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Discuss this article (0 Comments)It's time to top up the business card collection
by ArabianBusiness.com staff writer on Sunday, 26 November 2006
There will be much handshaking going on this coming week as the region's marketers, media planners and owners, PR practitioners and journalists spend three days together in the name of media and marketing.
First up there is the Media & Marketing Show, which runs from Monday to Wednesday. Now in its second year, the exhibition provides an opportunity for those involved in marketing communications to showcase their wares and hopefully pick up some business along the way.
And also beginning on Monday and continuing into Tuesday is the inaugural Campaign Conference, which will see regional and international leaders in their field debate some of the hottest topics currently facing the media and marketing industry across the Middle East.
Britain's most famous PR guru, Max Clifford, will be delivering the keynote address, which is sure to offer some interesting insights into how the world of celebrity can benefit from a little PR spinning. Also on the bill is Joseph Ghossoub, chairman and world president of the International Advertising Association, and Antoine Choueiri will probably have a few choice words to say as well.
Cynics may think these two events will be nothing more than an industry love-in. A place where you can catch up with old friends and colleagues or walk around a few exhibition stands on a freebie hunt.
And while for some the coming three days will undoubtedly be nothing more than a chance to add to their business card collection, for others it provides a once-a-year opportunity to see who's doing what well and who isn't.
Which brings me to my point. Despite being in the business of communication, it is surprising how bad many of those working in the industry are at talking about themselves and what they do.
The standard reply when you ask agencies why they don't PR themselves in any meaningful way is that they are in the business of communicating on behalf of their clients and not themselves.
It is a valid point. However, there is going to come a time when the sheer number of businesses involved in marketing communications becomes so great that self-promotion, no matter how much some may dislike it, will become an integral part of their business development.
I have lost count of the amount of times agencies have called me to complain they are not getting sufficient coverage. One very small advertising agency recently phoned to protest that we were giving the larger network groups more coverage in the magazine at the expense of the smaller independent outfits such as his.
But the problem was I had never even heard of his agency. I explained to him that, while we are happy to cover all those working in advertising, marketing, media and PR, whether large or small, we need to know that they exist first.
Working on a weekly title means deadlines are tight and with all the will in the world we are unable to get round to everybody working in the industry, if we know who they are or not. Which is why exhibitions, conferences and awards are so valuable, not only to those looking for new business, but for us journalists as well.
Yes, it's a chance to meet old acquaintances and check out the competition, but it is also an opportunity to use a horrible management buzzword to "network". Which, for some, is the main purpose of going.
So, if over the next three days you see me or any of the Campaign team at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre,where both the exhibition and conference are being held, please feel free to stop us, say hello and thrust a business card into our hands.
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