World of advertising descends on Dubai

Record number of entries in this year's Dubai Lynx set the mood for this year's Dubai International Advertising Festival that started yesterday at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Presented by the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, together with regional partners Motivate Publishing, Dubai Lynx is organised with the support of Dubai Media City (DMC) and in association with the UAE Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA).

"The first festival saw some of the best creative advertising people in the world. The second Dubai International Advertising Festival will be just as powerful, bringing to the region insightful world leaders from which to learn and be inspired," said Steve Lane, Dubai Lynx Festival Director, about the second year of this international event.

The Dubai International Advertising Festival brings together advertising talent from across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), as well as from around the world. A series of high profile seminars, workshops, exhibitions and screenings are held, aimed at providing creative inspiration, learning and networking opportunities to the advertising and allied industries.

In 2009, the third Dubai Lynx Awards, which forms part of the festival, will honour and celebrate creative excellence in TV/cinema, print, outdoor, radio, interactive, direct and sales promotion, media and integrated advertising.

High-profile international jurors will award the coveted Dubai Lynx trophies to establish the definitive standard for creative excellence in the Mena.

Picking up on a slow pace in the morning, the event got off to a packed start with the first seminar addressed by Bob Isherwood who spoke on the subject of "The ore that gold comes from".

Isherwood was until recently Worldwide Creative Director of Saatchi and Saatchi and he described his seminar simply as mining for gold in the desert.

It was later followed by another seminar addressed by Rob Belgiovane, partner and executive creative director BWM, Australia. He spoke on the subject: Big Ideas on Small Screens.

The first phase of Dubai Lynx competition moved on to the next with shortlising of entries by a selected jury members. The shortlisted works in print, outdoor, direct and sales promotion and media section were unveiled and displayed for public opinion. Print category saw a total of 740 entries, highest among all other categories; followed by outdoors (488), TV/cinema 237, and media (208). Other additional categories are radio (106), direct (155), interactive (114) and integrated (31). This year saw an almost three per cent increase in entries.

All entries can be viewed during the second Dubai International Advertising Festival held at the Sheikh Rashid Hall at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre where a three-day programme of seminars and workshops addressing both regional and international industry issues will also take place.

The winners will be revealed and honoured during the Dubai Lynx Awards Ceremony tomorrow evening, which last year was attended by over 1,600 guests.

"Despite today's economic climate, we are truly delighted to still see a growth in the number of entries from across the region, particularly in media and outdoor. More importantly, though, is the increase of entrant companies taking part, up nearly eight per cent versus last year, an endorsement from the industry that after only three years since the launch of the Dubai Lynx Awards, a Lynx trophy is the most coveted prize to win and the festival the premier industry event to attend in the region," says Steve Lane, Dubai Lynx Festival Director.

The organisers have also announced that Tanvir Kanji, head of Inca Tanvir, an independent integrated communications company and marketing and PR consultancy, will receive the 2009 Dubai Lynx Advertising Person of the Year Award.

"Tanvir Kanji's vision and understanding of the business as well as his passion and devotion has helped elevate advertising, media and communications to a higher level throughout Mena. It is with great pleasure that Dubai Lynx pays tribute to his achievements," said Philip Thomas, festival CEO.

"This honour is indeed a humbling experience. As one of the founding members of the advertising fraternity in this country, I pledge to renew my commitment to this industry which I love and continue to serve it with all the experience I have gained and the knowledge I have acquired over the decades," said Tanvir Kanji.

The three-day advertising festival was in fact last minute moved to the International Convention and Exhibition Centre as previous location, the Palladium at the Dubai media City "due to unavoidable circumstances".

"Although the Palladium, a highly versatile and technically advanced venue would be ready in time, it is in the best interests of all concerned to relocate the event to ensure the overall success of the festival. Naturally at this late stage we are disappointed but we completely understand the view taken by the organisers. We wish them well and look forward to working closely with them for the 2010 Dubai Lynx Festival," Raymond Gaspar, the Palladium's general manager had said in a communique.

Lane said: "We had been looking forward to opening this year's Festival at The Palladium and hope to hold it there in 2010. For this year though, and with the event taking place next week, we all felt it would be best to return to the DICEC where the festival was held last year."

The awards

In 2009, Dubai Lynx is introducing the Media Agency Of The Year award.

The award will be presented to the agency that obtains the highest score for entries in the media section. As with Agency of the Year, the calculation will be based on all of the awards won by an agency, but will include a maximum of 10 points for shortlisted entries.

The scores for Media Agency of the Year will be calculated as follows:

Grand Prix: 10 points

Gold: seven points

Silver: five points

Bronze: three points

Shortlist: one point (maximum of 10 points)

The winner of this new award will be revealed tomorrow. Other special awards include Agency of the Year (TV/cinema, print, outdoor and radio) and Advertising Person of the Year.

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