Strategic moves propel business wins and client success at GroupM Mena
GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, unveils a new chapter of success in the MENA region. Following recent leadership appointments and organizational developments, GroupM MENA has secured over 10 significant business wins in less than six months.
New business wins for the group include Wakemaker MENA’s win of L’Oréal Middle East, Mindshare MENA’s wins of Al Fardan Jewelry, Alat, Amala, Americana Foods, Diriyah Gate Development Authority – DGDA, du, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Company – EVIC, Inma Bank, Mondelez, New Murabba and Roberto Coin, and EssenceMediacom’s wins of Qiddiya and L’Oréal in Egypt. In addition, EssenceMediacom MENA extends partnership with Etisalat in Egypt and has retained Vodafone in Oman.
GroupM’s unique value proposition played a fundamental role in securing new business wins and delivering accelerated performance excellence for existing clients. The results speak for themselves, with GroupM reaching its most successful year yet in the MENA region with 40% growth in billings compared to 2022. GroupM supports clients’ media investments to be more accountable across all channels platforms and devices. A solidification of GroupM’s solution and capability offerings in MENA, provides clients with innovative cross-channel performance planning, media efficiencies and activation solutions to deliver incremental growth and meaningful outcomes for brands.
Read more: Hypermedia Unveils ‘The Royals’ at Palm Jumeirah
To expand the group’s expert practices, Alan Azar has joined GroupM as Regional MD of CX, Data and Technology, Haneen Aburrubb has been appointed as the group’s eCommerce Director to accelerate the commerce capabilities in response to clients’ growing demands, and Mario Soufia, Regional Managing Director to manage a range of future-proofing services for clients including business strategy, eGaming and the management of the content hub of the group including influencer marketing company, The Goat Agency; a growing department excelling in delivering creativity and AI transformations for brands.
Further appointments to the new leadership team under the appointment of Amer El Hajj as CEO at GroupM MENA in September 2023, include but are not limited to Abdallah Adra as Head of Buying, Darine ElKaissi as Managing Director at Mindshare KSA, Felicity Stokes as Head of Marketing and Communications, Laura Gleadhill as General Manager at Keyade Middle East, Patricia Abi Fadel as Head of Investment, Ragy Saad as Finance Director, Rana Zeidan as Business Director at L’Oréal Middle East – Wavemaker MENA, Samer Majzoub as Regional Managing Director at Mindshare MENA, Sarah ElMenzlawy as Head of Buying and Investments at GroupM Egypt.
In addition, GroupM MENA has introduced a new business development team, executed a comprehensive restructuring of its buying, finance and operation department and created cost efficiency hubs. This organizational structure is designed to elevate the proficiency of the group’s specialists, products and services, effectively catering to the collective needs of the business whilst delivering on a transformative media strategy for clients — a mission that has never been more critical in today’s evolving landscape.
Beyond leadership appointments and organizational transformations, the entire GroupM team and the agencies have played an integral role in the group’s recent successes. The team has collaboratively elevated media excellence, embodying a shared mission: to consistently deliver exceptional value and ROI to all clients.
Josh Krichefski, GroupM EMEA CEO commented,
“The MENA region presents significant opportunities. GroupM’s Global This Year Next Year report highlights growth is expected to exceed the global rate in 2024, with $15.9 billion in advertising revenue predicted. I have confidence in the reinvigorated team who are already demonstrating noticeable achievements and business successes.”
El Hajj, CEO of GroupM MENA, remarked,
“We’ve undergone a transformative journey, meticulously identifying our strengths and pinpointing areas for enhancement over the last few months, crafting a new organizational structure that seamlessly aligns with our global and local aspirations. The remarkable accomplishments achieved within a short time are a testament to the dedication of our MENA team, positioning us as formidable players poised to deliver accelerated growth for our clients. The great talent that has joined us is fueled by the excitement towards our vision in shaping the ‘next era’ of media. We are in the people industry and are steadfast in guiding our people to effectively support clients in achieving their business objectives and building their continuous growth.”
Read more: Publicis Media Bags L’Oréal UK and Ireland’s £220m Media Account
Asmita Dubey, L’Oréal’s CDMO Named WFA 2023 Global Marketer Of The Year
Asmita Dubey, L’Oréal’s Indian-origin Chief Digital and Marketing Officer (CDMO) has been named the World Federation of Advertisers’ 2023 Global Marketer of the Year. She was the most popular choice among the combined public and expert jury and one of the five shortlisted candidates.
Asmita Dubey Named 2023 WFA Global Marketer of the Year
Before assuming the same position for all of APAC in 2016, Dubey joined the company in 2013 as the CMO for L’Oréal China. In 2017, she went back to the company’s Paris headquarters, where she was appointed CDMO in April. Dubey has launched new augmented reality beauty services, virtual hair and makeup try-ons, and AI skin diagnostics. The latter has drawn over 100 million users in the previous year. She follows Lubomira Rochet, a L’Oréal CMO, as the second winner of the title in 2019.
Here’s what they said
Asmita Dubey, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer, L’Oréal Groupe said,
“To stand alongside the tremendous group of talented marketers from around the world is deeply meaningful to me. It brings me great pride and joy to be selected as the 2023 WFA Global Marketer of the Year. The future of beauty is physical, digital, and virtual. At L’Oréal, we are continuously reinventing beauty experiences to Create the Beauty that Moves the World.”
Raja Rajamannar, WFA President, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and President, Healthcare Business at Mastercard, and Chair of the Global Marketer of the Year judges commented,
“Congratulations to Asmita, who is a worthy winner of this year’s title. L’Oréal is a digital powerhouse and its brands are well ahead of the market when it comes to managing an effective and efficient digital transformation. With a predominantly young target market, L’Oréal is not only aware of the rapid changes in behaviour that can occur in this demographic, but also responds to their needs in a culturally appropriate way.”
Read More: Parle Agro Appoints Ankit Kapoor as Head Of Marketing and International Business
Wavemaker MENA and L’Oréal Announce a Strategic Partnership in the GCC, Levant and Morocco
GroupM’s Wavemaker MENA and L’Oreal, the global leader in beauty products, have announced a strategic partnership for the GCC, the Levant, and Morocco. This incredible victory is a crucial turning point for both organizations. It also highlights Wavemaker MENA’s unwavering hunger for commitment to establishing media excellence in the area. Through the partnership, Wavemaker MENA will represent L’Oreal in the MENA region’s media relations.
Wavemaker MENA and L’Oréal’s strategic partnership
With this strategic partnership, Wavemaker MENA is positioned to play a pivotal role in directing L’Oreal’s “Next Era” media strategy throughout the MENA region. L’Oreal and Wavemaker are well-positioned to take advantage of their combined strengths. Both companies will innovate and strengthen their position in the competitive beauty and cosmetics market.
Read More: Wavemaker Defends the Media AOR For L’Oréal in Thailand
Here’s what they said
Olfa Messaoudi, Chief Digital and Marketing Officerat L’Oréal Middle East, said,
We are excited to partner with Wavemaker MENA and we look forward to the possibilities that this dynamic collaboration will bring. Wavemaker’s extensive skills and innovative mindset in the region align seamlessly with our purpose of creating the beauty that moves the world. Together, we aim to make a sustainable impact on the media global beauty industry and continue our marketing transformation journey into a beauty tech powerhouse.
Marc Ghosn, Regional Managing Director at Wavemaker MENA shared,
With everything we do, we lead with Positive Provocation. We’re Wavemakers, and we’re here to make change happen. During the pitch, our team of disrupters demonstrated their attitude, expertise and state-of-the-art tools and tech to leverage better results. We look forward to showcasing our abilities with L’Oréal.
Amer ElHajj, CEO at GroupM MENA, stated,
Our ongoing investments in cutting-edge tools, talent and tech across the entire group and our agencies are yielding impactful results. The win of L’Oréal stands as a testament to the success derived from these strategic investments and Wavemaker’s undeniable power in their mantra of Positive Provocation.
Read More: Wavemaker Wins Media Mandate for $20 Million Allianz account
Wavemaker Defends the Media AOR For L’Oréal in Thailand
After a competitive review, Wavemaker, a division of WPP, has defended the media AOR for L’Oréal in Thailand for the next three years, starting in January 2024. After 13 years of collaboration, L’Oréal and Wavemaker have extended their role, with the agency now handling media strategies and e-commerce sales in Thailand in addition to planning.
Wavemaker – L’Oréal Thailand Media AOR
The incumbent agency’s dedication to data and consumer insights throughout the pitch process impressed the French beauty giant, Maybelline’s parent company. An example of this is the establishment of Beauty Tech Labs, a specialized client-agency team made up of AI specialists and innovators to exchange resources and knowledge throughout the WPP network.
With L’Oréal, the retainer broadens Wavemaker’s expanding worldwide mandate. Media mandates in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have been awarded to the Media agency. Additionally, the agency kept the $61 million Indian business.
Read More: WPP and Sprinklr Partner to Bring AI-Powered CXM Solutions
Here’s what they said
As reported by Campaign Asia,
Yada Sarttarasathit, chief digital and marketing officer of L’Oréal Groupe in Thailand said,
We are excited to continue our journey with Wavemaker, who has proven to be a highly compatible partner. We look forward to harnessing their synergy and innovative media strategies to create the beauty that moves the world.
Christopher Orcutt, managing director of Wavemaker Thailand added,
We will leverage our data and knowledge from the WPP network worldwide to drive media planning and e-commerce strategies for L’Oréal. Our goal is to create comprehensive online and offline beauty experiences for every Thai consumer.
Read More: Madison Loop Wins Oberoi Realty’s Integrated Communications Mandate
Loreal And Trade Desk Launch First Programmatic Campaign In Gulf!
The Trade Desk, a global advertising technology firm, has announced the success of a programmatic DOOH campaign with L’Oréal in the Middle East – a first for both brands in the area.
The campaign, which intended to raise awareness of L’Oréal’s new Yves Saint Laurent Libre Intense perfume, was advertised on digital screens strategically positioned in Dubai’s trendiest locations such as DIFC Gate Village and Sheikh Zayed Road.
It is the first time in the Middle East that L’Oréal has initiated a DOOH campaign using advertising inventory purchased programmatically through The Trade Desk.
The campaign successfully reached 1.4 million individuals and had a bid win percentage of 95%. L’Oréal was able to target audience groups by geography using The Trade Desk’s platform, based on where programmatic DOOH was accessible.
Universal Media (UM), a worldwide media and advertising firm, and Matterkind, an activation intelligence business, were instrumental in making the campaign a reality.
James Patterson, VP of Client Services, EMEA, at The Trade Desk, said –
“The results of our latest campaign in MENA with L’Oréal precede an exciting shift in the world of adtech – DOOH is coming back to centre stage as the world gets back on its feet. We’re thrilled to be able to support our clients with smart, user-friendly technology.”
Patterson also added this campaign is a significant step forward for the region in terms of programmatic DOOH, and that they look forward to assisting their clients in reaping the benefits of this new channel in the near future.
Bishr Hamwi, online brand manager (YSL) at L’Oréal, said that the Gulf area is ecstatic to be able to get DOOH placements via programmatic – YSL has been monitoring its efficiency and effect for brands in the UK and US and they thought it would perform well in the Gulf as well.
He said that their team was overjoyed when YSL became the first brand in the GCC area to trial it for their hero launch, LIBRE EDP INTENSE!
Hamwi added –
“Thanks to UM and The Trade Desk, the campaign exceeded our expectations and we are looking forward to accessing more programmatic DOOH inventory available in the coming months.”
It is important to note that while this is the first campaign for a DSP in the region, it will not be the last. Why?
Because The Trade Desk intends to strengthen its relationships with local partners in order to increase the presence and reach of brands utilizing the platform in the region.
Morgane Desessard, UM media supervisor said the fast-paced test-and-learn methodology of L’Oréal Luxury division to planning and buying DOOH inventory programmatically was an intriguing potential that they wanted to explore to support their digital media advertising mix.
Deseddard also added that with the help of its sister business, Matterkind, they were able to launch their first DOOH campaign through The Trade Desk. This allowed them to take advantage of benefits such as flexibility in terms of area and time, as well as access to real-time data.
Gosia Wajchert, Head of Matterkind, part of IPG Mediabrands, commented –
“Matterkind and The Trade Desk have been working on programmatic innovations and FIRST IN MENA products for a year now and I am really pleased to see the continued results that come out of our partnership.”
Implemented in association with Broadsign Reach SSP and local publishers Backlite Media and Elevision, the campaign ran for a period of two months during Spring 2021.
