Elias Kamal Jabbe

With the fourth edition of Dubai Design Week taking place next month, we look ahead to the increasingly popular event, and how the region’s design and architecture industries are evolving

After welcoming some 60,000 attendees in 2017, this year’s edition of Dubai Design Week – taking place from November 12-17 – is set to build on past successes, with scores of events showcasing the best of the region’s design industry.

The tradition of telling stories is not unique to the Middle East, but this part of the world has for millennia enjoyed tales of love, adventure and divine power expressed in oral lore and passed down generation to generation. This culture of oral tradition is evident today in the popularity of radio, where the medium reaches more than three quarters of the populations in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Lebanon.

In following with this tradition, podcasts and audiobooks are also picking up pace...

Twitter celebrated the regional launch of its global #StartWithThem and #TwitterFronts initiatives in March and April in both Dubai and Riyadh. Following its global #WhatsHappening motto that has been at the center of Twitter’s marketing campaigns over the past few years, #StartWithThem highlights the unique ways that Twitter has been leveraged in the MENA region, including for charitable causes.

One of the latest startup community initiatives in Dubai that launched on May 4 in the form of the Falcon Network Pitch Day has led to this week’s angel investment of over $450,000 into six startups: WorkAround, Caravan, Aion Sigma, Saaya Health, Teacherly, and Virtual i Technologies.
The path to this investment has been largely paved thanks to outreach done by Dr. Sayd Farook, who is part of the founding team of the Falcon Network and Goodforce Labs, a Dubai accelerator focused on social impact

When it comes to promoting your startup to your target audiences, finding a balance is a key ingredient in the recipe for success.

You can look at this balance as a trio of actions:

“One small step for Twitter’s design team…one giant leap for marketing-kind.”
That’s how I describe a change in Twitter’s user interface that’s helped me more effectively and creatively tweet about some of my favorite marketing events.

Pertinent topics such as mobile advertising, digital publishing and influencer marketer were discussed and further analyzed during the Mobile Marketing Association’s annual Impact Forum in Dubai. The forum brought in thought leaders working in-house at global and regional companies to discuss the transformation of business through mobile.

The Mobile Marketing Association returns to Dubai today to host the latest edition of one of its signature events: MMA Impact Forum. The Istanbul-based MENA & Turkey chapter of the global MMA is leading the organization of the annual forum in Dubai that unites marketers from various countries in the Middle East and North Africa to explore regional case studies and opportunities for growth.
Ahead of the Impact Forum, which carries the theme #ShapeTheFuture, MMA EMEA Managing Dir...

The smoke has cleared after another memorable experience of learning during Dubai Lynx 2019. One of the key insights was the need to be braver and expand our comfort zones as humans and communications professionals. Through a series of panels held by The Marketing Society, Choueiri Group and the International Advertising Association, the message of embracing new learning opportunities and areas of growth was made clear.

Leaving behind a country and region I was familiar with since my university days (Paris, as well as France and Europe in general) to move to a new city (Dubai, UAE) was both a challenging and rewarding experience.

The summer is usually considered a calm time in the Gulf countries, when business grinds to a halt and vacations are the focus.
Not at AstroLabs, the Dubai-based Google for Entrepreneurs hub which is home to a plethora of startups and offers digital training courses throughout the year.
Following the opening of its second space in the DMCC Free Zone in April, AstroLabs has expanded further into Saudi Arabia with its Forward KSA training initiative...

The sixth edition of ArabNet Digital Summit Dubai kicked off on April 30, bringing its unique mix of technology and marketing expertise to Madinat Jumeirah...During a panel about brand safety, L’Oréal Middle East’s head of media Sofiane Haddadi provided a candid overview of how his team makes sure their online video advertising strategy hits its mark and reaches the eyes of people within its target audience.

Technology and digital communication are impacting people’s interactions and activities during Ramadan.
Freemium mobile apps like Iquran and Muslim Pro, which launched in Ramadan 2010, are more used during this month. The latter has constantly introduced new features, evolving into a platform that connects Muslims worldwide. Google has even recently created an app called Qibla Finder that guides Muslims to find Makkah’s direction for daily prayers.
Greetings, religious music, recipes search i...

Jeddah-based Saudi entrepreneur Manar Saud Alomayri used to listen to English books online, and felt there is a gap when it comes to Arabic audiobooks. She thought that a modern style of reading books needs to be provided for the mobile-first young generation of the Arab world that she belongs to. This drove the IT professional to leave her well-paid job within the insurance industry to launch Dhad Audiobooks in June 2014, offering online Arabic audiobooks. Books prices range from 6 to 22 Saudi Riyals per book (US$ 1.6 - 5.8). Some are even offered for free, such as إنما نحن جوقة العميان,