolution.
Aggressive new business plan targeting appropriate business models
Headline you hope to read.
The launch of new multinational operations in Egypt.
Advice for the industry.
Talk to each other, control your market and don’t let the market control you.
2010 will be the year of…
New business expansions.

Roy Haddad, chairman, CEO JWT MENA group
New year’s resolution.
Stay the course.
Headline you hope to read.
Confidence is back.
Headline you dread.
Unemployment continues to rise.
Advice for the industry.
Keep the good ideas flowing.
2010 will be the year of…
A new normal.

Gabby Bechara Chamat, CEO, Venture Communications
New year’s resolution.
Challenging, dynamic, optimistic and pro-active attitude to face the concerned slow turns in the international markets at all levels.
Headline you hope to read.
The world in full coordination has set new rules to conquer the global economical crisis by setting new economic rules in the different dealings and the economy is moving forward.
Advice for the industry.
I advise our colleagues in the industry to concentrate on quality work, self confidence, professionalism and dedication. I stress that with the right communication efforts we can conquer the international crisis and push the economy forward.
2010 will be the year of …
Truth, crisis management, challenge, management and structuring where all companies should perform in the most effective manner, minimize all disturbances in communication and synergy amongst their teams.

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