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Company: ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller, Dubai, UAE
Company Description: ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller is the Middle East's premier public relations consultancy.Over the last decade, ASDA’A has earned its reputation as the Middle East’s largest independent public relations consultancy and the benchmark of PR practice in the region. A growing portfolio of prestigious government and corporate clients, and array of high-profile industry awards, is a reflection of this stature.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Multicultural
Nomination Title: The Seventh Dubai International Film Festival: ‘Open your World’
Tell the story about this nominated campaign since 1 January 2010 (up to 500 words). Be sure to cover the genesis, development, performance, and results of the campaign.
With global attention focused on how Dubai was coping with the financial crisis, the city was hosting the 7th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), from December 12-19, 2010. For a long time the only festival of its kind in the region, by 2010, it had two strong challengers – the Abu Dhabi International Film Festival and the Doha-Tribeca Film Festival.
The Challenge
How do you generate enthusiasm from a community perceived to be suffering ‘film festival fatigue’, especially without the galaxy of A-list celebrities seen in previous years?
The Strategy
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller focused on DIFF’s slogan for 2010 – Open Your World. This meant opening up the festival to communities, enhancing their participation, and underscoring that the festival had its clear differentials – the largest-of-its-kind film market, the largest collection of Arabic films and the largest cross-section of films from Asia, Africa and the Arab world.
Implementation
The positioning was of DIFF as a community event, as well as the largest film festival for the Arab, Asian and African world. To further enhance participation, the Agency highlighted the Muhr Awards that are presented to the best film talent from the UAE, the wider Arab world and Asia and Africa. Also, the communications strategy focused on promoting the Dubai Film Market, which was repositioned as the largest comprehensive market of its kind in the Arab world.
In a PR scoop, the opening film, The King’s Speech was screened free for the public at a new outdoor festival venue, with star Colin Firth in attendance, in addition to opening up the Rhythm & Reel screenings of movies with a music theme. The screening was attended by thousands of moviegoers.
Additionally, the Agency activated a social media campaign to create awareness for both the Festival as well as for the local and regional film industry. Maintaining a steady presence on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, the Dubai International Film Festival Facebook page and the @DFF2010 Twitter account welcomed a larger fan following this year.
Results
• More than 50,000 viewers and 94 sold out shows
• Record industry and media accreditation of 3,435 – 25 per cent growth over 2009
• 224 submissions to the Dubai Film Market, the Festival’s comprehensive script-to-screen initiative – another record
• Dubai Film Market hosted 3,193 screenings for industry buyers, outshining the 2009 figures
• Facebook fans increase from 3,158 to 6,613, and Twitter followers increased by 3,422 to 5,266
• 96 press releases distributed in Arabic and English, including 49 in December alone
• Securing and managing over 800 interviews with on- and behind-the-screen talent
• More than 3,000 pieces of known coverage secured in more than 20 countries
• Management of 9 press conferences over festival week and 10 additional photo-calls
• TV broadcast coverage across more than 50 stations – reaching international news channels including Al Jazeera in Arabic and English, APTN, Bloomberg, CNN, Reuters and Getty; regional news and features; sub-continent news and features, Far Eastern and European outlets as well as local stations
About ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller
Over the past 11 years, ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller has earned its reputation as the Middle East’s leading public relations consultancy and the benchmark of PR practice in the region. The company’s growing list of prestigious clients and high-profile industry awards is a reflection of this position. A WPP company within the global network of Burson-Marsteller, it boasts 11 wholly owned offices and 140 employees region-wide. Its practices comprise: Corporate, Finance, Public Affairs, Technology, Consumer & Healthcare and Energy & Environment.
List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, video clips, work samples, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
http://www.dubaifilmfest.com/index.php/en/
http://gulfnews.com/in-focus/diff
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/October/theuae_
October671.xmlion=theuae
http://www.thenational.ae/business/diff-splices-four-of-its-film-services-into-one-unit
http://www.ameinfo.com/249189.html
http://www.emirates247.com/entertainment/films-music/tron-legacy-to-close-out-dubai-film-
fest-2010-11-07-1.314204
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/2c3672d2-42da-4786-88ac-b50206b911b4.aspx
http://gulfnews.com/about-gulf-news/al-nisr-portfolio/tabloid/articles/7th-edition-of-dubai-inte
rnational-film-festival-concludes-with-muhr-awards-1.732803
http://www.timeoutdubai.com/films/features/19696-dubai-international-film-festival-2010
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that carried out this nominated communications program:
Over the past 11 years, ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller has earned its reputation as the Middle East’s leading public relations consultancy and the benchmark of PR practice in the region. The company’s growing list of prestigious clients and high-profile industry awards is a reflection of this position. A WPP company within the global network of Burson-Marsteller, it boasts 11 wholly owned offices and 140 employees region-wide. Its practices comprise: Corporate, Finance, Public Affairs, Technology, Consumer & Healthcare and Energy & Environment.
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