The executive director of marketing and communication of the UAE’s government media officer, Khaled AlShehhi, won this year’s World Media Award (WMA) for content leadership and innovation.
The award is given by London-based World Media Group, an alliance of publishers across the world, including renowned media organisations such as The Atlantic, BBC Global News, Bloomberg Media, Reuters, and The New York Times.
AlShehhi will receive his award at this year’s WMA celebration in London in September.
The award is bestowed to individuals who create “exemplary content-driven campaigns that reflect brand bravery, creativity, and innovation.”
“Khaled AlShehhi impressed our judges with the sheer breadth and depth of the campaigns he has delivered, as well as demonstrating creativity, boldness and pushing the boundaries of communications and marketing in what can often be a dry sector,” World Media Group’s chief executive Belinda Barker said.
AlShehhi was instrumental in several notable UAE campaigns, including the transformation of the Burj Khalifa into the world’s largest donation box, reaching over 4.5 billion people and raising over 1.2 million meals for those impacted by the pandemic.
Other remarkable works of the media executive include the “Double Moon” campaign for the UAE’s first mission to Mars. The campaign was a “regional-first” projection stunt, and saw the launch of a limited-edition passport stamp made of Martian ink for UAE visitors.
AlShehhi also worked on a tourism video titled “A winder through my eyes,” which highlighted the UAE from a perspective of a blind person. The campaign was lauded for “pushing boundaries of traditional tourism content.”
The Emirati media exec also helped transform the UAE media office into a brand.
“My goal has been to transform the way the UAE Government communicates by producing original innovative and creative content that positively impacts the lives of people locally, regionally and globally, so it’s truly an honour for me – and of course my team – to see our work recognised by our peers,” AlShehhi said.
Former recipients of the award include Fedex’s managing director for brand and customer experience design Kaat Vanderheyde (2021), UBS’ chief marketing officer Johan Jervoe (2020) and Audi AG’s international media management Christine von Hoerde (2019).
Follow us on
