Nakheel Retail Shopping Malls has announced the appointment of Saudi-based Kassab Media as the official media marketing agency for its mega-mall, Ibn Battuta.
The contract will involve positioning Ibn Battuta Mall as a stand-alone or collaborative advertising destination, and the pact will stretch over the next five years.
With the appointment of Kassab, Ibn Battuta Mall has become the first of Nakheel Retail, Shopping Malls' division to be managed by an external agency.
"We are delighted to appoint Kassab as the official media marketing agency for Ibn Battuta Mall and we believe they will bring their trademark professionalism, pro-activity, experience and marketing power into transforming Ibn Battuta Mall into viable and successful advertising option," said Sandy Mercer, director, Nakheel Retail, Shopping Malls.
As the official media marketing agency for Ibn Battuta Mall, Kassab will be responsible for selling advertising space around the mall, including the parking space and the interior offerings. The agency, one of the largest and most reputed, operates the media marketing services for a diverse group of clients including Mall of the Emirates, Deira City Centre in Dubai and Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi.
"As one of Dubai's premier shopping destinations, Ibn Battuta Mall attracts tourists and visitors from all over the world and offers advertisers an immense amount of versatility in terms of positioning," said Salim Barkett, Director-UAE, Kassab Media.
"Our expertise is in the mall business and we understand the challenges of managing advertising space in a retail environment."
As announced in April, Nakheel has invested in expanding its portfolio of shopping malls to more than a 100 and this is the first move to outsource major operations to external agencies.
In the recent months Ibn Battuta Mall has made a series of high-level appointments including that of Marc Jones as marketing manager.